WATN-TV

Main article: WATN-TV

Further information: Television in Memphis

Overview

WATN-TV (channel 24) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It shows ABC shows. The station is owned by Tegna, which is part of Nexstar Media Group. It works together with CW station WLMT (channel 30). Nexstar also owns CBS station WREG-TV (channel 3). WATN-TV and WLMT share studios at the Shelby Oaks Corporate Park in northeast Memphis. They also share transmitter facilities near Brunswick, Tennessee.

History

Channel 24 in Memphis started broadcasting in September 1978 as WPTY-TV. It was the first independent station in the Memphis area. The station was owned by Petry Television, a company that helped sell ads for TV stations. Over the years, the station changed owners many times and changed its programming.

In 1995, after Fox took over another station, WPTY-TV became an ABC station. It also started its own local news. In 2019, after Nexstar merged with Tribune Media, WATN-TV was sold to Tegna. In 2026, Nexstar bought Tegna again and kept all three stations, including WATN-TV, WLMT, and WREG-TV.

History

The first plan for a channel 24 television station in Memphis started in 1965 by a company from Connecticut. Later, another group got permission to build the station from the Federal Communications Commission in 1968. But they couldn’t build it and gave up the permission.

In 1977, another company applied to build channel 24. The FCC allowed them, and they started building studios in Memphis. The station, called WPTY-TV, began broadcasting on September 10, 1978. It was the first independent station in Memphis and showed different kinds of shows, including sports games.

Over the years, the station changed owners and affiliations. It became a Fox affiliate before switching to ABC in 1995. The station also added other network programs later on. In 2012, new owners moved the station to a new building. Today, it is known as WATN-TV and is part of a bigger media company.

News operation

WPTY-TV began its news broadcasts on December 1, 1995, the same day it switched to ABC. At first, the news shows had some problems, like broken equipment and mistakes by new reporters and anchors who didn’t know the city well. The news team changed a lot in the early weeks, and the ratings were very low.

Over time, the news got better. By 1997, ratings improved, especially for the 10 p.m. news among younger viewers. The 9 p.m. news on WLMT became very popular. In 2003, the news was redesigned with new anchors and a new weather system. In 2006, a morning newscast was added. In 2013, when the station became WATN-TV, it moved to new studios and started broadcasting news in high definition.

Notable former on-air staff

• Dayna Devon – weeknight anchor/reporter, 1997–1999

Subchannels

WATN-TV's transmitter is located near Brunswick. The station's signal is multiplexed.