WNCT-TV
A Greenville, North Carolina television station that serves Eastern North Carolina as a CBS affiliate and operates a CW Plus subchannel.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
WNCT-TV is a television station serving Greenville and the wider Eastern North Carolina media market. It broadcasts on VHF channel 9 and operates as a primary CBS affiliate, while its second digital subchannel carries The CW through the CW Plus program under the Eastern North Carolina CW branding. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group and maintains studios on South Evans Street in Greenville. Its transmitter is located in Grifton Township along North Carolina Highway 118. WNCT-TV signed on December 22, 1953, making it the oldest continuously operating television station in Eastern North Carolina and the fourth-oldest continuously operating television station in the state. Its original ownership was associated with The Daily Reflector newspaper and WGTC radio in Greenville. The station initially carried CBS programming as its principal affiliation, while also presenting selected ABC and NBC programming and maintaining a secondary relationship with the DuMont Television Network. When WNBE-TV, now WCTI-TV, began broadcasting from New Bern in 1963, WNCT-TV became an exclusive CBS affiliate. Roy H. Park acquired The Daily Reflector and WNCT-TV in 1961 and subsequently acquired the associated radio properties. The station became part of Park Communications, where it served as a flagship television operation until Park merged with Media General in 1997. Nexstar Media Group later became the station's owner through its acquisition of Media General's television assets. The ownership history links WNCT-TV to several major phases of American local broadcasting, including newspaper ownership, independent broadcast groups, and consolidation under a national station operator. The station has played a substantial role in regional news and severe-weather coverage. Before it developed a full news department, it provided weather information to local farmers. Over time, its news operation expanded to cover hurricanes, flooding, and other weather emergencies affecting the North Carolina coast and inland communities. The operation has received national recognition, including an Edward R. Murrow Award for severe-weather coverage and a Service to America Award. WNCT-TV also operates a Jacksonville bureau and uses live weather radar and forecast resources in its broadcasts. WNCT-TV's local programming has included Carolina Today, a weekday morning talk program that ran from 1959 through 1998. The station was also the first television outlet in its area to broadcast in color. In the late 1990s, it produced a prime-time newscast for Fox affiliate WFXI/WYDO under a news-sharing agreement. That arrangement ended in December 2007 after WCTI became connected to the Fox stations through common management. WNCT-TV subsequently began producing an evening newscast for its CW digital subchannel, competing with the WFXI/WYDO prime-time broadcast. The station's distribution footprint has changed as neighboring markets gained their own network affiliates and as digital television expanded. WNCT-TV once served portions of the Wilmington market, particularly Pender County, when that area lacked a local CBS outlet. It later resumed some default CBS service after the local station changed affiliations, but that role diminished as Wilmington-area stations established their own CBS services. WNCT-TV's CBS high-definition signal became available through DirecTV and Dish Network in January 2009. Its analog transmission ended on June 12, 2009, as part of the nationwide transition to digital television. WNCT-DT2 began its current CW Plus service on September 18, 2006, the launch date associated with the replacement of The WB and UPN by The CW. The subchannel replaced the former market WB service known as WGWB and provides network and syndicated programming for viewers in Eastern North Carolina. WNCT-TV upgraded its local news production to high definition on October 17, 2013. Today, the station's principal business is the operation of a local broadcast television service combining CBS programming, local news, weather, community coverage, advertising, digital subchannel distribution, and online media.
