WJCL (TV)

Last updated

WJCL
WJCL ABC 22 Savannah.png
Channels
BrandingWJCL 22
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
FoundedJuly 18, 1970(54 years ago) (1970-07-18)
Former call signs
WJCL-TV (1970–1981)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 22 (UHF, 1970–2009)
  • Digital: 23 (UHF, 2001–2009)
  • ABC (1970–1982)
  • NBC (1982–1985)
  • UPN (secondary, 1995–1997)
Call sign meaning
 Julius Curtis Lewis (founding owner)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 37174
ERP 350 kW
HAAT 436 m (1,430 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 32°3′30″N81°20′18″W / 32.05833°N 81.33833°W / 32.05833; -81.33833 (WJCL)
Links
Public license information
Website www.wjcl.com

WJCL (channel 22) is a television station in Savannah, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains a transmitter in unincorporated western Chatham County, near Bloomingdale. Its studios are located in the Savannah Morning News building on Chatham Parkway in Savannah. The building also houses its former sister station, Hardeeville, South Carolina–licensed Fox affiliate WTGS (channel 28, now owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group), which now operates separately from WJCL.

Contents

History

WJCL anchors at the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship media day WJCL (TV) anchors at the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Media Day.jpg
WJCL anchors at the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship media day

The station began operations on July 18, 1970. [2] It was the fourth television station to launch in Savannah and immediately became the area's first-ever primary ABC affiliate. Prior to channel 22 signing on, CBS affiliate WTOC-TV (channel 11) and NBC affiliate WSAV-TV (channel 3) shared secondary affiliations with ABC. Originally owned by former Savannah mayor and avid amateur radio operator Julius Curtis Lewis Jr. (whose initials provided the call sign), the station marked many "firsts". At the time, it built the tallest broadcast tower in the market rising some 1,500 feet (460 m) above sea level.

Local color news film and reel-to-reel videotape were introduced to the Savannah market by WJCL. It claims to have been the first station in the area to televise a live event (President Richard Nixon's Savannah visit and ride in a parade on Skidaway Road) as well as broadcasting in stereo. WJCL-TV and WJCL-FM (96.5 FM) were both run by Lewis Broadcasting's executive vice president, J. Fred Pierce, from 1972 until the television station's first sale in 1999. Channel 22 dropped the "-TV" suffix from the callsign in 1981.

In 1982, WJCL swapped affiliations with WSAV (due to the latter's action) and became an NBC affiliate. In 1985, WSAV was one of several ABC affiliates nationwide unhappy with the network's weak prime time programming offerings. That year, WJCL returned to ABC, while WSAV reverted to being an NBC affiliate full-time. [3] When Lewis purchased the WNOK television and radio stations in Columbia, South Carolina in 1977, he quickly sold off WNOK radio (for an undisclosed price) and immediately changed the television outlet's callsign to WLTX. In 1982, he purchased WYEA in Columbus, Georgia from AFLAC and changed its calls to WLTZ to follow a similar call letter format used for his station in South Carolina's capitol ("LT" meaning "Lewis Television").

In the early 1990s, Lewis sold two of his radio stations, WSTZ-FM and WSTZ-AM in Jackson, Mississippi for an undisclosed price. In 1999, Lewis Broadcasting sold WJCL to Grapevine Communications, which merged with Piedmont Television around the same time. In the mid-to-late 1990s, Lewis decided to divest an even larger portion of his media interests and sold four of his combined eight owned and/or previously owned radio and television stations including WJCL, WTGS, WJCL-FM, and WLTX. Lewis died in 2005, and on May 1, 2007, Lewis Broadcasting, by then owned by his son, Julius Curtis Lewis III, entered into an agreement with SagamoreHill Broadcasting to sell-off its last remaining television station, WLTZ. [4] In 1995, WJCL became a charter UPN affiliate as a secondary basis until 1997 when former WB affiliate WUBI took over the UPN affiliation.

In 2001, WJCL partnered with Carleton Public Relations, Inc. to produce ABC 22 LawCall. Radio on-air personality Lexie Kaye was hired by Carleton Public Relations as producer of the weekly live, legal call-in show. The program featured Mike Avery as host along with attorneys from the Carter & Tate firm with a weekly guest and various topics. This was the first legal call-in show in the nation to use the "LawCall" name. The show aired until June 2006 on Sundays from 11 to 11:30 p.m. WJCL and WTGS were sold to New Vision Television (in an ironic twist, a prior incarnation of New Vision once owned rival WSAV) and Parkin Broadcasting respectively in 2007. [5] The station unveiled a new blog-based website in June 2007.

On November 2, 2007, it was announced that with the recent acquisition of WJCL by New Vision, a brand new website was on the way. The revamped website (operated largely in-house with technology borrowed from Broadcast Interactive Media) featured the usual news, weather, and sports along with streaming video. In January 2009, the websites of WJCL and several of its sister stations migrated to the Inergize Digital Network platform (with KOIN in Portland, Oregon, being the first station in the New Vision group featuring it). The station is the setting of the second season of TV Guide Network's Making News which began airing on June 4, 2008.

