WBMG and WAPI listed their affiliation as "CBS/NBC". One advantage that WBMG had over its rivals was that it was the first television station to be equipped for color broadcasts; at the time the station signed on, it had acquired a color film chain, specialized projection equipment that allowed it to air films and slides in color, although most of the station's cameras consisted of monochrome equipment previously used by WBRC (which channel 42's original chief engineer worked for before being hired by WBMG). By 1970, though, WAPI's owners, the Newhouse family, opted to sign an exclusive affiliation contract with NBC, leaving WBMG to take a full-time CBS affiliation more or less by default; both stations became exclusive affiliates of the respective networks on May 31 of that year. With a poor signal, the lack of television sets with UHF tuning capability and two of the South's oldest and most respected stations as its competitors, WBMG found the going very difficult. Due in part to WBMG's weak signal, CBS opted to affiliate with two other central Alabama stations, WCFT-TV (channel 33, now Heroes & Icons affiliate WSES) in Tuscaloosa and WHMA-TV (channel 40, later WJSU-TV and now Heroes & Icons affiliate WGWW) in Anniston. WCFT signed on ten days after WBMG made its debut (WHMA would not sign on until October 1969), and the signals of both the Tuscaloosa and Anniston stations reached some households in Birmingham proper that had UHF rooftop antennas installed (WCFT and WHMA carried an identical selection of prime time programming from CBS and NBC as WBMG did when all three stations were dual affiliates of the two networks). Furthermore, CBS' decision to cancel many of its rural-oriented sitcoms and variety shows in 1971 – especially the country music showcase Hee Haw, and shows hosted by Sylacauga native Jim Nabors – in order to comply with the Prime Time Access Rule, was a probable cause in hampering WBMG's ability to attract viewers in rural Alabama, where those programs were highly popular among viewers. For example, when Hee Haw returned as a syndicated program in the fall of 1971, it aired on WAPI because that station's longevity and larger audience made it more attractive to the show's producer, Youngestreet Productions. However, many of WBMG's problems were of its own making. For instance, its newscasts were widely perceived as unprofessional. Still, WBMG gained publicity in Central Alabama for