WNBC

WNBC is the NBC television network's flagship owned-and-operated station in New York City. Broadcasting on virtual channel 4, it serves the New York metropolitan market from studios and offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, alongside NBC's corporate operations and the facilities of sister Telemundo station WNJU. The station's signal is transmitted from One World Trade Center, while its New Jersey bureau operations are supported by WNJU's Fort Lee facilities. WNBC traces its history to experimental television work conducted by the Radio Corporation of America in New York. The station began as W2XBS in 1928, initially testing mechanical television and later serving as a platform for RCA's development of electronic television. During the 1930s and early 1940s, its broadcasts helped establish television as a medium for live public events, including news, political speeches, religious services and sporting events. The station televised events associated with the 1939 New York World's Fair and carried early coverage of baseball, football, hockey and presidential appearances. On June 24, 1941, the station received a commercial license and adopted the call sign WNBT. It began regular commercial television service on July 1, 1941, becoming one of the first fully licensed commercial television stations in the United States. Its early programming included news, sports, public-affairs material, variety programming and experimental network productions. A WNBT broadcast of a Bulova watch announcement before a baseball game is widely recognized as the first official paid television advertisement in the United States. The station changed its call letters to WRCA-TV in 1954 and to WNBC-TV in 1960, before dropping the television suffix in 1992. Its studios also played an important role in national television history. The late-night program that became The Tonight Show began locally at WNBC in 1953 as The Steve Allen Show before being developed into a network program. Studio 6B at Rockefeller Center subsequently became associated with several eras of The Tonight Show. WNBC has repeatedly changed its consumer-facing branding while retaining its channel 4 identity. It used the '4 New York' identity in the early 1990s, adopted 'NBC 4' and 'NewsChannel 4' branding in the mid-1990s, and later returned to '4 New York' in combination with NBC branding. Its business is centered on local television news, weather, traffic, community reporting, election coverage, special programming and distribution of NBC network content. The station has also used digital subchannels, including NBC Weather Plus during the service's operation. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks destroyed WNBC's World Trade Center transmission facilities and resulted in the death of station broadcast engineer Bill Steckman. WNBC temporarily used other transmission arrangements before operating from a New Jersey site and later returning to the Empire State Building. In 2017, the station announced plans to resume transmission from One World Trade Center. WNBC ended regular analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, as part of the United States digital television transition, while retaining virtual channel 4 for its digital service. Today, WNBC remains a major local news outlet and a prominent NBC-owned station in the country's largest television market.

WNBC originated in the experimental television work of the Radio Corporation of America, an early corporate partner and founder of NBC. The station's predecessor, W2XBS, began operating in New York in 1928. Its earliest transmissions used mechanical scanning and were intended primarily for technical testing. One famous experiment used a rotating Felix the Cat figure, selected because its strong contrast and durability made it suitable for the intense lighting and low-definition images of early television. RCA later shifted its research toward all-electronic cathode-ray-tube television. Experimental electronic broadcasts from New York expanded during the mid-1930s, initially reaching a very small audience of specially authorized receivers. Technical standards changed substantially during this period, including improvements in picture definition, changes to sound transmission and the eventual adoption of the 525-line standard used for American analog television. The station became a venue for a series of early television firsts. It carried a Broadway drama, mobile coverage of a fire, a presidential speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and early broadcasts of Major League Baseball, college sports, National Football League games and National Hockey League games. It also televised religious services, political conventions and a feature film. These broadcasts demonstrated the medium's potential for live reporting and mass-market entertainment before television ownership became widespread. On June 24, 1941, W2XBS received a commercial license and became WNBT. Regular commercial service began on July 1, 1941, making it one of the first two fully licensed commercial television stations in the United States. A Bulova watch announcement transmitted before a baseball game became a landmark in advertising history. During World War II, RCA redirected many technical personnel to military work, and WNBT devoted some of its limited facilities to civil-defense and police-training broadcasts. After the war, the station's schedule and audience expanded rapidly. In 1946, the station moved to the postwar channel allocation that made it channel 4. Its operations were integrated with NBC's New York radio facilities in 1948. WNBT changed its call sign to WRCA-TV in 1954 and became WNBC-TV in 1960. The station's Rockefeller Center studios were also central to the development of late-night television. The local Steve Allen program, launched in 1953, was developed into the national Tonight program, establishing Studio 6B as one of American television's best-known production spaces. WNBC dropped the '-TV' suffix in 1992 after the related radio call sign had changed ownership. Its branding subsequently moved through '4 New York,' 'NBC 4' and 'NewsChannel 4,' with the '4 New York' identity later revived. The station also served as a model for NBC Weather Plus, a digital weather service introduced in the mid-2000s and later discontinued. The September 11 attacks caused a major operational disruption. WNBC's World Trade Center transmitter was destroyed, and engineer Bill Steckman was among the station personnel killed. The station initially relied on alternative facilities, later broadcasting from a former New Jersey transmitter site and then from the Empire State Building. In 2017, WNBC announced plans to return to One World Trade Center. Separately, its analog signal ended in 2009 under the national digital television transition, while digital service retained the familiar virtual channel 4. WNBC continues as NBC's New York flagship, producing local journalism and distributing NBC programming across the metropolitan market.

• 2017

  Return to One World Trade Center announced

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  WNBC announces plans to resume transmission from One World Trade Center.

• 2009

  Analog broadcasting ends

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  WNBC ends regular analog transmission and continues as a digital television station using virtual channel 4.

• 2004

  NBC Weather Plus model station

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  WNBC serves as the model station for NBC Weather Plus on a digital subchannel.

• 2001

  September 11 transmission disruption

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  The destruction of the World Trade Center damages WNBC's transmission facilities and forces temporary use of alternate transmission sites.