On May 7, 2012, LIN TV Corporation announced that it would acquire the New Vision Television station group for $330.4 million and the assumption of $12 million in debt. Along with the outright ownership of WJCL, the agreement included the acquisition of New Vision's shared services agreement with Parkin Broadcasting, giving LIN operational control of WTGS. [6] On October 2, the FCC approved the proposed sale to LIN TV. The transaction was completed on October 12.

On March 21, 2014, LIN Media entered into an agreement to merge with Media General in a $1.6 billion deal. Because Media General already owned NBC affiliate WSAV-TV, the companies were required to sell either WSAV or WJCL 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 prohibit sharing agreements. [7] [8] [9] On August 20, 2014, Media General announced that it would keep WSAV and sell WJCL, along with WVTM-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, to Hearst Television, with WTGS going to Sinclair Broadcast Group. [10] [11] The sale was completed on December 19, [12] and Hearst closed on its purchase of WJCL and WVTM on December 22. [13]

News operation

Through a news share agreement established in 1996, WJCL produces a prime time newscast on its now-former sister station (known as WTGS Fox News at Ten). For a while, WTGS also simulcast WJCL's Good Morning Show on weekdays (from 5 until 7) but it was dropped at some point. WTGS replaced WJCL's newscast with one produced by its own stations WPDE-TV in June 2016.

WJCL and WTGS combined operations with the Savannah Morning News and were relocated to the newspaper's facility on Chatham Parkway in Savannah. The stations began broadcasting at their new location on October 4, 2011. The station has an hour of news at 5 p.m. with a weekday morning show that airs WTGS from 7 to 8 a.m. WJCL does not air a midday show during the week, but did add weekend morning newscasts in March 2020.

Notable former on-air staff

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WJCL [15]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
22.1 720p 16:9 WJCL-HD ABC
22.2 480i MeTV MeTV
22.3STORY Story Television
22.4DEFY Defy TV
22.5getTV GetTV
22.6HSN HSN

Analog-to-digital conversion

WJCL discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 22, on February 17, 2009, the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 23 to channel 22. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LIN Media</span> Defunct American communications company

LIN Media was an American holding company founded in 1994 that operated 43 television stations. All except one were affiliates of the six major U.S. television networks. One of the remaining stations was a low-powered weather station in Indiana.

Hearst Television, Inc. is a broadcasting company in the United States owned by Hearst Communications, made up of a group of television and radio stations, and Hearst Media Production Group, a distributor of programming in broadcast syndication.

WIAT is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are on Golden Crest Drive atop Red Mountain, where its tower is also located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVTM-TV</span> NBC affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama

WVTM-TV is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities atop Red Mountain, between Vulcan Trail and Valley View Drive in southeastern Birmingham, adjacent to the Vulcan Statue and next to the studios of Fox affiliate WBRC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media General</span> Defunct American media company

Media General was an American media company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired The Richmond Daily Times, which later became The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Joseph Bryan's son, John Stewart Bryan succeeded his father as owner and publisher of the Times-Dispatch, which merged with The Richmond News Leader in 1940 to form Richmond Newspapers, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WALA-TV</span> Fox affiliate in Mobile, Alabama

WALA-TV is a television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for southwest Alabama and northwest Florida. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Satchel Paige Drive in Mobile, with an additional studio and news bureau on Executive Plaza Drive in Pensacola, Florida; its transmitter is located in Spanish Fort, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WJAR</span> NBC affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island

WJAR is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station has studios on Kenney Drive in Cranston, Rhode Island, and its transmitter is located in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTOC-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Savannah, Georgia

WTOC-TV is a television station in Savannah, Georgia, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located off Chatham Center Drive in Savannah's Chatham Parkway section, and its transmitter is located along Fort Argyle Road/SR 204 in unincorporated Chatham County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSAV-TV</span> NBC/CW affiliate in Savannah, Georgia

WSAV-TV is a television station in Savannah, Georgia, United States, affiliated with NBC, The CW Plus, and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios on East Victory Drive/US 80/SR 26 in Savannah's Live Oak section, and its transmitter is located on Little Neck Road in unincorporated northwestern Chatham County, near Pooler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTGS</span> Fox affiliate in Hardeeville, South Carolina

WTGS is a television station licensed to Hardeeville, South Carolina, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Savannah, Georgia, area. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, WTGS maintains transmitter facilities on Fort Argyle Road/SR 204 in western unincorporated Chatham County, Georgia, while its studios are located in the Savannah Morning News building on Chatham Parkway in Savannah.

