WREG-TV

WREG-TV

Memphis, Tennessee
Branding	News Channel 3
Slogan	On Your Side
Channels	Digital: 28 (UHF) Virtual: 3 (PSIP)
Subchannels	3.1 CBS HD 3.2 NewsChannel 3 Anytime 3.3 Antenna TV
Translators	K62DA Malden MO
Affiliations	CBS Television Network
Owner	Local TV, LLC (Local TV Tennessee License, LLC)
First air date	January 1, 1956
Call letters' meaning	variation of original calls
Former callsigns	WREC-TV (1956-1971)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 3 (VHF, 1956-2009)
Transmitter power	906 kW
Height	313 m
Facility ID	66174
Transmitter coordinates	35°10′52″N 89°49′56″W
Website	WREG.com

WREG-TV, virtual channel 3, is the CBS-affiliated television station in Memphis, Tennessee, operating its digital signal on UHF digital channel 28. The station is owned by Local TV, which took over all of the television stations formerly owned by The New York Times Company on May 7, 2007. The station's studios are located near the Mississippi River at Channel 3 Drive and West Virginia Ave. (off of Interstate 55) on the west side of Memphis, and its transmitter is located between I-40 and Whitten Road, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of Bartlett.

Digital television

The station's digital channel is UHF 28, and is multiplexed:

Channel	Video	Aspect	Programming
3.1	1080i	16:9	Main WREG-TV programming / CBS
3.2	480i	4:3	News Channel 3 Anytime
3.3			Antenna TV

The station became a charter affiliate of Tribune Broadcasting's multicast channel Antenna TV upon its launch on January 1, 2011 and is carried on digital subchannel 3.3. The network, whose programming consists of classic sitcoms from the 1950s to the 1990s during the afternoon and evening, and movies during the morning and late night hours, debut on Local TV, LLC-owned stations in other markets as well as stations owned by Antenna TV's parent company Tribune Company on the same date.

Analog-to-digital transition

On June 12, 2009, WREG-TV continued on its pre-transitional digital channel when the analog to digital conversion completed.

History

WREG-TV first went to air on New Year's Day 1956 as WREC-TV. Owned by electrical engineer and radio dealer Hoyt Wooten along with WREC radio (AM 600 and FM 102.7, now WEGR), the station began regular broadcasts the next day. The calls stood for Wooten's radio store, the Wooten Radio-Electric Company. It took the CBS affiliation from WHBQ-TV because WREC-AM had been a CBS affiliate since 1929. Studios were located in the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. Wooten had actually applied for one of the first television licenses in the country, in 1928.

For its first six years, WREC-TV was the only locally-owned station in Memphis (WHBQ-TV was owned by General Tire and WMC-TV was owned by Scripps). However, in 1963, Wooten sold WREC-AM-FM-TV to Cowles Communications. In turn, Cowles sold WREC-TV to the New York Times in 1971 and the call letters changed to WREG-TV; it later sold the radio stations to other interests. Four years later in 1975, the Times built new facilities for WREG on one of the highest points on Chickasaw Bluff, overlooking the Mississippi River. The station also maintains studio space in the Peabody Place shopping center, adjacent to the Peabody Hotel, marking a partial return of sorts to its early years.

For more than two decades, WREG has been in a Nielsen ratings war for first place with longtime powerhouse WMC-TV. But WREG never actually won a ratings period until February, 2006. That was the debut of a new anchor team with years of experience at other stations in the Memphis market. Claudia Barr was previously a main anchor at competitor WHBQ (Memphis's FOX affiliate) and Richard Ransom was previously a morning anchor and reporter at WMC (Memphis's NBC affiliate). Ransom and Barr replaced longtime anchors Jerry Tate and Pam McKelvy. Since that time, WREG has won the all-important 10pm ratings battle three times more often than WMC. The number of victories for the important morning news battle anchored by Kris Anderson and Markova Reed is just as dominant.

Programming history

Throughout the early 1960s into the late 1980s, WREC/WREG claimed to possess the largest motion picture library of any TV station in the United States, which was evidenced in its daily (late afternoons and late nights) and weekend programming lineup at the time. The station used some of those features for theme weeks (e.g., "Godzilla Week", "John Wayne Week"), which proved to be very popular with viewers. However, like most major network affiliates in the early 1980s, channel 3 began cutting back on the heavy amount of movie airings that occupied much of its off-network schedule, a move prompted by the presence of cable, VCRs, and the emergence of then-independent competitors WPTY-TV in 1978 and WMKW (now WLMT) in 1983.

Over the years, WREG has produced many local programs and series, such as Knowledge Bowl (mentioned above) and Mid-South Outdoors (later known as News Channel 3 Outdoors). Additional news programs are Live at 9, which has a talk show format and Informed Sources, which airs weekly on Sundays to talk about current local issues.

