WSFA
This article possibly contains original research. (May 2015) |
FCC | |
Facility ID | 13993 |
---|---|
ERP | 32.1 kW |
HAAT | 575 m (1,886 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 31°58′29″N 86°9′44″W / 31.97472°N 86.16222°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WSFA (channel 12) is a television station in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate WBXM-CD (channel 15). The two stations share studios on Dexter Avenue in downtown Montgomery; WSFA's transmitter is located in Grady along the Montgomery–Pike county line.
WSFA was one of two flagship television properties (alongside CBS affiliate WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina) of previous owner Raycom Media, which had headquarters downtown at the RSA Tower. The station boasts one of the largest coverage areas in Alabama, providing at least secondary coverage from the geographical center of the state to the Florida state line and from the Black Belt region to the Chattahoochee River bordering Georgia.[3]
WSFA was formerly the default NBC affiliate for
History
The station's call letters—SFA—are an acronym for "South's Finest Airport".
By the mid-1950s, the new medium of television was sweeping the nation and Persons won the
Only two months later, in February 1955, Persons sold WSFA-AM-TV to the Gaylord family's
The television station was sold again, in 1959, to the Broadcasting Company of the South of Columbia, South Carolina. A subsidiary of the Liberty Life Insurance Company, the company renamed itself Cosmos Broadcasting Corporation in 1965. Later in the decade, Liberty reorganized itself as Liberty Corporation with Cosmos and Liberty Life as its subsidiaries.
WSFA was the area's only VHF station until 1985, when
On June 25, 2018, Atlanta-based Gray Television announced it had reached an agreement to merge with Raycom Media in $3.6 billion transaction.[6][7][8][9] The sale was approved on December 20, 2018,[10] and was completed on January 2, 2019.[11]
News operation
Local programming includes WSFA's major commitment[3]—regional and local news—with shows such as Alabama Live, WSFA 12 News First at 4, WSFA 12 News at 6, and WSFA 12 News at 10.
As the only VHF station in town for 31 years, WSFA has been the dominant news station in Montgomery for as long as records have been kept. It has always aired a considerable amount of news programming for what has always been a small market (it is currently the 118th market). Today, WSFA airs over thirty hours of local newscasts per week, far and away the most of any station in Montgomery.
News programming is also on the subchannel during the time that its primary channel is airing network programming.[12]
Not long after the Gaylord family bought the station in 1955, they dispatched
On January 15, 2007, it added an entertainment/lifestyle magazine-type program known as Alabama Live. Airing weekday mornings at 11, the show reflects on its slogan of "Coverage. Community. Commitment." because it incorporates special features and guest interviews usually not conducted in traditional newscasts. WSFA established a news share agreement with Fox affiliate WCOV (owned by the Woods Communications Corporation) on January 7, 2008. This resulted in a 35-minute newscast being added on that station, weeknights at 9. It was known as Fox News at 9 because the broadcast was simulcasted on then-WSFA sister station and fellow Fox affiliate WDFX-TV in Dothan. A weekend half-hour edition began in summer 2008.
On August 3, 2008, WSFA upgraded its newscasts to
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
12.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WSFA | Main WSFA programming / NBC |
12.2 | 480i | Bounce | Bounce TV | |
12.3 | Circle | Circle
| ||
12.4 | Grit | Grit | ||
12.5 | DABL | Dabl |
WSFA-DT2 had been part of the
The third
Analog to digital conversion
WSFA shut down its analog signal, over
References
- ^ Nelson, Bob (October 18, 2008). "Call Letter Origins". The Broadcast Archive. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WSFA". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ a b c d e f "History of WSFA-TV". WSFA.com. 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ^ Phillips, Greg (May 6, 2013). "Dothan getting NBC affiliate". Dothan Eagle. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
- ^ Bass, S. Jonathan (October 13, 2011) [January 13, 2009]. "Seth Gordon Persons (1951–55)". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ^ "GRAY AND RAYCOM TO COMBINE IN A $3.6 BILLION TRANSACTION". Raycom Media (Press release). June 25, 2018.
- ^ Miller, Mark K. (June 25, 2018). "Gray To Buy Raycom For $3.6 Billion". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- ^ John Eggerton (June 25, 2018). "Gray Buying Raycom for $3.6B". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
- ^ Dade Hayes (June 25, 2018). "Gray Acquiring Raycom For $3.65B, Forming No. 3 Local TV Group". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
- ^ "FCC OK with Gray/Raycom Merger", Broadcasting & Cable, December 20, 2018, Retrieved December 20, 2018.
- ^ "Gray Closes On $3.6 Billion Raycom Merger". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
- ^ Marszalek, Diana (July 23, 2013). "News Finds A New Home Among Diginets". TV News Check. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WSFA
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.