{{Short description|Television station in Washington, D.C.}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox television station | callsign = WRC-TV | logo = WRC-TV 2023.svg | logo_upright = .8 | image = WRC-TV.jpg | image_upright = .8 | caption = WRC-TV's studios and transmitter facility has been in use since 1958. (1962 photograph) | branding = NBC 4<!--"NBC Washington" is only the name of the website and ISN'T used on air-->; ''News 4'' | digital = 34 ([[UHF]]), shared with [[WZDC-CD]] | virtual = 4 | affiliations = {{ubl|'''4.1:''' [[NBC]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}} | owner = [[NBC Owned Television Stations]] | licensee = NBC Telemundo License [[LLC]] | location = [[Washington, D.C.]] | country = United States | airdate = {{Start date|1947|06|27}} | callsign_meaning = [[Radio Corporation of America]] (NBC's former parent) | sister_stations = [[WZDC-CD]] | former_callsigns = WNBW (1947–1954) | former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 4 ([[VHF]], 1947–2009)|'''Digital:''' 48 (UHF, 1998–2019)}} | erp = 1,000 [[kW]] | haat = {{convert|244|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} | facility_id = 47904 | coordinates = {{coord|38|56|24|N|77|4|53|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}} | licensing_authority = [[FCC]] | website = {{URL|https://www.nbcwashington.com/}} }} '''WRC-TV''' (channel 4) is a [[television station]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] It is [[owned and operated]] by the [[NBC]] television network via its [[NBC Owned Television Stations]] division. Under common ownership with [[Class A television service|Class A]] [[Telemundo]] outlet [[WZDC-CD]] (channel 44), the two stations share studio and transmitter facilities on Nebraska Avenue in the [[Tenleytown]] neighborhood of [[Northwest Washington]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Digital Signal Sources |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 20, 2008 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2008/05/20/GR2008052000207.html?sid=ST2008051902978 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601144936/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2008/05/20/GR2008052000207.html?sid=ST2008051902978 |archive-date=June 1, 2018 }}</ref>

Through a [[channel sharing agreement]], both stations transmit using WRC-TV's spectrum from a tower adjacent to their studios.

==History== The station traces its roots to [[experimental television]] station W3XNB, which was put on the air by the [[Radio Corporation of America]] (RCA), the then-parent company of NBC, in 1939. A construction permit with the commercial [[call signs in North America|callsign]] WNBW (standing for "NBC Washington") was first issued on channel 3 (60–66&nbsp;MHz, numbered channel 2 prior to 1946)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tech-notes.tv/History%26Trivia/Channel%20One/Channel_1.htm|title=Whatever Happened To Channel 1?|access-date=September 20, 2018|archive-date=March 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317040906/http://www.tech-notes.tv/History%26Trivia/Channel%20One/Channel_1.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> on December 23, 1941. NBC requested this permit to be cancelled on June 29, 1942; channel 3 was reassigned to [[Harrisonburg, Virginia]] ([[WHSV-TV]]), in 1953.<ref>{{cite web |title=WRC-TV History Cards |url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=86800 |website=FCC CDBS |access-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-date=September 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921000340/http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=86800 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Staff |title=Four FM Permits Cancelled by FCC |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1942/1942-07-27-BC.pdf |work=Broadcasting |date=July 27, 1942 |page=18}}</ref>

On June 27, 1947, WNBW was re-licensed on channel 4 and signed on the air. Channel 4 is the second-oldest commercially licensed television station in Washington, after [[WTTG]] (channel 5), which signed on seven months earlier in December 1946. WNBW was also the second of the five original NBC-owned television stations to sign-on, behind [[WNBC|WNBT]] in New York City and ahead of [[WMAQ-TV|WNBQ]] in Chicago, [[WKYC|WNBK]] in [[Cleveland]] and [[KNBH]] in Los Angeles. The station was operated alongside WRC radio (980 AM, now [[WTEM]], and 93.9 FM, now [[WKYS]]).

On October 18, 1954, the television station's call sign changed to the present WRC-TV to match its radio sisters.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=RCA Replaces NBC In O & O Calls |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1954/1954-10-04-BC.pdf#page=78 |magazine=Broadcasting-Telecasting |date=October 4, 1954 |page=78 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> The new calls reflected NBC's ownership at the time by RCA. It has retained its "-TV" suffix to this day, nearly four decades after the radio stations were sold off and changed call letters.

