WTVC
Encyclopedia
WTVC is the ABC
television affiliate
in Chattanooga, Tennessee
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on Signal Mountain
in the community of Walden. Owned by Freedom Communications
, the station has studios on Benton Drive in Chattanooga.
On Comcast
cable systems, the station is aired on channel 10.
digital channel 174, and Comcast
digital channel 208) with This TV
.
. Because of its full-power designation, WROM-TV was the first television station in the Chattanooga area, serving as a primary NBC
affiliate. It transmitted a full-powered analog signal on VHF channel 9 at 316,000 watt
s from a tower on Horseleg Mountain west of Rome. At that time, Rome was considered part of the Chattanooga television market
but Rome, Floyd County and the surrounding counties, have since been moved to the Atlanta market. WROM-TV also had secondary affiliations with CBS
, ABC
, and DuMont
. The station lost CBS when WDEF-TV
signed on in 1954. WROM-TV then carried NBC, ABC, and DuMont until 1956 when Dumont went off-the-air and WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV
) signed on and took the NBC affiliation. At that time, ABC opted for secondary affiliations with WDEF and WRGP because the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) had reduced WROM-TV's Grade A signal, which made it difficult to be picked up in Chattanooga. WROM-TV continued as an independent station
until late 1957. During its tenure as a Rome station, it claimed to be "Dixie's Largest Independent." The station ran a late-afternoon and prime-time schedule of old movies, "hillbilly" music performances (which were common on southern TV stations in the 1950s) and occasionally, ABC TV network
fare such as "Omnibus." WROM-TV's sign-on and its subsequent move to Chattanooga, Tennessee
years later changed Atlanta
TV history and caused a fruit-basket turnover of southeast TV frequencies.
Martin Theaters (forerunner of Carmike Cinemas
) bought the station in 1957 and in December of that year, took it off the air to move the transmitter 70 miles (112.7 km) north to Chattanooga. Martin had purchased WTVM
in Columbus, Georgia
in late-1956, and was granted permission to switch that station from channel 28 to channel 9, but ran into government regulations. FCC
rules mandated a certain amount of separation for stations on the same channel
and WROM's Grade-B signal reached Columbus. Also, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals
, though the FCC has since relaxed this particular restriction. The Chattanooga-Columbus channel reallocation was part of the last huge FCC national channel reallocation that saw channel numbers in the Southeast switch not only in Chattanooga and Columbus, but also in Dothan
and Montgomery
, Alabama; Greenwood
, Tupelo
, and Laurel
, Mississippi; Florence
, South Carolina and High Point
, North Carolina.
In 1948, Atlanta's television market included pioneer station WSB-TV
, owned by the Atlanta Journal newspaper, operating on channel 8. The more desirable channel 2 frequency was reserved for crosstown newspaper rival Atlanta Constitution and its station WCON-TV. When the Journal and Constitution merged in 1951, WSB TV moved to channel 2. WCON-TV never took to the air, and its sister radio station, WCON 550 AM
, was reassigned to Gainesville, Georgia
, where it is now WDUN-AM.
That left room for a new channel 8 in Atlanta. A group of Atlanta businessmen, including an executive from the Davison's
departmernt store chain, pooled their capital and launched WLTV as Atlanta's first full-time ABC TV affiliate. WLTV's studios were installed in a small building directly behind WSB TV, because that move allowed the station to utilize WSB's old channel 8 transmitting tower. WLTV operated on a very tight budget and offered little in the way of local programming or news coverage.
By 1953, WROM-AM
had launched its new Rome TV station on channel 9, and Cincinnati-based Crosley Broadcasting had purchased Atlanta's channel 8 WLTV, changing its call letters to WLWA TV. As soon as both stations were operating, viewers in northwest Atlanta and to the south of Rome began experiencing trouble watching either station. Crosley also wanted to increase transmitting power at its new station, which necessitated a change to present-day channel 11 (now WXIA-TV
).
By 1958, WROM's owners were making moves to cash in on their investment. The station began carrying a full prime time slate of ABC Network programs, overlapping programming with WLWA.
In 1959, WROM's owners accepted an offer to sell their TV outlet to a group of Chattanooga-based investors. Chattanooga had only two VHF stations at the time, WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV
) channel 3 (NBC
) and pioneer broadcasting outlet WDEF-TV
channel 12 (CBS
). Chattanooga offered channel 9's investors a better economic model than Rome. The station received FCC approval to move and became Chattanooga ABC affiliate WTVC
. That move 60 miles to the north opened opportunities for other television broadcasters to the south.
