WRAL-TV

This article is about the television station. For its sister radio station in Raleigh that is also owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company, seeWRAL (FM).

WRAL-TV

Raleigh–Durham– Fayetteville, North Carolina United States
City	Raleigh, North Carolina
Channels	Digital:17 (UHF) Virtual:5
Branding	WRAL-TV 5;WRAL News
Programming
Affiliations	5.1:NBC for others, see§ Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc.
Sister stations	WCLY,WCMC-FM,WDNC,WRAL,WRAZ,WNGT-CD
History
First air date	December 15, 1956(1956-12-15)
Former channel number(s)	Analog:5 (VHF,1956–2009) Digital:32 (UHF, 1996–2000), 53 (UHF, 2000–2009), 48 (UHF, 2009–2019)
Former affiliations	NBC (primary 1956–1962, secondary 1962–1968) ABC(secondary 1957–1962, primary 1962–1985) CBS(1985–2016)
Call signmeaning	Raleigh
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	8688
ERP	833.7 kW
HAAT	625 m (2,051 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	35°40′29″N78°31′39″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.wral.com

WRAL-TV(channel 5) is atelevision stationlicensed toRaleigh, North Carolina,United States, serving as theNBCaffiliate for theResearch Trianglearea. It is theflagship stationof the locally basedCapitol Broadcasting Company,which has owned the station since its inception.

WRAL-TV is asister stationtoFoxaffiliateWRAZ(channel 50, also licensed to Raleigh),Class Anews-formattedindependent stationWNGT-CD(channel 34, licensed to bothSmithfieldandSelma), andradio stationsWRAL(101.5 FM),WCMC-FM(99.9),WDNC(620 AM), andWCLY(1550 AM). The television stations share studios at Capitol Broadcasting Company headquarters on Western Boulevard in west Raleigh; WRAL-TV's transmitter is located inAuburn, North Carolina.

WRAL-TV has been affiliated with NBC since February 29, 2016, when it ended a 30-year affiliation withCBS,with CBS going toGoldsboro-licensedWNCN(channel 17) on that date. This is channel 5's second stint with NBC; it was a primary affiliate with that network for six years at the station's inception, after which it took on a secondary affiliation with NBC for the next nine years.

History

Early years

WRAL-TV began broadcasting on December 15, 1956. Among the first programs aired was themovieMiracle on 34th Street.A. J. Fletcher's Capitol Broadcasting Company, which first licensed WRAL Radio (AM 1240, nowWPJL) in 1938, won the TV license in an upset over the much larger Durham Life Insurance Company, then-owners of radio stationWPTF.

WRAL was originally an NBC affiliate, taking that network fromDurham-basedWTVD(channel 11, which included Fletcher's son, Floyd, among its founders). When WNAO-TV (channel 28), the Triangle's CBS affiliate, went dark at the end of 1957 and the affiliation moved to WTVD (which was an ABC affiliate at that point) in the process,WRAL sharedABCwith WTVD until August 1, 1962, when channel 5 took the ABC affiliation full-time.This was unusual for a two-station market. ABC was at the time the smallest and weakest of the three major networks; it would not be on par with NBC and CBS in terms of ratings or affiliated stations until the early 1970s. WRAL did, however, continue to carryThe Huntley-Brinkley Reportuntil January 3, 1967, when ABC's own evening newscasts expanded to 30 minutes. WRAL also continued to carryMy Three Sonsfor several years after that show switched networks, from ABC to CBS.

From 1960 until his election to theUnited States Senatein 1972,Jesse Helmswas an editorialist on WRAL-TV's news broadcasts; by the early 1970s, the editorials were running for 10 minutes every weeknight. Helms'conservativecommentaries were both controversial and popular with many viewers.

Switch to CBS

In March 1985, WTVD's owner,Capital Cities Communications,purchased ABC, resulting in WTVD becoming anowned-and-operated stationof that network. The CBS affiliation moved to WRAL-TV on August 4, 1985.Within six months of the switch, WRAL-TV had become one of the strongest CBS affiliates in the country. It is one of the few stations in the country to have been a primary affiliate of all of the "Big Three" networks.

