Editing WBAL-TV

{{Short description|TV station in Baltimore}}
{{About|the television station|the co-owned radio station with the same call sign|WBAL (AM)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WBAL-TV
| city = 
| logo = WBALTV2022Logo.png
| logo_size = 150px
| image = WBAL_TV_Plus_MeTV_Logo.jpg
| image_size = 70px
| branding = {{ubl|WBAL-TV 11; ''11 News''|MeTV Baltimore (11.2)}}
| digital = 12 ([[VHF]])
| virtual = 11
| subchannels = 
| translators = 
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''11.1:''' [[NBC]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner = [[Hearst Television]]
| licensee = WBAL Hearst Television Inc.
| location = [[Baltimore]], Maryland
| country = United States
| founded = May 1946<ref>{{cite web|title=Television stations granted to three. |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/46-OCR/1946-05-27-BC-OCR-Page-0090.pdf |periodical=Broadcasting - Telecasting |page=90 |date=May 27, 1946}}</ref>
| airdate = {{start date and age|1948|3|11|p=y}}
| last_airdate = 
| callsign_meaning = Baltimore
| sister_stations = [[WBAL (AM)|WBAL]], [[WIYY]]
| former_callsigns = 
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 11 (VHF, 1948–2009)|'''Digital:''' 59 ([[UHF]], 1998–2009), 11 (VHF, 2009–2020)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|NBC (1948–1981)|[[CBS]] (1981–1995)}}
| erp = 30 kW
| haat = {{convert|305|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 65696
| coordinates = {{coord|39|20|5|N|76|39|2|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline, title}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.wbaltv.com/}}
}}
'''WBAL-TV''' (channel 11) is a [[television station]] in [[Baltimore]], Maryland, United States, affiliated with [[NBC]]. It is the [[Flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] property of [[Hearst Television]], which has owned the station since its inception, and is [[sister station|sister]] to the company's sole radio properties, [[WBAL (AM)|WBAL]] (1090 AM) and [[WIYY]] (97.9 FM). The three outlets share studios and offices on Television Hill in the [[Woodberry, Baltimore|Woodberry]] section of Baltimore, near the transmission tower that WBAL-TV also shares with WIYY and several other Baltimore television and radio stations.

==History==
===Early history===
WBAL-TV began operations on March 11, 1948, from its original studios on [[Charles Street (Baltimore)|North Charles Street]] in [[Downtown Baltimore]]. It is the second television station in Maryland, after [[WMAR-TV]] (channel 2).<ref name="Decades11">{{cite web|url=https://www.wbaltv.com/article/wbal-tv-11-decades-of-firsts-in-broadcasting-excellence/7064608|title=WBAL-TV 11: Decades of Firsts in Broadcasting Excellence|work=WBAL-TV 11|date=March 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=WBAL-TV; NBC Baltimore outlet begins operations. |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/48-OCR/1948-03-15-BC-OCR-Page-0097.pdf |periodical=Broadcasting - Telecasting |page=97 |date=March 15, 1948}}</ref> The station's parent, the [[Hearst Corporation]], also owned WBAL radio and two local newspapers, the afternoon daily ''Baltimore News-Post'' and ''The Baltimore American'' on Sundays–which later merged as the ''[[Baltimore News-American|News American]]'' in 1965 before shutting down in 1986.

WBAL-TV is one of two Hearst-owned broadcast properties to have been built and signed on by the company (the other being [[WTAE-TV]] in [[Pittsburgh]]), and the oldest to be continuously owned by Hearst through its various television subsidiaries through the years. At its launch, WBAL-TV was an NBC affiliate, owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with the [[NBC Radio Network|NBC's radio networks]].

