please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article possibly contains original research . please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . statements consisting only of original research should be removed . june 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . june 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message wsav tv savannah georgia hilton head south carolina united states branding wsav 3 general news 3 newscasts mylc on dt2 slogan on your side channels digital 39 uhf virtual 3 psip subchannels see article translators 3.1 wsav tv nbc 3.2 wsav cw cw 3.3 mylc my local choice mynetworktv metv affiliations nbc since 1985 ; also from 1956 1982 owner media general sale to nexstar broadcasting group pending media general communications holdings llc founded february 1 1956 ; 60 years ago 1956 02 01 call letters meaning savannah sister station s wcbd tv wbtw wjbf wrbl former callsigns wsav 1956 1978 former channel number s analog 3 1956 2009 former affiliations abc 1982 1985 transmitter power 1 000 kw height 442 m facility id 48662 transmitter coordinates 32 3 31.5 n 81 17 54.1 w 32.058750 n 81.298361 w 32.058750 ; 81.298361 licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website wsav.com dt1 wsavcw.com dt2 wsav tv is the nbc affiliated television station for southeastern georgia s coastal empire and southern south carolina s lowcountry . licensed to savannah georgia it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on uhf channel 39 or virtual channel 3.1 via psip from a transmitter on little neck road in unincorporated northwestern chatham county georgia . 1 the station can also be seen on various cable systems including hargray time warner cable comcast and charter . owned by media general wsav has studios on east victory drive u.s. 80 sr 26 in savannah s live oak section . contents 1 history 2 weather with captain sandy 3 digital television 3.1 digital channels 3.2 cw affiliation 3.3 analog to digital conversion 4 programming 5 news operation 5.1 notable current on air staff 6 references 7 external links history edit the station began broadcasting on vhf channel 3 on february 1 1956 and was co owned with wsav am 630 now wbmq after a long legal battle over the frequency with the owners of wjiv am 900 . it initially aired an analog signal from a transmitter on top of a bank building on broughton street in downtown savannah . the flashing wsav sign was a landmark on the street for many years . wsav am had long carried nbc radio programming so wsav tv took the nbc television affiliation . it shared abc with cbs affiliate wtoc tv until wjcl tv started operations in 1970 . during the late 1950s the station was also briefly affiliated with the nta film network . 2 unreliable source wsav briefly had an fm station using an antenna atop the middle of three am towers at the transmitter facility on oatland island . however without many listeners to the simulcast programming the fm operation was ended in the 1950s . in 1960 wsav am tv moved into a brand new facility on victory drive where wsav tv still is located today . a new tower was built at the site boosting its signal to many of the surrounding counties in georgia and south carolina . the current tower in pooler was built in 1976 . in the same year wsav am was sold . in 1982 the station swapped affiliations with wjcl and became an abc affiliate . that network had become number one in the country and was searching for stronger affiliates . however wsav returned to nbc a mere three years later in 1985 one year before that network became number one again . in the mid 1990s like many other commercial television stations in the united states wsav was sold several times . at the beginning of that decade the station was owned by a subsidiary of the news press & gazette company who sold its entire broadcasting group of the time to the first incarnation of new vision television in 1993 . ellis communications bought the new vision stations in 1995 . in 1996 ellis was sold to retirement systems of alabama who merged it with aflac s former broadcasting division to form raycom media . since aflac had owned rival wtoc raycom could not keep both channels due to federal communications commission fcc regulations forbidding common ownership of two stations in the same market . raycom opted to keep the higher rated wtoc and sell wsav . in early 1997 raycom traded wsav and two other stations to current owner media general in return for wtvr tv in richmond virginia . in the 2000s this station acquired the local rights to the syndicated game shows wheel of fortune and jeopardy . both were previously shown on rival wjcl for almost two decades . on february 1 2006 wsav celebrated its 50th anniversary . to commemorate the event savannah mayor otis johnson officially announced the date as wsav day and lauded the station for its many achievements over the decades . its continued service to its viewers being always on your side whenever a viewer needs to get a story out was also recognized . 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 abc affiliate wjcl and operates fox affiliate wtgs channel 28 the companies were required to sell either wsav or wjcl and its ssa with wtgs 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 . 