For more than 30 years, Gene Cox has supplied viewers with late-night news from behind the anchor desk. As of today, Cox will no longer be part of WWBT’s top-rated 11 p.m. newscast with longtime partner Sabrina Squire, but he will remain as co-anchor with Squire for the 5 and 6 p.m. broadcasts on the local NBC affiliate and solo on the CW’s 6:30 p.m. broadcast.

Longtime co-anchor will continue in that role with Sabrina Squire at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., and solo on the 6:30 p.m. CW broadcast.

Viewers who have struggled to receive WWBT’s signal since the switch to digital conversion last month should be seeing things more clearly today.

WTVR: (804) 254-3600
  WWBT/WUPV: (804) 230-1212
  WRIC: (804) 330-8888
  WRLH: (804) 358-3535
On its Web site, WWBT suggests that if re-scanning, calling the station and other tips from the station fail, a home visit may be necessary. Call (888) CALL-FCC or go to http://www.dtv.gov.

Years in the making and days into the doing, television’s conversion to a digital transmission system is baffling many local viewers. One of the toughest transitions is occurring at NBC affiliate WWBT, where Vice President and General Manager Don Richards and staff members worked until midnight Saturday fielding calls from viewers. “It’s been a team effort,“ he said.

By now, either you have a TV picture or you don’t. The federally mandated conversion from analog to digital television was completed at all but one Richmond station by yesterday morning. The local CBS affiliate, WTVR, was scheduled to switch at 11:59 last night. Early risers yesterday might have noticed some issues with NBC 12 (WWBT), which flipped at 4 a.m. Technical glitches with the digital transmission affected satellite TV customers and some over-the-air viewers.

If you turn on your television and can’t receive your usual overthe-air signals, it means that you didn’t properly prepare for today’s national transition from analog to digital broadcast TV. The digital transition, scheduled since 2006 and postponed by the government from February until today, affects viewers who don’t have cable, fiber optics, a satellite dish or a television set with an internal digital tuner.

The four Richmond TV stations switching to digital today plan to have their offices staffed through the weekend to assist viewers. WUPV, the local CW affiliate, is pooling resources and personnel with WWBT and sharing the WWBT phone number. Local Fox affiliate WRLH already made the change in February but will have someone available during regular business hours to address digital-transition questions.

A Virginia Commonwealth University student will be among the contestants on tonight’s series premier of “The Chopping Block,“ a cooking competition series on NBC at 8 p.m. Denise Nguyen, a senior at VCU, is paired with her cousin Khoa Nguyen of Washington, as they compete against seven other couples for a grand prize of $250,000 to open their own restaurant.