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's surface to any number of tuned receivers simultaneously.
166-527: 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 atop Red Mountain (between Vulcan Trail and Valley View Drive) in southeastern Birmingham, where WBRC's transmitter is also located. The station first signed on
332-509: A 16:9 widescreen presentation, CBS and The CW were the only remaining networks that framed their promotions and on-screen graphical elements for a 4:3 presentation, though with CBS Sports' de facto 16:9 conversion with Super Bowl 50 and their new graphical presentation designed for 16:9 framing, in practice, most CBS affiliates ask pay-TV providers to pass down a 16:9 widescreen presentation by default over their standard definition channels. This continued for CBS until September 24, 2018, when
498-543: A barter in some cases. CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. , commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System ), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainment Group division of Paramount Global and is one of the company's three flagship subsidiaries, along with namesake Paramount Pictures and MTV . Headquartered at
664-458: A holding company operated by equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners that had earlier purchased The New York Times Company '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 in exchange for acquiring CBS affiliate WTVR-TV in Richmond, Virginia from that group. Raycom—which was controlled by
830-502: 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
996-403: 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 ; it intended to air the weekday editions of that block from 1 to 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday afternoons. However, in what would be the catalyst to
1162-447: 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 approached WBRC about retaining the rights to Fox Kids for WTTO, which became an independent station on September 1; Fox allowed WTTO to retain the local rights to the block. WBRC also declined to carry Weekend Marketplace ,
1328-413: A commercial broadcast network, since most primetime classical music specials were relegated to PBS and A&E by this time. The program was a concert commemorating the re-opening of Carnegie Hall after its complete renovation. A range of artists were featured, from classical conductor Leonard Bernstein to popular music singer Frank Sinatra . To compete with NBC, which produced the televised version of
1494-421: 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
1660-473: 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 on a one-day delay from its 1970 debut until it became
1826-473: 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
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#17327915937731992-630: 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 , and several of Taft's other stations, including flagship WKRC-TV in Cincinnati (which would rejoin CBS in 1996), had recently switched to ABC. During
2158-534: A half-hour break for local news and features the game shows The Price Is Right and Let's Make a Deal , soap operas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful , and talk show The Talk . CBS News programming includes CBS Mornings from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. weekdays and CBS Saturday Morning in the same period on Saturdays; nightly editions of CBS Evening News ;
2324-456: A large segment of WBRC's audience. An urban legend 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 documentary focusing on desegregation at Birmingham City Schools 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 in
2490-588: A little-known German-American filmed production in 1965 (which was subsequently repeated three times and starred Edward Villella , Patricia McBride and Melissa Hayden ), and beginning in 1977, the Mikhail Baryshnikov staging of the ballet, starring the Russian dancer along with Gelsey Kirkland – a version that would become a television classic, and remains so today (the broadcast of this production later moved to PBS). In April 1986, CBS presented
2656-486: 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 ), creating a triple- simulcast with WCFT and WJSU, which would act as its satellite stations . WBRC became
2822-531: A lower effective radiated power until October 2009, when its transmitter was upgraded to full power at 1 megawatt at a position on the tower at 373 meters (1,224 ft). 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). Television station The Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow ( TV Station Paul Nipkow ) in Berlin , Germany ,
2988-404: A mere two months later by popular demand, this time on videotape, rather than live. In later years, the program was shown as a standalone special on PBS ; the current DVD of the telecast omits the commentary by Charles Kuralt but includes additional selections not heard on the CBS telecast. In 1986, CBS telecast Carnegie Hall: The Grand Reopening in primetime, in what was then a rare move for
3154-546: 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 ) 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
3320-415: A much shorter wavelength, and thus requires a shorter antenna, but also higher power. North American stations can go up to 5000 kW ERP for video and 500 kW audio, or 1000 kW digital. Low channels travel further than high ones at the same power, but UHF does not suffer from as much electromagnetic interference and background "noise" as VHF, making it much more desirable for TV. Despite this, in
3486-558: A new television special. Under the agreement, CBS would videotape Presley's concerts during the summer of 1977; the special was filmed during Presley's final tour at stops in Omaha, Nebraska (on June 19) and Rapid City, South Dakota (on June 21 of that year). CBS aired the special, Elvis in Concert , on October 3, 1977, nearly two months after Presley died in his Graceland mansion on August 16. Since its inception in 1978, CBS has been
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#17327915937733652-716: 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 systems that each of
3818-701: A primary NBC affiliate (earning the affiliation as a result of WBRC radio's longtime affiliation with the NBC Red Network ), and also carried secondary affiliations with ABC and the DuMont Television Network ; during the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network . 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 operations;
3984-698: A primary feed CBS affiliate has not yet upgraded their transmission equipment to allow content to be presented in HD. A small number of CBS stations and affiliates are also currently broadcasting at 1080p via an ATSC 3.0 multiplex station to simulcast a station's programming such as WNCN through WRDC in Durham, North Carolina , WTVF through WUXP-TV in Nashville , and KLAS-TV through KVCW in Las Vegas , Nevada . CBS began its conversion to high definition with
4150-457: A prime time newscast at 9 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 , then from 1997 afterward, Jeopardy! ) as a tentpole between the 9 and 10 p.m. newscasts from the September 1996 switch until September 2002, when it expanded
