news 13 metv panama city dt2 slogan on your side channels digital 13 vhf virtual 13 psip subchannels 13.1 abc 13.2 metv 13.3 escape 13.4 laff affiliations abc 1982 present owner nexstar broadcasting group nexstar broadcasting inc. first air date october 4 1973 ; 43 years ago 1973 10 04 call letters meaning world s most beautiful beaches sister station s wdhn former callsigns wdtb tv 1973 1977 former channel number s analog 13 vhf 1973 2009 digital 19 uhf 2003 2009 former affiliations primary nbc 1973 1982 dt2 doppler weather radar this tv 2010 2013 transmitter power 42 kw height 434 m class dt facility id 66398 transmitter coordinates 30 21 8 n 85 23 28 w 30.35222 n 85.39111 w 30.35222 ; 85.39111 licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website mypanhandle.com wmbb is the abc affiliated television station for panama city florida . it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on vhf channel 13 from a transmitter in unincorporated youngstown along the bay and calhoun county line . owned by the nexstar broadcasting group the station has studios on harrison avenue us 231 in downtown panama city . contents 1 history 2 digital television 2.1 digital channels 2.2 analog to digital conversion 3 news operation 4 references 5 external links history edit it first began broadcast operations on october 4 1973 as wdtb tv started by panhandle broadcasting corporation run by attorney denver t. brannen financed by local businessman car dealer tommy thomas and attorneys julian bennett and dick arnold . when it first took to the air the channel was originally an nbc network affiliate . on february 28 1977 wdtb was sold to octagon broadcasting an atlanta based outfit . upon the change octagon changed the station s call sign to the current wmbb which stands for the world s most beautiful beaches . originally the station was positioned to be the nbc affiliate for tallahassee as well since the market did not have one until april 21 1983 when wtwc began . at the time its transmitter was in frink calhoun county well over fifty miles 80 km away from tallahassee at approximately 30 22 9 n 85 12 29 w 30.36917 n 85.20806 w 30.36917 ; 85.20806 . in addition many viewers in the capital city already received nbc from albany georgia s walb which provided a better signal to the area . on january 4 1982 wmbb made the affiliation switch to abc swapping with crosstown rival wjhg which had been the market s original nbc station prior to 1973 . then on december 5 1986 buford television of tyler texas purchased the station and began investing in equipment and news talent in order to make the station more competitive not only with wjhg but also with dothan alabama s wtvy the cbs station serving the eastern part of the northwestern florida panhandle region . it was also around this time that this station moved from its location in downtown panama city to its current location on harrison avenue that formerly housed a buick dealership . the new facilities offered three times the space of the previous location . unexpectedly at 2 03 p.m. central time on may 18 1989 an air force f 15 fighter jet clipped a wire at wmbb s frink tower . this caused the tower antenna and transmitter to be completely destroyed . not long after this incident the channel was sold once again . this time it joined spartan communications of spartanburg south carolina as construction of new transmission equipment got underway . the company completed the acquisition on april 12 1990 . on august 6 of that same year wmbb began broadcasting from a new 1 500 foot 457 m state of the art antenna and transmitter tower now in youngstown . this allowed for better viewing of the station in the western half of the market including the rapidly growing southern walton county area and destin . in 1993 wmbb became one of several abc affiliates across the country that refused clearance to the abc show nypd blue . instead it aired syndicated programming during the timeslot . then general manager hugh roche kept the show off the station until 1997 when the parental ratings system was adopted by the networks . by the time wmbb finally allowed the program to air it was the last station in the country to lift its ban on the show . in march 2000 this station became one of thirteen in a package acquired by media general worth 605 million . later that year media general purchased the jackson county floridan newspaper . wmbb then established a jackson county bureau and used the resources of the floridan to cover jackson county as well . this caught the eye of the federal communications commission fcc because of the common ownership of a newspaper and television station in the same market . with the sale of wmbb to hoak media this is no longer an issue . by the time media general sold the station media general was granted a permanent waiver by the fcc to operate both properties in the same market . media general later divested all of their newspapers with the exception of the tampa tribune to warren buffett s world media holdings in june 2012 . on march 14 2008 it was announced that media general would sell the station and sister kalb tv in alexandria louisiana to hoak media . 1 the deal was closed on july 16 . 2 at the time of the closing wmbb was hoak s only television station east of the mississippi river . in july 2010 the station replaced its second digital subchannel broadcast of weather radar with this tv . that network originally aired on wbif after that channel stopped airing content from the retro television network rtv . its replacement was supposed to be wpgx dt2 but this never made it to air . on november 20 2013 hoak announced the sale of most of its stations including wmbb to gray television . due to gray s existing ownership of wjhg tv and wecp ld gray immediately placed the station along with krex tv in grand junction colorado up for sale to comply with fcc regulations . 