View source for WXIA-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Atlanta}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = WXIA-TV
| city                   =
| logo                   = WXIA-TV 2019 Logo.svg
| logo_size              = 200px
| branding               = 11 Alive
| digital                = 10 ([[VHF]])
| virtual                = 11
| subchannels            =
| translators            = [[WATL]] 11.11 Atlanta{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''11.1:''' [[NBC]]|''for others, see {{Section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner                  = {{ubl|[[Tegna Inc.]]|''(sale to [[Nexstar Media Group]] pending<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Mark K. |date=August 19, 2025 |title=Nexstar Buying Tegna For $6.2 Billion |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/nexstar-buying-tegna-for-6-2-billion/ |access-date=August 19, 2025 |website=TV News Check |language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819205146/https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/nexstar-buying-tegna-for-6-2-billion/ |archive-date= August 19, 2025}}</ref>)''}}
| licensee               = Pacific and Southern, [[LLC]]
| location               = [[Atlanta]], Georgia
| country                = United States
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1951|9|30|p=y}}
| last_airdate           =
| callsign_meaning       = "XI" is the [[Roman numeral]] for "11"; Atlanta
| sister_stations        = [[WATL]]
| former_callsigns       = {{ubl|WLTV (1951–1953)|WLWA (1953–1962)|WAII-TV (1962–1968)|WQXI-TV (1968–1973)}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 8 (VHF, 1951–1953), 11 (VHF, 1953–2009)}}
| former_affiliations    = {{ubl|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (1951–1980)}}
| erp                    = 80 [[watt|kW]]
| haat                   = {{convert|303|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id            = 51163
| coordinates            = {{Coord|33|45|24|N|84|19|55|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline, title}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                = {{URL|https://www.11alive.com/}}
}}
'''WXIA-TV''' (channel 11) is a [[television station]] in [[Atlanta]], Georgia, United States, affiliated with [[NBC]]. It is owned by [[Tegna Inc.]] alongside [[MyNetworkTV]] affiliate [[WATL]] (channel 36). The two stations share studios at One Monroe Place on the north end of [[midtown Atlanta]]; WXIA-TV's transmitter is located in the city's east section, near [[Kirkwood (Atlanta)|Kirkwood]]. Atlanta is the second largest [[television market]] (after [[KPRC-TV]] in [[Houston, Texas]]) where the NBC station is not [[owned and operated]] by the network.<ref>[https://mediatracks.com/resources/nielsen-dma-rankings-2021/ Nielsen DMA Rankings 2021] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525173958/https://mediatracks.com/resources/nielsen-dma-rankings-2021/ |date=May 25, 2021 }} ''MediaTracks Communications''. Retrieved on February 14, 2021.</ref>

WXIA-TV is popularly known within the [[Atlanta metropolitan area]] by its longtime on-air [[moniker|brand]], '''11 Alive''', which the station has used since 1976.

==History==
What is known today as WXIA-TV originally signed on the air September 30, 1951, at 5 p.m., as WLTV on [[VHF]] channel 8. It was the first full time [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate for Atlanta, taking it over from [[WSB-TV]] and [[WAGA-TV]] (channel 5), both originally primary NBC and [[CBS]] affiliates respectively  that previously shared ABC programming as a secondary affiliation. It was the third Atlanta television station to sign-on after WSB-TV and WAGA, all signing on within a three-year time frame.

