WGMB-TV

WGMB-TV (channel 44) is a television station in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station WBRL-CD (channel 21) and independent station KZUP-CD (channel 19); Nexstar also provides certain services to NBC affiliate WVLA-TV (channel 33) under joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with White Knight Broadcasting. The four stations share studios on Perkins Road in Baton Rouge; WGMB-TV's transmitter is located near Addis, Louisiana.

History

The station first signed on August 11, 1991, making Baton Rouge the last of the Top 100 television markets to receive a Fox affiliate. The station was originally owned by the Galloway family, whose broadcast holdings originally operated under both the Associated Broadcasters and Galloway Media and eventually the Communications Corporation of America banner. It took five years to bring Fox to Baton Rouge, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) assigned channel 44 to Baton Rouge in 1983, and several potential buyers sought a license.

Programming

WGMB did not produce a local newscast until 2007; however, it usually broadcast children's events and programming from around the Baton Rouge area in the 1990s as part of its Fox 44 Kids Club. One locally-produced show was Fox Rox Saturday, which aired in the late 1990s on Saturday mornings. WGMB also aired one high school football game each week during the fall from the Baton Rouge area in the early 2000s.

News operation

On March 12, 2007, WGMB debuted a local newscast entitled Fox News Louisiana airing weeknights at 9 p.m. In the summer of 2008, the newscast was rebranded as Fox News Baton Rouge. WGMB also produces and pre-records the 9 p.m. newscast for sister station KADN-TV in Lafayette, and formerly did so for KMSS-TV in Shreveport. The KMSS-TV evening newscast is now handled by sister station KTAL. The newscast was expanded to an hour in February 2013.

On August 20, 2007, WGMB debuted Fox News Louisiana AM to counter the national morning shows; the newscast, anchored by Rachel Slavik and Lauren Unger, featured eight weather updates an hour from meteorologist Jesse Gunkel. It also was simulcast on sister station WNTZ in Alexandria, although stories from that area rarely made it to the program. On December 2, 2008, WGMB canceled its morning newscast due to cost cuts; at the same time, the station also laid off an undisclosed number of employees. WGMB's sister station, NBC affiliate WVLA, would continue to air its 6 a.m. local newscast, which precedes Today.

On April 28, 2009, WGMB announced the discontinuation of all locally produced newscasts.[8] Production of the 9 p.m. newscast was then moved to sister station KETK-TV in Tyler, Texas. WGMB also aired a 30-minute sports program called The Show on Sunday nights at 9 p.m., which was also produced by KETK. On January 3, 2011, WGMB returned to producing its 9 p.m. newscast locally from Baton Rouge.

On April 12, 2016, WGMB debuted a 5:30 p.m. weekday newscast. WGMB's newscast re-airs on sister station WBRL at 10:30 p.m. WGMB also produces two weekend sports programs: Geaux Nation, which focuses on LSU athletics and also airs on sister station KLFY in Lafayette, and Inside the Jaguar Nation, which focuses on Southern University athletics.

On January 10, 2025, WGMB and WVLA debuted new graphics and news music, uniting all the newscasts produced by the two stations under the title Louisiana First News.[9] WGMB also updated its station logo.

callsign	WGMB-TV
branding	WGMB Fox 44; Louisiana First News
digital	24 (UHF)
virtual	44
affiliations	44.1: Fox 44.2: The CW for others, see
founded	September 21, 1990
airdate	August 11, 1991
location	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
country	United States
callsign meaning	Galloway Media Broadcasting (former owner) -or- Gumbo
former callsigns	WPFT (CP, 1990) WGMB (1990–2009)
former channel numbers	Analog: 44 (UHF, 1991–2009) Digital: 45 (UHF, until 2020)
owner	Nexstar Media Group
licensee	Nexstar Media Inc.
sister stations	WBRL-CD, WVLA-TV, KZUP-CD
erp	665 kW
haat	422.6 m
facility id	12520
coordinates	30.32628°N, -91.27669°W
licensing authority	FCC
website	https://www.louisianafirstnews.com/

History

Programming

News operation

Technical information

Subchannels

Analog-to-digital conversion

External links

References