Early programming on channel 11 included ''Musical Almanac'', ''Look and Cook'' and ''Know Baltimore'', along with news and sports productions. In the 1950s, the station introduced ''[[Romper Room]]'', a children's program produced locally by [[Claster Television, Inc.|Bert and Nancy Claster]] that eventually became a nationally [[franchised]] and [[broadcast syndication|syndicated]] program. Another long-running show of the 1950s was the weekday ''Quiz Club'', co-hosted by local personalities Brent Gunts and Jay Grayson.<ref name=JKelly>{{cite news|last=Kelly|first=Jacques|title='Quiz Club' had an impact|date=June 24, 2000|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|page=2E}}</ref> ''[[Baltimore Sun]]'' local history columnist Jacques Kelly described it at the time of Grayson's death in June 2000, as "pure 1950s live television ... executed on a low budget ... the genial hosts ... ruled the 1 p.m. airwaves".<ref name=JKelly />

WBAL-TV produced several local [[bowling]] shows in the 1960s and early 1970s, including ''Strikes and Spares'', ''Pinbusters'', ''[[Duckpins and Dollars]]'', ''[[Bowling for Dollars]]'' and ''Spare Time''. The station even went as far as building and installing several [[duckpin bowling|"duckpin"]] bowling alleys at its studios. It also launched several children's entertainment shows during this period, such as ''Rhea and Sunshine'', ''Pete the Pirate'', ''P. W. Doodle'', ''Heads Up'', and the teen-oriented [[rock and roll music]] and the mid-1960s teen dancing on the ''Kerby Scott Show'' which introduced its "mod" fashions and "[[hippie]]" culture style of rock music to the area.

WBAL-TV has boasted many television firsts, including becoming the first Baltimore television station to broadcast in [[color television|color]], the first station in Maryland (and the eighth in the world) to acquire a videocassette machine (of the [[U-Matic]] format); the first station in Baltimore to acquire a mobile satellite news-gathering system (dubbed "NEWSTAR 11") and the first Baltimore station to hire an [[African-American]] news anchor and a Black news director.<ref name="WBALweb">{{cite web|title=Station History|publisher=WBAL-TV|url=http://www.wbaltv.com/station/574501/detail.html|access-date=October 9, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313233056/http://www.wbaltv.com/station/574501/detail.html|archive-date=March 13, 2007}}</ref>

In the late 1970s, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] steadily rose in the ratings to become the number one network in prime time. Accordingly, the network began to seek upgrades to its slate of affiliates, which included some stations that either had poor signals or poorly performing local programming. WBAL-TV was invited to switch to ABC in 1977, but opted to remain with NBC out of concerns about the poor ratings for ABC's then-recently revamped [[ABC World News Tonight#Reasoner, Smith, and Walters|evening newscasts]] (a situation that would be improved in the coming years).<ref>{{cite web|title=In brief. |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/77-OCR/BC-1977-03-21-OCR-Page-0030.pdf |periodical=Broadcasting|page=30 |date=March 21, 1977}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=In brief. |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/77-OCR/BC-1977-03-28-OCR-Page-0034.pdf |periodical=Broadcasting|page=34 |date=March 28, 1977}}</ref>

===Switch to CBS===
[[File:Wbaltv.jpg|thumb|left|215px|The WBAL-TV modernistic glass walled studio and offices facility with huge call sign letters on the roof, visible from passing on the [[Jones Falls Expressway]] ([[Interstate 83]]), on "Television Hill" near [[Woodberry, Baltimore|Woodberry]] in north-central Baltimore, opened in 1962.]]
On March 3, 1981, [[CBS]] announced that it would be ending its 33-year affiliation with WMAR-TV, then owned by the A. S. Abell Company (then-publishers of the ''[[Baltimore Sun]]''), and moving its programming to WBAL-TV. Among its reasons for making the switch, CBS cited channel 11's strength in local news ratings and overall non-network programming as opposed to WMAR-TV, which heavily preempted the network in favor of syndicated programs, local [[public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] and sports coverage; CBS also cited low ratings for WMAR's newscasts.<ref>Carter, Bill. "CBS switching affiliation here from WMAR to WBAL." ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', March 4, 1981, pp. 1, 6. Accessed April 15, 2019. [https://www.newspapers.com/image/377417961][https://www.newspapers.com/image/377418054]</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=CBS switches affiliation to WBAL-TV in Baltimore. |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/81-OCR/1981-03-09-BC-OCR-Page-0152.pdf |periodical=Broadcasting|page=152 |date=March 9, 1981}}</ref> WBAL-TV's first stint as an NBC affiliate ended on August 30, 1981, when the two station exchanged networks–the first affiliation swap to occur in Baltimore. The last NBC program to air on channel 11 until 1995 was a rerun from the evening before the switch of the first episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', with host [[George Carlin]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Today's Television |work=[[Baltimore Sun]] |page=B2 |date=August 29, 1981 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Television Programs |work=[[Baltimore Sun|The Evening Sun]] |page=4 |date=August 29, 1981 }}</ref>

