WBMA

ABC 33/40 is a television station serving as the ABC affiliate for the Birmingham, Alabama, television market. It is broadcast by WBMA-LD, a low-power station, in the immediate Birmingham area, as well as on subchannels of WABM in Birmingham, WDBB in Tuscaloosa, and WGWW in Anniston. ABC 33/40 is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside WABM and WTTO and originates from studios in the Riverchase office park on Concourse Parkway in Hoover. In 1994, a major realignment of television station affiliations was slated to affect Birmingham, with Birmingham's existing ABC affiliate, WBRC, designated to switch to Fox. As a result, ABC needed a new affiliate in the market. A number of stations were available, including in Birmingham itself. The network instead opted to partner with Allbritton Communications to buy WCFT-TV in Tuscaloosa and WJSU-TV in Anniston. Since 1970, these stations had served as CBS affiliates for western and eastern Alabama, respectively. On September 1, 1996, they became the ABC affiliate for the entire Birmingham market, branded ABC 33/40. At the same time, the station opened its Birmingham-area studio in Hoover.