WCTV
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2013) |
FCC | |
Facility ID | 31590 |
---|---|
ERP | 570 kW |
HAAT | 617.2 m (2,025 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 30°40′14″N 83°56′26″W / 30.67056°N 83.94056°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
Translator | |
WNXG-LD | |
| |
Channels | |
History | |
First air date | May 29, 2012 |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Next Generation Television |
Technical information[2] | |
Facility ID | 187680 |
Class | LD |
ERP | 15 kW |
HAAT | 260.6 m (855 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 30°34′28″N 84°12′9″W / 30.57444°N 84.20250°W |
Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
WCTV (channel 6) is a
History
WCTV was Tallahassee and southwest Georgia's first television station. On October 13, 1954, the Tallahassee Democrat first reported on plans for the new station. On August 29, 1955, the station began airing a test pattern. It signed on for the first time on September 15, 1955, from studios on North Monroe Street in Tallahassee. WCTV was originally owned by John H. Phipps.
Although it has always considered itself a Tallahassee station, it was licensed to Thomasville because the
Hoyt Wimpy, owner and founder of WPAX radio in Thomasville, persuaded the FCC to grant the Phipps family a license for channel 6 in Thomasville, the nearest city to Tallahassee that had a VHF allocation available. This could provide city-grade coverage of Tallahassee and north central Florida as well as southwestern Georgia. By this time, the FCC had changed its regulations to allow a station to operate its main studio outside its city of license. As a result, WCTV has been a Tallahassee station from the very beginning. However, it has always identified as serving "Thomasville–Tallahassee," and has operated a live studio, news bureau and advertising sales office in Thomasville for many years.
The station originally carried programming from all three networks, but was a primarily an
The Phipps family sold channel 6 to Gray Communications, now Gray Television, in 1996. Gray's purchase of WCTV forced the company to sell WALB, its flagship station in Albany, because WALB's signal has city-grade quality in most of the Georgia side of the market (including Thomasville and
In 2004, Gray purchased
In March 2006, WCTV moved from its longtime studios on County Road 12 in northern Leon County (approximately midway between Tallahassee and Thomasville) to new facilities on Halstead Boulevard in Tallahassee. The location formerly housed the now-defunct Florida's News Channel, a cable-only operation. On February 17, 2009, WCTV shut off its analog signal on channel 6,[4][5] and became digital-exclusive on UHF channel 46.[6]
On June 25, 2018, Gray Television announced that it would acquire Raycom Media, who had owned ABC affiliate WTXL-TV since 2017. Because the FCC prohibits a direct duopoly between two of the top four stations in the same market, Gray opted to retain ownership of WCTV and sell WTXL to a third party.[7] On August 20, 2018, Gray announced that they would sell both WTXL-TV and KXXV (along with semi-satellite KRHD-CD in Bryan) to the E. W. Scripps Company for $55 million.[8][9] The deal was completed on January 2, 2019.[10]
Former semi-satellite
From 2005 until 2019, WSWG operated as a semi-satellite of WCTV. As such, that station cleared all network programming as provided through its parent and simulcast most of WCTV's local newscasts (see below), but aired a separate offering of syndicated programming; there were also separate station identifications and commercial inserts.[11][12] Although master control and most internal operations of WSWG were based within WCTV's facilities, that outlet does currently maintains offices on Pine Avenue in Albany; it previously maintained a news bureau and advertising sales office on 2nd Avenue Southwest in Moultrie, Georgia.
Even though WSWG technically serves as the CBS affiliate for the Albany market, its over-the-air broadcasting radius falls just short of Albany proper. This forces the station to rely on cable and satellite for most of its viewership. However, WCTV's more powerful digital signal reaches into Albany. Despite WSWG once being a semi-satellite of WCTV, it operates two digital subchannels (serving as the MyNetworkTV/MeTV and CW affiliates for the Albany market) that are programmed separately. With the sale of WSWG to Marquee Broadcasting (enabling Gray to re-acquire WALB as part of its buyout of Raycom Media), that arrangement was formally broken in April 2019 after a transitional period.
News operation
WCTV produces 31 hours per week of local news (five hours per day on weekdays; three hours per day Saturday and Sunday). Through a news-share agreement, WCTV also produces local newscasts for the area's
WCTV has traditionally been the market's dominant station in the
During its time as a semi-satellite, WSWG simulcasted all local newscasts from WCTV, except for weeknights at 5 and 5:30. Although that station did not produce any separate southwestern-Georgia-specific segments during the simulcasted shows, WCTV formerly operated a news bureau in Valdosta. It also formerly maintained bureaus in Thomasville on North Broad Street, and in Moultrie at WSWG's sales office.
WCTV's former reporters assigned to southwest Georgia did not use any localized WSWG identification. WCTV did not provide news coverage of Albany despite WSWG being its CBS affiliate. However, there was severe weather coverage for all of the Albany market when conditions warranted, such as during a tornado warning. WCTV upgraded its news production to high definition level on August 3, 2009, and the simulcasts on WSWG were included in the switch.
Subchannels
The stations' signals are
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
6.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WCTVDT | Main WCTV programming / CBS |
6.2 | 480i | WCTVDT2 | MeTV (WFXU) | |
6.3 | The365 | The365
| ||
6.4 | ION | Ion Television | ||
6.5 | TruCrim | True Crime Network | ||
6.6 | MyNet | MyNetworkTV | ||
6.7 | ThisTV | This TV |
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
38.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WCTV-DT | CBS |
38.2 | WCTVDT2 | MeTV (WFXU) | ||
38.3 | WCTVDT3 | The365 | ||
38.4 | WCTVDT4 | Ion Television | ||
38.5 | 480i | WCTVDT5 | True Crime Network |
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WCTV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WNXG-LD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "WCTV Plans Switch To CBS Network". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. July 23, 1959. p. 7. Retrieved March 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Headlines". wctv.tv.
- ^ "hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
- ^ "CDBS Print". fjallfoss.fcc.gov.
- ^ "Gray To Buy Raycom For $3.6 Billion". TVNewsCheck.com. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ Micheli, Carolyn (August 20, 2018). "Scripps to Buy ABC Affiliates in Tallahassee, Florida, and Waco, Texas". Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ "Tegna, Scripps in Deals to Buy Network Affiliates". Broadcasting & Cable. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ Wethington, Kari (January 2, 2019). "Scripps completes acquisition of TV stations in Texas and florida; names new leadership". Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ "Titan TV Guide". titantvguide.titantv.com.
- ^ "WCTV". wctv.titantv.com.
- ^ "RabbitEars.Info". rabbitears.info.
- ^ "WNXG-LD TALLAHASSEE, FL". rabbitears.info.