ABC/CBS affiliate in Biloxi, Mississippi
WLOX
(channel 13) is a
television station
licensed to
Biloxi, Mississippi
, United States, serving the
Mississippi Gulf Coast
as an affiliate of
ABC
and
CBS
. It is owned by
Gray Television
alongside
low-power
dual
MeTV
/
Telemundo
affiliate
WTBL-LD
(channel 51). The two stations share studios on DeBuys Road in Biloxi; WLOX's transmitter is located in
unincorporated
southern
Stone County
near
McHenry
.
History
[
edit
]
WLOX was the first television station on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, having begun operations September 15, 1962. It was owned by the Love family and their WLOX Broadcasting Company along with WLOX radio (AM 1490, now
WANG
).
[2]
The station immediately aligned with ABC, an unusual move at the time for what, then as now, was a very small market. ABC was not nearly on par with CBS and
NBC
in terms of size and ratings until the 1970s.
WVUE-TV
in
New Orleans
had been on channel 13, and shifted to channel 12 (it did not move to its current channel 8 until 1970) in order to accommodate the new Biloxi license.
Even though almost all media markets were assigned two commercial VHF channels plus one non-commercial channel, the Biloxi market was sandwiched between New Orleans (channels
4
,
6
, 8, and
12
) to the west,
Hattiesburg
?
Laurel
(
channel 9, later 7
) to the north, and
Mobile
?
Pensacola
(channels
3
,
5
, and
10
) to the east. Channels
2
and
11
were also assigned in fairly close proximity in
Baton Rouge
and
Meridian
, respectively. This created a large "doughnut" on the Mississippi Gulf Coast where there could be only
one
VHF license. WLOX was fortunate enough to gain that license, and consequently became the only television station to be based in Biloxi until
Mississippi ETV
outlet WMAH-TV began broadcasting in 1972, and the market's only commercial station until
WXXV-TV
signed on in 1987.
In addition to bringing television to South Mississippi, WLOX also brought ABC programming to the western portion of the Mobile?Pensacola market. That market's ABC affiliate, WEAR-TV in Pensacola, did not cover areas west of Mobile very well until cable arrived in the region in the 1970s. WLOX also filled a void in New Orleans; it provides at least grade B coverage to most of that market. New Orleans' ABC affiliate at the time, WVUE (now a
Fox
affiliate and sister station), preempted moderate amounts of ABC programming until 1978, including most of ABC's daytime
soap operas
.
For most of the analog era, WLOX was the only "
Big Three
" station in the region. However, cable systems in Biloxi and
Gulfport
have long supplemented the area with stations from New Orleans and Mobile?Pensacola. On the other hand, this outlet was the default ABC affiliate for the Hattiesburg?Laurel
market
which did not have its own ABC station until June 11, 2012, when sister station WDAM added ABC programming to its second subchannel, replacing
This TV
. From May 18, 1979, until July 3, 2003, the station employed the use of the "-TV" suffix in its
call sign
.
In 1993, along with all other ABC affiliates in Mississippi, WLOX refused to air
NYPD Blue
due to decency concerns. However, unlike the other stations, the station never aired the show during its entire twelve-year run, opting to air
syndicated
reruns of
Home Improvement
and other
sitcoms
instead in the time slot. Rival WXXV, by then a Fox affiliate, picked up the show in 1994. The station also refused to air episodes of
Ellen
dealing with the character's sexuaity.
[3]
Nor did it (like many other affiliates) air ABC's Veterans Day 2004 showing of
Saving Private Ryan
, due to the
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
leaving it in limbo that a fine would be issued for the film's broadcast.
[4]
The Love family sold WLOX to the
Liberty Corporation
in March 1995. Originally part of its Cosmos Broadcasting division, it came directly under the Liberty banner following the company's exit from the
insurance
business in 2000. Liberty would eventually merge with
Raycom Media
in 2006. Under Raycom ownership and stricter ABC affiliate agreements, the station stopped removing network programming from its schedule due to content concerns.
WLOX's original
TV studios
on the ground floor of the
beachfront
Buena Vista Hotel were completely ruined in 1969 by the
storm surge
of
Hurricane Camille
, which was 8 feet (2.4 m) higher than any previous known storm.
The Weather Channel
series
Storm Stories
featured this during an August 2009 episode.