4316-521: 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
4482-430: A separate company in 1971. In 1974, CBS dropped its original full name and became known simply as CBS, Inc. The Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired the network in 1994, renaming its legal name to the current CBS Broadcasting Inc. two years later, and in 1997 adopted the name of the company it had acquired to become CBS Corporation . In 1999, CBS came under the control of the original incarnation of Viacom , which
4648-418: 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; kinescopes 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
4814-509: A slightly abbreviated version of Horowitz in Moscow , a live piano recital by pianist Vladimir Horowitz , which marked his return to Russia after over 60 years. The recital was televised as an episode of CBS News Sunday Morning (televised at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the U.S., as the recital was performed simultaneously at 4:00 p.m. in Russia). It was so successful that CBS repeated it
4980-464: A sports anthology series that fills certain weekend afternoon time slots before (or in some cases, in place of) a major sporting event. CBS' daytime schedule is the longest among the major networks at 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours. It is the home of the long-running game show The Price Is Right , which began production in 1972 and is the longest continuously running daytime game show on network television. After being hosted by Bob Barker for 35 years,
5146-511: A subchannel of a co-owned/co-managed full-power television station. CBS also maintains a sizeable number of subchannel-only affiliations, the majority of which are with stations in cities located outside of the 50 largest Nielsen-designated markets; the largest CBS subchannel affiliate by market size is KOGG in Wailuku, Hawaii , which serves as a repeater of Honolulu affiliate KGMB (the sister station of KOGG parent KHNL). Nexstar Media Group
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5312-439: A syndicated Saturday morning block exclusive to ABC stations and later produced a block for CBS' sister network The CW that received its debut the following year, to launch a new Saturday morning block featuring live-action reality-based lifestyle, wildlife, and sports series. The Litton-produced CBS Dream Team block, aimed at teenagers 13 to 16 years old, began broadcasting on September 28, 2013, replacing Cookie Jar TV. The block
5478-653: A three-year agreement with DIC Entertainment , which was acquired later that year by the Cookie Jar Group , to program the Saturday morning time slot as part of a deal that included distribution of select tape-delayed Formula One auto races. The KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS replaced Nick Jr. on CBS that September, with the inaugural lineup featuring two new first-run live-action programs, one animated series that originally aired in syndication in 2005, and three shows produced before 2006. In mid-2007, KOL,
5644-425: A variety of ways to generate revenue from television commercials . They may be an independent station or part of a broadcasting network , or some other structure. They can produce some or all of their programs or buy some broadcast syndication programming for or all of it from other stations or independent production companies. Many stations have some sort of television studio , which on major-network stations
5810-600: 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 ' apparent strong support of the Civil Rights Movement , which did not sit well with many white viewers,
5976-686: 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 to affiliate with CBS stations WCFT-TV (channel 33, now Heroes & Icons affiliate WSES ) in Tuscaloosa and WJSU-TV (channel 40, now Heroes & Icons affiliate WGWW ) in Anniston (the latter of which Allbritton had agreed to operate under
6142-532: Is multiplexed : WBRC shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 6, at 8:55 a.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date on 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, using virtual channel 6. The station operated its digital transmission facilities under special temporary authorization at
6308-496: Is non-commercial educational (NCE) and considered public broadcasting . To avoid concentration of media ownership of television stations, government regulations in most countries generally limit the ownership of television stations by television networks or other media operators, but these regulations vary considerably. Some countries have set up nationwide television networks, in which individual television stations act as mere repeaters of nationwide programs . In those countries,
6474-524: Is also provided most weekend afternoons. Due to the unpredictable length of sporting events, CBS occasionally delays scheduled primetime programs to allow the programs to air in their entirety, a practice most commonly seen with the NFL on CBS . In addition to rights to sports events from major sports organizations such as the NFL , PGA , and NCAA , CBS broadcasts the CBS Sports Spectacular ,
6640-470: Is broadcast via terrestrial radio waves. A group of television stations with common ownership or affiliation are known as a TV network and an individual station within the network is referred to as O&O or affiliate , respectively. Because television station signals use the electromagnetic spectrum, which in the past has been a common, scarce resource, governments often claim authority to regulate them. Broadcast television systems standards vary around
6806-792: Is often used for newscasts or other local programming . There is usually a news department , where journalists gather information. There is also a section where electronic news-gathering (ENG) operations are based, receiving remote broadcasts via remote pickup unit or satellite TV . Outside broadcasting vans, production trucks , or SUVs with electronic field production (EFP) equipment are sent out with reporters , who may also bring back news stories on video tape rather than sending them back live . To keep pace with technology United States television stations have been replacing operators with broadcast automation systems to increase profits in recent years. Some stations (known as repeaters or translators ) only simulcast another, usually
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6972-436: Is served by Boston O&O WBZ-TV and Burlington, Vermont , affiliate WCAX-TV ). CBS maintains affiliations with low-power stations (broadcasting either in analog or digital) in a few markets, such as Harrisonburg, Virginia ( WSVF-CD ), Palm Springs, California ( KPSP-CD ), and Parkersburg, West Virginia ( WIYE-LD ). In some markets, including both of those mentioned, these stations also maintain digital simulcasts on