In December 1989, WRAL was knocked off the air when a severeice stormcaused the collapse of the station's 2,000-foot (610 m) transmitter tower. Within hours, channel 5 cut a deal with the then-strugglingFayettevilleindependent stationWKFT-TV (channel 40, nowUnivisionO&OWUVC-DT), allowing WRAL to return to the air in only three hours. WKFT ran the entire WRAL schedule during this time. The station's new, stronger tower was activated on October 25, 1990, at which point WKFT reverted to broadcasting its own programming.

In the early 1990s, WRAL distributed its programming via C-Band satellite as part of thePrimetime 24package, reaching viewers in theCaribbeanandLatin America,as well as the few rural areas of the United States and Canada where local over-the-air broadcast signals were not available. It was replaced in the late 1990s with fellow CBS affiliateWSEE-TVfromErie, Pennsylvania,primarily because of WRAL's preemptions of network programming due toACCbasketballgames, which were (and still are) a highly-popular audience draw in North Carolina.

Return to NBC

On January 15, 2016, WRAL-TV announced that it would switch to NBC on February 29, 2016. Concurrently, CBS announced that the existing NBC station,Media General-owned andGoldsboro-licensedWNCN(channel 17), would replace WRAL-TV as the Triangle's CBS affiliate the same day.Capitol Broadcasting president and CEO Jim Goodmon stated that CBS would only renew its affiliation with WRAL if it entered into areverse compensationagreement—under which Capitol would be required to pay the network for the local rights to air its programming, the complete opposite of traditional commercial television practices. NBC, on the other hand, took the line that an affiliation deal was a partnership. Goodmon saw the switch to NBC as "a business decision for the future."The last CBS program to air on WRAL was a showing of the movieLast Vegasat 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

WRAL officially rejoined NBC at 7 a.m. on February 29. In a ceremony at the end of the morning newscast, Goodmon pressed a button decorated with theNBC peacockto switch toToday.

Meredith Collegeprofessor Doug Spero suggested that WRAL's overall dominance in the Triangle was so absolute that it was in a position to become one of NBC's strongest affiliates, much as it was one of CBS' strongest affiliates.The feeling was mutual; according toNBC NewscorrespondentHarry Smith,NBC officials felt like they had "just won the lottery" when they learned WRAL was rejoining NBC.Indeed, on the first day of WRAL's return to NBC, several dayparts saw NBC jump from third to first in the Triangle ratings at one stroke. Notably,Today,theNBC Nightly News,andThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonimmediately saw major ratings gains in the market after their move to WRAL. The former two shows tallied their highest ratings on record in the Triangle on the day channel 5 officially returned to NBC, showing gains of well over 200 percent compared to their previous showings on WNCN. By contrast, CBS' competing programs lost more than half their audience share, falling from first to third in one stroke.NBC had struggled in the Triangle ratings for more than 40 years, dating to when it was all but forced to move its programming full-time to WRDU-TV (channel 28, later WPTF-TV and nowWRDC) in 1971. While NBC's performance in the area improved somewhat after it moved to WNCN in 1995, that station had remained stubbornly in third place for most of its 20-year run with the network.

The delay in the affiliation switch keptCBS's coverageofSuper Bowl 50,which featured theCarolina Panthers(based in nearbyCharlotte) as champions of theNational Football Conference,on WRAL-TV. As an NBC station, channel 5 carried the2016 Stanley Cup Finalsand the2016 Summer OlympicsinRio de Janeiro,Brazil,making it the only television station in the United States to air all three events from different networks in the same year.