In 2005, WLOX remained on the air during
Hurricane Katrina
, even though its studios were heavily damaged in the storm. During the event, the station continued to broadcast non-stop for more than twelve days afterward. WLOX created an award-winning two-disc
DVD
set about the storm entitled
Katrina: South Mississippi's Story
. Footage of its building being damaged and the move to a temporary studio were part of
Storm Stories
on June 5, 2010. Anchor Rebecca Power's survival after returning home from the station was the main focus of the show. The station received a
Peabody Award
in 2005 "for the courageous efforts of all these staff members."
[5]
In 2006, WLOX received the
Edward R. Murrow
National Award in the category of continuing coverage for its around-the-clock broadcasting of Hurricane Katrina and the storm's aftermath. WLOX also received a Southern Regional
Emmy
Humanitarian award in June 2006.
[6]
It was added to
DirecTV
and
Dish Network
systems in the Biloxi?Gulfport market on June 16, 2010.
In March 2012 during the station's 50th anniversary celebration, WLOX began airing a vague promotional advertisement alluding to having an "eye" on the future with the CBS "
eyemark
" logo in the background of the spot. The station's front website banner also incorporated a "CBS?coming soon" link to the advertisement on
YouTube
suggesting a future digital subchannel with a schedule from the network for the market would be offered through WLOX. The station formally announced the CBS affiliation on March 28, 2012, with carriage on WLOX-DT2 replacing a 24-hour local
weather
channel. It was also made public that CableOne (now
Sparklight
) would carry WLOX's CBS channel in addition to its existing carriage of New Orleans' WWL-TV and Mobile's WKRG-TV, which have been on CableOne and its predecessors for decades.
During instances of
severe weather
, updates will broadcast on all WLOX digital services when warnings are issued by the
National Weather Service
. The addition of CBS to WLOX-DT2 is similar to a launch made by sister station
WALB
in
Albany, Georgia
. In that outlet's case, however, it added ABC to its second digital subchannel to complement its primary NBC service. WLOX-DT2 went live with CBS programming on April 8 starting with coverage of the
2012 Masters Tournament
.
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
In late 2017, the CBS subchannel was upgraded to high definition, albeit in
720p
rather than the network's recommended
1080i
format to preserve bandwidth. A direct-to-cable full 1080i high definition feed of WLOX-DT2 is available on select cable providers.
In April and May 2020 during the
COVID-19 pandemic
, WLOX would air a variety of school classroom lessons produced by the
Gulfport School District
from 9 to 11 a.m. weekdays on WLOX-DT3, preempting
Bounce TV
programming.
[12]
Sale to Gray Television
[
edit
]
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 WLOX, and Gray's 93 television stations) under the former's corporate umbrella. The cash-and-stock merger transaction valued at $3.6 billion ? in which Gray shareholders would acquire preferred stock currently held by Raycom ? resulted in WLOX becoming a
sister station
to fellow ABC affiliate WTOK-TV in
Meridian
, in addition to its current Raycom sisters. The combined company will be in every Mississippi market except for Greenville and Columbus-Tupelo as a result.
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
The sale was approved on December 20 and completed on January 2, 2019.
[17]
[18]
On December 30, 2023, WLOX parent company Gray Television announced it had reached an agreement with the
New Orleans Pelicans
to air 10 games on the station during the
2023?24 season
.
[19]
Newscasts
[
edit
]
Among former WLOX employees is
Chuck Scarborough
who is currently the main co-anchor for
WNBC
in
New York City
and ABC's
Good Morning America
anchor
Robin Roberts
. Both are Mississippi Gulf Coast natives. Roberts' sister, Sally-Ann, remains close to the area working at WWL-TV in New Orleans. WLOX upgraded its local newscasts to high definition level on May 25, 2011, complete with a new set and updated corporate graphics from Raycom. With the launch of CBS on WLOX-DT2, simulcasts of some local newscasts from the main channel are included in its schedule.
More specifically, WLOX's thirty-minute weekday afternoon show at 4, weeknight broadcast at 6, and weekend morning news are not seen on that second subchannel. The weekday morning program,
Good Morning Mississippi
, is only seen from 5 until 6:30 on the CBS channel. There is also a new program aired weeknights at 6:30 seen exclusively on WLOX-DT2. WLOX operates its own
weather radar
at its facility that is known on-air as "Mississippi Power Doppler". In addition to its main studios, the station operates a
Jackson County
Bureau in
Pascagoula
. WLOX shares resources (such as video footage) with sister station and NBC affiliate WDAM-TV in Laurel.
Notable former on-air staff
[
edit
]
Subchannels
[
edit
]
The station's signal is
multiplexed
:
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Facility Technical Data for WLOX"
.
