The former GM of WCTI New Bern, N.C., takes over leadership of the Rochester, N.Y., NBC affiliate on July 23.

Imagine going into one of the TV ratings periods with an unknown news anchor team on the desk. How unknown? Your new chief meteorologist’s first day on air is the first day of the sweep. Even your creative services director is new, just a few months on the job. Yet despite those obstacles, WHEC, Hubbard Broadcasting’s NBC affiliate in Rochester, N.Y., was the No. 1 newscast at 11 p.m. in adults 25-54 in the November 2017 sweep.