WBTV

WBTV
Charlotte, North Carolina
Branding	WBTV 3 (general) WBTV News 3 (newscasts)
Slogan	On Your Side
Channels	Digital: 23 (UHF)Virtual: 3 (PSIP)
Subchannels	3.1 CBS3.2 This TV
Affiliations	CBS
Owner	Raycom Media (WBTV License Subsidiary, LLC)
First air date	July 15, 1949
Call letters' meaning	an extension of former radio sister station WBT
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 3 (VHF, 1949-2009)
Transmitter power	1000 kW (digital)
Height	565 m (digital)
Facility ID	30826
Transmitter coordinates	35°21′51″N 81°11′13″W
Website	www.wbtv.com

WBTV, channel 3 (digital 23), is the CBS affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is one of two flagship stations of Raycom Media. WBTV's studios are located off Morehead Street just west of Uptown Charlotte, and its transmitter is located in Dallas, North Carolina. The station is aired on cable channel 2 in Charlotte and surrounding areas, cable channel 5 in York and Lancaster counties, and cable channel 3 on most other cable systems in the Charlotte market.

History

WBTV signed on for the first time on July 15, 1949. It was the 13th television station in the United States and the first in the Carolinas, and is the oldest station between Richmond and Atlanta. Veteran Charlotte broadcaster Jim Patterson was the first person seen on the station, and remained there until his death in 1986. It was owned by Jefferson Standard Insurance Company of Greensboro along with WBT (1110 AM), the city's oldest radio station and the first fully licensed station in the South. Jefferson Standard had purchased WBT from CBS in 1947. Shortly before the TV station went on the air, its call letters were modified from WBT-TV to WBTV. Jefferson Standard merged with Pilot Life in 1968 (though it had owned controlling interest since 1945) and became Jefferson-Pilot Corporation.

WBTV received one of the last construction permits issued before the Federal Communications Commission's "freeze" on new television licenses, which lasted until the Commission released its Sixth Report and Order in 1952. As such, it was Charlotte's only VHF station for eight years, carrying affiliations with all four major networks of the time—CBS, NBC, ABC and DuMont. However, it has always been a primary CBS affiliate, owing to WBT radio's long affiliation with CBS Radio. It is the only commercial station in the market that has never changed its affiliation.

Channel 3 originally broadcast from a converted radio studio in the Wilder Building, alongside its radio sister. In 1955, WBT and WBTV moved to a then state-of-the-art facility on a hill atop Morehead Street. The stations are still based there today. The studio address, One Julian Price Place, is named in honor of a longtime Jefferson Standard/Jefferson-Pilot executive.

WBTV's only competition in the early years came from a UHF station on channel 36, known as WAYS-TV and then WQMC-TV, which broadcast briefly from 1953 to 1955. It was nominally an NBC affiliate sharing a secondary ABC affiliation. However, channel 36's signal was painfully weak, and NBC continued to allow WBTV to cherry-pick its stronger programming. Channel 36 went dark in March 1955, and DuMont shut down roughly a year later. All three networks remained shoehorned on channel 3 for over a year until Charlotte's second VHF station, WSOC-TV, signed on in 1957; it took the NBC affiliation. Channel 36 returned to the air in 1964 as WCCB (moving to channel 18 in 1965), picking up whatever CBS shows WBTV turned down to carry ABC programming. ABC continued to be split between the three stations until 1967, when WCCB became a full ABC affiliate.

From 1958 to 1974, WBTV's studios were the home for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling broadcasts.

Over the years, Jefferson Standard/Jefferson-Pilot acquired several other radio and television stations across the country, with WBTV as the flagship station.When WAGA-TV in Atlanta (which signed on four months before WBTV) switched to Fox in 1994, WBTV became the longest-tenured CBS affiliate south of Washington, D.C. WFMY-TV in Greensboro, the second-oldest station in the Carolinas (which signed on three months after WBTV), is also second in this category. Two years later, after KPIX in San Francisco became a CBS owned and operated station (due to owner Westinghouse Electric Corporation's merger with CBS), WBTV became the second longest-tenured affiliate not owned by the network, behind only Washington's WUSA.

