united states branding wkrg news 5 slogan coverage you can count on channels digital 27 uhf virtual 5 psip subchannels 5.1 cbs 5.2 ion 5.3 metv affiliations cbs owner media general sale to nexstar broadcasting group pending media general communications holdings llc first air date september 5 1955 ; 61 years ago 1955 09 05 1 call letters meaning kenneth r. giddens wkrg s founder sister station s wfna former channel number s analog 5 vhf 1955 2009 former affiliations dt3 retro television network 2008 2011 transmitter power 1000 kw height 499 m facility id 73187 transmitter coordinates 30 41 20.5 n 87 49 50.8 w 30.689028 n 87.830778 w 30.689028 ; 87.830778 website wkrg.com wkrg tv virtual channel 5 uhf digital channel 27 is a cbs affiliated television station located in mobile alabama united states that also serves pensacola florida . the station is owned by media general as part of a duopoly with cw affiliate wfna channel 55 . wkrg s studios are located on broadcast drive in southwest mobile and its transmitter is located in unincorporated baldwin county near spanish fort alabama . contents 1 digital television 1.1 digital channels 1.2 analog to digital conversion 2 history 3 programming 4 news operation 4.1 awards 4.2 notable former on air staff 5 references 6 external links digital television edit digital channels edit channel video aspect psip short name programming 2 5.1 1080i 16 9 wkrg hd main wkrg tv programming cbs 5.2 480i 4 3 ion tv ion television 5.3 wkrg me metv 3 wkrg replaced the retro television network with metv on its third digital subchannel in september 2011 . 4 analog to digital conversion edit wkrg tv discontinued regular programming on its analog signal over vhf channel 5 on june 12 2009 the official date on which full power television stations in the united states transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate . the station s digital signal remained on its pre transition uhf channel 27 . 5 through the use of psip digital television receivers display the station s virtual channel as its former vhf analog channel 5 . history edit wkrg tv first signed on the air september 5 1955 . 1 the station was founded by the architect and movie theater owner kenneth r. giddens who also put wkrg radio 710 am now wntm and 99.9 fm now wmxc on the air . wkrg has served as the market s cbs affiliate from its sign on . the station originally operated from studios located on st. louis street in downtown mobile until around 1982 when it relocated its operations to an area near the bel air mall which giddens also had a hand in developing . wkrg tv operates on the bottom floor and the radio stations operate on the second and third floors of the building . for years wkrg tv was the only locally owned station in the mobile pensacola pascagoula area . this changed after the death of giddens in 1993 . the radio stations were sold off in 1994 although they remain housed in the same building as the television station . spartan communications purchased wkrg tv in 1998 ; the station then came under the ownership of media general after it purchased spartan in 2000 . the station celebrated its 60th year of broadcasting in 2015 . in 2007 wkrg entered into a radio partnership with clear channel communications in effect re establishing ties with former sister stations wntm and wmxc as well as wksj fm 94.9 fm and wrkh 96.1 fm . the radio stations were previously partnered with nbc affiliate wpmi tv channel 15 an association that ended as a result of clear channel selling its television stations including wpmi to newport television in 2008 . for many years wkrg served as the default cbs affiliate for the pascagoula biloxi mississippi market as that market did not have a cbs affiliate of its own ; wkrg was available to cable subscribers in biloxi and gulfport mississippi and usually serves the area s b cbs station behind new orleans affiliate wwl tv . this changed in 2012 when abc affiliate wlox signed an affiliation agreement to carry cbs programming on one of its digital subchannels . now wkrg serves as the secondary cbs affiliate for the biloxi market while wwl tv is the primary affiliate . on march 21 2014 lin media entered into an agreement to merge with media general in a 1.6 billion deal . because lin already owns fox affiliate wala tv and cw affiliate wfna channel 55 and the two stations rank among the four highest rated stations in the mobile pensacola market in total day viewership the companies were required to sell either wkrg or wala wfna may either be retained by media general to form a new duopoly with wkrg or remain part of the existing duopoly with wala should both be kept or sold off to another station owner in order to comply with fcc ownership rules as well as planned changes to those rules regarding same market television stations which would prohibit sharing agreements . 6 7 8 on august 20 2014 media general announced that it would keep wkrg and wfna and sell wala to meredith corporation . 9 10 on september 8 2015 less than nine months after the previous purchase was approved and finalized media general announced that it would acquire the meredith corporation for 2.4 billion with the combined group to be renamed meredith media general if the sale had been finalized . because meredith recently acquired wala as a required divestment from the lin media acquisition and the two stations continue to rank among the four highest rated stations in the mobile pensacola market in total day viewership the companies would once again have been required to sell either wkrg or wala to comply with fcc ownership rules as well as recent changes to those rules regarding same market television stations that restrict sharing agreements ; sister station wfna could have legally been acquired by meredith media general either by maintaining its new duopoly with wkrg or reuniting it with wala as its total day viewership ranks below the top four ratings threshold . 