WWBT

WWBT (channel 12) is a television station in Richmond, Virginia, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Ashland-licensed CW affiliate WUPV (channel 65). The two stations share studios on Midlothian Turnpike (US 60) in Richmond, where WWBT's transmitter is also located.

WRID-LD (RF channel 36) operates as a low-power translator of WWBT's main 12.1 channel. WRID-LD uses virtual channel 12.6 for WWBT's programming.

WWBT is one of only a few stations in the country to have been affiliated with all three of the original major American television networks.

In the 1950s, there was competition for the market's third television frequency. WTVR-TV had been on-the-air since 1948 while WXEX-TV (now WRIC-TV) had been on-the-air from Petersburg since 1955. The main competitors for the analog VHF channel 12 license were Larus and Brother Tobacco Company, owner of WRVA (AM 1140) and WRVB-FM (94.5, now WRVQ) and Richmond Newspapers, owner of WRNL and forerunner of Media General. Larus later merged its application with Neighborhood Theaters' Richmond Television Corporation, assuming controlling interest. Both applicants had good records and were financially qualified, but RTVC won the license since it did not own a newspaper. At the time, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was concerned about co-ownership of newspaper and broadcast outlets and preferred separation.

WRVA-TV signed-on for the first time on April 29, 1956, from a converted cow barn near the station's current facility. The studio and transmitter were located in what was then unincorporated Chesterfield County; the area was not annexed into the independent city of Richmond until the early 1960s. Although this area was still largely rural at the time, it was more than suitable for future expansion. Additionally, Chesterfield County officials had already greenlighted a tall tower for the site.

Channel 12 was initially a CBS affiliate due to WRVA's long affiliation with CBS Radio. That station was one of the broadcasting powerhouses of the South, but that success did not transfer to its television sister. For instance, WRVA radio's top anchorman took the same role with channel 12, but was fired within a year when the popularity he had generated over a decade on radio failed to transfer to television. Part of the problem was that Larus' desire to deliver a strong signal to all of Central Virginia resulted in a marginal signal in Richmond itself and several close-in suburbs. With channel 12 remaining stubbornly in third place, CBS opted to return to long-dominant WTVR in 1960. Since WXEX was already affiliated with NBC, WRVA was left with struggling ABC. Ratings improved in the next five years leading Larus to try to seek the NBC affiliation, a switch which occurred in 1965. Like its cross-town rival WTVR, it is one of the few stations in the country to have been a primary affiliate of all of the "Big Three" networks. From 1959 until 1969, it broadcast an in-house children's series, The Sailor Bob Show.

The station gradually came into its own, passing WXEX for third place. However, Larus ran the station on a shoestring. The studios had unpainted walls and concrete floors, while the offices were plain and painted in two shades of green. Much of the station's equipment was nearing the end of its useful life by the late 1960s.

In 1966, the family-owned Larus and Brothers (which had acquired full control of channel 12 in 1960) decided to split its various interests after longtime president William T. Reed died. However, the Larus and Reed families were very selective about potential buyers. They were only willing to sell to established broadcasters with a legacy of community service. Jefferson Standard Insurance Company of Greensboro, North Carolina, emerged as the winner for WRVA-TV. It would have bought the radio stations as well, but at the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two clear-channel stations with overlapping nighttime coverage. Larus-owned WRVA's nighttime signal had a significant overlap with the signal of Jefferson Standard flagship WBT in Charlotte. It soon became apparent that the FCC and Justice Department would frown on one company owning two Southern clear-channel stations that would have blanketed most of the eastern half of North America at night between them. As part of the application, Jefferson Standard requested a callsign change to the current WWBT, which occurred on November 28, 1968.