7138-583: Is shared with its U.S. counterpart, whilst the Australian version also features numerous full seasons of local Network 10 shows, all commercial-free. It was announced in September 2020 that the service would be rebranded as Paramount+ in early 2021, and would feature content from the wider ViacomCBS library following the re-merger between CBS and Viacom. The name was also extended to international markets and services such as 10 All Access. The rebrand to Paramount+ took place on March 4, 2021. CBS' master feed
7304-468: Is the largest operator of CBS stations by numerical total, owning 49 CBS affiliates (counting satellites); Tegna Media is the largest operator of CBS stations in terms of overall market reach, owning 15 CBS-affiliated stations (including affiliates in the larger markets in Houston , Tampa and Washington, D.C. ) that reach 8.9% of the country. CBS provides video-on-demand access for delayed viewing of
7470-565: Is the second-oldest television station in Alabama, signing on just over one month after WAFM-TV (channel 13, now WVTM-TV ), 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
7636-415: Is transmitted in 1080i high definition , the native resolution format for CBS Corporation's television properties. However, seven of its affiliates transmit the network's programming in 720p HD, while seven others carry the network feed in 480i standard definition either due to technical considerations for affiliates of other major networks that carry CBS programming on a digital subchannel or because
7802-860: The CBS Building in New York City and being part of the " Big Three " television networks, CBS has major production facilities and operations at the CBS Broadcast Center and the headquarters of owner Paramount at One Astor Plaza (both also in that city) and Television City and the CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles. It is sometimes referred to as the Eye Network , after the company's trademark symbol of an eye (which has been in use since October 20, 1951), and also
7968-552: The Mary Martin Broadway production of Peter Pan , CBS responded with a musical production of Cinderella , with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II . Based upon the classic Charles Perrault fairy tale , it is the only Rodgers and Hammerstein musical to have been written for television. It was originally broadcast live in color on CBS on March 31, 1957, as a vehicle for Julie Andrews , who played
8134-566: The Mississippi border in the west to the Georgia border in the east. In addition, although FM broadcasting was in its infancy at the time of the network switch, the advantage of channel 6's audio being heard at 87.7 FM at the far end of the FM dial would be taken advantage of by WBRC in promotional advertising up until the 2009 digital transition , allowing the station's audience to listen to
8300-626: The New Orleans Pelicans announced a broader deal to form the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network, which will broadcast nearly all 2024–25 Pelicans games on Gray's stations in the Gulf South , including WBRC. WBRC presently broadcasts 64 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 11 hours each weekday, 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours on Saturdays and five hours on Sundays); in regards to
8466-483: The Pillsbury Bake-Off , an annual national cooking contest, was broadcast on CBS as a special. Hosts for the broadcast included Arthur Godfrey , Art Linkletter , Bob Barker , Gary Collins , Willard Scott (although under contract with CBS' rival NBC), and Alex Trebek . The Miss USA beauty pageant aired on CBS from 1963 to 2002, during a large portion of that period, the telecast was often emceed by
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#17327915937738632-737: The Retirement Systems of Alabama —was headquartered in Montgomery (the market to the adjacent south of the Birmingham DMA), and also owned that market's NBC affiliate WSFA as well as Huntsville NBC affiliate WAFF . The transfer closed on March 31, 2009. On June 25, 2018, Atlanta-based Gray Television 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
8798-754: The Tiffany Network , which alludes to the perceived high quality of its programming during the tenure of William S. Paley (and can also refer to some of CBS's first demonstrations of color television , which were held in the former Tiffany and Company Building in New York City in 1950). The network has its origins in United Independent Broadcasters, Inc. , a radio network founded in Chicago by New York City talent agent Arthur Judson in January 1927. In April of that year,
8964-405: The broadcast range , or geographic area, that the station is limited to, allocates the broadcast frequency of the radio spectrum for that station's transmissions, sets limits on what types of television programs can be programmed for broadcast and requires a station to broadcast a minimum amount of certain programs types, such as public affairs messages . Another form of television station
9130-538: The economic downturn . 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 p.m. newscast, placing
9296-534: The electricity bill and emergency backup generators . In North America , full-power stations on band I (channels 2 to 6) are generally limited to 100 kW analog video ( VSB ) and 10 kW analog audio ( FM ), or 45 kW digital ( 8VSB ) ERP. Stations on band III (channels 7 to 13) can go up by 5 dB to 316 kW video, 31.6 kW audio, or 160 kW digital. Low-VHF stations are often subject to long-distance reception just as with FM. There are no stations on Channel 1 . UHF , by comparison, has
9462-531: The infomercial 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 in Los Angeles and WFLD in Chicago moved the block to their UPN -affiliated sister stations ( KCOP-TV and WPWR-TV ). On September 17, 2024, Gray and
9628-543: The 10 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
9794-403: The 1940s to 1951, consisted of an oval spotlight which shone on the block letters "CBS". The present-day Eye device was conceived by William Golden, based on a Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign and a Shaker drawing. While the logo is commonly attributed to Golden, some design work may have been done by CBS staff designer Georg Olden , one of the first African-Americans to attract some attention in
9960-502: The 1970s, ABC aired cartoons from Hanna-Barbera , whose studios were acquired by Taft in 1967. Taft later bought ABC's former syndication arm, Worldvision Enterprises , in 1979 (ABC spun off this division in 1973 as a result of fin-syn 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
10126-411: The 1970s, was used for the title logo). The word "SPECIAL", in all caps and repeated multiple times in multiple colors, slowly zoomed out from the frame in a spinning counterclockwise motion against a black background, and rapidly zoomed back into frame as a single word, in white, at the end; the sequence was accompanied by a jazzy though majestic up-tempo fanfare with dramatic horns and percussion (which
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#173279159377310292-490: The 1980s. The "Reach for the Stars" campaign used during the 1981–82 season features a space theme to capitalize on both CBS's stellar improvement in the ratings and the historic launch of the space shuttle Columbia . 1982's "Great Moments" juxtaposed scenes from classic CBS programs such as I Love Lucy with scenes from the network's then-current classics such as Dallas and M*A*S*H . From 1983 to 1986, CBS (by now firmly atop