3 on december 19 gray announced that the overlap properties including wmbb would be sold to nexstar broadcasting group for 37.5 million . 4 the sale was completed on june 13 2014 . 5 the deal made wmbb a sister station to dothan s abc affiliate wdhn . digital television edit digital channels edit the station s digital signal is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 6 13.1 720p 16 9 wmbb dt main wmbb programming abc 13.2 480i 4 3 this tv metv 13.3 escape 13.4 laff analog to digital conversion edit wmbb shut down its analog signal over vhf channel 13 on june 12 2009 the official date in which full power television stations in the united states transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate . the station s digital signal relocated from its pre transition uhf channel 19 to vhf channel 13 . 7 news operation edit wmbb made history during hurricane dennis in july 2005 when it became the first station in panama city to broadcast live storm coverage over the internet . it was one of the first stations in the country to use weather services international s titan forecasting tool a 3d forecasting system which showed the collapse of the storm just before it struck santa rosa island . in may 2011 wmbb upgraded local news production to 16 9 enhanced definition widescreen becoming the second station in the market after wjhg to do so . new graphics music and a modified set design were a part of the upgrade . on july 21 2011 wmbb announced on their facebook page that they would add another newscast starting september 12 news 13 midday that will run from 11 a.m. until noon each day . this is actually a return to doing a news program during the midday time slot since the station used to produce a midday program until the late 1990s . in june 2012 wmbb debuted a state of the art news set using flat panel monitors and led lighting for the backgrounds and to light the set . this is the first top to bottom new set built for the station since it moved to the current studio location in 1987 . on march 30 2013 wmbb became the first station in panama city to launch local news in full high definition . with the change came an update to the on screen graphic package . in february 2016 tom lewis returned to wmbb to become their news director . he was the primary anchor from the late 1980s until 2001 and left for rival station wjhg to become their primary anchor until 2014 . he also served as their news director from 2005 to 2010 . references edit http www.broadcastingcable.com article ca6540825.html hoak closes purchase of wmbb kalb nalb 7 16 2008 10 59 00 am broadcasting & cable gray buying hoak prime stations for 342.5 m . tvnewscheck . november 20 2013 . retrieved november 20 2013 . gray sell grand junction duop to nexstar tvnewscheck 19 december 2013 nexstar completes purchase of gray stations tvnewscheck retrieved 13 june 2014 . rabbitears tv query for wmbb dtv tentative channel designations for the first and the second rounds pdf . retrieved 2012 03 24 . external links edit station website query the fcc s tv station database for wmbb v t e television stations in the eastern florida panhandle including panama city stations wjhg 7.1 nbc 7.2 the cw 7.3 cbs 7.4 accuwx wmbb 13.1 abc 13.2 metv 13.3 escape 13.4 laff wecp ld 18.1 cbs 18.2 mntv 18.3 accuwx wpfn cd 22 youtoo wpgx 28.1 fox 28.2 bounce tv 28.3 grit wpct 46.1 tourist 46.2 retro tv wbif 51.1 daystar wfsg 56.1 pbs defunct wpaf 2 ind w06cq 6 ind wweo cd 24 fn w34dh 34 silent see also dothan tv florida broadcast television areas by city fort myers gainesville jacksonville miami orlando pensacola panama city tallahassee tampa st. petersburg west palm beach v t e abc network affiliates in the state of florida wear 3 pensacola wftv 9 orlando wplg 10 miami fort lauderdale wmbb 13 panama city wcjb 20 gainesville wpbf 25 tequesta west palm beach wjxx 25 orange park jacksonville wzvn 26 naples wtxl 27 tallahassee wfts 28 tampa wwsb 40 sarasota see also abc cbs cw fox ion mynetworktv nbc pbs other stations in florida v t e nexstar broadcasting group abc kamc2 kcau kmid kode2 kqtv ksvi ktvx watn wawv2 wdhn weht wivt wjet wmbb woi wsyr wtvo2 wutr2 wvny2 wwti cbs kgpe klas klbk klst kolr2 krex kreg krey ktab kxmb kxmc kxmd kxma wcia wfrv whbf wjmn wmbd wroc wtaj wyou2 the cw kasn2 kasw kcwi kgcw kget1 kucw wbrl wcwj wlmt wtvw2 wwcw wwti1 fox kadn kard kcit2 khmt2 kfqx kfta3 kfxk6 kjtl2 kljb5 klrt2 kmss5 kpej5 kwkt wfff wfft wfxp2 wfxr wfxv wgmb wjkt wlax weux wntz wqrf wyzz4 wzdx mynetworktv karz kcpn2 kgjt kjbo2 kadn1 kozl kshv6 ktpn klpn6 kyle wzdx1 wcix wlmt1 wntz wpny wtvo1 2 nbc kadn1 kamr kark ketk kfdx kget klaf knwa krbc2 ksan2 ksee ksnf ktal ktsm ktve2 kveo wbgh wbre wetm wtwo wvla6 other telemundo kkey ktab1 independent station kzup independent station heroes & icons whag tv cms company lakana online ad company yashi acquisitions communications corporation of america grant broadcasting newport television west virginia media holdings 1 these stations broadcast these networks on their digital subchannels . 2 nexstar operates these stations owned by mission broadcasting . 3 sale of the station to mission broadcasting is awaiting fcc approval . nexstar will continue to operate the station . 4 nexstar operates wyzz owned by cunningham broadcasting