Editing WBRC (section)

==History==
===Early history===
The station first signed on the air on July 1, 1949, originally broadcasting on VHF channel 4 as WBRC-TV (standing for Bell Radio Company, after [[List of neighborhoods in Birmingham, Alabama|Fountain Heights]] physician J. C. Bell, founder of radio station [[WERC (AM)|WBRC]] (960 AM, now WERC);<ref name="bob"/> the "-TV" suffix was dropped from the call sign in June 1999).<ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine|title=WBRC-TV To Debut July 1, First in Ala.|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=13|date=June 11, 1949}}</ref> Although WBRC-TV was the first television station in Birmingham to be granted a [[broadcast license|license]] by the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC), it is the second-oldest television station in Alabama, signing on just over one month after WAFM-TV (channel 13, now [[WVTM-TV]]), which debuted on May 29. It was originally owned by the Birmingham Broadcasting Company, run by Eloise D. Hanna, along with WBRC radio.  Hanna's first husband, M. D. Smith, had bought WBRC radio from Bell in 1928. Her son, M. D. Smith III, who worked at the radio stations in advertising sales and was later promoted to [[program director]] and vice president, ran the television station as its operations manager. His son, M. D. Smith IV later organized Smith Broadcasting, which purchased WAFG-TV, Channel 31 in Huntsville, Alabama in 1963, with himself as operations manager. The call letters were immediately changed to [[WAAY-TV]]. M. D. Smith III is also named a remote general manager of WAAY-TV from Birmingham.

Originally broadcasting for three hours per day, it operated as a primary [[NBC]] affiliate (earning the affiliation as a result of WBRC radio's longtime affiliation with the [[NBC Red Network]]), and also carried secondary affiliations with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and the [[DuMont Television Network]]; during the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the [[NTA Film Network]].<ref name="Boxoffice7">{{cite journal|title=Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films |url=http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1 |journal=[[Boxoffice]] |page=13 |date=November 10, 1956 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614204506/http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1 |archive-date=June 14, 2009 }}</ref> WBRC-TV originally operated from WBRC radio's facilities on 19th Street and 2nd Avenue, near downtown Birmingham, which originally only housed business and [[master control]] operations; the station originally relied mainly on network and film content for much of the programming it broadcast. The station's transmitter was originally purposed as the transmitter facilities for radio station WBRC-FM (102.5, now [[WBPT]] at 106.9 FM; original frequency now occupied by [[WDXB]]), which signed on in 1947 with the highest radiated power of any radio station worldwide, operating at 500,000 watts; after the FM station suspended operations in June 1948 due to continued revenue losses due to the lack of radios equipped with FM tuners, Hanna borrowed $150,000 to build a new studio facility and transmitter atop Red Mountain for the television station. In September 1950, WBRC established a [[coaxial cable]] link with fellow NBC-DuMont affiliate [[WRGB]] (now a [[CBS]] affiliate) in [[Schenectady, New York]], allowing the station to broadcast NBC and DuMont network programs both live and live-to-air.

On February 19, 1953, WBRC-TV moved to channel 6 as part of a frequency realignment ordered by the FCC, resulting from the ''Sixth Report and Order'' issued the year prior in 1952. This move was made to alleviate signal interference problems between WBRC and WSM-TV (now sister station [[WSMV-TV]]) in [[Nashville]], which also transmitted on channel 4, that were present in portions of northern Alabama. Later that year, Hanna also sold the WBRC television and radio stations to [[Storer Broadcasting]] for $2.3&nbsp;million—a handsome return on her first husband's purchase of WBRC radio 25 years earlier.<ref>{{cite web|title=Storer options fifth TV as two others reach limit|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/53-OCR/1953-03-30-BC-0027.pdf|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting – Telecasting]]|page=27|date=March 30, 1953}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> George B. Storer, the company's founder and chairman, was a member of the board of directors at [[CBS]], and most of his television stations were affiliates of that network. Storer may have used his leverage to secure a primary CBS affiliation for WBRC-TV, which joined the network on July 4, 1954. NBC programming subsequently moved to channel 13 (by then, using the call sign WABT); both stations, however, retained a secondary affiliation with ABC.

