WLTZ
{{Short description|Television station in Columbus, Georgia}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WLTZ
| logo = WLTZ logo.png
| logo_alt = A blue box and a white box below it. Sitting above all the elements is a white 38 in blue trim, with the NBC peacock to the left. On top is the word "Local".
| logo_upright =
| image = WLTZ-DT2 2024.svg
| image_alt = The CW logo in red-orange with the word "GA-BAMA" in a black sans serif, right justified, above it.
| image_upright = 0.67
| branding = Local 38; The CW Ga-Bama (38.2)
| digital = 35 (UHF)
| virtual = 38
| subchannels =
| affiliations = {{ubl|38.1: NBC|38.2: The CW Plus|for others, see {{Section link||Subchannels}}}}
| airdate = {{start date and age|1970|10|29|p=y|br=yes}}
| location = Columbus, Georgia
| country = United States
| former_callsigns = WYEA-TV (1970–1981)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|Analog: 38 (UHF, 1970–2009)}}
| owner = SagamoreHill Broadcasting
| licensee = SagamoreHill of Columbus GA, LLC
| operator = Gray Media
| sister_stations = WTVM, WXTX
| erp = 50 kW
| haat = {{convert|377.2|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 37179
| coordinates = {{coord|32|27|28|N|84|53|8|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = FCC
| website = {{ubl|{{URL|http://www.wltz.com}}|{{URL|https://www.cw-gabama.com/|www.CW-GABama.com}} (DT2)}}
}}
WLTZ (channel 38) is a television station in Columbus, Georgia, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Gray Media, owner of ABC affiliate WTVM (channel 9), for the provision of certain services. Gray also operates Fox affiliate WXTX (channel 54) under a separate SSA with owner American Spirit Media. WLTZ's studios and transmitter are located on NBC 38 Drive off Buena Vista Road on the east side of the city. Master control and most internal operations are based at WTVM and WXTX's shared studios on Wynnton Road (GA 22) in the Dinglewood section of Columbus.
WLTZ went on the air in 1970 as WYEA-TV. An NBC affiliate from its first day on air, it has spent most of its history in a distant third in local news ratings in the Columbus market, despite attempts from several owners—most notably locally based insurer American Family Corporation, then former Savannah mayor Julius Curtis Lewis Jr.—to improve the situation. Under Lewis, the station changed its call letters to the present WLTZ in 1981 but saw no change in its fortunes. The station aired no regular local newscasts at all from 1993 to 2007. Present owner SagamoreHill bought the station in 2007 and returned limited local newscasts to the station soon after, opening a full-fledged news department in 2012. This latest attempt at local news ended in 2020, when it began airing newscasts produced by WTVM.
History
=WYEA-TV: Early years=
In late 1966 and early 1967, three groups applied for television stations in Columbus, which at the time had two VHF outlets.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107436381/third-firm-seeking-ok-on-tv-station/|date=February 4, 1967|page=26|title=Third Firm Seeking OK on TV Station|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202348/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107436381/third-firm-seeking-ok-on-tv-station/|url-status=live}} One—Coastal Television—amended its application to specify channel 54 and received a construction permit, but it was never built.{{r|Colu671005}} The other two, the Inland Broadcasting Company (a consortium of Georgia and Alabama residents) and Gala Broadcasting Company (led by Charles F. Grisham, owner of WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Alabama), merged their bids on the latter's application in July, opening the door for a construction permit to be issued in mid-August{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377836/fcc-grants-tv-station-channel-38/|date=August 17, 1967|page=29|title=FCC Grants TV Station Channel 38|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202350/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377836/fcc-grants-tv-station-channel-38/|url-status=live}} to what became known as the Eagle Broadcasting Company.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377817/eagle-broadcasting-company-applies-to/|date=October 5, 1967|page=15|first=Reggie|last=Capes|title=Eagle Broadcasting Company Applies to FCC: Columbus May Get UHF TV Station Affiliated With NBC|newspaper=The Columbus Ledger|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202348/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377817/eagle-broadcasting-company-applies-to/|url-status=live}} It was obvious what the likely programming would be for the station. WTVM was a primary ABC affiliate and had first call rights on NBC programs, though CBS affiliate WRBL-TV (channel 3) also aired some NBC programming on a secondary basis.{{r|Ledg670817}}