In 1955, while in college (at the nearby [[University of Maryland]]) and serving as a puppeteer on a WRC-TV program, [[Jim Henson]] was asked to create a puppet show for the station. The series he created, ''[[Sam and Friends]]'', was the first series to feature [[the Muppets]], and launched the [[Jim Henson Company]].<ref name=1EPC>{{cite book|last1=Sickels|first1=Robert C.|title=100 Entertainers Who Changed America: An Encyclopedia of Pop Culture Luminaries [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Pop Culture Luminaries|date=August 8, 2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1598848311|pages=253–258|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXCjAQAAQBAJ&q=Rowlf+the+Dog+commercials+Purina+Dog+Chow&pg=PA254|access-date=September 23, 2014}}</ref>

The second presidential debate between candidates [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Richard M. Nixon]] was broadcast from the station's studios on October 7, 1960. [[David Brinkley]]'s Washington segment of the ''[[Huntley-Brinkley Report]]'' originated at WRC-TV between 1956 and 1970, as did Washington reports or commentaries by Brinkley or [[John Chancellor]] on ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'' in the 1970s.

The earliest [[color television|color]] videotape in existence is a recording of the dedication of WRC-TV's Washington studios on May 22, 1958. President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] spoke at the event, introduced by NBC President [[Robert W. Sarnoff]]. Before Eisenhower spoke, Sarnoff pushed a button, which converted the previously black and white signal into color. It was also the first time a U.S. president had been videotaped in color.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.novia.net/~ereitan/rca-nbc_firsts.html |title=RCA-NBC Firsts in Color Television |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060206115435/http://www.novia.net/~ereitan/rca-nbc_firsts.html |archive-date=February 6, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKqHZcXvUAs|title=Eisenhower WRC-TV 1958 (oldest known colour videotaping)|via=YouTube|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412214727/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKqHZcXvUAs|archive-date=April 12, 2015}}</ref>

At the time of its sign-on, channel 4 was one of two wholly network-owned stations in Washington, the other being [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]]'s WTTG. DuMont was shut down in 1956, and for the next 30 years, WRC-TV was Washington's only network [[owned-and-operated station]].

From the opening of its Nebraska Avenue facility in 1958 through 2020, WRC-TV housed [[NBC News]]' Washington bureau, out of which the network's long-running political affairs program ''[[Meet the Press]]'' was based.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NBC News D.C. bureau moves out of longtime building, headed to new facility near Capitol|url=https://www.newscaststudio.com/2020/09/19/nbc-dc-bureau/?og=1|access-date=December 9, 2020|website=NewscastStudio| date=September 19, 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=NBC looking at studio space away from Nebraska Ave. |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/26/playbook-nbc-news-washington-bureau-237617 |work=Politico |date=April 26, 2017 |language=en}}</ref> In January 2021, NBC News moved the bureau near Capitol Hill.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/nbc-news-new-dc-studios-capitol-hill-4113808/ |title=NBC News Officially Debuts New D.C. Studios Near Capitol Hill |last=Werpin |first=Alex |date=January 25, 2021 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=November 15, 2021}}</ref>

===Telemundo affiliation=== In September 2017, NBC announced they were to launch a new [[Telemundo]] owned-and-operated station based out of WRC-TV. [[ZGS Communications]], owner of Washington's existing Telemundo affiliate [[WZDC-CD]] (channel 25), sold the station's channel allocation in the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC)'s 2017–18 [[incentive auction]], accepting a $66&nbsp;million payout to turn off its signal and continue operations by sharing the channel of another station. A Telemundo spokesperson stated that the sale of WZDC's spectrum "gave us the ability to take back the Telemundo affiliation for this market", without elaborating what that meant.<ref>{{cite news|title=Telemundo Launching a Washington O&O in December|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/telemundo-launching-washington-oo-december/168520|author=Diana Marszalek|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=NewBay Media|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912022554/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/telemundo-launching-washington-oo-december/168520|archive-date=September 12, 2017}}</ref><ref name="dcbizjournal-tmddc">{{cite news|title=NBCUniversal to launch Telemundo station|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/09/12/nbc-washington-to-launch-telemundo-station.html|newspaper=Washington Business Journal|publisher=American City Business Journals|date=September 12, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913231006/https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/09/12/nbc-washington-to-launch-telemundo-station.html|archive-date=September 13, 2017}}</ref><ref name="mediamoves-tmddc">{{cite web|title=Telemundo ends affiliate deal with ZGS to launch O&O in D.C.|url=https://www.mediamoves.com/2017/09/telemundo-ends-affiliate-deal-with-zgs-to-launch-oo-in-d-c.html|website=Media Moves|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912102526/https://www.mediamoves.com/2017/09/telemundo-ends-affiliate-deal-with-zgs-to-launch-oo-in-d-c.html|archive-date=September 12, 2017}}</ref> NBC later purchased WZDC-CD with the intention of moving its over-the-air signal to that of WRC-TV through a channel-sharing agreement.<ref name="tvnc-saletotelemundo">{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=Mark K.|title=NBCU Adding ZGS Stations To Telemundo|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/109362/nbcu-adding-zgs-stations-to-telemundo|access-date=December 4, 2017|work=TVNewsCheck|date=December 4, 2017|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206074450/http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/109362/nbcu-adding-zgs-stations-to-telemundo|archive-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref>

