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WRCB (channel 3), branded Local 3, is a television station in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. The station’s studios are located on Whitehall Road on Chattanooga’s north side; its transmitter is located in the town of Walden on Signal Mountain.

WRCB began broadcasting on May 6, 1956, as WRGP-TV, the second TV station in Chattanooga. Originally owned by Ramon G. Patterson, it was an NBC affiliate from its launch. The Friendly Group purchased the station in 1959 and, as part of its renaming as Rust Craft Broadcasting, changed the call sign to WRCB on January 1, 1963. Under Rust Craft and Ziff-Davis, which acquired the Rust Craft group in 1979, the station remained in third place in local news ratings.

Sarkes Tarzian acquired WRCB in 1982. The station’s news ratings saw a marked increased in the 1980s, propelled at first by the popularity of the syndicated game show Wheel of Fortune. For most of the time since the mid-1980s, WRCB and WTVC (channel 9) have competed for first place in local news viewership in Chattanooga.

History

When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lifted its multi-year freeze on new television station applications in April 1952, Chattanooga was assigned two VHF television channels, 3 and 12, and several Chattanooga interests began considering filing for them.[2] Two applicants sought channel 3: Chattanooga radio station WDOD and Mountain City Television, a company owned by R. G. Patterson and Will Cummings, a former county judge.[3] Patterson was the owner of station WAPO.[4]

The two firms locked horns in a multi-year battle for the construction permit, as a comparative hearing was necessary.[5] In May 1954, FCC hearing examiner J. D. Bond ruled in favor of Mountain City because its program proposals were superior. WDOD contested because it believed that Patterson’s work for the TV station would conflict with his activities at WAPO radio.[6] On an appeal to the full commission, the FCC voted 4–2 in favor of Mountain City’s application on February 9, 1956, citing the “clear superiority” of WAPO’s past broadcast record over WDOD. The news assured Chattanooga of a second television station in short order and set off a shuffle of network affiliations. Chattanooga’s existing station, WDEF-TV (channel 12), elected to become a primary affiliate of CBS.[7] This left the new WRGP-TV to take NBC. The station reused the former transmitter facility of WAPO-FM on Signal Mountain.[8][9] WRGP-TV made its first broadcast on May 6, 1956,[10] from studios at 1214 McCallie Avenue.[11] In addition to NBC programs, some ABC programs aired on the new station,[12] though Chattanooga gained a primary ABC affiliate in 1958 with the startup of WTVC (channel 9), which moved in from Rome, Georgia.[13] In 1958, Jim Nabors—later known for playing Gomer Pyle—made his on-air television debut as a substitute performer on a WRGP-TV show.[14]

The Pattersons sold WRGP-TV to WSTV, Inc., the Friendly Group of Steubenville, Ohio, in a deal announced in October 1959 and completed in January 1960.[15][16] The Friendly Group was acquired by Massachusetts-based United Printers and Publishers in 1961, giving the firm its five TV stations and radio outlets from Florida to West Virginia.[17][18] United changed its name to Rust Craft Greeting Card Company in 1962, adopting the name of its most-known products.[19] WSTV, Inc. became Rust Craft Broadcasting.[20] To identify the station with the new ownership name, WRGP-TV became WRCB on January 1, 1963.[21] WRCB, outgrowing its original studios, moved to a new studio facility on Whitehall Road in the Stringers Ridge area in 1968. The new building was equipped for local color broadcasting.[22][23]

In June 1977, the Ziff Corporation, parent of magazine publisher Ziff-Davis, made a bid for Rust Craft, primarily seeking its six television stations. Ziff-Davis had previously hired I. Martin Pompadur, a former ABC executive, as part of the company’s plan to acquire television stations.[24] The Rust Craft board approved of the sale that September for a total price of approximately $69 million,[25] but booming prices for broadcast properties and an objection by two Rust Craft directors and shareholders, seeking more money, caused the deal to be delayed and its price to continue to balloon. The original bid had been $25 a share;[24] the board approved at $26.50 a share.[25] By October 1978, Ziff was offering $33.50 per share.[26] The final sales price of $33.75 a share, or $89 million in total, was approved in February 1979; the transaction already had federal approval, so the new owners were able to take over the next month.[27] The new ownership invested in new equipment but on its own could not solve the station’s reputation for high turnover.[28]

Sarkes Tarzian ownership

Ziff decided in 1981 to put the stations on the market, having already sold off the Rust Craft radio stations and its greeting card businesses, and focus on its publishing businesses.[29] The company sold WRCB to Sarkes Tarzian, Inc., an Indiana-based radio and TV station owner, in February 1982.[30] The sale was held up over a petition by the NAACP and the National Black Media Coalition, which believed that WRCB had underemployed Black people in 1980 and 1981; the deal proceeded after a settlement with Ziff-Davis.[31]

