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WBRC (channel 6) 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
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, United States, affiliated with the
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
network. It is owned by
Gray Television Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...
alongside low-power, Class A
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
affiliate
WTBM-CD WTBM-CD (channel 24) is a low-power, Class A television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with the Spanish-language Telemundo network. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Fox affiliate WBRC (channel 6). The two stat ...
(channel 24). The two stations studios atop Red Mountain (between Vulcan Trail and Valley View Drive) in southeastern Birmingham, where WBRC's transmitter is also located.


History


Early history

The station first signed on the air on July 1, 1949, originally broadcasting on VHF channel 4 as WBRC-TV (standing for Bell Radio Company, after Fountain Heights physician J. C. Bell, founder of radio station
WBRC WBRC (channel 6) is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate WTBM-CD (channel 24). The two stations studios ...
(960 AM). the "-TV" suffix was dropped from the call sign in June 1999). Although WBRC-TV was the first television station in Birmingham to be granted a
license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
by the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC), it is the second-oldest television station in Alabama, signing on just over one month after WAFM-TV (channel 13, now
WVTM-TV WVTM-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities atop Red Mountain, between Vulcan Trail and Valley V ...
), which debuted on May 29. It was originally owned by the Birmingham Broadcasting Company, run by Eloise D. Hanna, along with WBRC radio. Hanna's first husband, M. D. Smith, had bought WBRC radio from Bell in 1928. Her son, M. D. Smith III, who worked at the radio stations in advertising sales and was later promoted to program director and vice president, ran the television station as its operations manager. His son, M. D. Smith IV later organized Smith Broadcasting, which purchased WAFG-TV, Channel 31 in Huntsville, Alabama in 1963, with himself as operations manager. The call letters were immediately changed to
WAAY-TV WAAY-TV (channel 31) is a television station in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Allen Media Broadcasting. The station's studios and transmitter are located on Monte Sano Boulevard on top of Monte Sano Moun ...
. M. D. Smith III is also named a remote general manager of WAAY-TV from Birmingham. Originally broadcasting for three hours per day, it operated as a primary
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
affiliate (earning the affiliation as a result of WBRC radio's longtime affiliation with the
NBC Red Network The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...
), and also carried secondary affiliations with
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 ...
and the
DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...
; during the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the
NTA Film Network The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first ...
. WBRC-TV originally operated from WBRC radio's facilities on 19th Street and 2nd Avenue, near downtown Birmingham, which originally only housed business and
master control Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. It is distinct from a production control room (PCR) in television studios where the activities such as switc ...
operations; the station originally relied mainly on network and film content for much of the programming it broadcast. The station's transmitter was originally purposed as the transmitter facilities for radio station WBRC-FM (102.5, now
WBPT WBPT (106.9 FM, "Classic Rock 106.9") is a classic rock music-formatted radio station licensed to Homewood, Alabama, that serves the Birmingham and central Alabama area. The station was assigned the WBPT call letters by the Federal Communication ...
at 106.9 FM; original frequency now occupied by
WDXB WDXB (102.5 FM) is a country music formatted radio station licensed to Pelham, Alabama, and serving the Birmingham metropolitan area and north-central Alabama. The radio studios and offices are at Beacon Ridge Tower in Birmingham (near Red ...
), which signed on in 1947 with the highest radiated power of any radio station worldwide, operating at 500,000 watts; after the FM station suspended operations in June 1948 due to continued revenue losses due to the lack of radios equipped with FM tuners, Hanna borrowed $150,000 to build a new studio facility and transmitter atop Red Mountain for the television station. In September 1950, WBRC established a
coaxial cable Coaxial cable, or coax (pronounced ) is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with the two separated by a dielectric ( insulating material); many coaxial cables also have a p ...
link with fellow NBC-DuMont affiliate
WRGB WRGB (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Schenectady, New York, United States, serving the Capital District as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside CW affiliate WCWN (channel 45, also licensed to Sc ...
(now a
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 ...
affiliate) in
Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
, allowing the station to broadcast NBC and DuMont network programs both live and live-to-air. On February 19, 1953, WBRC-TV moved to channel 6 as part of a frequency realignment ordered by the FCC, resulting from the ''Sixth Report and Order'' issued the year prior in 1952. This move was made to alleviate signal interference problems between WBRC and WSM-TV (now sister station
WSMV-TV WSMV-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTNX-LD (channel 15). The two stations share studios on Knob Road in ...
) in
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, which also transmitted on channel 4, that were present in portions of northern Alabama. Later that year, Hanna also sold the WBRC television and radio stations to
Storer Broadcasting Storer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the Northeastern United States. It was incorporated in Ohio 1927, and was broken up in 1986. History 1920s–1940s In 1927, George B. Storer ...
for $2.3 million—a handsome return on her first husband's purchase of WBRC radio 25 years earlier. George B. Storer, the company's founder and chairman, was a member of the board of directors at
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 most of his television stations were affiliates of that network. Storer may have used his leverage to secure a primary CBS affiliation for WBRC-TV, which joined the network on July 4, 1954. NBC programming subsequently moved to channel 13 (by then, using the call sign WABT); both stations, however, retained a secondary affiliation with ABC. On September 17 of that year, the WBRC stations moved to a new, much larger studio facility located on Red Mountain that was built by Storer, where channel 6 continues to operate from to this day. The building, like many of those built by Storer to serve as studios for its broadcast properties, resembled an
antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ...
mansion. While it may have been out of place in most of Storer's other markets (many of which were located outside of the Southern United States), it was a perfect fit for Birmingham. Unusual for a commercial broadcaster, Storer supported
educational television Educational television or learning television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable telev ...
, and the company donated two transmitters and frequencies in the Birmingham market (channels 7 and 10, which were respectively occupied by WCIQ and WBIQ when both stations signed on in 1955) to Alabama Educational Television (now
Alabama Public Television Alabama Public Television (APT) is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of Alabama. It is operated by the Alabama Educational Television Commission (AETC), an agency of the Alabama state government which ho ...
). This also, however, may have been a move to forestall future commercial competition in the market; WBRC and WABT remained the only commercial stations in Birmingham, which would not get a third commercial broadcast television outlet until WBMG (now
WIAT WIAT (channel 42) is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Golden Crest Drive atop Red Mountain, next to the American General ca ...
) debuted in October 1965, on UHF channel 42, a signal considerably weaker than that of either channels 6 or 13, and a problem which hampered that station's progress until the early 2000s. In 1957, Storer sold the WBRC stations to Radio Cincinnati Inc., the forerunner of what would become
Taft Broadcasting The Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the Taft family, family of William Howard Taft, the 27th Presid ...
, for $2.3 million. Storer had to sell its broadcast holdings in Birmingham after it purchased radio station WIBG (now
WNTP WNTP (990 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WNTP is owned by the Salem Media Group and broadcasts a Conservatism in the United States, conservative talk radio radio ...
) in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and its television sister, WPFH (later WVUE) in
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
(whose frequency is now occupied by
WHYY-TV WHYY-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, United States, serving as the primary PBS member station for the Philadelphia area. It is owned by WHYY, Inc., alongside NPR member station WHYY-FM 90.9. WHYY-TV and ...
) to comply with the FCC's ownership limits of that time period.


