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WCMH-TV, channel 4, is the NBC television affiliate serving the Columbus, Ohio market. The station's studio and transmitter are located in Columbus. The station's current owner is Media General. It offers NBC Weather Plus on its digital signal.

Columbus' first television station began operations on April 3, 1949 as WLWC on channel 3. The station's original owner was the Cincinnati-based Crosley Broadcasting Corporation, a division of the Avco Company. Crosley also owned WLW radio and WLWT television in Cincinnati, as well as WLWD television (now WDTN) in Dayton. Together these stations comprised the "WLW Network", and they emphasized their connection to each other within their on-air branding: the Columbus station was known as WLW-C.

Like all of the WLW television stations in Ohio, WLWC was an NBC affiliate, though it carried some programming from the DuMont network until WTVN-TV (now WSYX) took the DuMont affiliation when that station started in August 1949. In 1953, following a FCC-dictated frequency realignment, WLWC moved to channel 4. The Crosley station group, which would later grow to include WLWI (now WTHR) in Indianapolis, WOAI-TV in San Antonio, and WLWA (now WXIA-TV) in Atlanta (sold in 1962), adopted the Avco name during the middle 1960s. Along with NBC programming, the Crosley/Avco stations in Ohio (and WLWI, an ABC affiliate) also aired common programming, including The Paul Dixon Show, Midwestern Hayride, The Ruth Lyons 50-50 Club (later to become The Bob Braun Show), The Phil Donahue Show, and telecasts of Cincinnati Reds baseball.

In 1970, the common ownership of WLWC, WLWT, and WLWD, was given protection through a "grandfather clause" from a new FCC rule which prohibited media companies from owning two or more television stations with overlapping signals. In 1975, Avco announced the sale of its broadcasting outlets, and WLWC was sold in April 1976 to the Providence, Rhode Island-based Outlet Company, who changed the station's call letters to the current WCMH-TV.

For most of its history, WLWC/WCMH-TV has been second in the Columbus ratings, except for the station's 11:00 p.m. news, which frequently beats market leader WBNS-TV. For nearly 20 years, Hugh DeMoss anchored channel 4's evening newscast, called The DeMoss Report. By the late 1970s into the early 1980s, however, the NBC affiliate languished in third place. In 1983, the station brought in veteran news anchor Doug Adair and his then-wife, reporter Mona Scott, from WKYC-TV in Cleveland as the station's main anchoring team. They brought a "happy talk" format to the market for the first time, as well as launching the 5:30 p.m. newscast. WCMH began a slow rise that would result in the station overcoming WBNS to reach number-one in the market, and in the process, the mid-1980s NewsWatch 4 team of Adair, Scott, meteorologist Jym Ganahl, and sportscaster Jimmy Crum (who joined the station shortly after its 1949 debut) became the most popular anchor team in Columbus television history.

The 1990s brought changes to the normally stable WCMH-TV: in 1990, Mona Scott decided to leave channel 4, and was replaced by Angela Pace, who, in turn, would leave for WBNS-TV in 1992. Doug Adair and Jimmy Crum both retired in 1994. Pace's and Adair's replacements, respectively, were Colleen Marshall and Cabot Rea, and the pair have helmed WCMH-TV's evening newscasts since then. The changes resulted in an earlier audience fall-off, but channel 4 once again passed WBNS-TV for the overall lead for a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Outlet sold its broadcast interests to NBC in 1996, and channel 4 was converted into an NBC owned-and-operated station, spending the next decade as the only station in the market to hold such a status.

WCMH-TV was placed up for sale by NBC-Universal on January 9, 2006, along with stations in Providence, Rhode Island; Birmingham, Alabama; and Raleigh, North Carolina, and soon found a buyer in Media General (which, prior to the announcement, owned five NBC affiliates in the southeastern United States). The transaction was announced on April 6, 2006, and was finalized on June 26, 2006. [1] As a result, WCMH became Media General's first station in the Great Lakes region, and will retain its NBC affiliation under the terms of the four-station deal.

For several months after the ownership change, WCMH's website and those of the other three stations remained in the format used by the websites of NBC O&O stations. In early December 2006, WNCN and WJAR launched redesigned websites, which are no longer powered by Internet Broadcasting. On December 11, 2006, WVTM's website followed suit, followed by WCMH on December 14.

In the fall of 2007, WCMH-TV will debut a glass-fronted satellite studio located at Broad and High streets in downtown Columbus, from which the station will broadcast its early morning and noon newscasts.

The WCMH-TV news set in 1977. Seated are (from left) Jimmy Crum, Leon Bibb and Hugh DeMoss.

The WCMH-TV logo in 1977. Beginning in 1976 and for many years thereafter, WCMH-TV's newscast was branded as "Newswatch 4".

Doug Adair and Angela Pace, former WCMH-TV news anchors.

The 5, 6 and 11 p.m. weekday newscasts have been anchored by the team of Cabot Rea and Colleen Marshall since 1994. Meteorologist Jym Ganahl provides weather information.

