TV Technical Profile: WBRC


Channel:
6
Affiliation:
Fox.
Transmitter Location:
"Atop Red Mountain". Looking at Vulcan from downtown, it's the second tower down. Also houses the antennae for NOAA weather radio and WBIQ-TV.
Power (ERP):
100 kW.
Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT):
1,378 feet.
Antenna:
Omnidirectional (Polarization: Circular)
Other Information:
Stereo
SAP: NOAA weather radio simulcast, Fox en Español soundtrack.
Station History:
This is Birmingham's second oldest TV station, coming on the air July 1, 1949, about a month after channel 13. The calls have always been WBRC (Bell Radio Company). They originally had a much smaller tower "atop Red Mountain", as they like to say, which nearly came down during an ice storm in the 80's. Prior to around 1965, back before channel 42 was on the air, WBRC was a CBS affiliate, and shared ABC 50/50 with channel 13. When ABC finally began to get competitive with CBS and NBC, channel 6 became a full time ABC station up until the 90's when it was purchased by Fox. It is one of two Birmingham stations owned by a network (the other being WVTM, owned by NBC).


Click here for the transmitter location.