WLBT

WLBT

Jackson, Mississippi United States
Channels	Digital: 30 (UHF) Virtual: 3
Branding	WLBT 3; WLBT News
Programming
Affiliations	3.1: NBC for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Gray Media (Gray Television Licensee, LLC)
Sister stations	WDBD, WLOO
History
First air date	December 19, 1953; 71 years ago (1953-12-19) (current license dates from June 1971)
Former call signs	WJBT (1953–1954)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 3 (VHF, 1953–2009) Digital: 9 (VHF, 2005–2009), 7 (VHF, 2009–2010)
Former affiliations	Both secondary: ABC (1953–1970) NTA (1956–1961)
Call sign meaning	Lamar Broadcast Television (former owner)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	68542
ERP	535 kW
HAAT	624 m (2,047 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	32°12′49.9″N 90°22′56.5″W / 32.213861°N 90.382361°W / 32.213861; -90.382361
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.wlbt.com

WLBT (channel 3) is a television station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Media, which also operates American Spirit Media–owned Fox affiliate WDBD (channel 40) and Vicksburg-licensed MyNetworkTV outlet WLOO (channel 35) under shared services agreements (SSAs). WLOO's license is owned by Tougaloo College, with American Spirit actually operating the station through a separate joint sales agreement (JSA); in turn, Gray provides WLOO with limited engineering support. The three stations share studios on South Jefferson Street in downtown Jackson; WLBT's transmitter is located on Thigpen Road southeast of Raymond, Mississippi.

Originally a pro-segregationist station, in 1969, it became the first station stripped of its right to broadcast for failing to serve the public interest. It was then relaunched under different ownership, becoming a pioneer in racial equality among Southern broadcasters.^[2]