Other current personalities

• Matt Alvarez, reporter (2006-).
• Amy Basista, 5:30 p.m. anchor.
• Mike Bowersock, investigative reporter (1989-1994, 2004-).
• Beth Dal Ponte, reporter (1998-).
• Monica Day, traffic reporter.
• Lauren Diedrich, reporter.
• Andy Dominianni, morning/midday anchor.
• Barbra Flannigan, reporter (2002-).
• Jym Ganahl, chief meteorologist at 5, 6, and 11 p.m. (1979-).
• Ben Gelber, weekend evening meteorologist (1980-).
• Anietra Hamper, morning/midday anchor (1999-).
• Mikaela Hunt, reporter (2007-)
• Ana Jackson, reporter.
• Mike Jackson, 5:30 p.m. anchor (1994-).
• Candice Lee, Weekend Evening anchor (2007-).
• Colleen Marshall, 5, 6, and 11 p.m. anchor (1984-).
• Tom McNutt, garden expert (1989-).
• Marshall McPeek, weekend morning co-anchor/meteorologist/reporter (2002-).
• Tacoma Newsome, reporter (2006-).
• Bob Nunnally, morning/midday meteorologist AKA "The Man"
• Patrick Preston, reporter (2007-).
• Cabot Rea, 5, 6, and 11 p.m. anchor (1985-).
• Omar Ruiz, weekend sports anchor.
• Jerod Smalley, sports anchor.
• Ron Specht, home improvement expert seen Sunday mornings.
• Paul Stelzer, reporter (2006-).
• Erin Tate, reporter (2003-).
• Marcus Thorpe
• Dave Trygar, weather anchor (2007-).
• David Wayne, reporter.

Past personalities

• Doug Adair, 6/11pm anchor. (1983-1994)
• Ron Allen, sports
• Kyle Anderson, reporter/anchor (1998-2006).
• Allison Ashe, anchor.
• Bret Atkins, meteorologist (1985-1997)
• Tylar Bacome, anchor (1997-2003)
• Leon Bibb, 6/11pm anchor (1976-1979), (now primary anchor at WEWS-TV in Cleveland)
• Diann Burns, anchor (1983-1985, now with CBS O&O WBBM-TV, Chicago).
• Nancy Burton, reporter (1997-2007).
• Robb Case, Chopper 4 reporter (1984-2005). Died after long-term illness. [2]
• Paul Chambers, Reporter 2001-2003
• Lauren Crowner, reporter (January 2006-August 2006; died after a brain infection stemming from a car accident)
• Jimmy Crum, "Dean of Central Ohio Sportscasters" (1949-1994).
• Hugh DeMoss, 6/11pm anchor (1957-1980).
• Michelle Gailiun, anchor (1970s).
• Angela Ganote, anchor (now morning news anchor at WXIN in Indianapolis)
• Duarte Geraldino, reporter (2003-2006).
• Larry Hoff, roving anchor.
• Gail Hogan, anchor (1986 to 2004).
• Holly Hollingsworth, anchor/reporter (1996-2006).
• John Huffman, anchor, PM Magazine co-host.
• John Ivanic, weekend evening anchor/reporter (1998-2007).
• Lee Jordan, PM Magazine co-host.
• Margot Kim, anchor.
• Doug Lessells, sports (1994-1998).
• Dave Maetzold, sports (1998 to August 9, 2004, now with WTVN radio).
• Robin Meade, anchor/reporter (now host of Morning Express with Robin Meade on Headline News).
• Larry Mendte, first "live" field anchor of Live at 5 (1982-84).
• Jill Miles, anchor.
• Monique Ming Laven, 5 and 5:30 p.m. anchor/Target 4 reporter (2002-2006, now at KIRO-TV in Seattle).
• Andre Moreau, anchor.
• Stu Nicholson, reporter.
• Katrina Owens, anchor.
• Angela Pace, anchor. (1979-1992)
• Clark Powell, anchor.
• Jerry Rasor, weather (1960s-1979).
• Marty Reid, sports (1970s)
• Larry Roberts, 6/11pm anchor (1979-1983), reporter (2002-2004).
• Elizabeth Scarborough, reporter (2004-2007, now anchors at KPRC-TV in Houston)
• Dennis Schreefer, 6/11pm anchor (1980-1983).
• Jim Schroeder reporter/anchor 1982-1994
• Jim Scott, anchor.
• Mona Scott, 6/11pm anchor. (1983-1990)
• Leslie Siegel, reporter (1999-2003).
• Mike Valpredo, anchor (2000-2006).
• Joe Weasel, sports.

• "4 Country" (early-mid 1970s)
• "Proud of the Difference" (late 1970s, custom version of NBC's "Proud as a Peacock" campaign)
• "That's What Friends are 4" (early 1980s)
• "Sharing it all Together" (late 1980s)
• "News 4: The News Channel" (1992-1994)
• "Where News Comes First (24 Hours a Day)" (1997-2002)
• "Working 4 You" (2002- )

• NBC 4 Station History. NBC4i.com.

• WCMH website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WCMH