WYFX-LP
Encyclopedia
WYFX-LD is the Fox-affiliated television station
for the Mahoning Valley
of Northeastern Ohio
, licensed to Youngstown
. It broadcasts a low-powered
digital signal UHF channel 19 from a transmitter on Sunset Boulevard in Boardman Township
. Owned by New Vision Television
, the station is sister to CBS
affiliate WKBN-TV
and ABC
affiliate WYTV
(along with a MyNetworkTV
subchannel
). The latter is owned by PBC Broadcasting, LLC but operated by New Vision Television though a shared services
agreement (a.k.a. SSA). All of the channels share studios on Sunset Boulevard in Boardman Township (although the mailing address is Youngstown). Syndicated
programming on WYFX includes: The Office, Two and a Half Men
, Family Guy
, and King of Queens.
Although WYFX does not qualify under must-carry
rules due to being a low-power station, it is carried on all Mahoning Valley cable systems as part of the compensation for carrying WKBN. It is noticeably absent from Comcast
systems in New Castle, Pennsylvania
, which, despite being considerably closer to Youngstown, is part of the Pittsburgh
market.
, were launched in 1998 as the area's first full-time Fox affiliates. (WFXI-LP shared its call letters with the Fox affiliate
in Morehead City, North Carolina
; both stations were owned by Piedmont Television
until 2007, but were otherwise unrelated.) Previously, WYTV showed some Fox Sports
events from 1994 until 1998. With digital television
in its infancy at the time, WYFX and WFXI were started with their own signals as opposed to future stations WFMJ-DT2
and WYTV-DT2, which were both launched on new second digital subchannel
s of WFMJ-TV
and WYTV respectively. This resulted in WYFX and WFXI having their own licenses with the FCC
. Because of duopoly
rules at the time, which would be partially repealed only two years later, both stations were launched as low-power stations (though WFXI converted to a class A
license in 2002). The two were originally branded "Fox 17 / 62" for most of their first ten years.
In 2008, the stations started slowly re-branding themselves as "Fox Youngstown" in some advertisements, despite still using the "Fox 17 / 62" logo. This was done because the on-air branding of "Fox 17 / 62" would be rendered useless once they would be forced to sign-off their analog signals in 2012. Low-power and class A analog signals have a later deadline for sign-off than the June 12, 2009 sign-off for full-powered analog signals like WKBN. Additionally, WYFX and WFXI are carried on different channel positions on cable. A new logo was introduced for the start of the 2008-2009 fall season
, similar to the old logo except that the "17 / 62" designation, as well as the WYFX calls, are removed. Some advertisements still used the "Fox 17 / 62" branding for some time afterward, but as of October 2008, the stations had all but fully renamed itself as "Fox Youngstown". A completely redesigned logo would debut in February 2009, matching WKBN's then-newly redesigned logo, and by that point the station was completely known by the new branding.
On February 8, 2009, WKBN did a "dual HD" test airing both college basketball
on 41.1 and the Gatorade Duel
(the qualifying race for the Daytona 500
) on 41.2 in a possible attempt to broadcast both signals in high definition full-time. Previously, WKBN-DT2 was aired in standard definition
with special sporting events (such as additional games from the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
) using 41.3 in HD. WKBN had to compress both signals to the 720p
format in order to make it possible. That station began broadcasting both channels in high definition full-time the next day making WKBN the eighth station nationally to broadcast two subchannels in high definition on the same signal. This continued until October 4, 2011, when New Vision moved the WYFX-HD transmission to the WYFX-LD antenna. 41.2 continues to carry a standard definition feed.
WFXI-CA was closed down on October 1, 2009, with the license being returned to the FCC
the next day. However, current television listings continue to display WFXI-CA.
. All news programming on WYFX originate from a secondary set.
On Thursday, May 6, 2010, WYFX (along with sister stations WKBN and WYTV) made the switch to HD broadcasts.
First News This Morning
(Weekday Mornings 7 to 9)
First News on Fox
(Weeknights 10 to 11 & Weekends 10 to 10:30)
WYFX features additional news personnel from WKBN. See that article for a complete listing.
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...
for the Mahoning Valley
Mahoning Valley
The Mahoning Valley is a geographic valley encompassing the area of northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania that drains into the Mahoning River. The Mahoning River empties into the Beaver River, which empties into the Ohio River. The Mahoning River flows through Lawrence and Mercer counties in...
of Northeastern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, licensed to Youngstown
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
. It broadcasts a low-powered
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...
digital signal UHF channel 19 from a transmitter on Sunset Boulevard in Boardman Township
Boardman, Ohio
Boardman is a census-designated place in Boardman Township, Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, just south of Youngstown. Boardman is considered to be a moderately affluent community and is one of two major retail hubs in the greater Youngstown area...
. Owned by New Vision Television
New Vision Television
New Vision Television is a broadcast company based in Los Angeles, California. The company owns or manages 18 television stations in medium sized markets.-New Vision I:...
, the station is sister to 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...
affiliate WKBN-TV
WKBN-TV
WKBN-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 41 from a transmitter at WKBN's studios on Sunset Boulevard in Boardman Township. Owned by New Vision Television, WKBN is sister to and shares studios with low-power...
and 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...
affiliate WYTV
WYTV
WYTV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Mahoning Valley of Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Youngstown. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter on Shady Run Road in Boardman Township...
(along with a MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
subchannel
WYTV-DT2
WYTV-DT2 is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Mahoning Valley of Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania. It is a second digital subchannel of the area's ABC affiliate WYTV that is owned by PBC Broadcasting but operated by New Vision Television though a shared services...
