WPMY is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 from a transmitter located in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, WPMY is the sister station of Fox Network affiliate WPGH-TV, which it shares studios with. Syndicated programming on the station includes The Steve Wilkos Show and The Wendy Williams Show. WPMY has been affiliated with MyNetworkTV since September 2006.

Digital programming[link]

Until the end of 2006, WPMY featured The Tube music video channel on a digital subchannel.

Analog shutdown[link]

WPMY signed off its analog signal as part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion on February 17, 2009,^[2] even though the deadline had been extended to June 12.^[3] WPMY was one of three stations in the Pittsburgh market to still use the original signoff date, alongside sister station WPGH-TV and WQED-owned WQEX. Both WPMY and WPGH kept their analog signals up for some time afterwards airing the National Association of Broadcasters nightlight loop about the DTV transition as part of the SAFER Act before signing off completely March 19.

Early history[link]

Early success[link]

Rising out of the ashes of the former WENS-TV, this station signed on the air on September 26, 1978, as WPTT, (which stood for Pittsburgh Twenty Two, the UHF channel on which it broadcasts) the market's second commercial independent station and its fourth UHF station (after WPGH-TV). It was owned by the Commercial Radio Institute (which later became known as Sinclair). It started out running a number of popular off-network sitcoms from the 1950s and 60s, off-network dramas and westerns, very old movies and network programming pre-empted by WTAE-TV, KDKA-TV and WIIC (now WPXI-TV). For a time the station WPTT aired the children's television program Captain Pitt, which featured old-time cartoons as part of the program.

WPTT also originated more of its own local programming with Prize Bowling, which originally began as Bowling for Dollars on ABC network competitor WTAE-TV for many years until its host was jailed for a lottery broadcast scam. The succeeding host was not received well by viewers, and ended up being canceled. WPTT took the opportunity to fill the void in the market with "Prize Bowling", first hosted by Pittsburgh radio legend Roger Willoughby-Ray and then by Pittsburgh Steelers announcer Jack Fleming. The show's success was modest at best, and was canceled after two years. Other programs of varying degrees of success were "The Ghost Host", "Eddie's Digest", and "Studio Wrestling".

The station also aired a newscast in the early 1980s, a rarity at this time for stations not affiliated with the then-major networks (ABC, CBS and NBC). This newscast was known simply as "WPTT news", and in the opening segment, the letters "news" were formed from a compass indicating the four cardinal directions. This opening segment, featuring then-anchorman Kevin Evans, appeared briefly (and was audible) on the movie Flashdance in a scene where Jennifer Beals' character returns home and turns on the television. The presentation was relatively low-budget, with the anchor simply reading copy, with no field video shots other than the weather read over a stock video shot denoting the conditions outside.

Relationship with WPGH[link]

However, WPGH, which had hitherto been a rather low-budget operation, was purchased by Meredith Corporation in 1978, and became more aggressive with its programming strategy. Despite having a highly powerful signal that was double the coverage as WPGH (5 million watts visual compared to WPGH's 2.345 million), WPTT became unable to acquire newer shows, and ended up with programming that no other stations wanted. The station's ratings were very low, and it was considered as an "also-ran". For many years, WPTT languished as just another local independent channel, airing reruns of TV shows that were past their prime.

In 1990, after going through three owners, WPGH was put up for sale again. Sinclair put in a bid for the station in 1991 and won. However, the group struggled to obtain financing. As part of a deal, the group sold WPTT to its general manager Eddie Edwards (who had been with WPTT since its launch in 1978, and had become best known as host of the station's locally-produced public affairs program "Eddie's Digest", targeted towards local African-Americans).

The sales closed on August 29, 1991 with Sinclair acquiring WPGH from Renaissance Broadcasting in the fall of that year. The best programming from WPTT's schedule was moved to WPGH. Eddie Edwards acquired WPTT without programming and began to run Home Shopping Network programming 24/7 on WPTT in September, which led to the station being dropped from the area's cable systems. Edwards then made a deal with Sinclair to buy time on his station from 3pm to midnight, and get the cable systems to reinstate WPTT on their lineups.

The deal took effect in January 1992 with WPTT airing cartoons, sitcoms, movies and dramas from Sinclair which had no room to air on WPGH. Sinclair's air time on the station expanded in 1993 to begin at noon. WPTT began to run older syndicated cartoons, as well as the Disney Afternoon cartoon block which it picked up from KDKA-TV.