===Return to NBC===
On June 16, 1994, the [[E. W. Scripps Company]], present owners of WMAR-TV, negotiated with ABC to affiliate with its Baltimore station as part of a multi-station deal also involving [[KNXV-TV]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] and [[WFTS-TV]] in [[Tampa]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Zurawik|first=David|title=ABC-TV to Switch from WJZ to WMAR|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/06/17/abc-tv-to-switch-from-wjz-to-wmar/|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=June 17, 1994|access-date=September 4, 2018}}</ref> ABC agreed to the deal as a condition of retaining its affiliations with [[WXYZ-TV]] in [[Detroit]] and [[WEWS-TV]] in [[Cleveland]]; CBS was seeking to affiliate with both of those stations, as it was about to lose current affiliates [[WJBK]] and [[WJW (TV)|WJW]] to [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in a [[Fox affiliate switches of 1994|separate affiliation deal]] with [[New World Communications]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Foisie|first=Geoffrey|title=ABC pre-empts CBS in Cleveland, Detroit.|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-06-20.pdf|work=Broadcasting and Cable|date=June 20, 1994|access-date=March 18, 2013}}</ref> The move left NBC without a Baltimore affiliate and incumbent ABC affiliate [[WJZ-TV]] (channel 13) without a network;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-06-18-1994169062-story.html |title = Three suitors line up to call on jilted WJZ-TV – Baltimore Sun| date=June 18, 1994 }}</ref> one month later, CBS and [[Westinghouse Broadcasting]] (Group W) formed a partnership which renewed the network's affiliations with Westinghouse-owned [[KDKA-TV]] in Pittsburgh and [[KPIX-TV]] in San Francisco and caused WJZ-TV and two other Westinghouse-owned NBC affiliates, [[WBZ-TV]] in [[Boston]] and [[KYW-TV]] in [[Philadelphia]], to switch their affiliations to CBS (Westinghouse would eventually acquire CBS in November 1995).<ref name="tbs-switchdelay">{{cite news|last=Zurawik|first=David|title=Delaying Switches Until January Annoys WMAR, WBAL|url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1994-08-05/features/1994217014_1_wjz-cbs-switch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309025413/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1994-08-05/features/1994217014_1_wjz-cbs-switch|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 9, 2012|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=August 5, 1994|access-date=September 4, 2018}}</ref>

Having lost the CBS affiliation to WJZ-TV, WBAL-TV had the choice of affiliating with either NBC or [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-07-15-1994196137-story.html |title = WJZ to join CBS in 3-station deal – Baltimore Sun| date=July 15, 1994 }}</ref> On July 27, 1994, NBC announced that it would move to WBAL-TV, with station management citing NBC's sports programming as a factor; Fox would remain on its existing affiliate, [[WBFF]] (channel 45).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-07-28-1994209115-story.html |title = WBAL will switch to NBC by year's end – Baltimore Sun| date=July 28, 1994 }}</ref> Channel 11 rejoined NBC on January 2, 1995;<ref>{{cite news|last=Zurawik|first=David|title=Get ready, get set, get confused, in TV's big switch in Baltimore Changing Channels|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1995/01/01/get-ready-get-set-get-confused-in-tvs-big-switch-in-baltimore-changing-channels/|access-date=June 29, 2012|newspaper=Baltimore Sun|date=January 1, 1995}}</ref> it had sought to make the switch on August 29, 1994, in time for the new television season, but Group W and CBS agreed to not make the switch until January.<ref name="tbs-switchdelay"/> In the interim, any CBS shows WBAL turned down would air on WJZ-TV instead, while WBAL aired NBC programs preempted by WMAR-TV.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-12-26-1994360002-story.html |title=Local affiliates broadcast anxiety as switch looms – Baltimore Sun|date=December 26, 1994 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Zurawik|first=David|title=Bumped CBS shows to be aired on WJZ two months late|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-xpm-1994-10-28-1994301153-story.html|newspaper=Baltimore Sun|date=October 28, 1994}}</ref> The final CBS program to air on channel 11 before it rejoined NBC was the [[made-for-TV movie]] ''A Father for Charlie'' at 9&nbsp;p.m. Eastern Time; this was directly followed by an hour-long program explaining the switch, which preempted an airing of the ''[[Chicago Hope]]'' episode "Heartbreak" (which could still be viewed in much of the market via WUSA).<ref>{{cite news |title=Sunday Prime Time |work=[[Baltimore Sun]] Statewide TV |page=8 |date=January 1, 1995 }}</ref>

