Network affiliate
Encyclopedia
In the broadcasting
industry (especially in North America
), a network affiliate (or affiliated station) is a local broadcaster which carries some or all of the television program
or radio program line-up of a television
or radio network
, but is owned by a company other than the owner of the network. This distinguishes such a television station
or radio station
from an owned-and-operated station
(O&O), which is owned by its parent network.
Notwithstanding this distinction, it is common in informal speech (even for networks or O&Os themselves) to refer to any station, O&O or otherwise, that carries a particular network's programming as an affiliate, or to refer to the status of carrying such programming in a given market as "affiliation".
, Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulations limit the number of network-owned stations as a percentage of total market size. As such, networks tend to have O&Os only in the largest media market
s (e.g. New York City
and Los Angeles
), and rely on affiliates to carry their programming in other markets. However, even the largest markets may have network affiliates in lieu of O&Os. For instance, Tribune Broadcasting
's WPIX
serves as the New York City affiliate for the CW Television Network, which does not have an O&O in that market. On the other hand, several other TV stations in the same market — WABC
(ABC
), WCBS
(CBS
), WNBC
(NBC
), WNJU
(Telemundo
), WNYW
(Fox
), WWOR-TV
(MyNetworkTV
), WPXN
(ION), WXTV (Univision
) and WFUT (TeleFutura
) — are O&Os.
In Canada
, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has significantly more lenient rules regarding media ownership. As such, most television stations, regardless of market size, are now O&Os of their respective networks, with only a few true affiliates remaining. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
originally relied on a large number of privately-owned affiliates to disseminate its radio and television programming. However, since the 1960s, most of the CBC Television
affiliates have been replaced by network owned and operated stations or retransmitters. CBC Radio
stations are now entirely O&O.
While network-owned stations will normally carry the full broadcast programming schedule of the originating network, an affiliate is independently-owned and typically under no obligation to do so. Affiliated stations often buy supplementary programming from another source, such as a broadcast syndication service or another television network which does not have coverage in the station's broadcast area. Some affiliates may air such programs instead of those from their primary network affiliation; a common example of this was the popular Star Trek: The Next Generation
(1987-1994).
(PBS) public television and National Public Radio (NPR), have been founded on a principle which effectively reverses the commercial broadcasting
owned-and-operated station
model and is called a state network
. Instead of television network
s owning stations, the stations collectively own the network and brand themselves as "PBS member stations" instead of as affiliates or O&O's.
Individual stations such as WPBS
and KPBS are not owned by the Public Broadcasting Service
; most belong to local community non-profit groups, universities
or local and state educators. The national PBS system is owned collectively by WPBS-DT, KPBS (TV) and hundreds of other similar broadcasters in communities nationwide. Individual member stations are free to carry large amounts of syndicated programming and many produce their own educational television
content for distribution to other PBS member stations through services like American Public Television
or NETA
; likewise, most content on PBS's core National Programming Service is produced by various individual member stations such as WGBH
, WNET
and WETA
.
These are not affiliate stations in that the ownership of the main network is not independent of ownership of the individual local stations.
The "member station" model had historically been used in Canada in the early days of privately-owned networks CTV
and TVA
, but the original "one station, one vote" model has largely faltered as increasing numbers of stations are acquired by the same owners. In CTV's case, the owners of Toronto's CFTO-TV
's systematic pattern of acquisition of CTV member stations ultimately allowed control over the network as a whole, turning former member stations into CTV O&O's.
and The CW, which air fewer hours of prime time programming than the "Big Four" networks and can thus be more easily combined into a single schedule, although historically the "Big Four" have had some dual-affiliate stations in small markets as well.
Historically, the sole commercial station in a market would commonly take affiliations or secondary affiliations from most or all major national networks. As a local monopoly, a station could become a primary affiliate of one of the stronger networks, carrying most of that network's programming while remaining free to "cherry-pick" popular programming from any or all of the rival networks.
As US-marketed television receivers have been required to include factory-installed UHF tuners
since 1964, the rapid expansion of broadcast television onto UHF channels in the 1970s and 1980s (along with increased deployment of cable and satellite television
systems) has reduced the number of one-station markets, providing networks with a larger selection of stations as potential primary affiliates. A new station which could clear one network's full programming line-up better serves the network's interests than the former pattern of partial access afforded by mixing various secondary affiliations on the schedule of a single local analogue channel.
After many years of decline, the era of secondary affiliations to multiple major networks (once common in communities where fewer stations existed than networks seeking carriage) finally came to an end at the smallest-market US station, KXGN-TV
Glendive, Montana
(CBS/NBC), in 2009. As NBC programming was already available from a broadcast repeater of an out-of-market station, the secondary major-network affiliation had finally outlived its usefulness.