Owned and operated by a group of Atlanta businessmen organized as Broadcasting, Inc., WLTV was indirectly born from the 1950 merger of [[Atlanta Journal-Constitution|Atlanta's two newspapers]]. ''The Atlanta Journal'' had originally owned channel 8 as WSB-TV, while ''The Atlanta Constitution'' held a construction permit for channel 2 as WCON-TV. Construction had already begun on the WCON-TV facilities when the Howell family, longtime owners of the ''Constitution'', sold their paper to [[Cox Enterprises]], owners of the ''Journal''. However, Cox had a problem. At the time, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) did not permit the sale of television station construction permits, considering it "trafficking". Cox had little option but to keep the WCON-TV construction permit rather than the already-operating WSB-TV.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1950/BC-1950-03-20.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=March 20, 1950|access-date=February 20, 2020|page=23|title=Cox, Howell Merge: Affects Atlanta AM-TV}}</ref> As such, it announced plans to move the WSB-TV intellectual unit to the stronger channel 2 facility when it was completed and sell its channel 8 license, which was acquired by Broadcasting, Inc., for $525,000. The sale was challenged by applicants for additional stations that were affected by the then-ongoing freeze on new construction permits, including [[Georgia Tech]] (owners of [[WGKA|WGST]] radio)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45363812/|access-date=February 21, 2020|date=April 25, 1951|page=6|work=Atlanta Constitution|title=Tech Moves To Halt TV Sale Here|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> and [[Decatur, Georgia|Decatur]] radio station owner E.D. Rivers,{{r|authorizes}} in part because planned allocation changes meant that there would be no further commercial VHF stations for Atlanta, and they sought to operate the channel as well.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45318427/|title=Tech Seeks To Block TV Sale|date=June 23, 1951|agency=Associated Press|work=Atlanta Constitution|page=2|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref>

The FCC dismissed the complaints and approved the sale of the channel 8 license to Broadcasting, Inc., in August 1951.<ref name="authorizes">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45318396/|work=Atlanta Constitution|page=1|title=FCC Authorizes Sale Of WSB-TV's Properties|access-date=February 21, 2020|date=August 10, 1951}}</ref> Testing for the new channel 2 began on September 25, 1951,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45318442/|title=WSB's TV Tops World In Coverage|pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45318431/wsbtv/ 9]|date=September 26, 1951|work=Atlanta Constitution|first=Paul|last=Jones|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref> and WSB-TV moved there on September 30. Channel 8 returned at 5 p.m. that day as WLTV.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45356578/cox_alerts_tv_industry_to_major_duties/|title=Cox Alerts TV Industry to Major Duties In Dedicating Powerful Facilities of WSB|pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45356547/wsbtv/ 3]|work=Atlanta Constitution|date=October 1, 1951|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref> Due to the way the transfer was structured legally, WXIA operates under the license originally granted to WSB-TV, while the current WSB-TV license dates from 1951.<ref name="hc">{{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=87037 |title= History Cards for WXIA-TV|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]}} ([[Wikipedia:WikiProject Radio Stations/History Cards|Guide to reading History Cards]])<!--Converted from {{FCC letter}}--></ref> Thus, the present-day channel 11 is the second-oldest broadcasting facility in the South; WSB-TV signed on in 1948, four months after [[WTVR-TV]] in [[Richmond, Virginia]].

Several more large changes would come for WLTV in the years that followed. When the FCC lifted its freeze on new TV stations with the Sixth Report and Order in April 1952, it made several changes to television allocations and substituted channel 11 for 8 at Atlanta, modifying WLTV's license to specify channel 11.{{r|hc}} The change coincided with the reallocation of channel 8 to [[non-commercial educational]] use at [[Athens, Georgia|Athens]] and mitigated interference with [[WTVC|channel 9]] at [[Rome, Georgia|Rome]]. The station would not change channels until September 1953, by which time Broadcasting, Inc., had sold WLTV to [[Cincinnati]]-based [[Crosley Broadcasting Corporation]] for $1.5 million.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sale of WLTV Completed for $1,500,000 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-sale-of-wltv-complet/177616556/ |access-date=July 27, 2025 |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal |date=February 12, 1953 |location=Atlanta, Georgia |page=46 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In line with its other television stations, Crosley changed the call letters to WLWA (often rendered as "WLW-A") on March 3, 1953.{{r|hc}}

