WVLT-TV
Encyclopedia
WVLT-TV is the CBS
television network affiliate station serving Knoxville, Tennessee
, the 58th DMA
in America according to Nielsen Media Research
. The station's owned and operated by Gray Television
and has its transmitters located in Knoxville.
The station also operates a MyNetworkTV
affiliate MyVLT (formally MyVLT2) on its DT2 digital sub-channel; before 2006, it was a UPN
affiliate, branded as UPN Knoxville.
. The station was a CBS affiliate, but also shared ABC
programming with WROL-TV, now WATE-TV
, which signed on a few hours before WSKT.
Channel 26 found the going difficult at first, since television manufacturers weren't required to build in UHF tuning capability at the time. Viewers needed an expensive converter to watch WSKT, and even then the picture quality was marginal at best. In addition, most of eastern Tennessee is very mountainous, and UHF signals at the time usually did not carry very well over rugged terrain. In 1954, the station's original owners sold the station to South Central Communications
, a radio company in Evansville, Indiana
, who changed its calls to WTVK.
When WBIR-TV
signed on in 1956 and took the CBS affiliation, WTVK became a full-time ABC affiliate. However, it spent most of the next 20 years as a very distant third in the ratings. While this was due in part to ABC being a much weaker network (it wouldn't be on par with CBS and NBC in terms of programming until the 1970s), another problem was the terrain issue. Many viewers didn't get a clear signal from channel 26 until cable arrived in Knoxville in the 1970s. In fact, many viewers got a better signal from WLOS-TV (channel 13) in Asheville, North Carolina
; WLOS' transmitter is located almost 118 miles east of Knoxville.
In 1979, the station changed its affiliations from ABC to NBC
, swapping affiliations with WATE-TV. By this time, ABC had become the highest-rated network in the country, and was seeking to affiliate with stronger stations. Under the circumstances, ABC jumped at the chance to move its programming to long-dominant WATE-TV. Even as NBC dominated the ratings in the 1980s, channel 26 stayed in the local ratings basement. However, it did win the rights to broadcast a daily one-hour features show from the 1982 World's Fair
, held in Knoxville.
In 1988, the station returned to CBS, swapping affiliations with WBIR-TV; shortly afterward the station changed its calls to WKXT-TV and moved to channel 8, one of the last remaining VHF channel allocations in the U.S. It became one of the few stations in America to have been a primary affiliate of all "Big 3" networks. Soon after the move to the VHF band, South Central sold the station to a local ownership group. Channel 8 changed its callsign again to WVLT-TV in 1997 after Gray Television bought the station in 1996.
In 1998, when CBS regained National Football League
rights
, they became the American Football Conference
broadcaster. WVLT has aired Tennessee Titans
(formerly Oilers) games since.
On January 9, 2011, their 11 p.m. newscast became the first in the Knoxville market to originate in high definition.
's athletic department, entered into a new 10-year agreement for WVLT/MYVLT TV to be the exclusive home of all Vol TV Network programing in the Knoxville area. WVLT paid UT $4.95 million for the 10 year contract. This gives the two stations the exclusive rights to the weekly highlights shows featuring head football coach Derek Dooley, head men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl
, head women's basketball coach Pat Summit, and other UT athletic-related programs in the Knoxville market. With this, the Vol TV Network ended a 10-year relationship with NBC
affiliate WBIR-TV.[1]
Digital channels>
Channel
Video
Aspect
Programming
Cable Channel
8.1
720p
16:9
Main WVLT programming / CBS
Comcast 433
Charter 708
Knology 902
AT&T U-verse 1008
8.2
Main My VLT programming / MyNetworkTV
Comcast 213
My VLT is also available on Charter and Knology, but in Standard Definition only. MyVLT is currently not available on U-verse, although it may be added at some point.
, which took place on June 12, 2009 , WVLT-DT remained on its current frequency, channel 30. However, digital television with PSIP capability will display its virtual channel
as 8.