Network affiliation[link]

UPN[link]

WPTT affiliated with UPN in early 1995, becoming UPN 22. Sinclair's air time on the station increased later that year to begin at 6am as well and by 1997, WPTT and WPGH moved together into one building.

The WB[link]

WPTT dropped the UPN affiliation in 1998 (which moved to WNPA-TV) and affiliated with The WB instead. The station also changed its call sign to WCWB(C , or See, the WB) to reflect its new affiliation. The WCWB calls had previously been on the NBC affiliate in Macon, Georgia, currently WMGT-TV; the WPTT calls were later on 1360 AM in Pittsburgh before changing to WMNY in 2008.

Sinclair finally bought back WCWB from Eddie Edwards in 2000 after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) relaxed its rule, allowing one company to own two television stations in the same market. WPGH is the senior partner in the duopoly because of its Fox affiliation and because it was established earlier.

As a WB affiliate, WCWB aired cartoons from Kids WB, off-network sitcoms, reality shows, court shows, talk shows and movies, as well as WB prime time programming. After the CW launched, WPMY kept the syndicated programs along with MyNetwork TV's two prime time programs, but Kids WB moved to WPCW. WPMY now airs infomercials and syndicated children's programming where Kids WB had previously aired.

MyNetwork TV[link]

On January 24, 2006, it was announced that The WB and UPN would merge into a new network, The CW. As a result of this merger, WPCW (the former WNPA, and a former UPN O&O) became the CW affiliate, and on September 5, Channel 22 began carrying the Monday-through-Saturday MyNetwork TV block from Fox. On April 17, WCWB changed its call letters to WPMY to reflect this (plugs for MyNetwork TV and The Tube now use the WPMY calls). On August 14, 2006, WPMY rebranded itself as My Pittsburgh TV to promote MyNetwork TV, also different cable companies, carry WPMY on different channels. (The official moniker is "My Pittsburgh TV", even though the logo reads like "My TV Pittsburgh".) Unlike many other former WB affiliates switching to MyNetwork TV, WPMY continued to air The WB's primetime schedule in the late night hours until September 18, 2006, when The CW launched.

The station no longer uses the "22" moniker in any form on the station except for FCC-mandated station identification purposes. With Comcast being the dominant cable provider in the Pittsburgh region (Armstrong Cable also has systems in Armstrong, Butler, & Indiana counties, and a very small portion of Lawrence County) the station is commonly on channel 10 on Comcast systems, and thus WPMY is often advertised on-air as "Comcast channel 10", somewhat taking a virtual channel route.

External links[link]

• WPMY-TV website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WPMY
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WPMY-TV
• Program Information for WPMY at TitanTV.com
• PPG Article Announcing Call Letter Change
• Obituary for Roger Willoughby-Ray

References[link]

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There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.^[1]

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)^[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers[link]

• Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran
• Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India
• Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia
• Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia
• Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias
• Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex
• Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire
• Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),
• Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire
• Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand
• Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)
• Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)
• Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden
• Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland
• Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
• Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India
• Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
• Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)
• Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks
• Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen
• Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor
• Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media
• Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire
• Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire
• Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse^[3]
• Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile
• Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia
• Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
• Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader
• Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea^[4][5]
• Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC
• Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)
• Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre
• Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea
• Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris
• Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France
• Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)
• Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat
• Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia
• John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve
• John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre
• Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor
• Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i
• Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India
• Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
• Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty
• Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales
• Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland
• Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand
• Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan
• Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)
• Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)
• Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom
• Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus
• Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya
• Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)
• Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine
• Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)
• K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque
• Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka
• Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia
• Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia
• Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily
• Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar
• Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar
• Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.^[6][7][8]
• Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India
• Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
• Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)
• Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties
• Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)
• Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders
• Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre
• Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire
• Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king^[9]
• Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia
• Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire
• Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)
• Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
• Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)
• Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire
• Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty
• Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
• Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
• Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor
• Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia
• Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia
• Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire
• Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark
• Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
• Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
• Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
• William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
• William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou
• Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
• Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures[link]

• Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East
• Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia
• Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
• Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
• Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
• Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
• Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
• Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
• Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)
• Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine
• Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)
• Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)
• Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit
• Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)
• Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
• William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other[link]

• Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies
• Emmy the Great, folk singer
• Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
• Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also[link]

• Epithet
• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I
• James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
• Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"

Notes[link]