Programming

WRAL clears most of the NBC schedule in pattern, except for one hour ofThe More You Know(NBC'sE/I-compliant block), which it preempts in favor ofpaid programmingin the noon hour on Saturdays (as a CBS affiliate, it cleared the network's entire schedule from the late 1990s until it rejoined NBC). The only exceptions involved ACCfootballand basketball fromRaycom Sports,both of which aired on the station from 1977, when they moved from WTVD, until the end of the syndication package in 2019. ACC-preempted NBC programming aired either as originally scheduled ondigital subchannel5.2 (which is otherwise an affiliate ofCozi TV) or overnights on the main signal.The More You Knowis split over two days; the first hour airs on Saturdays from 10 to 11 a.m., withBrain GameandSmart Start Kids(both of which count toward WRAL's E/I commitments) airing from 11 a.m. to noon, and the second hour airs on Sundays from 11 a.m. to noon.

However, the 2003 reality showCupiddid not air on the station, as have some controversial shows on sister stationWRAZ,and WRAL was one of a few CBS affiliates in the nation that did not carry an hour of CBS' weekend morning children's programming block (in favor ofBrain GameandSmart Start Kids). WRAL was also one of the few CBS affiliates that airedThe Young and the Restlessat 4 p.m. as a lead-in to its 5 p.m. newscast. Most CBS stations in theEastern Time ZoneairY&Rat 12:30 p.m. (CBS' recommended time for the show), but in the case of WRAL, the timeslot switch occurred in January 1993. This happened because the station's sitcom reruns (the show being run at the time was an hour-long block ofThe Golden Girls,making it ironic that during their ABC affiliation they were one of 13 affiliates not to carry the original network run ofSoap,anotherWitt/Thomas/Harris Production) were having no luck againstThe Oprah Winfrey Showon WTVD. (The second half of their noon newscast andRight This Minuteaired inY&R's recommended time slot.)Following WRAL-TV rejoining NBC on February 29, 2016,Y&Rcontinued to air at 4 p.m. on WNCN while WRAL-TV carried local news at the time slot until January 17, 2022, when WNCN moved it to its traditional 12:30 p.m. timeslot and introduced its own 4 p.m. newscast.

When WRAL joined CBS in 1985, it became the Triangle's home for theNCAA Division I men's basketball tournament,which has aired on CBS since 1981. Due to the Triangle's (and North Carolina's) longstanding status as a college basketball hotbed and local teamsNorth CarolinaandDukebeing fixtures in the tournament, NCAA Tournament games on WRAL were consistently among the highest-rated programs in the Triangle during tournament season. WRAL aired the Tar Heels' national championship wins in1993,2005,and2009;all five of the Blue Devils' national championship victories in1991,1992,2001,2010,and2015;and two of the Blue Devils' other national championship appearances in1994and1999.Despite the NCAA Tournament moving with the rest of the CBS schedule to WNCN, WRAL-TV continued to air ACC football and/or basketball.

WRAL has broadcast memorable locally produced children's programming throughout its storied history. Its most famous and longest-running isTime for Uncle Paul,which ran from 1961 to 1981, and starred Paul Montgomery. He had played various other characters on other local shows before getting his own program. He voluntarily ended his program after station management suggested a change to an educational format.

Soon after, WRAL continued to produce acclaimededucational children's shows such asFrog Hollow,Sparks,andThe Androgena Show.Today, WRAL continues to produce educational programs with such shows asSmart Start KidsandBrain Game.In recent years, WRAL andUNC-TVhave co-produced programming, such as the 2009 Gubernatorial Inauguration and the 2006 Parade of Sail Tall Ship Show inBeaufort.UNC-TV has, also, begun carrying WRAL's award-winningFocal Pointdocumentaries. WRAL has long been a corporate supporter of UNC-TV, often assisting them financially and occasionally with on-air talent during UNC-TV's pledge drives.

WRAL announced on February 1, 2006, that it would begin to stream all of its programming live on the internet. This signified the latest advances in technology-driven delivery of product by a local television station. A few months later, WRAL was selected to be the flagship station forNorth Carolina Education Lotterydrawings (twice daily for certain games, with the multi-jurisdictionalMega MillionsTuesday and Friday nights, andPowerballWednesdays and Saturdays). On December 3, 2007, WRAL became the first local television station to stream live video to mobile phones.

