Waay 31
The station's transmitter is on Monte Sano, to the east of Huntsville.
History
Channel 31's first broadcast was on August 1, 1959, using the callsign WAFG-TV. There was only one other station in the area at the time, Decatur's WMSL-TV (channel 23, now WAFF in Huntsville on channel 48).
This was an unusual arrangement for a two-station market, especially one as small as Huntsville was at the time.
When the station was sold to Smith Broadcasting (owners of WAAY, now WLOR, radio) in 1963, the callsign was changed to WAAY-TV. The station switched network affiliation to NBC in 1968, but returned to ABC in 1977, citing higher network ratings and the lack of a duplicate ABC affiliate in Florence (where WOWL, now WHDF, was then an NBC affiliate) as reasons.
Smith Broadcasting sold WAAY-TV to GOCOM Broadcasting (later renamed Piedmont Communications) in 1999.
The Smith family, who previously owned broadcasting properties in Birmingham before coming to Huntsville, was the last local owner of a Huntsville television station, as rivals WHNT and WAFF had been sold to larger corporations years before (WZDX, the first station in North Alabama not affiliated with the traditional networks or the educational TV system, has always belonged to outside interests). The Smith family also owned radio stations in Fort Walton Beach, Florida and South Pittsburg, Tennessee.
At one time, all three of Huntsville's major-network affiliates, WAAY included, had studios located beside their transmitters and towers on Monte Sano.
After a 1982 fire gutted the building of WAFF, however, that station, and later WHNT, moved their offices and production facilities into the city itself, employing microwave relays to send signals to their transmitters. Only WAAY continues to maintain its full operations on Monte Sano Boulevard.
(WHIQ-TV, the PBS affiliate, is a translator relay of Alabama Public Television; programming originates from Birmingham or Montgomery, not Huntsville.)
On September 4, 2003, the 1000-foot broadcasting tower leased by WAAY collapsed, killing three people.
In 2006, Piedmont Broadcasting agreed to sell WAAY to Calkins Media, a Pennsylvania-based mass media company that owns several small newspapers in Pennsylvania and two other television stations: WWSB in Sarasota, Florida and WTXL in Tallahassee, Florida. WAAY is Calkins' first broadcasting property outside of Florida.
On July 16, 2007 at 5 p.m.
WAAY unveiled a new set and a new graphics package similar to that of their sister stations, WWSB and WTXL.
News/Station Presentation
Newscast Titles
WAFG-TV News (1959-1963)
The WAAY of the World (1963-1970)
31 News (1970-1976, 1996-2007)
31 NewsCenter (1976-1977)
31 Eyewitness News (1977-1996)
WAAY 31 News (2007-present)
Station Slogans
We're Still The One on 31 (1977-1978, local version of ABC campaign)
31, Huntsville's News Station (1978-1985)
The News Station in Huntsville (1985-1987)
Get To The Point (1987-1991)
We Care About 31 (1991-1994)
Coverage You Can Count On (1994-1999)
DEFUNCT
Digital television
WAAY will broadcast digital-only, effective February 17, 2009.
After the analog television shutdown, WAAY-TV will remain at channel 32 using PSIP to display WAAY-TV's virtual channel as 31.
Anchors
Karen Adams - weekdays, 5, 6, and 10 p.m.
Erin Dacy - weekday mornings 5-7 a.m.
Christy Douglas - weekday mornings/midday 5-7 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Laura Beth Ezzell - weekday mornings/midday 5-7 a.m.
Starr - Sports Director
Kyle Burger - Weekends
Reporters
Haley Baker
Stephanie Beecken
Tiffaney Bradley
Mallory Hoff
Candace White
Brittany Woodby
Former anchors/reporters
Scott Boice - (Sports Anchor) now Clinical Director and owner of Teen Counseling Solutions, Atlanta
Don Phelps- now at WHNT as part of the sales department.
Denise Agent - now at TV3 Winchester (Virginia)
Linda Allen (morning news anchor) - in Infantry, U.S. Army, now at WJTV, Jackson, Mississippi
Nick Banaszak (former reporter)- now at WHNT, Huntsville, news/sports anchor
Bob Baron (meteorologist) - creator of VIPIR (radar); president, Baron Services, Inc.
