WAGT
Encyclopedia
WAGT is the NBC
-affiliated television station
for the Central Savannah River Area
(CSRA) of East-Central Georgia
and West-Central South Carolina
. Licensed to Augusta, Georgia
, it broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 30 (or virtual channel
26.2 via PSIP) from a transmitter in the Spiderweb
section of Beech Island, South Carolina
. The station can also be seen on Comcast
and Knology
channel 8. There is a high definition feed offered on Comcast digital channel 232 and Knology digital channel 903. Owned by Schurz Communications
, WAGT is operated through joint sales and shared services
agreements by Media General
as a sister outlet to ABC
affiliate WJBF
. This station currently has studios on Broad Street
/US 1
/US 25
/SR 28
/SR 104
in Downtown Augusta
while WJBF has facilities nearby on Reynolds Street. Syndicated
programming on WAGT includes The Andy Griffith Show
, Dr. Phil
, The Doctors
and Judge Joe Brown among others.
digital subchannel
. Known on-air as CW Augusta, this can also be seen on Knology
channel 12 and Comcast
channel 23. WAGT-DT2 gets all of its programming from The CW Plus
.
in 1968 with the call sign WATU-TV as the third television station in Augusta. Two Washington, D.C.
-based men, Harold Twisdale and David Steel, were the leaders of the original ownership group. Airing an analog signal on UHF channel 26, it was an NBC affiliate from the start. Unfortunately, the station became one of numerous UHF start-ups of that era to fail to obtain a foothold against long-established VHF competition. Despite the presence of WATU, NBC continued to keep a secondary affiliation with ABC affiliate WJBF and CBS
affiliate WRDW-TV
(as it had since October 1, 1966).
This was likely because most Augusta-area viewers still didn't have UHF-capable sets. In fact, it was not unusual for tape-delayed NBC programs to air on both WJBF and WRDW between 7 and 7:30 p.m. before the respective networks' prime-time feeds began for the evening. WJBF also aired NBC's Today and Tonight
shows. It did not help matters that most of the South Carolina
side of the market
got a better signal from WIS
in Columbia
. Mainly because of those situations, WATU went dark in 1970.
It stayed off the air for four years until the station was able to secure a full NBC affiliation and return to the air. Twisdale and Steel sold WATU to local businessmen Thomas Jones and Francis Robertson, operating as Augusta Telecasters Inc., in the late-1970s. Jones and Robertson, in turn, sold to current owner Schurz Communications in 1980. WATU changed its call letters to WAGT in late-1981 and the station moved to its present location on Broad Street. For much of the late-1980s and early-1990s, it used the on-air branding "26 Power".
At some point in the early-2000s, the station began to manage and promote the area's cable-only
WB affiliate "WBAU". The service signed-on in 2000 but was originally operated by a separate entity. In early-2007, WAGT once again changed its identity to prepare for the digital phase-out of channel numbers in February 2009. This time it became "NBC Augusta" which resulted in the complete phase out of the channel number. In 2008, the station began branding in several voice promos and during newscasts referring to themselves as "NBC Augusta 26". However, there were no major graphical changes due to the new "NBC Augusta" graphics being created by Giant Octopus.
In 2009, the bug logo on the newscasts introduced a modified "NBC Augusta" logo with a bold Century Gothic typeface "26" off to the right of the logo. There have been several voice-over sequences within promos and graphics that have updated the branding to "NBC Augusta 26" without a change in graphics. However the main station graphics, its website, and the station's weather cut-ins during programming hours still brand as "NBC Augusta". At this point, WAGT brands as either "NBC Augusta" or "NBC 26". Newscast graphics were redesigned in 2009 to reflect the new "NBC Augusta 26" brand although the website still brands as "NBC Augusta".
