WYZZ-TV
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| Bloomington/Normal/ Peoria, Illinois |
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| City of license | Bloomington |
| Branding | Fox 43 (general) Fox 43 News |
| Slogan | Your LOCAL Weather Authority |
| Channels | Digital: 28 (UHF) Virtual: 43 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 43.1 Fox 43.3 The Country Network |
| Network | Fox |
| Owner | Sinclair Broadcast Group (operated through LMA by Nexstar Broadcasting Group) {sale to Cunningham Broadcasting pending} (WYZZ Licensee, Inc.) |
| First air date | October 18, 1982 |
| Sister station(s) | WMBD-TV, WICS/WICD, WRSP/WCCU, WBUI |
| Former callsigns | WBLN (1982-1985) |
| Former channel number(s) | 43 (UHF analog, 1982-2009) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1982-1986) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW |
| Height | 293 m |
| Class | DT |
| Facility ID | 5875 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°38′40.5″N 89°10′45.9″W / 40.644583°N 89.179417°W |
| Website | centralillinoisproud.com/ |
WYZZ-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Central Illinois that is licensed to Bloomington. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 28 (or virtual channel 43.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in Montgomery Township. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 6 and Mediacom channel 10 with HD provided on Mediacom digital channel 710 and Comcast digital channel 910.
Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, WYZZ is operated by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group through a local marketing agreement (LMA) as a sister outlet to CBS affiliate WMBD-TV. The two stations share studios on North University Street in Peoria. Syndicated programming on this station includes The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, The Simpsons, and Judge Joe Brown among others.
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Digital television [edit]
| Channel | Name | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43.1 | WYZZ-DT | 720p | 16:9 | Main WYZZ-TV programming / Fox |
| 43.3 | TCN | 480i | 4:3 | The Country Network |
History [edit]
The station signed-on October 18, 1982 and aired an analog signal on UHF channel 43. Ir was founded as WBLN (standing for We BeLieve iN) by members of Peoria's Grace Presbyterian Church. Except for the call sign, it was unrelated to the old WBLN that broadcasted on UHF channel 15 in the 1950s. The station was a religious Independent and first new outlet to sign-on since future sister WMBD hit the airwaves 24 years earlier. WBLN was sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1985 which changed its calls to the current WYZZ-TV and turned it into central Illinois' first general-entertainment independent station. On October 6, 1986, the station joined Fox as a charter affiliate.
In 2002, Sinclair and the Nexstar Broadcasting Group (owner of WMBD) entered into a local marketing agreement (LMA) in which WMBD would take over WYZZ's operations. As part of the deal, WYZZ moved from its studios on East Lincoln Street in Bloomington to WMBD's facilities in Peoria. In August 2005, a similar agreement would be established between Nexstar's WROC-TV and Sinclair's WUHF in Rochester, New York. WYZZ broadcasts digitally on UHF channel 28 and (like most Sinclair-owned stations) has been digital-only since February 17, 2009.[1] According to a post on The Peoria Chronicle website, WYZZ and WMBD were planning on terminating the local marketing agreement between the two effective April 1, 2010. Since the two station still operate together today, it appears this move was not followed through with. [2]
Sinclair announced the acquisition of Barrington Broadcasting's stations, including ABC affiliate WHOI, on February 28, 2013. On that date, Sinclair announced that it would transfer the WYZZ license, along with that of sister station WSYT in Syracuse, New York, to Cunningham Broadcasting because the WHOI purchase would violate Federal Communications Commission regulations on duopoly ownership.[3] However, nearly all of Cunningham Broadcasting's stock is controlled by trusts in the names of the principal owners of Sinclair, so in effect Sinclair will continue to own WYZZ. Even with the Sinclair acquisition of WHOI and the Cunningham acquisition of WYZZ, both stations will remain operated by their current LMA partners WEEK-TV and WMBD-TV, respectively, making Peoria the only market in the country where Sinclair virtually owns a duopoly but does not control the operations of either station. On May 15, 2012, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Fox agreed to a five-year extension to the network's affiliation agreement with Sinclair's 19 Fox stations, including WYZZ-TV, allowing them to continue carrying the network's programming until 2017.[4]
Newscasts [edit]
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (May 2013) |
Through a news share agreement, sister station WMBD produces a weeknight prime time newscast on WYZZ. Known on-air as Fox 43 News First at 9, this sixty minute broadcast competes with another weeknight-only show seen for a half-hour on MyNetworkTV affiliate WAOE (produced by NBC affiliate WEEK-TV). WYZZ also aired a weekend edition of its local newscast but this was dropped.
At some point in time after WEEK-TV and WHOI combined operations, those two outlets became Peoria's first news department to upgrade local news to 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen. Although not truly high definition, the shows match the aspect ratio of HD television screens. All broadcasts currently seen on WYZZ and WMBD remain in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition and it is unclear if and/or when Nexstar/Sinclair plans on upgrading these two stations to enhanced definition or full HD level.
In addition to the main facility in Peoria, WYZZ and WMBD operate a Twin Cities Bureau on East Lincoln Street in Bloomington that was WYZZ's original studios (when it operated as a separate entity). Therefore, this makes the two stations the only outlets in the area with a significant Bloomington/Normal operation. Along with other reporters, Fox 43 News First at 9 features news anchor Maria Chandler, Chief Meteorologist Marcus Bailey, and Sports Director Kurt Pegler.
Reporters
- Jacob Long - Twin Cities Bureau Chief
- Thom Parker - Chief Photographer
- Michael Klos - sports
- Eugene Daniel
- Cody Murphy
- Kim Behrens
- Lisa Miller
References [edit]
- ^ FCC list of full-service US TV stations, February 16, 2009
- ^ http://peoriachronicle.com/2010/01/20/wmbd-and-wyzz-to-split/
- ^ Malone, Michael (February 28, 2013). "Sinclair's Chesapeake TV Acquires Barrington Stations". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ Sinclair Reups With Fox, Gets WUTB Option, TVNewsCheck, May 15, 2012.
External links [edit]
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