Fox Television Stations
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| Type | Division of News Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television |
| Founded | April 1986 |
| Headquarters | New York City USA |
| Key people | Rupert Murdoch |
| Owner(s) | News Corporation |
| Website | Website |
Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation. FTS also produces the Fox program COPS and overseees distribution wing 20th Television as well as myNetworkTV.
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[edit] History
Fox Television Stations was formed in April 1986 after the acquisition of the Metromedia-owned independent stations by the 20th Century Fox film studio, at the time jointly owned by Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, and Denver-based billionaire Marvin Davis. These stations would later become the basis of the Fox television network, which launched in October 1986. Not long after the Metromedia deal was made, Murdoch purchased Davis's shares and News Corporation assumed complete control of 20th Century Fox.
Initially FTS was a semi-autonomous unit in which News Corporation owned over 99 percent of the equity but only 24 percent of the voting power; the balance was held personally by Murdoch.[1] Federal Communications Commission regulations of that era prohibited foreign interests or non-American citizens from controlling more than 25 percent of an FCC-licensed broadcast station. Though News Corporation was still based in Australia, Murdoch had become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1985, and the nominal transfer of a majority voting interest to Murdoch was sufficient to get around this hurdle. The quirk was removed permanently when News Corporation reincorporated in the U.S. in 2004.[2] The Fox network itself and affiliated cable channels were not affected by these regulations.
Starting with the original six stations, Fox Television Stations gained the bulk of its group through two large transactions: the 1997 purchase of New World Communications, succeeding a 1993 business deal between the two companies which led to all of New World's stations switching from other networks to Fox during 1994-95; and the 2001 acquisition of the Chris-Craft/United group, which gave Fox ownership of several stations then affiliated with the UPN network, and also created several duopolies (two stations in the same market owned by the same company).
The Fox-owned UPN affiliates were not included in the UPN/WB merger (The CW), which was announced on January 24, 2006. Soon after, these stations removed references to UPN from their on-air branding and websites. On February 22, 2006, Fox Television Stations announced that all of their non-Fox outlets will be charter affiliates of a new service known as MyNetworkTV [1], which commenced operations on September 5, 2006.
- See also: U.S. television network affiliate switches of 1994, 2006 United States broadcast TV realignment
[edit] Partnerships with NBC Local Media, E. W. Scripps and CBS
On November 13, 2008 Fox Television Stations and NBC Local Media, the station division of NBCUniversal, announced the formation of a partnership that will allow Fox-owned stations and NBC-owned stations to pool their news resources. The partnership is first being tested in the Philadelphia market, where Fox owns WTXF-TV and NBC operates WCAU-TV. The two stations are the first network affiliates in the nation to undertake the plan as an effective way to deal with rising in costs in news operations.
The service is scheduled to roll out later in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Dallas/Fort Worth and Washington, D.C., each a market in which Fox owns and operates two stations and NBC owns and operates an English-language station. [3] [4][5][6][7]
On April 1, 2009, Fox Television Stations announced a similar arrangement with the broadcast division of the E.W. Scripps Company, which covers markets where the two entities own stations: Detroit, Phoenix and Tampa/St. Petersburg. (title)
On May 19, 2009, WFXT in Boston announced a video-sharing agreement with that city's CBS-owned station, WBZ-TV. The stations will share video for general market news, along with a helicopter for traffic reports and breaking news. (title)
[edit] List of Fox owned-and-operated stations
Currently, a total of 27 stations, consisting of 17 Fox stations and 10 MyNetworkTV stations.
Notes:
1) ** -- Indicates an original Fox-owned station from the network's inception in 1986;
2) ++ -- Indicates a station owned by New World Communications prior to its acquisition by News Corporation in 1997;
3) ¤¤ -- Indicates a station owned by Chris-Craft Industries prior to its acquisition by News Corporation in 2001.
