WALA-TV
WALA-TV, virtual channel 10 (VHF digital channel 9), is a Fox-affiliated television station located in Mobile, Alabama, United States, that also serves Pensacola, Florida. The station is owned by Meredith Corporation. It has studios on Satchel Paige Drive in Mobile, WALA's transmitter is located in Spanish Fort, Alabama. In addition to its main studios, WALA operates secondary facilities on Executive Plaza Drive in Pensacola.
The station operates a 24-hour local weather called "Weather Now" which is available on Cox Communications digital channel 698 in that city; it is not carried on Comcast in the Alabama side of the market.
History
Early history
WALA signed on the air for the first time on January 14, 1953, it was Mobile's second television station (the first station, WKAB-TV, operated on UHF channel 48 from December 30, 1952 until August 1, 1954). It was initially locally owned by W.O. Pape, along with WALA radio (1410 AM, now WNGL). It aired programs from all four major television networks of the time (NBC, ABC, CBS, and DuMont). WALA lost CBS programming to WKRG-TV (channel 5) when it signed on, and when WEAR-TV (channel 3) relinquished CBS programming (when Pensacola was a separate market) and became a full-time ABC affiliate for both Mobile and Pensacola in 1955. During the late 1950s, WALA was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. Pape sold WALA in 1964 to the Roywood Corporation. In 1969, Roywood sold WALA to the Universal Communications Corporation, the television arm of the Detroit News.