In 1962, WLWA was purchased by [[Indianapolis]] businessman Richard Fairbanks, via his [[WIBC (FM)|WIBC, Inc.]], as part of a settlement between Crosley and Fairbanks. Crosley had started WLWI (now [[WTHR]]) in Indianapolis in 1957, but Fairbanks insisted that the last VHF allocation in Indianapolis should go to a local owner. Eventually, the two companies agreed to what amounted to a trade, in which Crosley kept WLWI while Fairbanks bought WLWA. The Atlanta station's call sign then became WAII-TV, using the slogan "The Eyes of Atlanta" and the calls standing for "Atlanta's 11" (II). The station was sold to Pacific & Southern Broadcasting in 1968 and on March 23 became known as WQXI-TV, aligning it with [[WQXI (AM)|WQXI AM]] and FM (the calls had originally been used on channel 36, currently [[WATL]], from 1954 to 1955). Pacific & Southern later merged with Combined Communications Corporation; the merged company could not purchase both WQXI radio and television, as the FCC had barred new radio-television combinations in top 50 markets.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1973/1973-04-23-BC.pdf|accessdate=September 22, 2021|date=April 23, 1973|work=Broadcasting|title=P&S goes under wing of CCC|pages=22–23}}</ref> The radio stations were sold to [[Lincoln Financial Media|Jefferson-Pilot Broadcasting]]; as a result of the split, the station assumed the WXIA-TV call letters on December 24, 1973.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85940025/new-call-letters-for-wqxi-tv/|accessdate=September 24, 2021|title=New Call Letters For WQXI-TV|work=The Atlanta Constitution|page=7-T|date=December 22, 1973}}</ref>

On September 20, 1976, WXIA first adopted "11 Alive" as its on-air branding, as part of Combined's practice of using the word "Alive" as part of the brand of most of their stations (two stations not owned by Combined also adopted the "11 Alive" branding that same year, then-[[independent station]] [[WPIX]] (now a [[The CW|CW]] affiliate) in [[New York City]]—which used the brand until 1986, and NBC affiliate WIIC in [[Pittsburgh]], now [[WPXI]]—which used it until 1979). In 1979, Combined merged with the [[Gannett Company]] in what became the largest media merger in history up to that time. Following the acquisition, most of the former Combined stations stopped using the "Alive" brand, though WXIA continued to call itself "11 Alive".{{fact|date=August 2023}}

On September 1, 1980, WXIA swapped affiliations with WSB-TV and became an NBC affiliate. This move could be traced to ratings: NBC slid to a very poor third place; meanwhile, ABC was in first place for most of the late 1970s and was seeking out affiliates with higher viewership in many markets, including Atlanta. ABC thus jumped at the chance to affiliate with longtime market leader WSB-TV. Some network daytime programs switched stations in August, before the full affiliation switch occurred. In 1993, Gannett dropped the "11 Alive" moniker as part of the introduction of new on-air graphics for its newscasts and promos; however, the brand was so well established in Atlanta that viewer outcry forced Gannett to restore it after only a month; even so, the "11 Alive" brand was not fully restored until 1996, when the ''11 Alive News'' title was restored for its newscasts (which were retitled ''11 News'' with the removal of the "11 Alive" brand).{{fact|date=August 2023}}

On June 5, 2006, Gannett entered into an agreement to purchase WATL from the [[Tribune Company]] for $180 million, creating Atlanta's first television [[duopoly (broadcasting)|duopoly]];<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.11alive.com/error/404?storyid=80620|title=Access Denied|website=www.11alive.com|accessdate=<!-- November 27, 2022 -->}}</ref> the sale was finalized on August 7, 2006. WATL occasionally airs NBC programs when WXIA is not able due to extended breaking news and severe weather coverage, or special programming. As a result of the WATL acquisition, WXIA management decided to house the combined operation at WATL's facility at One Monroe Place, leaving WXIA's longtime studios at 1611 West [[Peachtree Street]]; WXIA and WATL began broadcasting from the new studios on July 27, 2008.

