View source for WGBA-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Green Bay, Wisconsin}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{distinguish|WGBH-TV}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WGBA-TV
| city = Green Bay, Wisconsin
| logo = WGBA 2021 Logo.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| logo_alt = In a Futura-like font without serifs, a large black "26" with the NBC Peacock logo to the right is displayed.
| branding = NBC 26
| digital = 14 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 26
| subchannels = 
| translators = WLWK-CD 22 (UHF) [[Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin|Sturgeon Bay]]
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''26.1:''' [[NBC]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner = [[E. W. Scripps Company]]
| licensee = Scripps Broadcasting Holdings [[LLC]]
| location = [[Green Bay, Wisconsin|Green Bay]]–[[Appleton, Wisconsin]]
| country = United States
| airdate = {{start date and age|1980|12|31|p=y}}
| callsign_meaning = Green Bay & Appleton
| sister_stations = [[WACY-TV]]
| former_callsigns = {{ubl|WLRE (1980–1985)|WGBA (1985–2009; unsuffixed calls)}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 26 (UHF, 1980–2009)|'''Digital:''' 41 (UHF, 2002–2018)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[Independent station|Independent]] (1980–1992)|[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] (1992–1995)}}
| erp = 500 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|369|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 2708
| coordinates = {{nowrap|{{coord|44|21|30|N|87|58|48.4|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.nbc26.com/}}
}}

'''WGBA-TV''' (channel 26) is a [[television station]] in [[Green Bay, Wisconsin]], United States, affiliated with [[NBC]]. It is owned by the [[E. W. Scripps Company|E.{{nbsp}}W. Scripps Company]] alongside [[Appleton, Wisconsin|Appleton]]-licensed [[independent station]] [[WACY-TV]] (channel 32). The two stations share studios on North Road near the [[WIS 172]] freeway in [[Ashwaubenon]] (with a Green Bay [[United States Postal Service|postal]] address); WGBA-TV's transmitter is located in the unincorporated community of [[Shirley, Wisconsin|Shirley]], east of [[De Pere, Wisconsin]].

WGBA-TV operates a [[Class A television service|Class A]] [[broadcast relay station#Broadcast translators|translator]] station in [[Door County]], '''WLWK-CD''' (channel 22), licensed to [[Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin|Sturgeon Bay]], which transmits from a site north of Sturgeon Bay on Door County Trunk Highway HH.

==History==
===Early years===
WLRE, which stood for station co-founder Lyle R. Evans, sought to be operational as early as December 1977. It delayed so that it could put its transmission tower on [[Scray Hill]] near De Pere, the location of other Green Bay market transmitter towers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/290679411|title=Opening of Fifth Green Bay TV Station Delayed|date=January 22, 1978|work=The Post-Crescent|access-date=May 26, 2018|page=C-12|language=en|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Ultimately the location was approved, but it meant ground was not broken on the studio and antenna location until June 1980. The station signed on the air on [[New Year's Eve|December 31]], 1980, broadcasting an [[analog television|analog]] signal on UHF channel 26. It was the Green Bay market's second [[independent station]], after the short-lived [[KFIZ-TV]] (channel 34) in [[Fond du Lac, Wisconsin|Fond du Lac]] from 1968 to 1972. It was also the first new commercial station to sign-on in Green Bay itself since [[WFRV-TV]] (channel 5) signed on in May 1955. On November 12, 1982, WLRE was able to power up a new transmitter and had plans for further antenna power boosts.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/288954495|title=New Transmitter part of WLRE push into Valley|date=November 20, 1982|work=The Post-Crescent|access-date=May 26, 2018|page=B-4|language=en|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In early 1983, coinciding with the purchase of a licensing deal of approximately 1,000 movies and other syndicated programs,<ref name=":0" /> WLRE took on the tagline "The Great Entertainer".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/289088882|title=7PM PRIME REVIEWS (Advertisement)|date=April 26, 1983|work=The Post-Crescent|access-date=May 26, 2018|at=B-6|language=en|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In late 1984, the station's partnership was dissolved in a [[bankruptcy]] court in which investors lost money. In 1985, it was bought by [[Family Group Broadcasting]] Incorporated for only pennies on the dollar. On October 3 of that year, the station's call letters were changed to WGBA-TV.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fccinfo.com/CMDProEngine.php?sCurrentService=TV&tabSearchType=Appl&sAppIDNumber=596813&PHPSESSID=27f736e089acabb7eb90d1e8778b2c6a|title=FCCInfo Results|publisher=Cavell, Mertz & Associates, Inc.|website=www.fccinfo.com|language=en|access-date=May 26, 2018}}</ref> The station, then known on-air as "TV 26", was well known in its early years for children's program host "Cuddles the [[Clown]]", who stayed with the station until it switched to NBC, and moved to sister station [[WACY-TV]] (channel 32) before retiring. The station's imaging was also shared with sister station [[WQRF-TV]] in [[Rockford, Illinois]]; [[WFXR|WVFT-TV]] in [[Roanoke, Virginia]]; [[WPGX-TV]] in [[Panama City, Florida]]; [[WFGX-TV]] in [[Fort Walton Beach, Florida]]; and [[WLAX-TV]] in [[La Crosse, Wisconsin]], including its early 'diamond' logo.

