WYFX-LD (channel 62) is a
low-power television station in
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...
, United States, 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. It is owned by
Nexstar Media Group
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarter offices in Irving, Texas; Midtown Manhattan; and Chicago, Illinois. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 te ...
alongside
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 Entertainmen ...
affiliate
WKBN-TV
WKBN-TV (channel 27) is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power Fox affiliate WYFX-LD (channel 62); Nexstar also provides certain services to ABC affili ...
(channel 27); Nexstar also provides certain services to
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
WYTV
WYTV (channel 33) is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Vaughan Media, which maintains joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Nexstar Media Group, ow ...
(channel 33) through
joint sales and
shared services
Shared services is the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group, where that service had previously been found, in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and th ...
agreements (JSA/SSA) with
Vaughan Media
Vaughan Media, LLC is a company which owns the broadcast licenses of several stations operated by Nexstar Media Group.
History
The company was founded in 2011 when it made its first acquisition, WBDT, from ACME Communications. LIN Media, the o ...
,
LLC
A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
. The three stations share studios on Sunset Boulevard in Youngstown's
Pleasant Grove neighborhood, where WYFX-LD's transmitter is also located.
Even though WYFX broadcasts a digital signal of its own, its low-power
broadcasting radius only covers the immediate Youngstown area. Therefore, it is
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
in
high definition on WKBN-TV's second
digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
(27.2) in order to reach the entire
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 ...
.
History
WYFX-LP, along with repeater W31BW (channel 31) in
Masury, Ohio
Masury is a census-designated place (CDP) in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,618 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren– Boardman, OH- PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The communi ...
, were launched on September 6, 1998, as the area's first full-time Fox affiliates. Previously, WYTV showed some
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 Fo ...
events from 1994 until 1998, while Fox's prime time programming was seen on cable via
WPGH-TV
WPGH-TV (channel 53) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WPNT (channel 22). Both stations share studios on Iv ...
in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, or from the network's
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
affiliates, first
WOIO-TV, then from
WJW-TV
WJW (channel 8) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, WJW maintains studios on Dick Goddard Way (named for the station's late longtime weatherman—previously ...
after WOIO switched to CBS. Between 1998 and 2000, W31BW's call letters were changed to WFXI-LP. (WFXI-LP shared its call letters with
the Fox affiliate in
Morehead City, North Carolina
Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast.
His ...
; both stations were owned by
Piedmont Television
Piedmont Television was a broadcasting company in the United States that owned television stations in smaller markets. The company was based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Piedmont was founded in 1996 as Grapevine Communications, and was originall ...
until 2007, but were otherwise unrelated.) With
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 advanc ...
in its infancy at the time, WYFX and WFXI were started with their own signals as opposed to future stations
WFMJ-DT2
WFMJ-TV (channel 21) is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. The station is locally owned by the Maag family. WFMJ-TV's studios are located on West Boardman Street in downtown Youngstown, and i ...
and WYTV-DT2, which were both launched on new second
digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
s of WFMJ-TV and WYTV respectively. This resulted in WYFX and WFXI having their own licenses with 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 jurisdiction ...
(FCC). Because of
duopoly
A duopoly (from Greek δύο, ''duo'' "two" and πωλεῖν, ''polein'' "to sell") is a type of oligopoly where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market. It is the most commonly studied form of oligopoly due to its simplicit ...
rules at the time, which would be partially repealed only two years later, both stations were launched as low-power stations (though WFXI converted to a
class A license on channel 17, licensed to
Mercer, Pennsylvania
Mercer is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,982 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Mahoning Vall ...
, in 2002).
The two were originally branded "Fox 40/62", followed by "Fox 31/62" and finally "Fox 17/62" for most of their first ten years. In 2008, the stations started slowly re-branding themselves as "Fox Youngstown" in some advertisements, despite still using the "Fox 17/62" logo. This was done because the on-air branding of "Fox 17/62" would be rendered useless once they would be forced to sign off their analog signals in 2012. Low-power and class A analog signals have a later deadline for sign-off than the June 12, 2009 sign-off for full-powered analog signals like WKBN. Additionally, WYFX and WFXI are carried on different channel positions on cable.