11 12 however on january 27 2016 nexstar broadcasting group announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire media general resulting in the termination of meredith s acquisition by media general . programming edit syndicated programs broadcast by wkrg tv include family feud and reruns of the big bang theory and the andy griffith show . shows that aired on wkrg in the past include woman s world ; 13 14 15 16 the popeye show 17 rosie s place and small fry news a show featuring local fifth graders . 13 wkrg tv was also the longtime home of congressional report from 1973 to 2006 billed as the longest running program of its kind in the nation featuring local congressmen giving viewers a local perspective of washington d.c. and the central gulf coast from their congressman s standpoint . news operation edit this section needs expansion with further information on the history of wkrg s news operation . you can help by adding to it . september 2011 wkrg tv presently broadcasts 22 hours of local newscasts each week with four hours on weekdays and one hour each on saturdays and sundays . in 2002 the focus of the station s programming switched to weather and news and the station s branding was changed to reflect it it rebranded from wkrg 5 to wkrg news 5 based on the station s newscenter branding in the 1980s and 1990s and its slogan touted it as mobile s weather authority . on october 18 2010 starting with its 6 00 p.m. newscast wkrg became the second television station in the mobile pensacola market and the first mobile based station to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition . at one time wkrg ran an expanded morning newscast until 8 00 a.m. on weekdays which pre empted the first hour of the early show as well as a weekday 9 00 a.m. newscast . the 7 00 a.m. newscast was cancelled in 2008 at cbs s request for its affiliates to air both hours of the early show and the 9 00 a.m. newscast was cancelled in 2009 due to low viewership and staff reductions by parent company media general . this newscast returned to the 9am slot on march 30 2015 as a half hour newscast on weekdays . future newscast expansion has been touted by the station by way of news promos . wkrg is one of the two remaining stations in the market to start their daily morning newscast at 5am along with wpmi which ran a 4 30am show from september 2013 to june 2015 . on april 20 2015 the morning newscast began to be simulcast on wfna mainly as a stopgap solution due to the sudden cancellation of that station s syndicated morning show the daily buzz . wkrg became the first mobile station second in market overall to launch weekend morning newscasts on june 20 2015 from 5 6 am saturdays and 6 8 am sundays . the station s lead news anchor mel showers has been with the station since 1969 . 18 awards edit national edward r. murrow award for continuing coverage mobile s makeover the changing economic landscape of mobile . crash of the sunset limited 10 years later associated press large market best documentary 13 rosie seaman press club of mobile john harris lifetime achievement award 13 alan sealls associated press large market best meteorologist 13 notable former on air staff edit jack drees estella payton john edd thompson references edit a b broadcasting & cable yearbook 1999 pdf . 1999 . p. b 51 . retrieved february 24 2012 . rabbitears tv query for wkrg where to watch me tv wkrg me tv beefs up roster with 10 new stations tvnewscheck september 15 2011 . dtv tentative channel designations for the first and second rounds pdf . retrieved 2012 03 24 . tv station mega merger media general lin set 1.6 billion deal from variety march 21 2014 media general acquiring lin media for 1.6 billion los angeles times march 21 2014 . media gen lin to sell swap in five markets tvnewscheck march 21 2014 . media general lin sell stations in 5 markets . tvnewscheck . august 20 2014 . retrieved august 20 2014 . malone michael august 20 2014 . media general lin divest stations in five markets . broadcasting & cable . retrieved august 20 2014 . media general acquiring meredith for 2.4 billion . tvnewscheck . newscheck media . september 8 2015 . cynthia littleton september 8 2015 . tv station mega merger media general sets 2.4 billion acquisition of meredith corp. . variety . penske media corporation . retrieved september 9 2015 . a b c d e http www.mobilechamber.com view 2005 5 2005.pdf page 7 8 the business view may 2005 mobile area chamber of commerce lanier kim . television cook estella payton dies at age 95 . mobile press register mobile alabama 16 december 1999 b1 . the mobile version of julia child and martha stewart . had a long run cooking show on channel five formerly one of only two channels in the city . culture cul cha ; how to speak mobile connie bea and estelle mobile bay convention and visitor s bureau herman w. land associates inc. television and the wired city a study of the implications of a change in the mode of transmission 1968 july 1111 asin b000rl0x18 page 8 the business view may 2005 mobile area chamber of commerce the 2013 nappie awards lagniappe readers choose their favorite bay area amenties . lagniappe . july 24 2013 . retrieved august 20 2015 . external links edit official website query the fcc s