Football Friday

Debuting in 1981, each Friday evening following the 11 p.m. news,Tom SuiterhostsFootball Fridaycovering allhigh school footballgames throughoutWakeandDurhamcounties along with a dozen or more counties. WRAL crews spread out across the area providing not just scores but video coverage of each of 25 to as many as 35 games in the area. The show is an extension of the expansion throughout the 1980s of high school football coverage on the 11 p.m. newscast. Each Friday, video crews are sent to cover two games each. WRAL videographers and sports reporters capture highlights of the first quarter of one game and second quarter of the other game. Editors have little more than an hour to prepare highlights.From 1995 through 2002,Football Fridaywas broadcast from WRAL's Studio A with an audience ofcheerleaders,bands,players and fans. The arrival of the North Carolina Education Lottery moved the show to the newsroom.

News operation

WRAL-TV presently broadcasts 42 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with seven hours each weekday, three hours on Saturdays and four hours on Sundays). WRAL has the highest rated television news organization in the Trianglewinning numerous regional Emmys. Most recently, WRAL and wral.com were nominated 29 times for Mid-South Regional Emmys.

Until his retirement on July 1, 1994, Charlie Gaddy co-anchored newscasts alongsideBobbie Battista,Adele Arakawa (now with KUSA-TV inDenver), Donna Gregory (who now works forWWAYinWilmington), and Pam Saulsby (formerly ofWTVJin Miami). From 1994 to 2022, David Crabtree (formerly ofKCNC-TVandKMGH-TVin Denver,WITN-TVinWashington, North Carolina,andWKRN-TVin Nashville) and Debra Morgan were part of the longest-running on-air news team (news, weather, and sports) in the Triangle and one of the longest-running news teams in the state. Long time sports anchor Tom Suiter retired on December 18, 2008, and was replaced by Jeff Gravely, also a sports reporter and anchor for the 10 p.m. news on WRAZ. Jeff Gravely retired from WRAL, and Chris Lea (formerly of WXII in Winston-Salem) became the sports anchor in 2020.

In September 1995, WRAL began to produce newscasts for WRAZ. That station usually simulcasts local breaking news coverage from WRAL. For national breaking news events, WRAZ carriesFox Newscoverage, while WRAL carries coverage from NBC News. Otherwise, WRAZ may broadcast NBC programming in case WRAL cannot do so as in news-related emergencies. The WRAZ broadcasts include a three-hour newscast at 7 a.m. weekday mornings and a weeknight hour-long, weekend half-hour newscast at 10 p.m., seven nights a week. WRAZ previously aired a 4 p.m. newscast on weekdays; however that newscast moved to WRAL on February 29, 2016, replacingThe Young and the Restless.

WRAL was the first commercial station to provide high definition programming when it obtained an experimental HD transmission license from the FCC in 1996.On October 13, 2000, WRAL aired the world's first all-HD newscast.On January 28, 2001, WRAL converted all of its newsgathering and broadcasts to all digital high definition(the WRAZ newscasts are broadcast in high definition as well). On November 17, 2006, WRAL had a special "reunion" newscast during the 6 p.m. broadcast with Gaddy, Battista and DeBardelaben reprising their roles once again in commemoration of the station's 50th anniversary alongside Suiter. On October 10, 2007, the WRAL sports department launched a sports talk radio station,WCMC-FM(which switched from acountry musicformat); it is now the only FM sports talk station in the area and broadcasts inHD Radio.WRAL's newscasts are simulcast with local weather inserts on another sister station,WILM-LDin Wilmington.

The station moved newscasts out of the newsroom into Studio A in 2019 and upgraded to 4K cameras. A new set debuted with the noon newscast on October 31, 2019. The set, designed by Florida based FX Design Group, features a 20-by-11-foot (6.1 m × 3.4 m) LED video wall, the largest installation in a local news operation, and a smaller curved LED wall near the anchor desk.