NBC took control of WZDC-CD on January 1, 2018, and added a temporary relay to WRC-TV's digital subchannel 4.3.<ref name="zgssalecomplete">{{cite news|last1=Tsoflias Siegel|first1=Stephanie|title=Telemundo Completes Acquisition of ZGS Communications|url=http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/telemundo-completes-acquisition-of-zgs-communications/199942|access-date=February 1, 2018|work=TVSpy|date=February 1, 2018|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202071520/http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/telemundo-completes-acquisition-of-zgs-communications/199942|archive-date=February 2, 2018}}</ref> The channel-sharing agreement took effect on March 7, 2018.<ref>{{cite web|title=Suspension of Operations of a Digital Class A Station|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f91619169b50161b9db595637d2&id=25076f91619169b50161b9db595637d2&goBack=N|website=FCC LMS|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307031717/https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f91619169b50161b9db595637d2&id=25076f91619169b50161b9db595637d2&goBack=N|archive-date=March 7, 2018}}</ref> Under the agreement, WZDC shares WRC-TV's physical signal as a subchannel would and is managed with its own [[virtual channel]] number and license. WZDC's virtual channel changed from 25.1 to 44.1 to avoid a conflict with [[WDVM-TV]], which also occupies virtual channel 25.1.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cómo re-escanear tu TV para recibir Telemundo 44|url=https://www.telemundowashingtondc.com/noticias/local/Como-reescanear-tu-televisor-para-recibir-Telemundo-44_Washington-DC-472976723.html|website=Telemundo Washington DC|language=es|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227094318/https://www.telemundowashingtondc.com/noticias/local/Como-reescanear-tu-televisor-para-recibir-Telemundo-44_Washington-DC-472976723.html|archive-date=February 27, 2018}}</ref>

==Programming== [[File:Mac McGarry - It's Academic.jpg|thumb|200px|The late Mac McGarry was the original host of ''It's Academic'' until June 2011. (Photo is from {{circa|2009}}.)]] Because of its ownership by the network, WRC-TV generally carries the entire NBC network schedule. However, the station airs ''NBC Nightly News'' at 7 pm (rather than 6:30&nbsp;pm as with most NBC stations in the [[Eastern Time Zone]]); this is due to an hour-long 6 pm newscast. The weekend edition of the network's newscast airs at its usual 6:30&nbsp;pm time slot. Despite being the originating station of ''Meet the Press'' for most of the show's history, it airs on a 90-minute delay at 10:30&nbsp;am, competing head-to-head with [[CBS]]' ''[[Face the Nation]]''.

WRC-TV previously housed ''[[It's Academic]]'', which premiered in 1961 and is the longest-running game show in television history according to the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' (as of October 29, 2022, it is now aired on [[PBS]] member station [[WETA-TV]]). ''Sam and Friends'', Jim Henson's late-night precursor to ''[[Sesame Street]]'' and ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', got its start on WRC-TV on May 9, 1955. WRC-TV served as the production facilities for the original run of ''[[The McLaughlin Group]]'' from its premiere in 1982 until May 2008, when the production facilities moved to [[Tegna Inc.]]-owned CBS affiliate and WRC-TV's rival [[WUSA (TV)|WUSA]] and it remained until the original show's ending in 2016.

===Sports programming=== WRC-TV was the over-the-air home of [[Washington Commanders]] (formerly the Washington Redskins) preseason games from [[2009 Washington Redskins season|2009]] through [[2023 Washington Commanders season|2023]]. Before the Comcast–NBC Universal merger, games were syndicated to over-the-air stations only in [[standard definition]], with actual rights-holder CSN Mid-Atlantic (later NBC Sports Washington, now [[Monumental Sports Network]]) exclusively airing the high definition broadcast.