10458-472: The 2010–11 season, while ABC was broadcasting its entire schedule in HD by the 2011–12 midseason). All of the network's programming has been presented in full HD since then (except for certain holiday specials produced before 2005 – such as the Rankin-Bass specials – which continue to be presented in 4:3 SD, although some have been remastered for HD broadcast). On September 1, 2016, when ABC converted to
10624-524: The Anniston-Gadsden market to move to WNAL-TV (channel 44, now Ion Television owned-and-operated station WPXH-TV ), 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 , and
10790-534: 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 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
10956-606: The Columbia Phonograph Company, parent of Columbia Records ' record label, invested in the network, resulting in its rebranding as the Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System ( CPBS ). In early 1928, Judson and Columbia sold the network to Isaac and Leon Levy, two brothers who owned WCAU , the network's Philadelphia affiliate, as well as their partner Jerome Louchheim. They installed William S. Paley, an in-law of
11122-586: The Cosby Kids , Jim Henson's Muppet Babies , Garfield and Friends , and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . In 1997, CBS premiered Wheel 2000 , a children's version of the syndicated game show Wheel of Fortune which aired simultaneously on the Game Show Network . In September 1998, CBS began contracting the time out to other companies to provide programming and material for its Saturday morning schedule. The first of these outsourced blocks
11288-577: The Dome ) and Netflix . Notably, however, CBS is the only major broadcast network that does not provide recent episodes of its programming on Hulu (sister network The CW does offer its programming on the streaming service, albeit on a one-week delay after becoming available on the network's website on Hulu's free service, with users of its subscription service being granted access to newer episodes of CW series eight hours after their initial broadcast), due to concerns over cannibalizing viewership of some of
11454-518: 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 link with fellow NBC-DuMont affiliate WRGB (now a CBS affiliate) in Schenectady, New York , allowing
11620-534: The Grenadines . The network has a national reach of 95.96% of all households in the United States (or 299,861,665 Americans with at least one television set). Currently, New Jersey , New Hampshire and Delaware are the only U.S. states where CBS does not have a locally licensed affiliate (New Jersey is served by New York City O&O WCBS-TV and Philadelphia O&O KYW-TV; Delaware is served by KYW and Salisbury, Maryland , affiliate WBOC-TV ; and New Hampshire
11786-662: The Levys, as president of the network. With the Columbia record label out of ownership, Paley rebranded the network as the Columbia Broadcasting System . By September 1928, Paley became the network's majority owner with 51 percent of the business. Paramount Pictures then acquired the other 49 percent of CBS in 1929, but the Great Depression eventually forced the studio to sell its shares back to
11952-542: The Miss USA, Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA pageants and moving them to that network as part of an initial five-year contract, which began in 2003 and ended in 2015 after 12 years amid Trump's controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants during the launch of his 2016 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination . On June 1, 1977, it was announced that Elvis Presley had signed a deal with CBS to appear in
12118-436: The Restless became the first daytime soap opera to broadcast in HD on June 27, 2001. CBS' 14-year conversion to an entirely high-definition schedule ended in 2014, with Big Brother and Let's Make a Deal becoming the final two series to convert from 4:3 standard definition to HD (in contrast, NBC, Fox, and The CW were already airing their entire programming schedules – outside of Saturday mornings – in high definition by
12284-735: The Snowman are the only two pre-1990 animated specials remaining on CBS; the broadcast rights to the Charlie Brown specials are now held by Apple, The Grinch rights by NBC, and the rights to the Garfield specials by Boomerang . All of these animated specials, from 1973 to 1990, began with a fondly remembered seven-second animated opening sequence, in which the words "A CBS Special Presentation" were displayed in colorful lettering (the ITC Avant Garde typeface, widely used in
12450-514: The Southern United States), it was a perfect fit for Birmingham. Unusual for a commercial broadcaster, Storer supported educational television , 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 ). This also, however, may have been
12616-998: The Storer era: WJBK, WAGA-TV in Atlanta , WJW in Cleveland and WITI in Milwaukee . 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 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 in St. Louis , KDVR in Denver and KSTU in Salt Lake City ) to Local TV ,
12782-508: The Sunday political talk show Face the Nation ; early morning news program CBS Morning News ; and the newsmagazines 60 Minutes , CBS News Sunday Morning , and 48 Hours . On weeknights, CBS airs the talk shows The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Late Late Show with James Corden (until 2023, which is now replaced by game show After Midnight ). CBS Sports programming
12948-647: The U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking another large portion of this band (channels 52 to 69) away, in contrast to the rest of the world, which has been taking VHF instead. This means that some stations left on VHF are harder to receive after the analog shutdown . Since at least 1974, there are no stations on channel 37 in North America for radio astronomy purposes. Most television stations are commercial broadcasting enterprises which are structured in
13114-862: The United States, some also available in Canada via pay-television providers or in border areas over-the-air. As of 2013 , CBS provides 87 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours of regularly scheduled network programming each week. The network provides 22 hours of primetime programming to affiliated stations Monday through Saturday from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Sunday from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time (7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sunday in Central/Mountain time). The network also provides daytime programming from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific weekdays (subtract 1 hour for all other time zones), including
13280-597: The WBRC radio stations, which changed their call letters to WERC-AM and FM . In 1966, WBRC-TV began broadcasting local programming in color , after the station purchased two color cameras; among the first local programs to be produced in color was the Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches' program, The Bear Bryant Show (originated from CBS affiliate WCOV-TV (now also a Fox affiliate) in Montgomery,