Agricultural coverage

WRAL was one of the first stations in North Carolina to cover agricultural markets and farm news in its regular newscasts. During 1953,Farm Programaired from 6 to 6:15 a.m. andRegional and Farm Newsaired between 12:45 and 12:55 p.m. from Fayetteville.

WRAL's noon newscasts included a farm segment featuring each day's farm commodity prices, followed by a feature agricultural story from somewhere in the viewing area or around North Carolina. This grew WRAL's popularity in rural areas and with farmers, especially in Eastern North Carolina. The segments were anchored by veteran farm reporterRay Wilkinsonand were dropped in the late 1990s, but were continued on the evening news broadcasts by Ray's son Dan Wilkinson. After the sudden unexpected death of Dan Wilkinson in October 2003, it was decided that the station would no longer have a full-time farm reporter and frequent agricultural coverage came to an end.

Sky 5

In 1979, WRAL became the state's first television station to begin using a news helicopter, known as "Sky 5". TheHughes 500helicopter N8624Fwas painted in the livery of theRoyal Saudi Air Forcewith "Sky 5" graphics added, reflecting the original customer before the sale fell through and WRAL purchased it for newsgathering.

The currentBell 407helicopter was purchased for $2 million in 2000. The N553HDtail number represents the station's channel, that this is the third news gathering helicopter for the station and WRAL's role in pioneering high definition broadcasting. The aircraft was piloted by Steve Wiley, who had flown for the station from 1987 until his death on February 3, 2021.As of 2022 the helicopter is flown by two pilots that Wiley himself hired and trained to take over Sky 5 operations. Today, the aircraft is normally stored at theRaleigh-Durham International Airport,but a helipad is available on the roof above the Capitol Broadcasting President's office in the WRAL buildings near downtown Raleigh.The helicopter is equipped with $600,000 worth of video equipment including cameras installed on the tail, two in the cabin and agyroscopecontrolled high definition camera under the nose, all of which can be controlled from the rear of the aircraft by a videographer. WRAL modified the helicopter to reach speeds of 130 miles per hour providing access to anywhere in the Triangle within seven minutes.

In over 30 years of electronic news gathering using helicopters, WRAL has had no significant incidents and remains one of the few stations to own rather than lease their helicopter. "Sky 5" has also participated in numerous search and rescue operations over the years at the request of local emergency officials before returning to newsgathering duties.

Awards

WRAL has received award nominations for news 32 times, tyingNashvillestationWTVFin the 2012 Mid-South RegionalEmmy Awardsand won 11. WRAL took home the Emmy forNews Excellence,Evening Newscast, Breaking News, Serious Feature News Report, Light Feature News Report, Light Feature News Series, Interactivity, Promo Spot News Same Day, Promo Spot News Image, Graphics Arts, and News Writing. Several of the 2012 Emmys came from coverage of theApril 2011 tornadoesthat ripped through the area.Parent company Capitol Broadcasting along with theA.J. Fletcher Foundationwere awarded the Governor's Award, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' highest honor in 2012 as well.

In 1997, WRAL received eight Mid-South Regional Emmy Awards including those for news excellence, best newscast, best hard news series and investigative reporting.In 1998, WRAL received seven Mid-South Regional Emmy Awards including those for best daytime newscast, special event coverage, news magazine, news promotion, public service announcement, and best children's entertainment program.

WRAL was awarded nine Mid-South Regional Emmy Awards in 2000 including for documentaries on the Cape Light and coverage of theSpecial Olympics World Games.Jim Goodmon, president and CEO of WRAL parent company Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc., was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award as well.

In 2008, among the nine Emmy awards received by WRAL and WRAL.com received the inaugural award in Advanced Media for Interactivity for the video player used throughout the website.The station also won a bronze Horizon Interactive Award for their online hurricane tracker.Geoff Levine won the National Press Photographer of the Year award and the station received 6 awards from the North Carolina Associated Press Broadcasters.

WRAL has consistently swept television media categories in theIndependent WeeklyandCary Newsannual "Best Of" awards voted by readers.

