WWBT NBC12 Logo

WWBT, also known locally as NBC12 is a television station on VHF channel 12 in Richmond, Virginia. It is owned by Raycom Media. It is an NBC affiliate with studios and transmitter co-located on Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond. NBC 12 First Warning WeatherPlus is offered on WWBT's DT2 signal. WWBT became the first station in Richmond to broadcast local newscasts in high definition on July 27, 2008.

History

As WRVA-TV (1956-1968)

In the 1950s, there was competition for the market's third television frequency. WTVR-TV had been on the air since 1948, while WXEX-TV (now WRIC-TV) had been on the air from Petersburg, Virginia since 1955. The main competitors for the channel 12 license were Larus and Brothers Tobacco Company, owners of WRVA-AM and WRVB-FM (now WRVQ) and Richmond Newspapers (now Media General), owners of WRNL-AM. Larus later merged its application with Neighborhood Theaters' Richmond Television Corporation, assuming controlling interest. Both applicants had good records and were financially qualified, but RTVC won the license since it didn't own a newspaper. At the time, the FCC was concerned about co-ownership of newspaper and broadcast outlets, and preferred separation.

WRVA-TV signed on for the first time on April 29, 1956. It was initially a CBS affiliate due to WRVA's long affiliation with CBS Radio. WRVA-AM was one of the broadcasting powerhouses of the South, but that success didn't transfer to its television sister. CBS moved its affiliation to WTVR in 1960. Since WXEX was already affiliated with NBC, WRVA was left with struggling ABC. Ratings improved in the next five years, leading Larus to try to seek the NBC affiliation, a switch which occurred in 1965. The station is one of only a few in the country to have been affiliated with all three of the original major American television networks.

As WWBT (1968-present)

In 1966, the family-owned Larus and Brothers (which had acquired full control of channel 12 in 1960) decided to split its various interests after the company's longtime president died. Jefferson Standard Insurance Company of Greensboro, North Carolina emerged as the winner for WRVA-TV. It would have bought the radio stations as well, but at the time the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two clear channel stations with overlapping nighttime coverage. Jefferson Standard-owned WBT and Larus-owned WRVA both covered much of the eastern half of North America at night.

As part of the application, Jefferson Standard requested a call letter change to WWBT, which occurred on November 28, 1968--Thanksgiving Day. The new owners immediately went to work overhauling the station's look. It was already in second place in the Richmond ratings by then, but by the early 1980s was the highest-rated station in the market, as well as one of the strongest NBC stations in the country. By this time, Jefferson Standard had changed its name to Jefferson-Pilot Corporation.

It added a secondary The WB affiliation in 2001, an affiliation that ended on August 31, 2006 when The WB and UPN merged to form The CW.

On October 10, 2005, Jefferson-Pilot announced a merger with Lincoln Financial Group. The sale became final on April 3, 2006, with the Jefferson-Pilot stations assuming the new corporate name of Lincoln Financial Media [1].

On November 12, 2007, Lincoln Financial Media announced the sale of WWBT, along with the company's two other television stations and Lincoln Financial Sports, to Raycom Media for $583 million. [2] Raycom already owns rival station WTVR, which has been put on the market because the FCC does not allow one company to own two of the four largest stations in a market. Raycom sought, and was eventually granted, a temporary waiver for the purchase of WWBT to buy the company more time to find a suitable buyer for WTVR. The FCC approved the sale on March 25 2008; Raycom formally took control on April 1.^[1]

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Current Personalities

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Weather

• Jim Duncan
• Andrew Freiden
• Sagay Galindo
• Tom Patton

Sports

• Ben Hamlin
• Jamie Scavotto
• Joe Sullivan

That's a subtle way of thiknnig about it.

Editors

• Geneva Smith
• Jerry Brown
• Terry Alexander
• Jason Ray
• Johnny Youssef
• Ameesha Felton
• Brandon Argro
• Danielle Wilson
• Monique Wright

Your posting relaly straightened me out. Thanks!

Innovations

Notable innovations since 1968 include:

• Antenna changes that would improve reception in the city and neighboring counties
• Billboards with names of news anchors, sports and weather personalities
• Public awareness of the station, e.g. blood drives, all-night fund raising campaigns,
• During the Vietnam War, "Letters to Hanoi" drive intended to remind Vietnam that America wanted her sons back
• Use of computers to facilitate the analysis of state election returns
• Live remote video relayed via microwave
• Satellite receiving antennas installed on station's front lawn. It opened the way to program opportunities never available before.
• Weather presentations during newscast using professional staff meteorologists and Doppler weather radar
• LiveStar 12, a truck-mounted satellite uplink dish
• "Call 12...On Your Side" an ombudsman service which provides advice or help for viewers, staffed by community volunteers.
• Skycam a webcam mounted on top of the transmitter tower.

Trivia

• In the early 1970s, WWBT station manager Doug Hill (no relation to the WJLA meteorologist) climbed the broadcast tower without protective gear used by professionals and was successful in talking down a potential suicide climber.

• During Hurricane Isabel , WWBT simulcasted on local radio stations WMXB & WKHK to keep the public informed of breaking developments at the height of the storm.

• The station was featured on TruTV's Forensic Files. The story was about a 22-year old producer(and soon-to-be news anchor) for channel 12 named Hope Denise Hall, who was brutally murdered in 1994.

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External links

• Lincoln Financial Media official website
• WWBT NBC12 official website