| [1] | |
| Northport/Tuscaloosa, Alabama | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Northport |
| Branding | WVUA (general)
WVUA News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | Your Home Team |
| Channels | Analog: WVUA: 7 (VHF)Digital: WUOA: 6 (VHF) |
| Subchannels | 23.1 HDTV23.2 SDTV
23.3 Alabama Public Radio (audio only) 23.4 XPoNential Radio (audio only) |
| Translators | WDVZ-CA 3 GreensboroWJMY-CA 25 Demopolis |
| Affiliations | This TV |
| Owner | University of Alabama
(The Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama) |
| First air date | WVUA: 1998WUOA: 2001 |
| Call letters' meaning | WVUA:Voice of the
University of Alabama (named after the radio station) WUOA: University Of< Alabama |
| Former callsigns | WVUA: WJRD-LP (1998-2001)WUOA: WLDM (2001-2005) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog:
WVUA: 49 (1998-2001) WUOA: 23 (2001-2009) |
| Former affiliations | Pax TV (1998-2002) |
| Transmitter power | WVUA: 0.43 kWWUOA: 26 kW |
| Height | WVUA: 183 mWUOA: 395 m |
| Facility ID | WVUA: 70429WUOA: 77496 |
| Transmitter coordinates |
WVUA Tuscaloosa: 33°9′36″N 87°30′54″W / 33.16°N 87.515°W / 33.16; -87.515 WUOA Birmingham: 33°29′2″N 86°48′20.7″W / 33.48389°N 86.80575°W / 33.48389; -86.80575 (WUOA) |
| Website | WVUA |
WVUA is a commercial station because it relies mostly on advertising from outside sources. This makes WVUA one of only three commercial television stations in the US owned by a public institution (the others being KOMU, owned by the University of Missouri, and WNEG-TV, owned by the University of Georgia). WVUA has a full time, paid staff, including station and sales executives, anchors and a news director. The station relies heavily on UA students who act as on-air staff, production staff, and sales assistants.
Contents[] |
History[]
The station began in 1998 as WJRD on Channel 49, bringing local news coverage to west Alabama for the first time since WDBB (17) and WCFT (33) shifted focus to the Birmingham area. It affiliated with the Pax network shortly after it signed on, remaining affiliate with the network until 2002.
A $1 million gift from the family of legendary University of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant allowed the university to acquire WJRD in 2001. After moving its operations onto the university campus, the station adopted the call sign WVUA in January 2002.
In addition to repeaters in Greensboro (WDVZ-CA Channel 3) and Demopolis (WJMY-CA Channel 25 and WJMY-LD Channel 22), WVUA's signal is carried by cable operators Comcast in Tuscaloosa and Charter Communications and Bright House Networks in Birmingham.
In November 2004, Channel 23 LLC filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to donate its full-power station, WLDM, to the university. Today WUOA-DT broadcasts on digital channel 6 from atop Red Mountain and covers the whole Birmingham DMA. WUOA is also carried by virtually all Birmingham DMA cable companies. WUOA is a repeater of WVUA and can be found on channel 23.
In 2006, WVUA was added to the Birmingham local stations lineup for both Dish Network and DirecTV, thus adding a substantial number of potential viewers.
In late 2008, WVUA/WUOA began a partial affiliation with This TV.
Digital television[]
Because it was granted an original construction permit after the FCC finalized the DTV allotment plan on April 21, 1997 [2], WUOA did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station. Instead, on June 12, 2009, the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, WUOA was required to turn off its analog signal and turn on its digital signal (called a "flash-cut"). The University was granted a construction permit for WUOA to move to channel 6. The new digital transmitter is located on Red Mountain and covered the entire Birmingham DMA from June 12 2009.
WVUA, as a low-power station, is exempt from a mandatory turn-off of its analog signal.
News/station presentation[]
Newscast titles[]
- News Channel 49 (1998-2000)
- WJRD 7 News (2000-2002)
- WVUA 7 News (2002-2004)
- WVUA News (2004-present)
Station slogans[]
- Straight from the Heart of West Alabama (1998-2005)
- Your Home Team / Where Local News Comes First (2005-present)
[2] This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.==On-air staff==
Current on-air staff[]
Anchors
- Lynn Brooks - News Director; weeknights at 5 and 6 p.m.
- Terri Brewer - weeknights at 5 p.m. (also host of WVUA LawCall)
- Phillip Coleman - weeknights at 6 p.m.
- Clare Stewart - weekdays "First at Four" and weeknights at 10 p.m.
- Robert Stevenson - weekdays "First at Four"
- Danny Salter - weekends at 10 p.m. (also weeknight reporter)
Alabama's Home Team Weather
- Robert Stevenson - co-anchors weekdays on "First at Four"
- Richard Scott - Weekend Weather
Alabama's Home Team Sports
- Gary Harris - Sports Director; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- John Huddleston - Sports Anchor; weekends at 10 p.m.
- Tod Hoyer - Sports Photographer and fill-in anchor