WSWG
Encyclopedia
WSWG is the CBS
-affiliated television station
for Southwestern
Georgia
, licensed to Valdosta
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 43 (PSIP virtual channel
44) from a transmitter northeast of Adel
in Cook County
. The station can also be seen on Mediacom
channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 811. Owned by Gray Television
, WSWG has studios on 2nd Avenue Southwest in Moultrie
.
in Tallahassee, Florida
. Master control and some internal operations are based at that station's facilities on Halstead Boulevard next to the I-10
, SR 61/Thomasville Road, and US 319
/Capitol Circle Northeast junction in the city's Carriage Gate section. It airs some of WCTV's syndicated
programming but at different times. There are also programs that only air on WSWG while some are only seen on WCTV. This station airs separate station identifications and commercials. Syndicated programming exclusive to WSWG includes The Real Housewives of Orange County
.
affiliate. Like the main channel, it can be considered a semi-satellite of WCTV-DT2 which serves as Tallahassee's MyNetworkTV and This TV
affiliate. However unlike that station, WSWG-DT2 does not air This TV because the network is cleared on a third digital subchannel
of NBC
affiliate WALB
in Albany. Syndicated programming exclusive to the station includes: How I Met Your Mother
, Friends
, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
, and America's Court with Judge Ross
. On WSWG-DT3 and Mediacom channel 24 is The CW provided through The CW Plus
.
1980 as WVGA and was an ABC
affiliate for Southwestern Georgia (though Valdosta is part of the Tallahassee market). Prior to that time, it was one of the few areas in the eastern part of the country without a clear over-the-air signal from ABC. The nearest affiliate, WTXL-TV
in Tallahassee, only provided Grade B coverage in Albany. At the time, ABC was the top network in the United States
. WVGA was founded by Hi Ho Broadcasting which also owned fellow ABC affiliate WDHN
in Dothan, Alabama
. The station carried a typical slate of ABC and syndicated shows. In 1986, Hi Ho sold its stations to Morris Network
, a broadcasting company owned by the Morris Newspaper Corporation.
The station was unable to make any headway against the region's two powerful VHF outlets, WALB and WCTV, and was also hampered by the region's poverty, as there were relatively few businesses able to advertise on the station. By the late-1980s, WVGA was in a battle for its survival. By the start of the 1990s, it had shut down its news department and began relying on infomercials and barter programming to fill the schedule. It also began signing-off following Nightline. The station's owners originally planned on selling it to the owners of WTXL which would then have made WVGA a semi-satellite. However, that deal fell through.
WVGA's fate was sealed in January 1992 when a plane crashed into its transmission tower and knocked the station off the air. Not having enough funds to rebuild the tower, Morris opted to close down WVGA instead. This left southwest Georgia as one of the only areas on the East Coast without an ABC affiliate. Cable systems in the area piped in either WSB-TV
in Atlanta, WTVM
in Columbus
, WCJB-TV
in Gainesville, Florida
, or WTXL. This changed when WALB-DT2
switched its affiliation to ABC in April 2011.
In 1994, Morris sold the analog channel 44 license to Hutchens Communications which reopened the station on October 28, 1995 as a WB affiliate with the calls WGVP. However in 2001 when The WB insisted on going cable-only
in most small markets
including Albany, WGVP affiliated with UPN
and renamed itself WVAG. The station moved its studios to Moultrie where they remain today. Hutchens sold WVAG to Padon Communications in 2004, who in turn, sold it to Gray Television soon afterward. Under Gray, the station was re-named WSWG and its operations were merged with those of WCTV. Ironically, Gray had been the founder and original owner of rival WALB, but was forced to sell it after buying WCTV because that station provides a city-grade signal to most of the Georgia side of the Tallahassee market.
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced the two networks would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined service would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of corporate parents "C"BS
(the parent company of UPN) and the "W"arner 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 sister 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 as well as compete against The CW.
On September 4 one day before MyNetworkTV launched, WSWG dropped UPN and became affiliated with CBS as a semi-satellite of WCTV. This created a strong combined signal with just under 50% overlap. Previously, WCTV had been the default CBS affiliate in Albany for many years. At one point in time, there had been a plan where WSWG would move CBS to a new second digital subchannel and keep UPN on analog. On the same day the station joined CBS, it started a new second subchannel that became the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate. On September 18, the area's cable-exclusive WB affiliate joined The CW through similar cable service The CW Plus. On January 30, 2007, WSWG's analog signal on channel 44 went dark
due to a damaged transmission line at the transmitter. Rather than incur the expense of restoring a signal that would only be temporary (analog broadcasting was due to end in the United States within two years), the station requested permission to surrender its analog license and broadcast only in digital on UHF channel 43.
