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 Television (Gray Television Licensee, LLC)
Sister stations	WDBD, WLOO
History
First air date	December 19, 1953; 70 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 Television, 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 stations share studios on South Jefferson Street in downtown Jackson, while 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]