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|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | WKRG 5;WKRG News 5 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WFNA | |
| History | |
First air date | September 5, 1955 (70 years ago) (1955-09-05)[1] |
Former channel numbers |
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Call sign meaning | Kenneth R. Giddens (station founder) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 73187 |
| ERP | 961kW |
| HAAT | 578 m (1,896 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°41′20.4″N87°49′50.6″W / 30.689000°N 87.830722°W /30.689000; -87.830722 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WKRG-TV (channel 5) is atelevision station licensed toMobile, Alabama, United States, serving southwest Alabama and northwest Florida as an affiliate ofCBS. It is owned byNexstar Media Group alongsideGulf Shores, Alabama–licensedCWowned-and-operated stationWFNA (channel 55). The two stations share studios with several radio stations owned byiHeartMedia on Broadcast Drive in southwest Mobile; WKRG-TV's transmitter is located in unincorporatedBaldwin County nearSpanish Fort, Alabama.
WKRG-TV first signed on the air September 5, 1955.[1] The station was founded by the architect and movie theater ownerKenneth R. Giddens, who also put WKRG radio (710 AM, nowWNTM, and 99.9 FM, nowWMXC) on the air. Owing to the radio station's ties with theCBS Radio Network, WKRG-TV has served as the market's CBS affiliate from its sign-on. It is the only commercial station in the market that has never changed its primary affiliation. WKRG-TV originally operated from studios located on St. Louis Street in downtown Mobile until around 1982, when it relocated its operations to an area near theBel Air Mall, which Giddens also had a hand in developing. The TV station operates on the bottom floor while the radio stations operate on the second and third floors of the building.
Giddens originally had a 20% stake in WKRG-TV, and the other stakes were held by local businesses and colleges.[3] On April 4, 1958, Giddens sold 50% of the station toMobile Press-Register, Inc.[4] He regained full control of the station in 1966.[5]
For years, WKRG-TV was the only locally owned station in the Mobile–Pensacola–Pascagoula area. This changed after the death of Giddens in 1993. The radio stations were sold off in 1994, although they remain housed in the same building as the television station.Spartan Communications purchased WKRG-TV in 1998; the station then came under the ownership ofMedia General after it purchased Spartan in 2000. The station celebrated its 60th year of broadcasting in 2015.
In 2007, WKRG entered into a radio partnership with Clear Channel Communications (nowiHeartMedia), in effect re-establishing ties with former sister stations WNTM and WMXC, as well asWKSJ-FM (94.9 FM) andWRKH (96.1 FM). The radio stations were previously partnered withNBC affiliateWPMI-TV (channel 15), an association that ended as a result of Clear Channel selling its television stations (including WPMI) toNewport Television in 2008.
Between the early 1980s and 2012, WKRG served as the default CBS affiliate for the eastern half of the Pascagoula–Biloxi, Mississippi market as that market did not have a CBS affiliate of its own; WKRG was available to cable subscribers in Biloxi andGulfport, Mississippi, and usually serves the area's "B" CBS station behindNew Orleans affiliateWWL-TV. This changed in 2012, whenABC affiliateWLOX signed an affiliation agreement to carry CBS programming on one of its digital subchannels.
On March 21, 2014,LIN Media entered into an agreement to merge with Media General in a $1.6 billion deal. Because LIN had already ownedFox affiliateWALA-TV andCW affiliateWFNA (channel 55), and WKRG and WALA rank among the four highest-rated stations in the Mobile–Pensacola market in total day viewership, the companies were required to sell either WKRG or WALA to another station owner in order to comply with FCC ownership rules as well as planned changes to those rules regarding same-market television stations which would prohibitsharing agreements.[6][7][8] On August 20, 2014, Media General announced that it would keep WKRG and WFNA, and sell WALA toMeredith Corporation.[9][10]
On September 8, 2015, less than nine months after the previous purchase was approved and finalized, Media General announced that it would acquire the Meredith Corporation for $2.4 billion, with the combined group to be renamed Meredith Media General if the sale had been finalized. Because Meredith recently acquired WALA as a required divestment from the LIN Media acquisition, and the two stations continue to rank among the four highest-rated stations in the Mobile–Pensacola market in total day viewership, the companies would once again have been required to sell either WKRG or WALA to comply with FCC ownership rules as well as recent changes to those rules regarding same-market television stations that restrict sharing agreements; sister station WFNA could have legally been acquired by Meredith Media General either by maintaining its new duopoly with WKRG or reuniting it with WALA, as its total day viewership ranks below the top-four ratings threshold.[11][12] However, on January 27, 2016,Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Media General, resulting in the termination of Meredith's acquisition by Media General. The merger with Nexstar reunited WKRG withPanama City sister stationWMBB, which was sold by Media General in 2008 to Hoak Media and eventually was acquired by Nexstar after Hoak merged withGray Television, the owner of its closest competitor, which required its sale.
Shows that aired on WKRG in the past includeWoman's World,[13][14][15][16]ThePopeye Show,[17]Rosie's Place andSmall Fry News, a show featuring local fifth graders.[13] WKRG-TV was also the longtime home ofCongressional Report from 1973 to 2006, billed as the longest-running program of its kind in the nation, featuring local members ofCongress giving viewers a local perspective ofWashington, D.C., and the central Gulf Coast from their standpoint.
On September 7, 2017, a video of WKRG meteorologist Alan Sealls coveringHurricane Irma,Hurricane Jose, andHurricane Katia went viral on Reddit and YouTube.[18]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WKRG-HD | CBS |
| 5.2 | 480i | ION TV | Ion Television | |
| 5.3 | WKRGANT | Antenna TV | ||
| 5.4 | CourtTV | Court TV | ||
| 55.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WFNA-TV | The CW (WFNA) |
WKRG replaced theRetro Television Network withMeTV on its thirddigital subchannel in September 2011.[20]
On September 25, 2025,Antenna TV replaced MeTV on WKRG 5.3.[21] Antenna TV is also owned by Nexstar.
WKRG-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, overVHF channel 5, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transitionUHF channel 27, usingvirtual channel 5.[22]
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofAlabama | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Alabama | ||
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Includes English-language stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Florida | ||
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** Owned by third parties but operated by Nexstar through various agreements. | ||