In the wake of a bankruptcy, Green Bay's original [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate WXGZ (channel 32) went dark on February 14, 1992. WGBA became the new affiliate the following day, changing its branding to "Fox 26". After Ace TV acquired the WXGZ license, WGBA helped to relaunch the station through a [[local marketing agreement]] in June 1994. That station became a charter affiliate of [[UPN]] and changed its call letters to WACY-TV in 1995. In 1994, during the first year of [[Fox NFL|Fox's contract to broadcast NFL games]], the station entered into a contract with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[WBAY-TV]] (channel 2) to produce a pregame show to air before [[Green Bay Packers]] games since it lacked a local sports department. With Fox gaining rights to air NFC games, channel 26 became the Packers' unofficial home station (a role it would only hold for one season; since their switch to NBC, the station aired any Packer games from 1995 to 1997 when the team hosted an AFC team at Lambeau Field, and since 2006, all ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football]]'' games; it also was the station [[Super Bowl XXXII]] aired in the market).

===NBC affiliation===
[[File:WACY-WGBA.JPG|thumb|right|The studios of WGBA-TV and [[WACY-TV]] in 2007]]

{{further|1994–1996 United States broadcast television realignment}}
In 1994, [[WLUK-TV]] (channel 11) and three other stations owned by Burnham Broadcasting were sold to [[SF Broadcasting]] (owned as a partnership between [[Savoy Pictures|Savoy Communications]] and Fox). As part of the purchase and through Fox's ownership of the group, SF signed a group affiliation deal to switch its stations to Fox; this enabled WLUK to become the Packers' unofficial "home" station as Fox had acquired the television contract to the [[NFL]]'s [[National Football Conference]]. Almost by default, WGBA was then left to take the NBC affiliation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14581047/green-bay-press-gazette/|title = Clipped from Green Bay Press-Gazette|newspaper = Green Bay Press-Gazette|date = August 27, 1995|page = 37}}</ref> On August 28, 1995, WGBA-TV switched its affiliation to NBC (and changed its on-air branding to "NBC 26"); the Fox affiliation moved to former NBC affiliate WLUK. As an NBC affiliate, it struggled to find a constant identity. Green Bay's other three stations have been on-the-air since the 1950s and had loyal audiences. Relief did not come until October 2004, when the Journal Broadcast Group bought it for $43.2 million after Aries Telecommunications sold the station. Journal had long wanted a station in Northeastern Wisconsin alongside its flagship station, [[WTMJ-TV]] in [[Milwaukee]], that [[media market|market]]'s NBC affiliate and long-dominant news station.

The purchase also included the LMA with WACY. Although Journal wanted to buy WACY outright, this had been unlikely since Green Bay has only seven full-power stations (not enough to legally permit a duopoly). However, in September 2010, WLUK owner [[LIN TV Corporation]] exercised an option to purchase [[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[WCWF]] (channel 14) from [[ACME Communications]], and filed for a "failing station waiver" – which permits duopoly in such situations if the petitioner can prove the station is in an economically non-viable position – to allow LIN to own WLUK and WCWF. Because WCWF was hampered for years by several factors, including insufficient cable carriage and an analog signal originating more towards its city of license, [[Suring]], than Green Bay, the waiver was granted in February 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=LIN Seeks OK for Dayton, Green Bay Duops|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2010/09/21/45473/lin-seeks-ok-for-dayton-green-bay-duops|first=Harry A.|last=Jessell|author2=Arthur Greenwald|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=September 21, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=FCC Grants Sale of ACME Stations, Denies Time Warner Cable Petitions|url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/fcc/fcc-grants-sale-acme-stations-denies-time-warner-cable-petitions/295693|first=John|last=Eggerton|periodical=[[Multichannel News]]|publisher=NewBay Media|date=April 12, 2011}}</ref> Journal eventually pleaded for the failing station waiver for WACY at the beginning of 2012, citing that station's [[dark (broadcasting)|dark period]] between 1992 and 1994 (when the Ace TV LMA began) and that the station was unable to survive on its own without the production and control assistance of WGBA. Because of this, the FCC allowed the full sale of WACY to Journal at the beginning of September 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=Journal hopes to buy WACY for $2M|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2012/05/04/59209/journal-hopes-to-buy-wacy-for-2m|first=Harry A.|last=Jessell|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=May 4, 2012|access-date=June 28, 2015}}</ref><ref name=b&c-waivergranted>{{cite news|title=FCC Okays Journal Request for Green Bay Duopoly Waiver|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/fcc-okays-journal-request-green-bay-duopoly-waiver/43657|first=John|last=Eggerton|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|publisher=[[NewBay Media]]|access-date=September 4, 2012|date=September 4, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Journal closes acquisition of WACY-TV in Fox Valley|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2012/10/23/journal-closes-acquisition-of-wacy-tv.html|first=Rich|last=Kirchen|newspaper=Milwaukee Business Journal|publisher=[[American City Business Journals]]|date=October 23, 2012}}</ref>

Since being acquired by Journal, WGBA and WTMJ have become close [[sister station]]s, eventually synchronizing their news imaging and sharing news and sports resources (WTMJ had previously paired with WFRV-TV, an NBC affiliate until the early 1980s, to provide Green Bay coverage and video). This became more evident in 2008, when WGBA outsourced sports and weekend weather reports to WTMJ, and had simulcast that station's morning and noon newscasts for a short time.

