WATL
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|
FCC | |
Facility ID | 22819 |
---|---|
ERP | 500 kW |
HAAT | 332 m (1,089 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°48′26.4″N 84°20′21.5″W / 33.807333°N 84.339306°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WATL (channel 36) is a television station in
History
Early history
In the fall of 1952, Robert Rounsaville, the owner of radio station
On August 17, 1964, the FCC announced that an application had been filed to transfer the WATL-TV construction permit from Robert Rounsaville to Daniel H. Overmyer for a price of $100,000;[14] FCC approval of the transfer was granted on May 12, 1965.[5] At the time of the FCC sale approval, Overmyer owned construction permits for two UHF stations, WDHO-TV in Toledo and WNOP-TV in Cincinnati. In addition, he was in the process of buying existing construction permits for two other UHF stations in San Francisco (KBAY-TV, channel 20) and Pittsburgh (WAND-TV, channel 53), as well as applying for new UHF stations in Houston and Dallas. Neither of the Overmyer-owned stations had signed on by the time of the FCC approval of the channel 36 purchase. Under Overmyer, the station permit bore the call letters WBMO-TV, for his daughter, Barbara Morton Overmyer;[5] it was to have been one of the owned-and-operated stations of the new Overmyer Network, (later United Network), which folded at the end of May 1967 after only a single month of broadcasting.[15]
Channel 36 would remain dark until the station was relaunched on August 16, 1969, having returned to the WATL-TV call letters.[16] It was jointly owned by the U.S. Communications Corporation station group of Philadelphia, a subsidiary of AVC, holding an 80 percent interest and the remaining 20% by Overmyer. Overmyer had previously sold the majority interest (80%) in the construction permits for Atlanta, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Houston to AVC on March 28, 1967, with FCC approval of their sale coming December 8, 1967.[17] None of the stations were on the air at the time of their sale to AVC, but U.S. built all but one: WATL-TV, WXIX-TV, KEMO-TV and WPGH-TV, in addition to owning Philadelphia's WPHL-TV.[18] The Houston station (KJDO-TV) was never constructed; the permit was deleted by the FCC in October 1971.[19]
U.S. Communications reportedly spent $1 million on programming in the first year, including Lost in Space and a block of dinnertime game shows. Ted Turner's WTCG (channel 17, later WTBS and now WPCH-TV), which had been operating two years longer, spent far less on programming and survived.[20][21] WATL was also the first station in the country to run music videos all weekend, on a show called The Now Explosion.[22][23]
On March 24, 1971, Frank Minner Jr., the president of U.S. Communications Corporation, announced at an Atlanta press conference that, due to low advertising revenue, WATL-TV (and KEMO-TV) would go off the air on March 31.[24][25] The last full broadcast day was March 31, 1971, and the station signed off in the early morning hours of April 1. For about a week before it left the air, the station ran :30-second announcements with a photograph of its studios at 1810 Briarcliff Road.[26][27] Turner's first move after acquiring WTCG, the UHF station that would serve as the foundation of his media empire, was to take The Now Explosion from WATL.[28]
In July 1971, U.S. Communications Corporation put WATL-TV and KEMO-TV up for sale.[29]
Stability, then transition from independent station to Fox
On July 17, 1974, two and a half years after filing to buy the station, the Briarcliff Communications Group received FCC approval to purchase the construction permit for WATL-TV from U.S. Communications Corporation for $23,500.
Channel 36 ran
The station introduced several program changes, including daily business programming from the
Outlet continued to own the station until 1989, when Outlet sold WATL, along with
In this deal, most of New World-owned longtime "Big Three"-affiliated stations, including Atlanta's longtime CBS affiliate WAGA, would switch over to the Fox network. As a result, Fox canceled the plans for a newscast on WATL and put the station up for sale.CBS, which was losing WAGA as an affiliate, made an offer to buy WATL, but backed out after Fox demanded $120 million, far more than CBS was willing to spend on the soon-to-be independent station.[42] At that point, it almost seemed likely that WATL would join the soon-to-launch United Paramount Network (UPN) in early 1995. Rival station WGNX, then owned by Tribune Broadcasting was already slated to join The WB and had turned CBS down, forcing CBS to make a deal to buy WVEU. Eventually, however, Tribune agreed to let WGNX join CBS, and WVEU became the UPN affiliate.
