WVTM-TV, "NBC13", is the NBC affiliate of the Birmingham/Anniston/Tuscaloosa television market. The station is also one of NBC Universal 14 owned and operated television stations. The station is licesnsed to Birmingham and is the first television station to operate in Alabama, as WAFM in May 1949. The station began originally as an affiliate of ABC and CBS, and it also carried numerous local shows the most famous was Cousin Cliff's. The station also began the state's first all-news department in 1951. The station's calls changed to WABT, which stands for WAlabama's Best Television and was an affiliate of ABC and NBC. In 1958, another changed occured the station again changed call letters to WAPI-TV, name after the radio station WAPI that was owned by Alabma Polytechnical Insitute, now Auburn University in Auburn , WAlabama Polytechnical Institute. In 1980, Times Mirror Broadcasting bought the station from WAPI and changed call letters to the current calls WVTM (We're Vulcan Times Mirror). The station also went through numerous name changes from "13 Action News" to "13 and You", an ode to "NBC and You" to "Alabama's 13, People Who Care" to today's "NBC13, We've Got You Covered". WVTM was purchase by NBC in fall of 1995 from New World Communications, WBRC then owners. The station was one of the 3 station's in the market that didn't swipe affiliation in The Big Switch of '96 mainly because it was a network owned-and-operated affiliate.
