Bay News 9
Bay News 9 (also officially known as Spectrum Bay News 9 as of September 24, 2017) is a cable news television network located in St. Petersburg, Florida. Owned by Charter Communications, it currently serves the Tampa Bay area including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Polk, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties. The station, which is exclusive to Spectrum customers, provides rolling news programming 24 hours a day, with the exception of some special programming, including a weekly political program, Political Connections.
Country
St. Petersburg, Florida
1080i (HDTV)
(HD feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for SDTVs)
September 24, 1997
Spectrum Sports Florida (in Tampa)
9 (within Tampa metro)
2201 (nationwide)
The station was created by Elliott Wiser, who was hired as General Manager by Time Warner Cable in May 1997.[1] At that time TWC was building a similar news channel in Orlando; that channel now is known as Spectrum News 13. Wiser later created Bay News 9 en Español, Tampa Bay on Demand, and Spectrum Sports.
History[edit]
The station began operating on September 24, 1997, and gives weather updates every 10 minutes "on the nines" and more frequently during serious weather conditions.
In 2002, Bay News 9 was the first TV station in the area to provide a VIPIR Doppler weather radar system. In 2007, Bay News 9 became the first station in Florida, and one of only a handful of stations, to provide a Dual-Pole Doppler Radar system. On Monday, January 5, 2009, Bay News 9 launched its upgraded doppler radar system called Klystron 9. This new system is capable of seeing weather features in greater detail than other Doppler radar systems. Klystron 9 combines, for the first time in history, a dual Polarimetry radar, Klystron tube, Pulse compression technology and a 1.25-million watt transmitter. That combination of technology makes Klystron 9 the most powerful television radar in the world. Klystron 9 has the ability to see storms other radars can't see and see deeper into those storms. The Klystron 9's dual-pole technology even tells meteorologists the sizes and shape of raindrops and makes the distinction between rain and ice.
Two original anchors remain with the station: meteorologists Mike Clay and Alan Winfield. Winfield only works during hurricanes after leaving the station full-time in 2006 to join a religious ministry. In December 2008, Jen Holloway left the station to join the parent company, Bright House Networks, as a marketing spokesperson. Weekend morning anchor Erica Riggins replaced her spot.
Bay News 9 was originally seen on channel 9 on all systems, except for Pasco County, where it was seen on channel 6. On August 7, 2013, Bright House Networks moved Bay News 9 to channel 9 in Pasco County, making Bay News 9 available on all of Bright House's cable systems in the Tampa Bay area. The newscasts (with the exception of Your Morning News) are recorded for repeat broadcasts with breaking news and weather forecasts inserted almost hourly.
In popular culture[edit]
Film[edit]
The 2011 film Dolphin Tale and its 2014 sequel Dolphin Tale 2 featured scenes filmed at Bay News 9's St. Petersburg studio facility. Bay News 9 previously used to operate a webcam in which visitors to the channel's website could watch Winter, the real-life dolphin whose rescue inspired the first film, from her home at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, however, the marine animal died in 2021.[6][7][8]