WBMA-LD
WBMA transmits a low-power signal, which even in digital effectively limits its over-the-air radius to Birmingham proper and nearby areas in Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Bibb and Shelby counties.As part of a broader deal between New World and the Fox Broadcasting Company signed on May 23 of that year, New World agreed to affiliate five of its eight existing television stations and the four it had acquired from Great American with Fox, in a series of affiliation transactions that would take two years to complete due to the varying conclusion dates of their ongoing contracts with either ABC, NBC or CBS.Then in January 1996, after it terminated the WNAL deal, Allbritton acquired the non-license assets of CBS affiliate WJSU-TV (channel 40) in Anniston from Osborne Communications Corporation for $12 million (through an LMA arrangement which included an option to eventually purchase the station outright).[6] A key problem with the deal, however, was that under Nielsen rules, neither WCFT nor WJSU would likely be counted in the Birmingham ratings books as it had designated Tuscaloosa and Anniston as separate markets at the time.[18] On March 20, 2014, as part of a restructuring of the Sinclair-Allbritton deal in order to address these ownership conflicts as well as to expedite the Allbritton acquisition because of them due to the FCC's increased scrutiny of outsourcing agreements used to circumvent in-market ownership caps, Sinclair announced that it would retain ownership of WTTO (choosing to retain the LMA between that station and WDBB, and continue operating it as a satellite station of WTTO), and form a new duopoly between it and WBMA+; WABM was to be sold to a third-party buyer with which Sinclair would not enter into an operational outsourcing arrangement or maintain any contingent interest, other than a possible transitional shared facilities agreement until WTTO was able to move its operations from its longtime home on Beacon Parkway West to WBMA's facility in Hoover.[25] WJSU officially signed off at 10:35 p.m. on September 29, 2014; in addition to being available on the second digital subchannels of WABM and WDBB, WCFT-TV continued to simulcast WBMA-LD on its main channel in the interim.[28][29][30] Even though WGWW (the call letters assigned by Howard Stirk to the former WJSU-TV on March 11, 2015, at which time WCFT also changed its calls to WSES[31][32]) is the only one of the two original satellites that continues to relay WBMA's programming, the station continues to identify by "ABC 33/40" as an artifact brand as most central Alabamians still refer to WBMA+ by either that name or "[channel] 33/40", as well as the fact that the station is carried on either channel on AT&T U-verse, DirecTV and Dish Network in the market.Jerry Heilman, then-general manager of the WBMA trimulcast, cited a need to respect the family values of the region's largely conservative evangelical community as the basis of its decision.[34][35] Some gay rights and civil libertarian activists decried the decision as a blatant example of censorship; in response, per a request by the LGBT organizations GLAAD and locally based Birmingham Pride Alabama, ABC downlinked a special satellite feed of the episode's broadcast to the Boutwell Memorial Auditorium in downtown Birmingham that was viewed by about 1,000 people, mainly local gay and lesbian persons, and their supporters.Incidentally, one main reason that ABC approached WCFT and WJSU to become its new central Alabama affiliate was that both were the only remaining stations in the market with functioning news departments.In recent years, WBMA+ has regularly traded the runner-up spot in the market with a resurgent WIAT after viewership for WVTM's newscasts gradually dropped to fourth place following NBC's 2006 sale of the station to Media General.Much of the early success it achieved with its newscasts was due to the hirings of well-known talent as well as its extensive coverage of severe weather events affecting its viewing area.A longtime veteran of Birmingham television, Spann joined WBMA+ in October 1996 after he chose to leave WBRC following disagreements with station management over Fox's edgier programming.The station operates "StormChaser 33/40", a Jeep customized for storm chasing purposes, which is equipped with a dashcam and a computer programmed with software relaying data from several radar sources; and "AirLink 33/40", a helicopter that is normally used for newsgathering, but is also occasionally used to show the paths of violent and long-track tornadoes.WBMA+ also operates a network of "SkyCam" units throughout Alabama that provide live video as well as weather data from observation sites throughout the state, including downtown Birmingham, Tuscaloosa; Inverness, Gadsden, Jasper, Mount Cheaha, Cullman, Clanton, Gulf Shores, Hamilton, and Huntsville.Despite being a relatively new station to the Birmingham market, WBMA+ achieved notice among central Alabama viewers as it has captured of several of the most significant weather events in recent state history through both its SkyCams and its tower cameras.[41] Footage of that same tornado as it tracked northeastward into western Jefferson County was captured by the Birmingham SkyCam (located atop the Daniel Building) as it passed through the northwestern suburbs of the city almost an hour later.[48] Facebook and Twitter were also used in the weeks following the April 27, 2011, tornado outbreak to report – among other things – damage, missing persons and effects of the storm on the people of Alabama.
Birmingham, AlabamaChannelsDigitalVirtualSinclair Broadcast GroupSister stationsFormer affiliationsIndependentCall signFacility IDTranslator(s)low-power television stationMyNetworkTVHomewoodBessemersatellite stationlocal marketing agreementCunningham BroadcastingHoovermailingRed MountainTarpley Cityover-the-airradiusJeffersonTuscaloosaWalkerShelbysimulcastdigital subchannelsCentral AlabamaAnnistonmarketHeroes & IconsHoward Stirk Holdingsmultichannel televisionGreater Birminghamsatellite providersDirecTVDish NetworkWBRC-TVHigh Point, North CarolinaWDAF-TVKansas CityKSAZ-TVPhoenixshare warrantsFox Broadcasting Companyseries of affiliation transactionsWVTM-TVDallasFort WorthAustinSt. Louislicensestrust companyFox Television Stationssemi-satellitesIon TelevisionWPXH-TVGadsdenprime timeAllbritton Communicationscity of licenseflagship stationWJLA-TVWashington, D.C.WSET-TVLynchburg, VirginiaLittle Rock, ArkansasTulsa, OklahomaHarrisburg, PennsylvaniaCharleston, South CarolinaWPXC-TVBrunswick, GeorgiaJacksonville, Floridaindependent stationmaster controlGrade BColumbus, MississippisatelliteTupeloThe Walt Disney CompanyNBC Television StationsPoliticoDeerfield Mediashared servicesRaycom MediaMedia GeneralLIN MediaHearst TelevisionArmstrong Williamspolitical affairs programBaltimoreHeartlandAT&T U-verseBig Four networkWBTS-CDBostonsoap operaAll My ChildrendelayedThe ChewThe Puppy EpisodesitcomEllen DeGenerescoming outlesbiangeneral managerevangelicalgay rightscivil libertariancensorshipBoutwell Memorial Auditoriumgay and lesbian personsWSB-TVinfotainmentPhilipsGary PalmerJames Spannhigh definitionThe Oprah Winfrey ShowNational Weather Servicetornado warningstorm chasingInverness