NY1: Difference between revisions

NY1 (also officially known as Spectrum News NY1 and spoken as New York One) is an American cable news television channel founded by Time Warner Cable, which itself is owned by Charter Communications through its acquisition in May 2016. The channel provides 24-hour news coverage, with a focus on the five boroughs of New York City; its programming primarily features news, traffic and weather, however NY1 also features specialty programs such as Inside City Hall (which is renamed Road to City Hall during New York City mayoral elections).

NY1 is available on Spectrum's New York City system on channel 1 in standard definition and channel 701 in high definition. On Optimum in the New York City area, it is carried on channel 8 (it was previously seen on channel 1, before Optimum moved the channel to its current slot in December 2010), and is transmitted by the provider in letterboxed standard definition (downconverted from the HD feed) until September 29, 2017 when it was upconverted to the HD feed. The channel is available to more than two million cable customers within the five boroughs of New York City, as well as nearby Bergen County in New Jersey and Mount Vernon in Westchester County, New York. As of 2014^[update], NY1 is not currently available on Verizon FiOS.^[1]

Outside the New York metropolitan area, NY1 is carried on Spectrum systems throughout New York State, and its HD simulcast channel is available on its Orlando and Tampa systems.^[2] It is also available on its Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro systems in North Carolina on digital channel 215, both in standard and high definition.^[3][4][5] Outside the New York area, a loop of public service announcements and Spectrum promo ads is played over New York-specific advertising.

NY1 was conceived by Richard Aurelio, the president of Time Warner Cable's New York City cable group who felt at the time that "New York City needed its own 24/7 news station that just covered the city."^[6] The channel launched on September 8, 1992; it originally operated from a newsroom at the National Video Center at 460 West 42nd Street in the Manhattan borough of New York City, under the guidance of vice president of news Paul Sagan and news director Steve Paulus. Construction of the 42nd Street facility was completed just over 1½ months earlier on July 15, however the channel's newly hired reporters actually began work one month beforehand by attending a videojournalism "boot camp".^[7][8]

While some of NY1's reporters had used their own cameras in other markets, most of them had no exposure to the technical side of journalism. Following their training, the reporters and the rest of the staff took part in an additional two-month training period that included four weeks of real-time rehearsal. A watershed event came in the final weeks of training, with the collapse of a former post office building on Manhattan's West Side. Although the channel was not yet on the air, NY1 reporters covered the story as if the channel was fully operational, interviewing survivors and witnesses, and reporting the story more fully than competing television outlets.^[9]

Following the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, NY1's feed was temporarily transmitted internationally through Oxygen after the cable channel was unable to broadcast regular programming from its headquarters in the Manhattan neighborhood of Battery Park City, located near the World Trade Center.^[10] In 2001, Time Warner Cable began offering NY1 to digital cable subscribers in the Albany market (it remained on that system even after the October 2002 launch of sister cable news channel Capital News 9); the channel was added to Time Warner Cable systems in other markets – primarily those located in Upstate New York – thereafter.

In January 2002, the channel moved its operations to a new, all-digital facility on the sixth floor at Chelsea Market at 75 Ninth Avenue (between West 15th-16th Streets) in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. On June 30, 2003, Time Warner Cable launched NY1 Noticias, a Spanish-language version of the channel for digital cable subscribers. In 2005, NY1 launched NY1 on Demand, a video-on-demand service for Time Warner Cable customers, available on channel 1111 in the provider's New York City system.

In 2008, NY1 launched a high-definition simulcast feed on Time Warner Cable digital channel 701, although it was originally broadcast only in a pillarboxed format (a center-cut 4:3 picture with sidebars of the NY1 logo), until the channel migrated to a full 16:9 widescreen format in October 2009.^{[citation needed]}

On March 14, 2013, Time Warner Cable announced plans to rebrand NY1 and its other regional news channels (including News 14 Carolina and the Your News Now networks) under the TWC News brand by the end of the year, along with the adoption of new on-air logos and a standardized graphics package for each of the channels. The reasoning for the name change was due to the perception by the company that Time Warner Cable subscribers did not know that the provider owns its regional news channels and are largely exclusive to its systems (NY1 is an exception, as it is also carried by Cablevision in the New York City market).^[11]