As an exclusive ABC affiliate

On March 1, 1961, WBRC-TV signed an agreement with ABC to become a full-time affiliate of the network. This was very unusual for a market with only two commercial stations; usually, one or both stations carried ABC as a secondary affiliation, since that network would not be on anything resembling an equal footing with CBS and NBC until the 1970s. However, Taft had very good relations with ABC. The company's chairman was a personal friend of ABC's president
Leonard Goldenson Leonard H. Goldenson (December 7, 1905 – December 27, 1999) was the founder and president of the United States-based television network American Broadcasting Company (ABC), from 1953 to 1986. Goldenson, as CEO of United Paramount Theatres, ...
, and several of Taft's other stations, including
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
WKRC-TV WKRC-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to MyNetworkTV affiliate WSTR-TV (channel 64) under a loca ...
in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
(which would rejoin CBS in 1995), had recently switched to ABC. During the 1970s, ABC aired cartoons from
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
, whose studios were acquired by Taft in 1967. Taft later bought ABC's former syndication arm,
Worldvision Enterprises Worldvision Enterprises, Inc. was an American television program and home video distributor established in 1954 as ABC Film Syndication, the domestic and overseas program distribution arm of the ABC Television Network. They primarily licensed p ...
, in 1979 (ABC spun off this division in 1973 as a result of
fin-syn The Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, widely known as the fin-syn rules, were a set of rules imposed by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States in 1970. The FCC sought to prevent the Big Three television networks from mon ...
laws, which have since been repealed). This also marked a significant turnaround for channel 6's relationship with the network, as during the later 1950s, the amount of ABC programming on WBRC had been dramatically reduced from about 50% of its schedule to only a very limited selection of shows, seemingly headed toward an exclusive CBS affiliation by 1960; even still, WBRC retained some of CBS' higher-rated soap operas on its daytime schedule until about 1968, when those programs moved to either WAPI-TV or WBMG. Another factor, though supposedly not as important as the Taft-Goldenson relationship, was
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
' apparent strong support of the
Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
, which did not sit well with many white viewers, a large segment of WBRC's audience. An
urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
regarding the ABC affiliation agreement suggested that the switch was partly motivated by CBS' plans to air ''Who Speaks For Birmingham?'', a controversial ''
CBS Reports ''CBS Reports'' is the umbrella title used for documentaries by CBS News which aired starting in 1959 through the 1990s. The series sometimes aired as a wheel series rotating with '' 60 Minutes'' (or other similar CBS News series), as a series of i ...
'' documentary focusing on
desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...
at
Birmingham City Schools Birmingham City Schools is a public school district that serves the US city of Birmingham, Alabama. It is the fourth-largest school system in Alabama behind Mobile County Public School System, Jefferson County School System, and Montgomery Pu ...
that later led to journalist Howard K. Smith's resignation from CBS News after he quoted an anti-desegregation statement by political scientist
Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
in the closing narration, viewed by network president
Bill Paley William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System ( CBS) from a small radio network into ...
as editorializing his views in support of school integration; however, the special aired on May 18 of that year, two months after the ABC agreement was signed. ABC had very few full-time affiliates south of Washington, D.C. at the time, but now it had the full benefit of one of the South's strongest signals, best antenna locations and largest coverage areas. WBRC-TV's signal provided at least secondary coverage as far north as Decatur and extending south to near Montgomery, and from the
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
border in the west to the
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
border in the east. The station became exclusively affiliated with ABC on September 7, 1961; on that date, channel 13 (by then known as WAPI-TV) assumed rights to CBS and NBC programming, although WBRC continued to occasionally carry certain CBS shows that WAPI chose not to carry through 1965. In 1972, Taft sold the WBRC radio stations, which changed their call letters to WERC-AM and FM. In 1966, WBRC-TV began broadcasting local programming in
color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
, after the station purchased two color cameras; among the first local programs to be produced in color was the
Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Asso ...
coaches' program, '' The Bear Bryant Show'' (originated from CBS affiliate
WCOV-TV WCOV-TV (channel 20) is a television station in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Woods Communications Corporation alongside Troy-licensed Cozi TV affiliate WIYC (channel 48) and low-power loca ...
(now also a Fox affiliate) in Montgomery, the first television station in the state to begin color broadcasts), which aired on WBRC until 1970, when it moved to WAPI-TV. Meanwhile, WBRC-TV had become one of ABC's strongest affiliates, a position it retained for the next quarter-century. For a time, it incorporated the ABC circle logo inside its own "6" logo (just as it had done with the CBS eye in the 1950s). Channel 6 could make a plausible claim to be not only the most-watched station in the Birmingham market but in the entire state of Alabama, thanks in part to unusually weak competition. CBS affiliate WBMG (channel 42, now
WIAT WIAT (channel 42) is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Golden Crest Drive atop Red Mountain, next to the American General ca ...
), which signed on in October 1965 as the market's third commercial television station, was not a factor and, in fact, was among the lowest-rated major-network affiliates in the nation at some points, making Birmingham a ''de facto'' two-station market to industry observers from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. Even still, due to signal impairment in mountainous areas of northeastern Alabama, WBRC operated two low-power
translators Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to extend its programming to that part of the state, W29AO (channel 29) in Anniston in W15AP (channel 15) in Gadsden. In 1982, WBRC began receiving ABC network and syndicated programming, and news footage via
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
. In 1984, the station became one of the first television stations in the region to adopt a 24-hour-a-day programming schedule. After it suffered significant structural damage due to an
ice storm An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on e ...
that affected the Southeastern U.S. in the winter of 1985, the station's original transmitter tower was replaced in 1986, with a new tower on Red Mountain east of the original tower's location. In October 1987, Taft was restructured into Great American Communications following the completion of a hostile takeover of the group. In December 1993, Great American Communications was restructured again into Citicasters after filing for
Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
. Citicasters then decided to put most of its television stations up for sale. These moves, though, did not immediately affect WBRC's high standing in the ratings or its reputation in the community.