The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) granted the request on one year later. However, unlike its old analog signal on channel 44 (which operated at 1.7 million watt
s) digital channel 43 operates at only 50,000 watts (roughly equivalent to 250,000 watts for an analog transmitter) in order to protect Alabama Public Television
and PBS
station WGIQ in Louisville, Alabama
. Therefore, its broadcasting radius reaches just short of Albany proper and viewers must subscribe to cable in order to see the station. Interestingly, WCTV's current digital signal reaches Albany. At some point in early-2011, WSWG launched a new third digital subchannel to offer non-cable subscribers access to The CW after taking over operations of the area's cable-only affiliate.
WSWG currently simulcasts all local newscasts from WCTV except for weeknights at 5 and 5:30. However, there is a separate title open featuring its own logo and identification. WCTV operates bureaus in Valdosta (on East Central Avenue/Wiregrass Georgia Parkway/US 84
/SR 38) and another in Thomasville
(on North Broad Street). There are five reporters assigned to Southwestern Georgia that do not use any WSWG branding. Originally, WSWG/WCTV pre-empted the first hour of CBS's The Early Show
on weekday mornings to air another hour of local news.
On January 7, 2008, the network began to require all affiliates to show the program in its entirety to better compete with rivals Good Morning America
and Today. As a result, the third hour of The Good Morning Show moved to MyNetworkTV affiliates WSWG-DT2 and WCTV-DT2. On August 3, 2009, WCTV became the second station in the market to upgrade newscasts to high definition and simulcast on WSWG were included. WCTV operates its own weather radar
called "Pinpoint Megawatt Doppler" at its Tallahassee facilities. Like all CW Plus stations in the Eastern Time Zone
, WSWG-DT3 airs the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz
on weekdays from 6 until 9.
Additional personnel from WCTV is seen on this station. See that article for a complete listing.
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...
-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 Southwestern
Southwest Georgia
Southwest Georgia is a thirteen-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia. A common acronym used is SOWEGA.The largest city is Albany. Counties include Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas, and Worth.In 1995, 25% of the...
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...
, licensed to Valdosta
Valdosta, Georgia
Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 54,518. The Valdosta metropolitan area, according to the 2010 estimate, has a population of 139,588...
. 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 43 (PSIP 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....
44) from a transmitter northeast of Adel
Adel, Georgia
Adel is a city in Cook County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,344. The city is the county seat of Cook County. The original name of the city was Puddleville. The city's first postmaster, Joel "Uncle Jack" Parrish, wanted to change the name of the city...
in Cook County
Cook County, Georgia
Cook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The constitutional amendment to create the county was proposed July 30, 1918, and ratified November 5, 1918. As of 2010, the population is 17,212. The county seat is Adel...
. The station can also be seen on Mediacom
Mediacom
Mediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 811. Owned by Gray Television
Gray Television
Gray Television, Inc. is a communications company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with administrative offices in Albany, Georgia.Established in 1946 by James H...
, WSWG has studios on 2nd Avenue Southwest in Moultrie
Moultrie, Georgia
Moultrie is the county seat and largest city of Colquitt County and the third largest in Southwest Georgia behind Thomasville and Albany. As of 2009, Moultrie's population is 15,199 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of 6.07 percent....
.
Overview
Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, WSWG is considered a semi-satellite of WCTVWCTV
WCTV is the CBS-affiliated television station for southwest Georgia and Tallahassee, Florida that is licensed to Thomasville, Georgia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 46 from a transmitter in Metcalf along the Georgia and Florida state line. This is 609.6 meters high...
in Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
. Master control and some internal operations are based at that station's facilities on Halstead Boulevard next to the I-10
Interstate 10 in Florida
The of Interstate 10 in Florida is the eastern most section of the east–west Interstate 10 in the Southern United States. It is also the eastern end of the Interstate Highway known as the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway, one of three coast to coast interstates, along with I-80...
, SR 61/Thomasville Road, and US 319
U.S. Route 319
U.S. Highway 319 is a spur of U.S. Route 19. It runs for 318 miles from US 1 /State Route 4 in Wadley, Georgia to the John Gorrie Bridge at Apalachicola, Florida. The sections of US 319 in Medart, Florida and from just east of Carrabelle, Florida to its terminus in Apalachicola are jointly...
/Capitol Circle Northeast junction in the city's Carriage Gate section. It airs some of WCTV's 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 but at different times. There are also programs that only air on WSWG while some are only seen on WCTV. This station airs separate station identifications and commercials. Syndicated programming exclusive to WSWG includes The Real Housewives of Orange County
The Real Housewives of Orange County
The Real Housewives of Orange County is a reality television program on the Bravo network. It is the first and seminal installation in the The Real Housewives of... series...
.
Digital programming
On WSWG-DT2 and Mediacom channel 7 is the area's MyNetworkTVMyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate. Like the main channel, it can be considered a semi-satellite of WCTV-DT2 which serves as Tallahassee's MyNetworkTV and This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
affiliate. However unlike that station, WSWG-DT2 does not air This TV because the network is cleared on a third 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...
of NBC
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...
affiliate WALB
WALB
WALB is the NBC- and ABC-affiliated television station for Southwestern Georgia licensed to Albany. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter in Doerun along the Colquitt and Worth County line...
in Albany. Syndicated programming exclusive to the station includes: How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (U.S. syndicated game show)
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a daily syndicated version of the former primetime American quiz game show of the same name that aired on Fox. It ran from September 21, 2009 to March 24, 2011 and was produced by Mark Burnett, and, like the primetime version, was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy...
, and America's Court with Judge Ross
America's Court with Judge Ross
America's Court with Judge Ross is a nationally-syndicated American television show that debuted in several top U.S. markets on September 20, 2010. This show uses a former real-life judge presiding over fictionalized small claims court cases. Here, Kevin A. Ross is the presiding judge...
. On WSWG-DT3 and Mediacom channel 24 is The CW provided through 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 (physical/virtual) | Video Display resolution The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection... |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43.1/44.1 | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
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 WSWG programming/CBS (HD) |
| 43.2/44.2 | 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 | WSWG-DT2 "WSWG 2" (SD) |
| 43.3/44.3 | 480i | 4:3 | WSWG-DT3 "Albany CW" (SD) |
History
The station first began operating on 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...
1980 as WVGA and was an 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 for Southwestern Georgia (though Valdosta is part of the Tallahassee market). Prior to that time, it was one of the few areas in the eastern part of the country without a clear over-the-air signal from ABC. The nearest affiliate, WTXL-TV
WTXL-TV
WTXL-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Tallahassee, Florida. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter northwest of Monticello, Florida along the state line with Georgia. It can also be seen on Charter channel 3 as well as Mediacom and Comcast...
in Tallahassee, only provided Grade B coverage in Albany. At the time, ABC was the top network in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. WVGA was founded by Hi Ho Broadcasting which also owned fellow ABC affiliate WDHN
WDHN
WDHN is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southeastern Alabama's Wiregrass Region. Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group and licensed to Dothan, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 21 from a transmitter at its studios on AL 52 in Webb. The station can also be...
in Dothan, Alabama
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately west of the Georgia state line and north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County...
. The station carried a typical slate of ABC and syndicated shows. In 1986, Hi Ho sold its stations to Morris Network
Morris Multimedia
Morris Multimedia, Inc. is a media company based in Savannah, Georgia, founded in 1970 by Charles H. Morris. Morris Multimedia, among the largest privately held media companies in the United States, is the parent company of Morris Newspaper Corporation and Morris Network.- Newspapers :The Morris...
, a broadcasting company owned by the Morris Newspaper Corporation.
The station was unable to make any headway against the region's two powerful VHF outlets, WALB and WCTV, and was also hampered by the region's poverty, as there were relatively few businesses able to advertise on the station. By the late-1980s, WVGA was in a battle for its survival. By the start of the 1990s, it had shut down its news department and began relying on infomercials and barter programming to fill the schedule. It also began signing-off following Nightline. The station's owners originally planned on selling it to the owners of WTXL which would then have made WVGA a semi-satellite. However, that deal fell through.
WVGA's fate was sealed in January 1992 when a plane crashed into its transmission tower and knocked the station off the air. Not having enough funds to rebuild the tower, Morris opted to close down WVGA instead. This left southwest Georgia as one of the only areas on the East Coast without an ABC affiliate. Cable systems in the area piped in either WSB-TV
WSB-TV
WSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...
in Atlanta, WTVM
WTVM
WTVM is the ABC-affiliated television station for Columbus, Georgia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter in Cusseta. The station can also be seen on Charter, Knology, and Mediacom channel 10...
in Columbus
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, WCJB-TV
WCJB-TV
WCJB-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for North Central Florida licensed to Gainesville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 16 from a transmitter in Wacahoota. The station can also be seen on CommuniComm Services channel 3, Cox channel 7, and Bright House...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, or WTXL. This changed when WALB-DT2
WALB-DT2
WALB-DT2 is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southwestern Georgia. The station is a second digital subchannel of NBC affiliate WALB owned by Raycom Media. Over-the-air, it broadcasts a standard definition digital signal on VHF channel 10.2 from a transmitter in Doerun along the Colquitt...
switched its affiliation to ABC in April 2011.