On September 17 of that year, the WBRC stations moved to a new, much larger studio facility located on Red Mountain that was built by Storer, where channel 6 continues to operate from to this day. The building, like many of those built by Storer to serve as studios for its broadcast properties, resembled an [[antebellum architecture|antebellum]] mansion. While it may have been out of place in most of Storer's other markets (many of which were located outside of the Southern United States), it was a perfect fit for Birmingham. Unusual for a commercial broadcaster, Storer supported [[educational television]], and the company donated two transmitters and frequencies in the Birmingham market (channels 7 and 10, which were respectively occupied by WCIQ and WBIQ when both stations signed on in 1955) to Alabama Educational Television (now [[Alabama Public Television]]). This also, however, may have been a move to forestall future commercial competition in the market; WBRC and WABT remained the only commercial stations in Birmingham, which would not get a third commercial broadcast television outlet until WBMG (now [[WIAT]]) debuted in October 1965, on UHF channel 42, a signal considerably weaker than that of either channels 6 or 13, and a problem which hampered that station's progress until the early 2000s.

In 1957, Storer sold the WBRC stations to Radio Cincinnati Inc., the forerunner of what would become [[Taft Broadcasting]], for $2.3&nbsp;million.<ref>"This week's receipts: $26 million." ''Broadcasting – Telecasting'', April 8, 1957, pp. 31–32. [http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/57-OCR/1957-04-08-BC-OCR-Page-0031.pdf] [http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/57-OCR/1957-04-08-BC-OCR-Page-0033.pdf]</ref> Storer had to sell its broadcast holdings in Birmingham after it purchased radio station WIBG (now [[WNTP]]) in [[Philadelphia]] and its television sister, WPFH (later [[WVUE (Delaware)|WVUE]]) in [[Wilmington, Delaware]] (whose frequency is now occupied by [[WHYY-TV]]), to comply with the FCC's ownership limits of that time period.

===As an exclusive ABC affiliate===
[[File:WBRC transmitter in Birmingham, Alabama.jpg|thumb|left|WBRC transmitter, with the station's roof also visible; the neon sign seen in the lower portion of the image with the WBRC call letters is a local landmark, and inspired the station's current call-centric logo.]]
On March 1, 1961, WBRC-TV signed an agreement with ABC to become a full-time affiliate of the network.<ref>{{cite web|title=Taft stations switch to ABC-TV|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/61-OCR/1961-02-27-BC-0036.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|page=36|date=February 27, 1961}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This was very unusual for a market with only two commercial stations; usually, one or both stations carried ABC as a secondary affiliation, since that network would not be on anything resembling an equal footing with CBS and NBC until the 1970s. However, Taft had very good relations with ABC. The company's chairman was a personal friend of ABC's president [[Leonard Goldenson]], and several of Taft's other stations, including [[flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] [[WKRC-TV]] in [[Cincinnati]] (which would rejoin CBS in 1996), had recently switched to ABC. During the 1970s, ABC aired cartoons from [[Hanna-Barbera]], whose studios were acquired by Taft in 1967. Taft later bought ABC's former syndication arm, [[Worldvision Enterprises]], in 1979 (ABC spun off this division in 1973 as a result of [[fin-syn]] laws, which have since been repealed). This also marked a significant turnaround for channel 6's relationship with the network, as during the later 1950s, the amount of ABC programming on WBRC had been dramatically reduced from about 50% of its schedule to only a very limited selection of shows, seemingly headed toward an exclusive CBS affiliation by 1960; even still, WBRC retained some of CBS' higher-rated soap operas on its daytime schedule until about 1968, when those programs moved to either WAPI-TV or WBMG.

Another factor, though supposedly not as important as the Taft-Goldenson relationship, was [[CBS News]]' apparent strong support of the [[Civil Rights Movement]], which did not sit well with many white viewers, a large segment of WBRC's audience. An [[urban legend]] regarding the ABC affiliation agreement suggested that the switch was partly motivated by CBS' plans to air ''Who Speaks For Birmingham?'', a controversial ''[[CBS Reports]]'' documentary focusing on [[desegregation]] at [[Birmingham City Schools]] that later led to journalist [[Howard K. Smith]]'s resignation from CBS News after he quoted an anti-desegregation statement by political scientist [[Edmund Burke]] in the closing narration, viewed by network president [[William S. Paley]] as editorializing his views in support of school integration; however, the special aired on May 18 of that year, two months after the ABC agreement was signed. ABC had very few full-time affiliates south of Washington, D.C. at the time, but now it had the full benefit of one of the South's strongest signals, best antenna locations and largest coverage areas. WBRC-TV's signal provided at least secondary coverage as far north as [[Decatur, Alabama|Decatur]] and extending south to near [[Montgomery, Alabama|Montgomery]], and from the [[Mississippi]] border in the west to the [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] border in the east. In addition, although [[FM broadcasting]] was in its infancy at the time of the network switch, the advantage of channel 6's audio being heard at [[87.7 FM]] at the far end of the FM dial would be taken advantage of by WBRC in promotional advertising up until the [[Digital television transition in the United States|2009 digital transition]], allowing the station's audience to listen to the station and ABC network programming on both traditional [[radio receiver]]s and [[vehicle audio|car stereos]]. The station's weather department designed its presentations to relay information for both its traditional television and radio audiences in severe weather situations.