A building permit was issued in December 1969 for a site on Buena Vista Road,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107314334/purse-strings/|date=April 27, 1970|page=18|first=Nancy|last=Vaughn|title=Purse Strings|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202349/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107314334/purse-strings/|url-status=live}} and ground was broken in early May.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107314346/for-new-tv-station-ground-is-broken/|date=May 7, 1970|page=27|title=For New TV Station: Ground Is Broken|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202350/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107314346/for-new-tv-station-ground-is-broken/|url-status=live}} While it was intended for the station to start in time for the 1970 World Series, and WTVM had already discontinued airing NBC programs with the start of the new season, the new station, under the call letters WYEA-TV, was not completed on time. The transmitter was not finished by that fall due to a strike at RCA, which was fabricating the antenna; as a result, WTVM had to petition to carry the World Series.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107314363/world-series-coverage-for-columbus-is/|date=September 12, 1970|page=22|title=World Series Coverage for Columbus Is Being Requested by WTVM Staff|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202349/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107314363/world-series-coverage-for-columbus-is/|url-status=live}}
WYEA-TV began broadcasting on October 29, 1970.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377821/wyea-tv-new-tv-station-now-in-operation/|date=October 30, 1970|page=4|title=WYEA-TV: New TV Station Now in Operation|newspaper=The Columbus Ledger|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202350/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377821/wyea-tv-new-tv-station-now-in-operation/|url-status=live}} The station's second-floor offices suffered heavy damage in a January 1975 fire; the newsroom took water damage, and unprocessed news film was lost, but the station was back on the air within a day.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107436866/blaze-hits-wyea-studios/|date=January 20, 1975|page=A-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107436883/ A-6]|first=Paul H.|last=Harasim|title=Blaze Hits WYEA Studios|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202350/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107436866/blaze-hits-wyea-studios/|url-status=live}}
The first newscast aired by the station was a 5:30 p.m. newscast, 1st Edition News, chosen specifically to avoid the 6 p.m. broadcasts from WRBL and WTVM and counterprogram their offerings.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107436655/channel-38-tower-erection-slated/|date=September 17, 1970|page=2|title=Channel 38 Tower Erection Slated|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202405/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107436655/channel-38-tower-erection-slated/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107436740/all-the-star-studded-shows-coming-soon/|date=September 13, 1970|page=28|title=All the star studded shows coming soon: Channel 38, WYEA-TV|newspaper=Sunday Ledger–Enquirer Magazine|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202405/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107436740/all-the-star-studded-shows-coming-soon/|url-status=live}} Over the years, the station focused on counterprogramming the two larger stations and also attempted to lure viewers with personalities that left those stations. In one extreme instance, the same four-person team presenting WYEA's evening newscast in 1976 had presented WTVM's News Hour in 1969.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377759/tv-news-team-familiar-faces/|date=March 19, 1976|page=B-1|title=TV News Team Familiar Faces|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|first=Jim|last=Houston|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202406/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377759/tv-news-team-familiar-faces/|url-status=live}}
=American Family ownership=
File:AFLAC Tower Columbus Georgia.jpg (headquarters building pictured), owned WYEA-TV from 1978 to 1981.]]
The locally based American Family Corporation, the parent of insurer AFLAC, announced in July 1977 that it would buy Eagle Broadcasting for $1.5 million and another $1.7 million in assumption of debts, making WYEA-TV its first broadcasting property with intentions to add more.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107437179/owners-plan-sale-of-wyea/|date=July 27, 1977|page=B-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107437205/ B-2]|first=William|last=Rowe|title=Owners Plan Sale Of WYEA|newspaper=The Columbus Ledger|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202351/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107437179/owners-plan-sale-of-wyea/|url-status=live}} Under the subsidiary of American Eagle Broadcasting, American Family took ownership on March 1, 1978.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107437301/3-take-american-eagle-posts/|date=March 29, 1978|page=B-2|title=3 Take American Eagle Posts|newspaper=The Columbus Ledger|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202350/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107437301/3-take-american-eagle-posts/|url-status=live}}
John B. Amos, president of American Family, had been looking into a media buy for some time, having analyzed a possible purchase of WRBL-TV and narrowly missing out on purchasing the Mutual Broadcasting System radio network. WYEA-TV, a station that was a distant third place in the market, would prove a challenge as the company's first television property. It had only five full-time news staffers; anchorman Al Fleming and sportscaster Jim Koger only worked part-time. It also only produced one newscast a day and no newscasts at all on weekends. It also faced the prospect of audience erosion from fellow NBC affiliate WSFA in Montgomery, Alabama, which activated a new tower whose footprint penetrated well into channel 38's viewing area.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377749/the-tv-man/|date=October 23, 1977|page=B-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377754/swift/ B-7]|first=Jack E.|last=Swift|title=The TV Man|newspaper=The Columbus Ledger|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202350/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377749/the-tv-man/|url-status=live}} Under American Family, WYEA-TV opposed a proposed television station licensed to Albany, WJFT-TV (channel 19). The Albany station's owners proposed a transmitting facility that would have covered Columbus as well as Albany; it would have been located in Webster County, roughly halfway between the two cities.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107314841/wyea-asks-agency-to-deny-erection-of-tra/|date=November 12, 1980|page=5|title=WYEA Asks Agency to Deny Erection of Transmitter|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202352/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107314841/wyea-asks-agency-to-deny-erection-of/|url-status=live}}
Under American Family, the station briefly made a major overhaul of its local news. It adopted the name NewsCenter for its newscasts, and in 1979, it debuted the station's first-ever 11 p.m. newscast.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377756/wyea-readies-late-newscast/|date=April 25, 1979|page=A-5|title=WYEA Readies Late Newscast|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202406/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377756/wyea-readies-late-newscast/|url-status=live}} However, many of these changes were later trimmed back for economic reasons after American Family sold the station.{{r|Ledg810701|Ledg810702}}
=Lewis ownership=
By the start of 1981, American Family owned six stations—WYEA-TV and five outlets in larger markets. Citing its audience share, market size, and signal strength, as well as its status as the least profitable station in the group,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108168551/wtvm-is-now-part-of-the-american-family/|date=November 6, 1988|page=E-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108168625/ E-2]|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=WTVM is now part of the American Family|newspaper=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824074721/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108168551/wtvm-is-now-part-of-the-american-family/|url-status=live}} American Family opted to sell WYEA to former Savannah mayor Julius Curtis Lewis Jr., whose Lewis Broadcasting owned WJCL-TV in Savannah and WLTX in Columbia, South Carolina.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107437845/american-family-sells-wyea-tv/|date=February 10, 1981|page=A-3|first=Nita|last=Birmingham|title=American Family Sells WYEA-TV|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202404/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107437845/american-family-sells-wyea-tv/|url-status=live}} Years later, Leroy Paul, who presided over AFLAC's broadcast division, quipped, "We learned we could never become the city's news leader on a UHF station."{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116531394/wltz-ready-to-be-player-in-tv-lineup/|date=November 5, 1995|page=D1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116531355/wltz/ D7]|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=WLTZ ready to be 'player' in TV lineup|newspaper=Ledger-Enquirer|location=|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=January 15, 2023|archive-date=January 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115215438/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116531394/wltz-ready-to-be-player-in-tv-lineup/|url-status=live}} AFLAC would return to the Columbus market in 1989 with the purchase of WTVM.{{r|Colu881106}}
