WSWG

WSWG

Valdosta–Albany– Moultrie–Tifton, Georgia United States
City	Valdosta, Georgia
Channels	Digital: 31 (UHF) Virtual: 44
Branding	CBS 44 WSWG; CBS 44 News
Programming
Affiliations	44.1: CBS 44.3: MyNetworkTV (WSST-TV) for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Marquee Broadcasting (Marquee Broadcasting Georgia, Inc.)
Sister stations	WSST-TV
History
First air date	December 24, 1980 (43 years ago) (1980-12-24)
Former call signs	WVGA (1980–1994) WGVP (1994–2001) WVAG (2001–2005)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 44 (UHF, 1980–2007) Digital: 43 (UHF, 2007–2018)
Former affiliations	ABC (1980–1992) Dark (1992–1995) The WB (1995–1997) UPN (1997–2006)
Call sign meaning	Southwest Georgia
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	28155
ERP	85 kW
HAAT	258.4 m (848 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	31°10′18.7″N 83°21′56.6″W / 31.171861°N 83.365722°W / 31.171861; -83.365722
Translator(s)	WSST 55 Cordele–Albany: CBS (55.20), MeTV (55.2)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.southgatv.com

WSWG (channel 44) is a television station in Valdosta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with CBS, serving the Albany, Georgia, market. It is owned by Marquee Broadcasting alongside Cordele-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WSST-TV (channel 55). WSWG's offices are located on Slappey Boulevard in Albany, and its transmitter is located in unincorporated Cook County, northeast of Adel, Georgia. Master control and some internal operations are based at WSST's studios on 7th Street South in Cordele.

Although Valdosta is part of the Tallahassee, Florida, television market, which receives CBS programming from Thomasville, Georgia–licensed WCTV (channel 6), WSWG is the CBS affiliate for Albany. WSST-TV simulcasts two of WSWG's subchannels as 55.20 (CBS) and 55.2 (MeTV).^[2]

Channel 44 in Valdosta went on the air in 1980 as ABC affiliate WVGA. It operated as a small station with limited local programming from December 1980 to February 1992. During this time, it was off the air in late 1988 and early 1989 after a small airplane crashed into its tower. WTXL-TV, the ABC affiliate in Tallahassee, ran the station for seven months but ultimately withdrew from its attempt to buy it, after which time it was off the air for three years.

Hutchens Communications rebuilt the station as WB affiliate WGVP in 1995, changing to UPN in 1997. Financial issues snarled Hutchens Communications ownership and led to several attempts to force a sale and the ultimate resignation of the company's namesake. After being steadied by changes in ownership and management, Gray Television acquired it in 2005, combined its operations with WCTV under the call sign WSWG, and then repurposed it the next year as a semi-satellite of WCTV for the Albany area. This continued until 2019, when Gray purchased Raycom Media and was forced to sell WSWG to remain under ownership limits in the market. It was then purchased by Marquee Broadcasting.