The station became exclusively affiliated with ABC on September 7, 1961; on that date, channel 13 (by then known as WAPI-TV) assumed rights to CBS and NBC programming, although WBRC continued to occasionally carry certain CBS shows that WAPI chose not to carry through 1965. In 1972, Taft sold the WBRC radio stations, which changed their call letters to [[WERC (AM)|WERC-AM]] and [[WBPT|FM]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Taft's WBRC-AM-FM sold for $2 million|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/72-OCR/1972-01-24-BC-0029.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|page=29|date=January 24, 1972}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 1966, WBRC-TV began broadcasting local programming in [[color television|color]], after the station purchased two color cameras; among the first local programs to be produced in color was the [[Alabama Crimson Tide football]] coaches' program, ''[[The Bear Bryant Show]]'' (originated from CBS affiliate [[WCOV-TV]] (now also a Fox affiliate) in Montgomery, the first television station in the state to begin color broadcasts), which aired on WBRC until 1970, when it moved to WAPI-TV. Meanwhile, WBRC-TV had become one of ABC's strongest affiliates, a position it retained for the next quarter-century. For a time, it incorporated the ABC circle logo inside its own "6" logo (just as it had done with the CBS eye in the 1950s). Channel 6 could make a plausible claim to be not only the most-watched station in the Birmingham market but in the entire state of Alabama, thanks in part to unusually weak competition. CBS affiliate WBMG (channel 42, now [[WIAT]]), which signed on in October 1965 as the market's third commercial television station, was not a factor and, in fact, was among the lowest-rated major-network affiliates in the nation at some points, making Birmingham a ''de facto'' two-station market to industry observers from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. Even still, due to signal impairment in mountainous areas of northeastern Alabama, WBRC operated two [[Low-power broadcasting#Television|low-power]] [[Broadcast relay station#Translator stations|translators]] to extend its programming to that part of the state, W29AO (channel 29) in [[Anniston, Alabama|Anniston]] in W15AP (channel 15) in [[Gadsden, Alabama|Gadsden]].

In 1982, WBRC began receiving ABC network and syndicated programming, and news footage via [[communications satellite|satellite]]. In 1984, the station became one of the first television stations in the region to adopt a 24-hour-a-day programming schedule. After it suffered significant structural damage due to an [[ice storm]] that affected the Southeastern U.S. in the winter of 1985, the station's original transmitter tower was replaced in 1986, with a new tower on Red Mountain {{convert|3|mi|km}} east of the original tower's location. In October 1987, Taft was restructured into Great American Communications following the completion of a hostile takeover of the group. In December 1993, Great American Communications was restructured again into Citicasters after filing for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy]]. Citicasters then decided to put most of its television stations up for sale. These moves, though, did not immediately affect WBRC's high standing in the ratings or its reputation in the community.

===As a Fox station===
On May 5, 1994, Great American Communications (which would later be renamed Citicasters following the completion of its restructuring) agreed to sell WBRC and three other television stations – [[WDAF-TV]] in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[KSAZ-TV]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] and [[WGHP]] in [[High Point, North Carolina]] – to [[New World Pictures#New World Communications|New World Communications]] – for $350&nbsp;million in cash and $10&nbsp;million in [[share warrant]]s.<ref>{{cite news|title=COMPANY NEWS; GREAT AMERICAN SELLING FOUR TELEVISION STATIONS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/06/business/company-news-great-american-selling-four-television-stations.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 6, 1994|access-date=December 12, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Times Mirror sells stations, part 1. (Times Mirror Co. to sell four stations to Argyle Communications Inc.)|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-13826471.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-13826471.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2016|first=Geoffrey|last=Foisie|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=Cahners Business Information|date=May 3, 1993|access-date=December 12, 2015}}</ref> However, three weeks later, New World agreed to purchase four stations owned by Argyle Television Holdings, WVTM being among them, in a purchase option-structured deal for $717&nbsp;million<ref>{{cite web|title=Argyle socks away profit. (New World Communications Group Inc. acquires Argyle Television Holdings)|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15493423.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15493423.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2016|first=Geoffrey|last=Foisie|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=Cahners Business Information |date=May 30, 1994|access-date=December 12, 2015}}</ref> (although the transfer/assignment applications for the stations involved in the Argyle purchases were not filed with the FCC until after New World's acquisition of the four Citicasters stations was completed); this posed a problem for New World on two counts. At the time, the FCC forbade any broadcasting company from owning two commercial television stations in the same market; in addition, the concurrent acquisitions of the Argyle and Citicasters stations put New World three stations over the national television ownership cap that the agency enforced at the time, which allowed broadcasters to own a maximum of twelve stations nationwide.