In larger markets, multiple full-service channels may be operated by the same broadcaster using broadcast automation
, either openly as twinstick operations
or through the use of local marketing agreement
s and shared services agreements to operate a second station nominally owned by some other broadcaster. These may be supplemented by LPTV
or repeater stations to allow more channels to be added without encountering federally-imposed limits on concentration of media ownership
. Often, the multiple commonly-controlled stations will use the same news and local advertising sales but carry different network feeds.
Further, with the ability of digital television
stations to offer a distinct programming stream on a digital subchannel
, traditional dual affiliation arrangements in which programming from two networks is combined into a single schedule are becoming more rare. KEYC-TV
is one such example, carrying CBS programming on its 12.1 subchannel and FOX on 12.2. KEYC's Watertown sister station WWNY-TV
follows this same pattern (WWNY-DT 7: 7.1 CBS-HD, 7.2 Fox) but supplements this with a 15kW low-power HDTV station on the same transmitter tower under the control of the same owners using the same studios to provide a second HDTV channel for the Fox affiliate.
One notable exception to the survival of secondary affiliations are stations owned by West Virginia Media Holdings
. WTRF-DT2 in Wheeling, West Virginia
and WVNS-DT2
in Beckley, West Virginia
both have Fox as their primary affiliation and MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliation. Both are on the second digital subchannel of WTRF-TV
and WVNS-TV
, respectively, both of which are CBS affiliates on their main signal. In addition, WTRF has an ABC affiliate on WTRF-DT3, giving the station four different network affiliations between three subchannels.
In Canada, affiliated stations may acquire broadcast rights to programs from a network other than their primary affiliation, but as such an agreement pertains only to a few specific programs, chosen individually, they are not normally considered to be affiliated with the second network. Newfoundland's
NTV (CJON 6 St. John's)
, nominally an independent, uses this model to acquire programming from the CTV
and Global Television Network
.
This was also done by MyNetworkTV in the 2009-10 season in the Des Moines
and Memphis
markets after those markets lost their individual stations to other networks as it offered the last broadcast season of WWE Friday Night Smackdown to the CW affiliates of both cities without forcing them to carry the remainder of the network's schedule.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
industry (especially in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
), a network affiliate (or affiliated station) is a local broadcaster which carries some or all of the television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
or radio program line-up of a television
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
or radio network
Radio network
There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...
, but is owned by a company other than the owner of the network. This distinguishes such a television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
or radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
from an owned-and-operated station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
(O&O), which is owned by its parent network.
Notwithstanding this distinction, it is common in informal speech (even for networks or O&Os themselves) to refer to any station, O&O or otherwise, that carries a particular network's programming as an affiliate, or to refer to the status of carrying such programming in a given market as "affiliation".
Network owned-and-operated stations
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) regulations limit the number of network-owned stations as a percentage of total market size. As such, networks tend to have O&Os only in the largest media market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
s (e.g. New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
), and rely on affiliates to carry their programming in other markets. However, even the largest markets may have network affiliates in lieu of O&Os. For instance, Tribune Broadcasting
Tribune Broadcasting
The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting...
's WPIX
WPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
serves as the New York City affiliate for the CW Television Network, which does not have an O&O in that market. On the other hand, several other TV stations in the same market — WABC
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
(ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
), WCBS
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
(CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
), WNBC
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
(NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
), WNJU
WNJU
WNJU, channel 47, is the flagship station of the Spanish-language Telemundo television network, licensed to Linden, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State area television market. WNJU is owned by NBCUniversal, and is one-half of a duopoly with NBC network flagship WNBC-TV...
(Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
), WNYW
WNYW
WNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
(Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
), WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
(MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
), WPXN
WPXN-TV
WPXN-TV, which broadcasts on channel 31 in New York City, is the flagship station of the Ion Television network, formerly known as Pax TV and i.-Municipal ownership:...
(ION), WXTV (Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
) and WFUT (TeleFutura
TeleFutura
TeleFutura is a U.S. Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:TeleFutura Is America’s #2 Spanish-Language Network in prime time...
) — are O&Os.
In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has significantly more lenient rules regarding media ownership. As such, most television stations, regardless of market size, are now O&Os of their respective networks, with only a few true affiliates remaining. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
originally relied on a large number of privately-owned affiliates to disseminate its radio and television programming. However, since the 1960s, most of the CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
affiliates have been replaced by network owned and operated stations or retransmitters. CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
stations are now entirely O&O.
