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{{Infobox_Broadcast |
{{infobox poker player
call_letters = WATL|
|firstname=Phil
city = |
|lastname=Hellmuth
station_logo = [[Image:MyAtlTV.jpg|WATL logo]]|
|nickname=The Poker Brat
station_slogan = Atlanta's Destination Station|
|image=Phil Hellmuth.jpg
station_branding = MyAtlTV|
|caption=Phil Hellmuth at the [[2006 World Series of Poker]]
analog = 36 ([[ultra high frequency|UHF]])|
|hometown=Palo Alto, California
digital = 25 ([[ultra high frequency|UHF]])|
|wsop bracelet count=11
other_chs = |
|wsop money finishes=69
affiliations = [[MyNetworkTV]]|
|wsop main event best finish rank=Winner
network = |
|wsop main event best finish year=1989
founded = |
|multi-year wsop winner
airdate = [[September 13]], [[1954]]<br>(First incarnation)<br> [[September 8]], [[1969]]<br>(Second incarnation)<br> [[July 5]], [[1976]]<br>(Present incarnation)|
|wpt titles= ''None''
location = [[Atlanta, Georgia]]|
|wpt final tables=3(+2)
callsign_meaning = '''ATL'''anta (ATL is also the IATA Airport code for Hartsfield-Atlanta International Airport)|
|wpt money finishes=10
former_callsigns = WQXI-TV (1954-1955)<br> WBMO-TV (1967)<br> WATL-TV (1st incarnation: 1969-1971)<br> WATL-TV (Present incarnation: 1976-1985)|
}}
former_channel_numbers = |
'''Phillip J. Hellmuth, Jr.''' (born July 16, 1964) is an [[United States|American]] professional [[poker]] player. He is best known for holding a record eleven [[World Series of Poker]] bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the [[1989 World Series of Poker]] <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pokerpages.com/poker-news/news/phil-hellmuth-wins-11th-world-series-of-poker-bracelet-29773.htm|title=Record 11th bracelet}}</ref> and for his "poker brat" personality. He is also a member of the [[Poker Hall of Fame]].<ref>[http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/article/9186 Hellmuth, Enright Inducted into Poker Hall of Fame]</ref>
owner = [[Gannett Company]]|
licensee = Pacific and Southern Company, Inc.|
sister_stations = [[WXIA-TV]]|
former_affiliations = [[Independent station (North America)|Independent]] (1954-1955, 1967-1971, 1976-1986, 1994-1995)<br> Silent (1955-1967, 1967-1969, 1971-1976)<br> [[Overmyer Network|ON]] (1967)<br> [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] (1986-1994)<br> [[The WB Television Network|The WB]] (1995-2006)|
effective_radiated_power = 2690 [[kilowatt|kW]] (analog)<br>500 kW (digital)|
HAAT = 313 [[metre|m]] (analog)<br>332 m (digital)|
class = |
facility_id = 22819|
coordinates = {{coord|33|48|26.3|N|84|20|21.5|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=WATL}}|
homepage = [http://www.myatltv.com/ www.myatltv.com/]|}}


'''WATL''' channel 36 is a television station in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], [[United States|USA]] affiliated with [[MyNetworkTV]]. It's owned by the [[Gannett Company]] and is a sister station to [[WXIA-TV]] (channel 11), Atlanta's [[NBC]] affiliate. WATL's callsign refers to '''ATL'''anta, the station's [[city of license]]. Studios and offices are shared with WXIA and are located at One Monroe Place on the north end of Atlanta's Midtown area.
==Poker accomplishments==
===World Series of Poker===
In 1989, the 24-year-old Hellmuth became the youngest player to win the Main Event of the WSOP - a record that still stands as of 2008 - by defeating the two-time defending champion, [[Johnny Chan (poker player)|Johnny Chan]] in [[Glossary of poker terms#H|heads up]] play.
At the [[2006 World Series of Poker]], he captured his record 10th World Series of Poker bracelet in the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em with rebuys event.<ref>[http://poker.about.com/b/a/207552.htm Hellmuth wins 10th bracelet]</ref> At the time, this tied him with fellow poker legends [[Doyle Brunson]] and Johnny Chan. However, unlike Brunson and Chan, all of his bracelets are in [[Texas hold'em]].