The proposed name change for NY1 met with immediate controversy among Time Warner Cable's subscribers due to the familiarity with the brand and dissatisfaction with the provider's service by its New York City area customers.^[12][13][14] Time Warner Cable explored the possibility of keeping the NY1 brand while also including on-air references to its TWC ownership in some fashion, though executives confirmed that the rebranding would have no effect on the channel's news format or reporting style.^[15]

On November 20, Time Warner Cable announced that it would append the "Time Warner Cable News" brand to the beginning of the NY1 name, while "NY1" would continue to be used on-air as a primary brand.^[16] The revised branding as well as the new graphics and music package (which included a modified version of the logo used by the channel since 2001, amended alongside the "Time Warner Cable News" logo) went into effect on December 16.^[17]

On May 26, 2015, Charter and Time Warner Cable announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Charter to merge with Time Warner Cable in a deal valued at $78.7 billion.^[18] Charter also confirmed that it would continue with its proposed acquisition of Bright House Networks under slightly modified terms. The deal was subject to regulatory approval, although the deal was expected to face less scrutiny from the FCC than the Comcast/TWC deal, as the companies were relatively smaller, and their media holdings are not as extensive as those of Comcast. The TWC systems were to be migrated to Charter's Spectrum brand following the conclusion of the merger.^[19] The merger was completed on May 18, 2016.^[20]

As a caveat of Charter Communications' acquisition of Time Warner Cable (which was completed in May of that year) and Charter's decision to phase out the TWC brand, the "Time Warner Cable News" branding was dropped from NY1 and replaced with the "Spectrum News" moniker beginning November 15, 2016. While the NY1 name is still in use, especially on air, it continues to incorporate the "Spectrum News" brand at the beginning of NY1's primary brand.^[21]

On March 30, 2017, Charter Communications announced plans for a major restructuring of NY1 as several reporters were laid off and some shows were cancelled in the upcoming months.^[22][23] A spokesperson for Charter said "As with any network, we're constantly evolving to find better ways to reach and engage our viewers. We seek to provide the most compelling information and entertainment possible by providing more context, in-depth reporting, analysis and explanation, cultivating a more relevant and thoughtful conversation that makes Spectrum News essential in the lives of Spectrum subscribers. From time to time, our programming and staffing will change as we strive to better cover the stories that resonate most with our viewers."^[24]

NY1 was the first regional news channel to be operated by Time Warner Cable prior to the acquisition of Charter Communications; the cable provider has since launched 24-hour news channels in several other markets that are modeled after NY1 (two of which, News 24 Houston and News 9 San Antonio, both operated as joint ventures between TWC and Belo, had shut down within their first two years of operation). In addition to the channels launched by TWC, the provider also acquired Spectrum News Rochester (which debuted in 1990 as "WGRC") in 1995, after it assumed cable franchise rights in the Rochester, New York market from Greater Rochester Cablevision. The majority of these channels, as of September 20, 2016, are now branded as "Spectrum News" as part of the integration with Time Warner Cable and Charter Communication's cable systems into Charter Spectrum. The channels include:

The most-common "program" on NY1 is a half-hour rolling news block that begins at the top of every hour and at 30 minutes past the hour. The first minute contains top news headlines named the "NY1 Minute" followed by "Weather on the 1s", a brief one-minute local weather summary. The remainder of the half-hour is filled with pre-recorded news segments heavily focusing on stories from the New York metropolitan area.