• 1992

  The station becomes WNBC

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  WNBC-TV drops the '-TV' suffix and introduces the '4 New York' brand identity.

• 1960

  Call sign changes to WNBC-TV

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  Channel 4 adopts the WNBC-TV identity used as the foundation for its later WNBC call sign.

• 1954

  Call sign changes to WRCA-TV

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  The station adopts the WRCA-TV call sign, reflecting NBC's then-parent company, Radio Corporation of America.

• 1953

  Local late-night television begins at Studio 6B

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  The Steve Allen Show begins locally at the station and later develops into the network's Tonight program.

• 1943

  The Voice of Firestone Televues becomes a regular program

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  The television version of The Voice of Firestone begins regular broadcasts, helping establish scheduled non-news and non-sports television.

• 1941

  Commercial license and WNBT launch

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  The station receives a commercial license on June 24 and begins regular commercial television service as WNBT on July 1.

• 1939

  World's Fair and early live-event broadcasts

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  The station carries programming connected with the New York World's Fair and expands its role in live television experimentation.

• 1928

  Experimental television operations begin

  [1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  RCA begins experimental New York television transmissions under the call sign W2XBS, establishing the technical and institutional predecessor of WNBC.

A flagship, metropolitan-market NBC station combining network affiliation with locally produced news, weather, traffic, investigative reporting and live event coverage for viewers in the New York area.

• Television news

  Local newscasts

  WNBC's principal offering is locally produced television news for the New York metropolitan area. Coverage includes breaking news, politics, public safety, investigations, consumer issues, culture and major regional events, distributed through broadcast television and the station's digital services.

• Local information services

  Weather and traffic coverage

  The station provides forecasts, severe-weather alerts, transportation updates and commute information tailored to the densely populated New York metropolitan market. Weather and traffic material is integrated into newscasts, digital video and online reporting.

• Network television distribution · 1941

  NBC network programming

  As NBC's New York owned-and-operated station, WNBC distributes the network's national schedule to viewers in its market. This network role complements its locally produced journalism and gives the station flagship status within NBC's station portfolio.

• Digital television · 2004

  NBC Weather Plus

  WNBC served as a model station for NBC Weather Plus, a 24-hour digital weather service carried on its second digital subchannel and on selected cable systems. The service was later discontinued at the end of 2008.

• 1995NBC 4 and NewsChannel 4 rebrand

  New York metropolitan area

  The station shifted to the 'NBC 4' brand, while its newscasts were renamed 'NewsChannel 4.'

  Outcome. The branding was subsequently adjusted, with '4 New York' returning in later years.

  Source
• 1992We're 4 New York

  New York metropolitan area

  WNBC introduced the '4 New York' station identity with an image campaign centered on its relationship with the New York area. The campaign used a musical theme composed by Edd Kalehoff and positioned the station as a locally rooted NBC outlet.

  Outcome. The identity was later revived and used again as a major station-branding element.

  Source

• 2017

  Plan return to One World Trade Center transmissionStrategy

  Background

  WNBC had operated from alternate transmission sites after its World Trade Center facilities were destroyed in 2001.

  Action taken

  The station announced plans to resume broadcasting from One World Trade Center.

  Aftermath

  The announcement represented a planned restoration of a lower-Manhattan transmission location for the station.

  Source

• 2009

  Complete the digital television transitionOther

  Background

  United States broadcasters were required to end regular full-power analog television transmission under the national digital transition.

  Action taken

  WNBC ended regular analog broadcasting on VHF channel 4 and continued with a digital signal while retaining virtual channel 4.

  Aftermath

  Viewers continued to identify the station through its familiar channel 4 position in digital receivers.

  Source

• 2004

  Launch NBC Weather Plus on a digital subchannelProduct launch

  Background

  NBC sought to use the emerging digital television multichannel environment for specialized local services.

  Action taken

  WNBC served as the model station for NBC Weather Plus and carried the service on digital subchannel 4.2.

  Aftermath

  The service was later discontinued at the end of 2008, although WNBC's digital broadcasting continued.

  Source

• 1941

  Enter commercial television serviceStrategy

  Background

  RCA and NBC moved from experimental television research toward a licensed, sponsor-supported broadcast service.

  Action taken

  The predecessor W2XBS received a commercial license and began operating as WNBT.

  Aftermath

  The station became one of the earliest commercial television outlets in the United States and the institutional predecessor of today's WNBC.

  Source

• 2017

  WNBC announced plans to return its transmitter to One World Trade Center[1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  WNBC announced that it intended to resume broadcasting from One World Trade Center, restoring a lower-Manhattan transmission presence after years of using other facilities.

• 2009

  WNBC completed its transition from analog to digital television[1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  Other · Regulation

  The station ended regular analog transmission on VHF channel 4 as part of the federally mandated United States digital television transition and continued digital broadcasting with virtual channel 4.

• 2001

  WNBC's World Trade Center transmission facilities destroyed in the September 11 attacks[1]WNBCen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The September 11 attacks destroyed the station's World Trade Center transmission facilities. WNBC temporarily used alternative transmission arrangements, and station engineer Bill Steckman died in the attacks.

1. 1WNBCen.wikipedia.org
2. 2NBC New Yorknbcnewyork.com
3. 3NBC 4 NEW YORK WINS FIRST-EVER ALFRED I. DUPONT AWARD, RECOGNIZING COVID-19 REPORTING AND COMMUNITY IMPACT - Insider NJinsidernj.com
4. 4NBC New York Earns Prestigious DuPont Award for COVID-19 Pandemic Coveragenbcnewyork.com
5. 5WNBC Wins DuPont-Columbia Award for Covid-19 Coverageadweek.com