Lewis took control on July 1, 1981; the station's 11 p.m. newscast was immediately cut,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377736/new-owners-drop-wyeas-11-pm-news/|date=July 1, 1981|page=B-1|first=Greg|last=Gardner|title=New Owners Drop WYEA's 11 p.m. News|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202404/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107377736/new-owners-drop-wyeas-11-pm-news/|url-status=live}} along with several staff dismissals in the news department.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107437969/more-changes-are-made-by-wyea-tv-owner/|date=July 2, 1981|page=B-6|first=Greg|last=Gardner|title=More Changes Are Made By WYEA-TV Owner|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202404/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107437969/more-changes-are-made-by-wyea-tv-owner/|url-status=live}} The station changed its call sign to WLTZ, beginning to brand itself as "Z-38", on August 31.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107438117/wyea-makes-changes-in-name-and-format/|date=August 30, 1981|page=12|first=Sandra|last=Okamoto|title=WYEA Makes Changes In Name and Format|newspaper=Sunday Ledger–Enquirer TV Book|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202405/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107438117/wyea-makes-changes-in-name-and-format/|url-status=live}} The station had better ratings for its entertainment programming in the Columbus metro area than it did in the larger designated market area, which included counties where WRBL and WTVM were received but not WLTZ.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108168395/uhf-status-remains-a-problem-for-wltz/|date=January 13, 1989|page=C-5|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=UHF status remains a problem for WLTZ|newspaper=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824074749/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108168395/uhf-status-remains-a-problem-for-wltz/|url-status=live}}
Under Lewis, the station briefly had the first Black anchor on Columbus television: future state senator Ed Harbison, who anchored WLTZ's evening newscast from September 1982 to August 1984.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116526881/harbison-to-anchor-wltz-news/|date=September 26, 1982|page=B-1|title=Harbison To Anchor WLTZ News|newspaper=The Columbus Ledger|location=|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=January 15, 2023|archive-date=January 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115215439/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116526881/harbison-to-anchor-wltz-news/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116527018/wltz-drops-co-anchor/|date=August 24, 1984|page=B-1|first=Pat|last=Quinley|title=WLTZ Drops Co-Anchor|newspaper=Ledger-Enquirer|location=|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=January 15, 2023|archive-date=January 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115215439/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116527018/wltz-drops-co-anchor/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107438263/areas-1st-black-anchorman-recalls-days/|date=January 22, 1986|page=A-11|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=Area's 1st Black Anchorman Recalls Days at 38|newspaper=The Columbus Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202406/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107438263/areas-1st-black-anchorman-recalls-days/|url-status=live}} The lack of a late newscast or weekend newscasts, plus many resources their competitors had and the frequent confusion of their reporters with those from other stations, slighted the channel 38 news staff: Mick Walsh, the television writer for The Columbus Enquirer, called WLTZ "the Rodney Dangerfield of local news".{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107438350/no-respect-wltz-feels-like-rodney/|date=January 22, 1987|page=B-8, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107438357/ B-9]|title=No Respect: WLTZ Feels Like Rodney Dangerfield of Local News|newspaper=Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202406/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107438350/no-respect-wltz-feels-like-rodney/|url-status=live}} In one instance, WLTZ passed on the opportunity to send a media member to witness an execution because it would have been too late on a Friday to have a story for any newscast; it was the first time that a media representative had failed to show up for an execution in Georgia since 1976.