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WRCB (channel 3), branded Local 3, is a television station in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC. The station has been owned by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. since 1982. WRCB's studios are located on Whitehall Road on Chattanooga's north side; its transmitter is located in the town of Walden on Signal Mountain. Although parts of the Chattanooga market are in the Central Time Zone, all schedules are listed in Eastern Time.
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| Channels | |
| Branding | Local 3 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | May 6, 1956 |
Former call signs | WRGP-TV (1956–1963) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 3 (VHF, 1956–2009) |
Call sign meaning | Rust Craft Broadcasting (former owners) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 59137 |
| ERP | 160 kW |
| HAAT | 363.5 m (1,193 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°9′40.2″N 85°18′50.8″W / 35.161167°N 85.314111°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
History
editThe station signed on the air on May 6, 1956, on analog Channel 3 as WRGP-TV.[2] The call letters came from its founder, Ramon G. Patterson. It picked up the NBC affiliation from WROM-TV in Rome, Georgia (now WTVC, located today in Chattanooga proper). Its studios were first located at 1214 McCallie Avenue, between downtown and Missionary Ridge.
The station has belonged to several owners over the years. In 1959, Friendly Broadcasting, owner of WSTV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio (now WTOV-TV), bought WRGP from Patterson's group. In 1961, WSTV and WRGP were sold to the Massachusetts-based United Printers and Publishers, which later became Rust Craft Broadcasting, named after its greeting card line, which has since been acquired by American Greetings. These owners changed the station's call letters to WRCB-TV in 1963, to reflect the initials of the licensee. In 1968 the station moved to new facilities on Whitehall Road, on Chattanooga's north side, across the Tennessee River from downtown. Those new studios and equipment enabled channel 3 to begin broadcasting in color. In 1979, Rust Craft merged with magazine publisher Ziff Davis, which, in turn, sold WRCB to current owner Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. of Bloomington, Indiana, in 1982.
News operation
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WRCB produces 38+1⁄2 hours of news each week; with 6+1⁄2 hours of news each weekday, and 3 hours of news each on Saturday and Sunday. The station is known for its "School Patrol" and "Crimestoppers" reports, which have been popular features on its newscasts for more than twenty years. Whenever a newscast is preempted, by other programming, the station streams a live newscast on their website. On September 28, 2012, WRCB made the on-air transition from standard definition (4:3) to high definition (16:9).[3] On January 15, 2022, the station debuted a new logo, graphics, and website. The new look included a re-branding of its on-air identity to Local 3.[4]
Technical information
editSubchannels
editThe station's signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WRCB-HD | NBC |
| 3.2 | 480i | 4:3 | Dabl | Dabl |
| 3.3 | 16:9 | ION | Ion Television | |
| 3.4 | ION + | Ion Plus | ||
| 3.5 | Newsy | Grit |
On November 1, 2008, WRCB added Retro Television Network (RTV) on its second digital subchannel; the station had previously aired NBC Weather Plus on the subchannel, but that network was shut down by the end of the year.[6] On January 1, 2012, WRCB replaced RTV with Antenna TV.[7]
Analog-to-digital conversion
editWRCB ended regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 3, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 13,[8] using virtual channel 3.
As part of the SAFER Act,[9] WRCB kept its analog signal on the air until July 12 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.
References
edit- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WRCB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ FCC History Cards for WRCB. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Channel 3 Eyewitness News now fully HD". October 2012.
- ^ "WRCB-TV becomes 'Local 3' with station rebrand". Local 3 News. January 15, 2022.
- ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WRCB". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ "Television Network Moves to Chattanooga". wrcbtv.com. October 23, 2008. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
- ^ "Antenna TV Affiliation:WRCB". Retrieved December 3, 2011.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ "UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.