In 2006, Jefferson-Pilot merged with Lincoln National Corporation of Philadelphia. Lincoln Financial retained Jefferson-Pilot's broadcasting division, which was renamed Lincoln Financial Media. WBTV remained the flagship station. ([1])

Sale to Raycom

On November 12, 2007, Lincoln Financial announced its intention to sell WBTV, sister stations WWBT in Richmond and WCSC-TV in Charleston, South Carolina and Lincoln Financial Sports, to Raycom Media for $583 million. Lincoln Financial also sold its Charlotte radio stations to Braintree, Massachusetts-based Greater Media, thus breaking up Charlotte's last co-owned radio/television combination. [2]

According to Charlotte Observer TV critic Mark Washburn, Lincoln Financial was never really able to integrate its broadcast properties with the rest of the company, and had decided to sell them as soon as possible. Washburn also said that WBT-AM-FM and WLNK will continue to share the Julian Price Place facility with WBTV.^[1] The radio stations' sale closed on January 31, 2008. However, they still have a news partnership.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the sale of WBTV on March 25, 2008, and Raycom formally took control on April 1.^[2] WBTV is now Raycom's second-largest station, behind WOIO/WUAB in Cleveland. Since Raycom Sports is headquartered in Charlotte, WBTV will have a very important role in Raycom Media's operations, and now shares flagship status with WSFA in Montgomery, Alabama (Raycom Media is headquartered in Montgomery).

In early 2008, Raycom Sports and Lincoln Financial Sports officially merged under the Raycom Sports banner. The merger coincided with the start of Atlantic Coast Conference play. WBTV has been Charlotte's home for ACC sporting events since C.D. Chesley piped in North Carolina's historic win in the 1957 NCAA tournament to channel 3 and several other stations in the state. Raycom had produced ACC basketball games in partnership with Jefferson-Pilot/Lincoln Financial since 1982. The partnership was extended to football in 2004; Jefferson-Pilot/Lincoln Financial had been the sole producer of ACC football since 1984.

In mid-May 2008, the former Jefferson-Pilot/Lincoln Financial stations launched redesigned websites, powered by the Local Media network division of WorldNow (who operates nearly all of the Raycom stations' websites). These web addresses were previously operated by Broadcast Interactive Media. However, WBTV and WWBT retain their Jefferson-Pilot/Lincoln Financial-era logos and branding for the time being. WCSC recently changed its logo and graphics, reflecting its move into High Definition.

Digital programming

The station's digital signal is multiplexed. WBTV ended analog operations on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States. The station continued broadcasting on channel 23. However, digital television receivers display WBTV's virtual channel as 3.

In July 2010, WBTV began carrying This TV on its digital subchannel.

Virtual Channel	Digital Channel	Video	Aspect	Programming
3.1	23.1	1080i	16:9	main WBTV programming / CBS HD
3.2	23.2	480i	4:3	This TV

Programming

For many years, WBTV was one of the country's most dominant television stations. This was in part due to being the only reliably viewable station in town for nine years, as well as the station's long tradition of strong local news coverage. In fact, its dominance was so absolute that it was once said the dials of most Charlotteans' TV sets were "rusted on channel 3." To this day, it is one of the strongest CBS affiliates in the country.

The station claims credit for a number of television "firsts", among them constructing the first building in the United States built specifically for color television broadcasting. WBTV also claims to have been the first station in the world to record and rebroadcast programs on color videotape; to use a live camera and microwave relay inside a race car; and to have a fully computerized news operation. It claims to have been the first station in the country to develop computerized election return projections, to broadcast the "Extravision" teletext service, and to produce a local newscast for a PBS station (WTVI). It claims to be the first station in the South to air color test patterns and color ID slides. WBTV was granted the first full power construction permit for a digital television station in the United States in 1998, and went on the air that year with 1 million watts--^[3] equivalent to 5 million watts for an analog transmitter.