====Summer 2013 Time Warner Cable carriage dispute====
After several extensions of the original June 30, 2013, expired agreement, and the invocation of the [[sweeps]] rule disallowing cable providers from pulling the main signal of a carried station during local sweeps periods (which includes July),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2013/06/28/time-warner-cable-channel-4-owner.html|title=Time Warner Cable, Channel 4 owner agree to extension|first=Rich|last=Kirchen|newspaper=The Business Journal (Milwaukee)|publisher=[[American City Business Journals]]|date=June 28, 2013|access-date=June 29, 2013}}</ref> the main signals of WGBA and WACY were pulled off [[Time Warner Cable]] systems in the market at midnight on July 25, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Conspiracy theories, frustration multiply as Time Warner pulls WTMJ-TV|url=http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/tvradio/conspiracy-theories-frustration-multiply-as-time-warner-pulls-wtmj-tv-b9960887z1-217024301.html|first=Duane|last=Dudek|newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|publisher=Journal Communications|date=July 25, 2013|access-date=August 15, 2013}}</ref> The MeTV subchannel had been pulled earlier on July 10 as those were not under the same protection under the sweeps rule.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stalemate in Journal Broadcast negotiations with Time Warner|url=http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/entertainment/214982561.html|first=Duane|last=Dudek|newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|publisher=Journal Communications|date=July 10, 2013|access-date=July 10, 2013}}</ref> WTMJ was also affected in the Milwaukee market, along with Journal stations in [[Omaha]] and [[Palm Springs, California]]. The main effect of the blackout on Time Warner Cable systems was the carriage of three Packers preseason games on WTMJ and WGBA, which were blacked out on the provider due to the dispute, though the games were still available via the [[Spanish language]] simulcast using the Packers Television network camera positions produced for Milwaukee's [[Telemundo]] affiliate [[WYTU-LD]] (channel 63/49.4), which is carried on the subchannel tier in the Green Bay market (and was simulcast on WACY), with the suggestion to listen to English play-by-play via either [[WTMJ (AM)|WTMJ]] radio from Milwaukee or the local FM stations in Green Bay or Appleton carrying Packers Radio Network coverage. The later replays of the games were also available via replays on [[NFL Network]] through the week.<ref>{{cite news|title=Packers ratings strong despite blackout of WTMJ on Time Warner|url=http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/entertainment/219106561.html|first=Duane|last=Dudek|newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|publisher=Journal Communications|date=August 10, 2013|access-date=August 15, 2013}}</ref>

A [[class action lawsuit]] was also filed by viewers against Time Warner Cable on August 8 under grounds of [[breach of contract]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.multichannel.com/distribution/twc-customers-file-lawsuit-over-retrans-disconnect-milwaukee-station/144892|title=TWC Customers File Lawsuit over Retrans Disconnect with Milwaukee Station; Plaintiffs Seek Class-Action Status over Disconnect with Journal Broadcast's WTMJ|last=Reynolds|first=Mike|date=August 9, 2013|work=[[Multichannel News]]|access-date=August 15, 2013}}</ref> Journal Broadcast Group has also made claims via its website detailing their version of the carriage dispute that TWC was distracted due to the other dispute involving [[CBS Corporation]]'s [[CBS Television Stations|Television Stations group]] and [[Showtime Networks]] premium channel suites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jbganswers.com|title=JBG Answers|access-date=August 15, 2013}}</ref>

By August 15, WGBA and WACY's channel slots on Time Warner Cable were replaced with a simulcast of [[Game Show Network|GSN]], with [[Starz (TV channel)|Starz Kids & Family]] airing on the channel 994 subchannel slot usually carrying MeTV. Journal Broadcast Group also asked state authorities to intervene in their dispute with Time Warner Cable.<ref>{{cite web|title=Journal asks state to force Time Warner to credit customers|url=http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/journaltimewarner.html?34842|first=Steve|last=Kabelowsky|website=[[OnMilwaukee.com]]|publisher=LIFTdigital Solutions|date=August 14, 2013|access-date=August 15, 2013}}</ref>