Notable current on-air staff

• Scott Mason–Tar Heel Traveleranchor/producer

Notable former on-air staff

• Adele Arakawa– anchor (1983–1989, later atKUSAinDenver,now retired)
• Jim Axelrod– political reporter (1993–1996, now withCBS News)
• Bret Baier– reporter (mid-1990s, now withFox News Channel)
• Bobbie Battista– former co-anchor (1976–1981, joinedCNNin 1982), later atThe Onion News Network;deceased)
• Sandra Bookman– weekend anchor/reporter (1985–1989, now atWABC-TVinNew York)
• Rich Brenner– sports anchor (1978–1981; deceased)
• Dale Cardwell– reporter (1985–1991, later atWSB-TVin Atlanta. Democratic candidate for US Senate, 2008)
• Bob Caudle– news and weather anchor/wrestling announcer
• David Crabtree– evening anchor (1994–2022)
• Greg Fishel(AMSCertified Broadcast MeteorologistSeal of Approval) – chief meteorologist (1981–2019)
• Charlie Gaddy– anchorman (1970–1994)
• Jesse Helms– general manager, commentator (1960–1972, laterU.S. Senator,deceased)
• Brad Johansen– anchor (2018–2019, later atWCMH-TVinColumbus)
• Nate Johnson(AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) – meteorologist (now Director of Weather Operations atNBC Owned Television Stations)
• Bill Leslie– anchor (now retired)
• Ray Reeve– WRAL's first sportscaster (1956–1973, deceased)
• Stuart Scott– reporter (1988–1990, deceased)
• Tom Suiter– sports anchor,Football Fridayanchor/producer and reporter for "The Extra Effort Award" (1981–2008; continued hosting theFootball Fridayprogram until the end of the 2015–16 football season; is currently retired)
• Mikaya Thurmond– journalist (2015–2022)
• Ray Wilkinson– farm news (1963–1995, deceased)
• Kelly Wright– reporter and weekend anchor (mid-1990s, now withFox News Channel)

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's digital signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WRAL-TV

Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
5.1	1080i	16:9	WRAL HD	NBC
5.2	480i		WRAL DT	Cozi TV
5.3			WRAL 3	Start TV
5.4			WRAL 4	Ion Mystery
34.1	720p	16:9	WARZ CD	WRAL Plus (WNGT-CD)

On June 19, 1996, theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) awarded WRAL-TV the firstexperimentalhigh-definition televisionlicense in the United States. The station, identified as "WRAL-HD", began digital television operations onUHFchannel 32 over a month later, on July 23, 1996.The station's digital signal moved to channel 53 in March 2000.

WRAL-TV was the first in the U.S. to broadcast a live sports program in high definition (on September 6, 1997), as well as the first HD newscast (on October 13, 2000).CBS utilized WRAL-HD in testing its own high-definition programming, and in 1999, began providing the station with a regular schedule of prime time programs in HD. HD sports programming recorded by WRAL was provided to other model stations as well.WRAL-TV's pioneering efforts in digital television have won wide recognition from within the television industry.

Analog-to-digital conversion

WRAL-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, overVHFchannel 5, at 12:55 p.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcastsunder federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 48,usingvirtual channel5.

As part of theSAFER Act,WRAL-TV kept its analog signal on the air until July 6 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop ofpublic service announcementsfrom theNational Association of Broadcasters.

ATSC 3.0

WRAL-EX

Raleigh–Durham– Fayetteville, North Carolina
City	Raleigh, North Carolina
Channels	Digital:39 (UHF) Virtual:39
Programming
Subchannels	39.1:1080psimulcast of 5.1 39.2:4K/2160pUHDTVdemo loop
History
First air date	June 29, 2016(2016-06-29)
Last air date	2018
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	703425
ERP	40 kW
HAAT	548 m (1,798 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	35°40′35.1″N78°32′7.2″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS

