wtvy news 4 my 4 dt2 dothan s cw dt3 wrgx dt4 slogan your hometown news leader channels digital 36 uhf virtual 4 psip subchannels 4.1 cbs 4.2 mynetworktv metv 4.3 the cw 4.4 nbc affiliations cbs owner gray television gray television licensee llc first air date february 12 1955 ; 61 years ago 1955 02 12 sister station s wrgx ld wjhg tv wecp ld wctv wswg former channel number s 9 vhf analog 1955 1960 4 vhf analog 1960 2009 former affiliations upn dt2 ; 2005 2006 transmitter power 1 000 kw height 573 m 1 879 feet class dt facility id 4152 transmitter coordinates 30 55 11.7 n 85 44 29.5 w 30.919917 n 85.741528 w 30.919917 ; 85.741528 wtvy licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website www.wtvy.com wtvy is the cbs affiliated television station for the wiregrass region of southeastern alabama and the florida panhandle . licensed to dothan alabama it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on uhf channel 36 or virtual channel 4.1 from a transmitter in bethlehem florida . owned by gray television wtvy is sister to low powered nbc affiliate wrgx ld . the two outlets share studios on north foster street in downtown dothan . contents 1 digital channels 2 history 3 programming 4 news operation 5 see also 6 references 7 external links digital channels edit channel video aspect psip short name programming 1 4.1 1080i 16 9 wtvy tv main wtvy programming cbs 4.2 480i 4 3 wtvy my mynetworktv metv 4.3 wtvy cw dothan s cw 4.4 simulcast of wrgx ld history edit wtvy s first broadcast was on february 12 1955 originally on channel 9 as a cbs affiliate . during the late 1950s the station was also briefly affiliated with the nta film network . 2 in a massive reallocation of signals in alabama and georgia mandated by the federal communications commission fcc to minimize signal interference the station moved to channel 4 around 1960 . at the time of the reallocation wtvy also moved to new studios with a 1 209 ft 368.5 m tower in webb five miles 8 km east of dothan . at the time the tower was the tallest structure in the state of alabama . wtvy fm still utilizes the tower to transmit its signal . in the early 1970s wtvy became one of the first stations in the country to broadcast 24 hours a day . in 1978 wtvy moved to its current 2 035 ft asl tower in bethlehem 28 miles 45 km southwest of dothan . the tower is the tallest structure in the state of florida and one of the tallest broadcasting towers in north america . the tower is so tall that on clear nights the strobe warning lights on the tower have been seen as far as 50 miles away in certain locations . the move was made in part to improve its signal in panama city and along the florida gulf coast where it had been the default cbs affiliate since 1961 . the new tower gave wtvy one of the largest coverage areas in the southeastern united states . it provides at least grade b coverage as far east as the florida side of the mobile pensacola market including fort walton beach and destin and as far northwest as the fringes of the montgomery market . in 1993 wtvy moved its studios to the historic houston hotel building in downtown dothan now known as the woods building and operates on the first two floors . the news studio is actually located in what used to be the grand ballroom of the hotel . the building is tall enough eight stories that the station s studio to transmitter microwave dish is located on top of the building not requiring a smaller tower to be built on the property . for many years charles woods a perennial aspirant to the governorship of alabama and occasional minor party presidential candidate owned wtvy via woods communication group . not to be confused with woods communications corporation wcov tv in montgomery owned by his son david woods . in the early 1990s ownership of wtvy was transferred to chemical bank and operated under the corporate name of dothan holdings llc . benedek broadcasting bought wtvy from chemical bank dothan holdings in 1995 for a price of 28 million . wtvy was one of the benedek stations that was purchased by gray television in 2002 . for much of its history wtvy was the designated cbs affiliate for the panama city market where gray also owns that city s nbc affiliate wjhg tv . in exchange wjhg had long been available in dothan on cable since the area did not have its own nbc affiliate . in fact wtvy s transmitter is located in the panama city market even though it is only 28 miles from dothan . this status ended on september 24 2012 when gray launched wecp ld as a panama city based cbs affiliate . however most cable systems in that market continued to carry wtvy in lieu of wecp until october when the latter replaced wtvy on area systems . 3 4 gray likewise launched wrgx ld as a dothan based nbc affiliate on june 1 2013 replacing wjhg and montgomery s wsfa on area cable systems . 