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:''For other uses of WATL, see [[WATL (disambiguation)]]''
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{{Infobox_Broadcast |
call_letters = WATL|
station_logo = [[Image:WATL36 logo.gif]]|
station_slogan = ''Atlanta's WB''|
station_branding = ''WATL, Atlanta's WB''|
analog = 36 ([[UHF]])|
digital = 25 ([[UHF]])|
affiliations = [[WB Network|WB]]<br>(To Be [[My Network TV]] Sept. 2006)|
founded = [[September 13]], [[1954]]|
___location = [[Atlanta, Georgia]]|
callsign_meaning = '''W'''<br>'''ATL'''anta (ATL is also the IATA code for the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport)|
owner = [[Tribune Company|Tribune]]|
former_affiliations = [[Independent station|Independent]] (1954-1986 and 1994-1995)<br>[[Fox Network|Fox]] (1986-1994)<br>ABC, CBS, NBC (all secondary)|
effective_radiated_power = 2690 [[Kilowatt|kW]]/313 [[metre|m]] (analog)<br>500 kW/332 m (digital)|
homepage = [http://wb36.trb.com/ http://wb36.trb.com]|
}}
==Code==
'''WATL-TV''', channel 36, is a television station in [[Atlanta, Georgia]] affiliated with the [[WB Television Network|WB]] television network. It is owned by [[Tribune Company]], with the callsign meaning '''ATL'''anta, the station's [[city of license]].
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==History==
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WATL originally began operation on [[September 13]], [[1954]] when it was placed on the air in a short-lived experiment in UHF television. The station signed on again on [[August 16]], [[1969]] as part of U.S. Communications and operated until [[1971]]. The station was dark until [[July 4]], [[1976]] when it was signed back on by [[Don Kennedy]] of ''The Popeye Club'' (a long running Atlanta kids TV show) fame with a low-rated general entertainment format, airing some public ___domain movies, financial news, low-budget shows and a blend of [[CBS]], [[NBC]] and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] shows pre-empted from [[WAGA-TV]] (channel 5), [[WSB-TV]] (channel 2) and [[WXIA-TV]] (channel 11), respectively. The station aired [[subscription television]] in the early evening from the late [[1970s]] to about [[1981]].
ATL Acquisitions Group bought the station in the early 1980s. The subscription TV format moved to new sign-on WVEU (channel 69, now [[WUPA]]) in [[1982]] and the station was sold to [[The Outlet Company|Outlet Communications]] in [[1984]]. By that time, WATL was a general entertainment independent once again. WATL became a charter affiliate of the new Fox television network in October 1986.
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The musical chairs of ownership continued in 1989, as Outlet sold WATL (along with [[WXIN-TV]] in [[Indianapolis]]) to Chase Broadcasting. In 1992, WATL and WXIN were included in Chase's merger with Renaissance Broadcasting, and less than a year later channel 36 (and new sister station [[KDVR]] in [[Denver]]) became an Fox owned-and-operated station. Fox was in the planning stages for a news operation at the station, and WATL had even gone as far as hiring a news director. However, in May [[1994]], [[New World Communications]] announced its affiliation agreement with Fox, resulting in most of its stations (including Atlanta's WAGA) switching to the Fox network. As a result, Fox cancelled the plans for a newscast on WATL, and put the station up for sale.
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[[Image:WATL36 94-96 logo.gif|thumb|left|WATL logo while being an independent station from 1994 to 1996]]
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Finding itself about to lose the Fox programming, WATL was then approached with an affiliation offer from CBS, which was losing WAGA as an affiliate. However WATL was not interested, and it almost seemed likely that WATL would join the soon-to-launch [[UPN|United Paramount Network]] in early [[1995]]. Rival station WGNX (channel 46, now [[WGCL-TV]]), then owned by [[Tribune Broadcasting]], was already slated to join the [[The WB Television Network|WB]] network and also turned CBS down, forcing CBS to make a deal to buy WVEU. Eventually Tribune agreed to let WGNX join CBS, and WVEU would became the UPN affiliate.