On June 29, 2016, WRAL became the first U.S. television station to begin broadcasting a full-time service usingATSC 3.0digital television standards, operating under an experimental license from the FCC on UHF channel 39 asWRAL-EX.The service broadcast two subchannels, including a simulcast of WRAL's main programming in1080phigh definition, and a demo loop of content in4Kultra high-definition television,along with testing for NBC involving the 2016 Summer Olympics and2018 Winter Olympics.The station produced episodes of its seriesOut & Aboutin 4K.However, WRAL-EX left the air in 2018 as a consequence of the FCC'srepacking processas a result of a spectrum auction and has not returned. On September 11, 2020, Capitol Broadcasting bought then-WARZ-CD for $725,000, and since then has used the station, nowWNGT-CD,as an ATSC 3.0 multiplex for the region. Like WRAL-EX, WNGT-CD has since simulcast WRAL in 1080p as well.

Channel	Video	Programming
39.1	1080p	Main WRAL-TV programming / NBC
39.2	2160p	Ultra high-definitiondemo loop

Mobile Emergency Alert System

WRAL-TV debuted the firstMobile Emergency Alert System(M-EAS) in the United States on September 13, 2012.The system allows emergency information including text, web pages and video to be distributed to compatible receivers using existing digital television signals.

Station coverage

WRAL's signal can be viewed across much of Central and Eastern North Carolina. The official eastern fringe of the Raleigh market isHalifax Countyand the western fringe isOrange County.TheVirginiaandSouth Carolinastate lines make up the northern and southern fringe respectively, with the exception ofMecklenburg County, Virginia.WRAL can be seen well outside of the Raleigh market, with the signal penetrating parts of the Greenville, Greensboro, Wilmington, Charlotte,Roanoke–Lynchburg,Richmond,NorfolkandFlorence–Myrtle Beachmarkets. WRAL's signal reaches as far east asU.S. Highway 17in the Greenville-Washington-New Bern market, including the city of Greenville. The fringe area of WRAL's digital signal runs as far east as the western side of Beaufort County.

WRAL-TV is still viewed and is quite popular with many outside of the Triangle, mainly in portions of thePiedmont Triad,Eastern North Carolina, and even into parts ofSouthside Virginiaand thePee Deeregion of South Carolina. It has long been available on cable as far east as Wilmington. The station is also known for its award-winning documentaries, children's shows and news staff, which has attracted viewers from outside of the Raleigh market.Halifax Countyin Southside Virginia is frequently mentioned by WRAL, although it is located in the Roanoke–Lynchburg market.

Significantly-viewed status

In addition to the 23 counties in theRaleigh–Durham–Fayettevillemarket, the FCC lists WRAL assignificantly viewedinAlamance,Caswell,Duplin,Greene,Robeson,andScotlandcounties in North Carolina.

Out-of-market cable carriage

For decades, WRAL has been available on cable in much of the eastern portion of North Carolina, as far east as Wilmington. It is also available on cable systems in portions of the Charlotte and Triadmedia markets,as well as the North Carolina portions of theHampton Roadsand Florence–Myrtle Beach markets. In recent years, it has also been picked up by cable systems on the fringes of the Richmond and Roanoke markets.

During the 1970s and 1980s through CATV, WRAL was once carried in even more places. In North Carolina, it was once carried inBurlington,Greenville,Wadesboro,Wilmington,Williamston,andYanceyville.In Virginia, it was once carried inBuena Vista,Danville,andEmporia.

Amenities

The station building, shared by WRAL-TV and WRAZ, and located at 2619 Western Boulevard in Raleigh, adjacent to theNorth Carolina State Universitycampus, is a modern and open-designed structure and grounds. The property features a fountain visible from the roadway near the building entrance, a helipad on top of the building for the landing of Sky 5, and a large garden in the back of the property, including many varieties ofazaleasand other flowering plants including several types ofdogwoods.The garden is a popular public attraction, especially during April when the flowers are at the peak of blooming.

External links

• Official website
• WRAL2 website
• WRAZ websiteArchivedJanuary 12, 2019, at theWayback Machine
• Gardens website
• Guide to the WRAL Farm Program Films 1970-1978