WBRC 6

From Bhamwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

WBRC 6 is a broadcast television station owned by Local TV LLC of Fort Wright, Kentucky and affiliated with the Fox Network.

WBRC sign on Red Mountain, March 2005

The station currently has 160 employees, almost half in the news department, making it the state's largest. They produce 45 hours of local news weekly from newsrooms in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Anniston. Special programs include "Sideline" high school football reports, which have been on the air since 1989.

Locate with
Google Maps

History

Beginnings

WBRC started out in the 1920s as a low-powered AM radio station (WBRC AM 950) broadcast four hours a day from a 10 watt transmitter in the back yard of local physician J. C. Bell in Fountain Heights. The call letters stood for the "Bell Radio Corporation".

In 1928, businessman M. D. Smith, Jr. purchased the station for $2,000 and moved it to his Birmingham Awning and Tent Works at 12th Avenue North and 27th Street. He increased the transmitter to 500 watts and opened a studio in the Old Athletic Club. The broadcast day was extended to 12 hours and Les Conners was hired as the station's first professional announcer.

In 1931 the power was increased again, to 5 kilowatts, and the studios moved to a glass-enclosed "Crystal Studio" on the mezzanine of the Temple Theater. The transmitter was re-erected in the community of Kilocycle in North Birmingham. A second announcer, John Connerly was brought on board and the station was incorporated. Smith and his wife held 50% of the stock while the remainder was split between J. C. Bell and Glenn Marshall.

A year later the studio moved again, to the Bankhead Hotel, and then soon later to a building at 19th Street and 2nd Avenue North. The station affiliated itself with the NBC Radio Network. Smith died in 1937 and his wife, Eloise Haney Smith took control of the station. She bought out Marshall and, when Bell died in 1940, purchased the remaining shares to take full ownership.

Format change

Following World War II, in which Eloise, now married to Dr Hanna, served in the Red Cross and the Motor Corps, the station switched to the FM format, broadcasting from a 500,000 watt transmitter which made it the most powerful FM station in the world. The new format did not bring new profits and in 1948 Hanna switched the station over to television only. She borrowed $150,000 to erect a new transmitter on top of Red Mountain and WBRC-TV began broadcasting on VHF channel 4 on July 4, 1949. At the time, there were only 12 television sets in the city, all in retail shop windows.

M. D. Smith III, son of the former radio station owner, became the operations manager of the new station, which was on the air for three or four hours a day showing kinescopes and reading local news over a fixed slide with the station logo.

During the 1940s WBRC became the first station to broadcast the United Cerebral Palsy Telethon. The station continued to produce segments for the national UCP telethon up until the 21st century.

In September 1950 WBRC established a cable link with New York's NBC and DuMont Network affiliate, also Channel 6. Studio cameras were also brought in that year and WBRC began producing live local programming with Coffee Break, Supersonic Sam, and Cowboy Theatre. The news segment expanded from five minutes to fifteen.

Storer and Taft

Hanna retired in 1953 and sold the station to Storer Broadcasting for $2.3 million. Storer switched the frequency from 4 to 6 to minimize interference with WSM-TV 4 in Nashville. They also switched the station's affiliation to CBS on July 4, 1954. The celebration included a large fireworks display atop Red Mountain - a tradition which WBRC has revived with their SkyConcert series celebrating Independence Day. A new Colonial-style studio and office building was dedicated that September. Storer donated the equipment that helped create WTIQ on Mount Cheaha. WCIQ and WBIQ-10 joined to form ETV, the first public educational television network in the U.S.

In 1957, Storer sold the station to Taft Radio and Television of Cincinnati. In 1961, Taft switched WBRC's affiliation to then fledgling ABC network. The switch came at a time when CBS's news commentary was becoming decidedly pro-intergration. Most Taft-owned stations switched to ABC around that time, but some have speculated that CBS' editorial stance helped prompt the switch. From 1961-65 WAPI carried both NBC and CBS programming, but favored NBCs news broadcast.

In 1966 they purchased their first color cameras. News footage started to switch from 16mm film to magnetic sound film, and then, in the mid 1970s to videotape. WBRC was the first station to use a microwave-transmitting live news truck for newsgathering in 1978. In 1979 they bought a news helicopter, "Chopper 6". In 1982 the station started receiving its network and other programming by satellite. In 1988 "Skylink 6" allowed WBRC reporters to transmit to the studio by satellite as well.

The newsroom added a computer terminal in 1989.

Ownership changes

In 1987 Taft sold the station to fellow Cincinnati company Great American Radio & TV Corporation. That company sold the station to Citicasters in 1993.

In 1994 the station was sold again, this time to New World Inc., which sold the station to FOX in 1995, making WBRC one of FOX's 35 owned and operated stations. Though the sale closed on January 17, 1996, the affiliate switch did not take effect until September 1. As a result of the switch, the station became commonly know as FOX6. It opened up space for the station to have one of the nation's highest rated prime-time newscasts, FOX News at 9:00. The station continues to be the ratings leader among the local newscasts.

On July 14, 2008 FOX completed the sale of WBRC and seven other network-owned affiliates to Local TV, LLC, a holding company controlled by Oak Hill Capital Partners.

On air personalities

Current

Past

References

  • "WBRC-TV Atop Red Mountain Since 1949." (No date). WBRC FOX-6 History. [1] - accessed April 23, 2006
  • "WBRC." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 15 Jul 2008, 10:50 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 15 Jul 2008 [2].

External links

Retrieved from "http://bhamwiki.com/w/index.php?title=WBRC_6&oldid=37318"