Journal and Time Warner Cable came to an agreement for carriage on September 20, 2013, to last at least through the [[2016 Summer Olympics]], returning WGBA and WACY to their lineups as of 7 p.m. that evening. However, Journal conceded that the analog and [[cable-ready]] positions were less important than carriage in the high definition tier, so while WGBA's high definition signal remained on channel 1007, the standard definition signal moved to channel 13, WACY's former SD slot, with WACY shifting to channel 83 with high definition coverage coming at the start of the year.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Journal Broadcast Group and Time Warner Cable Reach Agreement|url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=145779&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1856754&highlight=|publisher=Journal Communications|date=September 20, 2013|access-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref> However, MeTV subchannel 26.2 remained removed from Time Warner systems, though southern portions of the Green Bay market already receive MeTV Milwaukee flagship [[WBME-CD]] (channel 41) on the basic lifeline tier.<ref>{{cite web|title=TWC Conversations: Q: Why are WGBA-D2 (Me TV), WTMJ-D2 (Storm Team), WTMJ-D3 (Live Well) no longer available? A: We have agreed with Journal to carry the channels that we believe deliver the most value to our customers.|url=http://twcconversations.com/dispute/local/|publisher=Time Warner Cable|date=September 21, 2013|access-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922161647/http://twcconversations.com/dispute/local/|archive-date=September 22, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Sale to the E. W. Scripps Company====
On July 30, 2014, the [[E. W. Scripps Company]] announced that it would acquire Journal Communications in an all-stock transaction. The combined firm would retain their broadcast properties, including WTMJ-TV and its radio siblings, with the print assets being [[corporate spin-off|spun off]] as Journal Media Group.<ref>{{cite web|title=Journal, Scripps deal announced|url=http://www.jsonline.com/business/news31-b99321641z1-269303021.html|first=Bill|last=Glauber|newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|publisher=Journal Communications|date=July 30, 2014|access-date=July 30, 2014}}</ref> The deal was approved by the FCC on December 12, 2014,<ref>{{cite web|title=Scripps-Journal Merger Gets FCC OK|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/81530/scrippsjournal-merger-gets-fcc-ok|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=December 12, 2014}}</ref> with shareholders of the two companies approving it on March 11, 2015;<ref>{{cite web|title=Journal Communications, Scripps Spin/Merger set for April 1|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/joecornell/2015/03/16/journal-communications-scripps-spinmerger-set-for-april-1/|first=Joe|last=Cornell|periodical=[[Forbes]]|publisher=Forbes LLC|date=March 16, 2015}}</ref> the merger/spin-off between Journal and Scripps formally closed on April 1.

Scripps and Time Warner Cable announced a new multi-year carriage agreement on February 1, 2016, that includes WGBA and WACY, well ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics and averting any carriage issues for the Games.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tvtechnology.com/business/0011/retrans-quietly-accomplished-ew-scripps-time-warner-cable/277857|title=Retrans Quietly Accomplished: E.W. Scripps, Time Warner Cable|last=McAdams|first=Deborah|date=February 1, 2016|work=TVTechnology|access-date=February 3, 2016}}</ref> This also returned all the subchannels of WGBA to Time Warner systems in the area on channels 990 and 991, which occurred on April 4, 2016.

==Programming==
===Packers partnership===
On March 2, 2012, the Green Bay Packers and Journal announced that WTMJ would be retained as the ''Official Packers Station'' in the Milwaukee market after the expiration of the previous agreement, and that WGBA would become the official station for the team in the Green Bay market beginning in August 2012, replacing former partner WFRV-TV.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/141227143.html|title=Packers and Journal Broadcast Group announce partnership deal|last=Wolfley|first=Bob|date=March 2, 2012|work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|access-date=March 3, 2012}}</ref> As a result, WGBA carries the majority of the team's preseason schedule (the game broadcasts use [[CBS Sports]] announcers, with the ''NBC Sunday Night Football'' graphics package) along with ''Packers Live'' Tuesday nights and ''Total Packers with [[Matt LaFleur]]'' on Wednesday evenings before prime time, and the ''Inside Lambeau'' program on Sunday nights, along with other official team programming; the station also provides gametime and 'ride home' forecasts for the "TundraVision" scoreboard displays at [[Lambeau Field]] during Packers home games. The first preseason game of 2012 was a national [[Monday Night Football|ESPN game]] against the [[San Diego Chargers]] on August 9 and aired on WBAY-TV, precluding a situation where NBC's non-preemptable coverage of the [[2012 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] would have forced WGBA to move that game to WACY instead (that situation also occurred four years later due to the 2016 Summer Olympics for two games). In addition, the station also held the rights to the September 13 ''[[Thursday Night Football]]'' game of the [[Packers–Bears rivalry]] broadcast on cable/satellite on NFL Network, a network unavailable to much of the Green Bay market at the time due to conflicts with Time Warner Cable (three weeks later Time Warner added the network to its systems); this unusually forced the [[America's Got Talent (season 7)|season seven finale of ''America's Got Talent'']] to air the same night over WACY (the station's first move of NBC programming to that station in a pre-emption situation), and re-air after ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' on September 15 on WGBA due to the preemption. As an NBC affiliate, WGBA broadcasts Packers games that are played on ''Sunday Night Football''. For the [[2016 Green Bay Packers season|2016]] and [[2017 Green Bay Packers season|2017 season]]s, the station also aired Packers appearances on NBC's portion of the ''Thursday Night Football'' contract, along with the November 17, 2022, Packers game against the [[2022 Tennessee Titans season|Tennessee Titans]] on [[Amazon Prime Video]]. It also carried the team's first London appearance in the [[NFL International Series]] on October 9 against the [[2022 New York Giants season|New York Giants]] at [[Tottenham Hotspur Stadium]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2022/09/16/packers-thursday-night-football-game-vs-tennessee-titans-november-17-will-air-in-milwaukee-green-bay/10396746002/|title=Don't worry, (some of) you will be able to watch the Packers on your regular TV channels for 'Thursday Night Football' in November|last=Radcliffe|first=JD|date=September 16, 2022|work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref>

