WSFA
NBC-affiliated television station serving Montgomery and much of central and southeastern Alabama.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
WSFA is a television station serving Montgomery, Alabama, and a broad surrounding region. It broadcasts on virtual channel 12 and is affiliated with NBC. The station is owned by Gray Media and operates alongside several other Gray-controlled outlets serving the Montgomery market, including Fox affiliate WCOV-TV, Cozi TV affiliate WIYC, Telemundo affiliate WBXM-CD, and weather-oriented WALE-LD. WSFA's studios are located on Dexter Avenue in downtown Montgomery, while its transmitter is near Grady along the Montgomery–Pike county line. The station traces its identity to WSFA radio, founded in 1930 by Gordon Persons at Montgomery Regional Airport, then known as Gunter Field. The call letters represented the phrase “South's Finest Airport.” The radio station became an important local institution and was associated with the early career of country singer Hank Williams. Persons later secured a construction permit for Montgomery's second television station on VHF channel 12. WSFA-TV began broadcasting on December 25, 1954, from a facility on Delano Avenue. Because the radio station had previously been affiliated with NBC, the television station joined NBC at launch and has retained that network affiliation throughout its history. Ownership changed several times during WSFA's early decades. In 1955, Persons sold the combined radio and television operation to the Oklahoma Publishing Company, associated with the Gaylord family. The radio operation was sold separately in 1956, while the television station was acquired in 1959 by the Broadcasting Company of the South, a subsidiary of Liberty Life Insurance Company. That corporate structure later evolved into Cosmos Broadcasting and then Liberty Corporation. In 2002, after Liberty exited the insurance business, WSFA came directly under the Liberty corporate banner. Liberty merged with Raycom Media in 2006, making WSFA a flagship station of a company headquartered in Montgomery. It later shared flagship status with WBTV in Charlotte after Raycom acquired Lincoln Financial Media's television properties. WSFA built a particularly strong reputation for local journalism. During the 1950s, news director Frank McGee guided coverage of the Montgomery bus boycott and other civil rights events involving Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., who was then pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Some of that reporting reached national audiences through NBC. The station subsequently became known for a substantial local-news operation relative to the size of its market and has historically maintained a leading position in Montgomery television news. Its programming includes morning, afternoon, evening, and late-night newscasts, along with the lifestyle and community program Alabama Live. The station has also produced or supplied news for other local outlets under various agreements. WSFA has used its digital television capacity for weather, news repeats, syndicated programming, sports, and multicast networks. Its second digital channel has carried services including NBC Weather Plus, a locally oriented weather service, Retro Television Network, and Bounce TV. Its third subchannel has carried several networks over time, including The Tube Music Network, Retro Television Network, Grit, Circle, and, more recently, the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network. WSFA completed its transition from analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, returning its digital signal to VHF channel 12 after the transition. In 2018, Gray Television agreed to acquire Raycom Media in a transaction valued at approximately $3.6 billion. The deal received regulatory approval in December 2018 and closed on January 2, 2019, transferring WSFA to Gray. In 2024, Gray and the New Orleans Pelicans announced the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network, giving WSFA a role in regional distribution of Pelicans games during the 2024–25 season. WSFA remains a locally focused NBC station whose brand combines network programming, extensive lo…
History
WSFA's history begins with a radio station established in 1930 by Gordon Persons at Montgomery Regional Airport. The call letters referred to “South's Finest Airport,” and the station became a recognizable Montgomery institution. Its early legacy included an association with Hank Williams, who was born in nearby Georgiana and gained early exposure through the station's programming. As television expanded in the United States, Persons obtained a construction permit for Montgomery's second television station on VHF channel 12. WSFA-TV opened on December 25, 1954, from a new Delano Avenue facility that housed the television and radio operations. The station inherited the radio outlet's NBC relationship and has remained an NBC affiliate since its first broadcast. A technical delay affecting the channel 12 transmitter