WSMV-TV is an NBC station in Nashville, Tennessee. It can be found on channel 4. Gray Television owns it along with low-power Telemundo station WTNX-LD (channel 15). The two stations share studio space on Knob Road in west Nashville, which is also where WSMV-transmitter TV is.
On May 3, 2021, Gray Television said that it was going to buy the Meredith Local Media division for $2.7 billion. The deal was complete on December 1. So, WSMV joined the family of stations in nearby areas, such as WBKO, an ABC/Fox affiliate in Bowling Green, WVLT-TV, a CBS affiliate in Knoxville, and WMC-TV and WAFF, both NBC affiliates in Memphis and Huntsville.
It also led to Gray buying a station in Circle's main market, which then became the main station for the network. Gray also went with a new design plan. The 4 logo went from being mostly black to mostly white, and the station's name changed from "News 4" to "WSMV 4" right away. After years of falling ratings, the station started a highly customized marketing campaign in 2022, reclaiming the name "Nashville's Station" and telling viewers to "Come on Back."
How subchannels came to be
WSMV-DT2
The second digital subchannel of WSMV-TV that is connected to Ion Mystery is called WSMV-DT2. It is shown in 16:9 widescreen standard definition on channel 4.2.
As Telemundo Nashville
Since Nashville didn't have its own Telemundo affiliate, the subchannel started airing in the summer of 2006 as an affiliate of the Spanish-language TV network Telemundo, which is owned by NBC. The second subchannel was called Telemundo Nashville. On December 31, 2010, the subchannel was turned off.
After that, there was only one Spanish-language TV station in Nashville, WLLC-LP (Channel 42), which was an affiliate of Telefutura (now UniMás). Since then, WLLC-LP has moved UniMás to channel 42.2 and made Univision their main affiliation on channel 42.1. Once the subchannel was turned off, the spectrum could be used for anything other than over-the-air broadcasting.
As The Nashville Network and Heartland
On November 1, 2012, WSMV-DT2 became the lead station of The Nashville Network, which had just been brought back to life. This choice was made because of the history of WSM radio, which used to be the sister station of WSMV and was one of the first people to help start the pay-TV channel TNN in 1983.
The network's name changed to Heartland in October 2013. Heartland's flagship station, WSMV-DT2, stayed on the air, with some of the network's operations still in Nashville and the rest in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the headquarters of Heartland's owner, Luken Communications, are located.
As Escape/Court TV Mystery/Ion Mystery
Heartland was replaced by Escape on November 1, 2016, when the contract between WSMV and Luken Communications to carry Heartland ended. Escape is a TV station for women. Escape also shows movies and crime dramas aimed at women.
Since the switch, all of Escape's code has been deleted by WSMV-DT2. Escape is also available on cable channels 230 and 180 for Comcast Xfinity and Charter Communications, respectively. On September 29, 2019, Court TV Mystery got a new name. The network's name changed again on February 24, 2022. This time, it was called Ion Mystery.
WSMV-DT3
The third digital subchannel of Cozi TV's WSMV-TV, which airs on channel 4.3 in 16:9 widescreen standard definition, is the third digital subchannel of WSMV-TV.
On March 23, 2015, the website TVNewsCheck.com reported that Cozi TV and eight stations owned by Meredith Corp. have agreed to join their multicast channels.
One of the stations on the list was WSMV. The website Rabbitears.info says that WSMV carries Cozi TV on the DT3 subchannel and that it started airing on May 28, 2015.
WSMV-DT4
The fourth digital subchannel of WSMV-TV, called WSMV-DT4, is connected to Court TV and can be seen on channel 4.4 in standard definition 16:9 widescreen.
On May 9, 2019, WSMV agreed to add a fourth subchannel to carry the newly relaunched Court TV.
WSMV-DT5
The fifth digital subchannel of WSMV-TV, which is linked to Circle, is on channel 4.5 and broadcasts in 16:9 widescreen standard definition.
Circle is a multicast network that shows country music and lifestyle shows. It is a joint venture between Gray Television and Opry Entertainment Group. In January 2020, WSMV agreed to broadcast Circle on a fifth subchannel. When Gray bought the station, it became the flagship station for the network. Every Saturday, WSMV and WSM, which used to be its sister station, both broadcast the Grand Ole Opry, which is also shown live on TV by Circle.
WSMV-DT6
The sixth digital subchannel of WSMV-TV, called WSMV-DT6, is connected to getTV and airs on channel 4.6 in 16:9 widescreen standard definition.
In September 2022, WSMV's sixth subchannel went live.
Programming of WSMV
Country Music
Due to the close ties between WSM and Nashville's country music industry, the Knob Road facility and/or its staff have sometimes been used to make network and syndicated shows with Nashville-based artists. In this way, the 1960s and 1970s were especially true. Most, if not all, of these shows, were put together by Show Biz, Inc., a Holiday Inn affiliate in Nashville.
Show Biz, Inc. made the Porter Wagoner Show, That Nashville Music, The Bill Anderson Show, Dolly!, and many other shows that were shown all over the country, especially in the South and the rural Midwest. In the late 1970s, the business closed down because the president, Jane Grams, was named vice president and general manager of WTVC-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Show Biz shows, on the other hand, kept running on some stations until the early 1980s.
Sporting Events
Since 2006, channel 4 has shown all Tennessee Titans games on Sunday Night Football. This is the NFL team that represents the market. As part of NBC's broadcast deal with the NHL, which lasted until 2021, the 2017 Stanley Cup Final between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins was shown on the station.
Even though some broadcasts were shared with WZTV (channel 17) from 1987 to 1990 and WXMT (channel 30, now MyNetworkTV affiliate WUXP) from 1990 on, WSMV-TV was the main station in Nashville for syndicated SEC football and men's basketball games from Jefferson Pilot Sports from 1987 until March 2002.
All of these games were moved to WUXP in 2002 and stayed there until 2009, when Raycom Sports lost the rights to distribute ESPN Regional Television. Before the SEC Network came out in 2014, WUXP ran SEC TV, which was mostly for ESPN Plus.
Delays and Cancellations of Old Programs
In the middle of the 1980s, WSMV stopped showing The Tonight Show to make room for repeats of sitcoms like Three's Company, Alice, Barney Miller, Family Ties, and Rosie. WZTV, which was an independent station in Nashville at the time but now works with Fox, let NBC air the show.
Early in 2006, WSMV made headlines because it was the biggest NBC affiliate in terms of market size that didn't want to show The Book of Daniel after the pilot episode. The show was canceled by NBC after only three episodes because of this and the actions of several smaller affiliates in the Midwest and South, as well as the fact that not many people watched it.
On October 26, 2014, during part of the first half of the Manchester United-Chelsea Premier League game, WSMV accidentally switched from the NBC Kids block to Poppy Cat. People on social media did not like this.