Dave Brazelton (former sports reporter, producer, videographer) - now videographer/editor, WMAR-TV Baltimore; announcer, CBS Radio and XM Satellite Radio
Craig Boswell (former anchor) - Fox News Correspondent
Clint Brown (former Sand Mountain Bureau Chief, former Decatur/Limestone Bureau Chief, former reporter] - Respiratory Franchise Marketing Director, Merck & Co., Inc., Philadelphia, PA
Heather Burns (former anchor) - retired
Shane Butler (former chief meteorologist) - now in Lynchburg, Virginia
Kirk Chaisson
Anna Clayton
Dave Cody (sportscaster)
Dave Coffey (sports) - now vice-president, Alabama Steeldogs arena football team, Birmingham, Alabama
Jamie Cooper (feature reporter) - now owns ZTV-11, a low-power television station in nearby Athens, Alabama
Kristen Cornett - now with NBC Weather Plus/MSNBC
Rick Davis (former sports anchor) - later sports writer, Huntsville Times, now director, Cummings Research Park, Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce
Adrian Gibson - served as news anchor and weather forecaster on the station for over 35 years.
Retired in 2004
Lisa Greer
Tim Hall (former weekend anchor, weather forecaster) - now with WHNT-TV as a reporter and assignment manager.
Dave Hargrove (inaugural anchor of "Live at 5") - now regional manager, AT&T, Huntsville
Gus Hergert (Sports Director/Creator of "Friday Night Football" which won the 1998 Emmy Award) - Retired & Author
Cliff Hill (news anchor at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.) - Huntsville attorney
Bill Hubscher (producer, reporter, anchor) - now producer for the Marshall Space Flight Center's t.v.
sports anchor) - now with CBS Sports
Reginald Jones (producer,assignments, EP, & weekend morning anchor) now 5,6,10pm anchor WTVY-TV and Minister of a local church.
Tony Jordan - deceased
Bob Labbe (sports) - now does public relations work and television commercials; heard on weekly program, Reelin' in the Years, on public radio station WLRH-FM, Huntsville
David Lamb (weekend sports anchor) - now anchor, WIAT-TV, Birmingham
Walt Lehmann (Sports) - sports presenter for Mediacom, Des Moines, Iowa, TV Color Commentator AHL Iowa Stars and PDL Des Moines Menace
Wayne MacKenzie (weekend meteorologist) - research meteorologist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville
Mark Marcus (sports videographer, weekend sports anchor, sports director) - creative director of local church.
Jim Marsh (lead anchor)
Rick Mecklenburg (weather anchor) - now at WSBT-TV, South Bend, Indiana
Matt Neal (executive producer for sports/sports productions/co-creator of "Friday Night Football") - retired
Violet Parker
Alcides Segui - Reporter, Now with Fox News affiliate in Tampa, FL
Michael Scott - Former evening anchor
Pam Oliver - now reporter for TNT, FOX Sports
Greg Screws - now news anchor, WHNT-TV, Huntsville
Gary Shore (chief meteorologist) - held same position at KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa from 2001 until his death Feb. sports anchor) - now sports anchor, ABC 33/40, Birmingham
Belle Taylor (reporter) - now Executive Director, Pharmacy Access Partnership
Beverly Taylor
Keller Watts -(weekend meteorologist) now works at an environmental engineering firm in Baton Rouge, LA.
Al Whitaker - now spokesman, U.S.
Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville
Dot White (news producer, anchored weekend morning sports)Spokesperson for City of Garland (Dallas) Texas
Amy Witte (former weekend anchor, WAFF morning-noon anchor, currently library media specialist Austin, TX)
Brenda Wood - now with WXIA-TV in Atlanta, Georgia
Dave Deeley (10pm Sports Anchor) (1996-1998), Sports Anchor/Reporter WWSB (1991-1996), Sports Director WNCF (1999-2002), Professor, Truman State University (2002-2004), Ph.D. Alumni Graduate Fellow, University of Florida, (2004-Present).
News programming
WAAY's 31 News broadcasts air weekdays from 5:00-7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 5:00-5:30 p.m., 6:00-6:30 p.m.