Newscasts produced by Augusta, Ga., NBC affiliate WAGT came to an end three weeks ago when the station was bought by Gray TV. Gray began simulcasting newscasts of its other station in town, CBS affiliate WRDW, on WAGT.
But some WAGT staffers have gone rogue, and continue producing NBC26 news online, via Facebook and website NBC26.tv. That site has a copyright to Media General, which sold the station to Gray last month.
“We want to take a moment to thank you, our viewers, for your support these past couple of weeks,” the station posted on its Facebook page. “You may have watched our show online and we hope to be back on the air very soon. As you may or may not know, WAGT was sold to Gray Television. However our parent company, Media General, has a contract to manage NBC 26 News until 2020. While this is being worked out in the courtroom, we are going to do our jobs and serve our community. Lastly, a special thanks to our Television Park family and Media General, for supporting us during this time.”
The statement comes from the same two anchors who urged viewers to complain to the FCC about the switch.
WAGT shares a facility with ABC affiliate WJBF, which is still owned by Media General. This explains how the station is still able to produce new newscasts.
“We gotta get back,” said morning co-anchor and meteorologist Jay Jefferies. “Gotta keep going. Gotta keep motivated.”
We reached out to NBC affiliate relations, but they declined to comment. TVSpy also asked WAGT and WRDW about the issue. We’ll update when we hear back.