WPXT
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| WPXT | |
|---|---|
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| Portland, Maine | |
| Branding | WPXT |
| Slogan | Home of The CW |
| Channels | |
| Subchannels | 51.1 The CW |
| Owner | New Age Media, LLC (New Age Media of Maine License, LLC) |
| First air date | September 14, 1986 |
| Call letters’ meaning | Portland's EXciting Television |
| Sister station(s) | WPME |
| Former channel number(s) | 51 (UHF analog, 1986-2008) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1986) FOX (1986-2001) The WB (2001-2006) |
| Transmitter Power | 137.4 kW |
| Height | 254 m |
| Facility ID | 53065 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | 43°51′6.4″N 70°19′38.4″W / 43.851778°N 70.327333°W |
| Website | ourmaine.com |
WPXT is the CW-affiliated television station for southern Maine and northern New Hampshire that is licensed to Portland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter on Dutton Hill in West Gray. While there is no over-the-air analog signal of the station, it can be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 12 and in high definition on digital channel 512. Owned by New Age Media, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV affiliate WPME. The two stations share studios on Ledgeview Drive in Westbrook. Syndicated programming on WPXT includes: Friends, Reba, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Judge David Young.
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[edit] History
The station first went on-the-air on September 14, 1986 as the first new commercial station in the Portland market in over 30 years. After a few months as an independent, it became a charter affiliate of the FOX network. In 2001, when WPXT's owner Pegasus Broadcasting had a monetary dispute with FOX, WPXT switched to The WB. This left Portland with no over-the-air FOX affiliate until early-2003 when PAX station WPFO took the affiliation. Programming from the network was provided on cable by FOXNET. Pegasus declared bankruptcy in June 2004 over a dispute with DirecTV, which is co-owned with FOX by News Corporation, over marketing of the direct broadcast satellite service in rural areas. The Pegasus station group was sold in August 2006 to private investment firm CP Media, LLC of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for $55.5 million dollars. Eventually, CP Media formed a new media company, New Age Media. As a WB affiliate WPXT was originally branded on-air as "Maine's WB 51" but in 2004 changed to "Maine's WB".
Bangor had a WB affiliate of its own, "WBAN", although it was only offered on cable. Presque Isle had a cable-only WB affiliate, "WBPQ", as well. Therefore, WPXT was the only WB station in Maine to broadcast over-the-air. On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced that they would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of its corporate parents, CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. On February 22, News Corporation announced that they would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV. This new service, which would be a sister network to FOX, would be operated by FOX Television Stations and its syndication division, Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created in order to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming independent. It was also created to compete against The CW. On March 9, it was announced that WPXT would become Portland's CW affiliate. On May 1, it was announced that sister station WPME would affiliate with MyNetworkTV. WPXT began broadcasting The CW on September 18. With CW affiliation, its branding became "The CW Portland". In 2007, WPXT changed its on-air branding to reflect its call letters rather than the city. The website of WPXT had been out-of-date and was inaccessible for long periods of time. However, it was updated with a shared website for WPXT and WPME by early-October 2007. WPXT ceased broadcasting in analog on August 12, 2008 (more than seven months prior to the FCC digital switchover deadline of February 17, 2009) due to transmitter failure. It was announced in early-2009, that the station will add the Retro Television Network to its digital signal.
[edit] Local programming
WPXT has produced and airs several local programs.
