View source for WITN-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Washington, North Carolina}}
{{redirect|WITN|the AM radio station|WDLX|the FM radio station|WERO}}
{{distinguish|ITN|WTIN-TV}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WITN-TV
| city = {{nowrap|Washington, North Carolina}}
| logo = WITN-TV logo (2025).svg
| logo_size = 240px
| image = Witn dt2.png
| image_size = 115px
| branding = {{ubl|WITN|MyTV WITN 2 (7.2)|MeTV Eastern Carolina (7.3)}}
| analog =
| digital = 34 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 7
| translators =
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''7.1:''' [[NBC]]|'''7.2:''' [[MyNetworkTV]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| founded =
| airdate = {{Start date and age|1955|09|28|p=y}}
| location = {{ubl|[[Washington, North Carolina|Washington]]–[[Greenville, North Carolina|Greenville]]–[[New Bern]]–[[Jacksonville, North Carolina]]}}
| country = United States
| owner = [[Gray Media]]
| licensee = Gray Television Licensee, [[LLC]]
| callsign_meaning = Washington or [[Eyewitness News]]
| former_callsigns = WITN (1955–1978)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 7 ([[VHF]], 1955–2009)|'''Digital:''' 32 (UHF, until 2019)}}
| sister_stations = W27DP-D
| former_affiliations = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (secondary, 1955–1963)
| erp = 1,000 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|591.9|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| class =
| facility_id = 594
| coordinates = {{coord|35|21|55.9|N|77|23|34.6|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.witn.com/}}
}}
'''WITN-TV''' (channel 7) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Washington, North Carolina]], United States, serving [[Eastern North Carolina]] as an affiliate of [[NBC]] and [[MyNetworkTV]]. Owned by [[Gray Media]], the station has primary studio facilities on East Arlington Boulevard in [[Greenville, North Carolina|Greenville]], with an additional studio in [[New Bern]].{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} Its transmitter is located in [[Pitt County, North Carolina#Townships|Grifton Township]] along [[NC 118]].

==History==
The station signed on September 28, 1955, from facilities on [[U.S. Route 17 in North Carolina|US 17]] in [[Chocowinity]] (outside Washington, though with a Washington [[United States Postal Service|mailing]] address). It was the area's second television outlet to launch after Greenville's [[WNCT-TV]] (channel 9). It was an NBC affiliate from the start but shared secondary [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] relations with WNCT until the 1963 sign-on of WNBE-TV (channel 12, now [[WCTI-TV]]) in [[New Bern]]. WITN's first broadcast was game 1 of the [[1955 World Series]].<ref name="Founding of WITN">{{cite web |last1=Langley|first1=David|title=WITN Goes On The Air and My WITN Experience|url=http://pages.suddenlink.net/w4ydy/mywitnexperience.pdf|publisher=w4ydy|access-date=June 25, 2018}}</ref>

WITN aired an [[analog television|analog]] signal on [[VHF]] channel 7 from the region's highest transmitter at that time. The station was originally owned by North Carolina Television, a consortium of radio stations from Northeastern North Carolina. Majority ownership was held by the Roberson family, owners of WITN radio (930 AM, now [[WDLX]]; and FM 93.3, now [[WERO]]).

The group held onto the television station until 1985, when it was sold to [[AFLAC]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.witn.com/station/misc/27442154.html |title=WITN History: A Look At How We Began In 1955 |publisher=Witn.com |access-date=July 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702034347/http://www.witn.com/station/misc/27442154.html |archive-date=July 2, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It added the "-TV" suffix to its [[Call signs in North America#United States|call sign]] on July 31, 1978. In 1997, AFLAC sold its broadcasting group to Retirement Systems of [[Alabama]] which merged with Ellis Communications to form [[Raycom Media]]. However, Raycom could not keep WITN for long due to a significant signal overlap with [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]]'s [[WECT]], an Ellis property that was part of the deal. WITN's city-grade signal reaches the northern portion of the Wilmington market. At the time, the FCC normally did not allow one company to own two stations with overlapping signals, and would not even consider a waiver for a city-grade overlap. What was then known as Gray Communications (now [[Gray Television]]) bought the station later in 1997. It has been broadcasting a full-power digital signal since June 2006. They eventually reunited in 2019 after Gray acquired Raycom, but by then, overlaps of signals were not considered as long as the stations were in separate markets.<ref>[https://gray.tv/uploads/documents/pressreleases/Press%20Release%20re%20Completion%20of%20Raycom%20Acquisition.pdf "Gray Completes Acquisition of Raycom Media and Related Transactions"], [[Gray Television]], January 2, 2019, Retrieved January 2, 2019.</ref>

