WRCB-TV
Encyclopedia
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. Its transmitter and tower are located in the unincorporated town of Walden on Signal Mountain
.
Syndicated programming on WRCB includes: Entertainment Tonight
, Inside Edition
, Ellen
, The Nate Berkus Show
, and Degrassi: The Next Generation
.
WRCB uses the branding "Channel 3 Eyewitness News
" and the slogan "Coverage You Can Count On."
The station is carried on Comcast
cable channel 4 in the Chattanooga area.
). This made Chattanooga one of the smallest cities in the country, and the first in East Tennessee, with three VHF stations. Its studios were first located on McCallie Avenue, between downtown and Missionary Ridge
.
The station has belonged to several owners over the years. When the local group decided to sell in 1959, Friendly Broadcasting, owner of WSTV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio
(now WTOV-TV
) bought WRGP. In 1961 WSTV and WRGP were sold to the Massachusetts
-based United Printers And Publishers, who 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
, who, in turn, sold WRCB to current owner Sarkes Tarzian
, Inc. of Bloomington, Indiana
, in 1982.
On November 1, 2008, WRCB added Retro Television Network
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.
On June 12, 2009, WRCB's digital signal remained on channel 13 when the analog to digital conversion completed.
WEATHER
SPORTS
REPORTERS
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...
affiliate television station based in Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, serving southeastern Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, northwestern Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, northeastern Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Southwestern North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, and three Upstate South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
counties of Anderson
Anderson County, South Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 187,126 people and 70,597 households residing in the county. The population density was 260.6 people per square mile . There were 84,092 housing units...
, Oconee and Pickens. Its transmitter and tower are located in the unincorporated town of Walden on Signal Mountain
Signal Mountain
Signal Mountain may refer to:*Signal Mountain, Tennessee, a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee**Because of the proximity of this town to it, Walden Ridge is often mistakenly called Signal Mountain....
.
Syndicated programming on WRCB includes: Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
, Ellen
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, The Nate Berkus Show
The Nate Berkus Show
The Nate Berkus Show, commonly referred to as The Nate Show, is a syndicated talk show hosted by interior designer Nate Berkus, which premiered on September 13, 2010....
, and Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
.
WRCB uses the branding "Channel 3 Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
" and the slogan "Coverage You Can Count On."
The station 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 4 in the Chattanooga area.
History
The station began broadcasting on May 6, 1956 on analog Channel 3 as WRGP-TV, the initials of its founder Ramon G. Patterson. It picked up the NBC affiliation from WROM-TV (now WTVCWTVC
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...
). This made Chattanooga one of the smallest cities in the country, and the first in East Tennessee, with three VHF stations. Its studios were first located on McCallie Avenue, between downtown and Missionary Ridge
Missionary Ridge
Missionary Ridge is a geographic feature in Chattanooga, Tennessee, site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge, a battle in the American Civil War, fought on November 25, 1863. Union forces under Maj. Gens. Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and George H...
.
The station has belonged to several owners over the years. When the local group decided to sell in 1959, Friendly Broadcasting, owner of WSTV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
(now WTOV-TV
WTOV-TV
WTOV-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Ohio Valley that is licensed to Steubenville & Wheeling. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter in Mingo Junction, Ohio. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station has studios in Steubenville. Syndicated...
) bought WRGP. In 1961 WSTV and WRGP were sold to the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
-based United Printers And Publishers, who later became Rust Craft Broadcasting, named after its greeting card
Greeting card
A greeting card is an illustrated, folded card featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or other holidays, they are also sent to convey thanks or express other feeling. Greeting cards,...
line, which has since been acquired by American Greetings
American Greetings
American Greetings Corporation, Inc. is the world's largest publicly-traded greeting card company. It is based in Brooklyn, Ohio and sells paper greeting cards, electronic greeting cards, party products , and electronic expressive content...
. 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
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
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
Ziff Davis
Ziff Davis Inc. is an American publisher and Internet company. It was founded in 1927 in Chicago by William B. Ziff, Sr. and Bernard G. Davis. Throughout most of its history, it was a publisher of hobbyist magazines, often ones devoted to expensive, advertiser-rich hobbies such as cars,...
, who, in turn, sold WRCB to current owner Sarkes Tarzian
Sarkes Tarzian
Sarkes Tarzian was an Armenian-born US engineer, inventor, and broadcaster. In 1907, he and his family immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and received an undergraduate degree in 1924 and a graduate degree in 1927...
, Inc. of Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, in 1982.
On November 1, 2008, WRCB added Retro Television Network
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
on its second digital subchannel; the station had previously aired NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus was a 24-hour, commercially sponsored, weather-oriented broadcast/cable television network jointly owned by NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC network. It debuted on November 15, 2004 and shut down on December 31, 2008...
on the subchannel, but that network was shut down by the end of the year.
Digital television
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 3.1 | Main WRCB programming / NBC |
| 3.2 | Retro Television Network Retro Television Network The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs... |
On June 12, 2009, WRCB's digital signal remained on channel 13 when the analog to digital conversion completed.
News
WRCB produces four hours of news a day weekdays, and an hour of news on weekends. The station is known for its School Patrol and I-Team reports, which have been popular features on its newscasts for years.Newscast Titles
- Bulletin (1960s)
- News 3 (1970s)
- NewsCenter 3 (1970s)
- TV-3 News (1970s-1984)
- (Channel 3) Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
(1984-present)
Station Slogans
- Southeast Tennessee`s Leading News Station (early 1980s-1984)
- Making a Difference (1989-1995)
- Coverage You Can Count On (1995-present)
Current on-air staff
ANCHORS- David Carroll, 5PM and 6PM Anchor/School Patrol Reporter (1987-present)
- Greg Glover, Reporter/5:30 & 11PM Anchor (2003-present)
- Antwan Harris, Reporter/Weekend Anchor (2009-present)
- Callie Starnes, 11 p.m. Anchor/Reporter (2008-present)
- Jed Mescon, Morning Anchor (1989-present)
- Latrice Currie, Morning Anchor/Eye On Health Reporter (1995-present)
- Cindy Sexton, 5PM, 5:30PM, 6PM Anchor (1985-present)
WEATHER
- Paul Barys, Chief Meteorologist (1985-present)
- Nick Austin, Weekend Meteorologist (2010-present)
- David Karnes, Morning Meteorologist (2007-present)
SPORTS
- Keith Cawley, Sports Anchor (2007-present)
- Paul Shahen, Multimedia Reporter/Weekend Sports Anchor(2009-present)
REPORTERS
- Megan Boatwright, Reporter (2010-present)
- Gordon Boyd, Reporter (2010-present)
- Julie Edwards, Host (2007-present)
- Paul Shahen, Multimedia Reporter(2009-present)
- Antwan Harris, Reporter(2009-present)
- Greg Glover, Reporter(2003-present)