[[Larry McCarren]], who had been the sports director at WFRV until the Packers contract ended in March 2012, along with budget cuts at that station, went over to Journal in July 2012; however he was only able to do short Packer analysis segments through the 2012 season on-air for WTMJ and WGBA, along with blogging on WTMJ's site, due to a one-year [[non-compete clause]] (which included these segments by contractual force originating outside the Green Bay market in Milwaukee), but continued his duties as color commentator over Journal's Packers Radio Network. With the expiration of the clause, McCarren assumed sports director duties for WGBA on April 1, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourmidwestmedia.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3850|title=Larry McCarren returns to TV |publisher=Your Midwest Media}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2013/03/18/mccarren-will-return-to-anchoring.html|title=McCarren will return to anchoring sports on Green Bay TV|last=Kirchen|first=Rich|date=March 18, 2013|publisher=The Business Journal (Milwaukee)|access-date=March 19, 2013}}</ref> ''Packers Live'', a program that resembles his former ''[[Locker Room (WFRV-TV)|Locker Room]]'' program, with Packer player guests and "chalk talk" play analysis in front of a live audience, also began airing on the station beginning with the 2013 NFL season. He retired as WGBA sports director in April 2015 to fully focus on his television and radio network duties for the Packers and Scripps (as of the fall 2018 purchase of Scripps' Milwaukee radio stations by Good Karma Brands, his radio duties are now with that group).

===News operation===
[[File:WGBA-TV.png|thumb|left|150px|A secondary version of WGBA's logo, formerly primary until the channel number and NBC logo were isolated in 2021. Currently used mainly for [[station identification]] purposes.]]
WGBA-TV broadcasts {{frac|24|1|2}} hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with {{frac|4|1|2}} hours each weekday and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). In addition to its main studios, the station operates a [[Fox Cities]] Bureau in Downtown [[Appleton, Wisconsin|Appleton]] on West College Avenue. WGBA operates its own [[weather radar]] from the North Road studios. In addition to [[local insertion]]s during ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'', WGBA also carries news and weather updates during the noon hour weekdays during ''[[NBC News Daily]]'' at around 20 and 50 minutes past the hour.

In early 1996, shortly after WGBA picked up the NBC affiliation, then-owner Aries Telecommunications announced plans to start a full-fledged news department for the station. On July 19, 1996, during the start of NBC's coverage of the [[1996 Summer Olympics]], WGBA debuted its local newscasts, with a half-hour early-evening newscast at 6&nbsp;p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays (the initial broadcast of that program on July 19 ran a special one-hour broadcast, leading into NBC's coverage of the [[1996 Summer Olympics opening ceremony|Olympic Opening Ceremonies]] in [[Atlanta]]) and a late evening newscast at 10&nbsp;p.m. seven nights a week. Ted O'Connell<ref>{{YouTube|title=1996 WGBA promo for upcoming news|id=kWZi3RbBujo}}</ref> was WGBA's first [[news director]]; he was succeeded by Ashley Webster (now a journalist with [[Fox Business Network]]), who also served as weeknight co-anchor alongside Heather Hays (presently a main anchor at Fox [[owned-and-operated station]] [[KDFW]] in [[Dallas]]-[[Fort Worth]]). Eventually as the operation grew, the station added newscasts on weekday mornings, weekdays at noon and at 5&nbsp;p.m.

WGBA's newscasts have consistently rated fourth in the market, behind WBAY, WLUK and WFRV. Ratings were unable to improve after the Journal purchase, even with the ties to WTMJ's news department, which had issues in itself in the Milwaukee market. The [[Great Recession]] in particular starkly brought these issues on-air. On June 3, 2008, Journal announced that WGBA's sports department would shut down and that it would be laying off sports anchors Ted Stefaniak and John Burton.<ref>{{cite news|title=Channel 26 drops sports anchors|url=http://archive.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20080604/APC0101/306040032|first=Warren|last=Gerds|newspaper=[[Green Bay Press Gazette]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|date=June 4, 2008|access-date=June 28, 2015}}</ref> Until Larry McCarren took over as sports director in April 2013,<ref>{{cite news|title=Larry McCarren Joins WGBA as Sports Director|url=http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/larry-mccarren-joins-wgba-as-sports-director/85356|first=Merrill|last=Knox|website=[[AdWeek|TVSpy]]|publisher=[[Guggenheim Partners]], Mediabistro Holdings|date=March 18, 2013}}</ref> sports segments were taped in advance and originated from WTMJ's facilities (on East Capitol Drive/[[WIS 190]] in Milwaukee's [[Neighborhoods of Milwaukee|Far North Side]] section) using its personnel.

