WAKA

WAKA
Brand	CBS 8 (8.1) MeTV Montgomery (8.2)
City of License	Selma, Alabama
Market	Montgomery, Alabama
Channel	25 digital 8 virtual Formerly: 8 analog (1960-2009) 42 digital 2000-19)
Network Affiliation	Current: CBS (8.1) MeTV (8.2) Ion Television (8.3) Formerly: Independent (1960–62) ABC {1962-68)
Founded	1960
Company	Bahakel Communications
President
Current Popular Non-Network Shows	Dr. Phil Wheel of Fortune Jeopardy!

WAKA is the call sign for the CBS affiliate in the Montgomery, Alabama market. It is licensed to Selma, Alabama and broadcasts on digital channel 25, displayed on digital tuners as virtual channel 8. It also broadcasts MeTV on virtual channel 8.2 and Ion Television on 8.3.

The station had first received a transmitter permit as early as 1954, but then-CBS affiliate WCOV/channel 20 fought the potential sign-on out of fear that CBS would move to the new station. Selma was a separate market, and TV sets were not fully equipped with UHF tuners. It signed on in 1960 as independent WSLA, and then it switched to ABC in 1962. Prior, Montgomery had no ABC affiliate and received network programming from WBRC/channel 6 in Birmingham.

A fire destroyed WSLA's studio in 1968. It was rebuilt and went back on in 1973 as a CBS affiliate. By 1984, Selma was absorbed into the Montgomery market, and the station renamed WAKA. Two years later, WCOV switched to the Fox network, making WAKA Montgomery's sole CBS affiliate.

WAKA's parent company, Bahakel, oversees operations at two mother Montgomery stations--CW affiliate WBMM/ch. 22 (which the company recently acquired from Sagamore-Hill) and ABC affiliate WNCF/ch. 32 (still owned by Sagamore-Hill),

WAKA logo from 1997.

Digital programming

Virtual	Physical	Name	Programming
8.1	25.1	WAKA-DT	Main WAKA (CBS)
8.2	25.2	WAKA-SA	MeTV
8.3	25.3	WAKA-WX	Ion Television

External Links

Official website for WAKA