==History==
At the [[2007 World Series of Poker]], Hellmuth won his record-breaking 11th bracelet in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Event.<ref>[http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/6914900 Hellmuth wins 11th bracelet]</ref> Hellmuth also holds the records for most WSOP cashes (69)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/ranking/168|title=WSOP cashes}}</ref> and most WSOP final tables (41), recently overtaking [[TJ Cloutier]].
Channel 36 began operation on [[September 13]], [[1954]] as '''WQXI-TV'''. The station, owned by UHF pioneer Robert Rounsaville, was one of about 150 UHF televisions to give the new high-band spectrum a try. The TV station, which had one camera, shared a house in the north Atlanta suburb of Buckhead with WQXI AM 790. The radio station constantly promoted its sister TV station in an effort to build an audience. But UHF converters were rare and programming (largely old movies, a Saturday evening Barn Dance and shots of the radio DJ spinning records) was nearly unwatchable. The station signed off after less than nine months on the air on [[1955|March 13, 1955]].


Channel 36 would remain dark until the station was relaunched on [[1969|September 8, 1969]] as '''WATL-TV''', under the ownership of [[U.S. Communications]], a broadcaster owned by [[Daniel H. Overmyer]]. Overmyer planned on signing on the station a few years earlier as '''WBMO-TV''' as one of the owned and operated stations of the new ''[[Overmyer Network]]'', which folded after a month on the air in [[1967]]. This incarnation of WATL lasted only until [[1971|March 10, 1971]] and channel 36 went dark again. For about a week before it signed off, the station ran :30 second announcements with a photograph of its studios on an [[art card]], announcing that it would soon cease operations, ending with the words "Thank You" on screen. WATL offered Japanese cartoons dubbed into English including ''[[Speed Racer]]'', ''[[Marine Boy]]'', ''[[King Kong]]'' and ''[[Space Giants]]''.
At the Main Event of the [[2008 World Series of Poker]] Hellmuth made a deep run finishing in 45th place out of a field of 6,844. He was the last former champion standing at the event when he was knocked out by Andrew Rosskamm. Hellmuth took home $154,400.


In a newspaper article reporting on the station's demise, it was reported that US Communications spent $1 million on programming the first year, including ''[[Lost in Space]]'' and a block of dinnertime game shows. Ted Turner's WTCG, which had been operating a bit longer, "didn't spend a million dollars on anything" and survived. WATL was also the first station in the country to run music videos all weekend, on a show called ''[[The Now Explosion]]''. Turner's first move after acquiring WTCG, the UHF station that would serve as the foundation of his media empire, was to steal ''The Now Explosion'' from WATL.
Hellmuth has won $5,859,080 at the WSOP and is ranked 6th on the WSOP All Time Money List.<ref>[http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/ranking/125 WSOP All Time Money List]</ref>


On [[July 5]], [[1976]], Don Kennedy of ''The Popeye Club'' (a long running Atlanta kids TV show on [[WSB-TV]]) returned channel 36 to the air for good. '''WATL-TV''' had a general entertainment format typical of non-network stations, such as public domain movies, financial news, low-budget local shows, [[television syndication|syndicated]] reruns and cartoons and a blend of [[CBS]], [[NBC]] and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] shows pre-empted from [[WAGA-TV]] (channel 5), WSB-TV (channel 2) and WXIA-TV, respectively. In a common practice among independent stations at the time, the station aired [[subscription television]] in the early evening from the late 1970s to about 1981.
====World Series of Poker bracelets<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=117|title=Hellmuth poker victories}}</ref>====
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Tournament
!Prize (US$)
|-
|[[1989 World Series of Poker|1989]]
|$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship
|$755,000
|-
|[[1992 World Series of Poker|1992]]
|$5,000 Limit Hold'em
|$168,000
|-
|[[1993 World Series of Poker|1993]]
|$1,500 No Limit Hold'em
|$161,400
|-
|1993
|$2,500 No Limit Hold'em
|$173,000
|-
|1993
|$5,000 Limit Hold'em
|$138,000
|-
|[[1997 World Series of Poker|1997]]
|$3,000 Pot Limit Hold'em
|$204,000
|-
|[[2001 World Series of Poker|2001]]
|$2,000 No Limit Hold'em
|$316,550
|-
|[[2003 World Series of Poker|2003]]
|$2,500 Limit Hold'em
|$171,400
|-
|2003
|$3,000 No Limit Hold'em
|$410,860
|-
|[[2006 World Series of Poker|2006]]
|$1,000 No Limit Hold'em with rebuys
|$631,863
|-
|[[2007 World Series of Poker|2007]]
|$1,500 No Limit Hold'em
|$637,254
|}


