WBIR-TV channel 10 is the NBC affiliate in Knoxville, Tennessee. The station is owned and operated by Gannett. Its transmitter is located in Knoxville.
WBIR-TV signed on the air on August 12, 1956 as an affiliate of the CBS television network. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. WBIR-TV was owned and named after Jesse W. "Jay" Birdwell, who also owned WBIR radio (1240 AM, now WIFA and 103.5 FM...
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WBIR-TV channel 10 is the NBC affiliate in Knoxville, Tennessee. The station is owned and operated by Gannett. Its transmitter is located in Knoxville.
WBIR-TV signed on the air on August 12, 1956 as an affiliate of the CBS television network. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. WBIR-TV was owned and named after Jesse W. "Jay" Birdwell, who also owned WBIR radio (1240 AM, now WIFA and 103.5 FM, frequency now occupied by WIMZ). WBIR's sign off was "We are the best in radio," which is where the call letters originated from. Birdwell was one of the partners who had put WJHL-TV, the CBS affiliate in Johnson City, Tennessee 100 miles away, on the air in 1953.
Shortly after signing on channel 10, Birdwell gave up his interest in WJHL-TV due to a fairly large Grade A signal overlap between the two stations. At the time, the FCC did not allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals. In 1963, Birdwell sold his Knoxville...
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