On January 7, 2009, a high definition feed of WITN-TV was launched on [[DirecTV]] and can now also be obtained on [[Dish Network]]. WITN-TV ended regular programming over its analog signal, over VHF channel 7, 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 32, using [[virtual channel]] 7.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=June 30, 2024 }}</ref><ref name="FCC Nightlight">{{cite web|url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-291375A1.pdf|title=UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=June 12, 2009|access-date=June 30, 2024}}</ref> As part of the [[SAFER Act]], WITN-TV kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of [[public service announcement]]s from the [[National Association of Broadcasters]].<ref name="FCC Nightlight"/> In June 2013, the station moved from its longtime home outside Washington to new high definition-ready studios in Greenville.

In addition to offering network and syndicated programming, WITN was also a multimedia rights partner for [[East Carolina University]] Athletics from 1998 to 2014. In addition to hosting the weekly coaches' shows for [[East Carolina Pirates football|football]] and [[East Carolina Pirates men's basketball|basketball]], the station produced live broadcasts of select games that were not picked up nationally by [[ESPN]] as part of its deal with [[Conference USA]]. Even though most of the broadcasts were limited to its own market, WITN got other television outlets throughout North Carolina to carry a football game in 2003 which saw ECU competing against in-state rival [[North Carolina Tar Heels football|University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] from [[Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium]]. In 2014, WNCT-TV picked up the ECU sports package, just as the school moved its programs to the [[American Athletic Conference]].<ref name=ecu>http://www.wnct.com/story/26083523/east-carolina-athletics-wnct-tv-announce-television-partnership ECU Media Relations, WNCT.com, July 22, 2014</ref>

==WITN-DT2==
'''WITN-DT2''' is the [[MyNetworkTV]]-affiliated second [[digital subchannel]] of WITN-TV, broadcasting in [[standard definition]] on channel 7.2.

===History===
Originally, WITN-DT2 served as a 24-hour local [[weather forecasting|weather]] channel. It picked up MyNetworkTV on September 28, 2009, after the area's [[Ion Television]] [[owned-and-operated station]] [[WEPX-TV]], channel 38 (and its full-time [[broadcast relay station#Satellite stations|satellite]], [[WPXU-TV]], channel 35) dropped the programming service.<ref name="WITN's Weather Channel Evolving to My TV - Eastern Carolina">{{cite web|url=http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/59668847.html |title=WITN's Weather Channel Evolving To My TV - Eastern Carolina |publisher=Witn.com |date=March 15, 2011 |access-date=July 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419191621/https://www.witn.com/home/headlines/59668847.html |archive-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref> At that point, local weather programming was reduced to overnights and mornings while syndicated offerings made up the rest of WITN-DT2's schedule. A further addition to that service occurred April 18, 2011, when it added MeTV and dropped all remaining weather-related programming with the new network taking up most of the weekend and daytime schedule.

Eventually, a new third digital subchannel signed on and began offering a 24-hour live feed of WITN's own [[Pulse-Doppler radar|Doppler]] [[weather radar]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Chris|last=Mossman |url=http://www.witn.com/blogs/fromthebigchair/The_Honeymooners_Twilight_Zone_Rawhide_Bonanza_and_Cannon_On_WITN_72_Live_Doppler_7_On_WITN_73_121582764.html |title=The Honeymooners, Twilight Zone, Rawhide, Bonanza and Cannon On WITN 7.2, Live Doppler 7 On WITN 7.3 |publisher=Witn.com |date=May 10, 2011 |access-date=July 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231440/http://www.witn.com/blogs/fromthebigchair/The_Honeymooners_Twilight_Zone_Rawhide_Bonanza_and_Cannon_On_WITN_72_Live_Doppler_7_On_WITN_73_121582764.html |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On January 17, 2013, it separated programming from MyNetworkTV and MeTV onto dedicated digital subchannels (with MeTV relocating to the third subchannel).<ref>{{cite web|last=Malone |first=Michael |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/489511-Market_Eye_Good_Night_Irene.php |title=Market Eye: Good Night, Irene &#124; Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=Broadcastingcable.com |date=September 24, 2012 |access-date=July 27, 2015}}</ref>

