WCCT-TV - Newscasts

Newscasts

In July 1993, WTXX debuted a nightly 10 o'clock newscast produced by NBC station WVIT, called Connecticut News Live at 10. The news team consisted of WVIT's evening news team –anchors Gerry Brooks and Joanne Nesti, weather from Brad Field, Beasley Reece with sports, along with reporters from WVIT. In 1998, when WTIC replaced WVIT as WTXX's LMA partner, the WVIT-produced broadcasts were replaced with a simulcast of the first half-hour of WTIC's nightly 10 p.m. newscast; on April 24, 2006, the station began simulcasting the entire newscast. The station did not use a separate news open for the broadcasts; however when Fox entertainment or sports programming delays the newscast on WTIC, it was aired on WTXX under the title News at Ten and used a News at Ten logo bug in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen in place of WTIC's news branding.

On December 12, 2009; WTIC, WCCT (then WTXX), and the Hartford Courant moved into new combined newsroom facilities in downtown Hartford, and WTIC rebranded from Fox 61 to Fox CT (a transition completed in July 2010); in addition, WTIC began broadcasting its newscasts in high definition, becoming the second station in the market to do so. WCCT's newscasts were included in the transition.

In June 2010, the station ended the simulcast of WTIC's 10 p.m. newscast. It now airs a rebroadcast of WTIC's 11 p.m. newscast at 1 a.m. weeknights, while the 10 p.m. newscast is re-aired on weekends; these rebroadcasts include a sports highlight program called Comcast Sports Desk at 1:45 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday nights. Originally, this was not simulcast on WTXX but has since been added (the 10 p.m. newscast continues to be shown live on WCCT, if it is preempted on WTIC). The station also carries the 8 a.m. hour of WTIC's morning newscast (a previous simulcast of Fox 61 Morning News had aired at one point, but was later dropped). WTIC also produces a weekly public affairs show called The Real Story, which airs Sunday mornings at 8:30 a.m. with a repeat on WCCT at 11 a.m.

Other than simulcasts and default carriage of WTIC's newscasts in the event of Fox Sports programming delays, WCCT does not carry traditional local newscasts produced specifically for the station; as such, the station is one of only five Tribune-owned stations not carrying their own daily newscasts (alongside WNOL/New Orleans, WDCW/Washington, D.C., WTTV/Indianapolis and WSFL/Miami).

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