As a Fox station

On May 5, 1994, Great American Communications (which would later be renamed Citicasters following the completion of its restructuring) agreed to sell WBRC and three other television stations –
WDAF-TV WDAF-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Summit Street in the Signal H ...
in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
,
KSAZ-TV KSAZ-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, broadcasting the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV station KUTP (channel 45). Both st ...
in
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
and
WGHP WGHP (channel 8) is a television station licensed to High Point, North Carolina, United States, serving the Piedmont Triad region as an affiliate of the Fox network. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains studios on Francis ...
in
High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...
– to
New World Communications New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...
– for $350 million in cash and $10 million in share warrants. However, three weeks later, New World agreed to purchase four stations owned by Argyle Television Holdings, WVTM being among them, in a purchase option-structured deal for $717 million (although the transfer/assignment applications for the stations involved in the Argyle purchases were not filed with the FCC until after New World's acquisition of the four Citicasters stations was completed); this posed a problem for New World on two counts. At the time, the FCC forbade any broadcasting company from owning two commercial television stations in the same market; in addition, the concurrent acquisitions of the Argyle and Citicasters stations put New World three stations over the national television ownership cap that the agency enforced at the time, which allowed broadcasters to own a maximum of twelve stations nationwide. On May 23, 1994, New World signed an affiliation agreement with
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
to switch twelve television stations – six that New World had already owned and eight that the company was in the process of acquiring through the Argyle and Citicasters deals, including WBRC – to the network, in exchange for the latter's then-parent company
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
purchasing a 20% equity stake in New World; the stations would become Fox affiliates once their affiliation contracts with existing network partners expired (with the first stations involved in the deal switching to the network in September 1994). Although the network's Birmingham charter affiliate,
WTTO WTTO (channel 21) is a television station licensed to Homewood, Alabama, United States, serving the Birmingham area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WABM (channel 68) and ABC aff ...
(channel 21), was one of Fox's strongest affiliates at the time, the network found the chance to align with WBRC too much to resist because of its longstanding ratings dominance in the market. The group's affiliation deal with Fox also gave New World a chance to solve its ownership problem by reaching an agreement with Citicasters to sell WBRC and WGHP directly to the network's
owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
group,
Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Corp ...
. Fox was unable to immediately purchase the two stations outright due to questions over the American citizenship of then-parent company
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
's Australian-born CEO
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
. New World then decided to acquire the stations itself, but place them in an outside
trust company A trust company is a corporation that acts as a fiduciary, trustee or agent of trusts and agencies. A professional trust company may be independently owned or owned by, for example, a bank or a law firm, and which specializes in being a trust ...
that it established; New World would sell the stations to Fox Television Stations, which, in turn, would pay the group $130 million in
promissory note A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...
s upon the transfer's completion. New World formally filed an application with the FCC to transfer WBRC to the trust on October 12, 1994, one month after it filed transferred WGHP on September 9; the FCC approved the transfer on April 3, 1995. Under the arrangement, New World owned the licenses of both stations, while Citicasters continued to control their operations under outsourcing agreements. In April 1995, Citicasters transferred the operations of WBRC and WGHP to Fox Television Stations, which took over operational control through time brokerage agreements with New World and purchased the stations three months later on July 22; Fox formally finalized the purchase of the two stations on January 17, 1996. Although it was now owned by the O&O group of another network, Fox now had to run channel 6 as an ABC affiliate for more than a year after the purchase was announced as WBRC's affiliation agreement with that network was not set to expire until August 31, 1996. This gave ABC a sufficient amount of time to find another station to replace channel 6 as its central Alabama affiliate. In January 1996, ABC struck a deal with
Allbritton Communications The Allbritton Communications Company was an American media company. Based in Arlington, Virginia, Allbritton was the leading subsidiary of Perpetual Corporation, a private holding company owned by the family of company founder and former Riggs B ...
to affiliate with CBS stations WCFT-TV (channel 33, now
Heroes & Icons Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American Digital terrestrial television, digital broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Usually carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, the network ai ...
affiliate
WSES WSES (channel 33) is a television station licensed to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, serving the western portion of the Birmingham market as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Heroes & Icons. The station is owned by Howard Stirk ...
) in
Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...
and WJSU-TV (channel 40, now Heroes & Icons affiliate
WGWW WGWW (channel 40) is a television station licensed to Anniston, Alabama, United States, serving the eastern portion of the Birmingham market as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Heroes & Icons. The station is owned by Howard Stirk Hol ...
) in Anniston (the latter of which Allbritton had agreed to operate under a local marketing agreement with then-owner Osborne Communications Corporation weeks prior); because Tuscaloosa and Anniston were then separate markets, which would result in neither station being counted in Nielsen ratings reports for Birmingham, Allbritton purchased low-power station W58CK (channel 58, now
WBMA-LD WBMA-LD (channel 58) is a low-power television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WABM (channel 68) and Homewood-licensed CW affiliate ...
), creating a triple-
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