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN
announced that the networks would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of corporate parents CBS
(the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros.
unit of Time Warner
. On February 22, News Corporation
announced that it would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV
. This new service, which would be a sister network to Fox, would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created in order to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming Independent. It was also created to compete against The CW. WRDW offered UPN on a second digital subchannel which was announced as the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate. As a result of WAGT's association with WBAU, it received rights to carry The CW. Schurz decided to do away with the fictional call sign upon launching a simulcast of the station on a new second digital subchannel of WAGT.
In October 2009, the parent companies of WAGT and WJBF announced that the two would enter into joint sales and shared services agreements in January 2010. This resulted in the two combining news operations, sales, and other operational services. It was later announced that WJBF would control all of WAGT's news and advertising operations while that station handle programming and the maintaining of Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulations. Most of WAGT's managerial staff were dismissed and other employees were reassigned to different positions. Media General had initially intended to move WAGT into an expanded wing of WJBF's studios on Reynolds Street. However, that facility, built in 1956, is unable to sustain the expansion needed to house both stations. Media General instead chose to construct a new building for the stations. The new facility at the Augusta West Shopping Center was expected to be completed by April 2011, but was ultimately pushed back until October.
on-the-air, WAGT aired virtually no local newscasts apart from brief news and weather cut-ins during Today on weekday mornings. On September 21, 1995, the station finally established its first news department with broadcasts under the name 26 News. Initially included in the launch was a nightly show at 11. Soon after, a broadcast seen every night at 6 and a weekday morning newscast were added to the schedule. The latter program was expanded in June 2003 to a full two-hours from 5 until 7 in the morning resulting in WAGT being the first outlet in the market to do so. In addition, there was also a thirty minute news and lifestyle show weekdays at noon called Top 'o the Day. Although that program would eventually be dropped, the station added a new midday newscast at 11 on September 10, 2007 that aired for a half-hour.
For the most part over the years, WAGT has traditionally maintained a third place ranking among the area's other big three affiliates
. The station has changed its branding several times to improve ratings
and increase viewership by adopting variations including 26 Action News
. It finally re-branded in 2003 as WAGT News. Between 2003 and 2005, Action News was completely phased out along with the "3D Weather" (a.k.a. "3 Degree Guarantee") weather segment. In 2005, its newscasts were branded as NBC 26 News phasing out the call letters "WAGT" in most but not all station graphics and logos. This was due to the fact the graphics package produced through Television By Design was less than a year old and still carried the WAGT News moniker. Along with this re-brand came other changes such as updates to the set, graphics package, and the regional Doppler
weather radar
.
After WJBF renovated its studios in 2004, the station entered into a news share agreement with Fox affiliate WFXG
(then owned by Southeastern Media Holdings
and operated by Raycom Media
). The outsourcing arrangement resulted in a nightly prime time newscast to debut on that station. Known as Fox 54 News at 10, the thirty minute program originated from WJBF's facility on Reynolds Street in Downtown Augusta
. The broadcast featured different on-air graphics and modified WJBF's existing set with separate duratrans
in order to conceal that station's logo. The principal look of the set and on-air graphics for Fox 54 News at 10 remained the same from the newscast's launch and always used Gari Media Group's "The X Package" as its music theme.
Meanwhile, WAGT decided to establish its own weeknight prime time newscast at 10 in 2004 to offer an alternative against WFXG's effort. The production launched a few days after that outlet's show and initially seen on Class A
Independent station WBEK-CA
(ironically Augusta's original Fox station) through a similar outsourcing arrangement. Known as WBEK 16 News at 10, this program was soon cancelled due to low ratings and inconsistent viewership. The broadcast was unable to directly compete against WFXG's news because that broadcast was very successful in the time slot from its start.
After being retooled, WAGT's weeknight prime time newscast was relaunched on WBAU and became known as WB 23 News at 10. With that station's September 2006 affiliation switch to The CW, WAGT renamed the broadcast CW Augusta Now and tailored its format towards a younger audience as was the case with the newly-formed network. On April 23, 2007 in an attempt to boost continual anemic ratings, WAGT decided to drop the CW Augusta Now title and its fast-paced format replacing it with a more traditional newscast. However, NBC Augusta News at 10 was still unable to mount a strong challenge and alternative to WFXG's newscast so it was cancelled in April 2008.
