WRBL (channel 3) is a
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
in
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
, United States, affiliated with
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
and owned by
Nexstar Media Group
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarter offices in Irving, Texas; Midtown Manhattan; and Chicago, Illinois. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 te ...
. Its studios are located on 13th Avenue in Columbus, and its
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is located in
Cusseta.
History
WRBL first went on the air on November 15, 1953—just over a month after
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
affiliate WDAK-TV (channel 28, now
WTVM
WTVM (channel 9) is a television station in Columbus, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Gray Television, which provides certain services to dual NBC/ CW+ affiliate WLTZ (channel 38, owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting ...
on channel 9). It is Georgia's third-oldest station outside of
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
(after
Macon's
WMAZ-TV
WMAZ-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Macon, Georgia, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios on Gray Highway on the northeast side of Macon; its transmitter is lo ...
) as well as the second-oldest in Columbus. It would have been the fourth-oldest in Georgia, had WROM-TV, channel 9 in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
not moved to
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
in 1958, rebranded as
WTVC. WRBL-TV was owned by Jim Woodruff along with WRBL radio (AM 1420, now
WRCG
WRCG (1420 AM broadcasting, AM) is an urban contemporary gospel-formatted radio station in Columbus, Georgia. Studios are co-located with four sister stations on Wynnton Road in Columbus east of downtown, and the transmitter is located in Phenix Ci ...
, and FM 102.9, now
WVRK
WVRK (102.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format. Licensed to Columbus, Georgia, United States, the station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station had previously been owned by M&M Partners Inc. and Cumulus Media before s ...
). Originally on channel 4, it moved to channel 3 in 1960 as part of a regional frequency reallocation by the FCC, that saw WTVM move to channel 9 and
WTVY in
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...
move to channel 4. Ironically, the same company, Martin Theaters of Georgia, that purchased and moved WROM-TV and its channel 9 to Chattanooga, had also purchased WDAK-TV and oversaw its switch to the channel 9
VHF hi-band frequency in Columbus.
The station has always been a CBS affiliate owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with CBS Radio, but shared
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
with WTVM until the channel switch of 1960, when WTVM switched to ABC to get in line with then co-owned
WTVC, also on channel 9. At that time, WRBL began sharing NBC with WTVM. WRBL is the only major station in Columbus that has never changed its original affiliation. Columbus was one of the very few two-station markets in the 1960s without its own primary NBC affiliate, although NBC affiliates in
Albany,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and
Montgomery could be picked up with relative ease. WYEA (channel 38, now
WLTZ
WLTZ (channel 38) is a television station in Columbus, Georgia, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Gray Television, owner of A ...
) took over the NBC affiliation when it opened in October 1970.
Woodruff owned the station until his death in a car crash in 1978. After his death, banks controlled the station until it was bought by
Malcolm Glazer
Malcolm Irving Glazer (August 15, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American businessman and sports team owner. He was the president and chief executive officer of First Allied Corporation, a holding company for his varied business interests, ...
's Avant Corporation of
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
. He sold it to TCS Television Partners, who, in turn, sold it to
Spartan Communications
Spartan Communications, Inc. was a company that was based in Spartanburg, South Carolina that owned WSPA-TV as Spartan's flagship station from 1956 to 2000 when Spartan merged with Media General of Richmond, VA.
In 1984, Spartan bought WBTW and ...
in 1995. Spartan later merged its company with
Media General
Media General was an American media company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired ''The Richmond Daily Times'', which later became ''The Richmond Times-Dispatch' ...
in 2000.
WRBL replaced RTV with
MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
on digital subchannel 3.2 on September 26, 2011, as part of a groupwide affiliation agreement with Media General; the channel replaced RTV on some Media General-owned stations in other markets.
In early 2016, WRBL relaunched 3.3 as the
Ion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
affiliate for the Chattahoochee Valley. 3.3 had been
dark
Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown.
Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lum ...
since the station closed the First Alert 24/7 Weather channel.
On January 11, 2017, Media General became part of the Nexstar Media Group.
On September 6, 2018, WRBL opened a news bureau on
Columbus State University
Columbus State University is a public university in Columbus, Georgia. Founded as Columbus College in 1958, the university was established and is administered by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
History
The university w ...
's downtown campus. The bureau is housed inside CSU's Carpenter Building. The bureau will allow interns from CSU to work alongside WRBL's news staff.
Programming
Syndicated programming
Syndicated programming on WRBL includes ''
Judge Mathis
''Judge Mathis'' is an American syndicated arbitration-based reality court show presided over by Judge Greg Mathis, a former judge of Michigan's 36th District Court and Black-interests motivational speaker/activist.
The courtroom series prem ...
'', ''
The People's Court
''The People's Court'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. Within the court show genre, it is the first of all arbitration-based reality styl ...
'', ''
Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Art
* ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
'', and ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
''
News operation
WRBL presently broadcasts 22 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with four hours each weekday and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays).
Due to economic conditions from 2008 through 2009, WRBL's owner Media General enacted a series of staff reductions that noticeably affected the amount of news that WRBL offered. First, 6:00 p.m. weekend newscasts were canceled in fall 2008, and the remaining weekend newscasts were eliminated in early 2009. Soon after, the 5:00 p.m. and noon newscasts were dropped. However, as of August 2010, the noon newscast has been added back to the WRBL lineup. On October 17, 2010, WRBL reinstated the Sunday night edition of ''News 3 Nightwatch''. Unlike the previous newscasts that were canceled, the duties of these newscasts are spread throughout remaining staff members, including the anchor team. On September 12, 2011, the station revived ''News 3 First Edition'' weekdays at 5:00 p.m. On September 14, 2013, WRBL revived the Saturday edition of ''News 3 Nightwatch'' at 11:00 and on September 29, 2013, WRBL added a Sunday edition of ''News 3 Evening Edition'' at 6:30 p.m. WRBL launched high definition newscasts on March 21, 2014, with ''News 3 Nightwatch'' at 12:30 a.m. (ran late after
NCAA March Madness
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...
coverage).
Notable former on-air staff
*
Rece Davis
Rece Davis (born }) is an American sports television journalist for ESPN/ESPN on ABC, ABC. Davis works as an anchor on ''SportsCenter'' and serves as host of various other programs on the network, including ''College GameDay (football TV program ...
– sports director; now at
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
*
Janice Huff
Janice Huff (born September 1, 1960) is the chief meteorologist for WNBC in New York City.
Early years
As she has sometimes noted on her newscast, though born in New York City, at an early age she moved to her grandparents house in Columbia, South ...
– meteorologist/science reporter; now chief meteorologist at
WNBC
WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...
and ''
Weekend Today
''Weekend Today'' is currently the branding of the weekend editions of ''Today'', an American morning news and talk program that airs daily on NBC. Weekend editions of ''Today'', began with the launch of the Sunday edition of the program on Sep ...
'' (1996–2012)
*
Anne Montgomery – sports reporter (early–mid-1980s); later at
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
; now a teacher at
South Mountain High School
South Mountain High School (The Academies at South Mountain) is a high school located in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is part of the Phoenix Union High School District.
Overview
The school was founded in 1954. The school shares its name with S ...
in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is
multiplexed
In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:
References
External links
*
MeTV Columbus website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrbl
CBS network affiliates
Rewind TV affiliates
Ion Television affiliates
Laff (TV network) affiliates
Television channels and stations established in 1953
RBL
1953 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Nexstar Media Group