with WCFT and WJSU, which would act as its satellite stations. WBRC became a Fox owned-and-operated station on September 1, 1996, ending its affiliation with ABC after 47 years; however, the station had begun airing the network's short-lived morning program ''Fox After Breakfast'' for one month prior to the switch after it dropped ''Good Morning America'' from its schedule. The concurrent move of the ABC affiliation to W58CK and its satellites also led to the CBS affiliation for the Anniston-Gadsden market to move to WNAL-TV (channel 44, now
Ion Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...
owned-and-operated station
WPXH-TV WPXH-TV (channel 44) is a television station licensed to Hoover, Alabama, United States, serving the Birmingham area as an affiliate of Ion Television. The station is owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, and maintains offices on Golden Crest Drive ...
), which – along with WTTO and its Tuscaloosa satellite WDBB (channel 17) – lost its Fox affiliation to WBRC. With the switch to Fox, WBRC became one of only a few television stations in the United States to have maintained primary affiliations with all of the
Big Three networks In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and American Broadcasting Company, ABC (Amer ...
, and the only one in the country to have had primary affiliations with all four current major networks; it also became the first network-owned commercial television station in the state of Alabama. At that time, WBRC phased out its longstanding "Channel 6" brand and began branding itself as "Fox 6", becoming one of three Fox stations affected by the affiliation deal between the network and New World to adopt Fox's standardized station branding conventions prior to the group's 1996 merger with Fox Television Stations (WGHP and
WJBK WJBK (channel 2) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government o ...
in Detroit, which became a sister station to WBRC as a result of the New World merger, were the only others to comply with the network's branding techniques; the remaining ten stations did not incorporate network branding until after the merger was finalized). After New World merged with Fox in 1997, WBRC was reunited with four of its sister stations from the Storer era: WJBK,
WAGA-TV WAGA-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios and transmitter facili ...
in
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 ...
, WJW in
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
and
WITI Witiness Chimoio João Quembo (born 26 August 1996), known as Witi, is a Mozambican professional footballer who plays for Portuguese club C.D. Nacional as a winger. Club career Born in Beira, Witi began his career with Sporting Club da Be ...
in
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
. WBRC would become the only remaining station in the Birmingham–Tuscaloosa–Anniston market that was owned by a major commercial broadcast television network, after
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' ...
completed its acquisition of WVTM from NBC Television Stations on June 26, 2006. However, on December 22, 2007, Fox announced that it had entered into an agreement to sell WBRC and seven other Fox owned-and-operated stations (WDAF-TV, WGHP, WJW, WITI,
KTVI KTVI (channel 2) is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station KPLR-TV (channel 11). Both stations share studios o ...
in
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
KDVR KDVR (channel 31) is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is simulcast full-time over satellite station KFCT (channel 22) in Fort Collins. The two stations are owned by Nexstar Media Gr ...
in
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
and
KSTU KSTU (channel 13) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Provo-licensed Ion Television owned-and-operated station KUPX-TV (channel ...
in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
) to Local TV, a
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
operated by equity firm
Oak Hill Capital Partners Oak Hill Capital Partners is a private equity firm headquartered in New York City, with more than $19 billion of committed capital from entrepreneurs, endowments, foundations, corporations, pension funds and global financial institutions. Rob ...
that had earlier purchased
The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City. History The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. T ...
's television station division; the sale was finalized on July 14, 2008. On January 6, 2009, Local TV announced that it would trade WBRC to
Raycom Media Raycom Media, Inc. was an American television broadcasting company based in Montgomery, Alabama. Raycom owned and/or provided services for 65 television stations and two radio stations across 44 markets in 20 states. Raycom, through its Commun ...
in exchange for acquiring CBS affiliate
WTVR-TV WTVR-TV (channel 6) is a television station in Richmond, Virginia, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. Its studios are located on West Broad Street on Richmond's West End, and its transmitter is located ...
in
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
from that group. Raycom – which is controlled by the
Retirement Systems of Alabama Retirement Systems of Alabama is the administrator of the pension fund for employees of the state of Alabama. It is headquartered in the state capital Montgomery, Alabama. David G. Bronner is the chief executive officer. Under Bronner's leader ...
– is headquartered in Montgomery (the market to the adjacent south of the Birmingham DMA), and also owns that market's NBC affiliate
WSFA WSFA (channel 12) is a television station in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate WBXM-CD (channel 15). The two stations share studios on ...
as well as
Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
NBC affiliate WAFF. The transfer closed on March 31, 2009. On June 25, 2018, Atlanta-based
Gray Television Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...
announced it had reached an agreement with Raycom to merge their respective broadcasting assets (consisting of Raycom's 63 existing owned-and/or-operated television stations, including WBRC), and Gray's 93 television stations) under the former's corporate umbrella. The cash-and-stock merger transaction valued at $3.6 billion – in which Gray shareholders would acquire preferred stock currently held by Raycom – will result in WBRC gaining new sister stations in adjacent markets, including ABC affiliate
WTOK-TV WTOK-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Meridian, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC, MyNetworkTV and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains studios on 23rd Avenu ...
in
Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...
and CBS/NBC affiliates WTVY and
WRGX-LD WRGX-LD (channel 23) is a low-power television station in Dothan, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CBS affiliate WTVY (channel 4). The two stations share studios on North Fos ...
in
Dothan Dothan is a place-name from the Hebrew Bible, identified with Tel Dothan. It may refer to: * Dothan, Alabama, a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties in the U.S. state of Alabama * Dani Dothan, lyricist and vocalist for the Israeli rock and ne ...
(while separating it from WDFX), in addition to the current Raycom stations. The sale was approved on December 20 and completed on January 2, 2019.


