The station first signed on the air on July 15, 1949. When it debuted, WBTV was the 13th television station in the United States and the first in the Carolinas; it is the oldest television station located between Richmond and Atlanta. It was originally owned-and-operated by the Greensboro-based Jefferson Standard Insurance Company, owners of WBT (1110 AM), the city's oldest radio station and the first fully licensed station in the South. At the time, the Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company also had a 16.5% interest in the Greensboro News Company, licensee of WFMY-TV, which signed on from Greensboro two months after WBTV. Jefferson Standard had purchased WBT from CBS in 1947. Shortly before the television station went on the air, its call letters were modified from WBT-TV to WBTV. Jefferson Standard merged with Pilot Life in 1968 (although it had owned controlling interest since 1945) and became the Jefferson-Pilot Corporation. In 1970, the media interests were folded into a new subsidiary, Jefferson-Pilot Communications.
1958–1963[]
WBTV News truck
1963–1969[]
1969–1970[]
LOGO MISSING
1970–1978[]
SVG NEEDED
1978–1983[]
Blue variant
Red variant
"WBTV News" open
Sports Print Ad
1983–1990[]
Print version
"We've Got the Touch" (1985–1986)
"Share the Spirit" (1986–1987)
"Get Ready" #1 (1989–1990)
"Get Ready" #2 (1989–1990)
1990–1998[]
1990–1991[]
SVG NEEDED
1991–1998[]
1998–1999[]
1999–2023[]
1999–2001[]
Station ID (2001)
2001–2023[]
Alternative on-air logo
Station ID (2003)
5 PM News Promo (2003)
11 PM News Promo (2003)
Website logo
WBTV-DT2 (2011–present)
WBTV 60th anniversary (2009)
In 2006, Jefferson-Pilot merged with the Philadelphia-based Lincoln National Corporation. Lincoln Financial retained Jefferson-Pilot's broadcasting division, which was renamed Lincoln Financial Media, with WBTV retaining its status as the flagship station. On November 12, 2007, Lincoln Financial announced its intention to sell WBTV, sister stations WWBT in Richmond and WCSC-TV in Charleston, South Carolina and Lincoln Financial Sports, to Raycom Media for $583 million. Raycom was later acquired by Atlanta-based Gray Television on January 2, 2019.
1Owned by Branson Visitors TV, Gray holds a 50.1% interest in the company. 2Owned by Schurz Communications, Gray operated KGHZ through an SSA. 3Gray operates this station owned by American Spirit Media. 4Gray operates this station owned by Tegna through an SSA. 5Gray operates this station owned by The E. W. Scripps Company through an SSA. 6Gray operates this station owned by Tougaloo College. 7Joint venture with Ryman Hospitality Properties. 8Gray operates this station owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting through an SSA. 9Joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery and Lionsgate. 10Swap of these stations to Marquee Broadcasting in exchange for Marquee's construction permit of KCBU in Salt Lake City pending FCC approval.