A new logo was introduced for the start of the
2008–2009 fall season, similar to the old logo except that the "17/62" designation, as well as the WYFX calls, are removed. Some advertisements still used the "Fox 17/62" branding for some time afterward, but as of October 2008, the stations had all but fully renamed themselves as "Fox Youngstown". A completely redesigned logo would debut in February 2009, matching WKBN's then-newly redesigned logo, and by that point, all references to the stations' channel numbers had disappeared.
On February 8, 2009, WKBN did a "dual HD" test airing both
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
on 41.1 and the
Gatorade Duel
The Bluegreen Vacations Duel, formerly known as the Twin 125s, is a NASCAR Cup Series preliminary event to the Daytona 500 held annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. It consists of two races, which both serve as a qualifying rac ...
(the qualifying race for the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
) on 41.2 in a possible attempt to broadcast both signals in high definition full-time. Previously, WKBN-DT2 was aired in
standard definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
with special sporting events (such as additional games from the
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...
) using 41.3 in HD. WKBN had to compress both signals to the
720p
720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcast ...
format in order to make it possible. That station began broadcasting both channels in high definition full-time the next day making WKBN the eighth station nationally to broadcast two subchannels in high definition on the same signal. This continued until October 4, 2011, when New Vision moved the WYFX-HD transmission to the WYFX-LD antenna.
WFXI-CA was closed down on October 1, 2009, with the license being returned to the
FCC
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 jurisdiction ...
the next day.
However, current television listings continue to display WFXI-CA. Although WYFX would not normally qualify for
must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.
North America Canada
Under current CRTC regulations, the lowest tier of service on ...
due to being a low-power station, it is carried on all Mahoning Valley cable systems as part of the compensation for carrying WKBN. It is noticeably absent from
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
systems in
New Castle, Pennsylvania
New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is northwest of Pittsburgh, and near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, just southeast of Youngstown, Ohio. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, ...
, which, despite being considerably closer to Youngstown, is part of the Pittsburgh market.
On May 7, 2012,
LIN TV Corporation announced that it would acquire the New Vision Television station group for $330.4 million and the assumption of $12 million in debt. Along with the outright ownership of WYFX-LD and sister station WKBN-TV, the agreement included the acquisition of New Vision's shared services agreement with PBC Broadcasting (whose station licenses would be transferred to Vaughan Media as part of the deal), giving LIN operational control of WYTV. LIN and Vaughan also entered into a joint sales agreement for WYTV. On October 2, the FCC approved the proposed sale to LIN TV. The transaction was completed on October 12, 2012.
On March 21, 2014,
Media General
Media General was an American media company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired ''The Richmond Daily Times'', which later became ''The Richmond Times-Dispatch' ...
announced that it would purchase LIN Media and its stations, including WKBN-TV, WYFX-LD, and the SSA and JSA with WYTV, in a $1.6 billion merger.
The FCC approved the deal on December 12, 2014, but a condition of the deal requires Media General to end the JSA between WKBN-TV and WYTV within two years due to tighter regulations on such deals; Media General is not required to divest itself of WYFX-LD, since low-powered stations do not count against FCC ownership limits. The merger was completed on December 19.
In September 2015, Texas-based
Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarter offices in Irving, Texas; Midtown Manhattan; and Chicago, Illinois. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 te ...
announced it would acquire Media General and all of its stations, including WYFX, for $4.6 billion. The FCC approved the merger on January 11, 2016, and the sale was finalized on January 18, 2016.
On
December 31
It is known by a collection of names including: Saint Sylvester's Day, New Year's Eve or Old Years Day/Night, as the following day is New Year's Day. It is the last day of the year; the following day is January 1, the first day of the followin ...
, 2015, WYFX activated 19.3, which became the Youngstown affiliate for
Laff
Laff (legal name: Laff Media, LLC) is an American digital multicast television network headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes in comedy programmi ...
