WCJB-TV
 | |
 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding |
|
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | April 7, 1971 |
Former channel number(s) | Analog:20 (UHF, 1971–2009) |
| NBC(1971–1973) | |
Call signmeaning | Casey, JoAnn, and Bill Minshall, original owners |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 16993 |
| ERP | 343.6kW |
| HAAT | 254.4 m (835 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 29°32′11.5″N82°24′0″W/ 29.536528°N 82.40000°W |
| Translator(s) | W35EC-D (35 UHF,Lake City) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WCJB-TV(channel 20) is atelevision stationinGainesville, Florida,United States, affiliated withABCandThe CW Plus.Owned byGray Television,the station maintains studios on Northwest 43rd Street in Gainesville, and its transmitter is located nearMicanopy, Florida.
History[edit]
WCJB began broadcasting April 7, 1971, as anNBCaffiliate owned by William E. "Bill" Minshall. Originally broadcasting an analog signal on UHF channel 20, its call sign bears the first initials of his family members: Casey (daughter), JoAnn (wife), and himself, Bill. In 1973, just two years after its first broadcast, the station switched its affiliation to ABC.[2]In 1976, WCJB was sold toDiversified Communications.In 2001, it began airing its digital signal on UHF channel 16. WCJB was one of the ABC affiliates that airedSaving Private Ryanin 2004.
On September 18, 2006, WCJB launched a new second digital subchannel to be the area'sCWaffiliate as part of the nationalCW Plusservice, replacing the cable-onlyWB 100+affiliate "WBFL" after the WB–UPNmerger.
Its coverage area includesLake City(within theJacksonvillemarket),Ocala(in the Orlando market) and most of North Central Florida. It is also the sole ABC affiliate on cable systems inLive OakandJasper(both within theTallahasseearea). Until July 2006, WCJB was the only ABC affiliate seen onCox Cablesystems in Ocala. Even though that city is part of the Orlando market, this station had exclusivity on that system for ABC programming. This kept in-market affiliateWFTVoff the system for several years. In that month, the cable company received the green light to pick up WFTV'sstandardandhigh definitionfeeds in Ocala. WFTV and WCJB are also both seen onCharter SpectruminBelleviewandunincorporatedMarion County.
Diversified announced on February 16, 2017, that it would exit broadcasting and sell WCJB and its sister stationWABI-TVinBangor, Maine,toGray Televisionfor $85 million.[3]The sale was completed on May 1, 2017.[4]It made WCJB a sister station toWCTV(Gray Television's then-flagship station) in Tallahassee andWJHG-TVandWECP-LDinPanama City.
Programming[edit]
Sports programming[edit]
WCJB airs select Florida Gators football games as part of ABC's rights to college football telecasts. The station aired the Gators' first-ever national championship in1996through their victory in the1997 Sugar Bowl.
News operation[edit]
As of September 2022, WCJB presently broadcasts 35 hours, 15 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6 hours, 35 minutes each weekday and an hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). The station also broadcasts2+1⁄2hours of late local news each week on its CW subchannel.
Originally, WCJB was the only station to operate a news department covering the Gainesville area. As a result, it held the number one spot inNielsen ratingsby a wide margin for most of the station's existence. In addition to its main studios, this station operates a Marion County Bureau on Northeast 1st Avenue in Ocala.
Until the establishment of rivalWGFL'sGTN Newsin 2010 (laterCBS 4 News), WCJB had the only local news department on a commercial station –non-commercialWUFTtelevision airs a nightly newscast produced byUniversity of Floridajournalism and broadcasting students; and Fox affiliateWOGXsimulcasts newscasts from sister stationWOFLin Orlando, with no separate local inserts targeted to the Gainesville area. Following the discontinuation ofCBS 4 Newson May 12, 2023, WCJB reassumed becoming the only commercial news station serving Gainesville.
On April 19, 2009, WCJB debuted a new set complete with updated graphics and music theme (identical to that ofDes MoinesCBS affiliateKCCIin the late '90s) which had not changed in almost ten years. The graphics are yellow and orange instead of blue and white. Its updated logo now includes ABC in it unlike the previous two. WCJB began airing local newscasts in high definition on January 9, 2010. Its music theme was later updated in 2012, with a background graphics color change to blue and red. The music theme and news set was then modified on October 22, 2015, and the background graphics was updated on February 1, 2016, showing photos relating to Gainesville and North Central Florida.