3 4 5 on august 20 2014 media general announced that it would keep wsav and sell wjcl to hearst television with wtgs going to sinclair broadcast group . 6 7 on january 27 2016 media general announced that it had entered into a definite agreement to be acquired by nexstar broadcasting group for 4.6 billion . the combined company will be known as nexstar media group and own 171 stations including wsav tv . 8 9 weather with captain sandy edit wsav was known for an unusual practice on its newscasts from the 1950s to the 1970s . channel 3 was home to captain sandy who was something of a hybrid between a weatherman and children s show host . the character gave the weather on the weeknight news working with puppet sidekicks wilbur the weather bird arthur mometer the thermometer and calamity clam . captain sandy would appear on the news set wearing a vaguely nautical cap and blazer as a nod to the region s dependence on the atlantic ocean . the comedy elements of the forecast included the thermometer and the clam . captain sandy s big thermometer was temperamental and would fidget before revealing the next day s high and low temperatures . when captain sandy opened davy jones locker to get the tide information a crucial component of any weather forecast in the region out of calamity clam the puppeteer always tried to bite the captain s hand . by the end of the 1970s new station ownership found captain sandy s routine embarrassing and likely anachronistic since most television stations had discontinued local children s shows years before and the owners made the captain finally conform to convention prescribing him a suit and tie like other newscasters . the owners also fired the puppets shortly after to the almost certain sorrow of area children . one of the personalities behind the captain sandy character was smooth voiced joe cox who later left wsav to become weatherman at cross town rival wjcl where he also hosted an evening radio program on wjcl fm 96.5 . the original captain sandy from 1956 was played by norm strand . digital television edit digital channels edit the station s digital signal is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 10 3.1 1080i 16 9 wsav hd main wsav tv programming nbc 3.2 720p wsav cw wsav cw 3.2 3.3 480i 4 3 mylc mynetworktv & metv on september 5 wsav began carrying mynetworktv and rtv on a new second digital subchannel . this service is also available to directv customers in savannah on channel 29 . wsav dt2 s website and the digital subchannel feature a logo in the upper right hand corner of the screen that reads wsav dt 3.2 savannah . on september 26 2011 rtv was replaced with metv . cw affiliation edit on april 1 2016 it was announced that wsav dt2 would affiliate with the cw on september 12 of that year thus shifting mynetworktv and metv to wsav dt3 replacing the station s weather radar . 11 12 analog to digital conversion edit wsav tv discontinued regular programming on its analog signal over vhf channel 3 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 remained on its pre transition uhf channel 39 . 13 14 through the use of psip digital television receivers display the station virtual channel as its former vhf analog channel 3 . programming edit syndicated programming on the station includes jeopardy wheel of fortune the dr. oz show and maury among others . news operation edit for most of its history wsav has been a solid if distant runner up to longtime dominant wtoc . while wsav and wjcl made a serious threat in the 1970s wtoc has won every timeslot since 1980 often garnering more viewers than its rivals combined . the cbs outlet airs more than seven hours of news a day a considerable amount for a station in the 97th market and far more than any other television station in savannah . in 1976 as part of a major expansion of its news department wsav moved to a former insurance office that is next door to its original east victory drive studios . unlike most nbc affiliates in the eastern time zone wsav does not offer midday newscasts during the week . the most recent addition to local news on this outlet occurred on june 21 2010 when it added a broadcast weeknights at 5 30 . as well wsav recently added a 5 00 newscast to the lineup . before this point in time wtoc had been the area s only station to air local news in those time slots . in 2009 wsav dt2 launched a two person bureau to produce a newscast weeknights at 7 called my lowcountry news this production is specifically targeted to the south carolina side of the market featuring coverage from throughout the lowcountry and the state . some stories originated from media general s three stations in south carolina . 15 there is a weather forecast targeted towards hilton head and beaufort in addition to south carolina sports headlines . wsav does maintain a bureau on assembly street sc 48 covering the capitol in columbia . the operating expenses are shared among media general s television stations in south carolina . wsav became the last savannah station to upgrade newscasts to high definition level on march 8 2011 . however since wsav dt2 only transmits in standard definition digital my lowcountry 3 was not included in the change . after switching to metv that broadcast was reduced to a half hour . news and weather updates from this station can