===News operation=== WRC-TV presently broadcasts 45 hours, 20 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 7 hours, 34 minutes each weekday; three hours on Saturdays; and {{frac|4|1|2}} hours on Sundays). By 2001, WRC's newscasts had all been rated number one in the market, with some of the success attributed to [[Jim Vance]] and [[Doreen Gentzler]], who anchored together from 1989 until Vance's death in 2017. Vance had been with Channel 4 since 1969 and was promoted to anchor three years later.<ref name="schudel">Schudel, Matt. "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/jim-vance-washingtons-longest-serving-local-news-anchor-is-dead-at-75/2017/07/22/7869297c-6ee4-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html Jim Vance, Washington's longest-serving local news anchor, is dead at 75] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729200104/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/jim-vance-washingtons-longest-serving-local-news-anchor-is-dead-at-75/2017/07/22/7869297c-6ee4-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html |date=July 29, 2017 }}". ''The Washington Post''. July 22, 2017.</ref> In the May 2010 sweeps, it placed first at 5&nbsp;am, 6&nbsp;am, 6&nbsp;pm and 11&nbsp;pm in total viewers, and first at 6&nbsp;am, 6&nbsp;pm and 11&nbsp;pm in the 25–54 demo.

In 1974, WRC-TV adopted the ''NewsCenter'' branding, following the three other NBC-owned stations at the time in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago in adopting the ''NewsCenter'' branding.

In 1975, the station adopted [[MFSB]]'s song "My Mood" as the closing theme music for the 6&nbsp;pm newscast every Friday, which remains in use by the station today.<ref>[https://washingtonian.com/2017/07/23/arch-campbell-remembers-his-friend-jim-vance/ Arch Campbell Remembers His Friend Jim Vance] , ''The Washingtonian'', June 23, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYgs069D7rY&t=27m39s WRC-TV: News 4 at 11pm Saturday – 07/22/17] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601144930/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYgs069D7rY&t=27m39s |date=June 1, 2018 }} YouTube clip. Retrieved July 23, 2017.</ref> [[Charlie Rose]] was hired by WRC-TV after his short stint at [[KXAS-TV]] in [[Fort Worth, Texas]], and hosted the ''Charlie Rose Show'' from its premiere in 1980 until he left the station in 1984 for [[CBS News]]. The station also hired [[George Michael (sportscaster)|George Michael]] as sports anchor, eventually launching the nationally syndicated program ''[[The George Michael Sports Machine]]'', which originated from the studios of WRC-TV from its entire run from 1984 until 2007.

In 1982, after 8 years of using the ''NewsCenter'' branding, the news branding was changed to ''Channel 4 News''. The station added a 5&nbsp;pm newscast in 1984. In 1991, WRC-TV added a morning newscast under the title of ''News 4 Today''. That same year, between January 14 to October 25, 1991, WRC-TV produced a newscast for independent station [[WDCW|WFTY]] (channel 50). ''7:30 News Headlines'' was anchored by [[Wendy Rieger]] and sought to cater to an upscale audience.<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael E.|last=Hill|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1991/01/13/730-news-headlines/27c045b0-8f16-4e92-981c-33f7deed5df6/|title='7:30 News Headlines': Four Channels News to Fifty|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 13, 1991|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528174534/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1991/01/13/730-news-headlines/27c045b0-8f16-4e92-981c-33f7deed5df6/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the first such news-share program ever announced and the second to air.{{efn|Twelve days earlier, a similar newscast production agreement had started between [[WNEP-TV]] and [[WSWB|WOLF]] in [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]].{{r|NYT910107}}}}<ref name="NYT910107">{{Cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=January 7, 1991 |title=Stations Seek More Profits on News |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/07/business/stations-seek-more-profits-on-news.html |access-date=May 28, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213235932/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/07/business/stations-seek-more-profits-on-news.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the newscast attracted worse ratings than the show it replaced on channel 50, ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Electronic Media]]|title=WRC news on rival starts low|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_televisionweek_1991-01-21_10_4_0/page/n43/mode/2up?q=WFTY|first=Doug|last=Halonen|page=45|date=January 21, 1991}}</ref> It was doomed by low ratings, a poor economy, and the [[Gulf War]], with the start of that conflict scrambling local news viewing habits merely three days later; as a result, WRC-TV ended the arrangement effective October 25, 1991.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/10/21/the-tv-column/b702a57c-dcfb-48c4-8c98-4e2b44944296/|first=John|last=Carmody|title=The TV Column|date=October 21, 1991|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=May 28, 2022|archive-date=May 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528174535/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/10/21/the-tv-column/b702a57c-dcfb-48c4-8c98-4e2b44944296/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 14, 2009, WRC-TV and WTTG entered into a [[Local News Service]] (called LNS) agreement in which the two stations pool video and share news helicopter footage. The agreement was similar to ones already made between Fox and NBC owned-and-operated stations in Chicago (WMAQ-TV and [[WFLD]]) and [[Philadelphia]] ([[WCAU]] and [[WTXF]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162178-Fox_And_NBC_To_Share_In_DC.php|title=Fox And NBC To Share In DC|access-date=January 14, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925034243/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162178-Fox_And_NBC_To_Share_In_DC.php|archive-date=September 25, 2012}}</ref> WUSA later joined that agreement. In 2012, News Director Camille Edwards announced the station would no longer participate in LNS, but the stations would continue to share the helicopter. In 2016, the station launched its own helicopter, Chopper4.