Following a national trend among television stations, WAGT's continual third place ranking and low advertising sales resulted in Schurz Communications handing over daily operations to Media General and rival WJBF. In January 2010, WAGT dropped its weekday midday show and added a weeknight newscast at 7 that can currently be seen for a half-hour. Although physical operations of WAGT and WJBF remained based at their respective facilities for the time being, later plans called for this outlet to move into expanded space at WJBF's studios.
Media General ultimately decided to construct a new combined facility at the Augusta West Shopping Center in a former Barnes & Noble
bookstore. After completed in October 2011, WAGT and WJBF finally upgraded newscasts to full high definition complete with separate sets and updated graphics packages. Rival WRDW became Augusta's first television station to add 16:9
widescreen
enhanced definition broadcasts on August 17, 2010 and upgraded to full high fefinition (another area first) on January 24, 2011. WJBF continued producing Fox 54 News at 10 for WFXG despite the operational agreements with WAGT. As a result, some reporters and video footage from this station began to be seen on WFXG.
On September 26, 2011 after terminating the seven year old news share agreement with WJBF, WFXG launched its first ever in-house news operation, becoming the second station to broadcast local newscasts in High Definition. On the same day, WJBF introduced another prime time broadcast at 10 on WAGT-DT2. Known as NewsChannel 6 at 10 on The CW, the news is seen every night for thirty minutes. Despite airing on a second digital subchannel of WAGT, the program has WJBF branding and features anchors from that station. On October 31, WAGT became the last television station to upgrade local newscasts to high definition. Like all CW Plus affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
, WAGT-DT2
continues airing the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz
on weekdays from 6 until 9.
Anchors
StormTracker Meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for the Central Savannah River Area
Central Savannah River Area
The Central Savannah River Area is a 13-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is also considered to include five to eight counties in South Carolina. The term was coined in 1950 by C.C. McCollum, the winner of a $250 contest held by The Augusta Chronicle to generate the best name for the...
(CSRA) of East-Central Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and West-Central South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Licensed to Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, it broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 30 (or virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
26.2 via PSIP) from a transmitter in the Spiderweb
Spiderweb, South Carolina
Spiderweb is a populated place in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. The name was collected by the United States Geological Survey between 1976 and 1980, and entered into the Geographic Names Information System on July 13, 1980.-References:...
section of Beech Island, South Carolina
Beech Island, South Carolina
Beech Island is an unincorporated community of Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. It appears to take its name from Beech Island, a nearby former island that is politically part of Georgia but geographically separated from the rest of Georgia by a river which changed its bed...
. The station can also be seen on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
and Knology
Knology
Knology Inc. is a cable company that formed in 1994 by ITC Holding Company, Inc, a telecommunications holding company in West Point, Georgia that also founded Internet service provider Mindspring. In late 1994, shortly after Knology's inception, two employees made a $600,000 investment to make...
channel 8. There is a high definition feed offered on Comcast digital channel 232 and Knology digital channel 903. Owned by Schurz Communications
Schurz Communications
Schurz Communications is a South Bend, Indiana-based radio, television, cable tv and newspaper media group.-Cable Television Systems:*Antietam Cable, Hagerstown, Maryland *Advanced Cable Communications, Coral Springs, Florida...
, WAGT is operated through joint sales and shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
agreements by Media General
Media General
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. Its major properties include newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as numerous television stations, such as flagship station WFLA-TV.The company was...
as a sister outlet to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate WJBF
WJBF
WJBF, News Channel 6, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Augusta, Georgia, USA. WJBF is owned by the broadcast division of Media General, and formerly had its studios on Reynolds Street in downtown Augusta for over 50 years before moving to a new location near the Augusta Mall in October...