==Programming==
===Preemptions and deferrals===
During its initial run as an NBC affiliate, WBAL-TV preempted the first season of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' (which was titled ''NBC's Saturday Night'') because of concerns regarding its fairly edgy content for the time; instead, the station aired movies in the comedy show's time slot throughout that season.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=October 20, 1975 |title=NBC's live Saturday Night, missing on channel 11, is fine television |url=https://baltimoresun.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun/159525198/ |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |location= |access-date=November 21, 2024}}</ref> When it cleared the network's entire late night Saturday lineup in the summer of 1976, the station purchased it mainly for the monthly newsmagazine ''[[Weekend (1974 TV program)|Weekend]]'', on which the sketch program's ''[[Weekend Update]]'' segments are based, and which NBC insisted the station pick up alongside ''SNL'' as part of a package deal. The program began running on the station—initially for a trial period—on August 14, 1976, with WBAL-TV airing a disclaimer before the program warning that it contained mature material.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=July 23, 1976 |title=WBAL finally picks up Saturday Night, and good-by Nick Charles |url=https://baltimoresun.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun/159524820/ |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |location= |access-date=November 21, 2024}}</ref>

As a CBS affiliate, WBAL-TV preempted an hour of the network's daytime schedule every day, as well as half of its [[Saturday morning cartoon]] lineup. Channel 11 also did not run CBS' [[The CBS Late Movie|late night programming]]. Baltimore viewers who wanted to see the entire CBS lineup could be able to view those programs through [[WUSA (TV)|WDVM-TV/WUSA]] in Washington, which was available over-the-air in most of the adjacent Baltimore area and preempted little network programming. The station also preempted ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' in favor of continuing with ''[[The Arsenio Hall Show]]'' when it debuted in the fall of 1993; in response, CBS arranged for [[WNUV]] to carry the Letterman series instead.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1993-07-30-1993211231-story.html | title=Letterman lands Baltimore slot with WNUV TURNED ON IN L.A. -- Fall Preview | date=July 30, 1993 }}</ref>

WBAL-TV is one of the few NBC affiliates that does not air the [[Today with Hoda & Jenna|fourth hour]] of ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' (which can be seen in the area via NBC O&O [[WRC-TV]] in Washington).

===Sports programming===
In 1970, when the then-[[Baltimore Colts]] moved to the newly formed and realigned [[American Football Conference]] as part of the AFL–NFL merger of professional football of 1970, WBAL-TV displaced WMAR-TV (which had aired most of the team's games since 1956) as the station of record for the team (as NBC was the rightsholder for all AFC games). During its first season as such, the station provided coverage of the Colts' victory in [[Super Bowl V]] in 1971. This partnership continued until 1981, when WMAR-TV became the team's unofficial home station again for their last three seasons in Baltimore (although the station continued to air Colts games in those three seasons, they were limited to home interconference contests). When the reorganized [[Baltimore Ravens]] began play in 1996 after moving the old [[Cleveland Browns]] franchise to Maryland, WBAL-TV became the new team's station of record, but only for two seasons; in 1998, most games were moved to WJZ-TV. Presently, WBAL-TV airs any Ravens games when they play on NBC's ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]'' and on ''[[Monday Night Football]]'' contests exclusive to ESPN, the latter being a benefit of Hearst's 20 percent ownership of ESPN.

The station aired any [[Baltimore Orioles]] baseball games as part of NBC's broadcast contract with Major League Baseball from the establishment of the new Orioles franchise in 1954 (move of the old [[St. Louis Browns]] to the city) until 1981; it also aired all of the Orioles' postseason games through NBC's limited contract from 1995 to 2000. During its time as a CBS station, WBAL-TV also broadcast select games involving the Orioles through CBS's MLB broadcast contract from 1990 to 1993. From 1964 until his retirement in 1995, Vince Bagli was WBAL-TV's [[sportscaster]]. His colleagues at the station called him the "Dean of Baltimore Sports".<ref>{{cite news|last=Campbell|first=Colin|title=Vince Bagli, longtime WBAL-TV sportscaster known as 'Dean of Baltimore sports', dies at 93|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/obituaries/bs-md-ob-vince-bagli-20201007-tm4j3cfqdzddpc2nodc37xy344-story.html|date=October 7, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2020}}</ref>