Subchannel history


WBRC-DT2

In May 2011, WBRC launched a digital subchannel on virtual channel 6.2, which initially carried a
standard definition Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
simulcast of the station's main channel. The subchannel became affiliated with
Bounce TV Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...
on September 26, 2011, as part of the network's affiliation agreement with WBRC owner Raycom Media.


WBRC-DT3

In May 2014, WBRC added an additional subchannel on virtual channel 6.3, which served as a charter affiliate of the male-oriented multicast network, Grit.


WBRC-DT4

In July 2018, WBRC added an additional subchannel on virtual channel 6.4, which served as an affiliate of comedy network,
Laff Laff (legal name: Laff Media, LLC) is an American digital multicast television network headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes in comedy programmi ...
.


Programming

Syndicated programming broadcast by WBRC includes ''
Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated courtr ...
'', ''
Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created ...
'', ''
Live with Kelly and Ryan ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
'' and ''
Inside Edition ''Inside Edition'' is an American news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed in first-run syndication by CBS Media Ventures. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine program that is no ...
''. In addition, WBRC produces ''Fox 6 WBRC Law Call'', a weekly call-in program—hosted by former WBRC reporter Tiffany Bittner, and airing live after the station's 10:00 p.m. newscast on Sunday nights—in which viewers ask members of a panel (usually consisting of personal injury attorneys) for advice on various legal issues; and ''Absolutely Alabama'', a weekly program—airing after ''Law Call'' on Sundays—consisting of feature stories about people and places around Alabama. WBRC currently carries the majority of the Fox network schedule, though it
delays Delays are an English indie band formed in Southampton, which consisted of brothers Greg and Aaron Gilbert, Colin Fox and Rowly until Greg Gilbert's death in 2021. The band's sound combines guitar and synths and featured Greg Gilbert's distinc ...
the network's Saturday late night block (currently a repeat of a prime time reality show) one hour due to the station's 10:00 p.m. newscast and its carriage of the syndicated sports interview program ''
In Depth with Graham Bensinger Graham Michael Bensinger (born August 17, 1986) is an American journalist and entrepreneur known for his eponymous show ''In Depth with Graham Bensinger''. Bensinger is known for interviewing a number of personalities in American sports, and won an ...
''; in addition, following the program's move from
Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports 2 ...
to Fox in September 2015, WBRC formerly was one of several Fox affiliates that has declined carriage of the Sunday
pre-game show A pre-game, pregame, or pre-match show is a television or radio presentation that occurs immediately before the live broadcast of a major sporting event. They typically feature previews and analysis relating to upcoming games (either a larger fixt ...
''
Fox NFL Kickoff ''Fox NFL Kickoff'' is an American sports television program that originally debuted on FS1 on September 8, 2013, and moved to Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox) on September 13, 2015, and serves as the secondary pre-game show for the network's Nat ...
'' during the NFL
regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...
due to existing programming contracts (unlike in other markets where a Fox station has declined carriage of ''Fox NFL Kickoff'', the program was not broadcast by any other station in the Birmingham–Tuscaloosa–Anniston market). The station began clearing ''Fox NFL Kickoff'' for the 2016 season. Channel 6 has only aired Fox's prime time, news and
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
programming since it joined the network in September 1996, with the only programs relating to Fox's children's programming blocks for the final twelve years that Fox carried programming aimed at that demographic consisting of fall preview specials and network promotions that aired within the network's prime time lineup. WBRC became the first television station to broadcast the
United Cerebral Palsy United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is an international nonprofit charitable organization consisting of a network of affiliates. UCP is a leading service provider and advocate for adults and children with disabilities. As one of the largest health nonpro ...
Telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...
, an event to raise money for the
cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...
research organization that premiered in 1949; it was from WBRC that the event emerged into national prominence, with national celebrities even making appearances on the telecast. Even in its final years on WBRC, mini-documentaries produced by the station (which were produced by Randy Mize and Tom Stovall) for the local segments aired during the UCP Telethon; WBRC stopped producing and broadcasting the local segments of the telethon soon after it switched to Fox in 1996. WBRC began producing live local programming in 1950 after it converted the building that formerly housed WBRC-FM into a makeshift television studio; the station also acquired additional studio camera equipment, including shows such as ''Coffee Break'', ''Supersonic Sam'' and ''Cowboy Theatre''. Like many network affiliates, WBRC-TV would preempt ABC programming occasionally or regularly, in some cases. For example, according to local legends, the station initially turned down ''
Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...
'', not because it was concerned about
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
, but because it concerned a mixed marriage (between a witch and a mortal); there were fears that ''Bewitched'' would encourage what some
segregationists Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internati ...
referred to as "
cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
"; channel 6 would not clear ''Bewitched'' until 1967 (although, according to the October 15, 1965, issue of ''
The Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' is the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The paper is owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the ''News'' and its two ...