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107438318/wltz-execution-too-late-in-week-to-cove/|date=June 3, 1987|page=B-10|title=WLTZ: Execution Too Late in Week to Cover|newspaper=The Columbus Ledger|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202407/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107438318/wltz-execution-too-late-in-week-to/|url-status=live}} Ratings remained stubbornly low. In February 1993, four percent of Columbus metro households watched WLTZ's 6 p.m. newscast, a sharp contrast to Star Trek: The Next Generation on WXTX (15 share) and the newscasts on WRBL (18 share) and WTVM (52 share).{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108169187/survey-turned-up-the-heat-on-wltz/|date=April 13, 1993|page=D-1|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=Survey turned up 'the Heat' on WLTZ|newspaper=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824074722/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108169187/survey-turned-up-the-heat-on-wltz/|url-status=live}}
On November 15, 1993, station management announced the WLTZ news department would be dissolved on November 24, citing low ratings and lack of "wide market acceptance". The news came as a shock to the seven-member news staff, all but one of whom were laid off. By this time, the station was deep in fourth place; its 6 p.m. newscast attracted only a tenth of the ratings of market leader WTVM and was well behind Star Trek: The Next Generation on WXTX.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108169537/local-tv-team-gets-the-ax-channel-38-to/|date=November 16, 1993|page=A-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108170226/ A-12]|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=Local TV team gets the ax: Channel 38 to drop local news|newspaper=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824074723/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108169537/local-tv-team-gets-the-ax-channel-38/|url-status=live}} The station had no regular local newscasts for the next 14 years. However, it did invite one of the staffers it fired, Fleming, to produce short news breaks to air during NBC's coverage of the 1996 Summer Olympics.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108171167/fleming-returns-to-station-that-fired-hi/|date=July 24, 1996|page=Olympics 6|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=Fleming returns to station that fired him in 1991|newspaper=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824074723/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108171167/fleming-returns-to-station-that-fired/|url-status=live}}
Lewis announced it would sell WLTZ in 1994 to Piney Creek Broadcasting, headed by Ruth Allen Ollison, which would contract with Jack Pezold, owner of Fox affiliate WXTX, to provide its programs under a local marketing agreement (LMA).{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108170602/wxtx-to-run-wltzs-programming-rival-br/|date=February 4, 1994|page=A-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108170627/ A-7]|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=WXTX to run WLTZ's programming: Rival broadcasters make agreement|newspaper=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824074724/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108170602/wxtx-to-run-wltzs-programming-rival/|url-status=live}} Pezold would also finance the sale for Piney Creek. The proposed transaction led to a petitions to deny by WRBL and WTVM.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108170691/fcc-asked-to-look-into-sale-of-wltz-tv-s/|date=June 8, 1994|page=B6|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=FCC asked to look into sale of WLTZ-TV station|newspaper=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824074723/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108170691/fcc-asked-to-look-into-sale-of-wltz-tv/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108170957/line-up-to-block-sale-of-channel-38/|date=July 22, 1994|page=B7|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=Line up to block sale of Channel 38|newspaper=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823190700/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108170957/line-up-to-block-sale-of-channel-38/|url-status=live}} While the sale appeared to be "almost a done deal" by February 1995, when the FCC rejected the challenges from the competing local stations,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108170923/sale-of-channel-38-almost-a-done-deal/|date=February 24, 1995|page=B2|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=Sale of Channel 38 almost a done deal|newspaper=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824074723/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108170923/sale-of-channel-38-almost-a-done-deal/|url-status=live}} the deal fell through that April after Congress ended a tax certificate program that encouraged the sale of broadcast stations to minorities.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108171013/sale-of-wltz-falls-through/|date=April 6, 1995|page=C7|first=Mick|last=Walsh|title=Sale of WLTZ falls through|newspaper=Columbus Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824074724/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108171013/sale-of-wltz-falls-through/|url-status=live}}
