WATL
From The TV IV
| WATL | |
| |
| Brand | MyAtl TV |
| City of License | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Market | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Channel | 25 digital 36 virtual 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) |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Company | Gannett |
| President | |
| Current Popular Non-Network Shows | The Simpsons
Jeopardy! Friends |
WATL is the MyNetworkTV affiliate for Atlanta, Georgia, broadcasting on digital channel 25, displayed on tuners as virtual 36.
Channel 36 first signed on analog in 1954 as WQXI-TV. There was a WQXI radio in Atlanta (there still is, as a sports talk 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 WGCL). 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 Gannett, 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.
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.
[edit] Digital programming
| Virtual | Physical | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36.1 | 25.1 | WATL-DT | Main WATL (MyNetwork TV) |
[edit] Current Prime-Time Schedule
[edit] External Links
Categories: WATL | Local Station | Gannett | MyNetworkTV Affiliates | Georgia/Stations | Atlanta/Stations
