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| City | Bristol, Virginia |
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| WEMT | |
| History | |
First air date | August 13, 1956 (69 years ago) (1956-08-13) |
Former channel numbers |
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Call sign meaning | City of Bristol |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 2455 |
| ERP | 1,000 kW[1] |
| HAAT | 755 m (2,477 ft)[1] |
| Transmitter coordinates | 36°26′58.2″N82°6′28.7″W / 36.449500°N 82.107972°W /36.449500; -82.107972 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | wcyb |
WCYB-TV (channel 5) is atelevision station licensed toBristol, Virginia, United States, serving theTri-Cities area as an affiliate ofNBC andThe CW. It is one of twocommercial television stations in the market that are licensed in Virginia (alongsidereligious stationWLFG, channel 68, inGrundy). WCYB-TV is owned by theSinclair Broadcast Group, which also provides certain services toGreeneville, Tennessee–licensedFox affiliateWEMT (channel 39) under alocal marketing agreement (LMA) withCunningham Broadcasting. However, Sinclair effectively owns WEMT as the majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith. The two stations share studios on Lee Street on the Virginia side of Bristol (straddling the Virginia–Tennessee line); WCYB-TV's transmitter is located at Rye Patch Knob onHolston Mountain in theCherokee National Forest.
As early as 1952, companies and groups began competing for a chance to get the better-picture, lower VHF channel 5, allocated to Bristol. A consortium of four Bristol businessmen—Robert Smith, J. Fey Rogers (sales manager ofWOPI radio inBristol, Tennessee), Charles M. Gore and Harry M. Daniel—filed for the channel at Bristol, Tennessee, along with the Appalachian Television Company, owners of WCYB radio (AM 690, nowWZAP), for a station on the Virginia side of the state line.[3][4] The matter came into contest between the two groups; WOPI's group broadened to take inKingsport radio stationWKPT, with plans for studios in both cities.[5]
The initial studio was planned for the first floor of the Hotel General Shelby (home to WCYB radio), at Cumberland and Front streets, with a full-power transmitter to be located on Brumley Mountain, 1,964 feet (599 m) above average terrain in the Jefferson National Forest, 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Bristol.[4] While still in the construction stage, the proposed transmitter was moved to Holston High Knob, 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Bristol and 700 feet (213 m) north of a geological triangulation station and fire tower on top of the Holston Mountain ridge.[4]
On diversity of ownership grounds, aFederal Communications Commission (FCC) hearing examiner found in favor of WCYB's bid in January 1955.[6] A final construction permit grant was made on April 11, 1956, and construction began at once.[7] That May, station planners successfully sought to increase the proposed coverage area by changing the proposed transmitter location to Rye Patch Knob. The transmitter and tower survive to this day at that location, 2,230 feet (680 m) above average terrain. Meanwhile, studios were leased in a building at Cumberland and Lee streets.[8]
WCYB-TV began broadcasting on August 13, 1956; it primarily continued testing for several more weeks until a full launch on September 1,[9] though the early start allowed it to present coverage of that year'sDemocratic National Convention.[10] It has always been a primary NBC affiliate, although it carried a secondaryABC affiliation (shared withWJHL-TV, channel 11)[11] until 1969, whenWKPT-TV (channel 19) signed on and took the ABC affiliation.[12]
In 1969, the group sold WCYB-TV to Starr Broadcasting; Starr's president and chief stockholder was publisher and columnistWilliam F. Buckley Jr. ofNational Review fame.[4] Starr sold Appalachian Broadcasting to the DGH Company/Lamco Communications (former publisher of theGrit newspaper) in 1977.[13] It was sold again toBluestone Television in 2004, who then merged with Bonten Media Group for $230 million in 2007.
Robert Smith Sr. served as general manager of the station for almost 25 years. During his tenure, well-known newscasters Merrill Moore, Johnny Wood, and Steve Hawkins began their successful careers. Smith also oversaw the construction of a new building in downtown Bristol. The new facility was industry-leading in its design. After Smith's retirement, Joe Conway became general manager in 1981. During the early 1980s, Lamco invested extensively in people, news, programming, equipment, and marketing. WCYB was marketed as "The News Station". At the same time, NBC became the top-rated network with hits likeThe Cosby Show andCheers, and WCYB secured top-ratedsyndicated programs such asWheel of Fortune andJeopardy! Ahot air balloon with anNBC peacock design was purchased and flown across the region to promote the station. For most of the time from the 1980s to the early 2000s, WCYB claimed to be the highest-rated station in the top 100 U.S. TV markets.[citation needed] In 1984, Conway died suddenly. He was succeeded as general manager in 1985 by Bob Smith, Jr., who had been the station's News Director for several years. During the 1990s and beyond, Joe Macione, Jim McKernan and Jack Dempsey followed as general managers. Steve Flint was named VP/General manager in 2018.
In the 1960s, this station produced a live weekdaycartoon show for children called theLooney Tunes Club, hosted by Ed Spiegel. The show welcomed some 50 youngsters each day to participate on the show and was traditionally visited by children celebrating their birthdays. Each broadcast was opened with a rousing "Hi, boys and girls!" from Spiegel, with "Hi, Ed!" shouted back by the youngsters. The 1960s also saw three locally produced quiz shows:Kiddie Kollege (which pitted young students from different local schools against each other),Klassroom Kwiz (whose contestants were older high school students, a variation on theIt's Academic format) andKlub Kwiz (which did the same using members of local civic and service clubs).