Nearly all stories are pre-recorded, even segments made to look like they are occurring live; instead of a "live" indicator during field reports from NY1's reporters, most stories seen on the channel have an on-screen graphic merely stating that the reporter is (or was) "on scene". This is because when the report was first broadcast, it may have originally been shown live but is usually not once it is re-aired, unless it updates a breaking news event. Moreover, reporters generally tape their own stories with video cameras (a practice known as video journalism), and send these taped reports to the newsroom to be edited for broadcast.^[25][26]

Debuted on October 23, 2017, Mornings on 1 is a three-hour live weekday morning newscast (airs weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.) which is designed to help New Yorkers get an informed start to their day with a dynamic mix of local news, headlines, politics, weather and transit reports. Mornings on 1 is anchored by Pat Kiernan, meteorologist Stacy-Ann Gooden, traffic reporter Jamie Stelter, and business anchor Annika Pergament.^{[27][28][29][30]}

In Focus with Cheryl Wills is a 30-minute public affairs program hosted by weeknight evening anchor Cheryl Wills which features viewpoints from a roundtable of newsmakers on various topics that impacts New Yorkers.^[31]

Inside City Hall (re-titled Road to City Hall during mayoral election cycles) is a weeknight political program hosted by Errol Louis that covers politics both local and national. NY1 and its upstate sister channels have collaborated on (and sponsored) a number of political debates, coverage of these use Inside City Hall presentation.^[32]

Premiered on January 15, 2018, NY1 Live at Ten is a hour long live weeknight newscast which delivers a complete summary of the day's news and the first look of tomorrow. NY1 Live at Ten is anchored by Cheryl Wills, meteorologist Erick Adame, and traffic reporters Alyse Barker and Adelle Caballero. The 10pm newscast has outsourcing agreement with a local sports cable channel and sister network SNY, utilizing its staff at the channel's 4 World Trade Center facility to cover local professional and college sports highlights after NY1's sports department was shut down in September 2017.^[33][34][35]

On Stage is a 30-minute program which premiered on October 16, 1999, primarily features reports on the New York City theater scene, as well as reports on theatrical performances from around the region. It is currently hosted by Frank DiLella.^[36]

Debuting on December 2, 2017, Spotlight NY is a 30-minute program hosted by weekend afternoon anchor Vivian Lee explores the arts and culture of the city.^[37]

Launched on July 25, 2005, The Call was a live, one-hour call-in and write-in news show hosted by John Schiumo. Throughout the day, viewers were encouraged to vote on the top news stories of the day, and after receiving an email alert as to the top story, were asked to write or call in to discuss the topic with Schiumo. The program was expanded to one hour in January 2012 in response to viewer requests. The Call was cancelled on April 6, 2017.^[38]

In an effort to compete with local late-night newscasts on the area's broadcast television stations in the timeslot, NY1 debuted a nightly 11:00 p.m. newscast titled NY1 News at Eleven (later retitled Time Warner Cable News NY1 at Eleven and Spectrum News NY1 at Eleven) on January 22, 2007. The newscast was last anchored by Lewis Dodley on weeknights and Cheryl Wills on weekends. The 11 p.m. newscast was quietly cancelled following its September 28, 2017 broadcast^[39][40]

Premiered on September 8, 1992, The New York Times Close Up was hosted by New York Times urban affairs correspondent Sam Roberts and was produced in association with the newspaper, The New York Times Close Up (originally titled as New York Closeup) gives viewers an inside preview of the most compelling reports from Sunday's Times, with the correspondents who filed the stories, and features Times reporters, columnists and editors examining the week's top stories in the New York City area. The last episode aired on NY1 on April 8, 2017.^[41] The New York Times Close Up now airs on CUNY TV since September 15, 2017.^[42]

Premiered on September 8, 1992, Sports on 1: The Last Word was a live 55-minute call-in sports program (airing every night at 11:35 p.m.), which provided recaps of the local sports scores and headlines of the day; it was hosted by Phil Andrews, Kevin Garrity, or by Dario Melendez on various days. The show aired its final program on September 28, 2017.^[43]

• Bobby Cuza - political reporter
• Stacy-Ann Gooden - weekday morning meteorologist
• Errol Louis - host of Inside City Hall and political reporter
• Pat Kiernan - weekday morning anchor
• Josh Robin - political reporter; also fill-in news anchor

NY1 Noticias (pronounced as "New York One Noticias" and also known as "Spectrum Noticias NY1") is a Spanish language regional cable news channel that was launched on June 30, 2003 as an offshoot of NY1. It is available on Time Warner Cable digital channels 95 and 801. Like its English language parent network, NY1 Noticias covers general news stories primarily focused around the New York City metropolitan area, along with in-depth coverage of issues affecting the area's Hispanic population.

