WPFO
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| WPFO | |
|---|---|
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| Waterville - Portland, Maine | |
| Branding | FOX 23 |
| Channels | 23 (UHF) analog, Time Warner digital cable channel 507 digital |
| Affiliations | FOX (Since 2003) |
| Owner | Corporate Media Consultants Group / Max Media |
| Founded | September 7, 1998 |
| Call letters meaning | Portland's FOX |
| Former callsigns | WMPX-TV (1998-2002) |
| Former affiliations | PAX (1999-2003) |
| Website | www.fox23me.com/ |
WPFO is the callsign of a FOX-affiliated television station serving Northern New Hampshire and Soutuern Maine. It is licensed to Waterville and has studios on Oxford Street in Portland. The station broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 23 from a transmitter located in Litchfield, Maine. WPFO does not currently broadcast an over-the-air digital signal of its own. However, WPFO does broadcast a digital signal on Time Warner digital cable channel 507. The station is known on-air as "FOX 23".
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[edit] Digital television
Because it was granted an original construction permit after the FCC finalized the DTV allotment plan on April 21, 1997 [1], the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station. Instead, on or before February 18, 2009, which is the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, WPFO will be required to turn off its analog signal and turn on its digital signal (called a "flash-cut").
[edit] History
WPFO signed on September 7, 1998 known as WMPX-TV and owned by Paxson Communications. The station originally aired programming from the PAX (now i) network. Paxson sold channel 23 in December of 2002 to Corporate Media Consultants Group, who changed the callsign to the current WPFO. The station changed its affiliation to FOX in April of 2003, filling a gap created in the Fall of 2001 when WPXT switched to The WB.
[edit] Programming
[edit] As WMPX
From September 7, 1998 to early April 2003, Winstar Communications ran the station and branded it on-air as WMPX-TV PAX 23. As such at that time, the station carried programming from the PAX Network with a small amount of local programming. During the 2000 election season, it aired a Presidential Debate from NBC News (that aired on the same night as a MLB playoff game). Some rallies of evangelist Luis Palau were also seen on the station.
[edit] As WPFO
The station airs small amount of local programming, all of it made by outside producers. A morning talk show, So Goes The Nation, was met with little success. SGTN was hosted by Alan Silberberg and former WVOM host Charlie Horne from WFVX's studios in Bangor. The show started on WFVX and WPFO began carrying it after a year and eventually simulcasting via the radio on WLOB from early 2003 untill late 2004. SGTN was a 3-hour call-in talk show until September of 2004, when it was reduced to a single hour (and losing the radio simulcast) before eventually being cancelled itself.
[edit] Newscasts
On November 9, 2005, WPFO began simulcasting WLOB-AM's weekday morning show, known as The FOX Morning News. This show is hosted by Ray Richardson and Ted Talbot. During the program, there are short features / news stories from FOX News and brief weather forecasts branded as the FOXcast with former WGME meteorologist Paul Cousins.
Starting on February 5, 2007, the area's CBS affiliate WGME began to produce a daily 35-minute 10 PM newscast for WPFO known as News 13 on FOX. This newscast competes with the 10 PM news that currently airs on WPXT, the area's CW affiliate. The WPXT newscast is produced by Maine's NBC affiliates, WCSH and WLBZ. WCSH is currently the news leader in the Portland market. The WGME-produced 10 PM newscasts on WPFO are possible because of a news share agreement between the two stations.
The FOX Morning News (6 to 9 AM weekdays)
- Hosts: Ray Richardson and Ted Talbot
- Weather: Paul Cousins
News 13 at 10 on FOX (10 to 10:35 PM daily)
Weekdays
- Anchor: Kiley Bennett
- Weather: Charlie Lopresti
- Sports: Dave Eid
Weekends
- Anchor: Doug Ray
- Weather: Max Riseman
- Sports: Adam Pellerin
the WGME-produced WPFO newscasts use additional news personnel from WGME, see the WGME article for a complete listing
[edit] Administration
- Dirk Brinkerhoff - General Manager
- Tom MacArthur - General Sales Manager
- Michael Grant - Local Sales Manager
- Teresa Pinney - Promotions Manager
- Ann Gagne - Employment
- Dave Cox - Chief Engineer
- Ann Gagne - Children's Programming Liason
- Barry Dodd - Production Manager
- Amie Marzen - News Producer / Technical Director
[edit] Logos
 Current station logo. |
 Logo for the WGME / WLOB-AM newscast. |
 WGME / WPFO newscast logo. |
[edit] External Links
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WVII 7.2 / WFVX-LP 22 (Bangor) - WAGM 8.1 (Presque Isle) - WPFO 23 (Waterville / Portland) |
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| See also: ABC, CBS, CW, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Maine | |