WCYB took over WEMT's operations in February 2006 in a deal with WEMT's new owner, Aurora Broadcasting. As part of the Bonten deal later that year, Esteem Broadcasting bought WEMT from Aurora. Esteem would then pay $1.4 million in outstanding debt. WEMT moved from its studios inJohnson City to WCYB's facilities.
On April 21, 2017, Sinclair announced its intent to purchase the Bonten stations for $240 million.[14][15] The sale was completed on September 1.[16]
WCYB's news dominance from the 1980s and beyond was largely due to the presence of the station's longtime anchormen Merrill Moore, Johnny Wood, and Steve Hawkins. Moore joined the station in 1962 as the weeknight 11 p.m. anchor and added the weeknight 6 p.m. broadcast in 1964. He remained the station's top anchorman until his retirement in 2000. In the 1960s, News Director Walter Crockett also delivered editorials at 6:25 p.m. daily, and Evelyn Booher was one of the first woman newscasters in the Tri-Cities at that time. For most of the time from the 1980s to the early 2000s, WCYB claimed to be the highest-rated television station in the United States. In January 2005, WCYB won theRTNDA's Ultimate Newscast Makeover contest, which included a new set, graphics and music package at no charge.
WCYB currently broadcasts 25 hours of locally-produced newscasts each week (with five hours on weekdays, two hours on Saturdays, two hours on Sundays, and updates every half-hour duringToday, in addition to updates duringprime time programming). WCYB also producesFox Tri-Cities News @ 10 onsister station WEMT.
Starting with the 5 p.m. news on October 13, 2008, theNewsCenter 5 name was changed toNews 5. WEMT's nightly 10 o'clock newscast started on September 12, 2005, and it is produced by WCYB. Originally a half-hour long, it has expanded to an hour on September 11, 2006. In October 2008, they dropped WCYB's on-air look. Instead of using all blue graphics, WEMT now employs blue and red. That station also renamed the weather forecasting and modified many other elements of the broadcast.
On June 17, 2010, WCYB's newscasts became the first in the Tri-Cities market to broadcast inhigh definition.[17][18] Starting with the 2012 election day newscast, WCYB debuted new graphics and a new logo, similar toSan Antonio'sWOAI.
On July 29, 2014, it was announced that the noon newscast on WCYB would be shortened to a 30-minute segment, followed by an episode ofJudge Judy with anchors Preston Ayres and Samantha Kozsey rotating positions each week. Meteorologist Donnie Cox will be co-hosting with Ayres and Kozsey. WCYB continues to be the dominant station in the Tri-Cities, with WEMT and WJHL closely tied for second.[citation needed]
On February 20, 2015, it was announced that Meteorologist Donnie Cox would be moving toWCTI-TV inNew Bern, North Carolina.[19][20]
At one point, WCYB-DT2 aired an hour-long extension of the main channel's weekday morning show at 8. This has since been dropped.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WCYB-DT | NBC |
| 5.2 | CW-HD | The CW | ||
| 5.3 | 480i | 4:3 | Comet | Comet |
| 5.4 | 16:9 | TrueCrm | True Crime Network | |
| 5.5 | Rewind | Rewind TV |
On August 23, 2011,Disney-ABC Television Group announced an affiliation agreement with WCYB to carryLive Well Network on a new third digital subchannel.[22] The network has since been replaced withDecades, which in turn was eventually replaced with Comet.
WCYB-TV shut down 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 relocated from its pre-transitionUHF channel 28 to VHF channel 5.[23][24]
On August 22, 2022, WCYB turned off its signal on low-VHF channel 5 and activated a new signal on UHF channel 35 underspecial temporary authority.[1][25][26][27]
Until 2022, WCYB operated a UHF fill-in digital translator on channel 29 that helped viewers alleviate some signal reception issues on channel 5.[28] The station applied for a second repeater on channel 21, licensed to Kingsport with a transmitter on Bays Mountain, but this has since expired.[29]
In recent years, WCYB has been carried oncable in multiple areas outside of the Tri-Citiesmedia market. That includes cable systems within theBluefield market in Virginia, theKnoxville market in Tennessee, the Lexington market in Kentucky and theAsheville andCharlotte markets inNorth Carolina.[30] According toZap2it, WCYB has been carried on cable inCollege Grove, Tennessee, which is within theNashville market.[31]
During the 1970s and 1980s through CATV, WCYB was once carried inPikeville, Kentucky,Wilkesboro, North Carolina, andMcDowell County, West Virginia.[32]
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the Commonwealth ofVirginia | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Virginia | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
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| PBS | ||
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Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofTennessee | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Tennessee | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS | ||
| Religious | ||
| Other | ||
| ATSC 3.0 | ||
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** Owned by third parties and operated by Sinclair through various operating agreements. *** Owned by Sinclair and operated byMarquee Broadcasting. JV Joint venture. | ||||||||||||||||||