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Fox programming moved from WATL to WAGA on [[December 10]], [[1994]], and Fox subsequently sold the station to Qwest Broadcasting, a company partially owned by legendary musician [[Quincy Jones]]. (Fox would not be without an owned-and-operated station in Atlanta for long, as they bought out New World in late [[1996]].) Although it lost the Fox affiliation, WATL kept the ''[[Fox Kids]]'' programming. The station also affiliated with the new WB network in January [[1995]]. Soon afterwards, Tribune Broadcasting began to manage WATL in tandem with WGNX under a [[local marketing agreement]]. WATL continued to air ''Fox Kids'' until [[1999]], when it moved to WHOT (channel 34, now [[WUVG]]).
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[[Image:WATL36 96-04 logo.gif|thumb|right|former WATL logo (1996-2004)]]
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In [[1999]], Tribune purchased WATL outright and sold WGNX to the [[Meredith Corporation]]. Because Tribune owns a stake in the WB, WATL can be considered to be a WB owned-and-operated station, thus making WATL the only one of the six major stations in Atlanta to have been owned by two networks (in this case, Fox and WB).
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On [[January 24]], [[2006]], [[CBS Corporation]] and [[Warner Bros.]] Entertainment announced plans to dissolve WB and UPN, combining them to launch the '''[[The CW Television Network|The CW]]''' in September 2006. As part of this joint venture, it was announced that CBS-owned WUPA will become the CW's Atlanta affiliate. On [[May 15]], [[2006]], it was announced that WATL will join [[My Network TV]] when it launches the day after the CW network launch.
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==Station timeline==
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*'''September 1954:''' WATL signs on
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*'''1955:''' WATL signs off
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*'''August 1969:''' WATL signs on, for the second time
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*'''1971:''' WATL signs off, again
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*'''July 1976:''' WATL signs on, for the third time
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*'''October 1986:''' becomes a charter [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] network station, later adopted the branding ''"Fox 36"''
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*'''December 1994:''' reverted to independent status as ''"WATL 36"'' after WAGA-TV (channel 5) became Fox's new Atlanta affiliate
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*'''January 1995:''' becomes a [[The WB Television Network|WB]] affiliate as ''"WB 36"''
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*'''2004:''' became ''"WATL, Atlanta's WB"''
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==Transmission tower==
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It is on the same [[tower]], north of [[Druid Hills]], with:
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*[[W04DB]] (4)
*[[W24AL]] (23)
*[[WUVG-TV]] (digital 48 only)
*[[WTBS]] (digital 20, analog backup 17).
The tower also contains construction permits for:
*[[WIRE-CA]] (40)
[[FM]] stations on the same tower are: [[WNNX (FM)|WNNX]] (99.7, newly moved from the [[WTBS]] TV main analog tower), [[WKHX-FM]] (101.5) and permits for [[WRFG (FM)|WRFG]] (89.3) and as well as an application for a [[broadcast translator]] from [[Immanuel Broadcasing Network]] on 101.9.
Another tower about 120 meters (400 feet) to the west holds the existing [[WGCL-TV]] (46/19), [[WLTM (FM)|WLTM]] (94.9), and [[WKLS (FM)|WKLS]] (96.1), and applications for translators on 89.7 and 88.9 from [[WAY-FM Media Group]].
==External links==
*[http://wb36.trb.com/ WATL website]
*{{TVQ|WATL}}
<includeonly>
{{AtlantaTV}}
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{{Tribune}}
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[[Category:The WB network affiliates|WATL]]
[[Category:Television stations in Atlanta|WATL]]
[[Category:Television stations in Georgia (U.S. state)|WATL]]
[[Category:Tribune Broadcasting]]
[[Category:My Network TV affiliates|WATL]]
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