Atlanta regained channel 8 as a frequency, though it was reclassified as a non-commercial facility, clearing the way for the University of Georgia's Athens-based educational station, WGTV
(which, years later, relocated to Atlanta.) Columbus, Georgia NBC affiliate WDAK TV 28
was able to move to VHF channel 9, while Dothan, Alabama
CBS affiliate WTVY moved from channel 9 to the more desirable channel 4 and Columbus
CBS affiliate WRBL
moved from channel 4 to channel 3. In Birmingham, Alabama
, WBRC-TV (an NBC
affiliate) moved from channel 4 to channel 6.
Ironically, Rome lost a second television frequency 40 years later, when WZGA (UHF channel 14, now today's WPXA-TV) moved to Atlanta after several years of operation. WROM-AM is still on the air on AM 710.
WTVC developed a strong reputation for local programming in its early years. Among the shows that WTVC pioneered was the children's educational show Funtime with Marcia Kling. Although Funtime ended many years ago, Marcia Kling who became known as "Miss Marcia" is still associated with the station after 45 years. Shock Theater which aired on Saturday nights developed a cult following with WTVC Programming Director Tommy Reynolds dressed up as Dracula with the moniker "Doctor Shock" alongside his irreverent sidekick "Dingbat". The Bob Brandy Show which aired in the afternoons featured cartoons and kids activities hosted by WTVC advertising executive Bob Brandy, his wife Ingrid, and their horse Rebel.
In 1969, Martin Theaters was sold to Augusta, Georgia
businessman J.B. Fuqua. Fuqua also owned WJBF-TV in Augusta, WTVW-TV in Evansville, Indiana
, and KTHI-TV (now KVLY-TV
) in Fargo, North Dakota
. Over the next few years each station was sold with WTVC being purchased in 1980 by the A.H. Belo Corporation of Dallas, Texas
. In 1984, current owner Freedom Communications
bought the station along with KFDM in Beaumont
marking the newspaper chain's second television acquisition. Belo had to put WTVC and KFDM on the market after it announced plans to purchase Corinthian Broadcasting from Dun & Bradstreet
in order to comply with the FCC-mandated ownership limit of five VHF television stations which was in effect at the time.
Until June 12, 2009, WTVC aired its digital signal on UHF channel 35. It now broadcasts on digital channel 9.
The first studios for WTVC were located at its transmitter site on Signal Mountain
. In 1960, it moved to new facilities in the Golden Gateway Shopping Center in downtown Chattanooga next to a Zayre
department store. Over the years, however, the station outgrew the building. In 2000, WTVC moved into new digitally-equipped 26000 square feet (2,415.5 m²) studios located adjacent to the Highway 58
/ Highway 153
interchange.
Freedom announced on November 2, 2011 that it would bow out of television and sell its stations, including WTVC, to Sinclair Broadcast Group
.
network schedule, including newscasts, entertainment, sports, children's programming, and most news special reports. Syndicated
programming on WTVC includes: Jeopardy!
, Wheel of Fortune
, Dr. Phil
, Regis and Kelly from WABC-TV
, and The Doctors
.
WTVC is the exclusive home for the weekly University of Tennessee
Volunteer Television Network highlights shows featuring head football coach Derek Dooley, head men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin
, head women's basketball coach Pat Summitt
, and other UT athletic-related programs.
Through the late-1960s and mid-1970s, WTVC branded its newscasts under the Eyewitness News
label. In 1975, this switched to Action News
. In the late-1980s, they were one of the first stations in the country to adopt the NewsChannel branding. This makes it one of the few stations around the country to have used the top three most popular news brandings.
In the early 1990s, WTVC produced a 10 P.M. newscast for then-independent WFLI-TV
but that was eventually cancelled. In 1996, the station began airing a nightly 10 o'clock broadcast on Fox affiliate WDSI-TV
using station meteorologists, sports anchors, news reporters and news video, while WDSI provided separate news anchors. In 2000, that station launched its own news department and aired local news on weekday mornings, weekday afternoons at 4, and nightly at 10. In 2004, the news department at WDSI closed down and a news share agreement with WTVC was re-established. Since then, this station has been producing Fox 61 First At 10 on WDSI. That station's website has video from the primetime show.
From the 1960s through the 1970s, WTVC newscasts were usually in last place, but it wasn't until new owners Belo
took over, that the rating began to favor WTVC. Since the mid 1980s, WTVC had waged a spirited battle with WRCB for first place in the local news ratings weekdays, while WDEF has usually trailed both stations.