ATL Acquisitions Group bought the station in the early 1980s. The subscription TV format moved to new sign-on WVEU (channel 69, now [[WUPA]]) in 1982. At that time, most daytime programming now came from the Financial News Network (now part of [[CNBC]]). In 1984, the station was sold again, this time to [[The Outlet Company|Outlet Communications]]. By that time, WATL was a general entertainment independent once again. WATL became one of the charter affiliates of the newly-launched [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] in October 1986.
===World Poker Tour===
Hellmuth has not won a [[World Poker Tour]] (WPT) tournament. He has cashed 10 times and made 3 final tables. He finished 4th in the $3,000 No Limit Hold'em WPT Event at the 3rd Annual 49'er Gold Rush Bonanza in 2002 and 3rd in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em WPT Event at the World Poker Finals at [[Foxwoods Resort Casino|Foxwoods]] in 2003 and at the 2008 WPT L.A. Poker Classic Hellmuth finished in sixth place earning $229,480 in a final table that included both [[Phil Ivey]] and [[Nam Le]]. He also played in two WPT Invitational Events, the World Poker Tour by The Book in 2004 and the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II in 2006 and finished 3rd both times.<ref name="hdb">[http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=117 Hendon Mob Tournament Results]</ref>


The musical chairs of ownership continued in 1989, as Outlet sold WATL (along with [[WXIN (TV)|WXIN]] in [[Indianapolis]]) to Chase Broadcasting. In 1992, WATL and WXIN were included in Chase's merger with Renaissance Broadcasting. Less than a year later, WATL (along with new sister station [[KDVR]] in [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]]) was sold to Fox outright and channel 36 became a Fox owned-and-operated station. Fox was in the planning stages for a news operation at the station, and WATL had even gone as far as hiring a news director. However, on [[May 22]], [[1994]], [[New World Communications]] announced an affiliation agreement with Fox, months after the network won the broadcast rights to the [[National Football Conference]] of the [[National Football League]]. In this deal, most of New World's stations, including WAGA, would switch over to the Fox network. As a result, Fox cancelled the plans for a newscast on WATL and put the station up for sale.
To date, Hellmuth has won $814,869 in WPT tournaments.


Finding itself about to lose Fox programming, WATL was then approached with an affiliation offer from CBS, which was losing WAGA as an affiliate. However WATL was not interested. At that point, it almost seemed likely that WATL would join the soon-to-launch [[UPN|United Paramount Network]] in early 1995. Rival station WGNX (channel 46, now [[WGCL-TV]]), then owned by [[Tribune Broadcasting]] was already slated to join [[the WB Television Network]] and had also turned CBS down, forcing CBS to make a deal to buy WVEU. Eventually, however, Tribune agreed to let WGNX join CBS, and WVEU became the UPN affiliate.
===Other tournaments===
Hellmuth is the season 3 champion of [[Late Night Poker]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://poker.gamble.co.uk/tv-media/late-night-poker-winners.asp|title=Late Night Poker winners}}</ref>


Fox programming moved from WATL to WAGA on [[December 10]], [[1994]]. Not long after that, Fox subsequently sold the station to [[Qwest Broadcasting]], a company partially owned by legendary musician [[Quincy Jones]] and Tribune Broadcasting. (Fox would not be without an owned-and-operated station in Atlanta for long, as they bought out New World in late 1996.) Although it lost the Fox affiliation, WATL kept the ''[[Fox Kids]]'' programming, because WAGA was not interested in it. The station also affiliated with the WB in January 1995. (Since the sale to Qwest Broadcasting would not be finalized until [[December 14]] [[1995]], WATL became a WB affiliate owned by Fox, a condition which lasted nearly a year.) WATL continued to air ''Fox Kids'' until 2003, when it moved to WHOT (channel 34, now [[WUVG]]). In 1999, Tribune sold WGNX to the [[Meredith Corporation]] and purchased WATL outright in February 2000. Because Tribune owned a stake in the WB, WATL could have been considered to be a WB owned-and-operated station.
In 2005, Hellmuth won the first [[National Heads-Up Poker Championship]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pokerpages.com/tournament/result11700.htm|title=Hellmuth wins NHUPC}}</ref>. He defeated [[Men Nguyen]], [[Paul Phillips]], [[Huck Seed]], [[Lyle Berman]] and [[Antonio Esfandiari]] on the way to the final against [[Chris Ferguson]] whom he defeated in two out of three games. While trying to repeat in 2006, he lost in the first round to [[Chip Reese]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vegastexasholdem.net/LargeEvents/2006CaesarsHeadsUp.htm|title=Hellmuth can't defend}}</ref>. In 2007, Hellmuth did not play due to the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker, a British tournament in which he took part. He won 4 out of his 6 group matches and eventually finished 3rd in the finals. Hellmuth took part in the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philhellmuth.com/bio.html|title=Hellmuth schedule}}</ref>, losing in the first round to [[Tom Dwan]].