Changing affiliations and owners
Fox programming moved from WATL to WAGA on December 10, 1994, with WATL briefly reverting to an independent station under the branding "WATL 36". Not long after that, Fox subsequently sold the station to
On January 24, 2006,
Acquisition by Gannett
On June 5, 2006, Tribune announced that it entered into an agreement to sell WATL to the
WATL introduced its new on-air branding, MyAtlTV on August 20, 2006, ahead of the September 5 debut of MyNetworkTV (and about a month before The WB's final night of programming). Prior to the acquisition by Gannett, WATL's studios were located at One Monroe Place. When the station was acquired, WXIA management decided to move WXIA's operations to the Monroe Place studios (an atypical instance where the senior partner in a duopoly relocates to the studios of the junior partner). During construction, WATL's studios were located with WXIA at 1611 West Peachtree Street, behind competitor WSB. In the 2013–2014 television season, WATL changed its on-air name to The ATL.
Around the first week of October 2012, Gannett entered a dispute against Dish Network regarding compensation fees and Dish's AutoHop commercial-skip feature on its Hopper digital video recorders. Gannett ordered that Dish discontinue AutoHop on the account that it is affecting advertising revenues for WXIA and WATL. Gannett threatened to pull both stations should the skirmish continue beyond October 7 and Dish and Gannett fail to reach an agreement.[47][48] The two parties eventually reached an agreement after extending the deadline for a few hours.[49]
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. At that time, both WATL and WXIA became part of the latter company named Tegna Inc.[50]
Programming
The station airs Fox's
In 2014, WATL reached a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group to serve as the local outlet for its in-house syndicated programming, including Ring of Honor wrestling and the American Sports Network.[51][52]
Newscasts
In September 2006, following its acquisition by Gannett, WXIA-TV began producing a prime time newscast at 10 p.m. for WATL, My 11 Alive News at 10 (now called 11 Alive News: Primetime at 10 on The ATL); it competes against the 10:00 p.m. newscast broadcast by WAGA. On December 2, 2019, WATL began airing WXIA-produced newscasts through all three hours of prime time weeknights, bumping MyNetworkTV programming to overnight hours.
In April 2017, WATL added a 7:00 p.m. newscast; it was meant as a temporary measure to allow the sale of additional
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
36.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WATL-DT | MyNetworkTV |
36.2 | 480i | 4:3 |
This TV | This TV |
36.3 | Antenna | Antenna TV | ||
36.4 | 16:9 | QVC | QVC | |
11.2 | Quest | Quest | ||
11.11 | 1080i | WXIA-TV | NBC (WXIA-TV) |
As with the same arrangement with sister stations
From June 2006, WATL aired The Tube on digital channel 36.2, but following that network's shutdown in October 2007, the digital subchannel was deleted. In early December 2010, WXIA's 11Alive Weather Information Zone was moved from channel 11.2 to WATL's 36.2, before eventually returning it to WXIA. Atlanta-based Bounce TV aired on 36.2 from its launch on September 26, 2011, until September 25, 2017, when the network moved to WSB-TV's digital channel 2.2.[56] At that point, 36.2 went dark, until a new network was announced, but returned to the air As of 17 January 2018[update], as an affiliate of This TV, which can be also seen on WANN-CD2.
In late October 2011, Universal Sports was added to digital channel 36.3, until the network ceased over the air broadcasting and moved to cable-only distribution at the end of 2011. On December 24, 2011, the channel was replaced by former owner Tribune's Antenna TV network.[57]
In late summer 2019, the fourth subchannel of WATL was launched as a UHF simulcast of WXIA-TV, which allows homes with issues receiving WXIA's channel 10
Analog-to-digital conversion
WATL shut down its analog signal, over
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WATL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Georgia Radio Hall of Fame Robert W. Rounsaville". grhof.com.
- ^ "New Station Grants" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 15, 1952. p. 80 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Actions of FCC" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 30, 1953. p. 117 – via World Radio History.
- ^ a b c d e FCC History Cards for WATL
- ^ "WQXI-TV Goes on Air Saturday". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta Constitution. December 16, 1954. p. 31. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- ^ "Uhf WQXI-TV Goes on Air In 3-Vhf Atlanta Market" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 20, 1954. p. 73 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "First choice again" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 8, 1954. p. 19 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Georgia Radio Hall of Fame WQXI Section". grhof.com.
- ^ "Broadcasting Yearbook 1954 Page 116" (PDF) – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Television Yearbook 1955–1956 Page 94" – via World Radio History.
- ^ "WQXI Radio 3165 Mathieson Drive Atlanta" (PDF). Public Folder.
