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WWBT

WWBT
Rch-wwbt.png
MeTV WWBT.png
Richmond/Petersburg, Virginia
United States
Branding NBC 12 (general)
NBC 12 News (newscasts)
Slogan On Your Side
Richmond's #1 News
Channels Digital: 12 (VHF)
Virtual: 12 ()
Affiliations
Owner Raycom Media
(WWBT License Subsidiary, LLC)
First air date April 29, 1956; 60 years ago (1956-04-29)
Call letters' meaning taken from sister TV station WBTV and former radio sister WBT (AM) in Charlotte, North Carolina
Sister station(s) WUPV
Former callsigns WRVA-TV (1956–1968)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 12 (VHF, 1956–2009)
  • Digital:
  • 54 (UHF, 2002–2009)
Former affiliations
Transmitter power 26 kW
Height 242 m
Facility ID 30833
Transmitter coordinates 37°30′23″N 77°30′12″W / 37.50639°N 77.50333°W / 37.50639; -77.50333
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website nbc12.com

WWBT is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Richmond, Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter at its studios on Midlothian Turnpike (U.S. 60) in the city. Owned by Raycom Media, the station operates CW affiliate WUPV (owned by American Spirit Media) through a shared services agreement (SSA).

The station is one of only a few in the country to have been affiliated with all three of the original major American television networks.

In the 1950s, there was competition for the market's third television frequency. WTVR-TV had been on-the-air since 1948 while WXEX-TV (now WRIC-TV) had been on-the-air from Petersburg since 1955. The main competitors for the analog VHF channel 12 license were Larus and Brothers Tobacco Company, owner of WRVA (AM 1140) and WRVB-FM (94.5, now WRVQ) and Richmond Newspapers, owner of WRNL and forerunner of Media General. Larus later merged its application with Neighborhood Theaters' Richmond Television Corporation, assuming controlling interest. Both applicants had good records and were financially qualified, but RTVC won the license since it did not own a newspaper. At the time, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was concerned about co-ownership of newspaper and broadcast outlets and preferred separation.


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