WDEF-TV
Encyclopedia
WDEF–TV channel 12 is the CBS
affiliate television station for Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley
. The station, whose call letters came from its former AM
and FM
sister stations, is owned by Morris Multimedia
. Its transmitter is located in Signal Mountain, Tennessee
. Syndicated programming on WDEF includes: Judge Judy
, Dr. Phil
, Kim Possible
, The Insider
, and The Andy Griffith Show
.
WDEF-TV is carried on Comcast
cable channel 13.
WDEF's broadcasts have been digital-only since February 17, 2009.
, who owned the Chattanooga Lookouts
baseball team as well as WDEF radio (AM 1370
and FM 92.3
). It took the CBS affiliation from WROM-TV (now WTVC
, (channel 9). It lost NBC
to WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV
) in 1956, and lost ABC
to WTVC
(the former WROM) in 1958. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
.
For many years, WDEF was owned by Park Communications
, which was bought by Media General
in 1997. In 2006, Media General sold the station to Morris Multimedia
.
On Saturday, April 4, 2009, WDEF-TV became the first station in Chattanooga to launch local news in high definition, with, News 12 at 11 as the first HD newscast.
Luther Masingill is the station's best–known personality. He was discovered by Engel in 1940 and has been a fixture in Chattanooga broadcasting ever since. While hosting the morning show on WDEF radio (as he has since 1941), he hosts the "Community Calendar" segment on WDEF–TV's morning newscast. He also advertises lost pets on channel 12's noon newscast
Mort Lloyd was the station's top anchor from the station's inception in 1954 until 1958, when he moved to rival NBC affiliate WRGP-TV
. He returned to the anchor chair at channel 12 from 1970 until he stepped down to run for Congress
in 1974. He won the Democratic nomination, but died in a plane crash while en route to a victory celebration. His widow, Marilyn Lloyd
, replaced him on the ballot and won in November, serving twenty years until 1995.
WDEF has been the local home of Tennessee Titans
(based in Nashville) games since 1998 (when the team was still called the Oilers). This comes with its CBS affiliation, as CBS
carries all National Football League
games played in the afternoon that feature a road team from the American Football Conference
, which the Titans play in.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate television station for Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley
Tennessee Valley
The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to northwest Georgia and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina...
. The station, whose call letters came from its former AM
WDEF (AM)
WDEF is a radio station serving the Chattanooga, Tennessee, area. The station is currently owned by Bahakel Communications along with WDEF-FM, WDOD-FM, and WUUQ....
and FM
WDEF-FM
WDEF-FM is a radio station serving the Chattanooga area, broadcasting on 92.3 FM. The station operates a Adult Contemporary format and is branded as Sunny 92.3 FM. They are owned by Bahakel Communications....
sister stations, is owned by Morris Multimedia
Morris Multimedia
Morris Multimedia, Inc. is a media company based in Savannah, Georgia, founded in 1970 by Charles H. Morris. Morris Multimedia, among the largest privately held media companies in the United States, is the parent company of Morris Newspaper Corporation and Morris Network.- Newspapers :The Morris...
. Its transmitter is located in Signal Mountain, Tennessee
Signal Mountain, Tennessee
Signal Mountain is a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The town is a suburb of Chattanooga and is located on Walden Ridge, a land mass often mistakenly referred to as "Signal Mountain" itself...
. Syndicated programming on WDEF includes: Judge Judy
Judge Judy
Judge Judy is an American court show featuring former family court judge Judith Sheindlin arbitrating over small claims cases in small claims court...
, Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, Kim Possible
Kim Possible
Kim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...
, The Insider
The Insider (TV series)
The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
, and The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
.
WDEF-TV is carried on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
cable channel 13.
WDEF's broadcasts have been digital-only since February 17, 2009.
History
The station signed on the air on April 25, 1954, carrying programming from all four networks, though it has always been a primary CBS affiliate. It was owned by Joe EngelJoe Engel
thumb|Joe Engel, 1913Joseph William Engel was an American right-handed pitcher and scout in Major League Baseball who spent nearly his entire career with the Washington Senators, and went on to become a promoter and team owner in the minor leagues. He was born in Washington, D.C...