On [[January 24]], [[2006]], [[CBS Corporation]] (which split from Viacom at the end of 2005) and [[Warner Bros.]] Entertainment (the Time Warner division that operates the WB) announced plans to dissolve WB and UPN, combining them to launch the [[CW Television Network]] in September 2006. As part of this joint venture, it was announced that CBS-owned WUPA will become the CW's Atlanta affiliate. It would not have been an upset had WATL been chosen instead, however. CW officials were on record as preferring the "strongest" WB and UPN stations, and Atlanta was one of the few markets where the WB and UPN stations were both relatively strong.
He makes regular appearances on episodes of [[Poker After Dark]], both as a player and as a drop in commentator. Hellmuth won his first Poker After Dark tournament in the first episode of the third season, winning a net $100,000. Hellmuth returned two weeks later and claimed his second Poker After Dark title, winning another net of $100,000.<ref name="hdb"/> He also appeared in the first and fourth seasons of [[GSN]]'s [[Ring game|cash game]] show, [[High Stakes Poker]]<ref>[http://www.gsn.com/corporate/press.php?release_id=162 ‘High Stakes Poker’ Featuring a $100,000 MINIMUM Buy-In PREMIERES ON GSN]</ref>.


WATL was originally slated to revert to independent status, but on [[May 15]], [[2006]], Tribune announced that WATL would be joining [[MyNetworkTV]], which was formed by [[Fox Television Stations Group|Fox Television Stations]] and its syndication division, [[Twentieth Television]].
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,600,000.<ref name="hdb"/> He is ranked 4th on the All Time Money List, behind [[Jamie Gold]], [[Daniel Negreanu]] and [[Joe Hachem]].<ref>[http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/ranking/1]</ref>


On [[June 5]], 2006, Tribune announced that they would sell WATL to the [[Gannett Company]], the owners of Atlanta's NBC affiliate WXIA-TV, for $180 million. The sale was completed on [[August 7]], 2006, giving Gannett the first television duopoly in Atlanta. ([http://www.gannett.com/news/pressrelease/2006/pr080706.htm]) Like most duopolies consisting of a "Big Four" affiliate and a minor network affiliate, WATL may take up responsibility as an alternate NBC affiliate by airing programs when WXIA cannot such as in a news-related emergency.
===Poker-related activities===
Hellmuth has made several instructional poker videos, including his ''Ultimate White To Black Belt Course'' and ''Phil Hellmuth's Million Dollar Poker Secrets.'' He has written many articles for Cardplayer magazine and several poker books including ''Play Poker like the Pros'', ''Bad Beats and Lucky Draws'', ''The Greatest Poker Hands ever Played'', and ''Poker Brat'', which contains autobiographical material as well as poker advice. In May 2004 Phil Helmuth partnered with [[Oasys Mobile]] for the release of ''Texas Hold'em by Phil Hellmuth.'' At the time it was one of the ten most popular multi-player mobile phone games available.<ref>[http://www.wirelessdevnet.com/news/2006/jul/26/news6.html Wireless Developer Network<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In spring 2006, Hellmuth replaced [[Phil Gordon]] as commentator on Bravo's [[Celebrity Poker Showdown]].<ref>[http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/poker/news/story?id=2380357 Hellmuth replaces Gordon on Bravo]</ref>


Channel 36 introduced its new on-air branding, ''MyAtlTV'' on [[August 20]], 2006, ahead of the [[September 5]] debut of My Network TV (and about a month before the WB's final night on the air). Along with the new network, WATL now airs a WXIA-produced 10 p.m. weeknight newscast, titled ''11Alive News at 10'' (formerly ''My 11Alive News at 10'').
Along with [[Annie Duke]], Hellmuth is a poker coach on Fox Sports Network’s [[Best Damn Poker Show]], which is sponsored by the poker site [[Ultimatebet.net]].