WREG is one of the few CBS stations that pre-empts the Saturday Early Show in favor of a Saturday morning newscast. Syndicated programs on Channel 3 include Inside Edition, Jeopardy!, Entertainment Tonight, and The Insider.

News operation

WREG often works together with Local TV-owned sister station, WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Alabama; the two often share resources on large stories, such as the April 2007 trial of Mary Winkler. For the first week of the trial, WREG worked from the satellite truck of WHNT. During the second week, WHNT worked from WREG's truck. Also, reporters from one station often do live reports for the other. Further, WHNT also airs THE News Channel 3 Knowledge Bowl on its digital subchannel.

On June 13, 2011 beginning with the 10 p.m. newscast, WREG-TV became the third station in the Memphis area to broadcast local newscasts in High Definition. The switch came with some updates to the newsroom set and new graphics but have had major technical glitches during the initial week of the switch to HD. Both of its main rivals, WMC-TV and WHBQ-TV respectively, have already made the switch to HD news.

News/Station presentation

Newscast titles

• NewsWatch 3 (1970s–early 1980s)
• News 3 (1980s–1993)
• NewsChannel 3 (1993–present)

Station slogans

• "Hello Memphis" (1982–1985; during period station used Frank Gari's "Hello News")
• "Memphis & Channel 3" (1987–1992)
• "Where Local News Comes First" (1997–1998)
• "Your 21st Century Starts Here" (1998–2000)
• "On Your Side" (2000–present)

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

On-air staff

Current on-air staff

Anchors

• Kris Anderson - weekday mornings Daybreak (4:30-7 a.m.) and noon
• Claudia Barr - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. anchor
• Alex Coleman - weekdays at 4 and 4:30 p.m., and weeknights on Live @ 9 (on WREG-DT2)
• Marybeth Conley - weeknights on Live @ 9 (on WREG-DT2)
• Richard Ransom - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Markova Reed - weekday mornings Daybreak (4:30-7 a.m.)
• Stephanie Scurlock - weekend mornings Daybreak
• April Thompson - weekdays at 4 and 4:30 p.m.
• Dennis Turner - weekend mornings Daybreak

On Your Side Weather

• Tim Simpson (NWA Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weekdays at 4 and 4:30, and weeknights at 6 p.m.
• Todd Demers - meteorologist; weekday mornings Daybreak (4:30-7 a.m.) and noon
• Jim Jaggers (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; weeknights at 5 and 10 p.m.
• Austen Onek (member, AMS) - meteorologist; weekend mornings Daybreak, weekends at 5 and 10, and Saturdays at 6 p.m.

Sports team

• Glenn Carver - sports director; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Mike Ceide - sports anchor; weekends at 5 and 10, and Saturdays at 6 p.m.

Reporters

• Wayne Carter - general assignment reporter
• Natasha Chen - general assignment reporter
• Adam Hammond - general assignment reporter
• Daniel Hight - multimedia journalist
• Bonny Kinney - general assignment reporter
• Zaneta Lowe - investigative reporter
• Candace McCowan - weekday morning reporter
• Melissa Moon - general assignment reporter
• Scott Noll - investigative reporter
• Elise Preston - general assignment reporter
• Otis Sanford - commentator
• Corie Ventura - weekday morning traffic reporter; also assignment editor

Former on-air staff

• Natalie Allen (now at CNN and CNN International)
• Jeff Beimfohr (now at WPTY-TV)
• Norm Brewer (deceased)
• Christine Connolly (now at KRON-TV in San Francisco)
• Sharon Crews
• Earle Farrell (now at WHBQ-TV)
• Omari Flemming (now at WTXF-TV in Philadelphia)
• Pam McKelvy Hammer (now at WKIM)
• Joe Larkins (retired)
• Mike Matthews (now at WPTY-TV)
• Tom Powell (now at WSJV in South Bend, IN)
• Amy Speropoulos (now at WMC-TV)
• Jerry Tate (retired)
• Brian Teigland (deceased)
• Theo Travers (now at Nickelodeon)

Station management and production

• John Gwin - weekday morning Daybreak director
• Joel Rosenber - weekday morning Daybreak director
• Ed Randle - weekday morning Daybreak director
• George Brown - web content manager for WREG.com
• Faith Hannah - weekday morning Daybreak producer
• Eric Lipford - weekday morning Daybreak producer
• Rich Holden - weekday morning Daybreak producer
• Jen Cates - Live @ 9 producer

External links

• Official Website
• WREG-TV Live Streaming Video Page
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WREG
  • Query the FCC's TV station database for K62DA
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WREG-TV