13446-617: The WBRC stations to Radio Cincinnati Inc., the forerunner of what would become Taft Broadcasting , for $ 2.3 million. Storer had to sell its broadcast holdings in Birmingham after it purchased radio station WIBG (now WNTP ) in Philadelphia and its television sister, WPFH (later WVUE ) in Wilmington, Delaware (whose frequency is now occupied by WHYY-TV ), to comply with the FCC's ownership limits of that time period. On March 1, 1961, WBRC-TV signed an agreement with ABC to become
13612-435: The WBRC television and radio stations to Storer Broadcasting 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 , 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
13778-772: The World Turns , Love of Life , Search for Tomorrow , The Secret Storm , The Edge of Night , and Capitol . CBS broadcast the live-action series Captain Kangaroo on weekday mornings from 1955 to 1982, and on Saturdays until 1984. From 1971 to 1986, CBS News produced a series of one-minute segments titled In the News , which aired between other Saturday morning programs. Otherwise, CBS's children's programming has mostly focused on animated series such as reruns of Mighty Mouse , Looney Tunes , and Tom and Jerry cartoons, as well as Scooby-Doo , Fat Albert and
13944-470: 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 (960 AM, now WERC); 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 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), it
14110-544: The app were limited until the release of its Google Play and Windows 8 apps in October 2013, expanded the selections to include full episodes of all CBS series to which the network does not license the streaming rights to other services. On October 28, 2014, CBS launched CBS All Access , an over-the-top subscription streaming service – priced at $ 5.99 per month ($ 9.99 with the no commercials option) – which allows users to view past and present episodes of CBS shows. Announced on October 16, 2014 (one day after HBO announced
14276-509: The children's service of AOL , withdrew sponsorship from CBS' Saturday morning block, which was subsequently renamed KEWLopolis. Complementing CBS's 2007 lineup were Care Bears , Strawberry Shortcake , and Sushi Pack . On February 24, 2009, it was announced that CBS would renew its contract with Cookie Jar for another three seasons through 2012. On September 19, 2009, KEWLopolis was renamed Cookie Jar TV . On July 24, 2013, CBS agreed with Litton Entertainment , which already programmed
14442-613: The closing narration, viewed by network president William S. Paley 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
14608-459: 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 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
14774-477: 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 bankruptcy . 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. On May 5, 1994, Great American Communications (which would later be renamed Citicasters following
14940-599: The completion of its restructuring) agreed to sell WBRC and three other television stations – WDAF-TV in Kansas City , KSAZ-TV in Phoenix and WGHP in High Point, North Carolina – to New World Communications – 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
15106-495: The current Raycom stations. The sale was approved on December 20 and completed on January 2, 2019. WBRC currently carries the majority of the Fox network schedule, though it delays the network's Saturday late night block (currently a repeat of a prime time reality show) one hour due to the station's 10 p.m. newscast and its carriage of the syndicated sports interview program In Depth with Graham Bensinger ; in addition, following
15272-809: The early 1970s, and is occasionally broadcast on various cable networks to this day; both versions are available on DVD. CBS was also the original broadcast home for the primetime specials produced by the National Geographic Society . The Geographic series in the U.S. started on CBS in 1964, before moving to ABC in 1973 (the specials subsequently moved to PBS – under the production of Pittsburgh member station WQED – in 1975 and NBC in 1995, before returning to PBS in 2000). The specials have featured stories on many scientific figures such as Louis Leakey , Jacques Cousteau , and Jane Goodall , that not only featured their work but helped make them internationally known and accessible to millions. A majority of
15438-559: 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
15604-630: 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 in Columbus, Georgia (the latter of which includes
15770-683: The eloquent commentaries of Bernstein. The specials were nominated for several Emmy Awards , including two wins in 1961 and later in 1966, and were among the first programs ever broadcast from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts . Over the years, CBS has broadcast three different productions of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker – two live telecasts of the George Balanchine New York City Ballet production in 1957 and 1958 respectively,
15936-495: 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 (who himself reportedly left WBRC due to his disapproval over
16102-424: 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
16268-521: 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 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 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the original tower's location. In October 1987, Taft was restructured into Great American Communications following
16434-507: 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—resulted in WBRC gaining new sister stations in adjacent markets, including ABC affiliate WTOK-TV in Meridian and CBS/NBC affiliates WTVY and WRGX-LD in Dothan (while separating it from WDFX ), in addition to
16600-482: The group's 1996 merger with Fox Television Stations (WGHP and WJBK 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
16766-420: The highest point available in the transmission area, such as on a summit , the top of a high skyscraper , or on a tall radio tower . To get a signal from the master control room to the transmitter, a studio/transmitter link (STL) is used. The link can be either by radio or T1 / E1 . A transmitter/studio link (TSL) may also send telemetry back to the station, but this may be embedded in subcarriers of
16932-417: The host of one of the network's game shows including Bob Barker from 1967 to 1987 (at which point Barker, an animal rights activist who eventually convinced producers of The Price Is Right to cease offering fur coats as prizes on the program, quit in a dispute over their use), succeed by Alan Thicke in 1988, Dick Clark from 1989 to 1993, and Bob Goen from 1994 to 1996. The pageant's highest viewership
17098-453: The hour-long series The Young and the Restless , which debuted in 1973, and the half-hour series The Bold and the Beautiful , which debuted in 1987. CBS has long aired the most soap operas out of the Big Three networks, carrying 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours of soaps on its daytime lineup from 1977 to 2009, and still retains the longest daily schedule. Other than Guiding Light , notable daytime soap operas that once aired on CBS include As