, who owned the Chattanooga Lookouts
Chattanooga Lookouts
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a minor league baseball team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. They are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team, which plays in the Southern League, has been a Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club since the 2009 season. The Lookouts...
baseball team as well as WDEF radio (AM 1370
WDEF (AM)
WDEF is a radio station serving the Chattanooga, Tennessee, area. The station is currently owned by Bahakel Communications along with WDEF-FM, WDOD-FM, and WUUQ....
and FM 92.3
WDEF-FM
WDEF-FM is a radio station serving the Chattanooga area, broadcasting on 92.3 FM. The station operates a Adult Contemporary format and is branded as Sunny 92.3 FM. They are owned by Bahakel Communications....
). It took the CBS affiliation from WROM-TV (now WTVC
WTVC
WTVC is the ABC television affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on Signal Mountain in the community of Walden...
, (channel 9). It lost NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
to WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV
WRCB-TV
WRCB is an NBC affiliate television station based in Chattanooga, serving southeastern Tennessee, northwestern Georgia, northeastern Alabama, Southwestern North Carolina, and three Upstate South Carolina counties of Anderson, Oconee and Pickens...
) in 1956, and lost ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
to WTVC
WTVC
WTVC is the ABC television affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on Signal Mountain in the community of Walden...
(the former WROM) in 1958. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
NTA Film Network
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first-run television programs from major Hollywood studios...
.
For many years, WDEF was owned by Park Communications
Roy H. Park
Roy Hampton Park was an American media executive and entrepreneur. -Biography:Park was born in Dobson, North Carolina, the son of a tenant farmer...
, which was bought by Media General
Media General
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. Its major properties include newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as numerous television stations, such as flagship station WFLA-TV.The company was...
in 1997. In 2006, Media General sold the station to Morris Multimedia
Morris Multimedia
Morris Multimedia, Inc. is a media company based in Savannah, Georgia, founded in 1970 by Charles H. Morris. Morris Multimedia, among the largest privately held media companies in the United States, is the parent company of Morris Newspaper Corporation and Morris Network.- Newspapers :The Morris...
.
On Saturday, April 4, 2009, WDEF-TV became the first station in Chattanooga to launch local news in high definition, with, News 12 at 11 as the first HD newscast.
Programming
In its early years, WDEF was locally oriented, offering a mix of children's shows, talk and variety programs, including Point Of View, one of the longest–running local public–affairs programs in the United States.Luther Masingill is the station's best–known personality. He was discovered by Engel in 1940 and has been a fixture in Chattanooga broadcasting ever since. While hosting the morning show on WDEF radio (as he has since 1941), he hosts the "Community Calendar" segment on WDEF–TV's morning newscast. He also advertises lost pets on channel 12's noon newscast
Mort Lloyd was the station's top anchor from the station's inception in 1954 until 1958, when he moved to rival NBC affiliate WRGP-TV
WRCB-TV
WRCB is an NBC affiliate television station based in Chattanooga, serving southeastern Tennessee, northwestern Georgia, northeastern Alabama, Southwestern North Carolina, and three Upstate South Carolina counties of Anderson, Oconee and Pickens...
. He returned to the anchor chair at channel 12 from 1970 until he stepped down to run for Congress
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 1974. He won the Democratic nomination, but died in a plane crash while en route to a victory celebration. His widow, Marilyn Lloyd
Marilyn Lloyd
Rachel Marilyn Laird Lloyd is a Tennessee businesswoman and 10-term member of the United States House of Representatives .-Biographical information:...
, replaced him on the ballot and won in November, serving twenty years until 1995.
WDEF has been the local home of Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
(based in Nashville) games since 1998 (when the team was still called the Oilers). This comes with its CBS affiliation, as CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
carries all National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
games played in the afternoon that feature a road team from the American Football Conference
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
, which the Titans play in.
Newscast titles
- Chattanooga Newsreel (1950s)
- Newsroom (1960s-1971)
- Pulse (1971-1972)
- Channel 12 News (1972-1975)
- TV-12 News (1975-1981)
- NewsCenter 12 (1981-1991)
- News 12 (1991-present)
Current on-air staff
- Patrick Core, Chief Meteorologist
- Shelby Coates,Weekend Anchor/Reporter
- John Mercer , 6:00PM & 11:00 PM Anchor/Reporter
- Nordia Epps, Noon Anchor/Reporter
- Amy Katcher, 6:00 & 11:00 PM Anchor
- Chip Chapman, Morning & Noon Weather
- Webb Wright, Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter
- Joe Legge, Morning Anchor/Reporter
- Luther Masingill, Community Calendar
- Rick Nyman, Sports Director
- Dreanne Newton, Morning Anchor/Reporter