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WCBI-TV
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WCBI-TV | |
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| Tupelo / Columbus / West Point | |
| Branding | WCBI News |
| Slogan | "On Your Side" |
| Channels | 4 (VHF) analog, 35 (UHF) digital |
| Affiliations | CBS MyNetworkTV on DT2 The CW on DT3 |
| Owner | Morris Multimedia |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Call letters meaning | W Columbus Birney Imes |
| Former affiliations | NBC (secondary, 1956-79), ABC (secondary, 1956-83), UPN (digital sub-channel, 2003?-2006) |
| Transmitter Power | 100 kW (analog) |
| Website | wcbi.com |
WCBI is the CBS television affiliate for the Tupelo-Columbus-West Point television market. The station is owned by Morris Multimedia. Its transmitter is located about 11.7 miles southeast of Houston, Mississippi.
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When WCBI-TV signed on the air on July 13, 1956, it was the first television station in north Mississippi. It was owned by Birney Imes, Jr., a Columbus businessman and publisher of the Commercial Dispatch. The station broadcasted from a group of cheaply constructed cement block buildings in a pasture off State Highway 12, just east of Columbus. WCBI was originally affiliated with all three networks, but has always been a primary CBS affiliate. NBC disappeared from the schedule in 1979 after WTVA in Tupelo expanded its city-grade signal to include Columbus. It continued to carry some ABC programs until 1983, when WVSB (now WLOV a FOX affiliate) signed on.
The station remained in its rural location for more than thirty years. In the early 1990s, Frank Imes supervised the renovation of the former Egger's Department Store in downtown Columbus. The three-story building opened in 1993. In November 2003, Imes Communications sold WCBI to its current owner, Morris Network. WCBI recently celebrated it's 50th anniversary, airing a three-part retrospective on the history of the station, as well as a segment showcasing various on and off-air bloopers.
Besides being the first television station in north Mississippi, it is also the first digital television station in the region. It began digital broadcasts in 2002 and has since added two additional subchannels. The first subchannel was on 35.2 and was originally a UPN station, "UPN MS". The UPN subchannel became My MS, a MyNetworkTV affiliate, on September 5, 2006. The other channel, channel 35.3, was originally a 24-hour weather station, "WCBI WeatherCheck". On September 18, 2006, it became CW North Mississippi, a CW affiliate.
- WCBI News Sunrise (5:30 - 7:00 a.m.) - Variety show comprised of news and special guests on various topics. The show is hosted by Bill Gamel and Aundrea Self.
- WCBI News Midday (12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.) - Anchored by Bill Gamel and Aundrea Self.
- WCBI News at Five (5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.) - Anchored by Karen Roberts. Rob Smith provides VIPIR weather forecasts.
- WCBI News at Six (6:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.) - Anchored by Ron Brown and Karen Roberts. Rob Smith provides VIPIR weather forecasts and Drew Powell gives a look at the day's sports.
- WCBI News at Ten (10:00 p.m. - 10:35 p.m.) - Anchored by Ron Brown and Jessica Nesbitt. Rob Smith provides VIPIR weather forecasts and Drew Powell gives a look at the day's sports.
- WCBI News at Six (6:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.) - Anchored by Laquanita Reid. Justin Stapleton provides VIPIR weather forecasts and Derek Cody gives a look at the weekend's sports. The 6:00 p.m. newscast only airs on Saturdays.
- WCBI News at Ten (10:00 p.m. - 10:35 p.m.) - Same format as 6:00 p.m. newscast on Saturday. Airs Saturday and Sunday evenings.
- Aundrea Self, co-anchors the Sunrise and News at Midday newscasts
- Bill Gamel, co-anchors the Sunrise and News at Midday newscasts
- Carole Carr, reporter
- Karen Roberts, anchors the News at Five, and co-anchors the News at Six newscast Monday- Friday
- Stoney Sharp, reporter and Tupelo bureau chief
- Marcus Hunter, sports anchor for the weekend newscasts
- Rob Smith, chief meteorologist; appears on News at Five, News at Six, and News at Ten newscasts
- Ross Adams, reporter
- Ron Brown, co-anchors the News at Six and News at Ten newscasts Monday-Friday
- R.H. Brown, reporter
- Jessica Nesbitt, anchors the News at Ten newscast, Monday- Friday
- Drew Powell, sports director; anchors the News at Six and News at Ten newscasts
- LaQuanita Reid, reporter
- Brian Fowler, meteorologist for Sunrise and News at Midday
- Dennis Hudson, former nightly newscast anchor; quit due to health concerns; died in November 2005
- Will Kollmeyer, former sports director; now sports information director at Itawamba Community College
- Bryan Owings, former chief meteorologist
- Jeffrey Rupp, former news director and anchor; now mayor of Columbus, Mississippi
- Robert "Uncle Bunky" Williams, longtime host of Fun Time with Uncle Bunky
- Pete Webb, former reporter.
- Jim Thompson, former reporter; deceased, 2006.
- Cynthia Bowers, former news anchor; now reporter for CBS News.
- Sabrina Register, former news anchor; now anchor for Northwest Cable News, Seattle.
- Joe Furia, former sports director; now reporter for KOMO-TV, Seattle.
- Bill Carter, Former News Director and Anchor; now New Operations Manager WTLV-WJXX Jacksonville, Florida
WCBI started broadcasting a full power digital signal in late 2002. Shortly thereafter, the station was streaming three broadcast channels:
- WCBI-DT 35-1: a high-definition transmission of the CBS affiliate. Syndicated programming, local commercials, and local news programs remain in standard (4x3) definition.
- WCBI-DT 35-2: the north Mississippi area's MyNetworkTV affiliate, My MS, that is operated and owned by Morris Multimedia, Inc. as well. The signal is also in standard definition. This channel was formerly a UPN affiliate until September 4, 2006. It was branded UPN MS.
- WCBI-DT 35-3: North Mississippi's CW affillate, appropriately branded CW North Mississippi. It is also in standard definition. The channel was formerly WCBI WeatherCheck, a 24-hour local weather station done in conjunction with the AccuWeather service. The status of this channel is not known as of 9/17/2006.
WCBI is required to cease transmission of its analog signal, as the FCC's "go-black" deadline is February 17, 2009, or until 85% of its viewership is capable of receiving a digital signal.
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WCBI-DT 4.3 (Columbus) - WTOK-DT 11.3 (Meridian) - WRBJ 34 (Magee / Jackson) |
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| Cable Only Affiliates | ||
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The Gulf Coast CW (Gulfport) - "WBWD" 32 / 721 (Greenwood) - "WBH" 591 (Hattiesburg) |
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1It is unclear as of 9/1/06 whether the fictional call letters were kept, changed, or dropped. |
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| See also: ABC, CBS, Fox, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Mississippi | ||