Starting with ''News 4 Today'' on February 27, 2023, WRC-TV's newscasts moved to a new studio that formerly housed ''Meet the Press'', where an entirely new set debuted for the first time in almost 13 years.

On August 12, 2024, WRC-TV's morning newscast moved its starting time back to 4:25&nbsp;am, leaving WTTG as the only station in the Washington market to start its morning newscast at 4&nbsp;am. On that same day, the previously online-only 7:30&nbsp;pm newscast ''News 4 Rundown'' started airing on the station.

In 2025, the station established a partnership with the Montgomery County bureau of ''[[The Baltimore Banner]]''. Banner journalists will appear on WRC and its Telemundo sister station.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Banner launches in Montgomery County |url=https://www.thebanner.com/banner-pr/banner-launches-montgomery-county-EMYU4GMCJNFKNJKVPXWHSFGDRU/https://www.thebanner.com/banner-pr/banner-launches-montgomery-county-EMYU4GMCJNFKNJKVPXWHSFGDRU/ |access-date=September 16, 2025 |work=The Baltimore Banner |date=September 15, 2025}}</ref>

====Notable current on-air staff==== * [[Tony Perkins (news anchor)|Tony Perkins]] – anchor * [[Eun Yang]] – anchor

====Notable former on-air staff==== * [[Miguel Almaguer]] – reporter (2006–2009) * [[Jess Atkinson]] – sports anchor (1990–1996)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2002/jun/7/20020607-031144-3381r/|title=Atkinson throws in towel|work=The Washington Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913194127/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2002/jun/7/20020607-031144-3381r/|archive-date=September 13, 2014}}</ref> * [[Shannon Bream]] – anchor (2004–2007)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/01/AR2007110102456.html|title=Shannon Bream to Cover Supreme Court for Fox News|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228133815/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/01/AR2007110102456.html|archive-date=December 28, 2016}}</ref> * [[Nick Charles (sportscaster)|Nick Charles]] – sports anchor/reporter (1976–1979)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Former-News4-Sportscaster-Nick-Charles-Dies-of-Cancer-at-64-124561259.html|title=Former News4 Sportscaster Nick Charles Dies of Cancer at 64|work=NBC4 Washington|date=June 26, 2011 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908092401/http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Former-News4-Sportscaster-Nick-Charles-Dies-of-Cancer-at-64-124561259.html|archive-date=September 8, 2014}}</ref> * [[Katie Couric]] – reporter (1987–1989)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/may/30/20060530-095100-6077r/?page=all|title=Couric's days at WRC recalled |work=The Washington Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912170434/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/may/30/20060530-095100-6077r/?page=all|archive-date=September 12, 2014}}</ref> * [[Lindsay Czarniak]] – sports anchor/reporter (2005–2011)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/sports-anchor-lindsay-czarniak-to-leave-nbc4-for-espn/2011/06/22/AGUsodgH_story.html|title=Lindsay Czarniak, sports anchor, to leave NBC4 for ESPN|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928010120/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/sports-anchor-lindsay-czarniak-to-leave-nbc4-for-espn/2011/06/22/AGUsodgH_story.html|archive-date=September 28, 2017}}</ref> * [[Steve Doocy]] – features reporter (1983–1989) * [[Peter Ford (news anchor)|Peter Ford]] – news anchor (1988–1992) * [[Doreen Gentzler]] – anchor (1989–2022)<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/10/28/doreen-gentzler-retires-nbc-washington-anchor Longtime NBC4 anchor Doreen Gentzler announces retirement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031122316/https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/10/28/doreen-gentzler-retires-nbc-washington-anchor |date=October 31, 2022 }}, [[The Washington Post]], October 28, 2022</ref> * [[Angie Goff]] – anchor (2011–2018) * [[Savannah Guthrie]] – reporter (2000–2002) * [[Robert Hager]] – reporter (1960s) * [[Mike Hambrick]] – anchor (1982–1985) * [[Steve Handelsman]] – reporter (1984–2017) * [[Richard Harkness|Richard C. Harkness]] – Washington correspondent for NBC network and local radio/TV news anchor (1942–1970) * [[Leon Harris]] – anchor (2017–2025) * [[Jim Hartz]] – anchor (1977–1979)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101206113818/http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/Press.hom/JimHartzBio.pdf Jim