For a period of time, WITN-DT2 could also be seen on the digital tier of [[Time Warner Cable]] in the greater Wilmington area since that market's MyNetworkTV affiliate, [[W47CK]], was technically ineligible for carriage on cable providers due to its [[low-power broadcasting#Television|low-power]] status. As a result, the clearance allowed WITN-DT2 to unofficially serve as Wilmington's MyNetworkTV outlet (since, at that time, there was no station affiliated with the service in that area). Eventually, Time Warner Cable (now [[Charter Spectrum]]) picked up W47CK and subsequently dropped WITN-DT2 from the lineup.{{cn|date=September 2025}}

==News operation==
In terms of [[Nielsen ratings]], Eastern North Carolina is usually not very competitive during [[sweeps]] periods. Historically, WITN has been the #1 ranked newscast in the Greenville–Washington–New Bern market.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://gray.tv/index.php?page=financial-reports | title=Reports - Gray Television }}</ref>

The station's direct competitors are WCTI-TV and WNCT-TV. There have been occasions that WITN has come in 2nd place in ratings. WITN News ranked 2nd in the market to WCTI in 2014, before regaining 1st place in 2015. In July 2008, WNCT was the most watched television station in the market after taking first place weeknights at 6 and 11. However, since then, WNCT has fallen to 3rd place weeknights at 6.<ref>[http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6579887.htmlLink 3]</ref>

While broadcasting from its original facility in Chocowinity, WITN maintained secondary studios in Greenville on East Arlington Boulevard (within the Square Shopping Center) less than two blocks from its current base of operations. This location began broadcasting a weekday morning newscast in 1997 featuring a news anchor, [[meteorologist]], and photographer based out of there. In addition, weeknight interview segments were conducted from the old secondary studios.

After moving into its brand new facility in Greenville on June 5, 2013, WITN became the area's second television outlet to upgrade news production to high definition level.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/WITN-Starts-HD-Broadcasts-From-New-Greenville-Studio-210271561.html |title=WITN Starts HD Broadcasts From New Greenville Studio |publisher=Witn.com |date=June 5, 2013 |access-date=July 27, 2015}}</ref> In addition to its main studios in Greenville, the station operates news bureaus in [[Jacksonville, North Carolina|Jacksonville]] (on Valencia Drive) and in New Bern (on Middle Street).

===Notable former on-air staff===
* [[John Beard (news anchor)|John Beard]] – news anchor (1972–1976) 
* [[David Crabtree]] – anchor/reporter (1985–1988)
* [[Susan Roesgen]]

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WITN-TV<ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WITN#station RabbitEars TV Query for WITN]</ref>
! scope="col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope="col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope="col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope="col" | Short name
! scope="col" | Programming
|-
! scope="row" | 7.1
| [[1080i]] || rowspan="7"|[[16:9]] || WITN-DT || [[NBC]]
|-
! scope="row" | 7.2
| rowspan="6"| [[480i]] || WITN-MY || [[MyNetworkTV]]
|-
! scope="row" | 7.3
| WITN-ME || [[MeTV]]
|-
! scope="row" | 7.4
| STARTTV || [[Start TV]]
|-
! scope="row" | 7.5
| HEROES || [[Heroes & Icons]]
|-
! scope="row" | 7.6
| THE365 || [[365BLK]]
|-
! scope="row" | 7.7
| OXYGEN || [[Oxygen (TV network)|Oxygen]]
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|https://www.witn.com/}}
* [https://www.witn.com/station/mywitn WITN-DT2 MyNetworkTV]
* [http://www.metvgreenville.com/ WITN-DT3 MeTV]

{{Greenville/New Bern/Washington TV}}
{{North Carolina TV}}
{{Gray TV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witn-Tv}}
[[Category:1955 establishments in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Gray Media]]
[[Category:Heroes & Icons affiliates]]
[[Category:MeTV affiliates]]
[[Category:MyNetworkTV affiliates]]
[[Category:NBC affiliates]]
[[Category:Start TV affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1955]]
[[Category:Television stations in Greenville, North Carolina|ITN-TV]]