'', ''Bewitched'' was shown airing at its in-pattern time of Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. (
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
) on WBRC). Channel 6 continued these practices for most of its years with ABC. It also preempted the ''ABC Evening News'' (the forerunner to '' World News Tonight'') from the program's debut in 1968 until August 7, 1972 (when both it and
WJRT-TV WJRT-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Flint, Michigan, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for northeastern Michigan. Owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, the station maintains studios on Lapeer Road in Flint, with of ...
in
Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
, became the last two ABC affiliates to begin airing the network newscast), as well as daytime network programs at aired during the 10:00 a.m. hour. However, ABC largely brushed off the preemption issue, even though it would eventually become the No. 1 network nationwide by the late 1970s, because of WBRC's status as central Alabama's dominant station. WBRC cemented viewer allegiances by carrying a heavy schedule of local programs during the 1960s and 1970s, most notably two long-running morning shows. The first was ''The Morning Show'', hosted by sports anchor Tom York; airing for 32 years from 1957 to 1989, it was a more general-interest interview and features program that was formatted basically a local version of ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
''; WBRC anchor Joe Langston (who also hosted the children's programs ''Birthday Party'' and ''Junior Auction'' for the station in the late 1960s) and comedian
Fannie Flagg Fannie Flagg (born Patricia Neal; September 21, 1944) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is best known as a semi-regular panelist on the 1973–1982 versions of the game show ''Match Game'' and for the 1987 novel '' Fried Green To ...
joined as York's co-hosts in the early 1960s (Flagg would leave for Los Angeles in 1964 to become a writer for ''
Candid Camera ''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes ...
''). Fiddler, guitarist and vocalist Eddie Burns was invited to bring his musical group to serve as ''The Morning Show''s
house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
and act as the program's bandleader; however, within a few months, station management offered Burns his own morning program on channel 6. That series, ''Country Boy Eddie'', which was aimed at rural Alabama viewers, featured local
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
, bluegrass and
Southern Gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...
music artists during its 36-year run from 1957 until
December 31 It is known by a collection of names including: Saint Sylvester's Day, New Year's Eve or Old Years Day/Night, as the following day is New Year's Day. It is the last day of the year; the following day is January 1, the first day of the following ...
, 1993. Over time, Burns added novelty acts to the show's format and did most of the commercials himself in the studio live. York's program, meanwhile, was so popular that, when ABC debuted '' AM America'' in January 1975, WBRC declined to carry it—preferring not to alter, let alone cancel, what had become a local television institution in ''The Morning Show''; this continued after ABC replaced the more news-driven ''AM America'' with ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', which maintained a format similar to York's program, in November of that year. WBRC began to clear the first hour of ''GMA'' in the early 1980s, and began airing the two-hour program in its entirety after York retired from the station in 1989. Preemptions and out-of-pattern scheduling of some ABC programs would continue in later years; for example, WBRC aired ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
'' on a one-day delay from its 1970 debut until it became a Fox station, and preempted the soap opera '' Loving'' throughout its 1986 to 1994 run. Channel 6 originally planned to carry the entire Fox programming schedule when it switched to the network, including its children's program block,
Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's block programming, programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channel ...
; it intended to air the weekday editions of that block from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday afternoons. However, in what would be the catalyst to a change in the carriage policies for Fox Kids that allowed stations the option of either airing the block or being granted the right to transfer the rights to another station in the market,
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
approached WBRC about retaining the rights to Fox Kids for WTTO, which became an
independent station An independent station is an independent radio or terrestrial television station which is independent in some way from broadcast networks. The definition of "independence" varies from country to country, reflecting governmental regulations, market ...
on September 1; Fox allowed WTTO to retain the local rights to the block. WBRC also declined to carry ''
Weekend Marketplace ''Weekend Marketplace'' is a two-hour block of paid programming airing on Fox that debuted on January 3, 2009, replacing the 4Kids TV cartoon block due to the termination of the network's time lease agreement with 4Kids Entertainment. The block, ...
'', the
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
block that Fox replaced its remaining Saturday morning children's programming block with in January 2009; the rights were instead acquired by WABM. WBRC and WGHP were the only Fox-owned stations that did not air the network's children's program blocks until 2003, when now-former sister stations
KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outle ...
in Los Angeles and
WFLD WFLD (channel 32) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Gary, Indiana–licensed MyNetworkTV ...
in Chicago moved the block to their
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
-affiliated sister stations (
KCOP-TV KCOP-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet KTTV (channel 11). Both station ...
and
WPWR-TV WPWR-TV (channel 50) is a television station licensed to Gary, Indiana, United States, broadcasting the MyNetworkTV programming service to the Chicago area. It is one of two commercial television stations in the Chicago market to be licensed in ...
).


