Branding "NBC 30" Call letters' meaning see WGBC | Affiliations NBC | |
Channels Digital: WGBC-DT 31.2 (UHF)
Virtual: 30.2 (PSIP) Owner Waypoint Media
(WGBC-TV, LLC) First air date January 5, 2009; 8 years ago (2009-01-05) | ||
WGBC-DT2 is an NBC-affiliated television station for Meridian, Mississippi. It is a second digital subchannel of Fox affiliate WGBC that is locally owned by Waypoint Media. Over-the-air, the station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31.2 (or virtual channel 30.2 via PSIP) from a transmitter at its studios on Crestview Drive, in unincorporated Lauderdale County, south of Meridian. WGBC-DT2 can also be seen on Comcast channel 7 and in high definition on digital channel 432. Its parent station shared studios with CBS affiliate WMDN. Syndicated programming on this outlet includes TMZ on TV, Judge Mathis, The Wendy Williams Show, and Steve Harvey among others.
History
In late 2008, WGBC picked up the Fox affiliation for Meridian on its first digital subcarrier with the Retro Television Network (RTV) airing during the day. This change resulted in NBC moving to this second digital subchannel but remained on the analog signal. Fox had previously aired on WTOK-DT2 while RTV was new to the market. On January 5, 2009, "Fox Meridian" premiered on WGBC-DT1. This unusual arrangement resulted in NBC HD being moved to a new second digital subchannel. It is a similar case to CBS affiliate WAGM-TV in Presque Isle, Maine which also moved its original affiliation to a new second digital subchannel so that its main signal could join Fox.
WGBC shut down analog transmissions on June 12, 2009. The station remained on its pre-transition channel 31. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display its virtual channel as 30. The station does not offer much local content serving largely as a "pass-through" for automated NBC and syndicated programming. There is, however, a local weekday morning cut-in seen during Today branded as "The Morning Report". Hosted by Angie Denney, it features a listing of community events. There is also a cooking segment seen during the update on Mondays known as "Local Flavor".