Outlet profile

WCCB

U.S. center, local independent

Owned byBahakel Communications, Ltd., a privately held, family-founded regional broadcaster based in Charlotte, NC

FundingLocal and national advertising revenue; no public or state funding

On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

WCCB traces its origins to WAYS-TV, a UHF station that signed on in early 1954 as one of North Carolina's first UHF stations; Charlotte businessman Cy Bahakel acquired the license in 1964 and relaunched it as WCCB-TV, with the call letters reflecting his name. The station became a Fox affiliate in 1987, an affiliation it held for roughly 26 years, during which it broadcast national Fox entertainment and news programming alongside its own local newscasts. In April 2013, Fox completed its purchase of rival Charlotte station WJZY and transferred the Fox affiliation there, prompting WCCB to announce it would instead become Charlotte's CW affiliate, a role it took on July 1, 2013. On September 1, 2025, The CW network moved to another Charlotte station, WMYT-TV, and WCCB reverted to being a fully independent station for the first time since 1986. Throughout these affiliation changes, the station has remained under continuous family ownership through Bahakel Communications, which also operates several other regional TV stations in South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. WCCB produces its own local newscasts — including morning and evening blocks — and has been rated Center with Very High factuality by media tracking aggregators, consistent with its straightforward local-news orientation and lack of partisan commentary programming.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-09-02; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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