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WTOK-TV
Meridian, Mississippi
Branding	ABC 11 (general) NewsCenter 11 (newscasts) FOX Meridian (on DT2) Meridian's CW (on DT3)
Slogan	East Mississippi and West Alabama's News Leader
Channels	Analog: 11 (VHF) Digital: 49 (UHF)
Affiliations	ABC FOX - primary MNTV - secondary Sportsman - overnight (on DT2) The CW (on DT3)
Owner	Gray Television
Founded	September 27, 1953
Former affiliations	CBS (1953-1980) NBC (secondary, 1953-1968) FOX (secondary, mid-1990s)
Transmitter Power	316 kW (analog) 400 kW (digital)
Website	wtok.com

WTOK-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Meridian, Mississippi. Licensed to the city, the station broadcasts an analog signal on VHF channel 11 and a digital signal on UHF channel 49. WTOK's transmitter is located south of the city along SR 145. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios located on 23rd Avenue in Downtown Meridian. WTOK is known on-air as "ABC 11".

The station operates the area's Fox affiliate on its DT2 digital subchannel. Known on-air as "Fox Meridian", it is also offered on Comcast cable channel 10. WTOK-DT2 is a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliate and airs that network's programming from 9 to 11 PM. Overnight, the station airs programming from The Sportsman Channel.

WTOK also operates the area's CW affiliate on its DT3 digital subchannel. Known on-air as "Meridian's CW", it is also offered on Comcast cable channel 8.

Contents 1 History 2 WTOK-DT2 "FOX Meridian" 3 WTOK-DT3 "Meridian's CW" 4 News Team 5 External links

The station began broadcasting on September 27, 1953 as the second television station in Mississippi and the first on the VHF band (WJTV in Jackson had started broadcasting in January of that year on a UHF frequency). It started as a primary CBS affiliate but carried programming from ABC and NBC as well. NBC went to WLBM (now WGBC) in the early-1960s (via its status as a translator of Jackson's WLBT) while CBS went to WHTV (now WMDN) in 1980. It also served as a partial Fox affiliate in the mid-1990s carrying NFL broadcasts as well as selected Fox programming in late night time-slots.

At one point WTOK was co-owned with KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1988, then-owner United Broadcasting was taken over by investment firm Merrill Lynch, who then sold its three stations off to separate buyers. That year, Benedek Broadcasting bought WTOK. When Benedek's parent company went bankrupt in 2002, current owner Gray Television bought most of the Benedek stations, including WTOK.

WTOK has long been the dominant station in eastern Mississippi due to its status as the only VHF station in the area. For a time in the early 1990s, it was the only over-the-air commercial station in town, by default after both of its rivals went off the air.^{[citation needed]}

In early-2006, WTOK began broadcasting a Fox affiliate on its DT2 digital subchannel. For Meridian viewers, WTOK-DT2 replaced Foxnet as well as Tuscaloosa's Fox affiliate WDBB. The station airs syndicated programming similar to other Fox affiliates. Starting on September 5, 2006, WTOK-DT2 began airing programming from Fox's new sister network MyNetworkTV.

In 2006, Gray Television signed a deal to add The CW (the new network created by the merger of The WB and UPN) on new digital subchannels of four of its owned stations (including WTOK). WTOK-DT3 began broadcasting The CW on the network's launch date September 18, 2006. The station is part of The CW Plus. Like most CW Plus affiliates, WTOK-DT3 airs the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz on weekdays at 5 AM.

Since 2005, WTOK has been the only station in the area to air local news. The station's newscasts are branded under the NewsCenter label.

Unlike most ABC affiliates, WTOK does not broadcast a midday newscast during the week. WTOK-DT2 "Fox Meridian" rebroadcasts the 6 a.m. hour of Good Morning Meridian at 8 a.m. It also rebroadcasts the weeknight and Sunday night editions of NewsCenter 11 at 10 at Midnight.