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...
television network affiliate station serving Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, the 58th DMA
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
in America according to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
. The station's owned and operated by Gray Television
Gray Television
Gray Television, Inc. is a communications company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with administrative offices in Albany, Georgia.Established in 1946 by James H...
and has its transmitters located in Knoxville.
The station also operates a MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate MyVLT (formally MyVLT2) on its DT2 digital sub-channel; before 2006, it was a UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
affiliate, branded as UPN Knoxville.
History
WVLT-TV debuted on October 1, 1953 as WSKT-TV on channel 26. It was Tennessee's first UHF station, and the second television station in East TennesseeEast Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
. The station was a CBS affiliate, but also shared 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...
programming with WROL-TV, now WATE-TV
WATE-TV
WATE-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Eastern Tennessee licensed to Knoxville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 from a transmitter on Sharp's Ridge in North Knoxville. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 6 as well as Comcast and Knology...
, which signed on a few hours before WSKT.
Channel 26 found the going difficult at first, since television manufacturers weren't required to build in UHF tuning capability at the time. Viewers needed an expensive converter to watch WSKT, and even then the picture quality was marginal at best. In addition, most of eastern Tennessee is very mountainous, and UHF signals at the time usually did not carry very well over rugged terrain. In 1954, the station's original owners sold the station to South Central Communications
South Central Communications
South Central Communications is a privately owned media company based in Evansville, Indiana, and owned and operated by the Engelbrecht family: John D. Engelbrecht , JP Engelbrecht , and Bettie G...
, a radio company in Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, who changed its calls to WTVK.
When WBIR-TV
WBIR-TV
WBIR-TV, channel 10, is the NBC affiliate television station in Knoxville, Tennessee. The station is licensed to the Gannett Pacific Corporation, a subsidiary of the Gannett Company...
signed on in 1956 and took the CBS affiliation, WTVK became a full-time ABC affiliate. However, it spent most of the next 20 years as a very distant third in the ratings. While this was due in part to ABC being a much weaker network (it wouldn't be on par with CBS and NBC in terms of programming until the 1970s), another problem was the terrain issue. Many viewers didn't get a clear signal from channel 26 until cable arrived in Knoxville in the 1970s. In fact, many viewers got a better signal from WLOS-TV (channel 13) in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
; WLOS' transmitter is located almost 118 miles east of Knoxville.
In 1979, the station changed its affiliations from ABC to 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...
, swapping affiliations with WATE-TV. By this time, ABC had become the highest-rated network in the country, and was seeking to affiliate with stronger stations. Under the circumstances, ABC jumped at the chance to move its programming to long-dominant WATE-TV. Even as NBC dominated the ratings in the 1980s, channel 26 stayed in the local ratings basement. However, it did win the rights to broadcast a daily one-hour features show from the 1982 World's Fair
1982 World's Fair
The 1982 World's Fair, formally known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition, was held in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the United States. The theme of the exposition was "Energy Turns the World."...
, held in Knoxville.
In 1988, the station returned to CBS, swapping affiliations with WBIR-TV; shortly afterward the station changed its calls to WKXT-TV and moved to channel 8, one of the last remaining VHF channel allocations in the U.S. It became one of the few stations in America to have been a primary affiliate of all "Big 3" networks. Soon after the move to the VHF band, South Central sold the station to a local ownership group. Channel 8 changed its callsign again to WVLT-TV in 1997 after Gray Television bought the station in 1996.
In 1998, when CBS regained 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...
rights
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:...
, they became 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....
broadcaster. WVLT has aired 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...
(formerly Oilers) games since.
On January 9, 2011, their 11 p.m. newscast became the first in the Knoxville market to originate in high definition.