On July 14, 2008, due to low ratings and inconsistent viewership, WGBA discontinued its weekday morning and noon newscasts, while laying off some of its staff. In place of those shows, the station began simulcasting WTMJ's morning and midday newscasts ''Live at Daybreak'' (now known as ''TMJ4 News Today'') and ''Live at Noon'', interspersed with local weather cut-ins presented by a meteorologist from WGBA's Green Bay studios (again, recorded in advance since WTMJ was already live in its own market), but with no regard to coverage of Fox Valley and Green Bay news.<ref>{{cite news|title=Channel 26 cuts newscasts, positions|url=http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080715/GPG0101/807150583/1978|first=Warren|last=Gerds|newspaper=Green Bay Press Gazette|publisher=Gannett Company|date=July 15, 2008|access-date=June 28, 2015}}</ref> Due to the latter issue, in January 2009, the weekday morning simulcast was dropped and turned into a WGBA-produced rolling weather block called ''Non-Stop Weather''. WTMJ's weekday noon broadcast was later moved to WACY and replaced in that timeslot on WGBA by [[Infomercial|paid programming]], which for a time in 2008, filled some of the station's early afternoon schedule due to an unusual number of syndicated program cancellations in that year. The midday news simulcast on WACY and paid programming on WGBA were eventually dropped as well.

On April 7, 2009, WTMJ became the first station in Milwaukee to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[high-definition television|high definition]]. However, until April 2012, the pre-taped nightly sports and weekend weather segments originating from WTMJ were broadcast in [[4:3]] [[standard definition]].<ref>{{cite news|title=TMJ4 Debuts HD Newscasts|url=http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/45353467.html|website=[[WTMJ (AM)]]|publisher=[[Journal Communications]]|first=Erik|last=Bilstad|date=April 7, 2009|access-date=June 28, 2015}}</ref> On July 24, it was announced that WGBA would eliminate some of its reporting and photojournalist positions, with the remaining staff being retrained to act as "one-man band" [[videojournalist]]s handling reporting, camera work, and editing stories themselves. In September 2009, reporter Bonnie Kirschman, the final employee to remain with WGBA's news operation since its 1996 launch, left the station.

In mid-August 2009, the weekday morning weather block was canceled entirely and replaced by the now-canceled syndicated lifestyle talk show ''[[Better (talk show)|Better]]'', which moved to the 5&nbsp;a.m. hour followed by encore broadcasts of the previous night's 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast and ''[[Early Today]]'' before ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Warren Gerds column: WGBA shuffles morning schedule|url=http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090817/GPG0704/908170513|first=Warren|last=Gerds|newspaper=Green Bay Press Gazette|publisher=Gannett Company|date=August 17, 2009|access-date=June 28, 2015}}</ref> On January 10, 2011, WGBA restored a weekday morning newscast to its schedule under the slightly revised title of ''NBC 26 News Today'' from a new secondary set exclusively used for the program.<ref>{{cite news|title=WGBA, Channel 26 in Green Bay, resumes morning newscasts|url=http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110208/GPG0704/102080490/1273/GPG07/Warren-Gerds-column--WGBA--Channel-26--resumes-morning-newscasts|first=Warren|last=Gerds|newspaper=Green Bay Press Gazette|publisher=Gannett Company|date=February 8, 2011|access-date=June 28, 2015}}</ref> In August 2012, the Valley news bureau, which had been in operation since July 1996, was shut down.

On April 7, 2012, WGBA upgraded its local newscasts to [[16:9]] widescreen standard definition. It became the last station in the market to convert to full high-definition operations on January 23, 2016, with the unveiling of a new chyron-heavy "virtual" set, the first major change to the station's newsroom and set since the station began carrying newscasts in 1996 and the newsroom and anchor sets were split off in the early 2000s via an opaque partition. The station began to use the default Scripps graphics package/news music package in October 2016.

In October 2014, the station added ''Wisconsin Tonight'', a pre-prime time newsmagazine to nights without Packers team programming which features news rundowns, feature segments and various NBC affiliate service reports, along with some shared content from WTMJ, which also carried their own edition of ''Wisconsin Tonight''; this averted a situation where ''[[Inside Edition]]'', which was moved to an earlier timeslot, might only air up to two of their five programs a week on the station in the fall and early winter. That show moved to WBAY in the fall of 2015. Starting with the 2016 Summer Olympics, the station launched Scripps' national programs ''The List'' and ''Right This Minute'' in the 4 p.m. timeslot. In June 2017, ''Wisconsin Tonight'' was retitled ''The Now Wisconsin'', in line with Scripps' branding for their feature-heavy local newscast format which WTMJ also took up; the ''Wisconsin Tonight'' title remained in use for a Saturday night [[advertorial]] program, presumably to prevent [[trademark dilution]] where another state station can claim the title for their program; it has intermittently aired since September 2017.

On June 15, 2020, WGBA began producing a 9 p.m. newscast for WACY entitled ''My News at 9'', the first time WLUK-TV's 9 p.m. news has had competition; the latter half hour is filled with a same-night replay of ''NBC26 Tonight'', the station's local version of Scripps' national program ''The Now'' (it is unknown if WGBA's Packers Television Network programming will repeat in the fall in that timeslot).

====National attention on the Internet====
In 2012, two segments from WGBA's morning newscasts gained notice on the Internet. In January of that year, a video showing meteorologist Brian Niznansky falling victim to an on-air prank went viral in which Niznansky was tricked into saying, "I love lamp," a line from the film ''[[Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy]]''. By October 2012, the video was viewed nearly two million times on [[YouTube]]. The prank was featured on several news sites, including on the front page of [[MSN]] at one point.

