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WCOV-TV
WCOV-TV (channel 20) is a television station in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Allen Media Group alongside Cozi TV affiliate WIYC (channel 48) and low-power local weather station WALE-LD (channel 17). The three stations share studios on WCOV Avenue in the Normandale section of Montgomery; WCOV-TV's transmitter is located southeast of Grady.
WCOV-TV was the first television station to be built in Montgomery, beginning broadcasting on April 17, 1953. It was an affiliate of CBS; however, it was on the new ultra high frequency (UHF) band. When Montgomery's allocated very high frequency (VHF) station, WSFA-TV, began in late 1954, it immediately came to dominate the Montgomery market. WCOV owners attempted to have the playing field leveled by proposing either a move of WSFA-TV to UHF or of WCOV-TV to VHF, but neither was approved. In 1964, Gay-Bell Broadcasting acquired WCOV-TV and its associated radio stations; seeking to bolster its position, it attempted to buy WSLA, a VHF station in Selma and another CBS affiliate, but no sale ever materialized.
In 1985, WSLA changed its call sign to WAKA and added Montgomery to its coverage area. Despite prior reassurances from CBS, the network informed WCOV-TV that it would discontinue its affiliation with channel 20. Gay-Bell sold the station to Woods Communications, which operated it as an independent station and discontinued its local newscasts before adding the new Fox network in October 1986. The station initially struggled before Fox programming attracted significant ratings. A 1996 tornado destroyed the tower from which the station broadcast in Montgomery; WCOV-TV did not return to full power until the next year.
Allen Media acquired WCOV-TV, WIYC, and WALE-LD in 2023 from Woods Communications. WCOV-TV airs a 9 p.m. newscast produced by sister station WAAY-TV in Huntsville.
On December 31, 1951, the owners of radio station WCOV (1170 AM)—the First National Bank of Montgomery and the estate of G. W. Covington, Jr.—filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a new television station on very high frequency (VHF) channel 12 in Montgomery. Six months later, after the commission lifted its freeze on television applications, WCOV amended its application to specify channel 20 in the new ultra high frequency (UHF) band—to the surprise of others—after radio station WSFA also filed for channel 12. The FCC granted the Covington interests—which had reorganized as the Capitol Broadcasting Company—a construction permit on September 17, 1952. Later, WCOV-TV would claim that it was forced to apply for channel 20 when it learned RCA could not deliver a VHF transmitter, but had a UHF transmitter on hand.
WCOV-TV was the first television station in Montgomery, making its first broadcast on April 17, 1953. It operated from a 400-foot (122 m) tower near its studios. Commercial programs started five days later; the station was a primary CBS affiliate but carried secondary affiliations with the other three major networks of the day—NBC, ABC, and DuMont. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.
Christmas Day 1954 brought Montgomery a second television station, this time on VHF, when WSFA-TV began broadcasting as an NBC affiliate on channel 12. The arrival of VHF television in Montgomery created an economic and viewership inequality between the city's two television stations. On August 5, 1955, WCOV's studios were badly damaged by a fire, knocking both stations off the air. The fire was caused by a short circuit inside an electric clock, which lost an estimated $500,000 total in damages. The station returned on the air one week later. In 1959, WCOV-TV filed to have channel 8 moved from Selma to Montgomery to put it on an equal footing. When that failed, the station instead proposed that WSFA be moved to the UHF band, an idea that drew protests from viewers—such as those in Butler County—which were served only by channel 12 and which could not receive channel 20. The FCC voted not to pursue deintermixture in Montgomery and other markets in 1962. 1962 also brought the arrival of full three-network service, when channel 32 signed on as ABC affiliate WCCB-TV.
The Covington family sold WCOV radio and television in 1964 for $1.225 million to Gay-Bell Broadcasting, which owned WLEX-TV in Lexington, Kentucky. The new owners built a new 793-foot (242 m) tower at the site of its predecessor. Gay-Bell, however, continued to grapple with its UHF problem in Montgomery. In 1968, it attempted to buy the channel 8 station in Selma, WSLA-TV, which was silent at the time following its destruction by fire, but nothing ever materialized. Channel 20 also continued fighting against multiple attempts by channel 8 to improve its facilities; WCOV-TV had petitioned against applications by WSLA-TV's ownership dating back to 1954.