Vol Network affiliation
In 2007, WVLT TV/MYVLT TV and the Vol Network, the broadcasting arm of the University of TennesseeUniversity of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
's athletic department, entered into a new 10-year agreement for WVLT/MYVLT TV to be the exclusive home of all Vol TV Network programing in the Knoxville area. WVLT paid UT $4.95 million for the 10 year contract. This gives the two stations the exclusive rights to the weekly highlights shows featuring head football coach Derek Dooley, head men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl
Bruce Pearl
Bruce Dean-Fredrick Pearl is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers men's team. He is a graduate of Boston College, where he obtained his first position as an assistant basketball coach. He was the first coach to lead...
, head women's basketball coach Pat Summit, and other UT athletic-related programs in the Knoxville market. With this, the Vol TV Network ended a 10-year relationship with 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...
affiliate WBIR-TV.[1]
Digital television
WVLT's digital signal on UHF 30 is multiplexed:Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
Charter 708
Knology 902
AT&T U-verse 1008
My VLT is also available on Charter and Knology, but in Standard Definition only. MyVLT is currently not available on U-verse, although it may be added at some point.
Digital conversion
After the US analog television shutdownDTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
, which took place on June 12, 2009 , WVLT-DT remained on its current frequency, channel 30. However, digital television with PSIP capability will display its virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 8.
Newscast titles
- The East Tennessee Report (1953-1957)
- News of The Night (1957-1960)
- The National News (1960-1965)
- City Camera News (1965–1970)
- First Edition News (1970-1977)
- Metro 26 News (1977–1981)
- NewsCenter 26 (1981–1986)
- WTVK NewsCenter (1986–1988)
- News 8 (1988–1997)
- NewsChannel 8 (1997–1998)
- Volunteer News (1998–2002)
- Volunteer TV News (2002–2011)
- Local 8 News (2011-present)
Station slogans
- Come Home to TV-26 (1986-1987; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- Come on Home to TV-26 (1987-1988; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- The Valley's Own, News 8 (1988-early 1990s)
- Get Ready for News 8 (1989-1991; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- In Touch with East Tennessee (1997–2002)
- Taking Action for You (2002–present)
News anchors
- Alan Williams (6:00/7:00/11:00)
- Lauren Davis (5:00/6:00/7:00/11:00)
- Bob Yarbrough (Early/Noon)
- Michelle Silva (Early/Noon/4:00)
- Mark Packer (4:00/5:00)
- Angela Starke (Weekends)
Sports
- Rick Russo (Sports Director)
- Daryl Hobby (Sports Anchor/Reporter)
- Mark Packer
- Wes Boling (Sports Anchor/Reporter)
- Austin Price
News reporters
- Lauren Davis
- Gary Loe
- Amber Miller
- Sara Shookman
- Mario Boone
- Angela Starke
- Lorena Estrada
- Whitney Kent
Weather
- David Aldrich (Chief Meteorologist)
- Mike Simon (Morning/Noon Meteorologist)
- Heather Haley (Weekend Meteorologist)
- Whitney Kent (Weather Specialist)
Miscellaneous
- Walter Lambert (TV Chef)
- Shirley Nash-Pitts (Consumer Expert)
- Kiley Yarbrough (Special Correspondent)
Former on-air staff
- Adele ArakawaAdele ArakawaAdele Arakawa is an American evening news anchor for NBC affiliate station KUSA-TV of Denver, Colorado. She was the first female radio disc jockey in Knoxville, Tennessee...
, (Main news anchor for KUSA-TVKUSA-TVKUSA, channel 9, is an NBC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado. KUSA is owned by the Gannett Company, and is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD...
in Denver.) - Allison Kropff
- Ed HooperEd HooperWilliam Edward Hooper is an author, news broadcaster and columnist from Knoxville, Tennessee. He is most widely known for his work in military affairs reporting and his coverage of historic preservation and U.S. veterans issues....
(Author) - Stacy McCloud (now with WZTV-TV "Fox 17" Nashville)
- Charles WintersCharles R WintersCharles Winters is an online journalist, on-air personality and media developer from East Tennessee who resides in New York City. He is currently the President and Editorial Director at Charles Winters Information Management , the parent company for the websites he owns, operates and...