WCOV-TV Montgomery

Catchphrase: Your Home for Entertainment in Montgomery!

Sub-Channels: 20.1 Fox

20.2 Antenna TV

20.3 This TV

Website: www.wcov.com

History

Signing on air on April 17, 1953, WCOV-TV was the maiden channel to hit the waves in Montgomery. Primarily a CBS affiliate it would carry the programming of all big fours following its launch. It for a brief stint got affiliated with NTA Film Network in 50s. Because of the unavailability of transmitter, it was unable to retain it originally authorized VHF CH 12 position and had to UHF 20 instead. Launched under the ownership of Oscar Covington who also owned WCOV radio founded in 1939, the license for TV was applied in 1949. George William, the brother of Oscar was on his way to Chicago to make purchase for the equipment of to-be-launched family asset but passed away during his trip.

WCOV lost its NBC affiliation to WSFA in 1954 who also happened to snatch its VHF dial of CH 12. ABC affiliation went away in 1954 and lastly it disaffiliated with DuMont in 1956 following its closure. WCOV was released to Gay-Bell Corporation in 1964. It under the new ownership continuously blocked WSLA requests for a stronger tower and better signal strength as it feared to lose the CBS affiliation had WSLA reached Montgomery.

Following the grant of construction permit for the new transmitter facility by FCC to WSLA in 1984, Gay-Bell Corporation started to foresee the losing of affiliation the financial costs it would bring so the company in 1985 put WCOV on sale. David Woods along with a group of investors in Dec 1985 acquired the station. CBS then just days after the deal separated with the station on New Year’s Eve in 1986; this made WCOV Montgomery’s maiden general entertainment that carried independent programming.

Following the launch of Fox in 1986, WCOV joined the upstart network as its new programming partner. However, for most of Fox’s early year, the channel maintained its status as an independent broadcaster and didn’t practically join network until 1993. The transmission tower of WCOV got destroyed by tornado on March 6, 1996 however, was restored one month later. The ERP of the station was increased in the coming months following the approval of Federal Communications Commission; the newly built tower got activated in Jan 1997.

Programming

The Notable Syndicated hosted by WCOV includes The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The People’s Court, The Andy Griffith Show, The Big Bang Theory and Judge Mathis. The Flagship programs of Fox including NASCAR, The Simpson and NFL are also carried by the Montgomery station. Apart from news its operations, WCOV broadcasts a variety of general entertainment programs and contests. Here are some: