WMBB (channel 13) is a television station in Panama City, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Harrison Avenue/US 231 in downtown Panama City, and its transmitter is located in unincorporated Youngstown along the Bay–Calhoun county line. History It first began broadcast operations on October 4, 1973, as WDTB started by Panhandle Broadcasting Corporation (run by attorney Denver T. Brannen, from where the original call letters were derived from), financed by local businessman/car dealer Tommy Thomas, and attorneys Julian Bennett and Dick Arnold. When it first took to the air, the station was originally an NBC affiliate. The station was a relatively late start for a VHF frequency; most of the allocations on that band elsewhere in the U.S. had been taken by that point. On February 28, 1977, WDTB was sold to Octagon Broadcasting, an Atlanta-based outfit. Upon the change, Octagon changed the station's call sign to the current WMBB (which stands for "The World's Most Beautiful Beaches"). Originally, the station was positioned to be the NBC affiliate for Tallahassee as well since the market did not have one until April 21, 1983, when WTWC-TV signed on. At the time, WMBB's transmitter was in Frink, Calhoun County, well over away from Tallahassee at approximately . In addition, many viewers in the capital city already received NBC from Albany, Georgia's WALB which provided a better signal to the area. On January 4, 1982, WMBB became an ABC affiliate, swapping affiliations with crosstown rival WJHG, which had been the market's original NBC station prior to 1972. Then on December 5, 1986, Buford Television of Tyler, Texas, purchased the station and began investing in equipment and news talent in order to make the station more competitive, not only with WJHG, but also with Dothan, Alabama's WTVY, the CBS station serving the eastern part of the northwestern Florida Panhandle region. It was also around this time that this station moved from its location in Downtown Panama City to its current location on Harrison Avenue that formerly housed a Buick dealership. The new facilities offered three times the space of the previous location. Unexpectedly at 2:03 p.m. Central Time on May 18, 1989, an Air Force F-15 fighter jet clipped a wire at WMBB's Frink tower. This caused the tower, antenna, and transmitter to be completely destroyed. Not long after this incident, channel