WECT

WECT signed on April 9, 1954, as WMFD-TV, an Atlantic Telecasting Corporation station serving Wilmington, North Carolina. Its original schedule included programming from NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont, but NBC was the station's principal affiliation. DuMont disappeared from the schedule after the network shut down in 1956. In 1958, after Atlantic Telecasting sold its Wilmington radio property, the television station changed its call letters to WECT. During its early decades, WECT operated in a relatively isolated television market. Wilmington did not gain a local competitor until WWAY launched in 1964. Because WWAY selected ABC, WECT continued to carry NBC as well as selected CBS programming, including daytime programs and Sunday afternoon NFL broadcasts. The arrival and expansion of cable television during the 1970s and 1980s gradually reduced the need for one station to combine multiple network schedules. WECT's distribution extended well beyond Wilmington. Its signal and cable carriage reached parts of the Fayetteville region, eastern North Carolina, and communities in northeastern South Carolina. Before the creation of a full-time NBC affiliate in the Florence–Myrtle Beach market, WECT served as an important NBC source for viewers in and around Myrtle Beach. The station used broader regional identifiers, including references to Wilmington, Fayetteville, and Myrtle Beach, to reflect that audience. It also maintained a Fayetteville news bureau for a period. In 1969, WECT moved its analog transmission operation to a 2,000-foot tower near White Lake in Bladen County. The structure was one of the tallest television towers in the eastern United States and supported the station's extensive regional coverage. The station's ownership changed repeatedly over the following decades. Atlantic Telecasting sold WECT to News-Press & Gazette Company in 1986. News-Press & Gazette later transferred its television group to the first New Vision Television, which sold the group to Ellis Communications in 1995. Ellis was incorporated into Raycom Media in 1997. Raycom's 2006 acquisition of Liberty Corporation briefly placed WECT and WWAY under the same corporate ownership. Because the combined ownership would have conflicted with Federal Communications Commission duopoly requirements, WWAY was divested to Morris Multimedia. WECT remained with Raycom and continued as Wilmington's principal NBC station. The station's news role expanded in the 2000s. In September 2003, WECT began producing a nightly prime-time newscast for WSFX-TV under a news-sharing agreement. The arrangement later included a morning news extension and additional WSFX newscasts. WECT became the first Wilmington television station to move its local news operation to high definition in August 2008. A short-lived WSFX early-evening program was later discontinued as the stations consolidated their prime-time news schedule. WECT was also central to Wilmington's early transition from analog to digital television. In May 2008, the FCC identified Wilmington as a test market for an accelerated transition, and WECT agreed with other local stations to terminate analog transmission on September 8, 2008. The digital transmitter near Winnabow was closer to Wilmington than the former White Lake site, but the change reduced coverage in some distant communities, including Fayetteville and Myrtle Beach. WMBF-TV, a new Raycom-owned NBC affiliate, began serving the Myrtle Beach area in August 2008, further reducing WECT's role there. Raycom later donated the White Lake tower site and surrounding land to the Green Beret Foundation. The tower was demolished by controlled explosive implosion on September 20, 2012, with proceeds from the land and scrap intended to support the foundation. The demolition was described at the time as a record-setting event for the height of a man-made structure removed in this manner. WECT's digital portfolio has changed over time. WECT-DT2 previously carried NBC Weather Plus and later WECT Plus, a local weather and information service featuring repeated newscasts, traffic, and travel updates. WECT replaced the local weather channel with Bounce TV in 2014 and subsequently added further multicast programming, including the network now branded Ion Mystery. In June 2018, Gray Television announced a cash-and-stock merger with Raycom Media. The transaction, valued at approximately $3.6 billion according to the announcement, was approved in December 2018 and completed on January 2, 2019. WECT consequently became a Gray station and a sister station to Gray-owned NBC affiliate WITN-TV in Greenville, North Carolina. It continues to operate as an NBC affiliate with a strong emphasis on local news, weather, emergency communication, digital publishing, and regional community coverage.

1. 2019Gray completes Raycom acquisition

   WECT becomes part of Gray Television after the Gray–Raycom transaction closes on January 2.

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2. 2014Bounce TV replaces WECT Plus

   The station changes its second digital subchannel from local weather and information programming to Bounce TV.

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3. 2012White Lake tower is demolished

   The former transmission tower is brought down by controlled demolition after the site and land were donated to the Green Beret Foundation.

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4. 2008Wilmington analog shutdown

   WECT ends analog broadcasting on September 8 as part of the FCC's early digital-transition test in Wilmington.

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5. 2008Local news moves to high definition

   WECT upgrades its local news broadcasts and the WSFX-produced newscasts to high-definition production.

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6. 2003News-sharing arrangement with WSFX begins

   WECT starts producing a nightly prime-time newscast for WSFX-TV.

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7. 1997WECT enters the Raycom ownership group

   Ellis Communications is folded into Raycom Media, bringing WECT into the Raycom station portfolio.