On May 23, 1994, New World signed an affiliation agreement with [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] to switch twelve television stations – six that New World had already owned and eight that the company was in the process of acquiring through the Argyle and Citicasters deals, including WBRC – to the network, in exchange for the latter's then-parent company [[News Corporation]] purchasing a 20% equity stake in New World; the stations would become Fox affiliates once their affiliation contracts with existing network partners expired (with the first stations involved in the deal switching to the network in September 1994).<ref>{{cite news|title=Fox Gains 12 Stations in New World Deal|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4230288.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011163409/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4230288.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 11, 2013|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|publisher=[[Hollinger International]]|date=May 23, 1994|access-date=June 1, 2013}}</ref> Although the network's Birmingham charter affiliate, [[WTTO]] (channel 21), was one of Fox's strongest affiliates at the time, the network found the chance to align with WBRC too much to resist because of its longstanding ratings dominance in the market. The group's affiliation deal with Fox also gave New World a chance to solve its ownership problem by reaching an agreement with Citicasters to sell WBRC and WGHP directly to the network's [[owned-and-operated station]] group, [[Fox Television Stations]].

Fox was unable to immediately purchase the two stations outright due to questions over the American citizenship of then-parent company [[News Corporation]]'s Australian-born CEO [[Rupert Murdoch]]. New World then decided to acquire the stations itself, but place them in an outside [[trust company]] that it established; New World would sell the stations to Fox Television Stations, which, in turn, would pay the group $130&nbsp;million in [[promissory note]]s upon the transfer's completion. New World formally filed an application with the FCC to transfer WBRC to the trust on October 12, 1994, one month after it filed transferred WGHP on September 9; the FCC approved the transfer on April 3, 1995.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fox et al. to buy three stations; affiliation shuffle continues|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15738628.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15738628.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2016|first=Geoffrey|last=Foisie|first2=Julie A.|last2=Zier|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=Cahners Business Information |date=August 22, 1994|access-date=December 5, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The FCC last week approved New World's plans to transfer WGHP-TV Greensboro, N.C., and WBRC-TV Birmingham, Ala., into a trust for eventual sale to Fox|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16799904.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016073449/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16799904.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 16, 2015|first=Kim|last=McAvoy|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|publisher=[[Reed Business Information|Cahners Business Information]]|date=April 10, 1995|access-date=December 5, 2015}}</ref> Under the arrangement, New World owned the licenses of both stations, while Citicasters continued to control their operations under [[local marketing agreement|outsourcing agreements]]. In April 1995, Citicasters transferred the operations of WBRC and WGHP to Fox Television Stations, which took over operational control through time brokerage agreements with New World and purchased the stations three months later on July 22; Fox formally finalized the purchase of the two stations on January 17, 1996.<ref>{{cite web|title=Citicasters, Inc., announces completion of sale of three television stations|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CITICASTERS+INC.+ANNOUNCES+COMPLETION+OF+SALE+OF+THREE+TELEVISION...-a015824760|publisher=[[Citicasters]]|via=[[The Free Library]]|date=September 14, 1994|access-date=August 17, 2014|archive-date=December 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227063605/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CITICASTERS+INC.+ANNOUNCES+COMPLETION+OF+SALE+OF+THREE+TELEVISION...-a015824760|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Fox Television Stations last week closed its deal to acquire WBRC-TV Birmingham|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17326792.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17326792.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2016|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=Cahners Business Information |date=July 24, 1995|access-date=December 5, 2015}}</ref>

