WFXS-DT (channel 55) was a
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the eart ...
licensed to
Wittenberg, Wisconsin
Wittenberg is a village in Shawano County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,081 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Wittenberg.
History
In 1886, the Wittenberg Indian School was established by the Norwegi ...
, United States, which served north-central Wisconsin, including
Wausau and
Rhinelander. Owned by Davis Television,
LLC, it was most recently affiliated with the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
network. WFXS-DT's studios were located on North 3rd Street in Wausau, and its transmitter was located northeast of
Nutterville in
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to:
* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality
* Unincorporated entity, a type of organization
* Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
Marathon County.
History
The station signed on
December 1, 1999, as WFXS and aired an
analog
Analog or analogue may refer to:
Computing and electronics
* Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable
** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals
*** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...
signal on UHF channel 55. It was an affiliate of Fox from its start; before WFXS went on-the-air, most programming from the network was seen in north-central Wisconsin on some
Charter systems from the
Green Bay station that carried Fox (
WGBA
WGBA-TV (channel 26) is a television station in Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Appleton-licensed independent station WACY-TV (channel 32). Both stations share studi ...
from 1992 to 1995, and
WLUK-TV
WLUK-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Suring-licensed CW affiliate WCWF (channel 14). Both stations share stud ...
from 1995 to 1999). Other
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
systems in the
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
carried the national
Foxnet
Foxnet was an American cable television channel that was owned by the Fox Entertainment Group division of News Corporation. Serving as a national feed of the Fox Broadcasting Company (known simply as Fox), the service was intended for American t ...
feed.
Some Fox programming was also shown locally through a secondary affiliation on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate
WAOW
WAOW (channel 9) is a television station in Wausau, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC and owned by Entertainment Studios, Allen Media Broadcasting. The station's studios are located on Grand Avenue/U.S. ...
(channel 9) from the early-1990s until WFXS began operations; this included the ''
NFL on Fox'' following the launch of
Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
in 1994. On a side note, Davis Television was the previous owner of fellow Fox affiliate
WVFX
WVFX (channel 10) is a television station licensed to Clarksburg, West Virginia, United States, serving North-Central West Virginia as an affiliate of Fox and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Weston-licensed CBS affiliate WD ...
in
Clarksburg,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
.
Transition to digital
Since it was granted an original
construction permit after the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC) finalized the
digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative adva ...
allotment plan on April 21, 1997, the station did not initially receive a companion channel for a digital television station, and was thus required to "
flash-cut" to digital upon completing the transition to digital. WFXS installed a direct fiber optic line to Charter's local headend for use by it and satellite providers to allow the services to carry a high definition signal. The FCC eventually allocated UHF channel 50 (later assigned to channel 31) to its digital service. WFXS was required to surrender analog channel 55 after its conversion, as that spectrum was sold to
Qualcomm for use by its
MediaFLO mobile video application.
Like all Wausau
commercial stations, WFXS decided to go ahead with the February 17, 2009 conversion date despite the
DTV Delay Act
The digital transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of terrestrial television programming. According to David Rehr, then president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, th ...
changing the actual switch date to June 12. At that time, the station's digital antenna was installed. However, the weather that week was bitterly cold and uncooperative. Several issues caused problems such as
hydraulic fluid freezing on the heavy winch system (required to lift the new antenna), high winds, and the installation not going as planned as a result. These issues caused the new digital antenna to be damaged which had to be repaired elsewhere. Management of the station received cooperation of WAOW-TV to air WFXS' signal digitally until the antenna could be installed. It did so over the third
digital subchannel of WAOW (and its
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
in
Eagle River,
WYOW
WAOW (channel 9) is a television station in Wausau, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Allen Media Broadcasting. The station's studios are located on Grand Avenue/US 51 in Wausau, and its transmitter is located on Rib M ...
) replacing the
Retro Television Network
Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through t ...
(RTV).
The digital antenna was installed successfully on March 1 and put into service shortly thereafter without any problems. The WAOW-DT3/WYOW-DT3 simulcast continued for an additional day to make sure WFXS' transmitter was running well. The next day, both third digital subchannels of WAOW and WYOW began airing
This TV
This TV (also known as This TV Network and alternately stylized as thisTV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by Allen Media
Broadcast Networks, LLC, part of the Allen Media Group division of Entertainment Studios. Originally f ...
. WFXS was back on-air with full-power on digital channel 31 featuring a 720p high definition broadcast. Overnight on March 3, 2009, a cooling line in the transmitter building burst causing heavy water damage to the building's floor and furnishings. The water also caused minor damage to WFXS' transmitter which had to be taken off-line. Once again, it received permission from WAOW/WYOW to broadcast over 9.3/34.3 while the damage was repaired.
On March 9, WFXS resumed normal digital operations and asked viewers to rescan digital televisions and converter boxes. The station was able to return the favor to WAOW a short time later when digital reception problems at WYOW prevented the signal from being received. WFXS temporarily added WAOW's signal to its own second subchannel in order to feed WAOW's signal to WYOW. WAOW added a microwave feed to the WYOW tower site to fix the problem permanently.
