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WATL
| WATL | |
| |
| Brand | The ATL |
| City of License | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Market | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Channel | 25.3 digital 36 virtual Subcarriers: 25.4 (36.2 virtual) This TV 25.5 (36.3 virtual) Antenna TV 25.6 (11.11 virtual) WXIA simulcast Formerly: 36 analog (1954-55, 1969-71, 1976-2009) |
| Network Affiliation | Current: MyNetworkTV NBC (secondary, as fill-in for WXIA) Formerly: Independent (1954-55, 1969-71, 1976-86, 1994-95) FOX (1986-94) The WB (1995-2006) silent (1955-69, 1971-76) |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Company | Tegna Media (Pacific & Southern Broadcasting licensee; duopoly with WXIA. |
| President | |
| Current Popular Non-Network Shows |
The Simpsons
Dr. Phil The Andy Griffith Show |
WATL is the MyNetworkTV affiliate for Atlanta, Georgia, broadcasting on digital channel 25, displayed on tuners as virtual 36. Its subcarriers are 25.4 (36.2 virtual) which is This TV, channel 25.5 (36.3 virtual) which is general entertainment network Antenna TV, and 25.6 (11.11 virtual) which is a rebroadcast of sister station and NBC affiliate WXIA/channel 11.
Channel 36 first signed on analog in 1954 as WQXI-TV. There was a WQXI radio in Atlanta (there still is, broadcasting a Korean format), but in spite of promotions on-air from the radio component, WQXI-TV signed off six months later as TVs were not fully equipped to receive UHF channels. Another go was made in 1967, when upstart network Overmeyer made the station its Atlanta affiliate, WBMO. The station never signed on as Overmeyer went dark a month later. The station was revived in 1969 as WATL. It was an independent while also carrying network shows passed up by the market's ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates. This version lasted till 1971. (The station that signed on afterwards, WHAE/channel 46, would operate from WATL's old studios.)
WATL's logo during its first run (1969-71).
In 1976, Don Kennedy--who was "Officer Don" on WSB-TV's Popeye Club--brought WATL back. The first years back were rickety at best--the power would go off suddenly, telecines would go at a snail's pace, and tapes showing delayed broadcasts of discarded network shows were of dubious quality, looking and sounding as if they were recorded on a home VCR at the slowest speed. In 1983, the station would air delayed telecasts of CBS's daytime game shows The $25,000 Pyramid and Tattletales from tapes bicycled to them, and oft times they would repeat a week of shows because of tapes not delivered. In a stint usually reserved for radio stations, on December 9, 1980--the day after John Lennon was killed in New York City--WATL aired a two-and-a-half hour marathon of The Beatles cartoons in place of their usual afternoon cartoon fare.
WATL became a charter FOX affiliate in 1986. Eight years later, FOX would win the NFC football package from CBS, and then WATL would lose FOX to WAGA/channel 5, which was then a CBS station. The new WB network, which originally pegged WGNX/channel 46 as its Atlanta affiliate, went with WATL (WGNX would become the new CBS affiliate, now as WANF). In 2006, the WB and UPN folded and merged to become the CW, which made WUPA/channel 69 its Atlanta affiliate. FOX's parent company, News Corp., started up MyNetworkTV, and made WATL its Atlanta home.
WATL is currently owned by Tegna Media, owners of WXIA/channel 11. Both stations operate from the same headquarters south of the Buckhead community. WXIA produces and staffs a newscast on WATL that airs weeknights at 10. WATL will air NBC shows in the event that WXIA bumps them for sports events or interruptions due to special news coverage. WXIA normally runs the first-run episodes of Jeopardy! at 7:30, but WATL will run them in the event it is bumped by WXIA for extended news coverage or special event programming.
WATL previously aired WXIA's weather on channel 25.2 (virtual 36.2), then moved it to 25.3 to make room for Bounce TV. WXIA weather has since moved back to WXIA's 11.2. Their branding was previously "MyAtlTV" but it has since changed to "The ATL" some five years after MyNetwork TV changed its status from a network to a syndication service. More recently, WATL opened a subcarrier on RF channel 25.6 to rebroadcast WXIA's signal to viewers who may not have aerials that will adequately receive WXIA. It maps to virtual channel 11.11. On December 2, 2019, WATL bumped My Network TV programming to midnight and filled its prime time with three hours of news produced by WXIA.