While network-owned stations will normally carry the full broadcast programming schedule of the originating network, an affiliate is independently-owned and typically under no obligation to do so. Affiliated stations often buy supplementary programming from another source, such as a broadcast syndication service or another television network which does not have coverage in the station's broadcast area. Some affiliates may air such programs instead of those from their primary network affiliation; a common example of this was the popular Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
(1987-1994).
Member stations
A handful of networks, such as the US-based Public Broadcasting ServicePublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) public television and National Public Radio (NPR), have been founded on a principle which effectively reverses the commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
owned-and-operated station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
model and is called a state network
State network
A State Network in the United States broadcasting industry is a term which refers to a miniature television network serving an entire state or multiple states...
. Instead of television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
s owning stations, the stations collectively own the network and brand themselves as "PBS member stations" instead of as affiliates or O&O's.
Individual stations such as WPBS
WPBS-TV
WPBS-DT and WNPI-DT are a Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station serving northern New York. Originating in the Watertown/Potsdam region, its primary audience includes Kingston, Ottawa and most of eastern Ontario....
and KPBS are not owned by the Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
; most belong to local community non-profit groups, universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
or local and state educators. The national PBS system is owned collectively by WPBS-DT, KPBS (TV) and hundreds of other similar broadcasters in communities nationwide. Individual member stations are free to carry large amounts of syndicated programming and many produce their own educational television
Educational television
Educational television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable television in the United States as Public, educational, and government access ...
content for distribution to other PBS member stations through services like American Public Television
American Public Television
American Public Television is the largest syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States.-History:...
or NETA
NETA
NETA is an abbreviation that may refer to:*the International Electrical Testing Association NETA serves the electrical testing industry by establishing standards; publishing specifications; accrediting independent, third-party, electrical testing companies; certifying test technicians; and...
; likewise, most content on PBS's core National Programming Service is produced by various individual member stations such as WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
, WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
and WETA
Weta
Weta is the name given to about 70 insect species endemic to New Zealand. There are many similar species around the world, though most are in the southern hemisphere. The name comes from the Māori word 'wētā' and is the same in the plural...
.
These are not affiliate stations in that the ownership of the main network is not independent of ownership of the individual local stations.
The "member station" model had historically been used in Canada in the early days of privately-owned networks CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
and TVA
TVA
-Organizations:*Tennessee Valley Authority*Toronto Vegetarian Association*Tibetan Volunteers for Animals*TVA Media, a media corporation operating out of Littleton, Colorado formerly called The Valley Authority.*Tidewater Volleyball Association-Television:...
, but the original "one station, one vote" model has largely faltered as increasing numbers of stations are acquired by the same owners. In CTV's case, the owners of Toronto's CFTO-TV
CFTO-TV
CFTO-DT, broadcast on channel 9 and cable 8, is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, owned by Bell Media. Currently branded as CTV Toronto, it is the flagship station of the CTV Television Network, and was one of the charter members of the network when it was launched in 1961. It...
's systematic pattern of acquisition of CTV member stations ultimately allowed control over the network as a whole, turning former member stations into CTV O&O's.
Dual affiliations
In some smaller markets in the United States, a station may even be simultaneously listed as an affiliate of two networks. A station which has a dual affiliation is typically expected to air all or most of both networks' core prime time schedules — although programming from a station's secondary affiliation normally airs outside of its usual network time slot, and some less popular programs may simply be left off a station's schedule. Dual affiliations are most commonly associated with the smaller American television networks, such as MyNetworkTVMyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
and The CW, which air fewer hours of prime time programming than the "Big Four" networks and can thus be more easily combined into a single schedule, although historically the "Big Four" have had some dual-affiliate stations in small markets as well.
Historically, the sole commercial station in a market would commonly take affiliations or secondary affiliations from most or all major national networks. As a local monopoly, a station could become a primary affiliate of one of the stronger networks, carrying most of that network's programming while remaining free to "cherry-pick" popular programming from any or all of the rival networks.
As US-marketed television receivers have been required to include factory-installed UHF tuners
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
since 1964, the rapid expansion of broadcast television onto UHF channels in the 1970s and 1980s (along with increased deployment of cable and satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
systems) has reduced the number of one-station markets, providing networks with a larger selection of stations as potential primary affiliates. A new station which could clear one network's full programming line-up better serves the network's interests than the former pattern of partial access afforded by mixing various secondary affiliations on the schedule of a single local analogue channel.
After many years of decline, the era of secondary affiliations to multiple major networks (once common in communities where fewer stations existed than networks seeking carriage) finally came to an end at the smallest-market US station, KXGN-TV
KXGN-TV
KXGN-TV channel 5 is a television station in Glendive, Montana, a primarily agricultural region in eastern Montana, which is the smallest of the 210 US Nielsen-designated broadcast television market areas in the United States; the market serves a total potential home-market audience of a mere five...
