WITN-TV

WITN-TV (channel 7) is a television station based in Washington, North Carolina, United States. It serves the area of Eastern North Carolina and is connected to two television networks: NBC and MyNetworkTV. The station is owned by Gray Media.

The main studio for WITN-TV is located on East Arlington Boulevard in Greenville, with another smaller studio in New Bern. The station's signal comes from a transmitter in Grifton Township along NC 118.

Although named similarly to other stations like WDLX (AM radio), WERO (FM radio), ITN, and WTIN-TV, WITN-TV has its own unique role in bringing news and entertainment to its viewers.

History

WITN-TV started broadcasting on September 28, 1955, from a location near Chocowinity. It was the second television station in the area, joining WNCT-TV in Greenville. From the beginning, it showed programs from NBC and also shared some shows from ABC with WNCT until another station, WCTI-TV, began in New Bern in 1963. The first show was game 1 of the 1955 World Series.

Over the years, the station changed owners several times. It was first run by a group of radio stations from North Carolina, then sold to AFLAC in 1985. Later, it was bought by Gray Television in 1997, and has stayed with them since. The station switched from older broadcast methods to digital in 2009, which is how most TV shows are sent now.

WITN-TV also helped show sports games from East Carolina University from 1998 to 2014. They broadcast some games that other big networks didn’t show, including a special football game against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003.

WITN-DT2

WITN-DT2 is a second channel connected to WITN-TV. It shows shows from MyNetworkTV and broadcasts in standard definition on channel 7.2.

Originally, this channel provided local weather reports all day. On September 28, 2009, it started showing MyNetworkTV after another station stopped. At first, it still showed weather in the early mornings and late nights, with other shows during the rest of the day. On April 18, 2011, the channel added MeTV and stopped most of its weather shows, showing MeTV mostly on weekends and during the day.

Later, a third channel began showing live weather updates. On January 17, 2013, WITN-DT2 stopped sharing its time with MyNetworkTV and MeTV, and each got its own special channel.

For some time, WITN-DT2 was also available through Time Warner Cable in the Wilmington area because the local MyNetworkTV station couldn’t be shown on cable. Later, Time Warner Cable (now Charter Spectrum) started showing the local station and removed WITN-DT2 from its lineup.

News operation

WITN-TV has often been the most popular news channel in its area. Its main rivals are WCTI-TV and WNCT-TV. Sometimes, WITN has been second in ratings, but it usually stays at the top.

WITN started its news broadcasts from Chocowinity and later added a small studio in Greenville. In 1997, this small studio began showing morning news with a news anchor, meteorologist, and photographer. After moving to a new building in Greenville on June 5, 2013, WITN started making its news in high definition. Today, WITN has newsrooms in Jacksonville and New Bern.

Notable former on-air staff

• John Beard – news anchor (1972–1976)
• David Crabtree – anchor/reporter (1985–1988)
• Susan Roesgen

Technical information

Subchannels

WITN-TV sends out its signal using a special method called multiplexing. This allows the station to broadcast different channels through one signal.