Prior to the acquisition by Gannett, WATL's studios were located at One Monroe Place. When the station was acquired, WXIA management decided to move WXIA to the Monroe Place studios. During construction, WATL's studios were located with WXIA at 1611 West Peachtree Street, behind competeor [[WSB-TV]]
==Personality and controversy==
[[Image:Phil Hellmuth 2.jpg|thumb|left|Phil Hellmuth at the [[2006 World Series of Poker]].]]
Hellmuth is known for making scathing remarks about his opponents’ skills, especially after taking [[bad beat]]s.<ref>[http://www.imaconlinepoker.com/bios/phil-hellmuth/ Phil Hellmuth Jr. Biography]</ref> During the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker he stated "I can dodge bullets, baby!" after laying down Ace King to an opponent's pocket Aces on a board of A 4 4 Q rainbow. He later accused Jim Pitman of not even being able to spell poker after Pitman put all of his money in the pot preflop with King Jack against Hellmuth's Ace King; Hellmuth's opponent hit a [[Out (poker)|three-outer]] to win the pot.<ref>[http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-players/phil-hellmuth/phil-hellmuth-quotes-rants-raves-and-famous-crybaby-moments.htm PHIL HELLMUTH Quotes, Rants, Raves and Famous Crybaby Moments!]</ref> Other famous quotes include: "If luck weren't involved, I guess I'd win every [tournament]," and "I've revolutionized the way to play Texas hold 'em."<ref>[http://www.imaconlinepoker.com/bios/phil-hellmuth/ Phil Hellmuth Jr. Biography]</ref>


== Digital Television ==
In the first week of the show ''[[Poker After Dark]]'' on NBC, after fellow pros [[Shawn Sheikhan]], [[Steve Zolotow]], [[Gus Hansen]] and [[Huck Seed]] refused to stop talking while it was his turn to act on his hand after [[Annie Duke]] raised him, Hellmuth threatened to never play in these tournaments again. Duke was the only player at the table who remained quiet while the drama played out. Producers of the show came up with a ruling regarding the situation, Hellmuth returned and was eliminated a few hands later by Sheikhan.<ref>[http://www.philhellmuth.com/articles.html?id=122 Phil Hellmuth's Blog]</ref>


After the [[DTV transition|analog television shutdown and digital conversion]], scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009 <ref name="Analog to Digital">http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf</ref>, WATL will continue digital broadcasts on channel 25<ref name="FCCForm387">[http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101232001&formid=387&fac_num=22819 CDBS Print<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> using [[Program and System Information Protocol|PSIP]] to display WATL's [[virtual channel]] as 36.
Hellmuth's sponsor, [[UltimateBet]], arranged for him to arrive at the 2007 WSOP Main Event in an Ultimatebet race car, escorted by 11 Ultimatebet models (one for each of Hellmuth's 11 World Series of Poker bracelets). However, Hellmuth crashed the race car in the [[Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino]] parking lot when he lost control of the vehicle and hit a concrete light fixture. After the accident, Hellmuth showed up in a limo, met his escorts, and made his grand entrance to the Main Event two hours late.<ref>[http://www.pokernews.com/news/2007/7/wsop-updates-event-55-1d-Josh-Evans-leads-fourth-opening-day.htm WSOP Updates, $10,000 Main Event, Day 1d]</ref>The accident was briefly, by some sources, thought to be staged, but Hellmuth said it wasn't.<ref>[http://www.gambling911.com/Phil-Hellmuth-Car-Crash-071407.html Phil Hellmuth Car Crash Raises More Questions Than Answers]</ref> He later made light of the accident in a television advertisement for Ultimatebet. In 2008, Hellmuth again made a grand entrance into the WSOP Main Event. As a promotion to the UB Army, Hellmuth arrived in a convoy dressed in military garb.


