WAKA
 
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Selma/Montgomery, Alabama United States |
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| Branding | CBS 8 (general) Alabama News Network (newscasts) Me-TV Montgomery (on DT2) |
| Channels |
Digital: 42 (UHF) Virtual: 8 () |
| Subchannels | 8.1 CBS 8.2 MeTV |
| Affiliations | CBS (1973–present) |
| Owner |
Bahakel Communications (Alabama Broadcasting Partners) |
| First air date | March 17, 1960 |
| Call letters' meaning | We Always Know Alabama |
| Sister station(s) | WBMM, WNCF |
| Former callsigns | WSLA (1960–1984) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 8 (VHF, 1960–2008) Digital: 55 (UHF, 2005–2008) |
| Former affiliations |
Independent (1960) ABC (1960–1968) Dark (1968–1973) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW |
| Height | 496 m |
| Class | DT |
| Facility ID | 701 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 32°8′57.9″N 86°46′42.6″W / 32.149417°N 86.778500°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | waka.com |
WAKA is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central Alabama's River Region that is licensed to Selma. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 (or virtual channel 8.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in Gordonville. Owned by Bahakel Communications, WAKA is part of a duopoly with CW affiliate WBMM. ABC affiliate WNCF is owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting but operated by Bahakel through a shared services agreement. All three television outlets share studios on Harrison Road in North Montgomery. Syndicated programming on WAKA includes Wheel of Fortune, Dr. Phil, The Doctors, and Jeopardy! among others.
Channel 8 debuted on March 17, 1960 as WSLA (acronym for SeLmA). The station was originally owned by the Brennan family and their company, Deep South Broadcasting, along with WBAM radio in Montgomery (740 AM, now WMSP), and broadcast from a converted home in Selma with the studio located in the garage. Deep South originally sought the WBAM-TV call letters for channel 8. However, in those days, Selma and Montgomery were separate markets, and Federal Communications Commission regulations at the time would not allow companion call letters to be issued to stations located in different markets. Originally an independent, it picked up an ABC affiliation soon afterward.
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