Editing WBRC (section)

===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>