Originally signed on the air as WMCT on December 11, 1948, it was Tennessee's first television station and a primary NBC affiliate owned by The E.W. Scripps Company.
1952–1960
1960–1967
LOGO MISSING
WMC-TV
1967–1990
"Channel 5, proud as a peacock!" (1979–1980)
WMC-TV 5 Brenda Wood ad 1980
"Channel 5, let's all be there!" ID (1984–1985)
Action News 5 at 10 promo (September 9, 1985)
1990–1995
Scripps sold the WMC stations to Atlanta businessman Bert Ellis and his new company Ellis Communications, on July 19, 1993.
On July 23, 2021, coinciding with the start of NBC's coverage of the Tokyo Olympics, WMC reverted to the Action News 5 branding (removing the call letters from the moniker after seven years). The "River 5" logo used since 1995 was retained (albeit placed on a square rounded on the bottom right corner, and the NBC logo placed next the mouth of the "5").
The logo omits the riverboat emblem that had been part of WMC-TV's logo imaging in some form since 1952 (with a minor exception from 1990–95, during which time the riverboat was relegated to on-air station IDs).
1Owned by Branson Visitors TV, Gray holds a 50.1% interest in the company. 2Owned by Schurz Communications, Gray operated KGHZ through an SSA. 3Gray operates this station owned by American Spirit Media. 4Gray operates this station owned by Tegna through an SSA. 5The E.W. Scripps Company operates this station through an SSA. 6Gray operates this station owned by Tougaloo College. 7Joint venture with Ryman Hospitality Properties. 8Gray operates this station owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting through an SSA.