WMAZ-TV
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2015) |
kW | |
HAAT | 238 m (781 ft) |
---|---|
Transmitter coordinates | 32°45′10″N 83°33′32″W / 32.75278°N 83.55889°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WMAZ-TV (channel 13) is a
county line.History
The station first signed on the air on September 27, 1953.[2] It was the second TV station in Macon. WETV, later WNEX-TV and WOKA (channel 47), had begun operation on August 25, 1953, co-owned by WBML (1240 AM) and WNEX (1400 AM). However, in the 1950s, few people had TVs that received UHF channels; after being sold while indebted, it ended operations in May 1955.
WMAZ-TV was originally owned by the Southeastern Broadcasting Company and took its calls from co-owned WMAZ radio (940 AM, now WMAC, and 99.1 FM, now WLXF at 105.5). WMAZ-TV is the fourth-oldest television station in the state of Georgia and the oldest outside of Atlanta, beating WDAK-TV (now WTVM) in Columbus to the air by only one day. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded Southeastern Broadcasting a license to operate a television station on its second try; it had previously made an unsuccessful bid for the VHF channel 7 allocation one year earlier in 1952. The new station was one of the most powerful VHF stations in the country, providing at least secondary signal coverage from the southern Atlanta suburbs to the western suburbs of Savannah.
The station has been a primary CBS affiliate from its launch, owing to its radio sister's longtime affiliation with the
After the failure of WNEX-TV, WMAZ was the only commercial television station in the Macon market until September 1968, when WCWB-TV (channel 41, now
/ABC affiliate) started operations in April 1982.In 1974, WMAZ-AM-FM-TV moved to a new studio facility on Gray Highway in Macon. WMAZ-TV remains the only VHF station in Macon. This was due partly to an exception to the FCC's "2+1⁄2 + 1" plan for allocating VHF television bandwidth. In the early days of broadcast television, there were twelve VHF channels available, and 69
However, Macon is sandwiched between Atlanta (channels
The station's longtime slogan, "Straight from the Heart", dates back to 1983, when WMAZ-TV debuted an image campaign based on
On July 24, 1995, the
On June 29, 2015, the Gannett Company split in two, with one side specializing in print media and the other side specializing in broadcast and digital media. WMAZ-TV was retained by the latter company, renamed Tegna.[9]
WMAZ-DT2
WMAZ-DT2, branded on-air as Central Georgia's CW, is the CW-affiliated second digital subchannel of WMAZ-TV, broadcasting in 720p high definition on channel 13.2. All programming on WMAZ-DT2 is received through The CW's programming feed for smaller media markets, The CW Plus, which provides a set schedule of syndicated programming acquired by The CW for broadcast during time periods outside of the network's regular programming hours; however, Tegna handles local advertising and promotional services for the subchannel.
History
The subchannel's history traces back to the September 21, 1998, launch of "WBMN", a cable-only affiliate of
Prior to the launch of the
On January 24, 2006, the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner and CBS Corporation announced that the two companies would shut down The WB and UPN and combine the networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network called The CW.[10][11] The CW Plus was created by the network as a replacement for The WB 100+ Station Group to allow the existing cable outlets as well as low-power analog stations and digital subchannels of major network affiliates in smaller markets that joined The WB 100+ in the years following its launch to maintain a network affiliation; "WBMN" affiliated with The CW Plus on September 18, 2006, upon the launch of The CW.
On October 3, 2013, the Gannett Company announced that WMAZ-TV will carry The CW on a new second digital subchannel, retaining the "Central Georgia's CW" branding used by "WBMN".
News operation
WMAZ-TV presently broadcasts 27 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with four hours each weekday and three hours each on Saturdays and Sundays); in addition, the station produces five hours of newscasts each week (with one hour each weekday) for WMAZ-DT2. It has been the far-and-away market leader in Macon for as long as records have been kept. Not only did it essentially have the market to itself for its first 15 years on the air, but it was the only reliably viewable station in much of the market until cable television arrived in central Georgia in the early 1980s.
On November 4, 2011, WMAZ moved production of its newscasts to the set used by its legal advice program Law Call, with the normal red and black newsroom/control room backdrop. Three days later, on November 7, the station (via the
On April 18, 2018, WMAZ dropped the Eyewitness name from the newscast's title that it had used since the early 1980s to coincide with the switch to the new Tegna standardized music and graphics package. The newscasts are now identified as 13 WMAZ News.
Notable former on-air staff
- Vanessa Echols – reporter (1983–1987; later at WFTV in Orlando, Florida, now retired)
- Joel Godard – weather anchor (early 1970s; later worked as an announcer, notable for working on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade)
- Fox News Channel)[14]
- David Lloyd – intern (1986; now at ESPN on SportsCenter)
- Scott McGrew (1991–1993; now at KNTV in San Jose, California)
- Maureen O'Boyle – morning anchor/reporter (1982–1987; later anchor of the syndicated newsmagazines A Current Affair and Extra; now evening anchor at WBTV in Charlotte)
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
13.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WMAZ-TV | CBS |
13.2 | 720p | WMAZTV2 | The CW Plus | |
13.3 | 480i | 4:3 |
Crime | True Crime Network |
13.4 | 16:9 | Twist | Quest | |
13.5 | Quest | The Nest | ||
13.6 | ShopLC | Shop LC |
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WMAZ-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Telecasting Yearbook 1954-1955 page 100
- ^ "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Expanding in TV, Gannett Agrees to Buy Multimedia". The New York Times. July 25, 1995.
- ^ "Gannett, Multimedia announce merger agreement" (Press release). Gannett Company. December 4, 1995. Archived from the original on January 7, 2013.
- ^ Jim Stafford (December 2, 1995). "Sale Due For KOCO In Merger". The Daily Oklahoman. Oklahoma Publishing Company. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- ^ "Gannett Deal Yields Ownership Conflict". The Journal Record. The Journal Record Publishing Company. July 26, 1995.[dead link]
- Cahners Business Information. p. 18. Retrieved October 18, 2017 – via American Radio History.
- ^ "Gannett Announces Agreement with Argyle Television Inc" (Press release). Gannett Company. November 20, 1996. Retrieved October 18, 2017 – via Tegna Inc.
- ^ "Separation of Gannett into two public companies completed | TEGNA". Tegna. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
- CNNMoney.com, January 24, 2006.
- ^ UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
- ^ "13WMAZ Will Broadcast The CW Network on Digital Channel 13.2". WMAZ-TV. October 3, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- ^ "Central Georgia's CW is On the Air on WMAZ 13.2". WMAZ-TV. October 3, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- ^ "Phil Keating Bio". Fox News. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WMAZ