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WNCN

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For the former New York City radio station called WNCN-FM, see [[:WAXQ]].

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WNCN ("NBC17") is the NBC affiliate in the Triangle region of North Carolina (the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville DMA), broadcasting on analog channel 17 and digital channel 55. It is licensed to Goldsboro, but its studios are just outside of downtown Raleigh. The station is carried on cable channel 6 in Raleigh and cable channel 2 in Durham and Chapel Hill. WNCN's transmitter is located in Garner, North Carolina.

History

WNCN began life on October 17, 1988 as WYED-TV, a small station airing some children's programming during the morning and the Home Shopping Network the rest of the day. WYED was the first (and only) television station of George Beasley's Beasley Broadcasting Group (Beasley got his start in 1961 by signing on WPYB radio in nearby Benson, NC). Studios were located in Clayton at 622 S. Barbour St., and a 1,550-foot tower nearby broadcast 2.6 million watts of power. In 1992, WYED added some barter cartoons and some low budget barter syndicated shows such as talk/reality and game shows.

In 1994, Outlet Communications of Providence, Rhode Island bought the station, and on January 1, 1995, changed its call letters to WNCN (North Carolina's News). The new WNCN increased its signal to 5 million watts, boosting its coverage area to the entire Triangle. The station also added more sitcoms and first-run syndicated shows. It began to carry programming from the WB network in January 1995.

A month later, NBC announced that it would move its Triangle affiliation to WNCN. Outlet had very good relations with NBC; it owned two of NBC's strongest affiliates, WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island and WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio. Channel 17 immediately began to run NBC programming pre-empted by the network's existing affiliate, WRDC-TV, which had been one of NBC's lowest-rated affiliates for several years. NBC had been looking for a way to get on another station for some time, especially since WRDC frequently preempted its programming. WNCN completely replaced WRDC as the Triangle's NBC station in September after WRDC's affiliation contract ran out, sending the WB affiliation to WRAZ-TV. At that time, WNCN launched newscasts at 6am, 7pm and 11pm. It also moved into WLFL's former studios in North Raleigh.

NBC merged with Outlet in 1996. Of note, this resulted in NBC's first UHF O&O since the 1950's, when the network owned WBUF-TV in Buffalo, New York (which ironically also broadcasted on channel 17; now occupied by PBS station WNED-TV) and WNBC in Hartford on channel 30 (the "NBC" stood for New Britain, Connecticut; the station has since been re-acquired by NBC as WVIT).

In 2000, WNCN abandoned its 1,550-foot tower in Clayton for a 2,000-foot perch on an arm of Capitol Broadcasting Company's new digital candleabra tower eight miles closer to Raleigh. WNCN-DT signed on at UHF channel 55 at the same time.

WNCN is the fourth station in the Triangle to affiliate with NBC. NBC had first aired on WTVD-TV from 1954 to 1956, then WRAL-TV from 1956 to 1962. After WRAL became a full-time ABC affiliate in 1962, WTVD shoehorned CBS and NBC onto its schedule until 1968, when WRDU-TV signed on channel 28 that year. Channel 28 changed its calls to WPTF-TV in 1978 and WRDC in 1991. When WNCN became a full NBC affiliate, it marked the first time that network's full schedule had aired in the Triangle since WRAL added ABC part-time in 1959.

In the last decade, WNCN's newscasts have never gotten above third place behind WRAL and WTVD. However, they have been far more competitive than WPTF's efforts at news ever had been (channel 28 dropped newscasts shortly after becoming WRDC).

On January 9, 2006, NBC Universal announced it was putting WNCN up for sale[1] along with three other stations located in Birmingham, Alabama; Columbus, Ohio; and Providence, Rhode Island. On April 6, 2006, it was announced that Media General would acquire these stations.[2] This will make WNCN a sister station to WNCT-TV in Greenville. The sale was finalized on June 26 2006. [1] For the time being, no new changes for the station are expected.

Trivia

When WNCN was owned by NBC Universal, it was one of three network-owned stations on the UHF dial alongside KNSD in San Diego and WVIT in Hartford.

The call sign WNCN originally belonged to a classical music radio station (104.3 FM) in New York City.

Logos

Newscasts

  • NBC17 Today - 5-7AM
    • with Verna Collins, Donald Jones, Bill Reh (weather), Nikki Morse (traffic)
  • NBC17 News at 6PM - 6-6:30PM weeknights(every day)
    • with Melanie Sanders, Wes Hohenstein(chief meteorologist), Maya Starks (sports)
  • NBC17 News at 7pm - 7-8pm
    • same presenters as 6pm newscast
  • NBC17 News at 11PM - 11-11:35PM(every day)
    • same presenters as 6pm newscast
  • NBC17 Saturday Today - 6-7AM & 9-10AM (Saturday)
  • NBC17 News at 11PM - 11-11:30PM (Saturday & Sunday)
  • NBC17 Sunday Today - 6-8AM & 9-10AM (Sunday)
  • NBC17 News & Issues (Community Affairs) - 11-11:30AM

Notes and References

  1. ^ Cox, Jonathan B. (January 10, 2006). "NBC to sell station: Network puts 3 others on the block". Raleigh News & Observer.
  2. ^ "Triangle's NBC affiliate station to be sold". Raleigh News & Observer. April 6, 2006.

Template:Media General

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