News operation

WBRC presently broadcasts 64½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 11 hours each weekday, 4½ hours on Saturdays and five hours on Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the highest local newscast output in the state of Alabama. In addition, the station produces ''Fox 6 Sideline'', a
high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
program that debuted in September 1989 as an ABC affiliate, which airs Friday nights after the 10 p.m. newscasts during the fall. The station has the largest news staff of any television station in Alabama, with around half of its approximately 160 employees employed with the news department in on-air, administrative and production positions.


News department history

WBRC has been the ratings leader in the market for most of the last half-century, dating back to its tenure as an ABC affiliate. Its newscasts were also among the highest-rated local news programs in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s; WBRC had won practically every news timeslot for many years, with WAPI-TV/WVTM-TV coming in at a distant second until the mid-2000s; CBS affiliate WBMG/WIAT was not a factor for either station for most of its history (to the point where it did not even air any newscasts at three different periods between the early 1980s and February 1998). As a Fox station, WBRC has continued to maintain higher viewership than the other television news outlets in the market, although it has experienced tighter competition since the early 2000s against WBMA-LD and a resurgent WIAT (both of which currently engage in a spirited competition for second place); WBRC's 9 p.m. newscast has consistently ranked as one of the most-watched prime time newscasts in the U.S. for most of its run since its debut in 1996. WBRC television's news operations began with the launch of the station in 1949, originally consisting of five-minute-long newscasts at sign-on and sign-off that were originally anchored by operations manager M.D. Smith III, who read wire copies of local news headlines over a slide of the station's logo. In September 1950, at which time newscasts were expanded to 15 minutes, anchor segments began to be conducted in-studio after it acquired camera equipment to recorded live programming;
kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940 ...
s of 16-mm film footage shot by a photographer for local stories and still photographs for illustration of national and international stories were used for story content. The station launched a full-scale news department in 1952, when it began operating from the former studios of the original WBRC-FM. Several members of the news department staff in its early years started at WBRC radio including news anchors Harry Mabry and Joe Langston (the latter of whom would also take on a management role as its director of news and editorial policy in 1969), and sports anchor Tom York. In 1969, former WSGN radio anchor Bill Bolen joined WBRC to replace Harry Mabry as the station's main news anchor; Bolen would remain a fixture at channel 6 (eventually becoming anchor of the station's weekday morning newscast in 1990) for 42 years until his retirement in 2010. In 1978, WBRC became the first television station in the Birmingham market to acquire a
microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ran ...
truck for
electronic news-gathering Electronic news-gathering (ENG) or electronic journalism (EJ) is usage of electronic video and audio technologies by reporters to gather and present news instead of using film cameras. The term was coined during the rise of videotape technol ...
purposes, and became the first to provide live
breaking news Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in orde ...
coverage on-scene. The station would not begin producing half-hour evening newscasts until 1979, eleven years after ABC expanded its national evening newscast to 30 minutes. Station management declined ABC's insistence that WBRC expand its 6:00 p.m. newscast to match the length of the ''ABC Evening News''; however, the 15-minute local newscast beat ''
The Huntley-Brinkley Report ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' on WAPI-TV/WVTM and the ''
CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...
'' on WBMG in the ratings. In 1979, channel 6 became the first television station in Alabama to acquire a helicopter for newsgathering, "Chopper 6". In 1983, Bev Montgomery made history as the first African American to anchor a newscast in the Birmingham market when he was appointed anchor of the station's weekend evening newscasts. In 1988, the station acquired satellite news-gathering vehicles, "Skylink 6", to conduct and beam live remote footage transmitted to the studio via satellite. After WBRC became a Fox station in September 1996, the station shifted its programming focus heavily towards local news, increasing its output from about 25 hours a week to around 40 hours. The station retained all of the newscasts that existed during its final years as an ABC affiliate, but expanded its weekday morning newscast from one to three hours (with the addition of a two-hour extension, known for most of its run as ''Good Day Alabama'', from 7:00 to 9:00 am), and bridged the separate 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. newscasts on Monday through Friday nights to form a 90-minute early-evening news block (by adding a half-hour newscast at 5:30). Channel 6 also launched a prime time newscast at 9:00 p.m. to compensate for the lack of prime time programming provided by Fox during that hour; however, it filled the 9:30 p.m. half-hour with syndicated programs (originally reruns of ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'', then from 1997 afterward, ''
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 ...
'') as a tentpole between the 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. newscasts from the September 1996 switch until September 2002, when it expanded the prime time newscast to one hour (WBRC is one of several Fox stations that offer newscasts in both the final hour of prime time and the traditional late news timeslot, one of the few affiliated with the network that runs a nightly newscast in the latter slot and one of the few to continue its Big Three-era late-evening newscast after switching to Fox). In addition to compensating for the absence of daily national morning and evening newscasts on Fox's schedule, the expansion of WBRC's news lineup also filled timeslots vacated by the departures of ''Good Morning America'' and ''World News Tonight'' through the discontinuance of its ABC affiliation. WBRC also lost several longtime anchors and reporters to the W58CK/WCFT/WJSU trimulcast at that time, including news anchors Linda Mays and Brenda Ladun, meteorologists
James Spann James Max Spann Jr. (born June 6, 1956) is a television meteorologist and podcast host based in Birmingham, Alabama. He currently works for WBMA-LD (''ABC 33/40''), Birmingham's ABC affiliate. Spann has worked in the field since 1978, and is oft ...
(who himself reportedly left WBRC due to his disapproval over the edgier content of Fox's programming) and Mark Prater, and sports anchor Mike Raita. In 2009, WBRC became a founding member station of the Raycom News Network, a service created to allow the sharing of news resources among the four Raycom-owned television stations that serve Alabama – including NBC affiliate WSFA in Montgomery, NBC affiliate WAFF in Huntsville and ABC affiliate
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 ...
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 ...
(the latter of which includes a portion of eastern Alabama in its service area) – which combined, cover almost half of Alabama's population. The service allows the stations to pool story content seen on the stations' newscasts and websites, as well as share information and newsgathering equipment (such as satellite trucks). The four stations also comprise the Raycom Weather Network and the Raycom Alabama Weather Blog, where meteorologists from all four stations post forecasts and storm reports, and which provide live feeds from cameras and
Doppler weather radar Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern wea ...
systems that each of the stations operate (the only Raycom-owned station in Alabama that did not participate in the arrangement was fellow Fox affiliate
WDFX-TV WDFX-TV (channel 34) is a television station licensed to Ozark, Alabama, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Dothan area. Owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group, the station has studios on Ross Clark Circle ( AL 210/US 231) in Dot ...
in
Dothan Dothan is a place-name from the Hebrew Bible, identified with Tel Dothan. It may refer to: * Dothan, Alabama, a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties in the U.S. state of Alabama * Dani Dothan, lyricist and vocalist for the Israeli rock and ne ...
, whose news programming was produced by WSFA under a news share agreement and is no longer a sister station to those other stations). On July 14, 2009, the station eliminated its Saturday evening 5:00 p.m. newscast due to budget cutbacks at the station spurred by the
economic downturn In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
. On October 26, 2009, WBRC became the second television station in the Birmingham-Tuscaloosa-Anniston market (after WVTM-TV) – and the third station in Alabama – to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition; the news set and the graphics were also redesigned as part of the transition. On September 12, 2016, the station debuted a 4:00 p.m. newscast, placing the station in competition with
WVTM WVTM-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities atop Red Mountain, between Vulcan Trail and Valley ...
and WBMA, which have both aired 4:00 p.m. newscasts for several years.