Hartz]</ref> * [[Dan Hellie]] – sports anchor (2006–2013)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2013/07/10/dan-hellie-joins-the-nfl-network/|title=Dan Hellie joins NFL Network|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105060625/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2013/07/10/dan-hellie-joins-the-nfl-network/|archive-date=January 5, 2015}}</ref> * [[Cathy Hobbs]] – anchor/reporter (1994–1997) * [[Joe Johns]] – reporter (1983–1993) * [[Veronica Johnson]] – meteorologist (2000–2016) * [[Susan King (journalist)|Susan King]] – anchor/reporter (1983–1987) * [[Joe Krebs]] – anchor/reporter (1980–2012)<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/joe-krebs-dead/2021/04/06/79eeacc6-971d-11eb-b28d-bfa7bb5cb2a5_story.html Joe Krebs, Channel 4 reporter and 'steadfast soldier' of D.C. morning news, dies at 78] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409121053/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/joe-krebs-dead/2021/04/06/79eeacc6-971d-11eb-b28d-bfa7bb5cb2a5_story.html |date=April 9, 2021 }}, [[The Washington Post]], April 6, 2021</ref> * [[Scott MacFarlane (journalist)|Scott MacFarlane]] – investigative reporter (2013–2021) * [[Suzanne Malveaux]] – reporter (1996-1999) * [[Dave Marash]] – anchor (1985–1989) * [[Marjorie Margolies]] – reporter (1975–1990) * [[Doug McKelway]] – anchor/reporter (1992–2001) * [[Craig Melvin]] – anchor (2008–2011) * [[George Michael (sportscaster)|George Michael]] – sports anchor/reporter; former host of ''[[The George Michael Sports Machine]]'' (1980–2008)<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122901353.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Leonard Shapiro: Loss of Michael Is a Truly Deep Cut | date=December 29, 2008 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107125146/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122901353.html | archive-date=November 7, 2012 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> * [[Wendy Rieger]] – anchor (1988–2021)<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/04/16/washington-journalist-wendy-rieger-dead Wendy Rieger, longtime Channel 4 anchor in Washington, dies at 65] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430175152/https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/04/16/washington-journalist-wendy-rieger-dead/ |date=April 30, 2022 }}, [[The Washington Post]], April 16, 2022</ref> * [[Bob Ryan (meteorologist)|Bob Ryan]] – chief meteorologist (1980–2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/05/bob-ryan-retiring-after-33-years-of-tv-weather-forecasting-89136.html|title=Bob Ryan retiring after 33 years of TV weather forecasting|publisher=WJLA|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615192736/http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/05/bob-ryan-retiring-after-33-years-of-tv-weather-forecasting-89136.html|archive-date=June 15, 2013}}</ref> * [[Jim Rosenfield]] – anchor (2012–2013) * [[Dianna Russini]] – sports anchor/reporter (2013–2015) * [[Willard Scott]] – NBC page (1950), [[Bozo the Clown]] (1959–1962), weather anchor (1968–1980)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.today.com/allday/willard-scott-weather-reporter-centenarian-birthday-greeter-6C10109545|title=Willard Scott, weather reporter and centenarian birthday greeter|work=TODAY|date=June 4, 2013 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703091349/http://www.today.com/allday/willard-scott-weather-reporter-centenarian-birthday-greeter-6C10109545|archive-date=July 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Weisholtz |first1=Drew |title=Willard Scott, legendary TODAY weatherman, dies at 87 |url=https://www.today.com/news/willard-scott-dead-t152927 |website=Today.com |publisher=[[NBCUniversal]] |access-date=September 4, 2021}}</ref> * [[Sue Simmons]] – anchor/reporter (1976–1980) * [[Jim Vance]] – anchor (1969–2017)<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/jim-vance-washingtons-longest-serving-local-news-anchor-is-dead-at-75/2017/07/22/7869297c-6ee4-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html Jim Vance, Washington's longest-serving local news anchor, is dead at 75] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729200104/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/jim-vance-washingtons-longest-serving-local-news-anchor-is-dead-at-75/2017/07/22/7869297c-6ee4-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html |date=July 29, 2017 }}, [[The Washington Post]], July 22, 2017</ref> * [[Nicole Zaloumis]] – sports anchor/reporter (2004–2005)