Glendive, Montana
Glendive, Montana
Glendive is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Montana, United States. The population was 4,935 at the 2010 census.The town of Glendive is located in South Eastern Montana and is considered by many as an agricultural hub of Eastern Montana...
(CBS/NBC), in 2009. As NBC programming was already available from a broadcast repeater of an out-of-market station, the secondary major-network affiliation had finally outlived its usefulness.
In larger markets, multiple full-service channels may be operated by the same broadcaster using broadcast automation
Broadcast automation
Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human operator...
, either openly as twinstick operations
Duopoly (broadcasting)
In United States broadcast television and radio, duopoly is a term used to describe a single company which owns two or more stations in the same city or community....
or through the use of local marketing agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
s and shared services agreements to operate a second station nominally owned by some other broadcaster. These may be supplemented by LPTV
Low-power broadcasting
Low-power broadcasting is electronic broadcasting at very low power and low cost, to a small community area.The terms "low-power broadcasting" and "micropower broadcasting" should not be used interchangeably, because the markets are not the same...
or repeater stations to allow more channels to be added without encountering federally-imposed limits on concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership refers to a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media...
. Often, the multiple commonly-controlled stations will use the same news and local advertising sales but carry different network feeds.
Further, with the ability of digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
stations to offer a distinct programming stream on a digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
, traditional dual affiliation arrangements in which programming from two networks is combined into a single schedule are becoming more rare. KEYC-TV
KEYC-TV
KEYC-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Mankato, Minnesota & Redwood Falls, Minnesota. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Lewisville. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 10 and in high definition on digital channel 782...
is one such example, carrying CBS programming on its 12.1 subchannel and FOX on 12.2. KEYC's Watertown sister station WWNY-TV
WWNY-TV
WWNY-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Upstate New York's North Country region, licensed to Carthage. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter along State Street/NY 126 in Wilna's Carthage section. The station can also be seen on Time Warner...
follows this same pattern (WWNY-DT 7: 7.1 CBS-HD, 7.2 Fox) but supplements this with a 15kW low-power HDTV station on the same transmitter tower under the control of the same owners using the same studios to provide a second HDTV channel for the Fox affiliate.
One notable exception to the survival of secondary affiliations are stations owned by West Virginia Media Holdings
West Virginia Media Holdings
West Virginia Media Holdings is a media chain in West Virginia. It owns television stations in each of the four main media markets in the state, as well as a weekly newspaper....
. WTRF-DT2 in Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and WVNS-DT2
WVNS-DT2
WVNS-DT2 is the primary Fox and secondary MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Southern West Virginia. It is a second digital subchannel of CBS affiliate WVNS-TV which is owned by West Virginia Media Holdings. Over-the-air, the station broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 8.2 from a...
in Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, which was founded on April 4, 1838. The 2008 population was estimated to be 16,832 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Early in its history, the town was known as Beckleyville and Raleigh Court House...
both have Fox as their primary affiliation and MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliation. Both are on the second digital subchannel of WTRF-TV
WTRF-TV
WTRF-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and the Allegheny Plateau of Eastern Ohio that is licensed to Wheeling, West Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter in Bridgeport, Ohio. Owned by West...
and WVNS-TV
WVNS-TV
WVNS-TV is the CBS affiliate for Southern West Virginia that is licensed to Lewisburg. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter on Keeney's Knob between Alderson and I-64. Owned by West Virginia Media Holdings, the station has studios on Old Cline Road in...
, respectively, both of which are CBS affiliates on their main signal. In addition, WTRF has an ABC affiliate on WTRF-DT3, giving the station four different network affiliations between three subchannels.
In Canada, affiliated stations may acquire broadcast rights to programs from a network other than their primary affiliation, but as such an agreement pertains only to a few specific programs, chosen individually, they are not normally considered to be affiliated with the second network. Newfoundland's
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
NTV (CJON 6 St. John's)
CJON-TV
CJON-DT is a Canadian English language television station broadcasting on channel 21 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, with additional transmitters and cable coverage throughout the province. It is known on-air as NTV, for Newfoundland Television...
, nominally an independent, uses this model to acquire programming from the CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
and Global Television Network
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
.
This was also done by MyNetworkTV in the 2009-10 season in the Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
and Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
markets after those markets lost their individual stations to other networks as it offered the last broadcast season of WWE Friday Night Smackdown to the CW affiliates of both cities without forcing them to carry the remainder of the network's schedule.