===News operation===
[[File:Wbal tv live shot.JPG|thumb|right|175px|WBAL-TV, Channel 11 longtime reporters Deborah Weiner and Jayne Miller prepare for a live shot outside old St. Paul's Church (Episcopal) at North Charles and East Saratoga Streets during the funeral there of former [[List of mayors of Baltimore|Baltimore City Mayor]], [[Maryland Governor]], and [[Comptroller of Maryland|Comptroller]] [[William Donald Schaefer]], April 27, 2011]]
WBAL-TV presently broadcasts 35 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with five hours each weekday, {{frac|4|1|2}} hours on Saturdays and {{frac|5|1|2}} hours on Sundays); the station also produces a weekly public affairs program on Sunday mornings called ''11 TV Hill''.

Appropriately for a station with roots in a newspaper, channel 11 has a rich news tradition. WBAL's newscasts have spent the better part of its history in either first or second place in the ratings. It led the ratings from the 1960s until WJZ-TV passed it in the early 1970s. However, for the better part of the last 40 years, WBAL-TV had waged a spirited battle for first place in the ratings with WJZ-TV. In recent years, WBAL-TV's newscasts placed first at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. However, in the November 2009 [[Nielsen ratings]] [[sweeps]] period—the first since the debut of ''[[The Jay Leno Show]]''—WBAL's 11 p.m. newscast fell precipitously from first to a distant second behind WJZ (by contrast, the 11 p.m. newscast on WRC-TV in nearby Washington, D.C. was one of the least affected late-night newscasts of any NBC affiliate or [[owned-and-operated station]] in the country; it continued to dominate its competitors). WBAL still continued to lead at 5 and 6 p.m. until the November 2011 sweeps period. Since NBC took Leno off of prime time in February 2010—in part due to complaints from WBAL and other affiliates about effects on its newscasts—viewership of channel 11's late newscast has often come close to the WJZ newscast. However, since the November 2011 sweeps period, WJZ's newscasts took the lead in nearly all time slots but WBAL is still a strong second.

In 1974, WBAL introduced the ''[[Action News]]'' format to Baltimore. Characterized by short, usually 90 second, news "packages" and upbeat introductory news themes, Baltimore's ''Action News'' briefly replaced WJZ as the number one news station in Baltimore during the mid-1970s. The architect of the success was news director [[Ron Kershaw]], who had come to Baltimore from [[Texas]] and was considered somewhat ahead of his time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dunne|first=John Gregory|author-link=John Gregory Dunne|title=Regards: The Selected Nonfiction of John Gregory Dunne|url=https://archive.org/details/regardsselectedn00dunn |url-access=registration|quote=ron kershaw news director.|year=2006|page=[https://archive.org/details/regardsselectedn00dunn/page/n91 80] | isbn=978-1-56025-816-2 | publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press}}</ref> He brought in talented anchors like [[Sue Simmons]] and [[Spencer Christian]] but also replaced long-time local news anchor Rolf Hertsgaard with controversial out-of-towner [[Don Harrison]] and streamlined the news operation. Kershaw later brought other innovations to [[WNBC-TV]] in [[New York City]] and [[WBBM-TV]] in [[Chicago]] as news director at those stations.

WBAL-TV lent then-meteorologist Sandra Shaw to Hearst sister station [[WDSU-TV]] in [[New Orleans]] on September 1, 2008, to assist with the Louisiana station's coverage of [[Hurricane Gustav]].