==Personal life==
==Station timeline==
*'''September 1954:''' channel 36 signs on as WQXI-TV
Hellmuth was born in [[Madison, Wisconsin]], and attended the [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]] for three years before dropping out to play poker full-time. He currently resides in [[Palo Alto, California]] with his wife Katherine Sanborn and two sons, Phillip and Nicholas.<ref>[http://www.philhellmuth.com/bio.html Phil Hellmuth Biography]</ref>
*'''1955:''' WQXI-TV signs off
*'''1969:''' channel 36 returns to the air, for the second time, as WATL-TV
*'''1971:''' WATL-TV signs off {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
*'''July 1976:''' channel 36 is reactivated, for the third time, retaining the WATL call letters
*'''October 1986:''' becomes a charter [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] network station, later adopted the branding ''"Fox 36"''
*'''December 1994:''' reverted back to independent status as ''"WATL 36"'' after WAGA-TV (channel 5) became Fox's new Atlanta affiliate
*'''January 1995:''' becomes a [[The WB Television Network|WB]] affiliate as ''"WB 36"''
*'''2004:''' adopts the branding ''"WATL, Atlanta's WB"''
*'''May 2006:''' WATL is announced as an affiliate of [[MyNetworkTV]]
*'''June 2006:''' WATL debuted [[The Tube (TV channel)|The Tube]] on its second digital subchannel (36.2)
*'''August 2006:''' Sale of WATL from Tribune to Gannett, announced in June is completed; adopts the branding "MyAtlTV"
*'''September 2006:''' WATL drops its WB affiliation and becomes a MyNetworkTV affiliate; sister station WXIA-TV begins producing a 10 p.m. newscast


==Transmission tower==
Hellmuth's wife played in the Ladies' Event of the [[2005 World Series of Poker]], where she was eliminated by eventual champion [[Jennifer Tilly]].
It is on the same [[tower]], north of [[Druid Hills]], with:
*[[WUVM-LP]] (4)
*[[W24AL]] (24)
*[[WUVG-TV]] (digital 48 only)
*[[WPCH-TV]] (digital 20, analog backup 17).


The tower also contains construction permits for:
== References ==
*[[WIRE-CA]] (40)
{{reflist}}


[[FM]] stations on the same tower are: [[WWWQ]] (99.7, newly moved from the [[WPCH-TV]] main analog tower), [[WKHX-FM]] (101.5) and permits for [[WRFG-FM|WRFG]] (89.3) and as well as an application for a [[broadcast translator]] from [[Immanuel Broadcasing Network]] on 101.9.
==External links==
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* [http://www.philhellmuth.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.cardplayer.com/magazine/author/18 Articles by Hellmuth] from the ''[[Card Player (magazine)|Card Player]]'' magazine website
* [http://www.worldpokertour.com/players/?x=profile&id=2352 Profile] from the [[World Poker Tour]]
* [http://www.pokerpages.com/articles/profiles/philhellmuth.htm PokerPages.com profile]
* [http://www.poker-babes.com/bio/phil-hellmuth/ Poker-Babes.com profile]
* [http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=117 Tournament results] from [[The Hendon Mob]]


Another tower about 120 meters (400 ft) to the west holds the existing [[WGCL-TV]] (46/19), [[WLTM-FM]] (94.9), and [[WKLS-FM]] (96.1), and applications for translators on 89.7 and 88.9 from [[WAY-FM Media Group]].
{{World Series of Poker Winners}}

{{Late Night Poker Winners}}
==Trivia==
{{National Heads-Up Poker Championship Winners}}
{{trivia|date=December 2007}}
*WATL is one of a handful of stations to have been affiliated with both News Corporation-owned networks, Fox and MyNetworkTV.

*Channel 36 signed on as WQXI-TV in 1954. The callsign was used on channel 11 from 1968 to 1974. Today, channels 11 and 36 are owned by the same company, Gannett.

==External links==
*[http://www.myatltv.com/ WATL website]
*[http://www.11alive.com/ WXIA-TV Website]
*[http://www.mynetworktv.com/ My Network TV]
*{{TVQ|WATL}}
*{{BIA|WATL|TV|TV}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellmuth, Phil}}
[[Category:American poker players]]
[[Category:Poker commentators]]
[[Category:American gambling writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:People from Madison, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:People from the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:World Series of Poker bracelet winners]]
[[Category:World Series of Poker Main Event winners]]


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[[Category:Gannett TV]]
[[Category:Channel 36 TV stations in the United States]]
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[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1954]]
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Revision as of 13:26, 11 October 2008

{{Infobox broadcast}} may refer to:

{{Template disambiguation}} should never be transcluded in the main namespace.

WATL channel 36 is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, USA affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It's owned by the Gannett Company and is a sister station to WXIA-TV (channel 11), Atlanta's NBC affiliate. WATL's callsign refers to ATLanta, the station's city of license. Studios and offices are shared with WXIA and are located at One Monroe Place on the north end of Atlanta's Midtown area.

