WSNN-LD (channel 39) is a low-power television station in Sarasota, Florida, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. Owned by Nexstar Media Group as sister to NBC affiliate WFLA-TV (channel 8) and CW owned-and-operated station WTTA (channel 38), the station's Suncoast News Network (SNN) service provides news coverage focusing primarily on the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area (including Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties). SNN operates in conjunction with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and is headquartered in downtown Sarasota. The station's transmitter is located on Fruitville Road east of the city.
History
The SNN operation was launched on July 17, 1995, exclusively on Comcast. Over its history, it was branded as SNN Local News, SNN Local News 6, SNN News 6 and Six News Now, which were often used interchangeably. SNN received national attention in 2007, when a clip of chief meteorologist Justin Mosely (who worked with the channel from 2004 to 2013 and returned in March 2014) reacting frightened after a cockroach crawled up his leg during a live weather segment went viral after it was posted on various video websites including YouTube.
In November 2008, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune (then owned by The New York Times Company) announced that it would sell SNN News 6, and stop broadcasting at the end of December 2008. This deadline was extended after the company struck agreements with a group of investors, led by SNN general manager Linda DesMaris and her husband Doug Barker, to purchase the channel; however on January 25, 2009, one of the investors dropped out of the deal. On January 29, 2009, the Herald-Tribune announced that SNN News 6 would go dark, effective at midnight on January 29, 2009. The company would later find another investor in Phil Lombardo, CEO of the television station group Citadel Communications in Bronxville, New York. On February 26, 2009, after a four-week hiatus, SNN was back on the air under the management of LDB Media, LLC, with the majority of its former on-air staff. Since its inception, the channel was exclusively carried on Comcast's systems in Sarasota and Charlotte counties. In the summer of 2012, SNN struck a carriage deal with Verizon FiOS to add the channel; FiOS began carrying SNN in the Sarasota area at 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time on September 13, 2012. Over time, other cable systems were added, expanding coverage around the Sarasota–Manatee area.
In January 2014, Lombardo and Citadel Communications acquired a majority interest in the company. As a result, Citadel took over broadcast operations of SNN. During February 2014, the SNN studio facilities underwent a major remodeling. One month earlier on February 12, SNN debuted a new graphics package. weather graphics were rolled out on February 22. On March 2, the channel debuted a new logo (an "SNN" wordmark with a blue wave underneath) and rebranded as SNN - Suncoast News Network. The following day on March 3 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, SNN unveiled a new main news set and weather center (the latter of which incorporates the logo previously used under the "SNN Local News 6" brand). The station's image resembles those of Citadel stations WLNE-TV in Providence, Rhode Island, and KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska, who have become sister stations to SNN. It was also the only non-ABC affiliated television station owned by Citadel after CBS affiliate WHBF-TV in Rock Island, Illinois, was sold to Nexstar Media Group in 2014; in 2019, Citadel sold WLNE and KLKN to Standard Media, with WSNN being the only remaining television station under Citadel ownership until July 2023.
On September 24, 2014, Citadel announced that SNN's operations would be merged with its over-the-air television station in Sarasota, WLWN-LD (channel 39), on October 15; as part of the consolidation, WLWN changed its call letters to WSNN-LD. The combined station retains SNN's existing programming and cable carriage. On April 15, WSNN launched two subchannels from Katz Broadcasting: Grit and Laff.
On May 16, 2019, it was announced that Standard Media, led by former Young Broadcasting and Media General executive Deb McDermott, would acquire Citadel's WLNE and KLKN for $83 million. The sale was completed on September 5.