the Hattiesburg–Laurel area, WHLT. In 1993, NPG sold several of its stations, including WJTV and WHLT, to the first incarnation of New Vision Television. In turn, New Vision sold its entire stations group to Ellis Communications in 1995. Ellis was folded into Raycom Media the following year after it was bought out by a media group led by the Retirement Systems of Alabama (who bought AFLAC's broadcasting group a few months earlier). In 1997, Raycom bought out Federal Broadcasting, owner of WHLT's rival station, WDAM-TV. Due to the presence of WHLT, this acquisition put Raycom in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) duopoly rules in the Hattiesburg–Laurel market. As a result, Raycom opted to keep the higher-rated WDAM and trade WJTV and WHLT (along with WSAV-TV in Savannah, Georgia that also had to be divested by Raycom due to its ownership of that station's rival WTOC-TV) to Media General in exchange for WTVR-TV in Richmond, Virginia (which had to be divested by Media General due to FCC same-market cross-ownership restrictions). The trade left Raycom without a station in the Jackson market until 2006 when it acquired WLBT as part of its purchase of The Liberty Corporation. Its original digital transmitter was located at its studios on TV Road. After an aborted merger plan with Meredith Corporation, Media General announced on January 27, 2016, that it was being acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting Group with the new company named "Nexstar Media Group". Because WNTZ-TV (owned by Nexstar) is considered part of the Alexandria DMA by the FCC (despite being licensed to Natchez, located in the Jackson market), Nexstar was not forced to sell either WNTZ or WJTV to comply with the ownership rules. The sale was completed on January 17, 2017. WJTV-DT2 WJTV-DT2, branded as Mississippi's CW, is the CW-affiliated second digital subchannel of WJTV, broadcasting in high definition on virtual and VHF digital channel 12.2. On October 1, 2013, WJTV returned programming from The CW to the Jackson market after a five-month absence due to former affiliate WRBJ-TV (channel 34)'s sale to the religious Trinity Broadcasting Network. WJTV placed the network on their second digital subchannel, replacing a still of the station's weather radar. Programming Syndicated programming Syndicated programming on WJTV includes Dr. Phil, Family Feud, and Rachael Ray, among others. Syndicated programming on WJTV-DT2 includes The Doctors, 25 Words or Less, The Wendy Williams Show, Last Man Standing, and Family Guy, among