WPVI-TV News

WPVI is the dominant station in the Philadelphia region. It is also one of the best performing stations in the ABC network, and the originator of the “Action News” format, which has been copied by many stations around the world. It began life in 1947 as WFIL, and in 1971 became WPVI upon its sale to Capital Cities Communications. Since 1986 it has been an ABC owned-and-operated station.

Move Closer To Your World…

WPVI’s dominance can be attributed in large part to its longevity of talent – and of its presentation. The station adopted Al Ham’s “Move Closer To Your World” theme in 1972. It is still used at the station today. The theme has become WPVI’s “anthem”, and is as recognizable to Philadelphia residents as the famous theme from “Rocky”. A 1996 attempt to replace the classic theme with an updated version (performed by the London Philharmonic!) was met with such negative reaction that the theme was replaced within five days, underscoring just how popular the theme has become. These days, WPVI remasters MCTYW every few years; one effect is that some of the more dated elements (bongos, etc.) are downplayed. Almost as crucial are the news opens, lightning fast montages of people doing regular things in the Philadelphia area. There are several different opens used based on the time of day. Opens are traditionally changed on the first day of each season, and the sequences tend to vary from year to year. The intended effect is to make it seem that Action News is Everywhere.

Together with ABC

WPVI became an ABC-owned station in 1986, when owner Capital Cities surprised the industry by buying the much larger network. It is believed that the enormous success and profits WPVI brought in were a big reason why CapCities was able to accomplish this. In that light, it is perhaps unsurprising that WPVI’s influence spread to CapCities’ newly-acquired stations. To this day, many key executives in the ABC/Disney television station unit are WPVI alumni.

1990s and Beyond

The Walt Disney Company purchased ABC in 1995, but unlike the CapCities/ABC merger, this did not have as large an impact on WPVI or the other O&Os. As the decade progressed, WPVI began making small changes in its presentation. “Channel 6” gave way to “6ABC”, graphics gradually became more elaborate, and the weather presentation – which used a magnetic board years after all other stations in the country went to computer graphics for weather – was modernized.