NewsChannel 9 Midday
NewsChannel 9 at 5
NewsChannel 9 at 5:30
NewsChannel 9 at 6 & 11
NewsChannel 9 Weekend
This-N-That
Storm Track 9 meteorologists
Sports
News reporters
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...
television affiliate
Affiliate
An affiliate is a commercial entity with a relationship with a peer or a larger entity.- Corporate structure :A corporation may be referred to as an affiliate of another when it is related to it but not strictly controlled by it, as with a subsidiary relationship, or when it is desired to avoid...
in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton 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 VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on Signal Mountain
Signal Mountain
Signal Mountain may refer to:*Signal Mountain, Tennessee, a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee**Because of the proximity of this town to it, Walden Ridge is often mistakenly called Signal Mountain....
in the community of Walden. Owned by Freedom Communications
Freedom Communications
Freedom Communications, Inc. is a media conglomerate in the United States. It owns approximately 100 daily and weekly newspapers in the US, with a combined daily circulation of nearly one million subscribers, and also operates over seventy local news websites...
, the station has studios on Benton Drive in Chattanooga.
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...
cable systems, the station is aired on channel 10.
Digital programming
On WTVC-DT2(CharterCharter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
digital channel 174, 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...
digital channel 208) with This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
.
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 9.1 | Main WTVC programming / ABC |
| 9.2 | "This TV Chattanooga" |
As WROM-TV
The station signed on-the-air in 1953 as WROM-TV, licensed to Rome, GeorgiaRome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...
. Because of its full-power designation, WROM-TV was the first television station in the Chattanooga area, serving as a primary 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. It transmitted a full-powered analog signal on VHF channel 9 at 316,000 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 from a tower on Horseleg Mountain west of Rome. At that time, Rome was considered part of the Chattanooga television 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...
but Rome, Floyd County and the surrounding counties, have since been moved to the Atlanta market. WROM-TV also had secondary affiliations with 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...
, 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...
, and DuMont
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
. The station lost CBS when WDEF-TV
WDEF-TV
WDEF–TV channel 12 is the CBS affiliate television station for Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley. The station, whose call letters came from its former AM and FM sister stations, is owned by Morris Multimedia. Its transmitter is located in Signal Mountain, Tennessee. Syndicated programming on...
signed on in 1954. WROM-TV then carried NBC, ABC, and DuMont until 1956 when Dumont went off-the-air and WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV
WRCB-TV
WRCB is an NBC affiliate television station based in Chattanooga, serving southeastern Tennessee, northwestern Georgia, northeastern Alabama, Southwestern North Carolina, and three Upstate South Carolina counties of Anderson, Oconee and Pickens...
) signed on and took the NBC affiliation. At that time, ABC opted for secondary affiliations with WDEF and WRGP because 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) had reduced WROM-TV's Grade A signal, which made it difficult to be picked up in Chattanooga. WROM-TV continued as an independent station
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
until late 1957. During its tenure as a Rome station, it claimed to be "Dixie's Largest Independent." The station ran a late-afternoon and prime-time schedule of old movies, "hillbilly" music performances (which were common on southern TV stations in the 1950s) and occasionally, ABC TV network
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...
fare such as "Omnibus." WROM-TV's sign-on and its subsequent move to Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
years later changed Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
TV history and caused a fruit-basket turnover of southeast TV frequencies.
Martin Theaters (forerunner of Carmike Cinemas
Carmike Cinemas
Carmike Cinemas Inc. is a motion picture exhibitor headquartered in Columbus, Georgia in the United States of America. As of December 31, 2010 it operates or has an interest in 239 theaters with 2,236 screens in 35 states, making it the fourth largest theatre company in the United States.Carmike...
) bought the station in 1957 and in December of that year, took it off the air to move the transmitter 70 miles (112.7 km) north to Chattanooga. Martin had purchased 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, Georgia
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...
in late-1956, and was granted permission to switch that station from channel 28 to channel 9, but ran into government regulations. FCC
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...
rules mandated a certain amount of separation for stations on the same channel
Co-channel interference
Co-channel interference or CCI is crosstalk from two different radio transmitters using the same frequency. There can be several causes of co-channel radio interference; four examples are listed here....
and WROM's Grade-B signal reached Columbus. Also, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals
Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership refers to a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media...
, though the FCC has since relaxed this particular restriction. The Chattanooga-Columbus channel reallocation was part of the last huge FCC national channel reallocation that saw channel numbers in the Southeast switch not only in Chattanooga and Columbus, but also in Dothan
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...
and Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, Alabama; Greenwood
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...