Controversy


=David Neal lawsuit

= In May 2008, David Neal (who had been with WBRC since 1997) filed a
breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...
and fraud lawsuit against WBRC and members of the station's management team, after he was fired as chief meteorologist of the station's weather department without explanation that March. The station denied any wrongdoing, and began defending the lawsuit. In July 2008, the station announced that James-Paul Dice – a former meteorologist at CBS affiliate
WHNT-TV WHNT-TV (channel 19) is a television station in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Florence-licensed CW owned-and-operated station WHDF (channel 15). Both stations share studios ...
in
Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
– would replace Neal as chief meteorologist. On July 29, 2008, the parties to the lawsuit filed a stipulation of dismissal, stating that the dispute had been resolved in mediation. The terms of the settlement were not immediately disclosed. Neal now works for
WeatherNation WeatherNation TV (branded on-air as simply WeatherNation) is an American terrestial television, broadcast, streaming media, digital streaming, cable television, cable, and satellite television, satellite television network owned by WeatherNatio ...
as chief meteorologist.


Notable former on-air staff

* Wynette Byrd (
Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...
) – featured performer on ''Country Boy Eddie'' (later became established
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
artist; deceased) *
Fannie Flagg Fannie Flagg (born Patricia Neal; September 21, 1944) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is best known as a semi-regular panelist on the 1973–1982 versions of the game show ''Match Game'' and for the 1987 novel '' Fried Green To ...
– co-host of ''The Morning Show'' (1960s; later comedian and writer for ''
Candid Camera ''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes ...
'') *
Eli Gold Elias Leo Gold (born December 15, 1953) is an American sportscaster. Gold is best known as the radio voice for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, along with Tom Roberts, as part of the Crimson Tide Sports Network since 1988. He was the hos ...
– sports anchor (1981–1989; now
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
play-by-play announcer and host of the weekly radio call-in show ''
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Live'' on MRN) *
Mike Hogewood Michael Ashley Hogewood (September 13, 1954 – September 5, 2018) was an American sportscaster. He was a play-by-play announcer, studio host, and sideline reporter. Hogewood was best known for calling play-by-play and sideline reporting on ...
– sports anchor (1981–1986; later lead broadcaster for the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
, now deceased) *
Larry Langford Larry Paul Langford (March 18, 1946 – January 8, 2019) was an American politician who had a one-term tenure as the mayor of the city of Birmingham, Alabama. At the time of his death, Langford was hospitalized on compassionate release from servi ...
– reporter (1970s; former mayor of Birmingham, now deceased) *
Don Lemon Don Lemon (born March 1, 1966) is an American television journalist most well known for being a host on CNN. Lemon anchored weekend news programs on local television stations in Alabama and Pennsylvania during his early days as a journalist. He ...
– weekend anchor (1996–1997; now anchor and host of ''
CNN Tonight ''CNN Tonight'' is a title that has been used by multiple news programs broadcast by the U.S. cable news channel CNN. The title has primarily been used for transitional programs aired by CNN in the evening and prime time hours as part of chang ...
'' on
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
) *
Harry Mabry Harry Mabry (January 11, 1932 – January 10, 2004) was a television news director and anchor in Birmingham and Anniston, Alabama. Early life Born January 11, 1932, in Philadelphia, Mabry moved with his parents to Birmingham at an early age. F ...
– anchor (1960s–1970s; deceased) *
James Spann James Max Spann Jr. (born June 6, 1956) is a television meteorologist and podcast host based in Birmingham, Alabama. He currently works for WBMA-LD (''ABC 33/40''), Birmingham's ABC affiliate. Spann has worked in the field since 1978, and is oft ...
– meteorologist (1989–1996; now at
WBMA-LD WBMA-LD (channel 58) is a low-power television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WABM (channel 68) and Homewood-licensed CW affiliate ...
) *
Sally Wiggin Sarah (Sally) Wiggin is a prominent television news anchor and personality in Pittsburgh. Early life and education A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, her family moved to Florence, Alabama when she was 6 years old. She attended Emory University ...
– anchor/reporter (1977–1980; now at
WTAE-TV WTAE-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by Hearst Television since the station's inception, making this one of two stations that have been built and signed o ...
in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
) * Tom York – sports anchor/host of WBRC's long-running ''The Morning Show'' (1957–1989; deceased)


Technical information


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 ...
:


Analog-to-digital conversion

WBRC shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 6, at 8:55 a.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 50. Through the use of
PSIP The Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) is the MPEG (a video and audio industry group) and privately defined program-specific information originally defined by General Instrument for the DigiCipher 2 system and later extended for the AT ...
, digital television receivers display the station's
virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...
as its former VHF analog channel 6. The station operated its digital transmission facilities under
special temporary authorization Special Temporary Authority (STA) in U.S. broadcast law is a type of broadcast license which temporarily allows a broadcast station to operate outside of its normal technical or legal parameters. In the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stat ...
at a lower
effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...
until October 2009, when its transmitter was upgraded to full power at 1 megawatt at a position on the tower at . The FCC later granted WBRC to reclaim the top level of the tower for its main antenna, improving its digital coverage area (the former main antenna remains in use as an auxiliary antenna).


References


External links

*
Birmingham Rewound: Radio-TV

Huntsville Rewound-Huntsville AL TV Memories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wbrc BRC Fox network affiliates Bounce TV affiliates Circle (TV network) affiliates Laff (TV network) affiliates Grit (TV network) affiliates Quest (American TV network) affiliates Gray Television Television channels and stations established in 1949 New World Communications television stations Taft Broadcasting 1949 establishments in Alabama