There was a WATL radio, which started in 1931 (as WJTL--it changed to WATL in 1935) and broadcast educational fare at 1400 on the AM dial. The relationship to the TV station is of call letters only.
Contents |
Digital programming
| Virtual | Physical | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36.1 | 25.3 | WATL-DT | Main WATL (MyNetwork TV) |
| 36.2 | 25.4 | WATL-DT2 | This TV |
| 36.3 | 25.5 | WATL-DT3 | Antenna TV |
| 11.11 | 25.6 | WXIA-TV | WXIA (NBC) simulcast |
| 11.2 | 25.7 | WXIA-DT2 | Twist |
Current Prime-Time Schedule
| Day | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | 11:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 11 Alive News at 7 | 11 Alive Sports Extra | 11 Alive News at 8 | 11 Alive News at 9 | 11 Alive News At 10 | Jeopardy! | |||
| Tuesday | Daily Blast Live | ||||||||
| Wednesday | |||||||||
| Thursday | |||||||||
| Friday | |||||||||
| Saturday | Wheel of Fortune | Jeopardy! | Saving Hope | Rookie Blue | 11 Alive Trending At 10 | Sing Like A Star | Ring of Honor Wrestling | ||
| Sunday | Saving Hope | Rookie Blue | The Simpsons | The Simpsons | Full Court Press | Intervention | |||
Previous Prime-Time/Late Night Schedules
2005-2006
2004-2005
2003-2004
2002-2003
2001-2002
2000-2001
1999-2000
| Day | 6:00 PM | 6:30 PM | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | 11:00 PM | 11:30 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | The Parent 'Hood | The Wayans Bros. | The Simpsons | Friends | 7th Heaven | Safe Harbor | Seinfeld | Friends | NewsRadio | Living Single | ||
| Tuesday | The Parent 'Hood | The Wayans Bros. | The Simpsons | Friends | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Angel | Seinfeld | Friends | NewsRadio | Living Single | ||
| Wednesday | The Parent 'Hood | The Wayans Bros. | The Simpsons | Friends | Dawson's Creek | Roswell | Seinfeld | Friends | NewsRadio | Living Single | ||
| Thursday | The Parent 'Hood | The Wayans Bros. | The Simpsons | Friends | Popular | Charmed | Seinfeld | Friends | NewsRadio | Living Single | ||
| Friday | The Parent 'Hood | The Wayans Bros. | The Simpsons | Friends | Mission Hill | The Jamie Foxx Show | The Steve Harvey Show | For Your Love | Seinfeld | Friends | NewsRadio | Living Single |
| Saturday | The Parent 'Hood | The Simpsons | Your Big Break | Movie | BeastMaster | ER | ||||||
| Sunday | Varied programming | 7th Heaven | Felicity | Jack & Jill | Seinfeld | The Simpsons | ER | |||||
1998-1999
1997-1998
1996-1997
1995-1996
1994-1995
1993-1994
| Day | 6:00 PM | 6:30 PM | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | 11:00 PM | 11:30 PM | midnight | 12:30 AM | 1:00 AM | 1:30 AM | 2:00 AM | 2:30 AM | 3:00 AM | 3:30 AM | 4:00 AM | 4:30 AM | 5:00 AM | 5:30 AM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Married... with Children | Murphy Brown | Cheers | Cops | Fox Night at the Movies | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | The Chevy Chase Show | Night Court | M*A*S*H | Paid Program | The Odd Couple | Off the air | Robert Tilton | ||||||||||
| Tuesday | Married... with Children | Murphy Brown | Cheers | Cops | Roc | Bakersfield P.D. | America's Most Wanted | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | The Chevy Chase Show | Night Court | M*A*S*H | Paid Program | The Odd Couple | Off the air | Robert Tilton | ||||||||