- ^ "WQXI-TV Atlanta Uhf Quits; Cites Lack of Conversions" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 6, 1955. p. 50 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "for the RecorBroadcasting" (PDF). August 24, 1964. p. 98 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "ON claims 123 affiliates" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 5, 1966. p. 42. Retrieved September 16, 2018 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Jones, Paul (August 16, 1969). "Channel 36 Goes on Air Here Today". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 3-T – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Top-50 policy set for burial" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 18, 1967. p. 95 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "WPHL-TV" (PDF). Television Factbook. 1970–1971. p. 662-b – via World Radio History.
- ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 1, 1971. p. 52 – via World Radio History.
- ISBN 978-0-313-35042-9.
- ISBN 978-0-446-58189-9.
- ^ "The Now Explosion". thenowexplosion.com.
- ^ "University of Georgia Library The Walter J Brown Media Archives". libs.uga.edu.
- ^ Goodman, Bob (March 25, 1971). "Atlanta's Channel 36 Going Off Air" (PDF). The Atlanta Journal. p. 12-D.
- ^ "Broadcasting March 29, 1971 Page 96" (PDF) – via World Radio History.
- ^ "1971 Broadcasting Yearbook Page A-17" (PDF) – via World Radio History.
- ^ "WATL-TV Studio Photograph". thenowexplosion.com. Bob Whitney.
- ^ Longino, Miriam (August 3, 2000). "'Now Explosion'". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. pp. F1, F3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "TV Stations for Sale" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 26, 1971. p. 42 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 29, 1974. p. 50 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Don Kennedy Papers". digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu. Georgia State University.
- ^ "Officer Don's Clubhouse WATL-TV" (PDF). Public Folder.
- ^ "TV Guide North Georgia Edition September 15, 1969". radiodiscussions.com.
- ^ Jones, Paul (July 5, 1976). "Ch. 36 Certainly Different". Atlanta Journal and Constitution. p. 2-C – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Irwin, Jon. "On the Other Hand." Published September 2015 on longreads.com. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ Zoglin, Richard (December 19, 1980). "Channel 36 To Offer Pay-TV Plan To Compete With Cable". Atlanta Constitution. p. 1-C, 4-C. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ Zoglin, Richard (September 9, 1982). "WATL gets new owner, shifts program direction". Atlanta Constitution. p. 3-B. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ Patureau, Alan (November 1, 1984). "WATL/36 sale delayed for tax breaks". Atlanta Constitution. p. 11-B. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ a b Herndon, Keith (April 22, 1986). "Betting on a WATL-TV turnaround". Atlanta Constitution. pp. 1-B, 7-B. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ a b Turner, Melissa (August 10, 1989). "Outlet Communications Planning to Sell Channel 36 to Connecticut Company". Atlanta Constitution. p. D-6. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "NBC Gets Final N.F.L. Contract While CBS Gets Its Sundays Off". The New York Times. December 21, 1993. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
- ^ Miles, Laureen (October 31, 1994). "All eyes on CBS in Atlanta". Mediaweek (American magazine). 4 (42): 6 – via Gale General OneFile.
- CNNMoney.com, January 24, 2006.
- ^ UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
- ^ News Corp. Unveils My Network TV, Broadcasting & Cable, February 22, 2006.
- ^ "Gannett completes the acquisition of WATL-TV Channel 36 in Atlanta". Gannett.com. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
- ^ Loose, Ashley (October 5, 2012). "DISH customers may lose Gannett programming, including 12 News KPNX, over AutoHop feature". KNXV-TV. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
- ^ Vuong, Andy (October 6, 2012). "Gannett threatening to black out stations in its dispute with Dish". The Denver Post. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
- ^ Warner, Melodie (October 8, 2012). "Dish, Gannett Reach New Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ "Separation of Gannett into two public companies completed | TEGNA". Tegna. June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
- ^ "Channel Guide for the Mercer Game on the American Sports Network". GoMocs.com. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ "Sinclair Pins Down Syndication Sale for Ring of Honor". Broadcasting & Cable. September 15, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ "11Alive adds temporary 7 p.m. newscast on WATL-TV to accommodate Ossoff/Handel political ads". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ "11Alive keeps WATL-TV 7 p.m. newscast after Handel/Ossoff race". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for WATL". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ^ Ho, Rodney (September 21, 2017). "Bounce TV moving from WATL 36.2 to WSB 2.2". AJC.COM. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
- ^ "Antenna TV Affiliation Map". Retrieved December 3, 2011.
- ^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations