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| Channels | |
| Branding | WCNC Charlotte |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | July 9, 1967 |
Former call signs |
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Former channel number(s) |
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| Independent (1967–1978) | |
Call sign meaning | "Charlotte, North Carolina"[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 32326 |
| ERP | 857 kW |
| HAAT | 592.2 m (1,943 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°20′49.4″N 81°10′14.2″W / 35.347056°N 81.170611°W |
| Translator(s) | see § Translators |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WCNC-TV (channel 36) is a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with NBC. The station is owned by Tegna Inc. WCNC-TV's studios are located in the Wood Ridge Center office complex off Billy Graham Parkway (Route 4), just east of the Billy Graham Library in south Charlotte, and its transmitter is located in north-central Gaston County.
Channel 36 was established as WCTU-TV, an independent television station, in 1967. After falling into receivership brought on by severe economic hardship, WCTU was purchased by Atlanta broadcast pioneer Ted Turner. Renamed WRET-TV, the station's fortunes turned around and thrived throughout the 1970s. WRET became Charlotte's NBC affiliate in 1978 following WSOC-TV's switch from NBC to ABC, launching local newscasts. Turner sold WRET to Westinghouse Broadcasting in 1979 to raise capital for his new venture CNN; as WPCQ-TV, the station struggled with limited resources, frequently preempting NBC fare—including the NBC Nightly News—and was used to develop talent for other stations in the Group W chain. Spun off to local ownership in 1984, WPCQ's status with NBC remained uncertain despite substantial technical upgrades and a reinvestment in local news. Purchased by The Providence Journal Company in 1988, the Belo Corporation in 1996, and Tegna Inc. predecessor Gannett in 2013, the station was renamed WCNC-TV in 1989 and has generally been Charlotte's third-rated television station since.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
jazzwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Facility Technical Data for WCNC-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.