In 1994, Morris sold the analog channel 44 license to Hutchens Communications which reopened the station on October 28, 1995 as a WB affiliate with the calls WGVP. However in 2001 when The WB insisted on going 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...
in most small markets
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...
including Albany, WGVP affiliated with 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...
and renamed itself WVAG. The station moved its studios to Moultrie where they remain today. Hutchens sold WVAG to Padon Communications in 2004, who in turn, sold it to Gray Television soon afterward. Under Gray, the station was re-named WSWG and its operations were merged with those of WCTV. Ironically, Gray had been the founder and original owner of rival WALB, but was forced to sell it after buying WCTV because that station provides a city-grade signal to most of the Georgia side of the Tallahassee market.
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced the two networks would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined service would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of corporate parents "C"BS
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
(the parent company of UPN) and the "W"arner 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. This new service, which would be sister to Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, 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 as well as compete against The CW.
On September 4 one day before MyNetworkTV launched, WSWG dropped UPN and became affiliated with CBS as a semi-satellite of WCTV. This created a strong combined signal with just under 50% overlap. Previously, WCTV had been the default CBS affiliate in Albany for many years. At one point in time, there had been a plan where WSWG would move CBS to a new second digital subchannel and keep UPN on analog. On the same day the station joined CBS, it started a new second subchannel that became the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate. On September 18, the area's cable-exclusive WB affiliate joined The CW through similar cable service The CW Plus. On January 30, 2007, WSWG's analog signal on channel 44 went dark
Off-the-air
In telecommunication, the term off-air or off-the-air has the following meanings:# In radio communications systems, pertaining to a radio station or television station that is completely shut down, i.e. that is not transmitting any signal, not even an un-modulated carrier wave...
due to a damaged transmission line at the transmitter. Rather than incur the expense of restoring a signal that would only be temporary (analog broadcasting was due to end in the United States within two years), the station requested permission to surrender its analog license and broadcast only in digital on UHF channel 43.
The 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) granted the request on one year later. However, unlike its old analog signal on channel 44 (which operated at 1.7 million watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s) digital channel 43 operates at only 50,000 watts (roughly equivalent to 250,000 watts for an analog transmitter) in order to protect Alabama Public Television
Alabama Public Television
Alabama Public Television is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service member non-commercial educational Public television stations serving the US state of Alabama. The television stations are licensed by the Alabama Educational Television Commission, which was created by the Alabama state...
and PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
station WGIQ in Louisville, Alabama
Louisville, Alabama
Louisville is a town in Barbour County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 612.-Geography:Louisville is located at 31°46'49.112" North, 85°33'26.629" West .According to the U.S...
. Therefore, its broadcasting radius reaches just short of Albany proper and viewers must subscribe to cable in order to see the station. Interestingly, WCTV's current digital signal reaches Albany. At some point in early-2011, WSWG launched a new third digital subchannel to offer non-cable subscribers access to The CW after taking over operations of the area's cable-only affiliate.
Newscasts
U.S. Route 84 in Georgia
U.S. Route 84 in Georgia, is also signed as State Route 38 for its entire length in Georgia. After entering Georgia from Alabama west of Jakin, Georgia, the route travels through the southern portion of the state, meeting its eastern terminus at Interstate 95 east of Midway. U.S...
/SR 38) and another in Thomasville
Thomasville, Georgia
Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The city is the second largest in Southwest Georgia after Albany.The city deems itself the City of Roses and holds an annual Rose Festival. The town features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large...
(on North Broad Street). There are five reporters assigned to Southwestern Georgia that do not use any WSWG branding. Originally, WSWG/WCTV pre-empted the first hour of CBS's The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
on weekday mornings to air another hour of local news.
On January 7, 2008, the network began to require all affiliates to show the program in its entirety to better compete with rivals Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
and Today. As a result, the third hour of The Good Morning Show moved to MyNetworkTV affiliates WSWG-DT2 and WCTV-DT2. On August 3, 2009, WCTV became the second station in the market to upgrade newscasts to high definition and simulcast on WSWG were included. WCTV operates its own 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...
called "Pinpoint Megawatt Doppler" at its Tallahassee facilities. Like all CW Plus stations 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...
, WSWG-DT3 airs 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 slogans
- "The Area's #1 News Team" (1980s-1990s)
- "Coverage You Can Count On" (2001-present)
Bureau reporters
- La'Tasha Givens - Thomasville
- Donnitra Gilbert - Thomasville
- Ann Mercogliano - Valdosta
- Gabrielle Sarann - Valdosta
- Deneige Broom - Valdosta
Additional personnel from WCTV is seen on this station. See that article for a complete listing.