WLOX - History

History

WLOX was the first television station on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, having begun operations September 15, 1962. It was founded by the Love family who also owned WLOX radio (1490 AM now WXBD). Due to ABC having an affiliate farther east in Pensacola, Florida rather than Mobile, Alabama, WLOX-TV helped fill a void in areas west of Mobile that could not receive ABC programs. Until 1978, WLOX also filled a void in the New Orleans, Louisiana area as it cleared ABC's daytime soap operas, most of which were declined by WVUE during this time. WVUE also preempted moderate amounts of other ABC shows.

As WLOX had a Grade B signal in New Orleans, these programs thus remained available to viewers in that area. However, most of the New Orleans network affiliates are currently seen on cable in Biloxi and Gulfport causing competition for WLOX. On the other hand, this outlet is the default ABC affiliate for the Hattiesburg/Laurel, Mississippi market which does currently not have its own ABC station. From May 18, 1979 until July 3, 2003 the station employed the use of the -TV suffix in its call sign.

In 1993 along with all other ABC affiliates in Mississippi, WLOX refused to air NYPD Blue. However, unlike the other stations, the station never aired the show during its entire twelve-year run due to decency standards, opting to air reruns of Home Improvement and other sitcoms instead in the time slot. Rival Fox affiliate WXXV-TV picked up the show in 1994. The Love family sold WLOX to the Liberty Corporation in March 1995. Originally part of its Cosmos Broadcasting division, it came directly under the Liberty banner following the company's exit from the insurance business in 2000. Liberty would eventually merge with Raycom Media in 2006.

WLOX remained on the air during Hurricane Katrina even though its studios were heavily damaged in the storm. During the event, the station continued to broadcast non-stop for more than twelve days afterward. WLOX created an award-winning two-disc DVD set about the storm entitled "Katrina: South Mississippi's Story". Footage of its building being damaged and the move to a "temporary studio" were part of The Weather Channel series Storm Stories on June 5, 2010. Anchor Rebbecca Power's survival after returning home from the station was the main focus of the show. In 2006, WLOX received the Edward R. Murrow National Award in the category of continuing coverage for its around-the-clock broadcasting of Hurricane Katrina and the storm's aftermath. WLOX also received a Southern Regional Emmy Humanitarian award in June 2006. It was added to DirecTV and Dish Network systems in the Biloxi/Gulfport market on June 16, 2010.

In March 2012 during the station's anniversary celebration, WLOX began airing a vague promotional advertisement alluding to having an "eye" on the future with the CBS "eyemark" logo in the background of the spot. The station's front website banner also incorporated a "CBS - coming soon" link to the advertisement on YouTube suggesting a future digital subchannel with a schedule from the network for the market would be offered through WLOX. The station formally announced the CBS affiliation on March 28, 2012 with carriage on WLOX-DT2 replacing a 24-hour local weather channel. It was also made public that Cable ONE will carry WLOX's CBS channel in addition to its existing carriage of WWL-TV from New Orleans and Mobile's WKRG-TV both of which have long served as the default CBS affiliates for the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

During instances of severe weather, updates will broadcast on all WLOX digital services when warnings are issued by the National Weather Service. The addition of CBS to WLOX-DT2 is be similar to a launch made by sister station WALB in Albany, Georgia. In that outlet's case, however, it added ABC to its second digital subchannel to compliment its primary NBC service. This station went live with CBS programming on April 8 starting with The Masters.