History

Channel 36 began operation on September 13, 1954 as WQXI-TV. The station, owned by UHF pioneer Robert Rounsaville, was one of about 150 UHF televisions to give the new high-band spectrum a try. The TV station, which had one camera, shared a house in the north Atlanta suburb of Buckhead with WQXI AM 790. The radio station constantly promoted its sister TV station in an effort to build an audience. But UHF converters were rare and programming (largely old movies, a Saturday evening Barn Dance and shots of the radio DJ spinning records) was nearly unwatchable. The station signed off after less than nine months on the air on March 13, 1955.

Channel 36 would remain dark until the station was relaunched on September 8, 1969 as WATL-TV, under the ownership of U.S. Communications, a broadcaster owned by Daniel H. Overmyer. Overmyer planned on signing on the station a few years earlier as WBMO-TV as one of the owned and operated stations of the new Overmyer Network, which folded after a month on the air in 1967. This incarnation of WATL lasted only until March 10, 1971 and channel 36 went dark again. For about a week before it signed off, the station ran :30 second announcements with a photograph of its studios on an art card, announcing that it would soon cease operations, ending with the words "Thank You" on screen. WATL offered Japanese cartoons dubbed into English including Speed Racer, Marine Boy, King Kong and Space Giants.

In a newspaper article reporting on the station's demise, it was reported that US Communications spent $1 million on programming the first year, including Lost in Space and a block of dinnertime game shows. Ted Turner's WTCG, which had been operating a bit longer, "didn't spend a million dollars on anything" and survived. WATL was also the first station in the country to run music videos all weekend, on a show called The Now Explosion. Turner's first move after acquiring WTCG, the UHF station that would serve as the foundation of his media empire, was to steal The Now Explosion from WATL.

On July 5, 1976, Don Kennedy of The Popeye Club (a long running Atlanta kids TV show on WSB-TV) returned channel 36 to the air for good. WATL-TV had a general entertainment format typical of non-network stations, such as public domain movies, financial news, low-budget local shows, syndicated reruns and cartoons and a blend of CBS, NBC and ABC shows pre-empted from WAGA-TV (channel 5), WSB-TV (channel 2) and WXIA-TV, respectively. In a common practice among independent stations at the time, the station aired subscription television in the early evening from the late 1970s to about 1981.

ATL Acquisitions Group bought the station in the early 1980s. The subscription TV format moved to new sign-on WVEU (channel 69, now WUPA) in 1982. At that time, most daytime programming now came from the Financial News Network (now part of CNBC). In 1984, the station was sold again, this time to Outlet Communications. By that time, WATL was a general entertainment independent once again. WATL became one of the charter affiliates of the newly-launched Fox Broadcasting Company in October 1986.

The musical chairs of ownership continued in 1989, as Outlet sold WATL (along with WXIN in Indianapolis) to Chase Broadcasting. In 1992, WATL and WXIN were included in Chase's merger with Renaissance Broadcasting. Less than a year later, WATL (along with new sister station KDVR in Denver) was sold to Fox outright and channel 36 became a Fox owned-and-operated station. Fox was in the planning stages for a news operation at the station, and WATL had even gone as far as hiring a news director. However, on May 22, 1994, New World Communications announced an affiliation agreement with Fox, months after the network won the broadcast rights to the National Football Conference of the National Football League. In this deal, most of New World's stations, including WAGA, would switch over to the Fox network. As a result, Fox cancelled the plans for a newscast on WATL and put the station up for sale.

Finding itself about to lose Fox programming, WATL was then approached with an affiliation offer from CBS, which was losing WAGA as an affiliate. However WATL was not interested. At that point, it almost seemed likely that WATL would join the soon-to-launch United Paramount Network in early 1995. Rival station WGNX (channel 46, now WGCL-TV), then owned by Tribune Broadcasting was already slated to join the WB Television Network and had also turned CBS down, forcing CBS to make a deal to buy WVEU. Eventually, however, Tribune agreed to let WGNX join CBS, and WVEU became the UPN affiliate.

