Founded in 1962 by a group of local investors (originally known as Channel 9 Syracuse), NewsChannel 9 came into being to bring a third television option to Central New York. The idea sparked when community leaders and the government realized that Syracuse viewers were limited to only two channels and were missing out on ABC network programming. A group of rival businessmen actually teamed up to launch the station (originally called WNYS) to fill this gap and offer more diverse viewpoints to the region. Today, the station is owned and operated by Nexstar Media Group. Today, NewsChannel 9 is run by a team of local journalists and meteorologists and is mainly focused on local news, severe winter weather (specifically lake-effect snow), politics, and college sports (with extensive coverage of Syracuse University). They are based in Syracuse, New York, and serve as the primary news source for the Central New York region. One interesting fact: A unique fact about NewsChannel 9 is that it "stole" its name from its biggest rival. For decades, the call letters WSYR belonged to the local NBC station (Channel 3). When that station changed its name to WSTM, Channel 9 waited for the copyright to expire and snatched up the historic "WSYR" name for itself, taking over a brand that had existed in the city since the 1920s.