WCYB-TV

WCYB-TV, channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Bristol, Virginia, USA and serving the Tri-Cities area of northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. WCYB is owned by Bonten Media Group and has its studio/office facility located in Downtown Bristol. The station's transmitter is based on Rye Patch Knob of Holston Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest.

Although WCYB-TV is the only commercial station in the Tri-Cities that is licensed to the Virginia side of the market, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires it to include Kingsport and Johnson City, Tennessee in its legal station identification.

By way of a local marketing agreement, WCYB-TV operates the Tri-Cities' Fox affiliate, Greenville, Tennessee-licensed WEMT (channel 39), owned by Esteem Broadcasting, LLC.

History

The station began broadcasting on August 13, 1956. It has always been a primary NBC affiliate although it carried a secondary ABC affiliation (shared with WJHL-TV) until 1969 when WKPT-TV signed on and took the ABC affiliation.