helped force the earlier WCOV-TV to use UHF channel 20, giving WSFA an important early position in Montgomery's VHF market. Persons sold WSFA-AM-TV to the Oklahoma Publishing Company in February 1955. The radio station was separated from the television operation in 1956 and eventually adopted different call letters. In 1959, WSFA-TV was sold to the Broadcasting Company of the South, linked to Liberty Life Insurance Company. That ownership structure was later reorganized through Cosmos Broadcasting and Liberty Corporation. Liberty's corporate changes eventually placed the television station directly under the Liberty name after the company left the insurance business in 2002. WSFA's local-news identity developed rapidly in the 1950s. Frank McGee, sent from the Gaylord family's Oklahoma City flagship to serve as news director, led reporting on the Montgomery bus boycott, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr.'s activities, and other civil-rights events. The station's reports were periodically supplied to NBC and helped give WSFA a national reputation for serious local journalism. McGee later joined NBC News and became a host of Today. Liberty subsequently treated WSFA's news operation as a model when strengthening news departments at its other stations. For decades WSFA was Montgomery's only VHF station. That advantage changed in the mid-1980s when Selma-licensed WAKA built a transmitter positioned to serve Montgomery more effectively and became the area's CBS affiliate. WSFA dropped the “-TV” suffix from its call sign in 1986. Liberty merged with Raycom Media in 2006, and because Raycom was headquartered in Montgomery, WSFA became one of the company's flagship properties. After Raycom acquired Lincoln Financial Media's television stations in 2008, WSFA shared flagship status with WBTV in Charlotte. The station expanded its local programming during the 2000s. Alabama Live debuted in 2007 as a weekday lifestyle and community program. In 2008, WSFA began producing a prime-time newscast for WCOV-TV under a news-sharing agreement, and the station converted its main newscasts to high definition. After the WCOV agreement ended, WSFA moved its own prime-time production to a digital subchannel in 2011, while continuing a related simulcast arrangement with Dothan station WDFX for several years. WSFA has repeatedly changed the services carried on its digital subchannels. The second channel moved from NBC Weather Plus-related programming to local weather content, later carried Retro Television Network, and then became an outlet for Bounce TV. The third channel carried The Tube Music Network, Retro TV, Grit, and Circle at different times. WSFA also completed the federally mandated analog shutdown on June 12, 2009, moving its digital operation to VHF channel 12. Gray Television announced its agreement to acquire Raycom Media in 2018. The approximately $3.6 billion transaction was approved in December of that year and closed on January 2, 2019. WSFA consequently became part of Gray's group of local television stations. In 2024, Gray and the New Orleans Pelicans announced the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network, allowing WSFA to carry regional Pelicans programming as part of a broader Gulf Coast distribution strategy. Today, WSFA combines NBC programming with a large local-news operation, weather services, community features, digital multicast channels, and regional sports content.
- 2024
Pelicans regional network announced
[1]WSFA was included among Gray stations selected to distribute the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network.
- 2019
Gray completes Raycom acquisition
[1]Gray Television completed its acquisition of Raycom Media on January 2.
- 2011
Prime-time news moves to a digital subchannel
[1]WSFA moved its locally produced prime-time news program to its RTV digital subchannel and renamed it The News at 9.
- 2009
Analog transmission ends
[1]The station ended analog broadcasting on June 12 as part of the United States digital television transition.
- 2008
High-definition news production begins
[1]WSFA upgraded its local newscasts to high definition.
- 2007
Alabama Live launches
[1]WSFA introduced a weekday lifestyle and community program.
- 2006
Liberty merges with Raycom Media
[1]WSFA became part of Raycom Media and a flagship station of the Montgomery-based group.
- 1986
Call-sign suffix is removed
[1]The station stopped using the “-TV” suffix and continued as WSFA.
- 1959
Sale to Broadcasting Company of the South
[1]WSFA-TV was acquired by the Broadcasting Company of the South, a Liberty Life subsidiary.
- 1955
Sale to Oklahoma Publishing Company
[1]Gordon Persons sold WSFA-AM-TV to the Oklahoma Publishing Company associated with the Gaylord family.
Products and positioning
A news-intensive NBC affiliate positioned as a broad-reach regional television station for Montgomery and central Alabama, with strong emphasis on local news, weather, civil-rights-era heritage, community coverage, and public-service broadcasting.