In September 2012, on the day following the controversial [[2012 Green Bay Packers–Seattle Seahawks game|NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks]], the station did a segment on its morning newscast with a "replacement weather guy", poking fun at the NFL replacement referees. WGBA floor director Tom Legener was seen on-air forecasting a "thunderblizzard hurricane", with a temperature of "-200 degrees" at 7&nbsp;a.m. and "346 degrees" at noon. The video went viral, and by October 2012, had nearly 600,000 views on YouTube. It was featured on various news sites, including [[CNN]], [[ESPN]], [[Yahoo!]], and MSN.

====Notable current on-air staff====
* [[Larry McCarren]] – former sports director; remains as ''Packers Live'' host

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WGBA-TV<ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WGBA#station RabbitEars TV Query for WGBA]</ref>
! scope = "col" colspan="2"|[[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|[[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|[[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|Short name
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|Programming
|-
! scope = "col" | {{small|WGBA-TV}}||{{small|WLWK-CD}}
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.1 || 22.1 
| [[1080i]] || rowspan="7" | [[16:9]] || WGBA-HD || [[NBC]] 
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.2 || 22.2 
| rowspan="6" |[[480i]] || IonPlus || [[Ion Plus]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.3 || 22.3 
| GRIT || [[Grit (TV network)|Grit]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.4 || 22.4 
| ION || [[Ion Television]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.5 || 22.5 
| HSN || [[HSN]] 
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.6 || 22.6 
| QVC || [[QVC]] 
|-
! scope = "row" | 26.7 || 22.7 
| QVC2 || [[QVC2]] 
|} 

WGBA launched a new second [[digital subchannel]] in November 2010 carrying [[TheCoolTV]] which had aired on the WTMJ's second subchannel since the summer of 2009. The establishment of WGBA-DT2 made it the second commercial station in the market to launch a subchannel service after WBAY-TV. On September 7, 2011, Journal and [[Weigel Broadcasting]] announced that WGBA would carry [[MeTV]] beginning on October 1, 2011.<ref>[http://metvnetwork.com/wherewatch.php?marketID=129 Where to Watch Me-TV: WGBA]</ref><ref name="Lafayette">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/473299-EXCLUSIVE_Me_TV_Signs_With_Stations_in_New_Markets.php|title=Me-TV Signs With Stations in New Markets; New affiliates bring coverage to 60% of U.S.|last=Lafayette|first=Jon|date=September 7, 2011|magazine=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|access-date=September 8, 2011}}</ref> MeTV replaced TheCoolTV on 26.2 on that date, as Journal brought a lawsuit against TheCoolTV's parent company Cool Music Network, LLC for non-payment of services; WTMJ-TV, along with Journal's other stations dropped the network on October 1, 2011, to carry [[Live Well Network]] or MeTV, depending on the market.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2011/09/02/channel-4-owner-sues-the-cool-tv.html|title=Channel 4 owner sues 'The Cool TV' for $257k|date=September 2, 2011|work=The Business Journal|access-date=September 13, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2011/09/12/channel-4-dropping-the-cool-tv-for.html|title=Channel 4 dropping 'The Cool TV' for lifestyle network|date=September 12, 2011|work=The Business Journal|access-date=September 13, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/morecharliesheen.html?27555|title=Get ready for another round of Charlie Sheen|last=Cuprisin|first=Tim|date=September 13, 2011|publisher=OnMilwaukee.com|access-date=September 13, 2011}}</ref> Sometime in the summer of 2016, 26.2 was converted to a [[widescreen]] presentation in line with Weigel converting their networks to that format.

On May 18, 2015, Scripps and [[Katz Broadcasting]] announced an affiliation agreement allowing Scripps' Green Bay duopoly to carry all three of Katz's digital broadcast networks in the near future, with WGBA carrying [[Laff (TV network)|Laff]] and WACY carrying [[Ion Mystery|Escape]] and [[Grit (TV network)|Grit]] (Laff launched one month earlier in markets with Scripps-owned stations not affected by its merger with the Journal Broadcasting Group, while the two others will also begin to be carried by select sister stations of WGBA through the deal).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/scripps-stations-launch-grit-and-escape-networks/140976|title=Scripps Stations to Launch Grit and Escape Networks; Expanded distribution for LAFF comedy channel|first=Jon|last=Lafayette|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|publisher=[[NewBay Media]]|date=May 18, 2015|access-date=May 19, 2015}}</ref> Laff debuted as a digital subchannel on August 12, 2015.

In late April 2019, WGBA was revealed as launching a fourth digital subchannel for Katz's relaunch of [[Court TV]] on May 8, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northpine.com/|title=Northpine.com|last=Ellis|first=Jon|date=April 25, 2019|publisher=Northpine|access-date=April 26, 2019}}</ref> At the end of October 2021, the station picked up [[Ion Television]] (formerly a WBAY subchannel since 2015), which had come under common Scripps ownership in January 2021. In December 2021, a minor switch of subchannels occurred, with WGBA-DT3 becoming the new home of Grit, and WACY-DT2 taking Laff.