On January 3, 2009, WBAL-TV became the second station in Baltimore (behind WBFF) to begin broadcasting its local news programming in [[High-definition television|high definition]]. Only the in-studio cameras and footage from the station's helicopter were in HD at the time of the switch. For over a year, most field reports were still in [[pillarbox]]ed [[4:3]] [[standard definition]]. Most field reports are switched from [[16:9]] [[widescreen]] [[enhanced definition]] to 16:9 high definition in March 2012. On March 5, 2012, WBAL debuted a half-hour 10 p.m. newscast on its WBAL Plus digital subchannel, which competes against an hour-long newscast on WBFF.<ref name="WBAL Plus"/>

On January 12, 2015, WBAL-TV expanded their morning newscast ''11 News Today'' to 4:30&nbsp;a.m.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wbaltv.com/blob/view/-/30614086/data/1/-/39xdtwz/-/WBAL-TV-11-Expands-Weekday-Morning-News-To-4-30AM-Start.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=January 22, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122140722/http://www.wbaltv.com/blob/view/-/30614086/data/1/-/39xdtwz/-/WBAL-TV-11-Expands-Weekday-Morning-News-To-4-30AM-Start.pdf |archive-date=January 22, 2015 }}</ref>

News anchor [[Rod Daniels]] retired from WBAL-TV in 2015 after more than 30 years with the station.<ref>{{cite news
 |title=WBAL anchorman Rod Daniels to retire after more than 30 years |date=May 8, 2015 |access-date=December 27, 2022 |last=Zurawik|first=David |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/columnists/zurawik/bal-wbal-anchorman-rod-daniels-to-retire-after-more-than-30-years-20150508-story.html |work=[[Baltimore Sun]] |via=baltimoresun.com }}</ref>

====Awards and achievements====
[[File:Rob roblin.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Former WBAL-TV reporter Rob Roblin, April 27, 2011.]]
WBAL-TV became the first Baltimore television station to win a [[Peabody Award]] for local news coverage, specifically of their [[Chesapeake Bay]] pollution investigation (and the first Baltimore television station to win the award in any category in more than fifty years).<ref>[http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/chesapeake-bay-pollution-investigation 64th Annual Peabody Awards], May 2005.</ref> WBAL's news department was also awarded as one of the top three Best Television Newscasts by the National Headliners Association, alongside [[WFAA]] in [[Dallas]], and WBAL's Boston sister station [[WCVB-TV]]. The station has also won regional [[Edward R. Murrow Award (Radio Television Digital News Association)|Edward R. Murrow Awards]], the [[George Polk Award]] and the [[American Bar Association]] Gavel Award for excellence in reporting and journalism; it has also been rated the most outstanding television news operation in Baltimore (by the [[Associated Press]] and [[United Press International]]).

====Notable current on-air staff====
* [[Gerry Sandusky]] — Sports anchor

====Notable former on-air staff====
* [[Curt Anderson]]<ref>{{cite web|title=House of Delegates - Curtis...Anderson|website=Maryland.gov|date=August 28, 2018|url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa13208.html}}</ref>
* [[Sade Baderinwa]]
* [[Campbell Brown (journalist)|Campbell Brown]]
* [[Ron Canada]] – newscaster (1970s–early 1980s)
* [[Spencer Christian]]
* [[Carol Costello]]
* [[Rod Daniels]] (1984–2015)
* [[Mike Hambrick]]
* [[Vicki Mabrey]]
* [[Royal Parker]] (1962–mid-1990s)
* [[Lisa Salters]]
* [[Sue Simmons]]
* [[Ron Smith (radio host)|Ron Smith]]<ref name="RonSmith">{{cite web| url = http://www.wbal.com/article/83881/2/template-story/Ron-Smith-1941-2011| title = Ron Smith 1941–2011| date = December 20, 2011| access-date = December 20, 2011| publisher = [[WBAL (AM)|WBAL]]/[[Hearst Television]]}}</ref>
* [[Julius Westheimer]] (1916–2005) – financial and business news/commentary

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WBAL-TV<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WBAL|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WBAL|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=December 24, 2024}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 11.1 
| [[1080i]] || rowspan="5" | [[16:9]] || WBAL-DT || [[NBC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 11.2 
| rowspan="4" | [[480i]] || MeTV || [[MeTV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 11.3 
| Story || [[Story Television]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 11.4 
| GetTV || [[Get (TV network)|GET]]
|- style="background-color: #f2d1de;"
! scope = "row" | 11.5 
| QVC || [[QVC Over Air]] [[File:4 rounded rect pink.svg|14px|alt=MPEG-4 video|link=MPEG-4 Part 2]]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope = "row" | [[WNUV|54.3]] 
| rowspan=2|480i || rowspan=2|16:9 || Comet || [[Comet (TV network)|Comet]] ([[WNUV]])
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6;"
! scope = "row" | [[WNUV|54.4]] 
| TheNest || [[The Nest (TV network)|The Nest]] ([[WNUV]])
|}
{{legend|#f2d1de|Subchannel broadcast with [[MPEG-4 Part 2|MPEG-4 video]]}}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}

