WTOK-TV

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WTOK-TV

Meridian, Mississippi
Branding	ABC 11 (general programming) Newscenter 11 (newscasts) FOX Meridian Meridian's CW
Slogan	East Mississippi and West Alabama's News Leader
Channels	11 (UHF) analog, 49 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	ABC (secondary until 1968) Fox/MNTV/Sportsman (on DT2) The CW (on DT3)
Owner	Gray Television
Founded	September 27, 1953
Former affiliations	CBS (1953-68) NBC (secondary, 1953-early 1960s) Fox (secondary, mid-1990s)
Website	wtok.com

WTOK-TV, ABC 11, is the ABC affiliate for Meridian, Mississippi. The station is owned by Gray Television. In September 2006, in addition to the primary ABC affiliation, WTOK began carrying three other television networks on its digital subcarriers: Fox, The CW, and My Network TV.

1 History
2 Newscasts
- 2.1 Weekday programs
- 2.2 Weekend programs
3 News Personalities
4 Digital Programming
5 FOX Meridian
- 5.1 My Network TV
6 Meridian's CW
7 External links

[edit] History

The station began broadcasting on September 27, 1953 as the second television station in Mississippi and the first on the VHF band; WJTV in Jackson had signed on channel 25 in January. It started as a primary CBS affiliate, but carried programming from ABC and NBC as well. NBC went to WLBM (now WGBC) in the early 1960s, while CBS went to WHTV (now WMDN) in 1968. It also served as a partial FOX affiliate in the mid 1990s, carrying NFL broadcasts as well as selected FOX programming in late night time-slots.

WTOK has long been the dominant station in eastern Mississippi, due to its status as the only VHF station in the area. None of the other stations in the market have even come close. For a time in the early 1990s, it was the only over-the-air commercial station in town after both of its rivals went off the air.

Since 2005, WTOK has been the only station in the area to air local news. The station's newscasts are branded under the popular NewsCenter label.

[edit] Newscasts

[edit] Weekday programs

Good Morning Meridian (6:00 - 7:00 AM), hosted by Andrea Williams, with Chris Whited giving weather updates. The show is rebroadcast from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM on Fox Meridian.
Newscenter 11 Live at Five (5:00 PM - 5:30 PM) - Anchored by Wade Phillips. Chris Whited provides weather forecasts and Lindsey Hall gives the sports report.
Newscenter 11 at Six (6:00 PM - 6:30 PM) - Anchored by John Johnson and Tom Daniels. Chris Whited provides weather forecasts and Lindsey Hall gives the sports report.
Newscenter 11 at Ten (10:00 PM - 10:35 PM) - Same format as the 6:00 PM newscast but is only anchored by Tom Daniels. Newscenter 11 at Ten is rebroadcast on Fox Meridian (DT 49.2) from Midnight to 12:30 AM.

[edit] Weekend programs

On The Record (5:30 PM - 6:00 PM) - Sunday only interview program hosted by John Johnson. It is also broadcast Sunday morning at 9:00 AM on Fox Meridian and on WFFX-AM Fox Sports 1450 AM on Sunday mornings.
Newscenter 11 at Six (6:00 PM - 6:30 PM) - Anchored by Reneé LaSalle. Ashley McDonald provides weather forecasts, and Heather Cook gives the sports report. The 6:00 PM newscast only airs on Saturdays.
Newscenter 11 at Ten (10:00 PM - 10:35 PM) - Same format as 6:00 PM newscast on Saturday. Airs Saturday and Sunday evenings. Newscenter 11 at Ten is rebroadcast on Fox Meridian at Midnight.

[edit] News Personalities

John Johnson - News Director & Weeknight News Anchor
Sheila McLain - News Manager
Sidney Luvene - Chief Photographer
Tom Daniels - Weeknight News Anchor
Wade Phillips - Weeknight News Anchor & Reporter
Lindsey Hall - Weeknight Sports Anchor
Andrea Williams - Morning News Anchor & Reporter
Chris Whited - Weeknight/Morning Meteorologist & Reporter
Renee' LaSalle - Weekend News Anchor & Reporter
Ashley McDonald - Weekend Weather Anchor
Heather Cook - Weekend Sports Anchor
Lindsey Brown - Reporter
Chris Brennaman - Reporter
Wendy Suares - Reporter
Christian Monsour - News Photographer

[edit] Digital Programming

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Channel	Programming
11.1 / 49.1	Main WTOK Programming
11.2 / 49.2	FOX Meridian (My Network TV and The Sportsman Channel carried as secondary)
11.3 / 49.3	Meridian's CW

[edit] FOX Meridian

In early 2006, WTOK began transmitting FOX Meridian, a separate FOX affiliate on DT2 as well as on area cable systems. Fox Meridian replaced Foxnet, as well as its predecessor WDBB, at the time a Fox affiliate out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. "Fox Meridian" airs syndicated program similar to other Fox affiliates, as well as rebroadcasts of Good Morning Meridian and Newscenter 11 at Ten which airs on the main WTOK channel. Overnight, it airs outdoors programming from The Sportsman Channel.

[edit] My Network TV

WTOK also carries My Network TV programming on its Fox DT2 subchannel as a secondary affiliate. It began broadcasting in September 2006.

[edit] Meridian's CW

In 2006, Gray Television signed a deal to put The CW on four digital subchannels. The CW began to air on DT3 when the network signed on in September 2006, with programming from the national CW Plus service.

[edit] External links

Gray Television, Inc.

v • d • e

Independent Television Station¹: WOWT

¹These stations broadcast these networks on their digital subchannels.

²Gray and Journal Broadcast Group entered into a "news share" agreement.

Annual Revenue: $332.1 USD (2006) | Employees: N/A | Stock Symbol: NYSE: GTN | Website: www.graycommunications.com

Broadcast television in the Meridian market (Nielsen DMA #185)

WTOK 11 (ABC)/(FOX/MNTV/Sportsman on DT2)/(CW on DT3)
WMAW 14 (PBS/MPB) - WMDN 24 (CBS) - WGBC 30 (NBC) - WIIQ 41 (PBS/APT) - W47CG 47 (TBN)

ABC Network Affiliates in the state of Mississippi

WABG 6 (Greenwood) - WTOK 11 (Meridian) - WLOX 13 (Biloxi) - WAPT 16 (Jackson) - WKDH 45 (Houston)
See also: CBS, CW, Fox, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Mississippi

Fox Network Affiliates in the state of Mississippi

WABG 6.2 (Greenwood) - WTOK-DT 11.2 (Meridian) - WXXV 25 (Gulfport) - WLOV 27 (West Point) - WDBD 40 (Jackson) - WNTZ 48 (Natchez)
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Mississippi

CW Network Affiliates in the state of Mississippi

WCBI-DT 4.3 (Columbus) - WTOK-DT 11.3 (Meridian) - WRBJ 34 (Magee / Jackson)
Cable Only Affiliates
The Gulf Coast CW (Gulfport) - "WBWD" 32 / 72¹ (Greenwood) - "WBH" 59¹ (Hattiesburg)
¹It is unclear as of 9/1/06 whether the fictional call letters were kept, changed, or dropped.
See also: ABC, CBS, Fox, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Mississippi

MyNetworkTV Affiliates in the state of Mississippi

WCBI-DT 4.2 (Columbus) - WTOK-DT 11.2 (Meridian) - WUFX 35 (Vicksburg) - WNTZ 48 (Natchez)
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Mississippi

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