WTOK-TV, virtual channel 11 (VHF digital channel 13), is an ABC/MyNetworkTV/CW+-affiliated television station licensed to Meridian, Mississippi, United States. The station is owned by Gray Television. WTOK-TV's studios are located on 23rd Avenue in Meridian's Mid-Town section, and its transmitter is located on Crestview Circle (along MS 145/Roebuck Drive) in unincorporated Lauderdale County, south of Meridian. On cable, the station is available on Comcast Xfinity channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 431.
History[]
WTOK-TV began broadcasting on September 25, 1953 as the second television station in Mississippi and the first on the VHF band. WTOK was originally owned by Southern Television Corporation founded by Robert F. Wright. WJTV in Jackson had started broadcasting in January of that year on a UHF frequency. WTOK started as a primary CBS affiliate but carried programming from ABC, NBC, and DuMont as well. DuMont folded in 1955 and NBC went to WHTV (channel 24, now WMDN) when that station resumed broadcasting in 1972 (via its status as a satellite of Tupelo's WTWV, now WTVA). It became an exclusive ABC affiliate in 1980, sending CBS to WHTV when WTVA's owners decided to convert it into a separate station. ABC had become the highest-rated network in the nation by this time and wanted a station that would clear all of its programming. Wright sold the station to the Hobby family of Houston, Texas in 1981. In 1983, the Hobbys reorganized their broadcast holdings as H&C Communications after they sold off the Houston Post. H&C then sold WTOK to United Broadcasting, who also owned KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1984.
Although most media markets were allocated two VHF commercial channels and one VHF noncommercial channel, what would become of the Meridian media market was sandwiched between Columbus–Tupelo (channels 2, 4, and 9) to the north, Jackson (channel 3 and later channel 12) to the west, Hattiesburg–Laurel (channel 9, later 7) and Mobile (channels 3, 5, and 10) to the south, and Birmingham (channels 6, 10, and 13) and Montgomery (channels 2, 8, and 12) to the east. This created a "doughnut" in East Central Mississippi where there was only one VHF license available. WTOK-TV was fortunate enough to gain that license, and consequently became the only station to serve the Meridian area until WHTV started in 1968 (however, that station went off the air in 1970, for a year and a half); WMAW (a Mississippi Public Broadcasting station) would not sign on until 1972.
WTOK also served as a partial Fox affiliate in the mid-1990s, carrying NFL broadcasts as well as selected Fox programming in late night time-slots, after ABC programming had ended for the day. In 1988, then-owner United Broadcasting was taken over by investment firm Merrill Lynch, who then sold its three stations off to separate buyers. That year, Benedek Broadcasting bought WTOK. When Benedek's parent company went bankrupt in 2002, current owner Gray Television bought most of the Benedek portfolio, including WTOK.
WTOK-TV has been digital-only since June 12, 2009.
On June 25, 2018, Gray Television announced it would acquire Montgomery, Alabama-based Raycom Media for $3.65 billion. The deal would give WTOK-TV new sister stations in Raycom's virtual triopoly of NBC affiliate WLBT, Fox affiliate WDBD and MyNetworkTV affiliate WLOO in Jackson. In addition, the sale would give Gray ownership of at least one station in nearly every television market in Mississippi (the exceptions being Greenville and the adjacent Columbus-Tupelo market). The FCC approved the sale on December 20, and the sale was consummated on January 2.
News operation[]
WTOK-TV has long been the dominant station in Eastern Mississippi due to its status as the only VHF station in the area. For a time in the early-1990s, WTOK was even the only over-the-air commercial station in town by default after both of its rivals went off-the-air. After WMDN shut down its news department in 2005, WTOK became the only station in the market to offer local news. Unlike most ABC affiliates, it does not air full two-hour morning or midday newscasts during the week. WTOK-DT2 rebroadcasts the 6 a.m. hour of Good Morning Meridian weekday mornings at 7:30 and NewsCenter 11 at 10 every night at midnight. On April 25, 2012, WTOK-TV began broadcasting local newscasts in high definition for the first time.
Newscast titles[]
- TV-11 News
- NewsCenter 11
Station slogans[]
- East Mississippi and West Alabama's News Leader
- Your 24-Hour Newsource
- Your News Leader for East Mississippi and West Alabama
News team[]
Anchors[]
- Intisar Faulkner - weekday mornings
- Tom Williams -
- Emily Erikson -
- Lindsey Hall -
Weather[]
- Stephen Bowers - chief meteorologist;
- Andrew Samet - meteorologist;
Sports team[]
- Shahji Adam -
- Ellie French -
Notable former on-air staff[]
- Stan Torgerson - reporter (deceased)