WBRZ
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Baton Rouge, Louisiana United States |
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| Branding | WBRZ News 2 |
| Slogan | Turn to Us. |
| Channels |
Digital: 13 (VHF) Virtual: 2 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 2.1 ABC 2.2 WBRZ News Rebroadcast 2.3 WBRZ Weather |
| Affiliations | ABC (sole affiliate since 1977; secondary 1955–1971) |
| Owner | Manship family (Louisiana Television Broadcasting, LLC) |
| First air date | April 14, 1955 |
| Call letters' meaning |
W Baton Rouge's Z (2) |
| Sister station(s) | KBTR-CA, KRGV-TV |
| Former callsigns | WBRZ (1955–1981) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 2 (VHF, 1955–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
Primary: NBC (1955–1977) Per program: PBS (1970–1975) |
| Transmitter power | 30 kW |
| Height | 515 m |
| Facility ID | 38616 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°17′48.4″N 91°11′36.6″W / 30.296778°N 91.193500°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | www.wbrz.com |
WBRZ, virtual channel 2 (digital channel 13), is an ABC affiliate television station serving Baton Rouge, Louisiana, south-central and southeastern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi. It is owned by the Manship family, who formerly published the Baton Rouge daily newspaper, The Advocate. Its transmitter is located in Sunshine, Louisiana, and the station's studios are located on Highland Road in Baton Rouge, just south of downtown. On cable, WBRZ is seen on Cox Communications channel 5 in standard definition, and in high definition on digital channel 1005, as well as on AT&T U-verse. The station is also seen via satellite through DirecTV and Dish Network.
WBRZ signed on the air on April 14, 1955 as a primary NBC affiliate, sharing ABC with WAFB. It began broadcasting in color one year later, becoming the first Baton Rouge TV station to do so.
At first, the Manships wanted to call the station WBRA-TV, for the Baton Rouge Advocate, but went with the reverse "Z" at the end instead, avoiding the implications of having calls which could be understood to also mean the women's undergarment. Station founder Douglas L. Manship, Sr. still wanted "BR" in the station's calls, explaining the choice of "Z" at the end that "it was a good choice. 'Z' is a phonetically good sound on the air. It's distinctive." The "Z" was later expanded to mean "2" (similar to WGRZ-TV in Buffalo, New York). The WBRA call letters are currently used on the PBS member station in Roanoke, Virginia (standing for the Blue Ridge Mountains), though that entity emphasizes their "Blue Ridge PBS" branding over call letters except where required by the FCC. Until 1989, WBRZ was a sister station to WJBO-AM and WYNK-FM, until the Manships sold both radio stations. From the late 1960s until the late 1970s, WYNK was considered an affiliate of WBRZ.
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