WNCT-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Eastern North Carolina that is licensed to Greenville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter east of Grifton along NC 118. Owned by Media General, the station has studios on South Evans Street in Greenville. Syndicated programming on WNCT includes: Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Dr. Phil, and The Doctors.
| [1] | |
| Greenville/New Bern/ | |
|---|---|
| Branding | Eyewitness News 9
Eastern North Carolina CW (on DT2) |
| Slogan | On Your Side |
| Channels | Digital: 10 (VHF) |
| Subchannels | 9.1 CBS |
| Owner | Media General
(Media General Communications Holdings, LLC) |
| First air date | December 22, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | We're North
Carolina Television |
| Former channel number(s) | 9 (VHF analog, 1953-2009) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (1953-1962) |
| Transmitter power | 35 kW |
| Height | 575 m |
| Facility ID | 57838 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°21′55″N 77°23′38″W / 35.36528°N 77.39389°W / 35.36528; -77.39389 |
| Website | wnct.com |
Digital programming
It operates the area's CW affiliate on a second digital subchannel. Known on-air as Eastern North Carolina CW, this can also be seen on Suddenlink channel 6, Charter channel 17, and Time Warner digital channel 111. WNCT-DT2 gets all of its programming from The CW Plus. It is available in standard definition digital on DirecTVchannel 15 and Dish Network satellite. The main WNCT signal is available in SD and high definition digital on both systems.
| Virtual Channel | Digital Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | 10.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | main WNCT-TV programming / CBS HD |
| 9.2 | 10.2 | 480i | 4:3 | WNCT-DT2 "Eastern North Carolina CW" |
History
WNCT signed-on December 22, 1953. It is the fourth-oldest continuously operating television station in North Carolina (behind Charlotte's WBTV, Greensboro's WFMY-TV, and Winston-Salem's WXII-TV) and the oldest station in the eastern part of the state. It was owned by The Daily Reflector along with WNCT radio (1070 AM and 107.9 FM). The station has always been a CBS affiliate but also carried some ABC shows until WNBE-TV (now WCTI-TV) signed-on from New Bern in 1963. From 1959 until 1998, it aired a weekday morning talk show known as Carolina Today. WNCT was the first station in the area to broadcast in color. Roy H. Park bought the Daily Reflector and WNCT-AM-FM-TV in 1961, and the station remained the flagship of Park Communications until it merged with Media General in 1997. [2]
WNCT-TV also served part of the Wilmington market (mostly Pender County) until that city got its own CBS affiliate, WJKA-TV, in 1984. When WJKA switched to Fox in 1994 as WSFX-TV, WNCT served as the default CBS affiliate for part of the Wilmington market until low-powered WILM-LP (now WILM-LD) affiliated with the network in 2000. However, WNCT still serves some parts of the Wilmington market that cannot get WILM's signal over-the-air or on cable.
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced that they would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of its corporate parents: CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. WCTI offered UPN on its third digital subchannel while The WB aired on cable-only "WGWB". On September 18, WNCT changed its second digital subchannel, which had been serving as a non-audio feed of the station's weather radar, to become part of the new network. Its CBS high definition signal was picked up by DirecTV on January 7, 2009 and it is also carried on Dish Network. On June 12, 2009, WNCT's digital signal remained on channel 10 when the analog to digital conversion was completed. [3] On that date at 6:30, the station shut off its analog transmitter.
News operation
[3][4]News open seen every night at 11.Even before a full news department was established, WNCT offered weather forecasts to area farmers. For coverage of severe weather events such as hurricanes and floods, the station received a national Edward R. Murrow Award and was the smallest station to get this recognition. It also won a Service to America Award. [4] In terms of ratings, the area is usually not fiercely competitive. Generally, WNCT trades the ratings crown with WITN-TV and WCTI. In July 2008, this station became the most watched in the market after taking first place weeknights at 6 and 11. But since then, channel 9 has fallen to 3rd place weeknights at 6. As of May 2010, WITN has won the sign-on to sign-off honors for two consecutive ratings periods. It won all news time periods except for the weekday noon news. [5]
Until December 2007, WNCT produced a nightly prime time newscast called Fox News at 10 for the area's affiliates WFXI/WYDO. The production moved to WNCT-DT2 on January 1, 2008 after the Bonten Media Group acquired those stations and WCTI began to operate them. The broadcast on WNCT-DT2 is currently known as Eyewitness News 9 Nightside on The CW. That channel also airs the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz on weekday mornings from 6 to 9.
Unlike most CBS affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone, WNCT does not air local news weeknights at 5 and 5:30. During weather segments, the station uses live NOAA National Weather Service weather radar that originates from the Local Forecast Office on Roberts Road in Newport. On-air, this is known as "Live VIPIR 9". In addition to the main studios, it operates a bureau in Jacksonville on Lejeune Boulevard. WNCT maintains partnerships with WNCN, WBTW, and the Winston-Salem Journal. It offers live video streaming of all newscasts on the website.
Newscast titles
- 9 Alive News (1970s-1980s)
- WNCT-TV News (1980s)
- NewsCenter 9 (1980s-1998)
- Eyewitness News 9 (1998–2012)
- 9 on Your Side (2012–present)
Station slogans
- "Turn to 9" (early 1990s)
- "First in News" (early 1990s-1998)
- "On Your Side" (1998–present)
News team
Anchors
- Lindsay Landry - weekday mornings and noon
- Amanda Goodman - weeknights
- Allan Hoffman - weeknights at 6 and 11
- Jim Niedelman - weekends and reporter
- Brian Bailey - Sports Director seen weeknights and Touchdown Friday host
Storm Team 9 Meteorologists
- David Sawyer - Chief seen weeknights
- Gannon Medwick - weekday mornings and noon
- Kweilyn Murphy - weekends
Digital journalists
- Arthur Mondale- Senior Digital Journalist
- Chris Brown - Jacksonville Bureau Chief
- Smitha Rao - New Bern Bureau Chief
- Shantel Middleton
- Alexander Freedman
- Andrea Blanford
References
- ^ http://jeff560.tripod.com/1952tv.html Commercial Television Stations of the U. S., 1952
- ^ http://www.wnct.com/nct/online/site_information/
- ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
- ^ http://www2.wnct.com/about-us/
- ^ http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6579887.htmlLink 3