From September 18, 2006, until February 2010, it produced a half-hour weeknight prime time newscast on WCJB-DT2, titledWCJB-TV 20 News at 10 on Gainesville CW.The live broadcast was dropped in favor of a repeat of the main channel's 6 o'clock show, but the repeat was later dropped as well.
On January 18, 2016, WCJB expanded its early evening newscast a half-hour earlier to 5 p.m. instead of 5:30.[5]The 6 p.m. newscast remains as scheduled.
On June 26, 2017, for the first time in over eight years, WCJB updated a new logo.
On September 6, 2021, WCJB added an hour-long weekday 4 p.m. newscast on the main channel and relaunched a half-hour 10 p.m. newscast on the DT2 CW subchannel.[6]
On September 5, 2022, WCJB extended its weekday noon newscast to one hour,[7]with the last half-hour replacing the canceledRight This Minute.
Florida–Dayton recreation[edit]
On March 29, 2014, theFlorida Gatorsbeat theDayton Flyers62–52 in the Elite Eight of theNCAA basketball tournament.Since WCJB is an ABC affiliate andCBSowned the broadcast rights (although the game aired nationally onTBS), the network could not show highlights until the day after perNCAAregulations. The news team instead recreated the highlights inside a conference room at the station's studios, using a mini-hoop attached to the wall and the station staff doubling as players.[8]
Technical information[edit]
Subchannels[edit]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WCJBabc | ABC |
| 20.2 | WCJB-CW | The CW Plus | ||
| 20.3 | 480i | MeTV | MeTV | |
| 20.4 | Circle | The365 | ||
| 20.5 | Crime | True Crime Network | ||
| 20.6 | Grit | Grit |
WCJB-DT2 upgraded its signal to 720p in June 2012.[10]
In January 2018, WCJB addedMeTVto its subchannel lineup on channel 20.3, marking the first new subchannel added to WCJB since adding Gainesville CW in September 2006. MeTV had been aired on NBC affiliateWNBW's subchannel 9.4 prior to the change.
On January 1, 2020, WCJB launched a new subchannel,Circle,on channel 20.4.
In March 2020, WCJB added another new subchannel, Justice Network (nowTrue Crime Network), on channel 20.5.
On December 1, 2022, the station added a sixth subchannel,Grit.
Analog-to-digital conversion[edit]
WCJB-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, overUHFchannel 20, on February 17, 2009, the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were totransition from analog to digital broadcastsunder federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 16,[11]usingvirtual channel20.
Former translator[edit]
Until 1998, WCJB operated ananalogtranslator station,W57AN(UHF channel 57) which rebroadcast WCJB's signal into Marion County from a transmitter located on NE Jacksonville Road in Ocala.[12][13]
See also[edit]
- Channel 16 digital TV stations in the United States
- Channel 20 virtual TV stations in the United States
References[edit]
- ^"Facility Technical Data for WCJB-TV".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"Station Changes Its Affiliation With Networks".The Tampa Tribune.Tampa, Florida. July 12, 1973. p. 7-D.RetrievedJuly 13,2022– via Newspapers.com.
- ^Diana Marszalek,Gray Buys Diversified's Stations in Bangor, Gainesville[permanent dead link]Broadcasting & Cable,February 16, 2017
- ^Consummation Notice,CDBS Public Access,Federal Communications Commission,Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^"WCJB is expanding its early-evening newscasts to 5:00 p.m."January 9, 2016.
- ^Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:"DYLANPREVIEW30A".YouTube.
- ^"TV20 News at Noon expands to hour-long newscast".September 5, 2022.
- ^TV station acts out Florida-Dayton highlights on mini-hoop
- ^RabbitEars TV Query for WCJB
- ^"CW+ HD and TSReader Data - RabbitEars Blog".
- ^"DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on August 29, 2013.RetrievedMarch 24,2012.
- ^April 18, 1993 Sign-Off – WCJB (ABC, Gainesville),archivedfrom the original on December 22, 2021,retrievedMarch 8,2021
- ^"Facility Details « Licensing and Management System Admin « FCC".enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov.RetrievedMarch 8,2021.