| Wednesday | Married... with Children | Murphy Brown | Cheers | Cops | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Melrose Place | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | The Chevy Chase Show | Night Court | M*A*S*H | Fox 36 Late Movie | Paid Program | Paid Program | The Fall Guy | Robert Tilton | ||||||||
| Thursday | Married... with Children | Murphy Brown | Cheers | Cops | The Simpsons | The Sinbad Show | In Living Color | Herman's Head | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | The Chevy Chase Show | Night Court | M*A*S*H | Paid Program | Paid Program | Fox 36 Late Movie | The Fall Guy | Robert Tilton | ||||||
| Friday | Married... with Children | Murphy Brown | Cheers | Cops | The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. | The X-Files | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | The Chevy Chase Show | Night Court | M*A*S*H | Catwalk | Fox 36 Late Movie | Paid Program | The Fall Guy | Mr. Belvedere | ||||||||
| Saturday | Fox 36 Saturday 6 O'Clock Movie | COPS | COPS | Front Page | Time Trax | Comic Strip Live | Cobra | Hot Dates | Fox 36 Late Movie | The Fall Guy | Mr. Belvedere | Mr. Belvedere | Community Journal | |||||||||||
| Sunday | The Crusaders | Townsend Television | Martin | Living Single | Married... with Children | Daddy Dearest | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | Real Stories of the Highway Patrol | Fox 36 Late Movie | Off the air | Robert Tilton | |||||||||||||
1992-1993
| Day | 6:00 PM | 6:30 PM | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | 11:00 PM | 11:30 PM | midnight | 12:30 AM | 1:00 AM | 1:30 AM | 2:00 AM | 2:30 AM | 3:00 AM | 3:30 AM | 4:00 AM | 4:30 AM | 5:00 AM | 5:30 AM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Cheers | Married... with Children | Cheers | Murphy Brown | Fox Night at the Movies | Paid Program | Paid Program | M*A*S*H | The Whoopi Goldberg Show | M*A*S*H | Fox 36 Late Movie | Infatuation | Off the air | Success-N-Life | ||||||||||
| Tuesday | Cheers | Married... with Children | Cheers | Murphy Brown | Class of '96 | Key West | Hunter | M*A*S*H | The Whoopi Goldberg Show | Paid Program | Fox 36 Late Movie | Infatuation | Off the air | Success-N-Life | ||||||||||
| Wednesday | Cheers | Married... with Children | Cheers | Murphy Brown | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Melrose Place | Hunter | M*A*S*H | The Whoopi Goldberg Show | M*A*S*H | Fox 36 Late Movie | Infatuation | Big Valley | Big Valley | Success-N-Life | |||||||||
| Thursday | Cheers | Married... with Children | Cheers | Murphy Brown | The Simpsons | Martin | The Heights | Hunter | M*A*S*H | The Whoopi Goldberg Show | M*A*S*H | Fox 36 Late Movie | Infatuation | Big Valley | Big Valley | Success-N-Life | ||||||||
| Friday | Cheers | Married... with Children | Cheers | Murphy Brown | America's Most Wanted | Sightings | Likely Suspects | Hunter | M*A*S*H | The Whoopi Goldberg Show | M*A*S*H | Fox 36 Late Movie | The Odd Couple | Big Valley | Fox 36 Early Movie | |||||||||
| Saturday | Fox 36 Saturday 6 O'Clock Movie | COPS | COPS | Code 3 | The Edge | Fox 36 Saturday 10 O'Clock Movie | Comic Strip Guy | The Fall Guy | Fox 36 Saturday Late Movie | McMillan & Wife | ||||||||||||||
| Sunday | To the Races | Murphy Brown | Great Scott! | The Ben Stiller Show | In Living Color | Roc | Married... with Children | Herman's Head | Flying Blind | Woops! | M*A*S*H | Night Court | Atlanta's Fresh Party | The Whoopi Goldberg Show | Off the air | Success-N-Life | ||||||||
1991-1992
External Links
Official website for WATL