). The latter is owned by PBC Broadcasting, LLC but operated by New Vision Television though a shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
agreement (a.k.a. SSA). All of the channels share studios on Sunset Boulevard in Boardman Township (although the mailing address is Youngstown). Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on WYFX includes: The Office, Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, and King of Queens.
Although WYFX does not qualify under must-carry
Must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
rules due to being a low-power station, it is carried on all Mahoning Valley cable systems as part of the compensation for carrying WKBN. It is noticeably absent from Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
systems in New Castle, Pennsylvania
New Castle, Pennsylvania
New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just east of Youngstown, Ohio; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population has fallen to 26,309 according to the...
, which, despite being considerably closer to Youngstown, is part of the Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
market.
History
WYFX-LP, along with repeater WFXI-LP (channel 17) in Mercer, PennsylvaniaMercer, Pennsylvania
Mercer is a borough in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,391 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mercer County. Mercer is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, were launched in 1998 as the area's first full-time Fox affiliates. (WFXI-LP shared its call letters with the Fox affiliate
WFXI
WFXI is the Fox-affiliated television station for Eastern North Carolina's Inner Banks licensed to Morehead City. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter in unincorporated Davis, North Carolina along the South River's East Fork. The station can also be...
in Morehead City, North Carolina
Morehead City, North Carolina
Morehead City is a port city in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007...
; both stations were owned by Piedmont Television
Piedmont Television
Piedmont Television was a broadcasting company in the United States that owned television stations in smaller markets. The company was based in Charlotte, North Carolina....
until 2007, but were otherwise unrelated.) Previously, WYTV showed some Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
events from 1994 until 1998. With 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...
in its infancy at the time, WYFX and WFXI were started with their own signals as opposed to future stations WFMJ-DT2
WFMJ-DT2
WFMJ-DT2, known on-air as WBCB, is CW Network affiliate for Youngstown, Ohio and New Castle, Pennsylvania. Launched in November 2004 as a WB affiliate, WBCB is the sister station of Youngstown's NBC affiliate, WFMJ. The station operates on WFMJ's digital subchannel on channel 20.2, though through...
and WYTV-DT2, which were both launched on new second 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...
s of WFMJ-TV
WFMJ-TV
WFMJ-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 20 from a transmitter on Mabel Street in Youngstown. Owned by the Maag family, the station has studios on West Boardman Street in downtown Youngstown. WFMJ-TV is...
and WYTV respectively. This resulted in WYFX and WFXI having their own licenses with the FCC
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...
. Because of duopoly
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....
rules at the time, which would be partially repealed only two years later, both stations were launched as low-power stations (though WFXI converted to a class A
Class A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
license in 2002). The two were originally branded "Fox 17 / 62" for most of their first ten years.
In 2008, the stations started slowly re-branding themselves as "Fox Youngstown" in some advertisements, despite still using the "Fox 17 / 62" logo. This was done because the on-air branding of "Fox 17 / 62" would be rendered useless once they would be forced to sign-off their analog signals in 2012. Low-power and class A analog signals have a later deadline for sign-off than the June 12, 2009 sign-off for full-powered analog signals like WKBN. Additionally, WYFX and WFXI are carried on different channel positions on cable. A new logo was introduced for the start of the 2008-2009 fall season
2008–09 United States network television schedule
The following is the 2008–2009 network television schedule for the six major English language broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 2008 through May 2009. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and...
, similar to the old logo except that the "17 / 62" designation, as well as the WYFX calls, are removed. Some advertisements still used the "Fox 17 / 62" branding for some time afterward, but as of October 2008, the stations had all but fully renamed itself as "Fox Youngstown". A completely redesigned logo would debut in February 2009, matching WKBN's then-newly redesigned logo, and by that point the station was completely known by the new branding.
On February 8, 2009, WKBN did a "dual HD" test airing both college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
on 41.1 and the Gatorade Duel
Gatorade Duel
The Gatorade Duel is NASCAR Sprint Cup Series preliminary event to the Daytona 500 held annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. It consists of two races, and serves as a qualifying race for the Daytona 500...
(the qualifying race for the Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
) on 41.2 in a possible attempt to broadcast both signals in high definition full-time. Previously, WKBN-DT2 was aired in standard definition
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
with special sporting events (such as additional games from the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
) using 41.3 in HD. WKBN had to compress both signals to the 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
format in order to make it possible. That station began broadcasting both channels in high definition full-time the next day making WKBN the eighth station nationally to broadcast two subchannels in high definition on the same signal. This continued until October 4, 2011, when New Vision moved the WYFX-HD transmission to the WYFX-LD antenna. 41.2 continues to carry a standard definition feed.
WFXI-CA was closed down on October 1, 2009, with the license being returned to the FCC
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...
the next day. However, current television listings continue to display WFXI-CA.
Newscasts
On January 23, 2006, the WKBN-produced First News at 10 on Fox 17 / 62 became the area's only hour-long prime time broadcast on weeknights. With the rebranding in 2008, the news title was changed as well. There is also a two-hour long weekday morning newscast that airs while WKBN broadcasts The Early ShowThe Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
. All news programming on WYFX originate from a secondary set.
On Thursday, May 6, 2010, WYFX (along with sister stations WKBN and WYTV) made the switch to HD broadcasts.
First News This Morning
(Weekday Mornings 7 to 9)
- Anchors:
- Jeff Levkulich
- Amy Radinovic
- Weather:
- Rich Morgan
- Reporter:
- Greta Mittereder
First News on Fox
(Weeknights 10 to 11 & Weekends 10 to 10:30)
- Anchors (rotating weekly):
- Teresa Weakley
- Dave Sess
- Weather:
- Don Guthrie
- Sports:
- Joe Aulisio
- Ryan Allison - reporter
WYFX features additional news personnel from WKBN. See that article for a complete listing.