Around the first week of October 2012, Gannett entered a [[Carriage dispute|dispute]] against [[Dish Network]] regarding [[Retransmission consent|compensation]] fees and Dish's AutoHop commercial-skip feature on its Hopper [[digital video recorder]]s. Gannett ordered that Dish discontinue AutoHop on the account that it is affecting advertising revenues for WXIA and WATL. Gannett threatened to pull both stations should the skirmish continue beyond October 7 and Dish and Gannett fail to reach an agreement.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Loose|first=Ashley|title=DISH customers may lose Gannett programming, including 12 News KPNX, over AutoHop feature|url=http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/central_phoenix/dish-customers-may-lose-gannett-programming-including-12-news-kpnx-over-autohop-feature|access-date=October 6, 2012|publisher=[[KNXV-TV]]|date=October 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011013154/http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/central_phoenix/dish-customers-may-lose-gannett-programming-including-12-news-kpnx-over-autohop-feature|archive-date=October 11, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Vuong|first=Andy|title=Gannett threatening to black out stations in its dispute with Dish|url=http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_21710959/gannett-threatening-black-out-stations-its-dispute-dish|access-date=October 6, 2012|newspaper=[[Denver Post]]|date=October 6, 2012}}</ref> The two parties eventually reached an agreement after extending the deadline for a few hours.<ref>{{cite news|last=Warner|first=Melodie|title=Dish, Gannett Reach New Deal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444897304578044401930225948|access-date=October 8, 2012|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=October 8, 2012}}</ref>

On June 29, 2015, the Gannett Company split in two, with one side specializing in print media and the other side specializing in broadcast and digital media. WXIA and WATL were retained by the latter company, named [[Tegna, Inc.|Tegna]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Separation of Gannett into two public companies completed {{!}} TEGNA| date=June 29, 2015 |url = http://www.tegna.com/separation-of-gannett-into-two-public-companies-completed/|publisher=Tegna|access-date = June 29, 2015}}</ref>

On January 24, 2019, WXIA debuted a new station logo for the first time in 26 years; the "11" in the new logo is similar to [[Louisville]] sister station [[WHAS-TV]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Atlanta station gets chunky, less lively new logo design |url=https://www.newscaststudio.com/2019/01/24/11-alive-wxia-new-logo/ |access-date=January 31, 2019 |work=www.newscaststudio.com |date=January 24, 2019}}</ref>

==Programming==
The station previously aired a program called ''Noonday'' for many years, beginning with the news at noon and at 12:30 continuing on for the rest of the hour with features, akin somewhat to the ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today Show]]''. This program was canceled in 1997, but the half-hour noon newscast was preceded by the hour-long ''Atlanta & Company'', a program which has some similar features, but is partly [[advertorial|paid for by the companies featured]] on it, until 2015, when the noon newscast was canceled. The program then expanded to 90 minutes, currently running from 11 to 12:30&nbsp;p.m.{{fact|date=August 2023}}

===Sports programming=== 
Owing to [[Olympics on NBC|NBC]]'s longstanding contract with the [[International Olympic Committee]], WXIA was the local broadcaster for the [[1996 Summer Olympics]] held in Atlanta. It also carried the [[Atlanta Braves]]' [[1995 World Series|World Series]] victory [[1995 Atlanta Braves season|the previous year]] (coverage alternated between NBC and [[Major League Baseball on ABC|ABC]] as part of ''[[The Baseball Network]]'', so WSB had Games 1, 4 and 5, while WXIA received Games 2, 3 and the clinching sixth game; all Braves games on [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC]]'s [[MLB]] broadcast contract from [[1981 Atlanta Braves season|1981]] to [[1989 Atlanta Braves season|1989]] (and before that, from [[1976 Atlanta Braves season|1976]] to [[1980 Atlanta Braves season|1980]] with ABC's broadcast contract) and postseason games in select years from [[1996 Atlanta Braves season|1996]] to [[2000 Atlanta Braves season|2000]] were also broadcast on WXIA which include their [[1999 World Series]] appearance). WXIA also aired a Braves game in [[2023 Atlanta Braves season|2023]] as part of a simulcast between NBC and [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]]'s ''[[MLB Sunday Leadoff]]'' package. From its switch to NBC in [[1980 Atlanta Falcons season|1980]] up to [[1997 Atlanta Falcons season|1997]], all [[Atlanta Falcons]] involving them playing an [[American Football Conference|AFC]] team at home were aired on WXIA. Today, the station airs any Falcons contests under NBC's ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]'' banner (afternoon games air either on [[NFL on Fox|WAGA]] or [[NFL on CBS|WUPA]]). The station also provided local coverage of [[Super Bowl XXVIII]], which was hosted at the [[Georgia Dome]]. WXIA also aired all [[Atlanta Hawks]] games carried through [[NBA on NBC Sports|NBC's NBA coverage]] from [[1990–91 Atlanta Hawks season|1990]] to [[2001–02 Atlanta Hawks season|2002]], and from [[2025–26 Atlanta Hawks season|2025]] onward.{{fact|date=August 2023}}

===News operation===
WXIA presently broadcasts 33 hours, 25 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 5 hours, 35 minutes each weekday, {{frac|3|1|2}} hours on Saturdays and two hours on Sundays). It also produces a half-hour prime time newscast at 10 p.m. for sister station WATL, which competes with the longer-running hour-long 10 p.m. newscast on Fox-owned WAGA-TV. The station's [[Pulse-Doppler radar|Doppler]] [[weather radar]] site is located west of Atlanta in far southern [[Cobb County]], south-southwest of [[Mableton]], on the south side of [[Interstate 20 in Georgia|Interstate 20]] not far west of [[Six Flags Over Georgia]].{{fact|date=August 2023}}

The station began calling its newscasts ''News Watch'' in 1963 and began broadcasting news in color for the first time on March 20, 1967. From the early 1970s onward, channel 11's newscasts waged a spirited battle with WAGA for second place behind long-dominant WSB-TV. When WAGA switched to Fox in 1994, WXIA surged to become a solid [[runner-up]], usually finishing well ahead of perennial third-place finisher [[WGCL-TV]]; however, by May 2009, WXIA's ratings had been surpassed by WGCL at noon and 11 p.m. The morning news program ''Today in Atlanta'' had experienced a 40% ratings drop, leaving them a very distant third behind the local morning shows on WSB and WAGA, and sometimes fourth behind WGCL.{{fact|date=August 2023}}

WXIA formerly had a partnership with [[The Weather Channel]] to use their weather forecasters and provide local [[weather forecast]]s (incidentally, [[NBCUniversal]]—which owns NBC through parent company [[Comcast]], Atlanta's primary cable television provider—held a majority ownership stake in The Weather Channel until 2018). WXIA became the first Atlanta station to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[High-definition television|high definition]] on February 2, 2006. As part of the conversion to HD, a new HD-ready news set from Production Design Group, Ltd. was built and the station began using a new graphics package from Giant Octopus.{{fact|date=August 2023}}

In February 2010, WXIA began a nightly news segment, "Bull Fighters", which consists of eight reporters/anchors; the segment is usually provided by former WAGA sports reporter [[Jeff Hullinger]]. On April 28, 2010, a new 4:30&nbsp;a.m. newscast called ''Wake Up with Chesley'' debuted, featuring meteorologist Chesley McNeil and travel producer Matt Holmes; in addition to news updates throughout the show, McNeil primarily gives weather updates while Holmes gives travel delays and information. On January 29, 2013, on the noon broadcast, WXIA debuted the new Gannett standardized graphics and music ("This is Home" by [[Gari Media Group]]); their renovated studio debuted on February 12, 2013.{{fact|date=August 2023}}

On January 29, 2015, WXIA announced that the 5 p.m. newscast would return for the first time since 2003, when ''Dr. Phil'' took over that time slot; that show moved to the 3 p.m. timeslot.<ref>{{cite web|title=11Alive takes over 5:00 time slot|url=http://www.11alive.com/story/about-us/2015/01/30/11alive-takes-over-500-time-slot/22593525/|website=WXIA|publisher=11Alive Staff, WXIA|access-date=February 11, 2015}}</ref> However, the new newscast came at the cost of ending its noon and 7 p.m. newscasts, which were replaced by an extension of ''Atlanta & Company'' and ''Wheel of Fortune'', respectively (the latter reversing its 2007 move from WXIA to WATL). These changes went into effect on March 2, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=WXIA Adds 5PM Newscast, Drops Noon and 7PM Programs|url=http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/wxia-adds-5pm-newscast-drops-noon-and-7pm-programs/140201|website=TVSpy|date=January 29, 2015 |publisher=Aneya Fernando|access-date=February 11, 2015}}</ref>

Between July 31 and August 28, 2017, WXIA underwent a significant relaunch of its news department, mirroring a similar move that was made by Tampa Bay sister station [[WTSP]] in April of that same year. The station renamed its morning and late-night newscasts as ''Morning Rush ATL'' and ''The Late Feed,'' respectively. Shiba Russell, who came over from NBC O&O station [[WNBC]] the previous year, became the solo anchor of ''Morning Rush ATL'', while Vinnie Politan became the anchor of ''The Late Feed''.{{fact|date=August 2023}}

In March 2020, WXIA relaunched its noon newscast; however, it was meant to be temporary due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia (U.S. state)|COVID-19 pandemic]].{{fact|date=August 2023}}

In June 2021, WXIA re-titled its morning and late-night newscasts once again; the former is now titled ''11 Alive Morning News'' and the latter, which had been renamed from ''The Late Feed'' to ''Up Late'' following Vinnie Politan's departure from the station in November 2018, returned to the previous ''11 Alive News at 11'' title.{{fact|date=August 2023}}

<!-- On July 22nd 2025 and going till about the 25th sister station kare used The studios for their own news because of a transformer fire at their studios in Minneapolis -->

====Notable former on-air staff====
* [[Roz Abrams]] – anchor/reporter (1972–1980)
* [[Renee Chenault-Fattah]] – anchor/reporter (1989–1991)
* [[Jim Huber]] – weekend sports anchor (1970s–1984)
* [[Jeff Hullinger]] – co-anchor and sports director (2010–2023)
* [[Walt Maciborski]] – anchor/reporter
* [[Steve McCoy]] – ''Noonday'' co-host (1990–1992)
* [[Steen Miles]] – reporter
* [[Demarco Morgan]] – anchor/reporter (2012–2015)
* [[Stone Phillips]] – reporter (1978–1979)
* [[Vinnie Politan]] – ''The Late Feed'' anchor (August 28, 2017–November 2, 2018) <ref>{{cite news |last1=Ho |first1=Rodney |title=Exclusive: Vinnie Politan leaving 11Alive after four-plus years |url=https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/exclusive-vinnie-politan-leaving-11alive-after-four-plus-years/RhVaTFUsZx35TOcV0rUCjN/ |access-date=March 22, 2019 |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=October 31, 2019}}</ref>
* [[Del Rodgers]] – sports anchor/reporter (1986–1997)
* [[Steve Somers]] – sports anchor/reporter (1976–1978)
* [[Tom Sullivan (radio and television personality)|Tom Sullivan]] – ''Atlanta & Company'' co-host (2007–2009)
* [[Harmon Wages]] – sports anchor/reporter (1979–1984)

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WXIA-TV<ref name=rei>{{cite web|title=Digital TV Market Listing for WXIA|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WXIA#station|website=[[RabbitEars]]|access-date=January 26, 2017}}</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" | 11.1 
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=4| [[16:9]] || WXIA-TV || [[NBC]]
|- 
! scope = "row" | 11.3 
| rowspan=4|[[480i]] || Crime || [[True Crime Network]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 11.4 
| NEST || [[The Nest (TV network)|The Nest]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 11.5 
| ShopLC || [[Shop LC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 11.7
| [[4:3]] || GetTV || [[Get (TV network)|get]]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope = "row" | [[WPCH-TV|17.2]]
| [[720p]] || 16:9 || || Peachtree Sports Network ([[WPCH-TV]])
|}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}

The [[NBC Weather Plus]] service was discontinued on December 1, 2008; however, some stations, including WXIA, continued to air national and local radar with Weather Plus branding, supplied by The Weather Channel through the end of December. In January, WXIA rebranded the channel "11Alive Weather" and kept the "L-Bar" with weather information from The Weather Channel, but shifted the remainder of the content to a local radar loop, and eliminated the [[background music]] that aired with it. It was later rebranded as the "11Alive Weather Information Zone" or "WIZ" in 2010, along with the weather segments during [[newscast]]s on the main channel. This service was also carried on [[digital cable]] in the Atlanta area through [[Charter Spectrum]] and [[Xfinity|Comcast]].

In early December 2010, the WIZ was moved to WATL, and aired on channel 36.2, while 11.2 continued to air a static message graphic directing [[Terrestrial television|over-the-air]] viewers to [[ATSC tuner|tune]] there and re-[[channel memory|scan]] if necessary. One month later, on January 10, the channel was removed completely from WXIA, and 11.3 became 11.2, before being reversed the following day. In 2011, Atlanta-based [[Bounce TV]] launched on September 26 with WATL 36.2 as its ''de facto'' [[flagship station|flagship]] affiliate, with the WIZ channel being restored two weeks later on 36.3. In early October, 11.2 again became [[Universal Sports]] and 11.3 was deleted and was reversed again a week later, with WIZ bounced back to its original channel 11.2. In November 2011, 11.3 was deleted leaving 36.3 as the sole channel for Universal Sports until it became a cable channel in 2012. Eventually, WIZ was converted from being presented using internal station weather computers to presentation and programming from [[The Local AccuWeather Channel]]. But an agreement with WAGA-TV and AccuWeather has made WXIA switch its programming and presentation to [[WeatherNation TV]].

The station added Universal Sports at the beginning of May 2009 on channel 11.3, added it to 36.3 in October 2011, and then deleted it from 11.3 in November 2011. However, it used severe [[video data compression]], which left very obvious [[compression artifact|blurriness and pixelation]] during [[high-motion]] scenes common in [[broadcasting of sports events|sports]]. This low-[[bitrate]] sacrifice protects the quality of the main HD channel and is unavoidable because Universal Sports transmits its programming via [[satellite television|satellite]] in this highly compressed form (4.48&nbsp;Mbit/s). It was therefore not originally transmitted on [[sister station]] WATL (virtual channel 36.3, digital channel 25) because it would look the same there, and that station's bandwidth is being used for [[mobile television]] ([[ATSC-M/H]]), including WXIA's mobile channels. Additionally, [[mobile communications]] work better on higher UHF [[TV channel]]s than on low VHF ones.

In early 2018, the station added new network [[Quest (American TV network)|Quest]] on new subchannel 11.4, taking over many of WXIA-DT2's cable slots and leaving that station for the most part exclusive to over-the-air customers.

In February 2020, WeatherNation TV was replaced by a VHF simulcast of WATL on subchannel 11.2. The simulcast ended on April 5, 2021, when it was replaced with [[Twist (TV network)|Twist]] after the network launched.

=== Analog-to-digital conversion ===
WXIA-TV originally had the only VHF [[table of allotments|allotment]] for [[digital television]] in the area, until [[WGTV]] (channel 8) was moved from UHF 22 to VHF 12 (now 8). The station shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 11, on June 12, 2009, at 12:30&nbsp;p.m., as part of the [[Digital television transition in the United States|federally mandated transition from analog to digital television]].<ref name="Analog to Digital">[http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf List of Digital Full-Power Stations]</ref> The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 10, using [[virtual channel]] 11.<ref name="FCC Form 387">{{Cite web|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101233476&formid=387&fac_num=10758|title=CDBS Print|website=licensing.fcc.gov|accessdate=November 27, 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Channel 10 digital TV stations in the United States]]
*[[Channel 11 virtual TV stations in the United States]]
*[[WQXI (AM)]]
*[[WROM-TV]]
*[[WSTR (FM)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.11alive.com/}}

{{AtlantaTV}}
{{Georgia (U.S. state) TV}}
{{Alabama TV}}
{{Tegna}}

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[[Category:1951 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:NBC affiliates]]
[[Category:Quest (American TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Tegna Inc.]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1951]]
[[Category:Television stations in Atlanta|XIA-TV]]
[[Category:True Crime Network affiliates]]