WBTV was not seriously challenged until 1981, when, in seeking to appeal to a younger audience, it declined to renew the contract of longtime anchor and reporter Doug Mayes, who promptly jumped to WSOC-TV. Within a few months, WBTV's newscast lost the lead at 11 pm to channel 9, and did not regain it until 2004. WSOC-TV gained a large lead in ratings for most other news timeslots beginning in 1990. WBTV returned to a strong position in the late 1990s, culminating in wresting the lead at noon in 1998 from WSOC-TV. The two stations have gone back and forth in most time slots since then. In the February 2011 ratings, WBTV took the lead at noon and 11 pm, while WSOC led at all other times.^[4] Soon after Raycom took control, WBTV began airing newscasts and CBS programming in high definition, leaving WCNC as the only remaining Charlotte station that has yet to begin high-definition broadcasts.

A much-remembered women's/homemaker's show that aired from the 1950s until 1977 was hosted by Betty Feezor. She gave viewers tips on cooking, sewing, floral arranging, and other topics of interest to housewives and mothers. In 1965, the program was the third most-watched women's program in the United States.^[3] Feezor's show was also seen on sister station WWBT in Richmond after Jefferson-Pilot bought the station in 1968. Feezor retired in 1977 due to a brain tumor, an illness which claimed her life in 1978.

"The Betty Feezor Show" was replaced by an hour-long midday news and variety show, "Top O' the Day." Viewers will remember Doug Mayes doing a segment called "On The Square" in which he would solicit opinions from local viewers in various Charlotte-area towns about current news topics, as well as C.J. Underwood's "Down Home With The Carolina Camera," where otherwise unknown or low-profile Carolinians were temporarily given celebrity status for their whimsical talents, novel collections, or for the way they impacted their communities. For its first five years, the show aired from 12 noon to 1 PM, pre-empting CBS's broadcast of The Young and the Restless. Beginning in 1982, the show aired from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. WBTV aired the previous day's network episode of The Price Is Right before "Top O' the Day," preempting whatever game show CBS aired at 10:30. As a result, Child's Play, Press Your Luck,Card Sharks, Now You See It, and most of CBS' version of Wheel of Fortune were never seen on WBTV. However, area viewers could watch them on WSPA-TV in Spartanburg or WFMY if they had a strong antenna. WFMY and WSPA were and still are available on some cable systems in the Charlotte market. "Top O' the Day" left the air in 1992, and WBTV now airs a conventional half-hour newscast at noon. On the weekends, the station occasionally preempted some of CBS' Saturday morning cartoons. Since the early 1990s, WBTV has generally cleared the entire CBS lineup in pattern, the only significant exception being pre-emptions for ACC basketball and football. Most ACC football and basketball games that don't air on WBTV air on WJZY.

The popularity of a series of specials commemorating the station's 25th anniversary in 1974 led to a long-running program, "Those Were the Years," hosted by Mike McKay and featuring episodes of classic television shows such as Dragnet, You Bet Your Life, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It was seen for several years at 11:30 p.m. on Fridays, pre-empting the CBS late-night shows which competed poorly against The Tonight Show.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, WBTV aired a Sunday morning program that featured singing cowboy Fred Kirby and his sidekick "Uncle Jim" (played by Jim Patterson). The show was known at various times as "Tiny Town," "Whistle Stop," "Fred Kirby's Little Rascals," and "Kirby's Corral." Giving the "hi-sign" to his young fans, Kirby was a fixture for many years at the western-themed park Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, North Carolina (an hour northwest of Charlotte). In addition to Fred and Uncle Jim, viewers were treated to classic episodes ofThe Little Rascals (Hal Roach's Our Gang) as well as frequent appearances by the local bluegrass band The Br'arhoppers. Patterson was killed in a single-car accident in Charlotte in 1986. Kirby died in 1996 at age 85.

