 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1937 |
| Founder | A.J. Fletcher |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people |
|
| Products | |
| Website | www |
Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. (CBC) is an American media company based inRaleigh, North Carolina. Capitol owns three television stations and nine radio stations in theRaleigh–Durham andWilmington areas ofNorth Carolina and theDurham Bullsminor league baseball team as well as the Coastal Plain League, a college summer baseball league. It is one of the few family-owned broadcasting companies left in the country, owned by four generations of the Fletcher-Goodmon family.
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A.J. Fletcher founded the Capitol Broadcasting Company in 1937 when he founded Raleigh radio station WRAL (1240 AM, nowWPJL). WRAL radio began transmission two years later in 1939, using a 250-watt transmitter, becomingRaleigh's second radio station (afterWPTF). In 1942, Capitol created theTobacco Radio Network, a farm news radio service that was discontinued in 2002. On September 6, 1946, Capitol Broadcasting received a license with theFederal Communications Commission for WCOY-FM (whose callsign was later changed to WRAL-FM), operating from a 250,000-watt transmitter. In 1960, CBC founded theNorth Carolina News Network, a statewide radio network that now provides news, weather, and sports content to about 80 radio stations. This property was sold toCurtis Media Group in 2009.
On December 15, 1956, Capitol Broadcasting's flagship television stationWRAL-TV went on the air in Raleigh.
In 1979, WRAL-TV became the first television station in North Carolina to have a dedicatedhelicopter for newsgathering.
In 1987, Capitol acquiredindependent stationWJZY-TV inCharlotte. The following year, Capitol also acquired another independent station,WTTV and its satellite station, WTTK, in theIndianapolis area. WTTV and WTTK were sold in 1991 toRiver City Broadcasting.
In 1996, WRAL-TV was granted the first experimentalhigh definitiondigital television license in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission. On October 13, 2000, WRAL became the first television station in the world to broadcast a news program entirely inhigh-definition; the station would begin broadcasting all of its local newscasts in high-definition in January 2001.
In 2001, Capitol purchased WFVT (nowWMYT-TV) in Charlotte, creating the market's second televisionduopoly.
On October 14, 2005, Capitol Broadcasting signed on WCMC-FM on 99.9 MHz in Raleigh with a country music format, "Genuine Country".
In July 2008, Capitol Broadcasting acquired five radio stations in Wilmington fromNextMedia Group for $12 million.[1]
On April 14, 2009, Capitol Broadcasting and the City of Raleigh partnered to introduce the first mobile digital television in a public transit bus.
On January 28, 2013,Fox Television Stations announced that it had entered into an agreement to purchase WJZY and WMYT from Capitol for $18 million;[2][3] the deal was completed on April 17.[4][5]
| City of license /Market | Station | Owned since | Primary affiliation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh, NC | WRAL-TV ** | 5 (17) | 1956 | |
| WRAZ | 50 (15) | 2000 | ||
| Smithfield-Selma, NC | WNGT-CD | 34 (23) | 2020 | Independent |
| Wilmington, NC | WILM-LD | 10 (15) | 1999 |
Note:Stations operated within theWilmington radio station cluster are operated under the name Sunrise Broadcasting;
| City of license / Market | Station | Owned since | Current format | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boiling Spring Lakes, NC | WKXB 99.9 | 2008 | Rhythmic oldies | Serves the Wilmington market |
| Durham, NC | WDNC 620 | 2009 | Sports radio | Serves the Raleigh market |
| Holly Springs, NC | WCMC-FM 99.9 | 2005 | ESPN Radio affiliate | Serves the Raleigh market |
| Raleigh, NC | WCLY 1550 | 2009 | Sports radio | Simulcasts WDNC |
| WRAL-FM 101.5 | 1947 | Adult contemporary | ||
| Jacksonville, NC | WRMR 98.7 | 2011 | AAA | Serves the Wilmington market |
| Southport, NC | WAZO 107.5 | 2008 | Contemporary hits | Serves the Wilmington market |
| Wilmington, NC | WILT 103.7 | 2015 | Adult contemporary | |
| WMFD 630 | 2008 | Sports radio |
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel | Years owned | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington–Kokomo–Indianapolis, IN | WTTV | 4 | 1988–1991 | CBS affiliates owned byNexstar Media Group |
| WTTK[a] | 29 | |||
| Rock Hill, SC–Belmont–Charlotte, NC | WJZY | 46 | 1987–2013 | Fox affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
| WMYT-TV | 55 | 2000–2013 | CW station owned-and-operated (O&O) byNexstar Media Group |