The station ended its MeTV affiliation on October 1, 2022, due to corporate mandates involving Scripps preferring their networks be carried on their stations, with [[Defy TV]] replacing it and two subchannels for the [[QVC]] networks added on the same day. MeTV's owner [[Weigel Broadcasting]] has since launched a new [[Shawano, Wisconsin|Shawano]]-licensed station on channel 31, [[WMEI]], on June 23, 2024, with MeTV, in addition to subchannels carrying [[MeTV+]], [[MeTV Toons]], [[Story Television]] and [[Movies!]].

On July 1, 2024, subchannel 2 was switched without notice from Defy TV to ION plus.

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WGBA-TV shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 26, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 41,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="FCC Form 387">[http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231998&formid=387&fac_num=74098 CDBS Print<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> using [[virtual channel]] 26.

One week after the transition, Journal chose to suffix all of their owned television stations with the "-TV" suffix as part of the FCC's one-time allowance during the transition to allow stations to suffix either "-TV" or "-DT" to their call signs if not previously included on their permanent digital channel; this included WGBA, which became WGBA-TV in FCC correspondence and on-air station identifications upon that day.

On July 1, 2019, WGBA's digital signal moved from channel 41 to channel 14 as part of the FCC spectrum repack.

===Translator===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! City of license
! Callsign
! Channel
! [[effective radiated power|ERP]]
! [[HAAT]]
! [[Facility ID]]
! Transmitter coordinates
|-
| [[Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin|Sturgeon Bay]] ||'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|2711|3=WLWK-CD}}'''|| 19 (UHF, VC 22) || 4.1&nbsp;kW || {{convert|195.8|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} || 2711 || {{coord|44|54|13.7|N|87|22|08.2|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=WLWK-CD}} 
|}
In addition to its main signal, WGBA operates a [[broadcast relay station#Broadcast translators|translator]] to extend the station's coverage northward. This is a remnant of the analog era when it was Green Bay's only major UHF commercial television station. The station in fact kept a [[post office box]] address open for years to allow responses to an offer through a station promo of a free pamphlet describing the installation of a UHF [[television antenna]] to interested viewers until the early 1990s.<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 21, 1981|title=WLRE 1981 UHF Booklet Offer|pages=30|work=The Post-Crescent|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55892281/the-post-crescent/|access-date=July 23, 2020}}</ref> During that period, residents of Northern [[Door County]] and the southern portion of [[Michigan]]'s [[Upper Peninsula]] could easily receive the three Green Bay network stations on [[VHF]] and WFRV semi-satellite [[WJMN-TV]] from [[Escanaba, Michigan]], along with PBS member station [[WNMU (TV)|WNMU]] from [[Marquette, Michigan]], but not WGBA and [[PBS Wisconsin]]'s WPNE-TV (channel 38); the latter is served by [[Sister Bay]] translator W15DJ-D.

'''WLWK-CD''' (channel 22) in [[Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin|Sturgeon Bay]] is officially licensed as a [[Class A television service|Class A]] station; this translator was known as W22BW prior to November 27, 2012.<ref name=fcc-w22bwtowktica>{{cite web|title=Call Sign Changes|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-317852A1.pdf|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=December 15, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Journal and Scripps used the Sturgeon Bay station to warehouse several [[call signs in North America|call letters]] utilized by its FM station on 94.5 in the Milwaukee market to prevent re-use by competitors. It first carried [[WKTI]], a call sign that had been in use from 1974 to 2008, and were previously warehoused on former sister station [[WJBE (AM)|WJBE]] (1040 AM) in [[Powell, Tennessee]], which serves the [[Knoxville]] market, until December 2012, when that station was sold to local interests. The calls came back into use in the Milwaukee market as of early June 2015, when Scripps switched 94.5 back to WKTI this time under a country format. WKTI-CD then changed its call sign to WLWK-CD on June 17, 2015, as the WLWK calls used between 2008 and 2015 (standing for "The Lake Milwaukee") on the 94.5 frequency had to be warehoused themselves to prevent [[WVTY|a station in Racine]] trying to claim the station's former branding and [[variety hits]] format after Scripps dropped it. Scripps sold the Milwaukee radio stations in 2018 to [[Good Karma Brands]], making it unlikely any other calls will be warehoused on channel 22.

====Former translators====
Before it became an NBC affiliate, WGBA was rebroadcast in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on W02AM (channel 2) in [[Gwinn, Michigan|Gwinn]], W09BA (channel 9) in [[Felch, Michigan|Felch]], [[WUPT-CA|W49AF]] (channel 49) in [[Crystal Falls, Michigan|Crystal Falls]], and W56BF (channel 56) in [[Iron Mountain, Michigan|Iron Mountain]]. The last translator was encrypted and part of the now-defunct over-the-air cable system in the area.

WGBA-TV formerly operated analog translator W31BK in [[Menominee, Michigan]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|https://www.nbc26.com/}}

{{Green Bay TV}}
{{NBC Wisconsin}}
{{Other Wisconsin Stations}}
{{EWS CORP}}
{{Green Bay Packers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wgba-Tv}}
[[Category:1980 establishments in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Ion Plus affiliates]]
[[Category:E. W. Scripps Company television stations]]
[[Category:Grit (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Television affiliates]]
[[Category:NBC affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1980]]
[[Category:Television stations in Green Bay, Wisconsin|GBA-TV]]