In April 2009, WFXS added a second
digital subchannel to carry Untamed Sports TV; the station then added a third subchannel to return RTV (previously carried on WAOW-DT3/WYOW-DT3) to the Wausau airwaves in early-September 2009. The station changed its calls to WFXS-DT on December 15, 2009. In late-March 2011, Untamed Sports TV programming was replaced by
MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
(then a sister operation to This TV). WFXS-DT2 was also seen on Charter
digital channel 965 while WFXS-DT3 could also be seen on Charter digital channel 964. Retro TV on 55.3 was replaced on October 1, 2014, with MeTV's sister network
Movies!
Movies! (also known as simply M!) is an American free-to-air television network, owned by Popcorn Entertainment, LLC, a joint venture between Weigel Broadcasting and the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Corporation. The network's prog ...
; WFXS was the last remaining affiliate of Retro TV in the state of Wisconsin, as all the other markets in the state dropped the network by the end of 2012.
Shutdown and replacement with WZAW-LD
On July 1, 2015,
Gray Television (owner of
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
affiliate
WSAW-TV
WSAW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Wausau, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with CBS, MyNetworkTV, and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Fox affiliate WZAW-LD (channel 33). Both stations share s ...
, channel 7) bought WFXS' non-license assets and established a new
low-power station (
WZAW-LD channel 33). All of WFXS' program streams including WFXS' existing PSIP channel numbering was then moved to the low-powered outlet (though at the time, WFXS' transmitter facilities were merely transferred to the WZAW-LD license, with its transmitter power reduced to meet the low-power license requirements and its channels re-numbered to WZAW's channel 33). Subsequently, the WFXS license ceased broadcasting after nearly sixteen years on-the-air on July 1 at 11:59 p.m., and its studios on North 3rd Street were shut down.
In consenting to the interference that would be caused by WZAW operating under
special temporary authority on channel 31 (the same
RF channel as WFXS) rather than its licensed channel 33, Davis Television stated that it would return the WFXS license to the FCC for cancellation following the sale;
the license was canceled on July 23, 2015.
Fate of channel allocation
The former channel 31 allocation for Wittenburg was put up for auction in the spring of 2022, with
Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting Co. is an American television broadcasting company based in Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV (Channel 26), at 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood. It currently owns 25 television s ...
winning the auction and likely to re-launch it some time in 2023, this time likely targeting both the Green Bay and Wausau markets and angling for pay-TV carriage in both, assuring full coverage for their subchannel networks, including
MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
,
H&I, and
Start TV
Start TV is an American free-to-air television network owned as a joint venture between Weigel Broadcasting and the CBS News and Stations subsidiary of Paramount Global. Predominantly carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated televisi ...
, once the station signs on the air.
Newscasts
In 2000, WFXS established a news share agreement with WAOW-TV (owned by
Quincy Newspapers
Quincy Media, Inc., formerly known as Quincy Newspapers, Inc., was a family-owned media company that originated in the newspapers of Quincy, Illinois. The company's history can be traced back to 1835, when the ''Bounty Land Register'' was one of ...
). This arrangement resulted in a weeknight prime time newscast to debut on this Fox outlet. The broadcast, known as ''Fox 55 News at 9'', could be seen for thirty minutes. Although there was no weekend edition of the show, it was eventually joined by a weekday morning newscast (also produced by WAOW) on April 23, 2012. Known as ''Fox 55 This Morning'', this program aired for an hour (from 7 until 8) on WFXS offering a local alternative to the national
morning programs seen on the
big three networks
In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and American Broadcasting Company, ABC (Amer ...
.
Both of the WFXS newscasts maintained a separate music package and graphics scheme from WAOW. The broadcasts originated from WAOW's primary set at its studios (on Grand Avenue/
US 51
U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered High ...
in Wausau) but with unique
duratrans Duratrans were invented by Eastman Kodak Co. in the late 1970s and trademarked in 1982, to ascribe to their newly developed large-format backlit color transparency film, by shortening the material name of Endura Transparency. The original duratrans ...
indicating the Fox-branded shows. On June 19, 2011, WAOW became the market's second television outlet to upgrade local news to high definition level. Included in the change was a redesigned set and updated graphics scheme.
WFXS did not transition its newscasts to HD until 2012. On July 1, 2015, concurrent with the Fox affiliation moving to WZAW, both of the WAOW-produced newscasts were cancelled after the news share arrangement was terminated; WAOW eventually re-launched the newscast within weeks at the same time on WAOW-DT2 for their
CW subchannel.
Subchannels
The station's digital signal was
multiplexed
In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:
References
{{Wausau TV
FXS-DT
Defunct television stations in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 1999
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2015
1999 establishments in Wisconsin
2015 disestablishments in Wisconsin
FXS-DT