Following the 2005 retirement of longtime WSOC anchorman Bill Walker, WBTV has billed lead anchor Paul Cameron as "The Voice of Experience." Cameron joined WBTV in 1981 as sports director, and then succeeded longtime anchorman Bob Inman upon his retirement in 1996. WBTV's Maureen O'Boyle, a Charlotte native and graduate of West Charlotte High School, once anchored the FOX-produced newsmagazine A Current Affair. Morning and midday anchor John Carter is a former North Carolina state senator. Other notable on-air personalities include Steve Ohnesorge, western bureau chief who started as a photographer at WBTV in 1975.

WBTV produces a 10 PM newscast for the area's CW affiliate, WJZY. In February 2011 ratings, it finished a distant third behind WCCB's news and the WAXN-TV broadcast produced by WSOC-TV.^[5]

Diana Williams, now at WABC-TV in New York City, was an anchor at WBTV during the early 1980s. She was succeeded as the station's main female anchor by Sara James, now a reporter for Dateline NBC.

In September 2010, WBTV launched an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast; it is the market's second newscast to air in that time period, though WCNC's program is only 30 minutes. ^[6]

Transmitter

WBTV's transmission tower is a 2000 feet (609.6 meter) high guy-wired aerial mast for the transmission of FM and TV-programs located in Dallas, North Carolina. The tower was completed in 1984.

Cable & satellite availability

Outside of the Charlotte market, WBTV is carried on cable in Wilkesboro, Sparta, Troy and Yadkinville which are all part of the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem market. In the Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville market, WBTV is carried in six North Carolina towns: Bakersville, Burnsville, Forest City, Marion, Rutherfordton and Spruce Pine, and in Gaffney, S.C.

Until the mid-1990's, WBTV was carried on cable channel 8 in Lexington and Thomasville, one of two out-of-market TV stations carried on cable inDavidson County along with WTVD, which was carried on cable channel 2.

The station is not available to satellite viewers outside of the market.

News team

Current on-air staff

Anchors

Paul Cameron - weekdays 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
Maureen O'Boyle - weekdays 5, 6 and Prime Time (7 p.m.)
Jamie Boll - weekdays 4:00, 4:30, 5:30 p.m.
Brigida Mack- weekdays 4:00, 4:30 p.m.
Molly Grantham - weekdays 5:30, 10 p.m. (on WJZY) and 11 p.m.
John Carter - weekdays 5-7 a.m. and noon
Christine Nelson - weekdays 5-7 a.m. and noon
Sharon Smith - weekend evenings at 6, 10 (on WJZY) and 11 p.m.
Kristen Miranda - Saturdays 5-8 a.m., Sundays 5-7 a.m.

Reporters

Tom Roussey - government reporter
Steve Ohnesorge - Morganton/Burke County bureau
Steve Crump
Melissa Hankins - business reporter
Jeff Atkinson - general assignment reporter/"Primetime" correspondent
Dedrick Russell - education reporter
David Whisenant - Concord/Salisbury/Cabarrus County bureau; substitute morning/noon anchor
Kristen Hampton
Sarah Batista
Ron Lee (Cam Man)
Kristen Miranda
Trent Faris - York County/South Carolina bureau
Kay Johnson

First Alert Weather

Al Conklin - weekdays 5-7 a.m.
Eric Thomas - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights 4, 5, 5:30, 6, 7, 10 & 11 p.m.
Jim Lytle
Kelly Franson

First Alert Traffic

Liz Horton - mornings 5-7 a.m.
Jacinda Garabito - weekdays 4, 4:30, 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m.