. This station currently has studios on Broad Street
Broad Street Historic District (Augusta, Georgia)
The Broad Street Historic District in Augusta, Georgia is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It includes 158 contributing buildings....
/US 1
U.S. Route 1 in Georgia
U.S. Route 1 in Georgia is also mostly signed as the state highway State Route 4. The route crosses the St. Marys River from Florida near Waycross and crosses the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia into North Augusta, South Carolina....
/US 25
U.S. Route 25
U.S. Route 25 is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Brunswick, Georgia to the Ohio state line in Covington, Kentucky.-Georgia:...
/SR 28
Georgia State Route 28
State Route 28 is the Georgia segments of a multi-state Route 28 that runs from southwestern Aiken County, South Carolina northwestward to northern Graham County, North Carolina. The route has two segments in Georgia totalling .-Southern segment:...
/SR 104
Georgia State Route 104
Georgia State Route 104 is a spur route of its parent, GA 4. It is more commonly referred to as both River Watch Parkway and Washington Road in the Augusta, Georgia area.-Routing:...
in Downtown Augusta
Augusta Downtown Historic District
Augusta Downtown Historic District is a historic district that encompasses most of Downtown Augusta, Georgia and its pre-Civil War area.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.-Notable Historic sites:...
while WJBF has facilities nearby on Reynolds Street. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on WAGT includes The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...
and Judge Joe Brown among others.
Digital programming
It operates the area's CW affiliate on a secondWAGT-DT2
WAGT-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station for the Central Savannah River Area of East-Central Georgia and West-Central South Carolina. The station is part of The CW Plus, a special national feed of the network broadcasting on cable and/or over-the-air on a digital signal...
digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
. Known on-air as CW Augusta, this can also be seen on Knology
Knology
Knology Inc. is a cable company that formed in 1994 by ITC Holding Company, Inc, a telecommunications holding company in West Point, Georgia that also founded Internet service provider Mindspring. In late 1994, shortly after Knology's inception, two employees made a $600,000 investment to make...
channel 12 and Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
channel 23. WAGT-DT2 gets all of its programming from The CW Plus
The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
.
| Channels | Name | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26.1 | WAGT-HD | 720p 720p 720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
Main WAGT programming / NBC |
| 26.2 | WAGT-DT2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | "CW Augusta" |
History
The station began operations Christmas EveChristmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
in 1968 with the call sign WATU-TV as the third television station in Augusta. Two Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-based men, Harold Twisdale and David Steel, were the leaders of the original ownership group. Airing an analog signal on UHF channel 26, it was an NBC affiliate from the start. Unfortunately, the station became one of numerous UHF start-ups of that era to fail to obtain a foothold against long-established VHF competition. Despite the presence of WATU, NBC continued to keep a secondary affiliation with ABC affiliate WJBF and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WRDW-TV
WRDW-TV
WRDW-TV, channel 12, is a CBS-affiliated television station located in Augusta, Georgia, USA. WRDW-TV is owned by Atlanta-based Gray Television, and also provides digital subchannels for MyNetworkTV on channel 12.2 and The Country Network on channel 12.3...
(as it had since October 1, 1966).
This was likely because most Augusta-area viewers still didn't have UHF-capable sets. In fact, it was not unusual for tape-delayed NBC programs to air on both WJBF and WRDW between 7 and 7:30 p.m. before the respective networks' prime-time feeds began for the evening. WJBF also aired NBC's Today and Tonight
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
shows. It did not help matters that most of the South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
side of the market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
got a better signal from WIS
WIS
WIS, channel 10, is an NBC-affiliated television station in Columbia, South Carolina, USA. Owned by Raycom Media, WIS has studios on Bull Street in downtown Columbia, and transmitter located in Lugoff, South Carolina.-History:...
in Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
. Mainly because of those situations, WATU went dark in 1970.