- The Rundown - local high school sports highlights
- Hot Squad - renovation of a local home with an "energy makeover" adding insulation, windows, lighting, and a furnace
- The Maine Poker Showdown - a poker show with local players
- Kick Start - a game show involving 8th grade students competing for a college scholarship
- Our Maine Magazine - tours local businesses in five-minute segments
- variations include Our Maine Health, Our Maine Restaurants, Our Maine Careers, and Our Maine Destination (town name)
- Maine Model - based on America's Next Top Model
- it is essentially a localized version of the show
- originally aired on WPME because America's Next Top Model was a UPN show
[edit] Newscasts
For many years, WPXT operated a news department and produced its own newscasts until June 15, 2002. For a time, the 10 o'clock newscast was simulcasted on sister station WPME. Also during that year, WPXT produced 7 P.M. news that aired on WPME but it was soon canceled due to poor ratings. WPXT made national headlines a week before the 2000 presidential election when reporter Erin Fehlau revealed that Republican candidate George W. Bush had been convicted for DUI 24 years earlier. From late-2002 through 2008, the station began airing newscasts produced by Maine's two NBC affiliates, Portland's WCSH and Bangor's WLBZ. On weeknights, news and sports originated from WCSH's studios at Congress Square in downtown Portland while weather segments came from WLBZ's facilities on Mount Hope Avenue in Bangor. Weekend broadcasts aired entirely from Portland. As was the case with WLBZ, the 10 o'clock newscasts took on a regional feel with coverage from Portland, Bangor, and the rest of the state. Until February 5, 2007, WPXT's newscast was the only 10 o'clock broadcast in Portland. On that date, CBS affiliate WGME began to produce a nightly 10 o'clock newscast on FOX affiliate WPFO. WCSH moved the 10 o'clock news to their NBC Weather Plus subchannel starting November 10, 2008. It was eventually canceled altogether.
[edit] Newscast titles
- FOX 51 News at 10 (2001)
- Our Maine News at 10 (2001-2002)
- NewsCenter At 10 on Maine's WB 51 (2002-2004)
- NewsCenter At 10 on Maine's WB (2004-2006)
- NewsCenter at 10 on The CW Portland (2006-2007)
- NewsCenter at 10 on WPXT (2007-2008)
[edit] Past personalities
+ denotes WCSH / WLBZ outsourced personnel
Anchors and Reporters
- + Pat Callaghan - weeknights
- + Shannon Moss - weeknights
- now at WMTW
- + Caroline Cornish - weekends and reporter
- + Jennifer Rooks - weekends and reporter
- Dave Silverbrand - originally at WGAN / WGME, later at WPXT as News Director, now General Manager at KVIQ
- Dave Gilbert - News Director now deceased
- Joe Palmieri - originally news anchor and reporter at WGME, then reporter at WPXT, now panelist on The Big JAB Radio and owner of Chicago Dogs (local area hot dog eatery)
- Susan Christensen - now anchor at WTIC-TV
- Pat McGonigle - weekends and reporter
- now weekday morning anchor at WHEC-TV
- Mollie Halpern - weekends and reporter
- now producer at WPXI
- Tina Detelj - now reporter at WTNH
- Erin Fehlau - now weekday morning and Noon anchor at WMUR-TV
- Jim Cyr - was at WPXT, then at WMTW, now reporter at WGME
- Janette Mandell
- Jennifer McNeil
Meteorologists
- + Steve McKay - weeknights
- + Roger Griswold - weekends
- + Todd Gutner - weekends
- now at WBZ-TV
- Pete Bouchard - weeknights now Chief at WHDH-TV
- J.C. Monahan - weekends and entertainment reporter
- now weekday morning and Noon meteorologist at WCVB-TV
- Ed Muir - weekends and weekday reporter
- now fill-in meteorologist and reporter at NWCN
- Heather Tesch - now at The Weather Channel
- Bill Thomas - weekends
- Craig Miller - now at WGME
Sports
- + Bruce Glasier - weeknights
- + Lee Goldberg - weekends
- Glenn Gleason - weekends and news reporter
- Dave Eid - was at WPXT in early 1990s
- now Sports Director at WGME
- Tom Caron - originally sports anchor and reporter at WGME (1988-1993), then sports reporter at WPXT (1993-1996), now sports reporter at NESN
- Paul Greene
- Jamie Kenneally
[edit] Logos
 WPXT's FOX logo. |
 The station's first WB logo used 2001 to 2004. |
 Its second WB logo used 2004 to 2006. |
 WPXT's first logo as a CW affiliate. |
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The station's current logo. |
[edit] External links
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