17264-466: The introduction of the Eye logo, featuring special IDs of logo versions from previous CBS image campaigns being shown during the network's primetime lineup. CBS historically used a specially-commissioned variant of Didot , a close relative to Bodoni , as its corporate font until 2021. CBS has developed several notable image campaigns, and several of the network's most well-known slogans were introduced in
17430-790: The late 1960s to the early 1970s). The eye logo has served as inspiration for the logos of Associated Television (ATV) in the United Kingdom, Canal 4 in El Salvador, Televisa in Mexico, France 3 , Latina Televisión in Peru, Fuji Television in Japan, Rede Bandeirantes and TV Globo in Brazil, and Canal 10 in Uruguay. In October 2011, the network celebrated the 60th anniversary of
17596-583: 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 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 . In 1984, the station became one of
17762-422: The launch of its over-the-top service HBO Now ) as the first OTT offering by a USA broadcast television network, the service initially encompassed the network's existing streaming portal at CBS.com and its mobile app for smartphones and tablet computers ; CBS All Access became available on Roku on April 7, 2015, and on Chromecast on May 14, 2015. In addition to providing full-length episodes of CBS programs,
17928-596: The launch of its simulcast feed CBS HD in September 1998, at the start of the 1998–99 season . That year, the network aired the first NFL game broadcast in high-definition, with the telecast of the New York Jets – Buffalo Bills game on November 8. The network gradually converted much of its existing programming from standard definition to high definition beginning with the 2000–01 season , with select shows among that season's slate of freshmen scripted series being broadcast in HD starting with their debuts. The Young and
18094-518: The lawsuit. In July 2008, the station announced that James-Paul Dice – a former meteorologist at CBS affiliate WHNT-TV in Huntsville – 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 as chief meteorologist. The station's signal
18260-555: The length of the ABC Evening News ; however, the 15-minute local newscast beat The Huntley-Brinkley Report on WAPI-TV/WVTM and the CBS Evening News 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
18426-400: The local television station has no station identification and, from a consumer's point of view, there is no practical distinction between a network and a station, with only small regional changes in programming, such as local television news . To broadcast its programs, a television station requires operators to operate equipment, a transmitter or radio antenna , which is often located at
18592-419: The main broadcast. Stations which retransmit or simulcast another may simply pick-up that station over-the-air , or via STL or satellite. The license usually specifies which other station it is allowed to carry. VHF stations often have very tall antennas due to their long wavelength , but require much less effective radiated power (ERP), and therefore use much less transmitter power output , also saving on
18758-451: 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 ), 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
18924-462: The multiple-voting shares held by National Amusements) were given a 72% stake in the combined Entercom, CBS no longer owns or operates any radio stations directly; however, it still provides radio news broadcasts to its radio affiliates and the new owners of its former radio stations, and licenses the rights to use CBS trademarks under a long-term contract. The television network has over 240 owned-and-operated and affiliated television stations throughout
19090-415: The network converted its on-screen graphical elements to a 16:9 widescreen presentation for all non-news and sports programs. Litton Entertainment continues to frame the graphical elements in their programs for Dream Team within a 4:3 frame due to them being positioned for future syndicated sales, though all of its programming has been in high definition. The CBS television network's initial logo, used from
19256-494: The network in 1932. CBS would then remain primarily an independent company throughout the next 63 years. Under Paley's guidance, CBS would first become one of the largest radio networks in the United States and eventually one of the Big Three American broadcast television networks. CBS ventured and expanded its horizons through television starting in the 1940s, spinning off its broadcast syndication division Viacom to
19422-458: The network in September 1994). Although the network's Birmingham charter affiliate, WTTO (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
19588-643: The network include Beat the Clock and To Tell the Truth . Two long-running primetime-only games were the panel shows What's My Line? and I've Got a Secret . The network is also home to The Talk , a panel talk show similar in format to ABC's The View . It debuted in October 2010. As of the show's thirteenth season, the panel features Sheryl Underwood , Amanda Kloots , Jerry O'Connell , Akbar Gbajabiamila , and Natalie Morales who serves as moderator. CBS Daytime airs two daytime soap operas each weekday:
19754-623: 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 mansion. While it may have been out of place in most of Storer's other markets (many of which were located outside of
19920-470: The network's owned-and-operated station group, Fox Television Stations . Fox was unable to immediately purchase the two stations outright due to questions over the American citizenship of then-parent company News Corporation 's Australian-born CEO Rupert Murdoch . New World then decided to acquire the stations itself, but place them in an outside trust company that it established; New World would sell
20086-572: The network's most prominent programs; however, episode back catalogs of certain past and present CBS series are available on the service through an agreement with CBS Television Distribution. Upon the release of the app in March 2013, CBS restricted streaming of the most recent episode of any of the network's programs on its streaming app for Apple iOS devices until eight days after their initial broadcast to encourage live or same-week (via both DVR and cable on demand) viewing; programming selections on
20252-504: The network's prime time lineup. WBRC became the first television station to broadcast the United Cerebral Palsy Telethon , an event to raise money for the cerebral palsy 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
20418-402: The network's programming through various means, including via its website at CBS.com; the network's apps for iOS , Android , and newer version Windows devices; a traditional VOD service called CBS on Demand available on most traditional cable and IPTV providers; and through content deals with Amazon Video (which holds exclusive streaming rights to the CBS drama series Extant and Under
