Gray Television Shutters TV3 Winchester

By Merrill Knox 

Gray Television is shutting down TV3 in Winchester, effective immediately. Reporter Alyssa Raymond tweeted a picture of the meeting where the news was announced:

 

Several other reporters wrote about the shutdown on their social media accounts. “It’s hard to say this, but TV3 is now closed so I will no longer be reporting in the area. I’m so grateful for the contacts and relationships I’ve formed here, and I will never forget the friendships I’ve made,” Hattie Cheek wrote on her Facebook page.

“I’ve only been with the station for three months, but in my time here I’ve learned so much and met so many great people,” Lindsay Cobb wrote. “Winchester and the people of the Northern Valley are very special and I’m so glad I had the chance to work here.”

TV3 is the ABC affiliate in Winchester, Va.  It operates as a cable-only outlet and can also be seen on a digital subchannel of WHSV, Gray Television’s ABC affiliate for Harrisonburg, Va.

It is not known how many people are affected by the shutdown.

>Update: Statement from TV3 is after the jump.

TV3 Winchester announced today that it has reluctantly decided to close its local news and sales operations in Winchester, Virginia, effective immediately. Despite the efforts of many great people and an investment of several millions of dollars over the past six years, TV3 concluded that it could no longer effectively serve the Northern Shenandoah Valley.

TV3 Winchester Vice President & General Manager Teri Lloyd said, “We are grateful for the professionalism and dedication that our wonderful staff exhibited here in Winchester. They used their best efforts to cover local news, sports and weather in the Northern Shenandoah Valley as well as serve the local business and civic communities. We regret that all their efforts and all of our investments were simply insufficient to make this hyper-local station a viable long-term operation. To our loyal viewers and local advertisers we say thank you for your support. ”

TV3’s local broadcasts ceased this morning.

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