WBAL-TV carries a [[digital subchannel]] on 11.2,<ref>{{cite web|title=Ravens Draft Special Airs Saturday On WBAL-TV|date=April 23, 2009|url=http://www.wbaltv.com/sports/19250361/detail.html|access-date=October 9, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930075341/http://www.wbaltv.com/sports/19250361/detail.html|archive-date=September 30, 2011}}</ref> which launched in August 2005 as "11 Insta-Weather Plus", an affiliate of [[NBC Weather Plus]] until the network dissolved in November 2008; after that, the subchannel carried automated local and regional weather information provided by NBC Plus until April 2009, when an alternate programming format was adopted featuring local weather information, newscasts and other special programming. On March 5, 2012, WBAL launched a 10 p.m. newscast on the subchannel (which was renamed "WBAL Plus" the previous year).<ref name="WBAL Plus">[https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/columnists/zurawik/bal-wbal-tv-10-pm-newscast-kate-amara-digital-channel-20120207-story.html#:~:text=WBAL%2DTV%2C%20which%20has%20seen,the%20station%20will%20announce%20Wednesday. WBAL-TV to launch 10 p.m. newscast with Kate Amara March 5], ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', February 8, 2012.</ref>

On July 24, 2012, Hearst Television renewed its affiliation agreement with [[MeTV]] through 2015, to maintain existing affiliations with eight Hearst-owned stations that were already carrying the digital multicast network. As part of the renewal, Hearst also signed agreements to add the network as digital subchannels of WBAL-TV and sister stations [[KCRA-TV]] in [[Sacramento]], WCVB-TV in Boston, [[KOCO-TV]] in [[Oklahoma City]] and [[WXII-TV]] in [[Greensboro]].<ref>[https://tvnewscheck.com/uncategorized/article/me-tv-adds-five-more-hearst-stations/ Me-TV Adds Five More Hearst Stations], ''TVNewsCheck'', July 24, 2012.</ref> MeTV was added to subchannel 11.2 on September 10, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=MeTV Comes to Maryland on WBAL-TV|website=WBAL-TV 11|date=September 4, 2015|url=https://www.wbaltv.com/article/metv-comes-to-maryland-on-wbal-tv/7095769}}</ref>

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WBAL-TV shut down its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 11, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition [[UHF]] channel 59, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era assignment of VHF channel 11.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="FCCForm387">{{Cite web|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231254&formid=387&fac_num=65696|title=CDBS Print|website=licensing.fcc.gov}}</ref><ref name="Form 387 Attachment">{{cite web|title=DTV Transition Plan|publisher=FCC|url= http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=619245 |access-date=October 9, 2009}}</ref> Several VHF digital stations received permission for a power increase later that month after stations experienced signal problems as a result of changing their digital channel from UHF to VHF. WBAL-TV chose to test its equipment before making a commitment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/boise-station-gets-power-boost-46927|title=Boise station gets power boost|last=Eggerton|first=John|date=June 29, 2009|work=Broadcasting & Cable|access-date=December 27, 2022}}</ref>

As a part of the [[Spectrum reallocation#Repacking|repacking]] process following the [[Spectrum reallocation#Broadcast incentive auction|2016-2017 FCC incentive auction]], WBAL-TV relocated to VHF channel 12 on July 2, 2020, using [[virtual channel]] 11.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nab.org/repacking/clearinghouse.asp |title = Searchable Clearinghouse {{!}} National Association of Broadcasters}}</ref> WJZ-TV concurrently moved to channel 11, WBAL-TV's former digital channel before the repacking.

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.wbaltv.com/}}

{{Baltimore TV}}
{{NBC Maryland}}
{{Hearst-Argyle}}

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[[Category:1948 establishments in Maryland]]
[[Category:Hearst Television]]
[[Category:MeTV affiliates]]
[[Category:National Football League primary television stations]]
[[Category:NBC affiliates]]
[[Category:Peabody Award winners]]
[[Category:Story Television affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1948]]
[[Category:Television stations in Baltimore|BAL-TV]]
[[Category:Woodberry, Baltimore]]