Atlanta TV: CBS-TV Changing Affiliates This Summer

This summer, Atlanta's local television landscape will undergo a major shift as CBS moves from Channel 46 to Channel 69 after 31 years.

Atlanta News First (WANF), formerly CBS46, will end its CBS affiliation and become an independent station again on August 15, according to Gray Media, its owner. 

WANF, which was independent before joining CBS in 1994, is a flagship station for Gray, which acquired it in 2021 along with Peachtree TV (WPCH), a CW affiliate.

Channel 69 (WUPA) will take over as Atlanta’s new CBS affiliate, CBS announced.

Gray has invested heavily in WANF, hiring over 40 journalists, expanding its newsroom to more than 120 employees, rebranding it as Atlanta News First, and adding new local newscasts and original programming. The station had struggled with frequent turnover and low ratings under its previous owner, Meredith Corp.

Gray’s CEO, Hilton Howell, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the decision to part with CBS was Gray’s, calling it a positive move for both sides. Gray, the second-largest owner of U.S. broadcast stations behind Nexstar, renewed 52 other CBS affiliations on better terms but did not disclose specifics of the disagreement with CBS. 

Gray owns nearly a quarter of all CBS-affiliated stations, while CBS owns 27 stations across 17 markets.