Local television news
WSFA 12 News
WSFA's principal local-news brand covers Montgomery, central Alabama, and surrounding communities through morning, afternoon, evening, and late-night broadcasts. The operation emphasizes regional reporting, weather, public affairs, breaking news, and coverage of events across a large geographical area.
Lifestyle and community programming · 2007
Alabama Live
A weekday magazine-style program introduced in 2007, Alabama Live supplements conventional newscasts with interviews, lifestyle features, community subjects, and guest appearances. Its format reflects WSFA's emphasis on local engagement and service-oriented programming.
Weather broadcasting
Local weather programming
WSFA provides recurring forecasts, live weather updates, and severe-weather coverage for a wide portion of Alabama. Weather content has also appeared on digital subchannels, including after the discontinuation of NBC Weather Plus.
Regional sports television · 2024
Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network
A Gray-distributed regional sports and entertainment service announced with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2024. WSFA was among the Gray stations participating in distribution of nearly all Pelicans games during the 2024–25 season.
Brand decisions
2024
Participation in Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment NetworkProduct launchBackground
Gray and the New Orleans Pelicans sought to distribute professional basketball games across Gray-owned stations in the Gulf South.
Action taken
WSFA was included in the station group carrying the new regional sports and entertainment network.
Aftermath
The arrangement expanded WSFA's programming mix beyond local news, network television, weather, and syndicated content.
2018
Gray agrees to acquire Raycom MediaM&ABackground
Raycom Media owned WSFA and operated a large portfolio of local television stations in the United States.
Action taken
Gray Television announced an agreement to merge with Raycom Media in a transaction valued at approximately $3.6 billion.
Aftermath
The transaction was approved on December 20, 2018, and closed on January 2, 2019, making WSFA a Gray station.
Transaction value. $3.6 billion announced transaction value (Announced June 25, 2018; completed January 2, 2019)
2011
Prime-time news shifts to a digital subchannelStrategyBackground
After the news-sharing arrangement with WCOV ended, WSFA needed a new outlet for its locally produced prime-time news program.
Action taken
WSFA renamed the program The News at 9 and moved it to its RTV digital subchannel, while maintaining a simulcast on WDFX for a period.
Aftermath
The move preserved a 9 p.m. local-news service while using WSFA's growing digital multicast capacity.
2008
Conversion of newscasts to high definitionOtherBackground
WSFA sought to modernize its local-news presentation and production infrastructure in the Montgomery television market.
Action taken
The station converted its primary newscasts to high-definition production on August 3, 2008, with redesigned graphics and a refreshed news set.
Aftermath
WSFA became the first Montgomery station to broadcast its newscasts in high definition. Its prime-time productions were moved to the newer format later.
Recent events
- 2024
WSFA joins Gulf Coast sports network distribution[1]
Product launch
Gray and the New Orleans Pelicans announced a regional sports and entertainment network whose distribution included WSFA and other Gray stations in the Gulf South.
- 2019
Gray Television completes acquisition of Raycom Media[1]
M&A
Gray completed its acquisition of Raycom Media after regulatory approval, bringing WSFA into Gray's national local-television portfolio.
- 2008
WSFA begins producing Fox News at 9 for WCOV[1]
Product launch
WSFA entered a news-sharing arrangement with Fox affiliate WCOV-TV, adding a locally produced prime-time newscast.
- 2008
WSFA upgrades local newscasts to high definition[1]
Product generation
WSFA converted its principal newscasts to high-definition production, becoming the first Montgomery station to make that transition.
- 2007
WSFA launches Alabama Live[1]
Product launch
The station introduced Alabama Live, a weekday lifestyle and community program combining interviews, features, and material outside the conventional newscast format.
- 2006
WSFA becomes part of Raycom Media[1]
M&A
Liberty Corporation merged with Raycom Media, making WSFA part of the Montgomery-based broadcast group and one of its flagship stations.
- 1954
WSFA moves from radio heritage to television broadcasting[1]
Product launch
WSFA-TV began broadcasting on December 25, 1954, on VHF channel 12 and joined NBC, extending the identity of the earlier WSFA radio station into television.
Sources3 sources
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