Concurrent with WCVB's sign-on on March 19, 1972, the station began its news operations as "News 5". This branding was used until 1973 when its newscasts were retitled under the current "NewsCenter 5" brand. Since then, WCVB has been known for exceptional news coverage and has consistently been at the top of the news ratings since the early 1980s. Through the next couple decades, the station boasted the most-watched news team of Chet Curtis and Natalie Jacobson who married each other while serving as co-anchors. However, by the late 1990s and early 2000s, the station was in a period of transition as it saw major competition from a resurgent WHDH-TV. At the same time, the station, known for the longevity and stability of its on-air staff, saw the end of its longtime anchor team of Curtis and Jacobson (as well as their marriage, which ended in divorce at the same time). Jacobson continued to anchor at channel 5, while Curtis left for regional cable news channel New England Cable News, which was jointly owned by Hearst until Comcast bought out its stake in the channel in 2009. Jacobson retired from WCVB on July 18, 2007.