5 programming edit syndicated programming includes wheel of fortune the ellen degeneres show rachael ray and live with kelly and michael among others . when panama city relied on wtvy for a cbs station all syndicated programming that was duplicated on wjhg and abc outlet wmbb was still shown on wtvy on panama city s cable systems . this is in contrast to syndex laws which gives local stations the option to restrict importing of syndicated programming that is already available on an in market station . after wecp replaced wtvy the former station is able to air shows that wjhg can not and does not have to rely on an out of market station to fill an affiliation slot . news operation edit this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . october 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message wtvy has historically been a ratings powerhouse in the wiregrass region winning every time slot . this is partly because its only local competition abc affiliate wdhn has a coverage area only half as large and does not even produce newscasts on weekends . although fox outlet wdfx tv also airs local news most coverage focuses on other areas of alabama it simulcasts a weekday morning show from wbrc in birmingham ; there is also an hour long weekday program at 4 and a nightly half hour prime time newscast at 9 from wsfa in montgomery . during the prime time broadcast on wdfx there is limited coverage of the wiregrass provided by wsfa reporters based in dothan . on weekdays wtvy produces two thirty minute newscasts at 4 and 5 30 p.m. that are exclusive to wrgx . as a result the nbc station airs nbc nightly news taped delayed at 6 unlike most nbc outlets in the central time zone . the wrgx news programs broadcast from a secondary set at the north foster street facility . although it features additional reporters from wtvy the nbc station maintains separate news anchors and a meteorologist . it does not simulcast any newscasts from wtvy . since wjhg and wtvy had traditionally been available on cable in both dothan and panama city wjhg has run wtvy stories that take place in those parts of northwestern florida that are in northern part of the panama city market . meanwhile wtvy has run wjhg stories focusing on panama city and the coast . sometimes wtvy will run its own stories on panama city but wjhg did not cover dothan at all . the building that wtvy broadcasts from in downtown dothan also has a doppler weather radar dome that is specifically made for the station . on june 4 2012 wtvy became the first station in the dothan market to broadcast local newscasts in high definition . one notable former personality of wtvy is mitch english who was a weather anchor and news reporter at the station . he was a co host of the nationally syndicated weekday morning show the daily buzz from 2002 until 2012 . see also edit channel 4 virtual tv stations in the united states channel 10 branded tv stations in the united states channel 36 digital tv stations in the united states references edit http www.rabbitears.info market.php request station search & callsign wtvy station require prime evening time for nta films boxoffice 13 november 10 1956 archived from the original on june 14 2009 helgoth ali july 17 2012 . cbs station to go on air in bay county . the news herald . retrieved july 18 2012 . new cbs station on air monday . archived from the original on september 26 2012 . retrieved september 24 2012 . cs1 maint unfit url link phillips greg may 6 2013 . dothan getting nbc affiliate . dothan eagle . retrieved may 13 2013 . external links edit wtvy.com official wtvy tv website wtvy dt3 dothan s cw query the fcc s tv station database for wtvy biafn s media web database information on wtvy tv program information for wtvy at titantv.com v t e broadcast television in southeast alabama including dothan and ozark reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television local stations wdiq wgiq 2.1 43.1 pbs apt wtvy 4.1 cbs 4.2 mntv metv 4.3 the cw 4.4 nbc wjjn ld 5 ind fn wdhn 18.1 abc 18.2 escape 18.3 laff wrgx ld 23.1 nbc wdfx 34.1 fox 34.2 bounce tv 34.3 grittv adjacent locals panama city wjhg 7.1 nbc 7.2 the cw 7.3 cbs wecp ld 18.1 cbs 18.2 mntv jtv 18.3 accuwx wbif 51.1 daystar montgomery wsfa 12.1 nbc 12.2 bounce tv 12.3 grittv wdsf ld 19.1 mntv drtv 19.2 buzzr 19.3 gettv waxc ld 31.1 retro tv waao ld 40.1 retro tv wiyc 48.1 cozi tv v t e television stations in the big bend and southwest georgia regions including tallahassee thomasville and valdosta reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television tallahassee area wctv 6.1 cbs 6.2 mntv decades wwrp lp 9 ind rel wfsu tv 11.1 pbs wtlf 24.1 the cw wtxl tv 27.1 abc 27.2 bounce tv 27.3 wxnow 27.4 qvc wtwc tv 40.1 nbc 40.2 fox 40.3 gettv wbxt ca 43 mtv2 wvup cd 45 ctn wtlh 49.1 metv 49.2 the cw outlying areas wsfd ld 15 ind perry wswg 44.1 cbs 44.2 mntv metv 44.3 the cw valdosta wfxu 57.1 soul of south live oak adjacent locals albany walb 10.1 nbc 10.2 abc wabw tv 14.1 pbs gpb 14.2 kids 14.3 knowledge panama city wjhg tv 7.1 nbc 7.2 the cw 7.3 cbs wmbb 13.1 abc 13.2 metv wecp ld 18.1 cbs 18.2 mynetworktv jtv 18.3 accuwx dothan wtvy 4.1 cbs 4.2 mynetworktv metv 4.3 the cw 4.4 nbc wrgx ld 23.1 nbc jacksonville wjxt 4.1 ind. 4.2 3 this tv wjct 7 pbs wxga tv 8.1 pbs gpb 8.2 kids 8.3 knowledge gainesville wuft 5 pbs wcjb tv 20.1 abc 20.2 the cw atlanta wsb tv 2.1 abc 2.2 metv 2.3 laff cable channels 4fsu the florida channel wcot fox sports sun fox sports southeast fox sports south fox sports florida defunct channels w03ao 3 ind rel madison w17ab 17 ind. w22bp w25cp tbn wtbc lp 65 fn florida knowledge network florida s news channel georgia broadcast television areas by city albany atlanta augusta chattanooga tn columbus greenville sc jacksonville fl macon savannah tallahassee fl florida broadcast television areas by city fort myers