WABG-DT2
| Company type | Television broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | 1959-10-20 |
| Headquarters | Greenville , United States |
Area served | Delta region, Mississippi |
| Owner | Imagicomm Communications |
| Website | www |
WABG-TV (channel 6) is a television broadcaster licensed to Greenwood, Mississippi, catering to the Delta region as an affiliate of both ABC and Fox. The station is owned by Imagicomm Communications and operates alongside low-power stations WNBD-LD (affiliated with NBC) and WXVT-LD (affiliated with CBS). These three stations share production facilities located in Greenville, Mississippi. The transmitter for WABG-TV is situated northeast of Inverness, Mississippi.
History
WABG-TV commenced operations on October 20, 1959, broadcasting on VHF channel 6 initially as a CBS affiliate while maintaining secondary ties to ABC, reflecting its radio station’s ABC Radio affiliation. In 1966, following the construction of a 1,200-foot transmission tower near Inverness and an increase in broadcast power to 100,000 watts, the station transitioned to a full-time ABC affiliation. Up until the launch of sister station WXVT in 1980, WABG was the only commercial VHF station serving the Delta market. A significant electrical fault in 1986 triggered a $5.5 million fire at its studios, necessitating relocation of its transmission facilities.
Due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) channel allocation restrictions that limited VHF licenses in northwestern Mississippi to a single entity—because of proximity to multiple markets such as Memphis and Jackson—WABG held an exclusive position. Owner Cy N. Bahakel secured this unique license, making WABG the sole VHF broadcaster in the region until 1972 and the only commercial station until WXVT's inception.
On September 5, 2007, Bahakel Communications divested WABG to local entrepreneur Charles Harker's Commonwealth Broadcasting; the transaction was finalized on October 29. In 2010, Commonwealth introduced WNBD-LD as the first local NBC affiliate in the area. Additionally, Commonwealth acquired the license for WFXW-LD (which later became WXVT-LD), utilizing WABG’s transmission tower.
Saga Communications sold WXVT to H3 Communications—owned by Harker’s adult children—in 2012; Commonwealth assumed operational control of WXVT in 2013, thereby consolidating management of the Delta’s primary network affiliates.
In 2015, both WABG and WXVT appeared on TruTV’s reality program Breaking Greenville. Later that year, Commonwealth sold WABG-TV, WNBD-LD, and WFXW-LD to Cala Broadcast Partners for $11.7 million. Cala was co-owned by Brian Brady of Northwest Broadcasting and Jason Wolff from Frontier Radio Management. Cala also acquired WXVT through assignment to John Wagner; all transactions were completed by August 2016.
In early 2017, Cable One (now known as Sparklight) temporarily removed Northwest Broadcasting channels including WABG due to carriage disputes but reinstated them following a new agreement.
Apollo Global Management reached an agreement in 2019 to purchase Brian Brady’s television assets, merging them with Cox Media Group and Nexstar-spun stations upon FCC approval. Apollo’s subsidiary Terrier Media took operational control of Northwest Broadcasting with Brady retaining a minority stake; Terrier subsequently rebranded as Cox Media Group after acquiring Cox’s radio and advertising divisions. This deal was finalized on December 17, 2019.
On March 29, 2022, Cox Media Group declared its intention to sell WABG-TV, WNBD-LD, WXVT-LD, along with other stations, to Imagicomm Communications for $488 million; this sale closed on August 1. Subsequently, on April 8, 2025, Imagicomm announced plans to transfer ownership of the Greenville stations to Deltavision Media, led by Webb Collums.
WABG-DT2
WABG-DT2 serves as the secondary digital subchannel of WABG-TV, affiliated with Fox and delivering content in 720p high-definition on channel 6.2.
History
On September 13, 2006, WABG introduced a Fox affiliate known as "Delta Fox 10" on its second digital subchannel. Prior to this launch, viewers in the Delta region accessed Fox programming via the national Foxnet service, making it one of the last markets to receive direct Fox affiliation. Although Foxnet was scheduled to discontinue operations on September 1, 2006, its shutdown was postponed until September 12 to provide WABG sufficient time to establish the new Fox affiliate.
At its inception, WABG-DT2 did not operate around the clock due to restrictions on syndicated content rights. The "Delta Fox" programming block aired weekdays from 5 p.m. to 10:35 p.m., with comparable weekend schedules outside of football and NASCAR seasons; however, all Fox Sports broadcasts were shown regardless of time. Notably, it did not carry Fox’s Saturday morning children’s lineup, 4Kids TV. By October 26, 2009, Delta Fox extended its weekday schedule to 20 hours and ultimately transitioned to a full 24-hour broadcast cycle.
Programming
Historically, WABG delayed certain ABC shows; for instance, NYPD Blue premiered on January 3, 1995. In 1994, it was among two ABC affiliates that chose not to air the Roseanne episode featuring a same-sex kiss.
Newscasts
Despite competition from WXVT, WABG-TV has consistently held a dominant position in the Delta market. Initially, WABG-DT2 ("Delta Fox 10") did not offer local news programming, although plans for such content were considered early on. Following the launch of WNBD, news coverage expanded to include a two-hour weekday morning show simulcast across both channels. Starting in October 2012, WNBD introduced a 6:30 p.m. newscast featuring talent from WABG and covering regional stories. By 2014, WABG distinguished itself as the sole station in the market broadcasting newscasts in high definition.
Currently, WABG-TV produces a total of 14½ hours of local newscasts each week—comprising two and a half hours on weekdays and one hour during weekends. These newscasts are also simulcast on its Fox subchannel along with WNBD-LD and WXVT-LD. In 2019, WABG expanded its production by creating newscasts for sister station KLAX-TV located in Alexandria, Louisiana.
Subchannels
The multiplexed digital signal of WABG-TV includes:
| Channel | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Identifier | Network Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WABG-DT | ABC |
| 6.2 | WABG-FX | Fox |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WABG-TV discontinued its analog transmission on VHF channel 6 at 11:59 p.m. on February 17, 2009, adhering to the federally mandated transition to digital broadcasting. Its digital signal remains on UHF channel 32 while maintaining virtual channel number 6.
See also
- Channel 6 virtual TV stations in the United States
- Channel 10 branded TV stations in the United States
- Channel 32 digital TV stations in the United States