| Fort Myers/Naples, Florida | |
|---|---|
| Branding | NBC 2 (general) NBC 2 News |
| Slogan | Count on NBC 2 First |
| Channels | Digital: 15 (UHF) Virtual: 20 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 20.1 NBC 20.2 NBC 2 News Now (local news and weather) |
| Owner | Waterman Broadcasting Corporation (Waterman Broadcasting Corp. of Florida) |
| First air date | December 18, 1968 |
| Sister station(s) | WVIR-TV |
| Former channel number(s) | 20 (UHF analog, 1968-2009) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (secondary, 1968-1974) NBC Weather Plus (on DT2, 2006-2008) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW |
| Height | 453.9 m |
| Facility ID | 71085 |
| Website | nbc-2.com |
WBBH-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southwest Florida licensed to Fort Myers. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 15 from a transmitter in Tuckers Corner, FL along SR 31. Owned by the Waterman Broadcasting Corporation, WBBH operates ABC affiliate WZVN-TV (owned by Montclair Communications, Inc.) through a local marketing agreement (LMA). The two share studios on Central Avenue in Fort Myers. Syndicated programming on WBBH includes: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The Dr. Oz Show, and Ellen.
The station brands itself as NBC 2, as it is located on cable channel 2 on most Southwest Florida cable systems. However, its signal remaps to its old analog channel 20 via PSIP.
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On WBBH-DT2 and Comcast digital channel 216 is a 24-hour local news and weather channel.
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | main WBBH programming/NBC (HD) |
| 20.2 | 480i | 4:3 | WBBH-DT2 "NBC 2 News Now" (SD) |
It signed-on as the area's NBC affiliate on December 18, 1968. As the second television station in Southwest Florida after CBS affiliate WINK-TV, WBBH shared ABC with that channel until WEVU (now WZVN) launched on August 21, 1974. Started by local businessmen, the station originally used a 1,000 foot tower in Lehigh Acres which increased to 1,500 feet in 1983. It aired an analog signal on UHF channel 20. Waterman Broadcasting purchased the station in 1978 and the -TV suffix was removed from the call letters on October 16 of that year (this was later bought back).
In 1994, WEVU entered into a local marketing agreement with WBBH and moved into this station's facilities. At that time, both began identifying by the cable channel slots. The two began offering high definition signals on October 31, 2002 becoming the first stations in the market to offer network programming in HD (WZVN upgraded four hours after WBBH). This channel began offering NBC Weather Plus on a new second digital subchannel in September 2006. In December 2008 after the national service folded, WBBH-DT2 switched formats and became a 24-hour local news and weather channel known as "NBC 2 News Now". On February 17, 2009 at noon, the station turned off its analog signal and began transmitting exclusively in digital.
In 1994, WBBH and WZVN began a partnership where news reporters would appear on both stations. Resources such as video footage and coverage was also shared. Each station maintained separate unique sets at the Central Avenue facilities and featured a distinct on-air style. There were primary personalities such as anchors that would only appear on one channel. The combined forces of the two stations was billed as the Eyewitness News Network. It should be known that if WZVN chose not become a junior partner in the local marketing agreement, the station would have been required to shut down its news department. The same arrangement continues today except WZVN has fewer personalities that only appear on that station. Otherwise, all on-air personnel is shared.
Traditionally, WBBH tends to cover more from Charlotte County while WZVN has a slight Collier County focus since it is licensed to Naples. Compared with WBBH, WZVN's newscasts air in a flashier fast-paced format with on-air promotions referring to more coverage in thirty minutes especially on weeknights. On weekends, there are separate news and sports anchors but the meteorologists are seen on both WBBH and WZVN. This is possible because the two still maintain separate sets and do not always air local news at the same time. Since it was the first station in Southwest Florida and the only outlet on VHF, WINK-TV has long been the most watched channel according to Nielsen ratings. Between the two, WBBH and WZVN air twelve hours of news on weekdays and four and a half on weekends.
Its best known former personality is Harry Horn who was also a veteran of WZVN and WINK-TV. He lost his battle with ALS in August 2005. During major hurricanes, most recently Charley and Wilma, the news team of WBBH and WZVN put on 24-hour continuous coverage. Commercial breaks are dropped for several hours preceding and following landfall. There is a simulcast on both stations and a common live video stream is presented on both websites. During previous years, WBBH's news set was used along with both channel's weather sets. As of the 2007 season, WZVN's news set will be used in the event of a hurricane as its studio provides the best protection against damaging winds.
In March 2007, WBBH's website began offering live streaming video of its weekday noon and 4 p.m. newscasts. Today, morning newscasts are also streamed. In June, it added local news segments to its NBC Weather Plus subchannel now called "NBC 2 News Now". In early-February 2008 following the lead of WZVN, WBBH transitioned its newscasts to 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen. Although not truly high definition like WINK-TV (which upgraded on October 20, 2007), this matched the aspect ratio of HD television screens. On July 19, the two started airing local news full in high definition becoming the second and third stations respectively in Fort Myers to do so (WZVN upgraded five hours after WBBH).
On October 26, 2008, several changes occurred on the two stations in order to better compete with dominant WINK-TV. WZVN dropped the first hour of its weekday morning show and mid-morning newscast at 10. WBBH debuted a new hour-long midday show at 11 while keeping its hour-long noon broadcast. Meanwhile, WZVN added an hour-long newscast weekday mornings at 9 to piggyback off Good Morning America. This is currently the only local newscast in the time slot. On September 8, 2009, WZVN starting offering a prime time newscast on weeknights known as The 7 O'Clock News to go up against WINK-TV's show airing at the same time. In addition to the main studios, WBBH and WZVN operate a Collier County Bureau on Tamiami Trail North (U.S. 41/SR 45) in Naples. The two stations operate a Baron weather radar at the main facilities that is known on WBBH as "NBC 2 First Alert Power Doppler HD". The radar has a range of 300 miles and can survey approaching storms in three dimensions.
Anchors
NBC 2 First Alert Weather Team
Sports team
Reporters
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