WNBJ-LD
WNBJ-LD, virtual channel 39 (UHF digital channel 16), is a low-powered dual NBC/CW+-affiliated television station licensed to Jackson, Tennessee, United States. WNBJ-LD's studios are located on North Highland Avenue, and its transmitter is located near the corner of Commerce and Iselin streets, both in downtown Jackson. On cable, the station is available on Spectrum channels 15 (standard definition) and 715 (high definition), and on Jackson Energy Authority (JEA) Broadband channels 4 (SD) and 188 (HD). It is also carried on Dish Network channel 6 and DirecTV channel 6. WNBJ-LD2 is available on  Spectrum channels 2 (SD) and 713 (HD), and on JEA Broadband channels 21 (SD) and 221 (HD); WNBJ-LD3 is available on JEA Broadband channel 197 (SD) but still remains unavailable on Spectrum; neither of the subchannels are carried on Dish or DirecTV. History. Plans for an NBC affiliate in Jackson originated with the 2011 acquisition of former TBN repeater W35AH channel 35 from the Minority Media and Television Council (an organization designed to preserve equal opportunity and civil rights in the media) by New Moon Communications, as part of a package deal that also included former TBN repeaters in  Dothan, Alabama; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Ottumwa, Iowa. Of the four stations, only the Dothan station became NBC, but under different owners, as WRGX-LD. KJNE-LP in Jonesboro was sold to Waypoint Media, LLC of Meridian, Mississippi, owners of Fox/CBS affiliate KJNB-LD (and eventually became a satellite of that station), while the licenses in Ottumwa (KUMK-LP) and Jackson (whose transmitter would be re-called WZMC-LP) would later be canceled, with the Jackson station cancelled in July 2013. The history of WNBJ-LD originates with the station's construction permit granted in 2011, under the call sign  W16DE-D. The current WNBJ-LD call letters replaced their previous translator-style call sign on July 9, 2014. In September 2014, it was confirmed that WNBJ would sign on as an NBC affiliate for the Jackson market. WMC-TV in Memphis or WSMV in Nashville were previously the default NBC affiliates for the Jackson area using a very strong antenna, or through cable television. Some of the far northern parts of the local media market (e.g. northern Gibson County north of Trenton) could pick up WPSD in Paducah, Kentucky until the DTV transition for full-power stations took place  in 2009. On October 6, 2014, WNBJ went on the air first via Dish Network channel 6 at 11:30 a.m. CDT. OTA followed in November 2014 and Direct TV in January 2015. The station was signed-on by a local group known as Jackson TV, LLC, who then entered into an outsourcing agreement with Waypoint Media to allow Waypoint to operate the station. NBC was the last of the Big Four television networks to have a local outlet in Jackson. Currently, The Jackson Energy Authority's cable system still pipes in most of the major outlets in Memphis, including WMC -TV. CBS affiliate WTVF is the only Nashville-based media outlet offered on JEA's cable lineup, with WNBJ-LD replacing WSMV on cable channel 4. WNBJ was the second television station in the Jackson market to sign on exclusively in digital, about eight to nine months after WYJJ-LD. On February 23, 2016, the station's original owners agreed to merge WNBJ-LD's licensee with a subsidiary of SagamoreHill Broadcasting. The merger was completed on April 1. Digital television. Digital channels. The station's digital signal is multiplexed: Subchannels. WNBJ-LD2 (CW+). On August 6, 2018, a 720p  HD feed (branded as "West Tennessee's CW 39") of The CW's national CW Plus service was added to subchannel 39.2, succeeding cable-only "WBJK" as the CW Plus affiliate for the Jackson, Tennessee market. WNBJ-LD3 (H&I/MyTV). In September 2019, the MyNetworkTV affiliation in Jackson, Tennessee moved to a secondary affiliation alongside H&I on the third subchannel of WNBJ-LD (branded as "My H&I 39"), in light of WYJJ-LD ending its affiliation with MyNetworkTV to carry Court TV full-time. Programming. General programming. Syndicated programming on WNBJ-LD includes "The Doctors", "Rachael Ray", "The Wendy Williams  Show", "Inside Edition", "Family Feud" and "Divorce Court" among others. WNBJ airs a program called "Exit82". Produced locally by Red Art Studios, it is a "concert/interview" format show that features "popular and up-and-coming musical talent from the Jackson and surrounding areas" who "perform original music". The program is named after I-40's interchange with US 45 in Jackson. WNBJ also airs "Harmony Road" and "Tennessee Gospel Show" that showcases traditional and contemporary Christian music, and "Vertical Descent", a local hunting show produced in Chester County. News operation. WNBJ's news operation launched August 28, 2017. WNBJ-LD  currently airs 7½ hours of local newscasts, all weekdays at 6 p.m., 9 p.m. (on LD2) and 10 p.m. The newscasts are all produced out of the Waypoint News Hub in Little Rock, Arkansas, utilizing News Hub talent for all but local contributions. Lon Tegels, a 30-year veteran at various television stations, including WXXV-TV in Biloxi, Mississippi, is WNBJ's first news director. Reporters on the news team include Jackson Overstreet and Camila Rueda. Coverage area. WNBJ is a low-powered television station with 15,000 watts of power; the station's signal will give WNBJ a coverage area  comprising most of the Jackson market, or 94,110 television households, and the far eastern portion of the Memphis market. The Jackson DMA consists of viewers living in Carroll, Chester, Gibson, Hardin, Henderson, and Madison counties in West Tennessee. WNBJ's signal would also cover parts of Crockett, Hardeman, Haywood, northern Fayette, and McNairy counties in the Memphis market. Hardin County is the only area within WNBJ's home market that is out of its broadcast range, though it is possible for local cable systems to receive the signal by alternate means, such as a fiber-optic connection or via Dish  or DirecTV.