, Tupelo
Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo is the largest city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. It is the seventh largest city in the state of Mississippi, smaller than Meridian, and larger than Greenville. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city's population was 34,211...
, and Laurel
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...
, Mississippi; Florence
Florence, South Carolina
-Municipal government and politics:The City of Florence has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits...
, South Carolina and High Point
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. As of 2010 the city had a total population of 104,371, according to the US Census Bureau. High Point is currently the eighth-largest municipality in North Carolina....
, North Carolina.
In 1948, Atlanta's television market included pioneer station 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...
, owned by the Atlanta Journal newspaper, operating on channel 8. The more desirable channel 2 frequency was reserved for crosstown newspaper rival Atlanta Constitution and its station WCON-TV. When the Journal and Constitution merged in 1951, WSB TV moved to channel 2. WCON-TV never took to the air, and its sister radio station, WCON 550 AM
WCON (AM)
WCON is a radio station broadcasting a format. Licensed to Cornelia, Georgia, USA. The station is currently owned by Habersham Broadcasting Company....
, was reassigned to Gainesville, Georgia
Gainesville, Georgia
-Severe Weather:Gainesville sits on the very fringe of Tornado Alley, a region of the United States where severe weather is common. Supercell thunderstorms can sweep through any time between March and November, but are concentrated most in the spring...
, where it is now WDUN-AM.
That left room for a new channel 8 in Atlanta. A group of Atlanta businessmen, including an executive from the Davison's
Davison's
Davison's of Atlanta was the major competition to Rich's, once itself an Atlanta shopping institution. The chain took the Macy's name in 1986.-Founding:...
departmernt store chain, pooled their capital and launched WLTV as Atlanta's first full-time ABC TV affiliate. WLTV's studios were installed in a small building directly behind WSB TV, because that move allowed the station to utilize WSB's old channel 8 transmitting tower. WLTV operated on a very tight budget and offered little in the way of local programming or news coverage.
By 1953, WROM-AM
WROM (AM)
WROM is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel music format. Licensed to Rome, Georgia, USA, the station serves Rome, GA and Vicinity. The station is currently under ownership of LGV Broadcasting, Inc....
had launched its new Rome TV station on channel 9, and Cincinnati-based Crosley Broadcasting had purchased Atlanta's channel 8 WLTV, changing its call letters to WLWA TV. As soon as both stations were operating, viewers in northwest Atlanta and to the south of Rome began experiencing trouble watching either station. Crosley also wanted to increase transmitting power at its new station, which necessitated a change to present-day channel 11 (now WXIA-TV
WXIA-TV
WXIA-TV, virtual channel 11.1 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Atlanta, Georgia. Popularly known by its 11 Alive moniker, WXIA is owned by the Gannett Company in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WATL...
).
By 1958, WROM's owners were making moves to cash in on their investment. The station began carrying a full prime time slate of ABC Network programs, overlapping programming with WLWA.
In 1959, WROM's owners accepted an offer to sell their TV outlet to a group of Chattanooga-based investors. Chattanooga had only two VHF stations at the time, WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV
WRCB-TV
WRCB is an NBC affiliate television station based in Chattanooga, serving southeastern Tennessee, northwestern Georgia, northeastern Alabama, Southwestern North Carolina, and three Upstate South Carolina counties of Anderson, Oconee and Pickens...
) channel 3 (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...
) and pioneer broadcasting outlet WDEF-TV
WDEF-TV
WDEF–TV channel 12 is the CBS affiliate television station for Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley. The station, whose call letters came from its former AM and FM sister stations, is owned by Morris Multimedia. Its transmitter is located in Signal Mountain, Tennessee. Syndicated programming on...
channel 12 (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...
). Chattanooga offered channel 9's investors a better economic model than Rome. The station received FCC approval to move and became Chattanooga ABC affiliate WTVC
WTVC
WTVC is the ABC television affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on Signal Mountain in the community of Walden...
. That move 60 miles to the north opened opportunities for other television broadcasters to the south.
Atlanta regained channel 8 as a frequency, though it was reclassified as a non-commercial facility, clearing the way for the University of Georgia's Athens-based educational station, WGTV
WGTV
WGTV channel 8 is the metro Atlanta station and flagship for Georgia Public Broadcasting , Georgia's Public Broadcasting Service Public television network....
(which, years later, relocated to Atlanta.) Columbus, Georgia NBC affiliate WDAK TV 28
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...
was able to move to VHF channel 9, while 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...
