WVBT

WVBT (channel 43) is a television station licensed to Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States, affiliated with Fox and The CW. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside NBC affiliate WAVY-TV (channel 10) and ABC affiliate WVEC (channel 13). WVBT and WAVY-TV share studios on Wavy Street in downtown Portsmouth. WVBT's transmitter is located near Driver in Suffolk.

Though the construction permit was awarded in 1985, WVBT began broadcasting in December 1992, initially with home shopping programming. In January 1995, it affiliated with The WB, converted to a general-entertainment schedule, and came under the operational control of WAVY-TV under a local marketing agreement. Later that year, it secured affiliation with Fox, effective August 31, 1998. On that date, the station began airing a 10 p.m. local newscast produced by WAVY-TV. Nexstar acquired WAVY and WVBT in 2017 as part of its purchase of Media General.

History

Construction and early years

The Federal Communications Commission allocated channel 43 to Virginia Beach in February 1982 on a petition by Ocean Broadcasting Corporation, headed by a Virginia Beach attorney.[1] Other applicants also filed for the channel, including a lawyer from Knoxville, Tennessee; Summit Communications, led by developer Dewey Simmons; and Tidewater Christian Communications Corporation, a group of Black pastors.[2] In all, six groups had filed, three of which merged in December 1983.[3] Summit was awarded the construction permit in 1985[4] The station was not built immediately because of the illness of Summit's president, Simmons, and other delays. It reorganized in 1986 and changed its name to Virginia Beach Television Inc.[5] WVBT began broadcasting as a full-time Home Shopping Network affiliate on December 17, 1992.[6][7] By this time, it was owned by Walter Ulloa of Los Angeles.

This programming changed in January 1995 with three near-simultaneous events. The station affiliated with The WB when it launched on January 11, 1995; changed from home shopping to a general-entertainment schedule; and signed a local marketing agreement (LMA) with LIN TV, owner of Portsmouth-based NBC affiliate WAVY-TV (channel 10).[8][9] WVBT also began offering overflow programming—for instance, NBC daytime shows during coverage of the murder trial of O. J. Simpson and conflicting sports telecasts. The new programming and alliance with WAVY earned WVBT interest from cable operators, who had previously shunned adding the home shopping station to their lineups but were more interested in the station as a WB affiliate. On May 18, 1996, the station began broadcasting from a new transmitter facility, with its antenna 500 ft higher and its power increased to the maximum of 5 million watts.[10]

Affiliation with Fox and newscast launch

On November 29, 1995, Fox announced that it would move its programming to WVBT from WTVZ-TV (channel 33) in Norfolk, a station owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group.[11] The surprise switch was announced with no reason given; however, three weeks later, the situation came into focus when Fox executed a similar affiliation switch with Sinclair's WLFL in Raleigh, North Carolina. Like in Hampton Roads, Fox announced it would move to a WB affiliate programmed by a major network station in 1998 at the expiration of its existing Sinclair contract; Sinclair cited "different philosophical views about the future" for the change. The company apparently had little confidence in Fox plans to expand to late night and early morning slots as well as in the area of news.[12] The additional network shows threatened to encroach on lucrative fringe periods where the Sinclair stations made money.[13] Notably, WTVZ did not have a 10 p.m. local newscast and under Sinclair had held off on doing so.[14]

Media General and Nexstar ownership

In 2014, LIN TV was acquired by Media General.[30][31][32] After purchasing LIN, Media General initially agreed to merge with the Meredith Corporation [33] but faced a shareholder revolt in the wake of an unsolicited offer from Nexstar Broadcasting Group,[34] which agreed to acquire the company in 2016[35] and completed the acquisition in 2017.[36]

callsign	WVBT
city	Virginia Beach, Virginia
branding	Fox43 The CW Hampton Roads (43.2)
digital	21 (UHF)
virtual	43
translators	WPMC-CD 36 Mappsville
affiliations	43.1: Fox 43.2: The CW for others, see
country	United States
airdate	December 17, 1992
location	Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Hampton, Virginia
callsign meaning	Virginia Beach Television
former channel numbers	Analog: 43 (UHF, 1992–2009) Digital: 29 (UHF, 2002–2020)
owner	Nexstar Media Group
licensee	Nexstar Media Inc.
sister stations	WAVY-TV, WVEC
former affiliations	Independent (1992–1995) The WB (1995–1998)
erp	850 kW
haat	300 m
facility id	65387
coordinates	36.82083°N, -76.51111°W
licensing authority	FCC
website	https://www.wavy.com/fox43-tv

History

Construction and early years

Affiliation with Fox and newscast launch

Media General and Nexstar ownership

Technical information

Subchannels

Analog-to-digital conversion

ATSC 3.0 lighthouse

Translator

External links

References