20584-414: The news department in on-air, administrative and production positions. 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
20750-449: 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 to 9 a.m.), and bridged the separate 5 and 6 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
20916-455: The next 30 years. The CBS eye has since become a widely recognized symbol. While the logo has been used in different ways, the Eye device itself has never been redesigned. As part of a then-new graphical identity created by Trollbäck + Company that was used by the network during the 2006–2007 network television season, the eye was placed in a "trademark" position on show titles, days of the week and descriptive words, an approach highly respecting
21082-463: 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 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
21248-463: 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
21414-463: 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
21580-414: The postwar graphic design field. The Eye device made its broadcast debut on October 20, 1951. The following season, as Golden prepared a new "ident", CBS President Frank Stanton insisted on keeping the Eye device and using it as much as possible. Golden died unexpectedly in 1959, and was replaced by Lou Dorfsman , one of his top assistants, who would go on to oversee all print and on-air graphics for CBS for
21746-468: 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,
21912-404: The program's move from Fox Sports 1 to Fox in September 2015, WBRC formerly was one of several Fox affiliates that has declined carriage of the Sunday pre-game show Fox NFL Kickoff during the NFL regular season 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
22078-476: The programmes seen on its owner's flagship station, and have no television studio or production facilities of their own. This is common in developing countries . Low-power stations typically also fall into this category worldwide. Most stations which are not simulcast produce their own station identifications . TV stations may also advertise on or provide weather (or news) services to local radio stations , particularly co-owned sister stations . This may be
22244-444: 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 to switch twelve television stations – six that New World had already owned and eight that
22410-543: The service allows live programming streams of local CBS affiliates in 124 markets reaching 75% of the United States. CBS All Access offered the most recent episodes of the network's shows the day after their original broadcast, as well as complete back catalogs of most of its current series and a wide selection of episodes of classic series from the CBS Television Distribution and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks program library to subscribers of
22576-564: The service. CBS All Access also carried behind-the-scenes features from CBS programs and special events. Original programs aired on CBS All Access included Star Trek: Discovery , The Good Fight , and Big Brother: Over the Top . In December 2018, the service was launched in Australia under the name 10 All Access , due to its affiliation with CBS-owned free-to-air broadcaster Network 10 . Due to local programming rights, not all content
22742-580: The show has been hosted since 2007 by actor and comedian Drew Carey . The network is also home to the current incarnation of Let's Make a Deal , hosted by singer and comedian Wayne Brady . CBS is the only commercial broadcast network that continues to broadcast daytime game shows. Notable game shows that once aired as part of the network's daytime lineup include Match Game , Tattletales , The $ 10/25,000 Pyramid , Press Your Luck , Card Sharks , Family Feud , and Wheel of Fortune . Past game shows that have had both daytime and prime time runs on
22908-497: 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 , which maintained
23074-610: The sole broadcaster of The Kennedy Center Honors , a two-hour performing arts tribute typically taped and edited in December for later broadcast during the holiday season. CBS has 15 owned-and-operated stations, and current and pending affiliation agreements with 228 additional television stations encompassing 50 states, the District of Columbia, two U.S. possessions (Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Bermuda and St. Vincent and
23240-690: The specials were narrated by various actors, notably Alexander Scourby during the CBS run. The success of the specials led in part to the creation of the National Geographic Channel , a cable channel launched in January 2001 as a joint venture between the National Geographic Society and Fox Cable Networks . The specials' distinctive theme music, by Elmer Bernstein , was also adopted by the National Geographic Channel. From 1949 to 2002,
23406-735: 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,
23572-559: The station and ABC network programming on both traditional radio receivers and car stereos . The station's weather department designed its presentations to relay information for both its traditional television and radio audiences in severe weather situations. 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
23738-442: The station in competition with WVTM and WBMA, which have both aired 4 p.m. newscasts for several years. In May 2008, David Neal (who had been with WBRC since 1997) filed a breach of contract 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
23904-424: The station initially turned down Bewitched , not because it was concerned about witchcraft , but because it concerned a mixed marriage (between a witch and a mortal); there were fears that Bewitched would encourage what some segregationists referred to as " cross-breeding "; channel 6 would not clear Bewitched until 1967 (although, according to the October 15, 1965, issue of The Birmingham News , Bewitched
24070-410: 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 at 106.9 FM; original frequency now occupied by WDXB ), which signed on in 1947 with the highest radiated power of any radio station worldwide, operating at 500,000 watts; after
24236-577: 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 ) in Nashville , which also transmitted on channel 4, that were present in portions of northern Alabama. Later that year, Hanna also sold
24402-668: 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 truck for electronic news-gathering purposes, and became the first to provide live breaking news 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 p.m. newscast to match
24568-421: The stations operate (the only Raycom-owned station in Alabama that did not participate in the arrangement was fellow Fox affiliate WDFX-TV in Dothan , 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 p.m. newscast due to budget cutbacks at the station spurred by
24734-555: The stations to Fox Television Stations, which, in turn, would pay the group $ 130 million in promissory notes 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