It stayed off the air for four years until the station was able to secure a full NBC affiliation and return to the air. Twisdale and Steel sold WATU to local businessmen Thomas Jones and Francis Robertson, operating as Augusta Telecasters Inc., in the late-1970s. Jones and Robertson, in turn, sold to current owner Schurz Communications in 1980. WATU changed its call letters to WAGT in late-1981 and the station moved to its present location on Broad Street. For much of the late-1980s and early-1990s, it used the on-air branding "26 Power".
At some point in the early-2000s, the station began to manage and promote the area's cable-only
The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
WB affiliate "WBAU". The service signed-on in 2000 but was originally operated by a separate entity. In early-2007, WAGT once again changed its identity to prepare for the digital phase-out of channel numbers in February 2009. This time it became "NBC Augusta" which resulted in the complete phase out of the channel number. In 2008, the station began branding in several voice promos and during newscasts referring to themselves as "NBC Augusta 26". However, there were no major graphical changes due to the new "NBC Augusta" graphics being created by Giant Octopus.
In 2009, the bug logo on the newscasts introduced a modified "NBC Augusta" logo with a bold Century Gothic typeface "26" off to the right of the logo. There have been several voice-over sequences within promos and graphics that have updated the branding to "NBC Augusta 26" without a change in graphics. However the main station graphics, its website, and the station's weather cut-ins during programming hours still brand as "NBC Augusta". At this point, WAGT brands as either "NBC Augusta" or "NBC 26". Newscast graphics were redesigned in 2009 to reflect the new "NBC Augusta 26" brand although the website still brands as "NBC Augusta".
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
announced that the networks would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of corporate parents CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
(the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
unit of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
. On February 22, News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
announced that it would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
. This new service, which would be a sister network to Fox, would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created in order to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming Independent. It was also created to compete against The CW. WRDW offered UPN on a second digital subchannel which was announced as the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate. As a result of WAGT's association with WBAU, it received rights to carry The CW. Schurz decided to do away with the fictional call sign upon launching a simulcast of the station on a new second digital subchannel of WAGT.
In October 2009, the parent companies of WAGT and WJBF announced that the two would enter into joint sales and shared services agreements in January 2010. This resulted in the two combining news operations, sales, and other operational services. It was later announced that WJBF would control all of WAGT's news and advertising operations while that station handle programming and the maintaining of Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) regulations. Most of WAGT's managerial staff were dismissed and other employees were reassigned to different positions. Media General had initially intended to move WAGT into an expanded wing of WJBF's studios on Reynolds Street. However, that facility, built in 1956, is unable to sustain the expansion needed to house both stations. Media General instead chose to construct a new building for the stations. The new facility at the Augusta West Shopping Center was expected to be completed by April 2011, but was ultimately pushed back until October.
News operation
For at least the first quarter of a centuryCentury
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...
on-the-air, WAGT aired virtually no local newscasts apart from brief news and weather cut-ins during Today on weekday mornings. On September 21, 1995, the station finally established its first news department with broadcasts under the name 26 News. Initially included in the launch was a nightly show at 11. Soon after, a broadcast seen every night at 6 and a weekday morning newscast were added to the schedule. The latter program was expanded in June 2003 to a full two-hours from 5 until 7 in the morning resulting in WAGT being the first outlet in the market to do so. In addition, there was also a thirty minute news and lifestyle show weekdays at noon called Top 'o the Day. Although that program would eventually be dropped, the station added a new midday newscast at 11 on September 10, 2007 that aired for a half-hour.
For the most part over the years, WAGT has traditionally maintained a third place ranking among the area's other big three affiliates
Big Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...
. The station has changed its branding several times to improve ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
and increase viewership by adopting variations including 26 Action News
Action News
Action News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
. It finally re-branded in 2003 as WAGT News. Between 2003 and 2005, Action News was completely phased out along with the "3D Weather" (a.k.a. "3 Degree Guarantee") weather segment. In 2005, its newscasts were branded as NBC 26 News phasing out the call letters "WAGT" in most but not all station graphics and logos. This was due to the fact the graphics package produced through Television By Design was less than a year old and still carried the WAGT News moniker. Along with this re-brand came other changes such as updates to the set, graphics package, and the regional Doppler
Pulse-doppler radar
Pulse-Doppler is a 4D radar system capable of detecting both target 3D location as well as measuring radial velocity . It uses the Doppler effect to avoid overloading computers and operators as well as to reduce power consumption...
weather radar
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
.
