WOAY TV Oak Hill WV

WOAY-TV is the first television station in southern West Virginia, WOAY-TV began operations on December 14, 1954 on channel 4.[3] The station was founded by local businessman Robert R. Thomas, Jr., and operated as a sister to WOAY radio (860 AM and 94.1 FM, now WAXS). The station has always been a primary ABC affiliate, but in its early years maintained a secondary relationship with the DuMont Television Network. It lost DuMont when that network shut down in 1956, but picked up a secondary affiliation with CBS in 1959. This was very unusual for what was then a two-station market, especially one of Bluefield-Beckley-Oak Hill’s size.

Channel 4 became a full ABC affiliate in February 1967 and dropped most of its remaining CBS programs,[4] though it initially continued to air the CBS Evening News for some time afterwards, mainly because the nearest CBS affiliate to the area, WCHS-TV (channel 8) in Charleston, did not carry it. Another CBS series, Captain Kangaroo, was also retained for some time.[5]