==Technical information== ===Subchannels=== <section begin=subs /> {| class="wikitable" |+Subchannels of WRC-TV and WZDC-CD<ref name=rei>{{cite web|title=Digital TV Market Listing for WRC|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WRC#station|website=RabbitEars|access-date=January 26, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216135613/http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WRC#station|archive-date=February 16, 2017}}</ref> ! scope = "col" | License ! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]] ! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]] ! scope = "col" | Short name ! scope = "col" | Programming |- ! rowspan = "4" scope = "row" style="border-right: 4px solid #60B0FF;" | WRC-TV ! scope = "row" | 4.1 | [[1080i]] || WRC-HD || [[NBC]] |- ! scope = "row" | 4.2 | rowspan=3|[[480i]] || COZI || [[Cozi TV]] |- ! scope = "row" | 4.3 | CRIMES || [[NBC True CRMZ]] |- ! scope = "row" | 4.4 | Oxygen || [[Oxygen (TV network)|Oxygen]] |- ! rowspan = "2" scope = "row" style="border-right: 4px solid #0057AF;" | WZDC-CD ! scope = "row" | 44.1 | 1080i || WZDC || [[Telemundo]] |- ! scope = "row" | 44.2 | 480i || XITOS || [[TeleXitos]] |} <section end=subs /> ===Analog-to-digital conversion=== WRC-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, on [[VHF]] channel 4, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition [[UHF]] channel 48,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref> using virtual channel 4.

The station participated in the "[[Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act|Analog Nightlight]]" program, with its analog signal carrying information on the digital transition until analog signal broadcasts were permanently discontinued on June 26, 2009.

Beginning in 1996, WRC-TV's studios were the home of [[WHD-TV]], an experimental [[high-definition television|high definition]] television station owned by a [[consortium]] of industry groups and stations which carried the nation's first program in the format transmitted by a television station, an episode of ''Meet the Press'',<ref>http://www.allbusiness.com/electronics/consumer-household-electronics-high/7693519-1.html {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref> and aired on UHF channel 34 to provide the FCC and the [[National Association of Broadcasters]] a channel to conduct many experiments in the new format.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/03/business/warts-and-wrinkles-can-t-hide-from-high-definition-tv.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 | work=The New York Times | title=Warts and Wrinkles Can't Hide From High-Definition TV | first=Joel | last=Brinkley | date=March 3, 1997 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228133830/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/03/business/warts-and-wrinkles-can-t-hide-from-high-definition-tv.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 | archive-date=December 28, 2016 | df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldradio.com/current/bc_dtv.htm|title=DTV Broadcast History|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211152730/http://www.oldradio.com/current/bc_dtv.htm|archive-date=February 11, 2009}}</ref> WHD-TV was discontinued in late 1999.

==See also== * [[List of three-letter broadcast call signs in the United States]]

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|WRC-TV}} * {{Official website|https://www.nbcwashington.com/}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.nbc4.com/ |title=NBC-4 Washington |access-date=August 23, 2013 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19971210143630/http://www.nbc4.com/ |archive-date=December 10, 1997 }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrc-Tv}} [[Category:1947 establishments in Washington, D.C.]] [[Category:Cozi TV affiliates]] [[Category:NBC affiliates]] [[Category:NBC Owned Television Stations]] [[Category:Oxygen (TV network) affiliates]] [[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1947]] [[Category:Television stations in Washington, D.C.|RC-TV]]