WTVM

Not to be confused withWVTM-TV.

WTVM

Columbus, Georgia United States
Channels	Digital:11 (VHF) Virtual:9
Branding	WTVM News Leader 9
Programming
Affiliations	9.1:ABC for others, see§ Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Gray Television (Gray Television Licensee,LLC)
Sister stations	WLTZ,WXTX
History
First air date	October 6, 1953(1953-10-06)
Former call signs	WDAK-TV (1953–1956)
Former channel number(s)	Analog:28 (UHF,1953–1960), 9 (VHF, 1960–2009) Digital:47 (UHF, until 2009)
Former affiliations	NBC(primary 1953–1960, secondary 1960–1970) DuMont(secondary, 1953–1956) NTA(secondary, 1956–1961)
Call signmeaning	Television Martin (from Martin Theaters, former owner)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	595
ERP	30.99kW
HAAT	554 m (1,818 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	32°19′16.4″N84°47′28.2″W
Translator(s)	WCGZ-LD 20 (UHF)Lanett, AL WCTA-LD 32 (UHF) Columbus
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.wtvm

WTVM(channel 9) is atelevision stationinColumbus, Georgia,United States, affiliated withABC.It is owned byGray Television,which provides certain services to dualNBC/CW+affiliateWLTZ(channel 38, owned bySagamoreHill Broadcasting)andFoxaffiliateWXTX(channel 54, owned byAmerican Spirit Media) under separateshared servicesagreements (SSAs). WTVM and WXTX share studios (which also housemaster controland most internal operations for WLTZ) on Wynnton Road (GA 22) in theDinglewoodsection of Columbus; WTVM'stransmitteris located inCusseta, Georgia.

History

The station signed on for the first time on October 6, 1953, as WDAK-TV airing ananalogsignal onUHFchannel 28.It was a primaryNBCstation with a secondary ABC affiliation. WDAK was the first television station in the Columbusmarket(beating rivalWRBLby just over a month) and is the fifth-oldest in the state of Georgia and second-oldest outsideAtlanta.During the late-1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with theNTA Film Network.It was originally owned by Allen Woodall Sr., owner ofWDAKradio (540 AM), and Martin Theaters (forerunner ofCarmike CinemasandAMC Theatres). Studios were located on 1st Avenue in downtown Columbus where Carmike's corporate headquarters were until December 2016.

Woodall sold his interest in the station to Martin Theaters in 1956 and the call letters were changed to the current WTVM. It moved to VHF channel 9 in 1960 in a three-way switch-and-move approved by theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) in which WRBL moved from channel 4 to channel 3 andWTVY-TVinDothan, Alabama,moved from channel 9 to channel 4. The moves were permitted because two years earlier Martin Theaters had bought WROM-TV inRome, Georgia,and moved it 70 miles (113 km) north toChattanooga, Tennessee,while changing its calls toWTVC.Eventually, WTVM's old channel 28 allotment was occupied byGeorgia Public Broadcasting'sWJSP-TV.

On the same day WTVM moved to channel 9, it switched its primary affiliation to ABC, while relegating NBC to secondary status shared with WRBL. This was very unusual for a then two-station market, especially one of Columbus' size. Usually, ABC, as the smallest and weakest network, was relegated to secondary status on one or both of existing stations. ABC would not be on the same footing with CBS and NBC until the 1970s, especially with markets of Columbus' size. However, Martin Theaters wanted to get WTVM in line with WTVC, which has always been an ABC affiliate. Additionally, fellow NBC affiliatesWSB-TVin Atlanta andWSFA-TVinMontgomery, Alabama,both transmitted fairly clear Grade B signals to the region. In contrast, much of Western Georgia and Eastern Alabama did not have access to ABC full-time. The nearest ABC affiliate that put even a Grade B into Columbus was WLWA-TV in Atlanta (now NBC affiliateWXIA-TV), which easily covered much of the northern portion of the market. Martin realized that an ABC affiliation would not bring significant out-of-market competition.AugustabusinessmanJ. B. Fuquabought Martin Theaters in 1969, including both WTVM and WTVC.