CBS affiliate WTVY moved from channel 9 to the more desirable channel 4 and 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...
CBS affiliate WRBL
WRBL
WRBL, virtual channel 3 , is the CBS-affiliated television station in Columbus, Georgia. The station is owned by Media General, with studios in Columbus...
moved from channel 4 to channel 3. In Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, WBRC-TV (an 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) moved from channel 4 to channel 6.
Ironically, Rome lost a second television frequency 40 years later, when WZGA (UHF channel 14, now today's WPXA-TV) moved to Atlanta after several years of operation. WROM-AM is still on the air on AM 710.
As WTVC
Channel 9 returned to full-power as ABC affiliate WTVC in Chattanooga on February 11, 1958. To this day, it still operates under WROM's old FCC license. Chattanooga also became one of the smallest television markets in the country to have three VHF stations. The station is the only station in Chattanooga to have never had a secondary affiliation with another network.WTVC developed a strong reputation for local programming in its early years. Among the shows that WTVC pioneered was the children's educational show Funtime with Marcia Kling. Although Funtime ended many years ago, Marcia Kling who became known as "Miss Marcia" is still associated with the station after 45 years. Shock Theater which aired on Saturday nights developed a cult following with WTVC Programming Director Tommy Reynolds dressed up as Dracula with the moniker "Doctor Shock" alongside his irreverent sidekick "Dingbat". The Bob Brandy Show which aired in the afternoons featured cartoons and kids activities hosted by WTVC advertising executive Bob Brandy, his wife Ingrid, and their horse Rebel.
In 1969, Martin Theaters was sold 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...
businessman J.B. Fuqua. Fuqua also owned WJBF-TV in Augusta, WTVW-TV in Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, and KTHI-TV (now KVLY-TV
KVLY-TV
KVLY-TV, is an NBC affiliated television station in Fargo, North Dakota, USA, serving Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. It broadcasts on ATSC channel 44, which redirects to former NTSC channel 11 via PSIP. In addition to its main studio in Fargo, it operates a satellite studio in...
) in Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
. Over the next few years each station was sold with WTVC being purchased in 1980 by the A.H. Belo Corporation of Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. In 1984, current owner Freedom Communications
Freedom Communications
Freedom Communications, Inc. is a media conglomerate in the United States. It owns approximately 100 daily and weekly newspapers in the US, with a combined daily circulation of nearly one million subscribers, and also operates over seventy local news websites...
bought the station along with KFDM in Beaumont
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
marking the newspaper chain's second television acquisition. Belo had to put WTVC and KFDM on the market after it announced plans to purchase Corinthian Broadcasting from Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet is a Fortune 500 public company headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey, USA that provides information on businesses and corporations for use in credit decisions, B2B marketing and supply chain management...
in order to comply with the FCC-mandated ownership limit of five VHF television stations which was in effect at the time.
Until June 12, 2009, WTVC aired its digital signal on UHF channel 35. It now broadcasts on digital channel 9.
The first studios for WTVC were located at its transmitter site on Signal Mountain
Signal Mountain, Tennessee
Signal Mountain is a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The town is a suburb of Chattanooga and is located on Walden Ridge, a land mass often mistakenly referred to as "Signal Mountain" itself...
. In 1960, it moved to new facilities in the Golden Gateway Shopping Center in downtown Chattanooga next to a Zayre
Zayre
Zayre was a chain of discount stores that operated in the Northeastern, Southern and Midwestern United States from 1956 to 1990. The company's headquarters was in Framingham, Massachusetts. In 1988, the Zayre department stores were sold to the parent company of the competing Ames chain, and Zayre's...
department store. Over the years, however, the station outgrew the building. In 2000, WTVC moved into new digitally-equipped 26000 square feet (2,415.5 m²) studios located adjacent to the Highway 58
Tennessee State Route 58
State Route 58 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee that serves as a major route for many communities in Roane County, Meigs County, and Hamilton County...
/ Highway 153
Tennessee State Route 153
Tennessee 153 is a state highway in Chattanooga. It runs from Interstate 75 a few miles east of the I-75/I-24 interchange, to US 27 just south of Soddy-Daisy. The route serves as a bypass around downtown Chattanooga for I-75 travelers heading towards US 27 north...
interchange.
Freedom announced on November 2, 2011 that it would bow out of television and sell its stations, including WTVC, to Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
.
Programming
WTVC clears all of the ABCAmerican 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...
network schedule, including newscasts, entertainment, sports, children's programming, and most news special reports. 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 WTVC includes: Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, 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...
