| WWAY | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Wilmington, North Carolina | |
| Branding | WWAY NewsChannel 3 |
| Slogan | Live. Local. Interactive. |
| Channel | Digital: 46 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | 3.1 ABC 3.2 RTN |
| Owner | Morris Multimedia (WWAY-TV, LLC) |
| First air date | October 8, 1964[1] |
| Callsign meaning | Wilmington's World All Yours |
| Sister station(s) | WBW (The CW+) |
| Former channels | Analog: 3 (1964-2008) |
| Effective power | 1000 kW (digital) |
| Height | 590 m |
| Facility ID | 12033 |
| Antenna coordinates | 34°7′53.8″N 78°11′15.4″W / 34.131611°N 78.187611°W |
| Website | www.wwaytv3.com |
WWAY, channel 3, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Wilmington, North Carolina, owned by Morris Multimedia. WWAY's offices and studios are located in Wilmington, and its transmitter is located in Winnabow, North Carolina, about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Wilmington.
WWAY is one of five Wilmington television stations that agreed to end analog transmissions early and became a digital-only station on September 8, 2008,[2] ahead of the June 12, 2009 date for all US full-power television stations to complete digital transition. [3]
This makes the Wilmington market the first in the United States to convert to all-digital, serving as an FCC post-transition test market.
Contents |
History
WWAY first signed on the air on October 1, 1964 as the second television station in Wilmington, preceded by WECT (channel 6) by more than ten years. It has been an ABC affiliate since its inception. This was somewhat unusual for a two-station market (especially one of Wilmington's size), and the reason is not clear to this day. In most two-station markets, ABC was relegated to secondary status on the existing stations.
WWAY was founded by local Wilmington interests, but by the mid-1980s the station was owned by Clay Communications. The station has undergone a revolving door of owners over the course of the next two decades: In 1987 Clay sold its broadcasting interests, including WWAY, to Price Communications. [4] A year later Price sold WWAY to Adams Television [5], who flipped the station to Hillside Broadcasting a few years later. Hillside then sold WWAY to Cosmos Broadcasting, a subsidiary of the Liberty Corporation, in 1999. [6] In 2005, Liberty merged its broadcasting interests with Raycom Media, which already owned WECT, and the Federal Communications Commission's duopoly rules do not allow common ownership of two of the four largest stations in a single market. Channel 3 was spun-off to current owner Morris Multimedia in 2006.
On May 8, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission announced that five stations in Wilmington, including WWAY, had agreed to voluntarily cease analog broadcasting on September 8, 2008, [7] serving as a test market for the 2009 national US DTV transition.
On June 15, 2009 WWAY started broadcasting the "Retro Television Network" on digital channel 3.2.
On August 1, 2009, WWAY discontinued its weekend newscasts. According to the Wilmington Star-News, WWAY could restart weekend newscasts when the economy recovers.
News/Station Presentation
Newscast Titles
- News Scope (1964-1971)
- TV-3 News (1971-1978)
- Channel 3 Eyewitness News (1978-1991)
- NewsChannel 3 (1991-2003)
- WWAY NewsChannel 3 (2003-present)
Station Slogans
- Your WWAY (1980s)
- First, Live, and Local (1990s-2000s)
- Live. Local. Interactive. (2007-present)
This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.Cable and Satellite Availability
In North Carolina, WWAY outside of the market is still carried in Rowland, which is part of the Florence/Myrtle Beach/Lumberton market. Rowland and all of Robeson County used to be part of the Wilmington market and even earlier, the Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville market. Lumberton, the county seat of Robeson County used to carry WWAY as well until around 1999. Jacksonville still carries WWAY even though it is part of the Greenville/Washington/New Bern market.
In South Carolina, WWAY used to be carried in Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach up until the late 1990s. WWAY used to be carried along the South Carolina borderbelt communities near the North Carolina state line but no longer do so.
WWAY is not carried on satellite outside of the market in the Carolinas.
In Brunswick County, WWAY is carried on ATMC - Atlantic Telephone Membership Cooperative cable on channel 5.
Digital television
The station's digital channel is multiplexed.
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 3.1 | main WWAY programming / ABC HD |
| 3.2 | Retro TV/ newscast repeater |
Current personalities
- Anchors
- Ann McAdams - weeknights
- Marcy Cuevas - Good Morning Carolina
- Steve Rondinaro - weeknights
- Kevin Wuzzardo - Good Morning Carolina
- Weather
- Jerry Jackson - Good Morning Carolina
- Chris Phillips - chief meteorologist/weeknights
- Tim Buckley - meteorologist
- Reporters
- Meghan Torjussen
- Meghan Packer, also weeknight anchor at 11pm
- Jenna Ciazzo
- Margo Gray
- Halie Winslow
- John Rendleman - sports
- Tim Buckley
- Joe Mauceri
- Kate Hanly
- other
- Mr. Food
Notable alumni
- Ben Baird
- Steve Beverly
- Jerry Brown (now at WMBB in Panama City, FL)
- Kaci Christian
- Douglas Clark
- Kim Downing- Deceased
- Dawn Davenport (Current sports reporter/anchor at WKRN in Nashville, TN)
- Jon Evans (WECT- 5:30-6:00, 6PM AND 11 AND WSFX NEWS AT 10 ANCHOR )
- Kitty Fitzgibbon
- Chris Francis
- Shirley Gilbert- Deceased
- Dina Garrett
- Carisa Lawson
- Jeff Lennox
- Mark Mcginnis-(Chief Meteorologist at WDJT Milwaukee)
- Chris Marshall
- Gene Motley
- Kim Ratcliff (now at WECT/WSFX- Carolina in the morning anchor and WECT NEWS AT NOON)
- Monica Rix
- Karen Schradin
- Daniel Seamens- 6pm and 11pm anchor at ABC COLUMBIA- WOLO
- Stella Shelton
- Sonya Stevens- (now morning/noon meterologist at WMAZ in Macon, GA)
- Ken Watlington (now sports anchor/reporter at BCSN/WTOL in Toledo, OH)
Logos
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The Current WWAY logo |
External links
- WWAY-TV 3 Homepage
- Digital TV transition kicks off in Wilmington NC, LA Times, September 8, 2008
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WWAY
- FCC service area map for WWAY
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WWAY-TV
References
- ^ The Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook says October 1, while the Television and Cable Factbook says October 30.
- ^ Digital TV switch coming early to Southeastern NC | WWAY NewsChannel 3 | Wilmington NC News
- ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
- ^ COMPANY NEWS; Clay-Price Pact On 4 TV Stations - New York Times
- ^ COMPANY NEWS; BRIEFS - New York Times
- ^ Company News; Liberty Subsidiary Buys Tv Station In North Carolina - New York Times
- ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-282032A1.pdf
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