Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, marks 65 years on the air for WRAL-TV. The Raleigh-based television station has been a leader in technical innovation and fearless reporting on important topics and remained a lasting part of the community.
WRAL-TV went on the air as an NBC affiliate on Dec. 15, 1956. At the time, the station’s 1100-foot transmission tower was the tallest east of the Mississippi River. Located along Western Boulevard near North Carolina State University, the station joined a partnership with ABC and later became a CBS affiliate for 30 years. In 2016, WRAL rejoined forces with NBC.
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In 1956, Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) founder A.J. Fletcher told viewers “and now, to the almost two million North Carolinians within reach of our signal, we say happy viewing and listening to all of you on Channel 5.”
The momentous occasion came more than three years after CBC formally applied for a license to operate a TV station in Raleigh. During the summer of 1955, the FCC awarded CBC the license for the channel.