Licensing and Management System
.
Federal Communications Commission
.
- ^
http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1970-71-TV-Factbook/401-500-TV-Factbook-1970-71.pdfM
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Battle lines drawn over 'Ellen' episode".
Sun Herald
. April 30, 1997.
- ^
"WLOX has morals, integrity".
Sun Herald
. November 15, 2004.
- ^
65th Annual Peabody Awards
, May 2006.
- ^
Archived
January 12, 2016, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Nelson, Karen (March 23, 2012).
"Cable One vows not to drop channels"
.
Sun Herald
. Archived from
the original
on March 25, 2012
. Retrieved
March 23,
2012
.
- ^
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/482440-CBS_Lines_Up_Biloxi_Gulfport_Affiliate.php
[
dead link
]
- ^
Knox, Merrill (March 28, 2012).
"WLOX to Air CBS Programming on Digital Subchannel"
.
TVSpy
. Archived from
the original
on August 8, 2014
. Retrieved
March 29,
2012
.
- ^
"CBS on WLOX: Frequently Asked Questions"
. March 28, 2012.
- ^
"CBS, WLOX sign affiliation agreement - Bay St. Louis - SunHerald.com"
. Archived from
the original
on March 30, 2012
. Retrieved
March 30,
2012
.
- ^
Mississippi Education Series School to Home Learning
- ^
"GRAY AND RAYCOM TO COMBINE IN A $3.6 BILLION TRANSACTION"
.
Raycom Media
(Press release). June 25, 2018. Archived from
the original
on June 25, 2018
. Retrieved
June 25,
2018
.
- ^
Miller, Mark K. (June 25, 2018).
"Gray To Buy Raycom For $3.6 Billion"
.
TVNewsCheck
. NewsCheckMedia
. Retrieved
June 25,
2018
.
- ^
John Eggerton (June 25, 2018).
"Gray Buying Raycom for $3.6B"
.
Broadcasting & Cable
.
- ^
Dade Hayes (June 25, 2018).
"Gray Acquiring Raycom For $3.65B, Forming No. 3 Local TV Group"
.
Deadline Hollywood
.
Penske Media Corporation
.
- ^
"FCC OK with Gray/Raycom Merger"
,
Broadcasting & Cable
, December 20, 2018, Retrieved December 20, 2018.
- ^
"Gray Completes Acquisition of Raycom Media and Related Transactions"
,
Gray Television
, January 2, 2019, Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^
"WAFB will televise 10 of this season's Pelicans games"
(Press release).
WAFB
. December 30, 2023
. Retrieved
December 30,
2023
.
- ^
"Mark Mullen Biography"
.
KNSD-TV
. September 25, 2013
. Retrieved
September 26,
2013
.
- ^
"RabbitEars TV Query for WLOX"
.
RabbitEars.info
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with
cable television
|
Local stations
|
- WXVO-LD
(7.1
ANT
, 7.2
Grit
, 7.3
SBN
, 7.4
Laff
, 7.5
Court
, 7.6
Mystery
)
- WLOX
(13.1
ABC
,
13.2
CBS
, 13.3
Bounce
, 13.4
Crime
, 13.5
Ion
, 13.6
The365
)
- WMAH-TV
(19.1
PBS
/
MPB
, 19.2
PBS Kids
, 19.3
Create
, 19.4
NPR
/
MPB
, 19.5 MPB Classroom TV)
- WXXV-TV
(25.1
Fox
, 25.2
NBC
, 25.3
CW+
, 25.4
Defy
)
- WTBL-LD
(51.1
MeTV
, 51.2
Cozi
)
|
---|
Defunct stations
| |
---|
|
|
---|
Reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with
cable television
|
Local stations
|
- WDAM-TV
(7.1
NBC
,
7.2
ABC
, 7.3
Bounce
, 7.4
Crime
, 7.5
The365
, 7.6
Grit
)
- WLHA-LD
(7.10
NBC
(repeat of 7.1), 18.1
TMD
, 18.2 N/A, 18.3 N/A)
- WHLT
(22.1
CBS
, 22.2
CW+
, 22.3
Ion
, 22.4
Mystery
)
- WHPM-LD
(23.1
Fox
, 23.2
ANT
, 23.3
MNT
/
MeTV
)
- W47BP 47
(47.1
PBS
/
MPB
, 47.2
PBS Kids
, 47.3
Create
, 47.4
NPR
/
MPB
, 47.5 MPB Classroom TV)
|
---|
|