WABG-TV

WABG-TV

Greenwood/Greenville, Mississippi
United States
City Greenwood, Mississippi
Branding ABC 6 WABG (general)
Delta Fox 10 (on DT2)
The Delta News (newscasts)
Slogan The Delta's #1 News Station (on DT1)
Thank You for Watching Delta Fox 10 (on DT2)
News That Works For You (newscasts)
Channels Digital: 32 (UHF)
Virtual: 6 (PSIP)
Subchannels (see article)
Affiliations 6.1: ABC (since 1959)
6.2: Fox (since 2006)
Owner Northwest Broadcasting
(Cala Broadcast Partners LLC)
First air date DT1: October 20, 1959 (1959-10-20)
DT2: September 13, 2006 (2006-09-13)
Call letters' meaning We're ABC Greenwood
Sister station(s) WNBD-LD, WXVT-LD, WFXW
Former callsigns WABG (1959–1963)
Former channel number(s) 6 (VHF analog, 1959–2009)
Former affiliations CBS (1959)
Transmitter power 1,000 kW
Height 572 m (1,877 ft)
Facility ID 43203
Transmitter coordinates 33°22′23″N 90°32′25″W / 33.37306°N 90.54028°W / 33.37306; -90.54028
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website www.deltanews.tv

WABG-TV is a dual ABC/Fox-affiliated television station licensed to Greenwood, Mississippi, United States and serving the Delta area of Northwestern Mississippi. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 (or virtual channel 6 via PSIP) from a transmitter located northeast of Inverness. Owned by Northwest Broadcasting, WABG shares separate administrative and studio buildings on Washington Avenue in Greenville with two low-powered sister stations: Grenada-licensed NBC affiliate WNBD-LD (channel 33) and Cleveland-licensed CBS affiliate WXVT-LD (channel 17).

History

WABG-TV's first broadcast was on October 20, 1959 on VHF channel 6. Originally it was a CBS affiliate, but it switched to ABC a few months later after WJTV in Jackson complained this station was encroaching on its service area. This was due to WABG's signal reaching the far western fringes of the Jackson market. The network swap made WABG the first primary ABC affiliate in Mississippi. Until then, the only areas of the state to receive a sole ABC affiliate were the northwest (from Memphis' WHBQ-TV) and the Gulf Coast (from WVUE in New Orleans). WJTV remained the default CBS affiliate for the southern counties in the Delta area, while WREG-TV in Memphis served the northern half of the market, until future sister station WXVT signed on in 1980. Mississippi cities like Kosciusko received WABG-TV on their analog television set as their default ABC station from 1970 to present. WAPT in Jackson, did not have a strong signal on analog television in the Kosciusko area.

WABG-DT2's first logo.

On September 13, 2006, WABG launched a Fox affiliate, "Delta Fox 10," on a new second digital subchannel. Previously, the national Foxnet service provided Fox programming to cable subscribers in the Delta area, which was one of the last markets to be offered the service. The cable-only service originally planned to close down on September 1, 2006 but was delayed until September 12 to allow WABG time to set up the new affiliate. When WABG-DT2 started operations, it was not a 24-hour station. "Delta Fox" aired programming from 5:00 p.m. to 10:35 p.m. weekdays, 4:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and 5:00 p.m. to 10:35 p.m. on Sundays. "Delta Fox" aired all Fox Sports programming on weekends regardless of starting time. WABG-DT2 is now a 24-hour station.

On September 5, 2007, WABG announced that it was being sold from Bahakel Communications to local businessman Charles Harker and his company, Commonwealth Broadcasting, pending Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval. The sale was finalized on October 29. On July 13, 2010, Commonwealth announced plans to launch new low-powered station, WNBD-LD, as the area's first locally based NBC affiliate;[1] prior to WNBD's launch, NBC was seen in the market through Memphis' WMC-TV or Jackson's WLBT on area cable systems, as well as over-the-air on the edges of the market. Commonwealth also has a license for WFXW-LD channel 17, which is licensed to Cleveland and shares WABG's tower in Inverness. The unused callsign WFXW-LD would become WXVT-LD on June 26, 2017.[2]

On May 4, 2012, Saga Communications, owner of WXVT, announced it was selling WXVT to H3 Communications, a company owned by the adult children of Charles Harker. On January 28, 2013, the FCC granted the sale of WXVT, and it was completed two days later.[3][4] Commonwealth then took over WXVT's operations, effectively bringing all of the Delta's Big Three network stations under the control of one company.

In 2015, WABG and WXVT appeared in a TruTV reality series Breaking Greenville. It premiered January 29, 2015 and ended on March 26, 2015.

Commonwealth Broadcasting Group agreed to sell WABG-TV, WNBD-LD, and WFXW-LD to Cala Broadcast Partners for $11.7 million on October 30, 2015. Cala is jointly owned by Brian Brady (who owns several other television stations, mostly under the Northwest Broadcasting name) and Jason Wolff (who owns radio and television stations through Frontier Radio Management).[5] Concurrently with this acquisition, Cala agreed to purchase the now WFXW from H3 Communications; a month later, it assigned its right to purchase that station to John Wagner.[6] The sale was completed on August 1, 2016. [7]

On January 1, 2017, Cable One removed channels owned by Northwest Broadcasting (WABG-TV, WXVT, WABG-DT2 and WNBD-LD) after the two companies failed to reach an agreement. On February 1, 2017, the channels were restored to Cable One's lineup under a new carriage deal.

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming [8]
6.1720p16:9WABG-DTMain WABG-TV programming / ABC
6.2WABG-FXWABG-DT2 / Fox

Availability

On cable, ABC 6 can be seen on Suddenlink channel 4 and in high definition on digital channel 720; while Delta Fox 10 is carried on Suddenlink channel 10 and in high definition on digital channel 705. ABC 6 can also be seen on Cable One channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 1006; while Delta Fox 10 is carried on Cable One channel 10 and in high definition on digital channel 1010.

On satellite, ABC 6 can be seen on DirecTV channel 6; while Delta Fox 10 is carried on DirecTV channel 7. ABC 6 can also be seen on Dish Network channel 6; while Delta Fox 10 is carried on Dish Network channel 10.

Programming

Syndicated programming on ABC 6 includes Live with Kelly and Ryan, Steve, The Doctors, Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, and Entertainment Tonight; while syndicated programming on Delta Fox 10 includes The Wendy Williams Show, Divorce Court, Jerry Springer, Maury, Access, and Family Feud.

Newscasts

As of August 2016, all four networks including WABG-TV (ABC & Fox), WXVT-LD (CBS), and WNBD-LD (NBC) have consolidated under one branding, The Delta News. The Delta News studios and offices are located on Washington Avenue in Greenville. The new ownership includes news on all four networks.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://wabg.com/NEWS09212010_NBC.htm. Retrieved October 2, 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ "TV Query Results - Video Division (FCC) USA". Fcc.gov. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  3. ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1538748.pdf%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  4. ↑ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101539488&formid=905&fac_num=25236
  5. ↑ "Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License (WABG-TV)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 3, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License (WXVT)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 3, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  7. ↑ Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, 1 August, 2016, Retrieved 10 August, 2016.
  8. ↑ http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WABG#station
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