Sarkes took on a station that was third in news behind a newly resurgent WTVC and WDEF,[32] which had previously led the market.[33] WRCB’s ratings fortunes began to change in May 1984, after the station acquired rights to the syndicated game show Wheel of Fortune. Its popularity lifted the 6 p.m. news ratings for WRCB and the NBC Nightly News.[34] By July 1985, WRCB’s early evening news had moved into second place, behind WTVC but ahead of WDEF. The late evening news lagged the change in early evenings, and WTVC was more dominant at 11 p.m. for a time.[35] In 1987, WRCB debuted a 5:30 p.m. half-hour newscast, Live at 5:30.[36]

By 1989, WRCB and WTVC were in close competition for first-place positioning in news and total-day ratings, with WDEF in third.[37] For most of the time since the early 1990s, WRCB has been in close competition with WTVC for first place in news ratings and the market lead in revenue, though WTVC has tended to edge WRCB.[38][39][40][41][42]

In 2014, WRCB added weekend morning newscasts,[43] followed by a 4 p.m. evening newscast in 2018.[44] On January 15, 2022, the station rebranded as Local 3.[45]

Notable former on-air staff

Technical information

Subchannels

WRCB’s transmitter is located in the town of Walden on Signal Mountain.[1] The station’s signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WRCB[47]
Channel Res. Short name Programming
3.1 1080i WRCB-HD NBC
3.2 480i Dabl Dabl
3.3 ION Ion Television
3.4 DEFY Ion Plus
3.5 Grit TV Grit

WRCB began broadcasting a digital signal on May 1, 2002.[48] It ceased regular programming on its analog signal on June 12, 2009, the national digital television transition date,[49] with a limited analog nightlight service of transition information which broadcast after that date under the SAFER Act.[50] The station’s digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 13, using virtual channel 3.[51]

