Branding Panama City CW | Slogan Dare to Defy | |
Channels Digital: WJHG-DT 18.2 (UHF)
Virtual: 7.2 (PSIP) Affiliations The CW (via The CW Plus; 2006–present) Owner Gray Television
(Gray Television
Licensee, LLC) First air date September 21, 1998; 18 years ago (1998-09-21) | ||
WJHG-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station for Panama City, Florida. It is a second digital subchannel of NBC affiliate WJHG-TV (owned by Gray Television) and is part of the national CW Plus service. Over-the-air, the station airs a standard definition digital signal on UHF channel 18.2 (or virtual channel 7.2 via PSIP) from a transmitter along SR 20 in unincorporated Youngstown. WJHG-DT2's parent station has studios on Front Beach Road/SR 30 in Panama City Beach.
History
What is now WJHG-DT2 began on September 21, 1998 after WJHG entered into a partnership with The WB 100+, a national programming service operated by The WB for television markets ranked greater than 100, and cable systems in the Panama City area. Prior to 1998, The WB's programming was available in Panama City via WGN-TV's national feed or local WB affiliates, WDZL (later became, WBZL, now WSFL) in Miami, FL or WTMV (later became WWWB, now WMOR-TV) in St. Petersburg, FL. It was a cable-exclusive station, and as a result, used the call sign "WBPC" (standing for "The WB Panama City") in a fictional manner for identification purposes. WJHG provided local advertisement opportunities and performed promotional duties for the outlet.
On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation (which became separate from Viacom after 2005) and Warner Bros. Television (the company which owned The WB) announced they then would cease operating the UPN and The WB networks and combine their resources to create a programming service entitled The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of the new network's respective corporate parents.
On September 18 of that year, The CW officially launched nationwide at which point WJHG added a new second digital subchannel to simulcast "WBPC" and allowing non-cable subscribers access to the new network. With its over-their-air launch, "WBPC" began using WJHG-DT2 as its official calls and became part of The CW Plus, a successor to The WB 100+.