History
WNCT-TV began broadcasting from Greenville, North Carolina, on December 22, 1953. Operating on VHF channel 9, it was established as a local television outlet associated with The Daily Reflector newspaper and WGTC radio. The station's early programming centered on CBS, although it also carried selected ABC and NBC programs and maintained a secondary affiliation with DuMont. WNCT-TV was the first station in its area to broadcast in color and developed an early role in providing weather information to farmers before it had a fully organized news department. The station's network role became more clearly defined in 1963, when WNBE-TV, now WCTI-TV, signed on from New Bern. WNCT-TV then became an exclusive CBS affiliate. Its early decades also included Carolina Today, a weekday morning talk program that ran from 1959 until 1998. The program featured several local hosts, including Robert Allen, known on air as Slim Short, Jim Woods, and Judge Charles H. Whedbee. Roy H. Park acquired The Daily Reflector and WNCT-TV in 1961, followed by the associated radio operation in 1963. The radio stations adopted WNCT call letters, and the television station added the “-TV” suffix by 1965. WNCT-TV subsequently served as the flagship of Park Communications. That period ended when Park Communications merged with Media General in 1997, placing the Greenville station within a larger regional and national broadcast portfolio. Nexstar Media Group later became the station's owner through the expansion of its television holdings and ownership of Media General assets. For part of its history, WNCT-TV also served viewers in the Wilmington market, especially in Pender County. This role changed when Wilmington received its own CBS outlet in 1984. After that station moved to Fox in 1994, WNCT-TV again provided default CBS service to portions of the area. Its residual role continued until local services improved, including the launch of a CBS affiliation on a WWAY digital subchannel in 2017. WNCT-TV has maintained a strong emphasis on local news and weather. Its coverage of hurricanes, floods, and other severe-weather events earned an Edward R. Murrow Award and a Service to America Award. The station has also operated a bureau in Jacksonville and incorporated live National Weather Service radar into its weather presentation under the Live VIPIR 9 name. In audience competition, it has generally contested the Eastern North Carolina market with WITN-TV and WCTI-TV. It briefly led the market in selected evening ratings periods, including weeknight newscasts at 6 and 11 in July 2008, although later ratings periods placed it behind competitors in some time slots. During the late 1990s, WNCT-TV produced the market's original prime-time news program for Fox affiliate WFXI/WYDO. The half-hour program, known as Fox News at 10, used much of WNCT-TV's on-air staff while retaining a separate anchor. The agreement ended in December 2007. WNCT-TV then launched a 10 p.m. newscast on its CW digital subchannel, later branded 9 on Your Side at 10 on The CW. WNCT-DT2's current service began on September 18, 2006, when The CW replaced The WB and UPN as a national network. The subchannel, branded Eastern North Carolina CW, replaced the market's former WB affiliate, WGWB. In January 2009, WNCT-TV's CBS high-definition signal was added to DirecTV and was also carried by Dish Network. The station ended analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009. On October 17, 2013, it converted local news production to high definition. WNCT-TV remains an active CBS affiliate with a CW Plus subchannel and a regional news operation serving Eastern North Carolina.
- 2013
Local news moves to high definition
[1]WNCT-TV upgraded its local news production to high definition on October 17.
- 2009
Digital transition completed
[1]WNCT-TV's analog signal ended on June 12, and its CBS high-definition signal became available through major satellite distributors earlier that year.
- 2006
CW Plus subchannel launches
[1]WNCT-DT2 began its current Eastern North Carolina CW service on September 18.
- 1997
Park Communications merges with Media General
[1]WNCT-TV entered the Media General portfolio when Park Communications merged with the company.
- 1963
WNCT-TV becomes a full-time CBS affiliate
[1]The station adopted an exclusive CBS affiliation after the launch of WNBE-TV, now WCTI-TV.
- 1961
Roy H. Park acquires the station
[1]Roy H. Park purchased The Daily Reflector and WNCT-TV, beginning the station's long association with Park Communications.
- 1959
Carolina Today launches
[1]WNCT-TV began airing the local weekday morning talk program Carolina Today, which continued until 1998.
- 1955
DuMont affiliation ends
[1]WNCT-TV's secondary relationship with the DuMont network ended after the network ceased operations.
- 1953
WNCT-TV begins broadcasting
[1]The station signed on December 22, 1953, on VHF channel 9 in Greenville and became the first continuously operating television station in Eastern North Carolina.
Products and positioning
A long-established Eastern North Carolina broadcast station positioned around CBS network programming, locally produced news, weather expertise, severe-weather response, and complementary CW Plus programming.
Broadcast television · 1953
WNCT-TV CBS service
The station's primary over-the-air service on channel 9 carries CBS network programming alongside locally produced news, weather, public-affairs content, syndicated programs, and paid advertising. It serves Greenville and communities throughout Eastern North Carolina.