After WJBF renovated its studios in 2004, the station entered into a news share agreement with Fox affiliate WFXG
WFXG
WFXG is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Central Savannah River Area of East-Central Georgia and West-Central South Carolina. Licensed to Augusta, Georgia, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 51 from a transmitter in Beech Island, South Carolina's Spiderweb...
(then owned by Southeastern Media Holdings
Southeastern Media Holdings
Southeastern Media Holdings is a broadcasting company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It owns television stations in several cities in the Southeastern United States.-Fox Affiliates:* WXTX-TV, Columbus, Georgia* WSFX-TV, Wilmington, North Carolina...
and operated by Raycom Media
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
). The outsourcing arrangement resulted in a nightly prime time newscast to debut on that station. Known as Fox 54 News at 10, the thirty minute program originated from WJBF's facility on Reynolds Street in Downtown Augusta
Augusta Downtown Historic District
Augusta Downtown Historic District is a historic district that encompasses most of Downtown Augusta, Georgia and its pre-Civil War area.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.-Notable Historic sites:...
. The broadcast featured different on-air graphics and modified WJBF's existing set with separate duratrans
Duratrans
A duratrans is an element used in some television news sets and theater designs. Duratrans are most often used to create the backgrounds that appear behind news presenters or anchors. If it is used in a theatre the backgrounds would appear behind the actors, actresses, and other talent respectively...
in order to conceal that station's logo. The principal look of the set and on-air graphics for Fox 54 News at 10 remained the same from the newscast's launch and always used Gari Media Group's "The X Package" as its music theme.
Meanwhile, WAGT decided to establish its own weeknight prime time newscast at 10 in 2004 to offer an alternative against WFXG's effort. The production launched a few days after that outlet's show and initially seen on Class A
Class A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
Independent station WBEK-CA
WBEK-CA
WBEK-CA is a low-power television station in Augusta, Georgia , broadcasting locally on UHF channel 16 as an affiliate of America One...
(ironically Augusta's original Fox station) through a similar outsourcing arrangement. Known as WBEK 16 News at 10, this program was soon cancelled due to low ratings and inconsistent viewership. The broadcast was unable to directly compete against WFXG's news because that broadcast was very successful in the time slot from its start.
After being retooled, WAGT's weeknight prime time newscast was relaunched on WBAU and became known as WB 23 News at 10. With that station's September 2006 affiliation switch to The CW, WAGT renamed the broadcast CW Augusta Now and tailored its format towards a younger audience as was the case with the newly-formed network. On April 23, 2007 in an attempt to boost continual anemic ratings, WAGT decided to drop the CW Augusta Now title and its fast-paced format replacing it with a more traditional newscast. However, NBC Augusta News at 10 was still unable to mount a strong challenge and alternative to WFXG's newscast so it was cancelled in April 2008.
Following a national trend among television stations, WAGT's continual third place ranking and low advertising sales resulted in Schurz Communications handing over daily operations to Media General and rival WJBF. In January 2010, WAGT dropped its weekday midday show and added a weeknight newscast at 7 that can currently be seen for a half-hour. Although physical operations of WAGT and WJBF remained based at their respective facilities for the time being, later plans called for this outlet to move into expanded space at WJBF's studios.
Media General ultimately decided to construct a new combined facility at the Augusta West Shopping Center in a former Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
bookstore. After completed in October 2011, WAGT and WJBF finally upgraded newscasts to full high definition complete with separate sets and updated graphics packages. Rival WRDW became Augusta's first television station to add 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
enhanced definition broadcasts on August 17, 2010 and upgraded to full high fefinition (another area first) on January 24, 2011. WJBF continued producing Fox 54 News at 10 for WFXG despite the operational agreements with WAGT. As a result, some reporters and video footage from this station began to be seen on WFXG.