NY1 Rail and Road (pronounced as "New York One Rail and Road") is a cable channel that focuses on the traffic and mass transit conditions within the New York City metropolitan area. Launched on August 18, 2010, the channel is exclusive to Time Warner Cable subscribers (carried on digital channel 104 in New York City, and digital channel 91 in New Jersey and the Hudson Valley). The channel features traffic and transit updates on five-minute intervals with separate feeds for Manhattan and Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Hudson Valley, respectively.

• In the thriller Sliver (1993), a television in the building's laundry room broadcasts NY1.
• In the crime drama The Yards (2000), NY1 reporters are featured reporting several events in the plot.
• In the romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan (2002), a Mexican hotel maid impersonating a high-class woman having an argument with a politician.^{[clarification needed]}
• In the comedy Elf (2003), NY1 is the station through which the story of an alleged Christmas Eve sighting of Santa Claus spread throughout New York City.
• In the documentary Super Size Me (2004), a NY1 report on the blizzard of 2003 was shown for several seconds.
• In the comedy White Chicks (2004), the character Denise is an NY1 news reporter.
• In the adventure comedy Night at the Museum (2006), NY1 is one of the stations that carried the story about dinosaur tracks that were leading into New York City's American Museum of Natural History (the other station was WNYW, due to the fact that the movie was produced by 20th Century Fox).
• In the monster movie, Cloverfield (2008), NY1's Roma Torre reports on the earthquake preceding the arrival of the monster.
• In the science fiction Jumper (2008), various footage of the NY1's opening were seen.
• In the thriller The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), NY1 political reporter Michael Scotto appears briefly.
• In 2014 The Amazing Spiderman 2, the NY1 logo is seen throughout the film.

• NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan appears briefly in Through the Grinder (2004) (Berkley Prime Crime, ISBN 978-0-425-19714-1), the second novel in The Coffeehouse Mystery Series by Cleo Coyle.

• "That's It That's All", from the To the 5 Boroughs (2004) album by the Beastie Boys, contains the line "Like George Whipple on New York 1; Got a hairy ass and that's no fun." Whipple covers celebrity gossip and high society for NY1.

• Episodes of:
  • the courtroom drama series 100 Centre Street (2001–2002)
  • the drama series Third Watch (1999–2005)
  • the police procedural and legal drama series Law & Order and its spinoffs Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (since 1990)
  • the situation comedy series Spin City (1996–2002)

Briefly show televisions in the background that are tuned to NY1.

• Episodes of the drama series The Sopranos (1999–2007) feature NY1 television reporters and anchors.
• The sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014) features character Robin Scherbatsky as an NY1 reporter, although the show brands it "Metro News 1". The character formerly co-anchored the network with Sandy Rivers, who reads from the newspaper much like NY1's Pat Kiernan.
• In an episode of the sitcom 30 Rock (since 2006), the character Liz Lemon mentions that one of her fears is having her picture shown on NY1 after dying alone in her apartment.
• In Season 1, Episode 8 of Showtime's Billions Pat Kiernan, breaks news on NY1

• Pat Kiernan appeared on a taping of the Doug Loves Movies podcast starring Doug Benson at the Gramercy Theatre on October 23, 2011; the episode, also featuring actor Keith Powell, as well as comics Jim Gaffigan and Michael Ian Black was released onto the iTunes Store three days later.

• Media in New York City
• News 12 Networks - a similar group of 24-hour regional cable news channels operated by Cablevision.
• FiOS1 - a similar group of 24-hour regional cable news channels operated by Verizon FiOS.
• Spectrum News - a group of 24-hour regional cable news channels operated by Charter Communications; NY1 is the only regional news channel operated by Charter in the state of New York that does not utilize the Spectrum brand using the same stricter branding standards as its sister channels.

• Official website
• "Station History", at ny1.com. Accessed October 17, 2009.