Dialing for Dollars was a television and radio program format that allowed attentive viewers and listeners to win money and prizes if they knew the correct answer to a question posed by the program host.
At WRAL-TV, Dialing for Dollars programming was hosted primarily by Bob DeBardelaben, who went on to fame as the primary weather anchor on the Action News 5 broadcasts.
The Dialing for Dollars game was often conducted during a movie. During periodic commercial breaks, the host would appear to provide the day’s winning information and then make phone calls to random numbers in the region. If the person answering the phone was watching the program and knew the correct answer—the prize was won.
DeBardelaben gained early popularity as the Dialing for Dollars host, appearing in the studio with a telephone and large prize wheel. He hosted the program until 1976, when he moved into WRAL’s weather department full time.
For over 100 years, the American Tobacco factory on Blackwell Street in Durham produced some of the most famous tobacco products in American History, including Lucky Strike and Bull Durham. But in 1987, American Brands closed the factory, ushering in years of decline and decay in downtown Durham.
In 2002, Capitol Broadcasting Company purchased the 16-acre American Tobacco Campus that lay abandoned in downtown Durham. Through work with city officials, CBC began the largest historic renovation project in the state, with the goal of opening one million square feet of office, retail and residential space to help revitalize the Bull City’s downtown.
In 2004, CBC re-opened the old tobacco campus and began a renovation that would change the trajectory of Durham. Capitol Broadcasting would invest over $200 million renovating the factory buildings into a Class A office, entertainment and residential complex recognized nationally as the definitive example of re-purposed and re-developed historic properties.
The redevelopment of American Tobacco would spur other growth in the area, including CBC’s three Diamond View office buildings and the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC).
Small business growth began to take root on Main Street, branching out across the downtown loop to create a restaurant and entertainment district that has been dubbed the Durham Renaissance.
And, underneath the old factory, American Tobacco has become the catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship. The American Underground has helped launch world-class startups including Smashing Boxes, Two Toasters, Adzerk and BoostSuite.
Today, American Tobacco Campus has over one million square feet of office space, nearly 90,000 feet of residential apartments and 10 restaurants with more on the way.
The stations of the Capitol Sports Radio group are home to the play-by-play broadcasts of some of North Carolina’s signature teams, including The Carolina Hurricanes, The Carolina Panthers, Duke University and Appalachian State University. Additionally, CSR stations have the rights to the NFL, NBA, MLB and NCAA Men’s/Women’s basketball tournaments.
Capitol Sports Radio’s first entry into the market came on October 10, 2007 when CBC-owned WCMC-FM became known as “99.9 The Fan.“ It was the first time an FM station in the Raleigh-Durham market had carried the sports-talk format fulltime. On December 1, 2008, WCMC solidified its sports position when it became the market’s ESPN Radio affiliate.
At the outset WCMC transmitted from a relatively short tower in Franklin County—northeast of Raleigh. But in 2010, the FCC granted permission to move WCMC’s city of license to Holly Springs and boost its power to 26,500 watts. This boosted 99.9 The Fan’s audience penetration and coverage of the market.
On November 1st, 2009, Capitol Sports expanded its sports holdings with the launch of “620 The Buzz” on WDNC-AM. Shortly after 620 The Buzz was launched, the division added 1550 Deportes WCLY-AM, which is devoted to sports-talk in Spanish.
Capitol Sports most recent addition came in April 2012 when the sports radio division created “99.9 The Ticket” on WRAL-HD3. This new channel can be heard on HD radios and online via the stream.
As the technology branch of the Capitol Broadcasting Company family, CBC New Media Group is charged with managing WRAL.com, CBC’s digital channel initiatives, and Albright Digital, a digital solutions provider that aids car dealers with Internet marketing, among others. In addition CBC New Media oversees strategic acquisitions and start-up projects for Capitol Broadcasting Company.
The CBC New Media Group was officially launched in 2005. Jimmy Goodmon, who had held a variety of positions with CBC’s television stations, was named general manager. John Conway, hired in November 1995 as managing editor of WRAL OnLine, was named new media director, with primary responsibility for WRAL.com.
The New Media Group soon launched a directory site called Triangle 411, hiring an inside sales team. In December 2005 New Media acquired Charlotte-based Local TechWire, with former CBC manager Rick Smith as its managing editor.
Also in 2005, News Over Wireless was launched to build mobile websites for WRAL and later other media companies. Sam Matheny, who started work at CBC in 1995 with Capitol Networks, became General Manager of the unit.
One of Sam’s first hires at Capitol Networks was John Clark, who went on to hold a variety of editorial and technical roles inside CBC New Media, including web editor, website programmer, technology director and general manager for WRAL.com.
