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WAAY-TV
Huntsville/Decatur, Alabama
Branding	WAAY 31
Channels	Analog: 31 (UHF) Digital: 32 (UHF)
Affiliations	ABC
Owner	Calkins Media (WAAY-TV License LLC)
Founded	August 1, 1959
Call letters meaning	The word WAY with an extra A
Former callsigns	WAFG-TV (1959-1963)
Former affiliations	NBC (1968-1977)
Transmitter Power	1120 kW (analog) 468 kW (digital)
Height	540 m (analog) 537.8 m (digital)
Facility ID	57292
Transmitter Coordinates	34°44′12.7″N, 86°31′58.9″W
Website	www.waaytv.com

WAAY-TV is an ABC-affiliated television station, broadcasting on channel 31 from Huntsville, Alabama. The station's transmitter is on Monte Sano, to the east of Huntsville.

Contents 1 History 2 Anchors 3 Reporters 4 Former anchors/reporters 5 News programming 6 Notes 7 External links

Channel 31's first broadcast was on August 1, 1959, using the callsign WAFG-TV. When the station was sold to Smith Broadcasting (owners of WAAY, now WLOR, radio) in 1963, the callsign was changed to WAAY-TV. The station switched network affiliation to NBC in 1968, but returned to ABC in 1977, citing higher network ratings and the lack of a duplicate ABC affiliate in Florence (where WOWL, now WHDF, was then an NBC affiliate) as reasons.

Smith Broadcasting sold WAAY-TV to GOCOM Broadcasting (later renamed Piedmont Communications) in 1999. The Smith family, who previously owned broadcasting properties in Birmingham before coming to Huntsville, was the last local owner of a Huntsville television station, as rivals WHNT and WAFF had been sold to larger corporations years before (WZDX, the first station in North Alabama not affiliated with the traditional networks or the educational TV system, has always belonged to outside interests). The Smith family also owned radio stations in Fort Walton Beach, Florida and South Pittsburg, Tennessee.

At one time, all three of Huntsville's major-network affiliates, WAAY included, had studios located beside their transmitters and towers on Monte Sano. After a 1982 fire gutted the building of WAFF, however, that station, and later WHNT, moved their offices and production facilities into the city itself, employing microwave relays to send signals to their transmitters. Only WAAY continues to maintain its full operations on Monte Sano Boulevard. (WHIQ-TV, the PBS affiliate, is a translator relay of Alabama Public Television; programming originates from Birmingham or Montgomery, not Huntsville.)

On September 4, 2003, the 1000-foot broadcasting tower leased by WAAY collapsed, killing three people.

In 2006, Piedmont Broadcasting agreed to sell WAAY to Calkins Media, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based mass media company that owns several small newspapers in Pennsylvania and two other television stations: WWSB in Sarasota, Florida and WTXL in Tallahassee, Florida. The sale to Calkins became official on February 1, 2007. WAAY is Calkins' first broadcasting property outside of Florida.

Ray Depa serves as WAAY's general manager; Willy Walker serves as news director.

On July 16, 2007 at 5 p.m. WAAY unveiled a new set and a new graphics package similar to that of their sister stations, WWSB and WTXL.

WAAY 31's old logo, used until July 16, 2007.

WAAY 31's new logo.

• Michael Scott - weekdays, 5, 6, and 10 p.m.
• Karen Adams - weekdays, 5, 6, and 10 p.m.
• Erin Dacy - weekday mornings 5-7 a.m.
• Christy Douglas - weekday mornings/midday 5-7 a.m. and 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Alcides Segui - weekends 5 and 10 p.m.
• Laura Beth Ezzell - weekends 5 and 10 p.m.

Weather Anchors:

• Brad Huffines - chief/weekday evening meteorologist 5, 6, and 10 p.m.
• Gary Dobbs - weekday mornings and some middays, also on WBHP (AM)
• Keller Watts - weekend meteorologist 5 and 10 p.m., also some middays

Sports Anchors:

• T.W. Starr - Sports Director
• Kyle Burger - Weekends

Traffic Anchor:

• Kim Albright - partnership with WAHR-FM

• Nick Banaszak
• Laura Beth Ezzell
• Justin McFarland
• Violet Parker
• Don Phelps - partnership with WAHR-FM; Phelps was formerly WAAY's lead evening news anchor
• Regina Raccuglia
• Alcides Segui

