WSST-TV


WSST-TV is a television station licensed to Cordele, Georgia, United States, serving as the MyNetworkTV affiliate for the Albany, Georgia, area. It is owned by Marquee Broadcasting alongside Valdosta-licensed CBS affiliate WSWG ; Marquee also operates Fox affiliate WFXL under joint sales and shared services agreements with Sinclair Broadcast Group. The three stations share offices on Slappey Boulevard in Albany; WSST-TV's transmitter is located in rural southwestern Crisp County.
The station's digital signal extends only about from Cordele; however, the station is carried on many cable providers in the region, including in Albany and Perry. Since April 22, 2019, in order to increase its over-the-air reach, WSST-TV's primary channel has been simulcast on WSWG's third digital subchannel.
WWW Official Site

History

WSST-TV signed on May 22, 1989, as an independent station owned by Sunbelt-South Telecommunications Ltd. The station grew out of a cable-only station for Cordele and Vienna that had started in 1981. Though primarily independent, at various points WSST's schedule has included programming from Channel America, America One, and Youtoo America. WSST was originally jointly owned by William B. Goodson and Phillip A. Streetman; Goodson died in 2006, and Streetman assumed full control in 2007.
On June 18, 2018, Marquee Broadcasting agreed to purchase WSST from Sunbelt-South Telecommunications. The sale was completed on September 3, 2018. Marquee subsequently acquired CBS affiliate WSWG from Gray Television, making it a sister station to WSST. In May 2019, WSST-TV affiliated with MyNetworkTV; the affiliation was transferred from a WSWG subchannel.

Local programming

WSST-TV aired a rebroadcast of sister station WSWG's early evening newscast and a prime time newscast, which launched on May 6, 2019; prior to then, WSST produced its own evening newscast. Until 2022, WSST also produced South Georgia Sunrise, a two-hour morning news and talk program, and Midday, a half-hour talk and lifestyle program.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
ChannelVideoAspectShort nameProgramming
55.1480i4:3WSST DTMyNetworkTV
55.2480i16:9WSST-D2MeTV
55.20480i16:9WSWG-DTCBS
55.4480i16:9WSST-D4Grit
55.5480i16:9WSST-D5Ion Mystery
55.6480i16:9WSST-D6Laff

Analog-to-digital conversion

WSST-TV began broadcasting a digital signal in 2003. Its digital transmitter facilities operated at low power for several years, due to Sunbelt-South Telecommunications, Ltd. being involved in Bankruptcy in the [United States|bankruptcy] proceedings. The station ended regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 55, on April 15, 2009. WSST's digital signal broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 51. The station moved to channel 22 in early 2017, and to channel 34 in late 2018.