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WCOV-TV
WCOV-TV (channel 20) is a television station in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Allen Media Group alongside Cozi TV affiliate WIYC (channel 48) and low-power local weather station WALE-LD (channel 17). The three stations share studios on WCOV Avenue in the Normandale section of Montgomery; WCOV-TV's transmitter is located southeast of Grady.
WCOV-TV was the first television station to be built in Montgomery, beginning broadcasting on April 17, 1953. It was an affiliate of CBS; however, it was on the new ultra high frequency (UHF) band. When Montgomery's allocated very high frequency (VHF) station, WSFA-TV, began in late 1954, it immediately came to dominate the Montgomery market. WCOV owners attempted to have the playing field leveled by proposing either a move of WSFA-TV to UHF or of WCOV-TV to VHF, but neither was approved. In 1964, Gay-Bell Broadcasting acquired WCOV-TV and its associated radio stations; seeking to bolster its position, it attempted to buy WSLA, a VHF station in Selma and another CBS affiliate, but no sale ever materialized.
In 1985, WSLA changed its call sign to WAKA and added Montgomery to its coverage area. Despite prior reassurances from CBS, the network informed WCOV-TV that it would discontinue its affiliation with channel 20. Gay-Bell sold the station to Woods Communications, which operated it as an independent station and discontinued its local newscasts before adding the new Fox network in October 1986. The station initially struggled before Fox programming attracted significant ratings. A 1996 tornado destroyed the tower from which the station broadcast in Montgomery; WCOV-TV did not return to full power until the next year.
Allen Media acquired WCOV-TV, WIYC, and WALE-LD in 2023 from Woods Communications. WCOV-TV airs a 9 p.m. newscast produced by sister station WAAY-TV in Huntsville.
On December 31, 1951, the owners of radio station WCOV (1170 AM)—the First National Bank of Montgomery and the estate of G. W. Covington, Jr.—filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a new television station on very high frequency (VHF) channel 12 in Montgomery. Six months later, after the commission lifted its freeze on television applications, WCOV amended its application to specify channel 20 in the new ultra high frequency (UHF) band—to the surprise of others—after radio station WSFA also filed for channel 12. The FCC granted the Covington interests—which had reorganized as the Capitol Broadcasting Company—a construction permit on September 17, 1952. Later, WCOV-TV would claim that it was forced to apply for channel 20 when it learned RCA could not deliver a VHF transmitter, but had a UHF transmitter on hand.
WCOV-TV was the first television station in Montgomery, making its first broadcast on April 17, 1953. It operated from a 400-foot (122 m) tower near its studios. Commercial programs started five days later; the station was a primary CBS affiliate but carried secondary affiliations with the other three major networks of the day—NBC, ABC, and DuMont. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.
Christmas Day 1954 brought Montgomery a second television station, this time on VHF, when WSFA-TV began broadcasting as an NBC affiliate on channel 12. The arrival of VHF television in Montgomery created an economic and viewership inequality between the city's two television stations. On August 5, 1955, WCOV's studios were badly damaged by a fire, knocking both stations off the air. The fire was caused by a short circuit inside an electric clock, which lost an estimated $500,000 total in damages. The station returned on the air one week later. In 1959, WCOV-TV filed to have channel 8 moved from Selma to Montgomery to put it on an equal footing. When that failed, the station instead proposed that WSFA be moved to the UHF band, an idea that drew protests from viewers—such as those in Butler County—which were served only by channel 12 and which could not receive channel 20. The FCC voted not to pursue deintermixture in Montgomery and other markets in 1962. 1962 also brought the arrival of full three-network service, when channel 32 signed on as ABC affiliate WCCB-TV.
The Covington family sold WCOV radio and television in 1964 for $1.225 million to Gay-Bell Broadcasting, which owned WLEX-TV in Lexington, Kentucky. The new owners built a new 793-foot (242 m) tower at the site of its predecessor. Gay-Bell, however, continued to grapple with its UHF problem in Montgomery. In 1968, it attempted to buy the channel 8 station in Selma, WSLA-TV, which was silent at the time following its destruction by fire, but nothing ever materialized. Channel 20 also continued fighting against multiple attempts by channel 8 to improve its facilities; WCOV-TV had petitioned against applications by WSLA-TV's ownership dating back to 1954.