| DMA# | City of license/Market | Station | Channel TV (DT) |
Owned since | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | New York City | WNYW ** | 5 (44) | 1986 | Fox |
| Secaucus, New Jersey | WWOR-TV ¤¤ | 9 (38) | 2001 | MyNetworkTV | |
| 2. | Los Angeles | KTTV ** | 11 (11) | 1986 | Fox |
| KCOP ¤¤ | 13 (13) | 2001 | MyNetworkTV | ||
| 3. | Chicago | WFLD-TV ** | 32 (31) | 1986 | Fox |
| Gary, Indiana | WPWR-TV | 50 (51) | 2002 | MyNetworkTV | |
| 4. | Philadelphia | WTXF-TV | 29 (42) | 1995 | Fox |
| 5. | Dallas - Fort Worth | KDFW-TV ++ | 4 (35) | 1997 | Fox |
| KDFI-TV | 27 (36) | 1998 | MyNetworkTV | ||
| 7. | Boston | WFXT | 25 (31) | 1995 (previously owned from 1987–91) |
Fox |
| 8. | Atlanta | WAGA-TV ++ | 5 (27) | 1997 | Fox |
| 9. | Washington, D.C. | WTTG ** | 5 (36) | 1986 | Fox |
| WDCA | 20 (35) | 2002 | MyNetworkTV | ||
| 10. | Houston | KRIV ** | 26 (26) | 1986 | Fox |
| KTXH | 20 (19) | 2002 | MyNetworkTV | ||
| 11. | Detroit | WJBK-TV ++ | 2 (7) | 1997 | Fox |
| 12. | Phoenix | KSAZ-TV ++ | 10 (10) | 1997 | Fox |
| KUTP ¤¤ | 45 (26) | 2001 | MyNetworkTV | ||
| 14. | Tampa - St. Petersburg | WTVT ++ | 13 (12) | 1997 | Fox |
| 15. | Minneapolis - St. Paul | KMSP-TV ¤¤ | 9 (9) | 2001 | Fox |
| WFTC | 29 (29) | 2002 | MyNetworkTV | ||
| 19. | Orlando - Daytona Beach | WOFL | 35 (22) | 2002 | Fox |
| WRBW ¤¤ | 65 (41) | 2001 | MyNetworkTV | ||
| 27. | Baltimore | WUTB ¤¤ | 24 (41) | 2001 | MyNetworkTV |
| 48. | Austin, Texas | KTBC-TV ++ | 7 (7) | 1997 | Fox |
| 50. | Memphis | WHBQ-TV | 13 (13) | 1994 | Fox |
| 160. | Ocala - Gainesville, FL | WOGX (semi-satellite of WOFL) |
51 (31) | 2002 | Fox |
[edit] Former Fox-owned stations
| DMA# | City of license/Market | Station | Channel TV (DT) |
Year of affiliation | Current affiliation/owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | Dallas - Fort Worth | KDAF ** | 33 (32) | 1986–1995 | CW affiliate owned by Tribune Company |
| 6. | San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose | KBHK-TV ¤¤ (now KBCW) |
44 (45) | 2001–2002 | CW affiliate owned by CBS Corporation |
| 7. | Boston | WCVB-TV **1 | 5 (20) | 1986 | ABC affiliate owned by Hearst Television |
| 8. | Atlanta | WATL-TV | 36 (25) | 1993–1995 | MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Gannett Company |
| 16. | Denver | KDVR | 31 (32) | 1993–2008 | Fox affiliate owned by Local TV |
| Fort Collins, Colorado | KFCT (satellite of KDVR) |
22 (21) | 1994–2008 | Fox affiliate owned by Local TV | |
| 18. | Cleveland - Akron | WJW-TV ++ | 8 (8) | 1997–2008 | Fox affiliate owned by Local TV |
| 21. | St. Louis | KTVI ++ | 2 (43) | 1997–2008 | Fox affiliate owned by Local TV |
| 22. | Portland, Oregon | KPTV ¤¤ | 12 (12) | 2001–2002 | Fox affiliate owned by Meredith Corporation |
| 31. | Salt Lake City | KSTU | 13 (28) | 1990–2008 | Fox affiliate owned by Local TV |
| KTVX ¤¤ | 4 (40) | 2001 | ABC affiliate owned by Newport Television | ||
| 32. | Kansas City, Missouri | WDAF-TV ++ | 4 (34) | 1997–2008 | Fox affiliate owned by Local TV |
| 35. | Milwaukee | WITI-TV ++ | 6 (33) | 1997–2008 | Fox affiliate owned by Local TV |
| 37. | San Antonio | KMOL-TV ¤¤ (now WOAI-TV) |
4 (48) | 2001 | NBC affiliate owned by High Plains Broadcasting (operated by Newport Television) |
| 40. | Birmingham - Tuscaloosa - Anniston | WBRC-TV | 6 (50) | 1995–2008 | Fox affiliate owned by Raycom Media |
| 46. | High Point - Greensboro - Winston-Salem, N.C. |
WGHP | 8 (35) | 1995–2008 | Fox affiliate owned by Local TV |
Footnotes:
- 1 WCVB-TV was included in the original sale of the Metromedia stations to News Corporation, but was spun off in a separate, concurrent deal to the Hearst Corporation as part of a right of first refusal related to that station's 1982 acquisition by Metromedia.
On a side note, in between the events of Fox acquiring its original charter affiliates and the New World affiliation agreement, only WTXF, WFXT, KDVR, WOFL, KSTU and WOGX were already affiliated with Fox when they were acquired much later on.
[edit] References
- ^ FCC Order 01-209, exhibit 'B'
- ^ FCC Order 06-122
- ^ http://www.philly.com//philly/business/homepage/20081114_Fox__NBC_to_pool_news_video_in_Phila__area.html
- ^ "Fox, NBC Try ‘AP’ Approach to Local TV". http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6614574. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ "Fox And NBC To Share In DC". http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162178-Fox_And_NBC_To_Share_In_DC.php. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ^ "Fox, NBC Share Chicago Chopper". http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162072-Fox_NBC_Share_Chicago_Chopper.php. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ "Fox, NBC Expand LNS Relationship". http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162330-Fox_NBC_Expand_LNS_Relationship.php?rssid=20068. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
[edit] External links
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