41NBC/WMGT-DT Revenue and Competitors

WMGT-TV began broadcasting on September 30, 1968 as WCWB-TV, the first commercial station started in Middle Georgia since WMAZ-TV started in 1953; it has always been an NBC affiliate. The market did not get a full ABC affiliate until 1982 (in WGXA). WCWB was founded by Dothan, Alabama broadcaster and perennial Alabama political candidate Charles Woods; Woods sold the station to a local group known as Bibb Television, Inc., in 1974. Morris bought the station from Bibb four years later; WCWB marked that company's entry into the broadcasting business. Its studios were located at the transmitter location 15 miles east of Macon on what locals term the "Cochran Short Route" (US-129). The station renamed itself WMGT in 1983, to reflect the Middle Georgia area it serves. One final change to the station's legal callsign took place in 2003, when the -TV suffix was added, because of a radio station also holding the WMGT callsign in Minnesota. In 1992, WMGT shut down its news department. For the next 12 years, WMGT aired no local newscasts at all. In 2000 the station moved into a two-story renovated warehouse in downtown Macon, adding to the revitalization of the historic area and signifying future growth for the station. In September 2004, WMGT relaunched its news department. On April 3, 2006, the station retired its "41" logo and "41 NBC" branding in favor of a new logo and branding, Today's MGT. On February 17, 2009, WMGT-TV terminated its analog signal and continued to broadcast its digital signal on channel 41. WMGT's broadcasts have been digital-only since noon, February 17, 2009. On March 23, 2009, WMGT-TV rebranded itself as "41 NBC" and launched a new logo to reflect its fresh approach to delivering news to the Middle Georgia area.