Digital subchannel · 2006
Eastern North Carolina CW
WNCT-DT2 is a CW Plus-affiliated digital subchannel branded Eastern North Carolina CW. It launched in its current form in 2006 and provides CW network programming and related syndicated content to viewers who receive WNCT-TV's multiplexed digital signal.
News programming
Local news and weather
WNCT-TV produces local newscasts and weather reports focused on Eastern North Carolina. Its coverage includes hurricanes, flooding, severe storms, regional government, community issues, and routine forecasts, supported by live weather radar presented under the Live VIPIR 9 branding.
Prime-time newscast · 2008
9 on Your Side at 10 on The CW
This half-hour evening newscast was created for WNCT-DT2 after the station's earlier news-sharing arrangement with WFXI/WYDO ended. It extends WNCT's local news operation to its CW-affiliated digital subchannel.
Brand decisions
2013
Upgraded local news production to high definitionGeneration changeBackground
High-definition production had become an important technical standard for local television news.
Action taken
WNCT-TV converted its local news production to high definition on October 17.
Aftermath
The upgrade improved the station's production technology and brought it into line with other high-definition news operations in the market.
2009
Completed the transition to digital broadcastingGeneration changeBackground
United States television stations were required to end full-power analog transmissions as part of the national digital television transition.
Action taken
WNCT-TV shut down its analog signal on June 12 and continued as a digital television station.
Aftermath
The transition enabled multiplexed digital services, including the station's CW Plus subchannel.
2008
Added a CW-subchannel prime-time newscastProduct launchBackground
After the Fox news-sharing agreement ended, WNCT-TV had an opportunity to use its CW Plus subchannel for additional local news programming.
Action taken
The station launched a nightly 10 p.m. newscast on WNCT-DT2, later known as 9 on Your Side at 10 on The CW.
Aftermath
The program created a local-news competitor to the prime-time broadcast on WFXI/WYDO.
2007
Ended Fox news-sharing agreementStrategyBackground
WNCT-TV had produced the Fox News at 10 prime-time newscast for WFXI/WYDO since the late 1990s. A change in the ownership and management relationships around the Fox stations altered the arrangement.
Action taken
WNCT-TV ended the production agreement in December 2007.
Aftermath
WNCT-TV subsequently developed a 10 p.m. newscast for its own CW digital subchannel, while WFXI/WYDO received a newscast produced through WCTI.
2006
Launched Eastern North Carolina CWProduct launchBackground
The CW began operating as the successor to The WB and UPN, while the market's former WB service had previously been known as WGWB.
Action taken
WNCT-TV launched a CW Plus service on its second digital subchannel, WNCT-DT2.
Aftermath
The subchannel added a second network service to WNCT-TV's digital operation and continues under the Eastern North Carolina CW branding.
1963
Adopted an exclusive CBS affiliationStrategyBackground
WNCT-TV had previously carried CBS as its principal network while also presenting selected ABC and NBC programs. The launch of WNBE-TV, now WCTI-TV, changed the local affiliate structure.
Action taken
WNCT-TV ended its mixed network arrangement and became a full-time CBS affiliate.
Aftermath
The CBS affiliation became the station's core network identity and remains central to its operation.
Recent events
- 2013
WNCT-TV upgrades local news production to high definition[1]
Product generation
WNCT-TV became the third television outlet in its market to produce local news in high definition.
- 2009
WNCT-TV completes analog shutdown[1]
Other · Regulation
The station ended analog broadcasting on June 12 as part of the United States digital television transition.
- 2006
WNCT-DT2 launches Eastern North Carolina CW service[1]
Product launch
WNCT-TV launched its current CW Plus digital-subchannel service on September 18, replacing the former local WB service.
- 1963
WNCT-TV becomes an exclusive CBS affiliate[1]
Other
After the launch of WNBE-TV, now WCTI-TV, WNCT-TV ended its earlier mixed network arrangement and became a full-time CBS affiliate.
- 1953
WNCT-TV signs on as a Greenville television station[1]
Other
WNCT-TV began broadcasting on December 22, establishing what became the oldest continuously operating television station in Eastern North Carolina.
Sources2 sources
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