WAXN-TV
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| Kannapolis/Charlotte, North Carolina | |
|---|---|
| Branding | TV64 (general) Eyewitness News(newscasts) |
| Channels | Digital: 50 (UHF) Virtual: 64 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 64.1 Independent |
| Translators | 36 WAXNTV1 China Grove 42 W42DR-D Marion 30 WSOCTV1, Shelby 46 WSOCTV2, Statesville |
| Affiliations | Independent |
| Owner | Cox Media Group (WSOC Television, Inc.) |
| First air date | October 15, 1994 |
| Call letters' meaning | AXN = "action" (from former on-air name "Action 64") |
| Sister station(s) | WSOC-TV |
| Former callsigns | WKAY (1994-1996) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 64 (UHF, 1994-2009) |
| Former affiliations | Pax (third-party, 1998-2000) |
| Transmitter power | 150 kW Directional |
| Height | 364 m |
| Facility ID | 12793 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°15′41.2″N 80°43′36.6″W / 35.261444°N 80.726833°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: | Profile CDBS |
| Website | www.wsoctv.com/tv64 |
WAXN-TV is an Independent television station for Charlotte, North Carolina that is licensed to Kannapolis. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter near Reedy Creek Park in the Newell section of Charlotte. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station is sister to ABC affiliate WSOC-TV and the two share studios on North Tryon Street (U.S. 29/NC 49) north of Downtown Charlotte. Syndicated programming on WAXN includes Friends, The Wendy Williams Show, omg! Insider and Judge Joe Brown. The station can be seen via digital repeaters on channel 36 (64.7) in China Grove, channel 30 (64.5) from Crowder's Mtn., W42DR-D channel 42 (6.2) in Marion (from a transmitter southwest of Connelly Springs), and in Statesville on RF-46 (PSIP 64.9) SD (16x9) from Cool Springs.
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Digital television [edit]
Digital channel [edit]
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WAXN-TV | Main WAXN-TV programming |
Transmitter power [edit]
On May 10, 2009, it increased its digital transmission power from 50 to 91 kW with the addition of a larger transmitter. On July 13, 2011, WAXN saw a further increase in power to 150 kW with a new directional antenna to protect the signal of WFMY-TV in Greensboro.[1]
History [edit]
The station debuted on October 15, 1994 as WKAY-TV. It was owned by Kannapolis Television Company, a subsidiary of Truth Temple in Kannapolis. The channel had originally received a construction permit as WDZH but changed the calls to WKAY on November 15, 1989.[2] The pastor of Truth Temple, Garland Faw, named the station WKAY after his wife Kay. The station aired a mix of religious programming, old movies, and barter syndicated programming. Kannapolis Television entered into a joint sales agreement (JSA) with WSOC [3] and formally changed the call letters to WAXN-TV in August 1996.[2] Under this agreement, Cox invested over $3 million toward relaunching the station and other improvements.[4]
Under the agreement, channel 9 took over channel 64's operations and re-branded the station as "Action 64"--a branding also used at the time on Cox' other two independent stations, KICU-TV in San Jose and WRDQ in Orlando. WSOC-TV owned the rights to a large amount of syndicated programming, but no longer had enough time in its broadcast day to air it all. It placed much of this programming on WAXN, giving channel 64 a much stronger schedule. One of these shows was The Andy Griffith Show, which had aired on channel 9 for many years. Since 2001, WAXN has also been the Charlotte home of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, which had aired on WSOC-TV since 1974.
The station also boosted its signal to a level comparable with other Charlotte stations. Previously, it could only be seen on cable in most of the area. Its over-the-air analog signal barely made it out of Cabarrus County. From 1998 to 2000, WAXN aired many programs from Pax although it was never formally affiliated with the network. Charlotte is the largest market not to have a Pax/i/Ion affiliate. It later began airing repeated episodes of Dr. Phil and Oprah in primetime seen earlier in the day on WSOC.
On August 5, 1999, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reversed its long standing regulations against duopoly ownerships in the same television market.[5] As stipulated in the original joint sales agreement, Cox was now able to purchase this station outright for $3 million.[3] The sale was officially approved by the FCC in 2000.[6] In 2007, WAXN dropped the "Action" moniker and is currently known as "TV64".
Out-of-market cable coverage [edit]
In recent years, WAXN has been carried on cable in multiple areas outside of the Charlotte media market. That includes cable systems within the Greensboro market in North Carolina and the Tri-Cities market in Tennessee.[7]
Newscasts [edit]
Since 1996, WAXN has aired a nightly 10 o'clock newscast produced by WSOC. The station is number one in the time slot beating rival efforts on Fox affiliate WCCB and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYT-TV (produced by CBS affiliate WBTV). The strong lead-ins of Dr. Phil and Oprah re-airings have been cited as a contributing factor for this success. WAXN aired the first high definition prime time broadcast in the Charlotte market in October 2008. The shows on WSOC had already been produced in HD since April 22, 2007 but was down-converted for airing on this channel through the stations' shared master control facility. In September 2010, WAXN added a two-hour long extension of WSOC's weekday morning show at 7.[8][9]
News team[10] [edit]
- Anchors
- Peter Daut - weekday mornings (7-9 a.m.)
- Natalie Pasquarella - weeknights at 10 p.m.
- Holly Maynard - weekends at 10 p.m.
- Tennika Smith - weekday mornings (7-9 a.m.)
- Scott Wickersham - weeknights at 10 p.m.
- Severe Weather Center 9
(All WSOC meteorologists have the AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval)
- Steve Udelson - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 10 p.m.
- Keith Monday - meteorologist; weekday mornings (7-9 a.m.)
- John Ahrens - meteorologist; weeknights at 10 p.m.
- Sports team
- Tiffany Wright - weeknights at 10 p.m.
- Bill Voth - weekends at 10 p.m.
- Reporters
- Mark Becker - general assignment and special projects reporter
- Jamie Bowers - weekday morning traffic reporter
- Jim Bradley - general assignment and special projects reporter
- Cathrine Bilkey - general assignment reporter
- Kathryn Burcham - general assignment reporter
- Alan Cavanna - general assignment reporter
- Andrew Doud - weekday morning reporter
- Dave Faherty - Hickory Bureau reporter
- Don Griffin - consumer and business reporter
- Ken Lemon - Western Bureau reporter (Gaston County)
- Linzi Sheldon - general assignment reporter
- Jeff Smith - general assignment reporter
- Greg Suskin - South Carolina reporter (Rock Hill)
- Jason Stoogenke - general assignment reporter
- Tina Terry - general assignment reporter
Former on-air talent [edit]
- Ken Ward (died on January 4, 2012)[11]
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=20691092
- ^ a b "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ a b Spanberg, Erik (2000-05-05). "The little (TV) station that could". The Charlotte Business Journal (American City Business Journals). Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ Spanberg, Erik (1997-12-19). "Patient Cox money will let WAXN keep up fight". The Charlotte Business Journal (American City Business Journals). Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ "FCC Revises Local Television Ownership Rules" (Press release). Federal Communications Commission. 1999-08-05. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ "Television Application For Assignment Of License Granted". Federal Communications Commission. 2000-01-31. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ http://www.skybesttv.com/clp_digital_basic.php
- ^ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/06/12/1494501/more-news-shows-coming-in-the.html
- ^ http://www.wsoctv.com/news/23816654/detail.html
- ^ About Us
- ^ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/01/04/2898034/channel-9-reporter-ward-dies.html
External links [edit]
- Official WXAN-TV Website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WAXN-TV
- Query the FCC's TV station database for W42DR-D
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