. WYFX then activated 19.2 for
GetTV
getTV is an American digital multicast television network owned by the Sony Pictures Television Networks subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television. Originally formatted as a movie-oriented service, the network has since transitioned into a genera ...
on February 1, 2016. On April 23, 2018, WYFX activated three more digital subchannels as part of WKBN-TV and WYTV sharing spectrum following Nexstar selling WKBN-TV's spectrum as part of the FCC's
spectrum reallocation
The 2016 United States wireless spectrum auction, officially known as Auction 1001, allocated approximately 100 MHz of the United States Ultra High Frequency (UHF) spectrum formerly allocated to UHF television in the 600 MHz band. The spe ...
program. In order to make room for WKBN-TV,
Ion Television
Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...
(previously on 27.3) moved to WYFX 19.3 while
Bounce TV
Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...
(previously on 33.3) moved to WYFX 19.4; Laff subsequently moved to 19.5 and GetTV to 19.6, while 19.2 became a high-definition simulcast of
MyYTV (to provide the immediate Youngstown area with over-the-air
720p
720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcast ...
HD access to
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
programming).
Attention viewers: WKBN is switching frequencies
WKBN-TV (04/20/2018) As WYTV-DT2 is currently airing in standard definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
, and its high-definition simulcast is on a low-power station, MyNetworkTV programming in HD is only available on cable and satellite outside the immediate Youngstown area.
Newscasts
On January 23, 2006, WYFX's ''First News at 10 on Fox 17/62'' (produced by WKBN) became the area's only hour-long prime time broadcast on weeknights while remaining thirty minutes on weekends. After a rebranding occurred in 2008, the title changed to ''First News on Fox''. For a period, WYFX's show competed with another newscast seen at the same time on MyNetwork affiliate WYTV
WYTV (channel 33) is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Vaughan Media, which maintains joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Nexstar Media Group, ow ...
-DT2 that was produced by its parent ABC station.
There is also a two-hour weekday morning show seen on WYFX while WKBN broadcasts ''CBS Mornings
''CBS Mornings'' is an American morning television program which is broadcast on CBS. The program debuted on September 7, 2021, and airs live every weekday from 7:00a.m. to 9:00a.m. It is hosted by Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, and Nate Burleson, ...
''. Known as ''First News This Morning on Fox'', the program is essentially an extension of the CBS affiliate's show offering a local alternative. On May 6, 2010, WKBN and WYTV upgraded their combined news operation to high definition. Local news seen on Fox affiliate WYFX was also included in the change.
WYFX (through sister station WKBN-TV) has a news and weather sharing partnership with Youngstown's iHeart Media
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
radio cluster, which includes WKBN (570 AM), WNIO
WNIO (1390 AM - branded 1390 The Gambler) — is an American radio station in Youngstown, Ohio with a sports talk radio format, serving as the Youngstown affiliate for Fox Sports Radio and VSiN Radio. WNIO also carries Ohio State University f ...
(1390 AM), WNCD
WNCD is a commercial radio station serving Youngstown, Ohio, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and broadcasting a mainstream rock format at 93.3 MHz. Its signal covers Youngstown, Warren, and New Castle, PA, and at times even reaches Erie and New Kens ...
(93.3 FM), WAKZ
WAKZ (95.9 FM, "Real 95.9") is a radio station licensed to Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, and serving Youngstown, Ohio. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station airs a mainstream urban radio format. Prior to July 2, 2020, WAKZ broadcast ...
(95.9 FM), WMXY
WMXY (98.9 MHz "Mix 98.9") is a commercial FM radio station in Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts a mainstream adult contemporary radio format and switches to all-Christmas music for much of November and December. WMXY is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. ...
(98.9 FM), and WBBG
WBBG (106.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, market with a country music format. The station is licensed to Niles, Ohio. WBBG is also a local affiliate for the Ohio State Sports Network football games.
The station first si ...
(106.1 FM).
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is 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
External links
*
{{NXST TV
Television channels and stations established in 1998
1998 establishments in Ohio
YFX-LD
Low-power television stations in the United States
Fox network affiliates
MyNetworkTV affiliates
Ion Television affiliates
Bounce TV affiliates
Laff (TV network) affiliates
Antenna TV affiliates
Nexstar Media Group