24900-564: The time of the deal, Nickelodeon and CBS were corporate sisters through the latter's then parent company Viacom as a result of its 2000 merger with CBS Corporation. From 2002 to 2005, live-action and animated Nickelodeon series aimed at older children also aired as part of the block under the name Nick on CBS . Following the Viacom-CBS split, the network decided to discontinue the Nickelodeon content deal. In March 2006, CBS entered into
25066-422: The title role; that broadcast was seen by over 100 million people. It was subsequently remade by CBS in 1965, with Lesley Ann Warren, Stuart Damon, Ginger Rogers , and Walter Pidgeon among its stars; the remake also included the new song "Loneliness of Evening", which was originally composed in 1949 for South Pacific but was not performed in that musical. This version was rebroadcast several times on CBS into
25232-707: The two separated companies agreed to re-merge to become ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Global). Following the sale, CBS and its other broadcasting and entertainment assets were reorganized into a new division, CBS Entertainment Group. CBS operated the CBS Radio network until 2017 when it sold its radio division to Entercom (now known as Audacy, Inc. since 2021). Before this, CBS Radio mainly provided news and feature content for its portfolio of owned-and-operated radio stations in large and mid-sized markets, as well as its affiliated radio stations in various other markets. While CBS Corporation common shareholders (i.e. not
25398-798: The value of the design. The logo is alternately known as the "Eyemark", a branding used for CBS' domestic television syndication division , under the Eyemark Entertainment name, in the mid-to-late 1990s after Westinghouse Electric bought CBS, but before the King World acquisition (which Eyemark was folded into), and subsequent merger with Viacom; Eyemark Entertainment was the result of the merger of MaXaM Entertainment (an independent television syndication firm which Westinghouse acquired shortly after its merger with CBS in 1996), Group W Productions (Westinghouse Broadcasting's own syndication division), & CBS Enterprises (CBS's syndication arm from
25564-727: The works of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), beginning with How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1966, as well as several specials based on the Garfield comic strip during the 1980s (which led to Garfield getting his Saturday-morning cartoon on the network, Garfield and Friends , which ran from 1988 to 1995). Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer , produced in stop motion by Rankin/Bass , has been another annual holiday staple of CBS; however, that special first aired on NBC in 1964. As of 2011 , Rudolph and Frosty
25730-399: The world. Television stations broadcasting over an analog system were typically limited to one television channel , but digital television enables broadcasting via subchannels as well. Television stations usually require a broadcast license from a government agency which sets the requirements and limitations on the station. In the United States, for example, a television license defines
25896-459: Was a more general-interest interview and features program that was formatted basically a local version of Today ; 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 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 ). Fiddler, guitarist and vocalist Eddie Burns
26062-443: 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
26228-838: Was edited incidental music from the CBS crime drama Hawaii Five-O , titled "Call to Danger" on the Capitol Records soundtrack LP). This opening sequence appeared immediately before all CBS specials of the period (such as the Miss USA pageants and the annual presentation of the Kennedy Center Honors ), in addition to animated specials. CBS was also responsible for airing the series of Young People's Concerts , conducted by Leonard Bernstein . Telecast every few months between 1958 and 1972, first in black-and-white and then in color beginning in 1966, these programs introduced millions of children to classical music through
26394-455: Was formed as a spin-off of CBS in 1971. In 2005, Viacom split itself into two separate companies and re-established CBS Corporation through the spin-off of its broadcast television, radio and select cable television and non-broadcasting assets, with the CBS network at its core. CBS Corporation was controlled by Sumner Redstone through National Amusements , which also controlled the second incarnation of Viacom until December 4, 2019, when
26560-477: Was invited to bring his musical group to serve as The Morning Show ' s house band 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 , bluegrass and Southern Gospel music artists during its 36-year run from 1957 until December 31 , 1993. Over time, Burns added novelty acts to
26726-483: 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 . 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
26892-557: Was recorded in the early 1980s when it regularly topped the Nielsen ratings on the week of its broadcast. Viewership dropped sharply throughout the 1990s and 2000s, from an estimated viewership of 20 million to an average of 7 million from 2000 to 2001. In 2002, Donald Trump (owner of the Miss USA pageant's governing body, the Miss Universe Organization ) brokered a new deal with NBC, giving it half-ownership of
27058-488: Was renamed CBS WKND in 2023. CBS was the original broadcast network home of the animated primetime holiday specials based on the Peanuts comic strip, beginning with A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965. Over 30 holiday Peanuts specials (each for a specific holiday such as Halloween ) were broadcast on CBS until 2000 when the broadcast rights were acquired by ABC. CBS also aired several primetime animated specials based on
27224-522: Was shown airing at its in-pattern time of Thursdays at 8 p.m. ( Central ) 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 in Flint, Michigan , became the last two ABC affiliates to begin airing the network newscast), as well as daytime network programs at aired during
27390-468: Was the CBS Kidshow , which ran until 2000 and featured programming from Canadian studio Nelvana such as Anatole , Mythic Warriors , Rescue Heroes , and Flying Rhino Junior High . After its agreement with Nelvana ended, the network then entered into a deal with Nickelodeon to air programming from its Nick Jr. block beginning in September 2000, under the banner Nick Jr. on CBS . By
27556-678: Was the first regular television service in the world. It was on the air from 22 March 1935, until it was shut down in 1944. The station was named after Paul Gottlieb Nipkow , the inventor of the Nipkow disk . Most often the term "television station" refers to a station which broadcasts structured content to an audience or it refers to the organization that operates the station. A terrestrial television transmission can occur via analog television signals or, more recently, via digital television signals. Television stations are differentiated from cable television or other video providers as their content
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