Sports Team

Delano Little - Sports Director, "Football Friday Night" co-host
Nicole Darin
Nate Wimberly

Notable former on-air staff

Tonia Bendickson (Left September 2010)
David Rhew (reporter, 1987–1994 and 2002- 2004 now Broadcast General Manager CPCC Television
Bob Inman (anchor, 1970–77 and 1979–96), now a novelist and playwright
Janet England (anchor, 1977–85), left WBTV for WSOC afterwards
Gail Harris (anchor, 1970s, later at WBZ-TV in Boston)
Clyde "Cloudy" McLean (weatherman, 1949–85 and co-host of Top O' The Day; deceased)
Mike Cozza (anchor and reporter, 1972–97), now spokesman for Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation
Jim Thacker (sports director and pioneering Atlantic Coast Conference TV broadcaster, 1968-81; deceased 1992) ^[7]
Doug Mayes (anchor, 1949–81)
Diana Williams (anchor, 1983–86; now at WABC-TV in New York City)
Lori Stokes (anchor, 1988–1990; now at WABC-TV
Lisa Cooley (Hill) (anchor, later at WCBS-TV in New York City and KCBS-TV in Los Angeles)
Rita Cosby (anchor/reporter, 1990s), now at Inside Edition
Sara James (anchor, 1986–91; now at Dateline NBC)
Sonja Gantt (health reporter, 1987–93; now at WCNC-TV)
Mike McKay (weatherman, 1967–95), now at Davidson College classical music radio station WDAV
Jim Patterson (weatherman, 1949–86; deceased)
Shannon Bream (anchor, now at Fox News Channel)
Bea Thompson (anchor/reporter, ?-1995, now at WBAV-FM)
Bob Knowles (anchor/reporter, 1995–2003; deceased)
Melissa Greer (weather anchor, 2004–2007; deceased)
Kricket Morton (weekend sports anchor/reporter, 1994–2007)
Theresa Varga (Kavouras) (weekend weather anchor, 1995–1998)
Shawnette Wilson (weekend anchor 2004-2007; now at WTXF-TV in Philadelphia)
John Blunt (anchor/reporter 1970-76; last seen at WCAU in Philadelphia from 1984–2009)
Lu Ann Cahn (reporter 1980-85; now at WCAU)
Tom Burlington (anchor/reporter ?-1995; later at WTXF-TV)
Bob Hice (sports anchor, ?-?
David Snepp (producer/reporter 1983-86)
C.J. Underwood (host of Carolina Camera and co-host of Top O' The Day, 1969–99, deceased)
Mark Garrison (host of Carolina Camera, ?-?)

Ken Koontz (First black American at WBTV News/Sept '69; reporter/anchor Sept. '69 - Aug. '80; Director of Comm. Affairs/Public Affairs Program Producer Sept 80-Oct '83)

Brian Thompson (reporter 1980s; now at WNBC-TV in New York)

Chris Clackum (reporter, 1980s, now at NBC News
Carson Chambers, general assignment reporter - WFTS-TV, Tampa-St. Petersburg (since 2007)
Lenise Ligon (anchor, 2005–2008; to WALA-TV, Mobile, Alabama, March 2008)
Mickey Sabella (sports reporter, 1983–1987)
Chris Suchan (mornings) now at WTSP in Tampa.
Jim Noble (sports reporter, 1995–1999), now TNT/ESPN NASCAR reporter
Graham Wilson (reporter, managing editor, Raleigh Bureau 1980-1989); now president of PRStreet, Cary, NC
Barbara Pinson (anchor, 2008–2009)
Joey Popp (editor, producer, reporter 1979-1986); now at WFAE
Michael Marsh (anchor, now at WBRZ in Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
Danielle Trotta (sports reporter/weekend sports anchor, 2006–2010, now at Speed Channel)
Lori Thomas (Morning and Noon Anchor?-?)
Bob Lacey (PM Magazine)
Moira Quinn (PM Magazine)
Barbara McKay (Top O' The Day)

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

The Esso Reporter (1950s)
The Morning Report/The Noon Report/The Early Report/The Late Report/The Sign-Off Report (1960s)
The Morning Scene/The Scene at Noon/The Scene Tonight/The Night Scene (1970s)
The Scene Tonight (1970–1977)
WBTV News (1980s-1990)
WBTV NewsChannel 3 (1990–2001)
WBTV News 3 (2001–present)