• Denise Agent - now at TV3 Winchester (Virginia)
• Linda Allen (morning news anchor) - in Infantry, U.S. Army, now at WJTV, Jackson, Mississippi
• Bob Baron (meteorologist) - creator of VIPIR (radar); president, Baron Services, Inc.
• Dave Brazelton (former sports reporter, producer, videographer) - now videographer/editor, WMAR-TV Baltimore; announcer, CBS Radio and XM Satellite Radio
• Craig Boswell (former anchor) - Fox News Correspondent
• Heather Burns (former anchor) - retired
• Shane Butler (former chief meteorologist) - now in Lynchburg, Virginia
• Kirk Chaisson
• Anna Clayton
• Dave Cody (sportscaster)
• Dave Coffey (sports) - now vice-president, Alabama Steeldogs arena football team, Birmingham, Alabama
• Jamie Cooper (feature reporter) - now owns ZTV-11, a low-power television station in nearby Athens, Alabama
• Kristen Cornett - now with NBC Weather Plus/MSNBC
• Rick Davis (former sports anchor) - later sports writer, Huntsville Times, now director, Cummings Research Park, Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce
• Sharon Doviet (lead anchor) - now working with Cliff Hill as a Huntsville-based attorney
• Adrian Gibson - served as news anchor and weather forecaster on the station for over 35 years. Retired in 2004
• Lisa Greer
• Tim Hall (former weekend anchor, weather forecaster) - now with WHNT-TV as a reporter and assignment manager.
• Dave Hargrove (inaugural anchor of "Live at 5") - now regional manager, AT&T, Huntsville
• Gus Hergert (sports director/Creator of "Friday Night Football" high school football score show which airs during the season and won an Emmy Award) -retired
• Cliff Hill (news anchor at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.) - Huntsville attorney
• Bill Hubscher (producer, reporter, anchor) - now producer for the Marshall Space Flight Center's t.v. studio.
• Liz Hurley - now anchor, WAFF-TV, Huntsville
• Gus Johnson (former 10 p.m. sports anchor) - now with CBS Sports
• Reginald Jones
• Tony Jordan - deceased
• Bob Labbe (sports) - now does public relations work and television commercials; heard on weekly program, Reelin' in the Years, on public radio station WLRH-FM, Huntsville
• David Lamb (weekend sports anchor) - now anchor, WIAT-TV, Birmingham
• Walt Lehmann (Sports) - sports presenter for Mediacom, Des Moines, Iowa
• Wayne MacKenzie (weekend meteorologist) - research meteorologist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Mark Marcus (sports videographer, weekend sports anchor, sports director) - creative director of local church.
• Jim Marsh (lead anchor)
• Rick Mecklenburg (weather anchor) - now at WSBT, South Bend, Indiana
• Matt Neal (executive producer for sports/sports productions/co-creator of "Friday Night Football") - retired
• Pam Oliver - now reporter for TNT, FOX Sports
• Greg Screws - now news anchor, WHNT-TV, Huntsville
• Alicia Smith (bureau chief) - deceased
• Jeff Speegle (10 p.m. sports anchor) - now sports anchor, ABC 33/40, Birmingham
• Belle Taylor (reporter) - now Executive Director, Pharmacy Access Partnership
• Beverly Taylor
• Al Whitaker - now spokesman, U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville
• Dot White (news producer, anchored weekend morning sports)
• Amy Witte (former morning anchor)
• Brenda Wood - now with WXIA-TV in Atlanta, Georgia

WAAY's 31 News broadcasts air weekdays from 5:00-7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 5:00-5:30 p.m., 6:00-6:30 p.m. and 10:00-10:35 p.m., and weekends at 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. WAAY maintains news bureaus in Decatur and Florence. In the ratings as of spring 2007, all of the station's major newscasts rank in third place, though they often ranked in first place from the 1970s through the early 1990s, when the station was still family-owned.

The station previously had weekend morning newscasts and a 4:00 p.m. newscast, but has discontinued both. WAAY also produced a 9 p.m. news for WHDF briefly during the early 2000s.

For many years, WAAY's newscasts used the branding "31 Eyewitness News," and "Coverage You Can Count On." Now the station uses the simple "WAAY (pronounced "way") 31 News".

The Huntsville-Decatur television market is only Southeastern U.S. market to have only UHF channel allocations. No full-power VHF stations exist at all in the state of Alabama north of Birmingham; thus, none of the North Alabama-based channels have ever suffered a disadvantage from competing against established VHF stations in the same area, a problem that particularly affected UHF broadcasters elsewhere, well into the early 1980s.

• WAAY-TV official website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WAAY
• WAAY-TV Alumni
• WAAY-TV Christmas Parade

v • d • e Broadcast television in the Huntsville / Decatur / Florence market  (Nielsen DMA #83)

WBCF 3 (A1) - WXFL 5 (Ind) - WTZT 11 (A1) - WHDF 15 (The CW) - W18BL 18 (Ind) - WHNT 19 (CBS) - WHIQ 25 / WFIQ 36 (PBS / APT) - WYLE 26 (S@H) - WAAY 31 (ABC) - WMJN 43 (FamilyNet) - W46CF 46 / W59CF 59 (UBN) - WAFF 48 (NBC) (WX+ on DT2) - WYAM 51 (Ind) - WZDX 54 (FOX) (MNTV on DT2 via "WAMY") - W64BJ 64 (TBN) Significantly Viewed Out-of-Market Broadcast Stations Reception may vary by geographical location WMAE 12 (PBS / MPB) - WCLP 18 (PBS / GPB) Cable television stations "WAMY" (MNTV)

v • d • e ABC Network Affiliates in the state of Alabama
WDHN 18 (Dothan) - WAAY 31 (Huntsville) - WNCF 32 (Montgomery) - WBMA-LP 58 / WCFT 33 / WJSU 40 (Birmingham / Tuscaloosa / Anniston)
See also: CBS, CW, Fox, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Alabama