References

  1. ^ a b “Facility Technical Data for WRCB”. Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ “Stations Seek Video Permits: Freeze Lifted Monday, Stirring Local Action”. Chattanooga News-Free Press. April 12, 1952. p. 5.
  3. ^ “Mountain City TV Asks 100,000-Watt Station”. The Chattanooga Times. July 1, 1952. p. 3.
  4. ^ “Single Applicant Asks UHF Channel: Chattangoga TV Seeks the Right to Operate Here on Channel No. 49”. The Chattanooga Times. July 2, 1952. p. 9.
  5. ^ “Three TV Grants Made; FCC Also Adds La., Tex. Channels”. Broadcasting. August 4, 1952. pp. 55, 68–70. ProQuest 1285694778.
  6. ^ “Proposed Chattanooga Grant Reaffirmed by FCC Examiner”. Broadcasting. November 14, 1955. p. 95. ProQuest 1014925683.
  7. ^ “Mountain City Wins Channel; To Have Color: Construction to Begin Next Week on Signal Transmitter Building”. Chattanooga News-Free Press. February 10, 1956. pp. 1, 3.
  8. ^ “Rome Station Plans TV Site Atop Lookout: Asks Permission to Move Transmitter Nine Miles South of Chattanooga”. Chattanooga Daily Times. March 30, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  9. ^ “Stone Named Gen. Mgr. For New Chattanooga Tv”. Broadcasting. February 20, 1956. p. 95. ProQuest 1401213967.
  10. ^ “City’s 2nd TV Station Begins Its Telecasting”. Chattanooga Daily Times. May 7, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  11. ^ “History Cards for WRCB”. Federal Communications Commission.
  12. ^ “Ch. 3 WRGP-TV Chattanooga Begins Regular Telecasting”. Broadcasting. May 7, 1956. p. 84. ProQuest 1285737906.
  13. ^ “3d TV Outlet Opens Tuesday In Chattanooga”. The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. Associated Press. February 7, 1958. p. 11. Retrieved October 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Courter, Barry (December 1, 2017). “TV’s homespun Gomer Pyle dies”. Chattanooga Times Free Press. Associated Press. p. A2.
  15. ^ Hixson, Fred (October 23, 1959). “Pattersons Sell TV Stock To Chain for $1,750,000”. Chattanooga Daily Times. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  16. ^ “Title of WRGP-TV Into New Hands: Ohio Broadcasters Assume Ownership—Will Hold Reception Today”. Chattanooga Daily Times. January 7, 1960. p. 3. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  17. ^ “United Printers Acquired WRGP: Greeting Card Publisher Takes Over 2 Concerns in Radio, TV Field”. Chattanooga Daily Times. Associated Press. August 4, 1961. p. 36. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  18. ^ “United to buy Friendly Group”. Broadcasting. July 24, 1961. pp. 39–40. ProQuest 962761165.
  19. ^ “Name Is Rust Craft”. The Morning Union. Associated Press. July 11, 1962. p. 18. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  20. ^ “WSTV Inc. Buys New Property”. The Pittsburgh Press. July 15, 1962. p. 3:8. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  21. ^ “WRGP Changing to WRCB Today: Channel 3 TV to Be More Closely Identified With Owner, Rust Craft”. Chattanooga Daily Times. January 1, 1963. p. 15. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  22. ^ Schneider, Fred (May 14, 1967). “Channel 3 TV to Build In $10-Million Project”. The Chattanooga Times. pp. 1, 6.
  23. ^ “500 At Opening of WRCB Studios: Advertisers and Others Attend Station Party in New Location”. The Chattanooga Times. May 26, 1968. p. 44.
  24. ^ a b “Ziff-Davis Enters B’casting Via $60-Mil Offer For Rust Craft”. Variety. July 6, 1977. p. 44. ProQuest 1401311609.
  25. ^ a b “Rust Craft TV Stations Finally Sold To Ziff-Davis For $69-Mil”. Variety. September 21, 1977. p. 63. ProQuest 1401313086.
  26. ^ “New Ziff Offer For Rust Craft Still Opposed”. Variety. October 11, 1978. p. 137. ProQuest 1401338886.
  27. ^ “Ziff’s $89-Mil Rust Craft Buy Done At Last”. Variety. February 21, 1979. p. 51. ProQuest 1401348121.
  28. ^ a b McAfee, Cindy (May 27, 1980). “Faces on Channel 3 Come and Go in Ratings Struggle: News Director Daughtry Says Station Expanded”. The Chattanooga Times. pp. B1, B2.
  29. ^ “Ziff puts its 6 TV stations up for sale”. Broadcasting. June 1, 1981. pp. 38–39. ProQuest 962728931.
  30. ^ Vass, John Jr. (February 25, 1982). “Sarkes Tarzian Inc. Acquiring WRCB-TV”. Chattanooga News-Free Press. pp. 1, 2.
  31. ^ Flessner, Dave (November 23, 1982). “Settlement of Rights Complaints Clears Way for Sale of WRCB-TV”. The Chattanooga Times. pp. B1, B2.
  32. ^ Flessner, Dave (September 7, 1982). “Area TV Managers Expecting Larger Viewing Audiences”. The Chattanooga Times. p. B3.
  33. ^ Casteel, Bill (January 3, 1980). “Nielsen Ratings Fuel War of Words Among Stations”. The Chattanooga Times. pp. A1, A2.
  34. ^ Arnold, Randy (May 22, 1986). ““The Wheel of Fortune’ spells success for WRCB”. The Chattanooga Times. p. Z1.
  35. ^ Arnold, Randy (August 30, 1985). “Channel 3 is overall sweeps winner, but Channel 9 holds lead in news”. The Chattanooga Times. p. W4.
  36. ^ “Two TV Stations Plan 5:30 Newscasts”. Chattanooga News-Free Press. December 17, 1986. p. G1.
  37. ^ Arnold, Randy (March 21, 1989). “Channel 12’s newscast climbs in ratings”. The Chattanooga Times. p. B6.
  38. ^ Bednarski, P. J. (November 5, 2001). “Competition, southern-style”. Broadcasting & Cable. p. 27. ProQuest 225307989.
  39. ^ Romano, Allison (May 15, 2006). “Down in the Valley”. Broadcasting & Cable. p. 9. ProQuest 225313815.
  40. ^ {{Cite news|title=Train Stations|page=11|date=December 3, 2007|first=Michael|last=Malone|work=Broadcasting & Cable|id=ProQuest 225307569
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  42. ^ Malone, Michael (October 10, 2011). “Chugging Along”. Broadcasting & Cable. p. 18. ProQuest 897585403.
  43. ^ Malone, Michael Malone (March 4, 2014). “Market Eye: Clash of the Titans”. Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  44. ^ “WRCB To Expand Evening News With First At 4”. Chattanoogan.com. June 5, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  45. ^ “WRCB-TV becomes ‘Local 3’ with station rebrand”. Local 3 News. January 15, 2022.
  46. ^ “Two Added To Channel 3 News Staff”. Chattanooga News-Free Press. August 4, 1979. p. B-10.
  47. ^ “RabbitEars TV Query for WRCB”. RabbitEars. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  48. ^ Lusk, Kevin (May 1, 2002). “2 TV stations meet digital deadline”. Chattanooga Times Free Press.
  49. ^ Johns, Andy (June 7, 2009). “TV stations to make digital switch Friday”. Chattanooga Times Free Press. p. 15.
  50. ^ “UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program” (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  51. ^ “DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds” (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.