, Regis and Kelly from WABC-TV
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
, and 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...
.
WTVC is the exclusive home for the weekly University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
Volunteer Television Network highlights shows featuring head football coach Derek Dooley, head men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin
Cuonzo Martin
Cuonzo LaMar Martin is a retired American professional basketball player and is the current head coach of the University of Tennessee men's basketball team.-1986-1990:...
, head women's basketball coach Pat Summitt
Pat Summitt
Patricia "Pat" Head Summitt is an American women's college basketball coach. She is currently the head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team. She is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history of either a men's or women's team in any division...
, and other UT athletic-related programs.
Newscasts
Currently, WTVC airs 24 hours and 30 minutes of news each week. That includes four hours and 30 minutes each weekday, and 2 hours on weekends. In the event of special sports coverage overlapping news time, the station streams a live newscast on its website. The station also airs a public affairs show, "This-N-That", with longtime personality Don Welch at 12:30 weekdays, which has a weather segment and news updates whenever necessary.Through the late-1960s and mid-1970s, WTVC branded its newscasts under the Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
label. In 1975, this switched to 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...
. In the late-1980s, they were one of the first stations in the country to adopt the NewsChannel branding. This makes it one of the few stations around the country to have used the top three most popular news brandings.
In the early 1990s, WTVC produced a 10 P.M. newscast for then-independent WFLI-TV
WFLI-TV
WFLI-TV is the CW-affiliated television station for Chattanooga, Tennessee licensed to Cleveland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 from a transmitter on Sawyer Cemetery Road in unincorporated Hamilton County. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Charter...
but that was eventually cancelled. In 1996, the station began airing a nightly 10 o'clock broadcast on Fox affiliate WDSI-TV
WDSI-TV
WDSI-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Chattanooga, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 40 from a transmitter on Sawyer Cemetery Road in unincorporated Hamilton County. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Charter channel 11...
using station meteorologists, sports anchors, news reporters and news video, while WDSI provided separate news anchors. In 2000, that station launched its own news department and aired local news on weekday mornings, weekday afternoons at 4, and nightly at 10. In 2004, the news department at WDSI closed down and a news share agreement with WTVC was re-established. Since then, this station has been producing Fox 61 First At 10 on WDSI. That station's website has video from the primetime show.
From the 1960s through the 1970s, WTVC newscasts were usually in last place, but it wasn't until new owners Belo
Belo
Belo Corp. is a Dallas-based media company that owns 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and two regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo Corp. after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo, now the name of the...
took over, that the rating began to favor WTVC. Since the mid 1980s, WTVC had waged a spirited battle with WRCB for first place in the local news ratings weekdays, while WDEF has usually trailed both stations.
Current on-air staff
Good Morning Chattanooga- Kevin Sims - News Anchor/Reporter
- Sarah Jennings - News Anchor
- Natalie Jenereski - Traffic/Reporter
NewsChannel 9 Midday
- Sarah Jennings - News Anchor
NewsChannel 9 at 5
- Calvin Sneed, Senior News Anchor and Chief Investigative Reporter
- Latricia Thomas, Anchor
NewsChannel 9 at 5:30
- Kim Chapman - News Anchor
- Latricia Thomas - News Anchor
NewsChannel 9 at 6 & 11
- Calvin Sneed, Senior News Anchor and Chief Investigative Reporter
- Kim Chapman, News Anchor
NewsChannel 9 Weekend
- Lindsay Jackson- News Anchor
- Dave Staley - News Anchor, Sports Reporter
This-N-That
- Don Welch - host/co-producer
- Marcia Kling - Senior topics reporter
Storm Track 9 meteorologists
- David Glenn, Chief Meteorologist, 6 & 11 (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...
and NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seals of Approval) - Bill Race, Senior Meteorologist, Morning and Noon (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...
) - Jason Disharoon, Weekend Meteorologist
Sports
- Darrell Patterson - Sports Director
- Dave Staley - Sports Reporter
News reporters
- Jana Barnello - Reporter
- John Madewell - Reporter
- Marissa Mitchell - Reporter
- Jessica Oh - Reporter
- John Pless - Reporter
- Karen Zatkulak - Reporter
Newscast titles
- The Pepsi-Cola Report (1958–1961)
- The Chattanooga Report (1961–1965)
- Newswatch (1965–1970)
- Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
(1970–1975) - Action NewsAction NewsAction 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...
(1975–1989) - NewsChannel 9 (1989–present)