On September 26, 2011 after terminating the seven year old news share agreement with WJBF, WFXG launched its first ever in-house news operation, becoming the second station to broadcast local newscasts in High Definition. On the same day, WJBF introduced another prime time broadcast at 10 on WAGT-DT2. Known as NewsChannel 6 at 10 on The CW, the news is seen every night for thirty minutes. Despite airing on a second digital subchannel of WAGT, the program has WJBF branding and features anchors from that station. On October 31, WAGT became the last television station to upgrade local newscasts to high definition. Like all CW Plus affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
, WAGT-DT2
WAGT-DT2
WAGT-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station for the Central Savannah River Area of East-Central Georgia and West-Central South Carolina. The station is part of The CW Plus, a special national feed of the network broadcasting on cable and/or over-the-air on a digital signal...
continues airing the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz is a nationally syndicated breakfast television news and infotainment program. The show is produced by Fisher Communications and is owned and distributed by ACME Communications; it is broadcast every weekday morning from studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida...
on weekdays from 6 until 9.
Station/Newscast branding
- TV 26 (1981-1986)
- 26 Power (1986-1995)
- WAGT did not produce traditional newscasts until 1995.
- TV 26/26 News (1995-1998)
- NBC 26/'26 Action News (1998-2003)
- NBC 26/WAGT News (2003-2005)
- NBC 26/NBC 26 News (2005-2007)
- NBC Augusta/NBC Augusta News (2007-2008)
- NBC Augusta 26/NBC Augusta 26 News (2008-2010)
- NBC 26/NBC 26 News (2010-present)
Station slogans
- "We're Augusta's Great Television" (general station slogan based on call sign, used sporadically)
- "Georgia Carolina's News Leader" (2004-2008)
- "Straight to the Point." (2008-2010)
News team
+ denotes WJBF personnelAnchors
- Liz Hill - weekday mornings and reporter
- Paige Tucker - weeknights at 6, 7 and 11
- + John Hart - weeknights at 10 and reporter
- + Kimberely Scott - weeknights at 10 and digital journalist
- + Jillian Benfield - weekends at 10 and digital journalist
- Ashley Campbell - weekends at 11 and Columbia County, GeorgiaColumbia County, GeorgiaColumbia County is a county located in the US state of Georgia along the Savannah River. As of 2010 the population was 124,054 a growth of 39% from the 2000 census figure of 89,288. The de jure county seat is Appling. Appling is an unincorporated area, making Columbia one of only three counties...
reporter (also "Restaurant Report Card" segment producer)
StormTracker Meteorologists
- Jeff Rucker (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Seal of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights at 6, 7 and 11 - + George Myers - weeknights at 10
- Jay Jefferies - weekday mornings and "Where in Augusta is Jay Jefferies?" segment producer
- + Jenna Lee Thomas - weekends at 10 and feature digital journalist
- Rich Rogers - weekends at 11
Sports
- Jason Folk - DirectorSports DirectorA sports director is an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. In local news, the sports director is typically the station's primary sportscaster, and often anchors the primetime newscasts on weekdays. They are in charge of sports programming and...
seen weeknights at 6, 7 and 11 - + Chris Kane - weeknights at 10
- + Merissa Lynn - weekends at 10 and news digital journalist
- Brendan Robertson - weekends at 11 and sports reporter
Reporters
- + Kait Rayner - Aiken County, South CarolinaAiken County, South CarolinaAiken County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 142,552; in 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had reached 160,099...
Bureau Chief - Beth Barranco - "Healthy U" segment producer
- + Archith Seshadri - digital journalist
- Jonathan Davis - associate producer
- + Brett Buffington - digital journalist
- + Cory McGinnis - digital journalist
- + George Eskola - Senior
- Courtney Khondabi
- Annie Snead