Fox programming moved from WATL to WAGA on December 10, 1994. Not long after that, Fox subsequently sold the station to Qwest Broadcasting, a company partially owned by legendary musician Quincy Jones and Tribune Broadcasting. (Fox would not be without an owned-and-operated station in Atlanta for long, as they bought out New World in late 1996.) Although it lost the Fox affiliation, WATL kept the Fox Kids programming, because WAGA was not interested in it. The station also affiliated with the WB in January 1995. (Since the sale to Qwest Broadcasting would not be finalized until December 14 1995, WATL became a WB affiliate owned by Fox, a condition which lasted nearly a year.) WATL continued to air Fox Kids until 2003, when it moved to WHOT (channel 34, now WUVG). In 1999, Tribune sold WGNX to the Meredith Corporation and purchased WATL outright in February 2000. Because Tribune owned a stake in the WB, WATL could have been considered to be a WB owned-and-operated station.

On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation (which split from Viacom at the end of 2005) and Warner Bros. Entertainment (the Time Warner division that operates the WB) announced plans to dissolve WB and UPN, combining them to launch the CW Television Network in September 2006. As part of this joint venture, it was announced that CBS-owned WUPA will become the CW's Atlanta affiliate. It would not have been an upset had WATL been chosen instead, however. CW officials were on record as preferring the "strongest" WB and UPN stations, and Atlanta was one of the few markets where the WB and UPN stations were both relatively strong.

WATL was originally slated to revert to independent status, but on May 15, 2006, Tribune announced that WATL would be joining MyNetworkTV, which was formed by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division, Twentieth Television.

On June 5, 2006, Tribune announced that they would sell WATL to the Gannett Company, the owners of Atlanta's NBC affiliate WXIA-TV, for $180 million. The sale was completed on August 7, 2006, giving Gannett the first television duopoly in Atlanta. ([1]) Like most duopolies consisting of a "Big Four" affiliate and a minor network affiliate, WATL may take up responsibility as an alternate NBC affiliate by airing programs when WXIA cannot such as in a news-related emergency.

Channel 36 introduced its new on-air branding, MyAtlTV on August 20, 2006, ahead of the September 5 debut of My Network TV (and about a month before the WB's final night on the air). Along with the new network, WATL now airs a WXIA-produced 10 p.m. weeknight newscast, titled 11Alive News at 10 (formerly My 11Alive News at 10).

Prior to the acquisition by Gannett, WATL's studios were located at One Monroe Place. When the station was acquired, WXIA management decided to move WXIA to the Monroe Place studios. During construction, WATL's studios were located with WXIA at 1611 West Peachtree Street, behind competeor WSB-TV

Digital Television

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009 [1], WATL will continue digital broadcasts on channel 25[2] using PSIP to display WATL's virtual channel as 36.

Station timeline

  • September 1954: channel 36 signs on as WQXI-TV
  • 1955: WQXI-TV signs off
  • 1969: channel 36 returns to the air, for the second time, as WATL-TV
  • 1971: WATL-TV signs off [citation needed]
  • July 1976: channel 36 is reactivated, for the third time, retaining the WATL call letters
  • October 1986: becomes a charter Fox network station, later adopted the branding "Fox 36"
  • December 1994: reverted back to independent status as "WATL 36" after WAGA-TV (channel 5) became Fox's new Atlanta affiliate
  • January 1995: becomes a WB affiliate as "WB 36"
  • 2004: adopts the branding "WATL, Atlanta's WB"
  • May 2006: WATL is announced as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV
  • June 2006: WATL debuted The Tube on its second digital subchannel (36.2)
  • August 2006: Sale of WATL from Tribune to Gannett, announced in June is completed; adopts the branding "MyAtlTV"
  • September 2006: WATL drops its WB affiliation and becomes a MyNetworkTV affiliate; sister station WXIA-TV begins producing a 10 p.m. newscast

Transmission tower

It is on the same tower, north of Druid Hills, with:

The tower also contains construction permits for:

FM stations on the same tower are: WWWQ (99.7, newly moved from the WPCH-TV main analog tower), WKHX-FM (101.5) and permits for WRFG (89.3) and as well as an application for a broadcast translator from Immanuel Broadcasing Network on 101.9.

Another tower about 120 meters (400 ft) to the west holds the existing WGCL-TV (46/19), WLTM-FM (94.9), and WKLS-FM (96.1), and applications for translators on 89.7 and 88.9 from WAY-FM Media Group.

Trivia

  • WATL is one of a handful of stations to have been affiliated with both News Corporation-owned networks, Fox and MyNetworkTV.
  • Channel 36 signed on as WQXI-TV in 1954. The callsign was used on channel 11 from 1968 to 1974. Today, channels 11 and 36 are owned by the same company, Gannett.

External links


  1. ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
  2. ^ CDBS Print
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