Anchors

• John Johnson - News Director, Weeknight 6:00 PM Anchor
• Tom Daniels - Weeknight 6:00 & 10:00 PM Anchor
• Andrea Williams - Good Morning Meridian Anchor & Reporter
• Wade Phillips - Live at Five Anchor and Reporter
• Lindsey Brown- Weekend 6:00 & 10:00 PM Anchor and Reporter

NewsCenter 11 Meteorologists

• Trent Hughes - Chief Meteorologist
• Chris Whited - Morning Meteorologist & Reporter
• Ethan Huston - Weekend Weather Anchor

Sports

• Lindsey Hall - Sports Director
• Heather Cook - Weekend Sports Anchor

Reporters

• Chris Brennaman
• Tametria Connor

Photographers

• Sidney Luvene
• Christian Monsour

• Station Website
• WTOK Wireless
• WTOK-DT2 "FOX Meridian" Website
• WTOK-DT3 "Meridian's CW" Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WTOK

v • d • e Broadcast television in the Meridian market  (Nielsen DMA #186)
WTOK 11 (ABC) (FOX / MNTV / Sportsman on DT2) (The CW on DT3) WMAW 14 (PBS / MPB) - WMDN 24 (CBS) - WGBC 30 (NBC) - WIIQ 41 (PBS / APT) - W47CG 47 (TBN)

v • d • e ABC Network Affiliates in the state of Mississippi
WABG 6 (Greenwood) - WTOK 11 (Meridian) - WLOX 13 (Biloxi) - WAPT 16 (Jackson) - WKDH 45 (Houston)
See also: CBS, CW, Fox, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Mississippi

v • d • e Fox Network Affiliates in the state of Mississippi
WABG 6.2 (Greenwood) - WTOK-DT 11.2 (Meridian) - WXXV 25 (Gulfport) - WLOV 27 (West Point) - WDBD 40 (Jackson) - WNTZ 48 (Natchez)
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Mississippi

v • d • e MyNetworkTV Network Affiliates in the state of Mississippi
WCBI-DT 4.2 (Columbus) - WTOK-DT 11.2 (Meridian) - WUFX 35 (Vicksburg) - WNTZ 48 (Natchez)
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Mississippi

v • d • e CW Network Affiliates in the state of Mississippi
WCBI-DT 4.3 (Columbus) - WTOK-DT 11.3 (Meridian) - WRBJ 34 (Magee / Jackson) Cable Only Affiliates The Gulf Coast CW (Gulfport) - "WBWD" 32 / 721 (Greenwood) - "WBH" 591 (Hattiesburg) 1It is unclear as of 9/1/06 whether the fictional call letters were kept, changed, or dropped.
See also: ABC, CBS, Fox, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Mississippi

v • d • e Gray Television, Inc.
ABC Network Affiliate: KAKE · KOLO · WBKO · WHSV · WTOK · WVAW · TV3 Winchester (WHSV-DT3) (cable only) CBS Network Affiliates: KBTX · KKTV · KOLN/KGIN · KWTX · KXII · WCAV · WCTV · WIBW · WIFR · WKYT · WRDW · WSAW · WSWG · WTVY · WVLT · WYMT The CW Network Affiliates1: KBTX · KKCO · KWTX · WBKO · WJHG · WKYT · WTOK · WYMT Fox Network Affiliates: KXII1 · WAHU · WBKO1 · WHSV1 · WSYM2 · WTOK1 · WTAP1 Independent Television Station1: WOWT MyNetworkTV Affiliates1: KKTV (KKTV-DT2) · KOLN/KGIN · KXII · WAHU · WCTV · WHSV · WIBW · WJHG · WRDW · WSAW · WSAZ · WSWG · WTOK · WTVY · WTAP · WVLT NBC Network Affiliates: KKCO · WEAU · WILX · WITN · WJHG · WMTV · WNDU · WOWT · WSAZ · WTAP 1These stations broadcast these networks on their digital subchannels. 2Gray and Journal Broadcast Group entered into a "news share" agreement.
Annual Revenue: $332.1 USD (2006) · Employees: N/A · Stock Symbol: NYSE: GTN · Website: www.graycommunications.com