Although it was now owned by the O&O group of another network, Fox now had to run channel 6 as an ABC affiliate for more than a year after the purchase was announced as WBRC's affiliation agreement with that network was not set to expire until August 31, 1996. This gave ABC a sufficient amount of time to find another station to replace channel 6 as its central Alabama affiliate. In January 1996, ABC struck a deal with [[Allbritton Communications]] to affiliate with CBS stations WCFT-TV (channel 33, now [[Heroes & Icons]] affiliate [[WSES]]) in [[Tuscaloosa]] and WJSU-TV (channel 40, now Heroes & Icons affiliate [[WGWW]]) in Anniston (the latter of which Allbritton had agreed to operate under a local marketing agreement with then-owner Osborne Communications Corporation weeks prior); because Tuscaloosa and Anniston were then separate markets, which would result in neither station being counted in [[Nielsen Media Research|Nielsen]] ratings reports for Birmingham, Allbritton purchased low-power station W58CK (channel 58, now [[WBMA-LD]]), creating a triple-[[simulcast]] with WCFT and WJSU, which would act as its [[Broadcast relay station#Satellite stations|satellite stations]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Allbritton takes another route to Birmingham|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17986166.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17986166.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2016|first=Elizabeth|last=Rathbun|periodical=Broadcasting & Cablepublisher=Cahners Business Information |date=January 8, 1996|access-date=November 30, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Allbritton Communications Co. and ABC have signed a 10-year affiliation agreement|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18220783.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18220783.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2016|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=Cahners Business Information |date=April 22, 1996|access-date=November 30, 2015}}</ref>

WBRC became a Fox owned-and-operated station on September 1, 1996, ending its affiliation with ABC after 47 years; however, the station had begun airing the network's short-lived morning program ''Fox After Breakfast'' for one month prior to the switch after it dropped ''Good Morning America'' from its schedule. The concurrent move of the ABC affiliation to W58CK and its satellites also led to the CBS affiliation for the Anniston-Gadsden market to move to WNAL-TV (channel 44, now [[Ion Television]] owned-and-operated station [[WPXH-TV]]), which—along with WTTO and its Tuscaloosa satellite WDBB (channel 17)—lost its Fox affiliation to WBRC.

With the switch to Fox, WBRC became one of only a few television stations in the United States to have maintained primary affiliations with all of the [[Big Three networks]], and the only one in the country to have had primary affiliations with all four current major networks; it also became the first network-owned commercial television station in the state of Alabama. At that time, WBRC phased out its longstanding "Channel 6" brand and began branding itself as "Fox 6", becoming one of three Fox stations affected by the affiliation deal between the network and New World to adopt Fox's standardized station branding conventions prior to the group's 1996 merger with Fox Television Stations (WGHP and [[WJBK]] in Detroit, which became a sister station to WBRC as a result of the New World merger, were the only others to comply with the network's branding techniques; the remaining ten stations did not incorporate network branding until after the merger was finalized). After New World merged with Fox in 1997, WBRC was reunited with four of its sister stations from the Storer era: WJBK, [[WAGA-TV]] in [[Atlanta]], [[WJW (TV)|WJW]] in [[Cleveland]] and [[WITI (TV)|WITI]] in [[Milwaukee]].