=SagamoreHill ownership=
Lewis kept WLTZ until 2007, when it was sold to SagamoreHill Broadcasting; it was the last television property owned by Lewis.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/wltz-tv-change-hands-82531|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=April 27, 2007|title=WLTZ-TV To Change Hands|first=John|last=Eggerton|access-date=August 12, 2022|archive-date=April 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417195052/https://www.nexttv.com/news/wltz-tv-change-hands-82531|url-status=live}} In November 2007, the station brought back weeknight newscasts (seen at 6, 7, and 11 p.m., or 5, 6, and 10 Central) in partnership with the Independent News Network (INN) of Davenport, Iowa. Originally, the early evening shows aired in traditional half-hour formats, while the late newscast ran for 11 minutes. The Iowa-based news presenters read stories prepared by local reporters in Columbus; WLTZ also partnered with the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper for local coverage.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108171532/ledger-enquirer-wltz-partner-on-newscas/|date=November 12, 2007|page=D1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108171700/ D3]|first=Tony|last=Adams|title=Ledger-Enquirer, WLTZ partner on newscast|newspaper=Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824074725/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108171532/ledger-enquirer-wltz-partner-on/|url-status=live}}
WLTZ converted to digital-only broadcasting February 17, 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.wltz.com/news/local/39692037.html|work=WLTZ|title=Turning Off Analog. WLTZ Goes Digital|date=February 17, 2009|access-date=February 17, 2009|archive-date=February 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225230827/http://www.wltz.com/news/local/39692037.html|url-status=live}} That same year, the station added The CW to a subchannel after the network discontinued its relationship with Pappas Telecasting, owner of WLGA (channel 66), then the region's CW affiliate.{{cite news |url=http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/672471.html |title= WLTZ's parent firm to carry CW Network in Columbus |first=Andrea V.|last=Hernandez|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618105008/https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/672471.html |archive-date=June 18, 2009 |work=Ledger–Enquirer |access-date=April 3, 2009 |date=April 3, 2009}} In 2012, the station restored local news production from Columbus.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110043091/armstrong-coming-back-to-news/|date=January 5, 2012|page=B1|title=Armstrong coming back to news?|newspaper=Ledger-Enquirer|location=Columbus, Georgia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 23, 2022|archive-date=September 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923071635/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110043091/armstrong-coming-back-to-news/|url-status=live}}
In September 2020, SagamoreHill entered into an eight-year shared services agreement with Gray to provide back-office services including master control, engineering services, and promotional services, as well as newscasts for WLTZ.{{cite web|url=https://publicfiles.fcc.gov/api/manager/download/bf4c70a0-0bd9-9080-893f-6fba6bdbc7a3/1d06a0db-30a4-477b-9c1e-a1fc2b835195.pdf|title=WLTZ Shared Services Agreement (Redacted)|work=Public Inspection Files|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=September 1, 2020|access-date=November 16, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812202346/https://files.fcc.gov/download/1d06a0db-30a4-477b-9c1e-a1fc2b835195.pdf|url-status=live}} On November 24, 2020, television industry website FTVLive.com reported that WLTZ had produced its final newscast on November 20 and that many employees were then laid off. WLTZ now simulcasts newscasts produced by WTVM.{{cite web |last1=Redmond |first1=Tyler |title=Some WTVM News Leader 9 Newscasts Will Be Seen On WLTZ NBC 38 |url=https://www.wtvm.com/2020/11/22/some-wtvm-news-leader-newscasts-will-be-seen-wltz-nbc/ |website=WTVM |access-date=October 21, 2021 |date=November 23, 2020 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020230352/https://www.wtvm.com/2020/11/22/some-wtvm-news-leader-newscasts-will-be-seen-wltz-nbc/ |url-status=live }}
Technical information
=Subchannels=
The station's signal is multiplexed:
| class="wikitable"
! scope = "col" | Channel ! scope = "col" | Video ! scope = "col" | Aspect ! scope = "col" | Short name ! scope = "col" | Programming |
| scope = "row" | 38.1 |
|---|
| scope = "row" | 38.2
| WLTZ-D2 || The CW Plus |
| scope = "row" | 38.3
| rowspan=2|480i || 4:3 || WLTZ-D3 || Antenna TV / MyNetworkTV |
| scope = "row" | 38.4
| 16:9 || WLTZ-D4 || Court TV |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.wtvm.com WTVM official website]
- [http://www.cw-gabama.com/ CW-GABama.com] (DT2)
{{Columbus GA TV}}
{{NBC Georgia}}
{{SagamoreHill}}
{{Gray TV}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wltz}}
Category:SagamoreHill Broadcasting
Category:Television channels and stations established in 1970