WCCB
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Template:Infobox Broadcast WCCB is the Fox-TV affiliate station in Charlotte, North Carolina. The station's headquarters are located just outside downtown, off Independence Boulevard. It changed its name to "Fox Charlotte" in 2002. WCCB is carried on cable 11 on most cable systems.
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History
The station signed on August 15, 1964 as an ABC affiliate, making it North Carolina's oldest surviving UHF station. 14 Years later, ABC had become the nation's most watched network and wanted a stronger outlet than WCCB. ABC took its programming to the longtime NBC affiliate, WSOC-TV. Conventional wisdom suggested WCCB would simply take the NBC affiliation. But Ted Turner, owner of WRET (now WCNC-TV), a station that had been on the verge of closing down a few years earlier, swooped in from out of nowhere and took the NBC affiliation, leaving WCCB out in the cold as an independent station. Shortly afterwards, it acquired most of the cartoons WRET no longer had time to air since becoming an NBC affiliate, along with some older sitcoms.
WCCB carried on for almost a decade as a typical UHF general entertainment independent station until it joined the newly launched Fox network as an affiliate. Since then, WCCB has been one of the strongest Fox stations in the country. After being known as "TV18" since sign-on, it was rebranded as "Fox 18" in 1988 and as "Fox Charlotte" in 2002.
Owner
Since sign-on, the station has been owned by Charlotte businessman Cy Bahakel, who owns several television and radio stations across the country. Bahakel was an original partner in the Charlotte Hornets, and WCCB was the flagship station of the Hornets television network for the team's first four seasons. He was the Democratic candidate for North Carolina's 9th Congressional District in 1970, losing to longtime incumbent Charles Jonas. However, he has since been identified with right-wing causes. He is reportedly a member of the Council for National Policy, a secret right-wing group. Despite Bahakel's apparent far-right ties, there are no known significant instances where Fox's racier programming was ever preempted for content in Charlotte. It even aired Temptation Island, a program turned down by several Fox stations (most famously WRAZ-TV in the Triangle) who felt it cheapened marriage. Furthermore, local Democratic politician and former Congressional candidate Beth Troutman was hired in 2005 to host a morning news show called "Fox News Rising."
Hosting WOLO-TV
In 2002, Bahakel Communications moved the operations of its ABC affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina (two hours south of Charlotte), WOLO-TV to WCCB, where they stayed for three years. During that time, WCCB's studios played host to WOLO's newscasts. This was one of the first instances of "central casting," in which several stations' operations are hosted by one station. The practice of producing a local newscast in a different market was roundly criticized. WOLO's already abysmal ratings plunged even further and have never recovered, even after operations moved back to Columbia in 2005.
Former logo
Image:Wccb fox18 charlotte oldlogo.jpg Old FOX 18 logo used until 2002 before rebranding to FOX Charlotte.
Newscasts
FOX News Rising (Monday-Friday 5:30 AM-8:00 AM)
Anchors: Beth Troutman, Candice Little
Weather: Malachi Rodgers
FOX News at Ten (Monday-Friday 10:00 PM-10:30 PM)
Anchors: Brien Blakely, Rebecca Clark
Weather: Reg Taylor
Sports: Kelli Bartik
FOX News Edge (Monday-Thursday 10:30 PM-11:00 PM)
Hosts: Matt Harris, Ramona Holloway
FOX News at Ten (Weekend Edition 10:00 PM-10:30 PM)
Anchors: Shannon Royster, Morgan Fogarty
Weather: Derek James
Sports: Bruce Snyder
FOX News Edge (Friday Edition 10:30 PM-11:00 PM)
Hosts: Beth Troutman, Derek James