WSCG is a religious television station licensed to Baxley, Georgia, United States, serving the Savannah area as an owned-and-operated station of Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). The station's studios are located on Sams Point Road in Beaufort, South Carolina, and its transmitter is located on Fort Argyle Road/SR 204 in unincorporated western Chatham County, Georgia. WSCG is one of a few TCT owned-and-operated stations to maintain its own studio facilities as other TCT O&Os ended their local operations in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKBN-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio

WKBN-TV is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power Fox affiliate WYFX-LD ; Nexstar also provides certain services to ABC affiliate WYTV through joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Vaughan Media, LLC. The three stations share studios on Sunset Boulevard in Youngstown's Pleasant Grove neighborhood, where WKBN-TV's transmitter is also located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WYTV</span> ABC/MyNetworkTV affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio

WYTV is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Vaughan Media, LLC, which maintains joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Nexstar Media Group, owner of CBS affiliate WKBN-TV and low-power Fox affiliate WYFX-LD, for the provision of certain services. The three stations share studios on Sunset Boulevard in Youngstown's Pleasant Grove neighborhood, where WYTV's transmitter is also located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WJTV</span> CBS/CW affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi

WJTV is a television station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station has studios on TV Road in southwest Jackson, and its transmitter is located in Raymond, Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KSNT</span> NBC affiliate in Topeka, Kansas

KSNT is a television station in Topeka, Kansas, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power, Class A Fox affiliate KTMJ-CD ; Nexstar also provides certain services to dual ABC/CW+ affiliate KTKA-TV under joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Vaughan Media, LLC. The stations share studios on Northwest 25th Street, near the unincorporated community of Kiro, where KSNT's transmitter is also located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLTZ</span> NBC/CW affiliate in Columbus, Georgia

WLTZ is a television station in Columbus, Georgia, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Gray Television, owner of ABC affiliate WTVM, for the provision of certain services. Gray also operates Fox affiliate WXTX under a separate SSA with owner American Spirit Media. WLTZ's studios and transmitter are located on NBC 38 Drive off Buena Vista Road on the east side of the city. Master control and most internal operations are based at WTVM and WXTX's shared studios on Wynnton Road in the Dinglewood section of Columbus.

New Vision Television was a broadcast company based in Los Angeles, California. Throughout its two decade plus history, the company owned or managed over 20 television stations in large and medium-sized markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTMJ-CD</span> Fox affiliate in Topeka, Kansas

KTMJ-CD is a low-power, Class A television station in Topeka, Kansas, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside NBC affiliate KSNT ; Nexstar also provides certain services to dual ABC/CW+ affiliate KTKA-TV under joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Vaughan Media, LLC. The stations share studios on Northwest 25th Street, near the unincorporated community of Kiro ; KTMJ-CD's transmitter is located along Southwest West Union Road west of Topeka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBMQ</span> Radio station in Savannah, Georgia (1939–2020)

WBMQ was a commercial AM radio station in Savannah, Georgia. It was owned by Cumulus Media and aired a news/talk format. The studios and offices were on Television Circle in Savannah. The transmitter was off Dulany Avenue near the Savannah River.

<i>Making News: Savannah Style</i> American TV series or program

Making News: Savannah Style was a reality program set at the duopoly of WJCL and WTGS in Savannah, Georgia. It followed the daily activities of the lowest-rated news department in the Savannah television market. The show was the second in the Making News series, following Making News: Texas Style, which aired during Summer 2007. The first season of Making News was the TV Guide Network's highest-rated original series. Making News: Savannah Style started taping in December 2007, and moved the setting from the first season's small town Texas market to Savannah, the country's 97th market in size, and to an underfunded, outdated news operation that was stated to be the lowest-rated ABC affiliate in the country. The show also mentioned competing stations WTOC and WSAV-TV.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WJCL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ FCC History Cards for WJCL. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ "Broadcasting Mar 4 1985" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Gun group packs legal heat". Archived from the original on December 1, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Nexttv | Programming| Busines | Multichannel Broadcasting + Cable | www.nexttv.com". NextTV. August 30, 2024.
  6. ↑ Malone, Michael (May 7, 2012). "LIN Acquiring New Vision Stations for $330 Million". Broadcasting & Cable . Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  7. ↑ TV Station Mega Merger: Media General, LIN Set $1.6 Billion Deal from Variety (March 21, 2014)
  8. ↑ Media General acquiring LIN Media for $1.6 billion, Los Angeles Times , March 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ Media Gen/LIN To Sell/Swap In Five Markets, TVNewsCheck, March 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Media General, LIN Sell Stations In 5 Markets". TVNewsCheck. August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  11. ↑ Malone, Michael (August 20, 2014). "Media General, LIN Divest Stations in Five Markets". Broadcasting & Cable . Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  12. ↑ Media General Completes Merger With LIN Media Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , Press Release, Media General, Retrieved December 19, 2014
  13. ↑ "Hearst Closes On WVTM, WJCL; Names GMs - TV News Check". December 22, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Rob Fowler". Linked In. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  15. ↑ "RabbitEars.Info". www.rabbitears.info.
  16. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.