WHLT: Difference between revisions

In the early 1980s, there was a need for a CBS affiliate in the Pine Belt region, as the four closest CBS affiliates to Hattiesburg, WJTV, [[WWL-TV]] in [[New Orleans]], [[WMDN-TV|WHTV]] in [[Meridian, Mississippi]], and [[WKRG]] in [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], all had signals that failed to provide at least a Grade B signal to the city proper.<ref>{{cite news|title=Distance Blamed for Bad Picture|newspaper=Hattiesburg American|date=February 24, 1985|page=3B}}</ref> The FCC had an allocation for channel 18 in Laurel and channel 22 in Hattiesburg, with WHTV's owner, [[Frank K. Spain]] via his company Central Television, sought the license for Hattiesburg's channel 22 slot, and Capital Television, owner of WJTV, sought Laurel's channel 18. In 1982, the FCC awarded the license to Capital Television, as the CBS agreed to an affiliation for the new channel. Delays occurred as Central Television appealed the FCC's licensing decision, and WJTV was sold to [[News-Press & Gazette Company]] one year later. By 1985, NPG agreed to purchase Spain's license for Hattiesburg's channel 22 with Spain taking a consulting fee by agreeing to help sign on the station, as NPG had, at that time, never built constructed a new TV station.<ref>{{cite news|title=Award of area TV license appealed|newspaper=Hattiesburg American|date=August 13, 1982|page=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=CBS transmitter may come soon|newspaper=Hattiesburg American|date=November 3, 1985|page=1A, 12A}}</ref>

 

 

In turn, the company sold its entire station group to Ellis Communications in 1995. Ellis was subsequently merged into [[Raycom Media]] in 1996 after it was bought out by a media group led by the [[Retirement Systems of Alabama]] (who bought [[AFLAC]]'s broadcasting group a few months earlier). In 1997, Media General acquired WHLT and WJTV (as well as [[Savannah, Georgia]]'s [[WSAV-TV]]) from Raycom in a swap for [[Richmond, Virginia]]'s [[WTVR-TV]].