WQRF-TV

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WQRF-TV
Rockford, Illinois
Branding	Fox 39
Slogan	There's always something better on Fox 39
Channels	Digital: 42 (UHF)
Affiliations	Fox
Owner	Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.)
First air date	November 27, 1978
Call letters’ meaning	Quality RockFord
Sister station(s)	WTVO
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 39 (1978-2009)
Former affiliations	independent (1978-1989)
Transmitter Power	900 kW
Height	148 m
Facility ID	52408
Transmitter Coordinates	42°17′14″N 89°10′15″W / 42.28722°N 89.17083°W / 42.28722; -89.17083
Website	www.mystateline.com

WQRF-TV (Fox 39) is the Rockford, Illinois-based television affiliate of the Fox Television Network. The station began its operations on November 27, 1978, and became the area's Fox station in August 1989. The station was founded by local businessman Marvin Palmquist, who promoted the station as a "family-oriented" alternative to the area's Big Three network affiliates WREX, WTVO, and WIFR. Overcoming a four-month wait to finally get on the air, WQRF's first program was an episode of the classic sitcom, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Among some of the earlier programs to also air on the station were I Love Lucy, The Bob Newhart Show, The Jeffersons, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and first-run fare such as Entertainment Tonight, the original nighttime edition of Family Feud, The PTL Club, and The 700 Club.

As it was the only independent station in the market before becoming a network affiliate, WQRF stocked up much of its programming with live sports, including Major League Baseball (Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Milwaukee Brewers), the National Basketball Association (Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks), National Football League preseason action (Chicago Bears), and college sports (Big Ten Conference football and basketball).

Until Fox programming came into Rockford, area viewers would either pick-up (depending on location) Chicago's WFLD, Madison's WMSN, or Milwaukee's WCGV (Fox affiliate at the time), via antenna, or cable. Its transmitter is located in Rockford. It is the last full-power analog television station to sign-on in Rockford, while other stations in the area since then have either been lower-powered, cable-only, or a digital subchannel. Within four years of joining Fox, WQRF ranked as one of the network's highest-rated stations. Of course, with the expansion of Fox's primetime programming, and due to the lack of a fifth commercial station in the market, much of WQRF's off-network reruns from yesteryear and sports coverage had gradually disappeared.

The station is currently owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group, and is operated by Rockford's ABC affiliate, WTVO Channel 17 (which originally occupied the channel 39 frequency from its 1953 to 1967). The station joined Nexstar as part of the company's acquisition of Quorum Broadcasting in late 2003.

In March 2006, Fox 39 began airing a 9pm newscast, seven nights a week, with Alan Jones, a longtime Rockford television personality. This is the first 9pm newscast on a broadcast station in the Rockford market; WREX had produced a primetime newscast for its then-cable WB affiliate, WBR 14; that newscast was canceled in late 2007. On January 14, 2008, WQRF launched Rockford's first 6:30pm newscast, also anchored by Jones.

[edit] External links

• WQRF website
• Nexstar Broadcasting Group: WQRF Station Profile
• Foxified: a story of WQRF's early years, from Rockford Magazine, November 1992
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WQRF
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WQRF-TV