Early in 1970, Fuqua moved WTVM to its present studios on Wynnton Road. The station switched to ABC full-time in October of that year when WYEA (nowWLTZ) signed on and took over the NBC affiliation. Fuqua sold-off his broadcast interests in 1980, with WTVM going to Western Broadcasting. SFN Publishing eventually became the owner in 1984. A group of SFN managers formed Pegasus Broadcasting and purchased WTVM in 1986.AFLAC(which had owned WYEA at one point during the 1970s) bought the station in 1989, making channel 9 AFLAC's flagship station. In 1997, AFLAC sold its entire broadcasting division, including WTVM, to an investment group that merged with Ellis Communications to formRaycom Media.On February 2, 2012, Chief Meteorologist Derek Kinkade hinted on the WTVM Weather Facebook page that major studio changes were on the way. On February 16, all WTVM newscasts andFox 54 News at 10moved to the newsroom, while a temporary weather office was constructed in the hallway between the editing bay and the newsroom. The new HD-ready set is to be completed in early March. On July 22, 2012, WTVM began airing newscasts in High Definition starting withFox 54 News at 10.

WTVM-DT2 previously carried a 24-hour local weather channel. Programming consisted of current weather conditions with forecasts, a live feed of "Live Doppler 9", and severe weather alerts when conditions warrant. On Saturday mornings, the subchannel broadcast educational shows to fulfill an E/I requirement. Despite being called "Storm Team 9 Weather Now", it was not affiliated withThe Local AccuWeather Channel.It was replaced withBounce TVon September 26, 2011. The channel is available on all cable systems in the viewing area.

Sale to Gray Television

On June 25, 2018, Atlanta-basedGray Televisionannounced it had reached an agreement with Raycom to merge their respective broadcasting assets (consisting of Raycom's 63 existing owned-and/or-operated television stations, including WTVM), and Gray's 93 television stations) under the former's corporate umbrella. The cash-and-stock merger transaction valued at $3.6 billion—in which Gray shareholders would acquire preferred stock currently held by Raycom—resulted in WTVM gaining newsister stationsin nearby markets, including CBS affiliate WTVY andNBCaffiliateWRGX-LDin Dothan, Alabama (while separating it fromWDFX-TV).The sale was approved on December 20,and was completed on January 2, 2019.

News operation

WTVM presently broadcasts27+1⁄2hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with4+1⁄2hours each weekday, three hours on Saturdays and two hours on Sundays).

In addition to the main studios, the station operates an East Alabama bureau near the campus of Auburn University. WTVM produces a nightly prime time show for sister station WXTX known asFox 54 News at 10.At one point, there was also an hour long broadcast seen weekday mornings at 7 on that station. However, this production (calledFox 54 Morning News) was canceled.

Raycom News Network and Raycom Alabama Weather Network

Since half of the viewing area includes eastern Alabama, WTVM is part of the Raycom News Network, a system designed to rapidly share information among Raycom's widespread group of television stations and websites in Alabama. A regional network has developed among Montgomery's WSFA,Huntsville'sWAFF48 News, and Birmingham'sWBRCin which stations share information, equipment such as satellite trucks or even reporters' stories. Between them, these four stations cover most of the state of Alabama, with the exception of theMobile–PensacolaDMA. The four stations also comprise the Raycom Weather Network and the Raycom Alabama Weather Blog, where meteorologists from all four stations post forecasts and storm reports, as well as live feeds from all of the cameras that the four stations operate. The site also has live feeds of "Live Doppler 9" (WTVM), "Doppler 12 StormVision" (WSFA), "FOX 6 VIPIR" (WBRC) and "Live StormTrack Doppler 48" (WAFF).

Live Doppler 9 Weather Center and ALFA Insurance Skycam Network

WTVM operates the Chattahoochee Valley's only live regionalweather radarcalled "Live Doppler 9" (formerly known as TrueView Doppler 9), located on top of WTVM's midtown studios. The station also has access to four different Level 2NEXRADradars branded as the "Doppler 9 Radar Network" (formerly known as TrueView Tracker) which includes the capability to use 3-D graphics to track storms during newscasts. WTVM operates seven skycams (all but one, the Columbus Government Center skycam, are sponsored by ALFA Insurance) throughout the viewing area, and is a component in Raycom's statewide skycam networks throughout Alabama and Mississippi (also ALFA-sponsored). There are two in Columbus (St. Francis Hospital and Columbus Park Crossing), and one each inPine Mountain, Georgia;Auburn, Alabama;Opelika, AlabamaandEufaula, Alabama.

Subchannels

The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WTVM

Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
9.1	720p	16:9	WTVM-	Main WTVM programming /ABC
9.2	480i		Bounce	Bounce TV
9.3			PSN	Peachtree Sports Network
9.4			Grit	Grit
9.5			Quest	Quest
9.6			THE365	The365
9.7			Oxygen	Oxygen

External links

• Official website