WCTI-TV
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New Bern/Greenville/Washington/ Jacksonville, North Carolina United States |
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| City | New Bern |
| Branding | NewsChannel 12 HD |
| Slogan | Getting the Facts Right |
| Channels | Digital: 12 (VHF/PSIP) |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Owner |
Bonten Media Group (sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group pending) (North Carolina License Holdings, Inc.) |
| First air date | September 7, 1963 |
| Call letters' meaning | Continental Television Incorporated (former owner) |
| Sister station(s) | WFXI/WYDO |
| Former callsigns | WNBE-TV (1963–1970) |
| Former channel number(s) | 12 (VHF analog, 1963–2009) 48 (UHF digital, 2000–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
UPN (2000–2006) Independent (2006–2009) This TV (2009–2013) all on DT3 |
| Transmitter power | 32.8 kW |
| Height | 589 m (1,932 ft) |
| Class | DT |
| Facility ID | 18334 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°6′15″N 77°20′12″W / 35.10417°N 77.33667°W |
| Website | wcti12.com |
WCTI-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Eastern North Carolina's Inner Banks that is licensed to New Bern. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter, north of Trenton, along NC 41. Owned by the Bonten Media Group, the station operates Fox affiliates WFXI/WYDO (owned by Esteem Broadcasting, LLC) through a shared services agreement (SSA). The two stations share studios on Glenburnie Drive in New Bern.
Nathan Frank, a businessman from Henderson, had filed an application for channel 13 in New Bern in 1954. However, final approval was delayed for almost seven years due to numerous challenges. The Army, Navy and Air Force were concerned that the proposed 1,000-foot (305 m) tower on Glenburnie Drive would interfere with the operations of the numerous military installations located in Eastern North Carolina. Several commercial airlines and pilot associations also expressed concerns about the tower.
A new problem arose in 1958, when the Federal Communications Commission dropped in a channel 13 allocation in Hampton, Virginia to give the Hampton Roads area a third VHF station; WVEC-TV moved there from channel 15 shortly afterward. To alleviate concerns about short-spacing, the channel 13 allocation for New Bern was moved to channel 12. Almost immediately, WRVA-TV in Richmond, Virginia (now WWBT) raised concerns of its own about short-spacing. All objections were eventually overcome by 1961, and the station took to-the-air on September 7, 1963 as WNBE-TV (for "New B Ern"). The call letters were changed to the current WCTI-TV in 1970. The station has been an ABC affiliate since its inception. When it signed-on, the Greenville/Washington/New Bern market became one of the smallest DMAs in the country with three commercial network affiliates. Continental Television sold the station to Malrite Communications in 1976.
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