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8. 1986Atlantic Telecasting sells WECT

   News-Press & Gazette Company acquires the station from Atlantic Telecasting.

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9. 1969Transmission moves to White Lake tower

   WECT relocates its analog transmission facilities to a 2,000-foot tower near White Lake in Bladen County.

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10. 1964WWAY launches as a local competitor

    WWAY begins broadcasting in Wilmington, creating the market's first local television competition for WECT.

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11. 1958Call sign changes to WECT

    The television station adopts the WECT call letters after Atlantic Telecasting sells its Wilmington radio station.

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12. 1954Channel 6 launches as WMFD-TV

    The Wilmington station begins broadcasting on April 9 with NBC as its primary affiliation and additional programming from CBS, ABC, and DuMont.

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A locally focused NBC network affiliate emphasizing news, weather, emergency information, and broad regional service.

• WECT NewsLocal television news2003

  WECT's core local-news service covers Wilmington, New Hanover County, and the wider southeastern North Carolina region. Its output includes morning, daytime, evening, and late-night newscasts, with reporting on local government, crime, education, business, health, and community affairs. The operation also supplies news programming for WSFX-TV under a long-running news-sharing arrangement.

• WECT First Alert WeatherWeather and emergency information

  The station's weather operation provides forecasts, radar, severe-weather coverage, watches and warnings, hurricane information, and other emergency updates relevant to coastal and southeastern North Carolina. Weather content is distributed through television, the station website, digital video, and mobile-oriented channels.

• NBC programmingNetwork television1954

  WECT has been primarily affiliated with NBC since its 1954 launch. Its NBC service supplies the Wilmington market with national news, entertainment, sports, and special-event programming alongside the station's local schedule.

• Digital multicast servicesMulticast television2005

  WECT has used its digital subchannels for several supplementary services, including NBC Weather Plus, the locally branded WECT Plus weather and information channel, Bounce TV, and later Ion Mystery programming. The lineup has changed as network and ownership strategies evolved.

• 2019Integration into Gray MediaM&A

  Gray Television agreed to merge with Raycom Media in a transaction announced in 2018 and approved by regulators in December of that year.

  What changed. The transaction closed on January 2, 2019, transferring WECT into Gray's television station group.

  Aftermath. WECT became a sister station to Gray-owned WITN-TV and remained paired operationally with local stations including WSFX-TV.

  announced transaction value. $3.6 billion (2018 announcement)

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• 2014Replacement of WECT Plus with Bounce TVStrategy

  WECT had used its second digital subchannel for weather, traffic, travel information, and repeated local news, after previously carrying NBC Weather Plus.

  What changed. The station replaced the local weather-oriented service with Bounce TV on August 18, 2014.

  Aftermath. The change shifted the subchannel from a locally produced information format toward entertainment-oriented multicast programming.

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• 2008Voluntary early analog shutdownGeneration change

  Wilmington was selected as an FCC test market for the transition from analog to digital television. WECT's former analog service reached some distant communities that would not receive equivalent coverage from the new digital transmitter.

  What changed. WECT ceased analog broadcasting on September 8, 2008, and continued with a digital transmission facility near Winnabow.

  Aftermath. The digital configuration improved proximity to Wilmington but reduced or altered reception in parts of Fayetteville and Myrtle Beach. A new NBC affiliate, WMBF-TV, also began serving Myrtle Beach in August 2008.

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• 2019Gray completes acquisition of Raycom and takes control of WECT

  The Gray–Raycom transaction received regulatory approval in December 2018 and closed on January 2, 2019, making WECT part of Gray's television group.

  M&A
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• 2018Gray Television announces merger with Raycom Media

  Gray Television announced an agreement to combine with Raycom Media, placing WECT in the Gray station portfolio after completion of the transaction.

  M&A
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• 2008WECT participates in Wilmington digital-transition test

  WECT was among Wilmington stations that voluntarily ended analog broadcasting in September 2008 as part of an early FCC digital-transition test market.

  Product generationRegulation
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• 2008WECT upgrades local newscasts to high definition

  WECT upgraded its local news production to high definition, including the broadcasts it produced for WSFX.

  Product generation
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• 2003WECT begins producing prime-time news for WSFX

  A news-sharing arrangement led WECT to produce a nightly prime-time newscast for Wilmington Fox affiliate WSFX-TV.

  Other
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• 1958Station adopts the WECT call letters

  Following the sale of its affiliated radio station by Atlantic Telecasting, the television operation changed its call sign from WMFD-TV to WECT.

  Other
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• 1954WECT begins broadcasting as WMFD-TV

  Channel 6 launched in Wilmington under the WMFD-TV call sign, carrying multiple network affiliations while maintaining NBC as its principal network relationship.

  Product launch
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1. WECT
2. Gray Television and Raycom Media announce definitive merger agreement
3. Gray Television completes acquisition of Raycom Media
4. WECT official website