WBRC would become the only remaining station in the Birmingham–Tuscaloosa–Anniston market that was owned by a major commercial broadcast television network, after [[Media General]] completed its acquisition of WVTM from [[NBC Owned Television Stations|NBC Television Stations]] on June 26, 2006. However, on December 22, 2007, Fox announced that it had entered into an agreement to sell WBRC and seven other Fox owned-and-operated stations (WDAF-TV, WGHP, WJW, WITI, [[KTVI]] in [[St. Louis]], [[KDVR]] in [[Denver]] and [[KSTU]] in [[Salt Lake City]]) to [[Local TV, LLC|Local TV]], a [[holding company]] operated by equity firm [[Oak Hill Capital Partners]] that had earlier purchased [[The New York Times Company]]'s television station division; the sale was finalized on July 14, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|title=News Corporation Completes Sale of Eight Television Stations|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1308161/000118143108043171/rrd213211_25022.htm|publisher=[[News Corp (2013–present)|News Corp.]]|via=[[Securities and Exchange Commission]]|date=July 14, 2008|access-date=August 17, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=The New York Times Company Announces Plan to Sell Its Broadcast Media Group|url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=105317&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=904561|website=[[The New York Times Company]]|date=September 12, 2006|access-date=November 30, 2015|archive-date=January 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=105317&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=904561|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=News Corp. to Sell U.S. TV Stations for $1.1 Billion|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a3tNrZzvfKiM|first=Nancy|last=Kercheval|agency=[[Bloomberg, L.P.]]|date=December 27, 2007|access-date=November 30, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Oak Hill Capital Partners Completes Acquisition of 8 TV Station sales|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Oak+Hill+Capital+Partners+Completes+Acquisition+of+Eight+Television...-a0181319563|publisher=Oak Hill Capital Partners|via=The Free Library|date=July 14, 2008|access-date=August 17, 2014|archive-date=June 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610194106/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Oak+Hill+Capital+Partners+Completes+Acquisition+of+Eight+Television...-a0181319563|url-status=dead}}</ref> On January 6, 2009, Local TV announced that it would trade WBRC to [[Raycom Media]] in exchange for acquiring CBS affiliate [[WTVR-TV]] in [[Richmond, Virginia]] from that group.<ref>{{cite web|title=Raycom, Local TV to Swap Stations|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/raycom-local-tv-swap-stations/41491|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=Reed Business Information|date=January 6, 2009|access-date=December 5, 2015}}</ref> Raycom—which was controlled by the [[Retirement Systems of Alabama]]—was headquartered in [[Montgomery, Alabama|Montgomery]] (the market to the adjacent south of the Birmingham DMA), and also owned that market's NBC affiliate [[WSFA]] as well as [[Huntsville]] NBC affiliate [[WAFF (TV)|WAFF]]. The transfer closed on March 31, 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=Local TV Closes on WTVR|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/local-tv-closes-wtvr/41618|first=Michael|last=Malone|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=[[NewBay Media]]|date=March 31, 2009|access-date=December 5, 2015}}</ref>

On June 25, 2018, Atlanta-based [[Gray Television]] announced it had reached an agreement with Raycom to merge their respective broadcasting assets (consisting of Raycom's 63 existing owned-and/or-operated television stations, including WBRC), and Gray's 93 television stations) under the former's corporate umbrella. The cash-and-stock merger transaction valued at $3.6&nbsp;billion—in which Gray shareholders would acquire preferred stock currently held by Raycom—resulted in WBRC gaining new sister stations in adjacent markets, including ABC affiliate [[WTOK-TV]] in [[Meridian, Mississippi|Meridian]] and CBS/NBC affiliates [[WTVY (TV)|WTVY]] and [[WRGX-LD]] in [[Dothan, Alabama|Dothan]] (while separating it from [[WDFX-TV|WDFX]]), in addition to the current Raycom stations.<ref>{{cite press release|title=GRAY AND RAYCOM TO COMBINE IN A $3.6 BILLION TRANSACTION|url=https://www.raycommedia.com/gray-and-raycom-to-combine-in-a-3-6-billion-transaction/#amnewsers|website=[[Raycom Media]]|date=June 25, 2018|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625161249/https://www.raycommedia.com/gray-and-raycom-to-combine-in-a-3-6-billion-transaction/#amnewsers|archive-date=June 25, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="graycom">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/114556/gray-to-buy-raycom-for-36-billion|title=Gray To Buy Raycom For $3.6 Billion|last=Miller|first=Mark K.|work=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheckMedia|date=June 25, 2018|access-date=June 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Gray Buying Raycom for $3.6B|url=https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/gray-buying-raycom-for-3-6b|first=John|last=Eggerton|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=NewBay Media|date=June 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Gray Acquiring Raycom For $3.65B, Forming No. 3 Local TV Group|url=https://deadline.com/2018/06/grey-acquiring-raycom-for-3-65-billion-forming-no-3-local-tv-group-1202416667/|first=Dade|last=Hayes|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]|date=June 25, 2018}}</ref> The sale was approved on December 20 and completed on January 2, 2019.<ref>[https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/fcc-ok-with-gray-raycom-merger "FCC OK with Gray/Raycom Merger"], [[Broadcasting & Cable]], December 20, 2018, Retrieved December 20, 2018.</ref><ref>[https://gray.tv/uploads/documents/pressreleases/Press%20Release%20re%20Completion%20of%20Raycom%20Acquisition.pdf "Gray Completes Acquisition of Raycom Media and Related Transactions"], [[Gray Television]], January 2, 2019; Retrieved January 2, 2019.</ref>