WBRC

About WBRC

WBRC is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, broadcasting on channel 6 and affiliated with the Fox network. Branded as WBRC 6, with the slogan "On Your Side," the station is owned by Gray Media alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTBM-CD. It first signed on July 1, 1949, as WBRC-TV on VHF channel 4, the first station in Birmingham to be granted an FCC license and the second-oldest in Alabama. The call letters stand for the Bell Radio Company, after the founder of WBRC radio. The two stations share studios and transmitter facilities atop Red Mountain in southeastern Birmingham, next to the studios of WVTM-TV.

Signing on in 1949

The station first signed on July 1, 1949, originally broadcasting on VHF channel 4 as WBRC-TV, standing for the Bell Radio Company after Fountain Heights physician J. C. Bell, founder of WBRC radio. Although it was the first Birmingham station granted an FCC license, it is the second-oldest in Alabama, signing on just over a month after WAFM-TV, now WVTM-TV. It was originally owned by the Birmingham Broadcasting Company, run by Eloise D. Hanna, along with WBRC radio.

The original studio facilities were on 19th Street and 2nd Avenue near downtown Birmingham. In the beginning, it produced three hours of programming as a primary NBC affiliate, with secondary affiliations to DuMont and ABC.

Storer and Taft ownership

Hanna retired in 1953 and sold the station to Storer Broadcasting for $2.3 million. Storer switched the frequency from channel 4 to channel 6 to minimize interference with WSM-TV in Nashville, and switched the affiliation to CBS on July 4, 1954, celebrated with a large fireworks display atop Red Mountain. A new colonial-style studio building was dedicated that September, and the station moved to its present Red Mountain facility.

Taft Broadcasting purchased WBRC-AM-TV in 1957, and the TV station switched to ABC in 1961, beginning a 35-year relationship with the network.

Dominant ABC affiliate

WBRC-TV established a strong reputation for local programming and newscasts, spending decades as Birmingham's dominant TV station and one of the nation's highest-rated ABC affiliates. The station's news operation set the standard for the market, with its anchors and reporters becoming household names across central Alabama.

The ABC years gave channel 6 the network's dominant primetime lineup and its sports programming through the network's strong eras.

Switching to Fox

Fox purchased the station, taking over operations in 1995 and assuming full ownership in 1996. Because the ABC contract did not expire until September 1996, Fox operated WBRC as an ABC affiliate for about a year before the switch. As a Fox affiliate, WBRC's 9 p.m. newscast became one of the nation's highest-rated primetime newscasts.

The Fox affiliation brought the network's NFL football, including NFC games, to Birmingham viewers, along with its primetime entertainment lineup.

Gray Media ownership

Raycom Media acquired the station in 2009, and in 2019 Gray Television acquired Raycom, bringing WBRC into Gray Media. The station shares its Red Mountain transmitter tower with NOAA Weather Radio station KIH54.

Gray's ownership has continued the station's news investment, with the company's resources supporting its Birmingham operations.

News operation

WBRC's news operation, under the "On Your Side" brand, covers central Alabama's distinctive stories, from severe weather in Dixie Alley to the state's football culture, civil rights history, and industrial economy. The station's 9 p.m. newscast has been among the highest-rated primetime newscasts in the country.

The station's 6.2 subchannel carries Bounce TV, extending its multicast offerings.

Technical operations

WBRC broadcasts on digital UHF channel 29, displayed as virtual channel 6, with an effective radiated power of 700 kW from its Red Mountain transmitter. The station ended analog programming on VHF channel 6 in 2009 as part of the digital television transition.

The Red Mountain site, shared with the Vulcan statue area, gives the station commanding coverage of the Birmingham market.

Digital presence

WBRC's digital home is wbrc.com, offering live streaming, on-demand video, and comprehensive coverage of Birmingham news, weather, and sports. The station maintains mobile apps and active social media accounts under the WBRC 6 brand.

As part of Gray Media, the station's digital operations are integrated with the company's digital platforms. Its official website is https://www.wbrc.com.

From channel 4 to channel 6

J.C. Bell, owner of Bell Radio Corporation, launched WBRC-AM in 1925. M.D. Smith bought the station in 1928, and it later became an NBC affiliate. WBRC-TV launched in 1949 on channel 4 as an NBC and DuMont affiliate, and moved to channel 6 in 1953. Storer Broadcasting purchased the stations in 1953, and the WBRC stations switched to CBS on July 5, 1954. The stations moved into a new home in September 1954, one of Storer's trademark colonial-style buildings. Taft Broadcasting purchased WBRC-AM-TV in 1957, paying Storer $2.3 million; Storer had to release its Birmingham holdings to comply with FCC ownership limits after purchasing news assets in Philadelphia and Delaware. The TV station switched to ABC in 1961, becoming an exclusive ABC affiliate on March 1, 1961; the full-time affiliation was unusual given ABC's below-par status with CBS and NBC, and was mainly due to the Taft chairman's good relations with ABC president Leonard Goldenson. WBRC-TV established a strong reputation for local programming and newscasts, spending decades as Birmingham's dominant TV station and one of the nation's highest-rated ABC affiliates.

News innovations

In 1966, WBRC purchased its first color cameras. Joe Langston was promoted to Director of News and Editorial Policy in 1969. News footage switched from 16mm film to magnetic sound film, and then in the mid-1970s to videotape. WBRC was the first Birmingham station to use a microwave-transmitting live news truck for newsgathering in 1978. In 1979, the station bought a news helicopter, "Chopper 6." In 1982, the station started receiving its network and other programming by satellite. In 1988, "Skylink 6" allowed WBRC reporters to transmit to the studio by satellite as well. The newsroom added a computer terminal in 1989, and the "Sideline" high school football reports have been on the air since 1989. As a Fox affiliate, WBRC's 9 p.m. newscast has been one of the nation's highest-rated primetime newscasts, and the weekday morning newscast, "Good Day Alabama," is also highly rated and has been extended to six hours.

A year as a Fox-owned ABC affiliate

In 1987, Taft sold the station to fellow Cincinnati company Great American Radio & TV Corporation; that company sold the station to Citicasters in 1993. Great American, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 1993 following its restructuring, decided to put the station and its siblings KSAZ, WGHP, and WDAF on sale to New World Communications for $350 million in cash plus share warrants. In 1994, the station was sold to New World, which sold it to Fox in 1995, making WBRC one of Fox's 35 owned-and-operated stations. In April 1995, Citicasters transferred the operations of WBRC and WGHP to Fox Television Stations, which took over operational control through time brokerage agreements with New World and purchased the stations three months later on July 22; Fox formally finalized the purchase of the two stations on January 17, 1996. Although it was now owned by the O&O group of another network, Fox had to run channel 6 as an ABC affiliate for more than a year, since WBRC's affiliation agreement with ABC was not set to expire until August 31, 1996. This gave ABC time to find a replacement affiliate: in January 1996, ABC struck a deal with Allbritton Communications to affiliate with CBS stations WCFT-TV in Tuscaloosa and WJSU-TV in Anniston, with Allbritton purchasing low-power W58CK to create a triple-simulcast. WBRC became a Fox owned-and-operated station on September 1, 1996, ending its affiliation with ABC after 47 years. On July 14, 2008, Fox completed the sale of WBRC and seven other network-owned affiliates to Local TV LLC; in January 2009, Local TV swapped WBRC for a station in Virginia owned by Raycom Media, and on January 2, 2019, Raycom sold its broadcast assets to Gray Television.