WNFM-TV
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| "WNFM" | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Fort Myers / Naples, Florida | |
| Branding | My TV 8 (cable channel) |
| Slogan | Southwest Florida's MyNetworkTV |
| Channels | Analog: cable 8 Digital: none |
| Affiliations | MyNetworkTV Jewelry Television (overnight) |
| Owner | operated by Comcast |
| Founded | January 11, 1995 |
| Call letters’ meaning | Naples / Fort Myers |
| Former callsigns | "WSWF" (1995-1998) WEVU (1998-2004) |
| Former channel number(s) | cable 10 |
| Former affiliations | The WB (1995-1998) UPN (1998-2006) |
| Website | mytv8.com |
"WNFM" is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Southwest Florida. The callsign is fictional as it is a cable-only station. It broadcasts on Comcast channel 8 (hence the My TV 8 branding). The station is operated out of Comcast's Southwest Florida offices on Tower Road in the Belle Meade section of South Naples. John P. Jacob is the director of sales for WNFM.
WNFM and "WAMY-TV" in Huntsville, Alabama are the only MyNetworkTV affiliates that have fictional call letters. Along with MyNetworkTV prime time, syndicated programming on WNFM includes: Tyra, Jerry Springer, COPS, and South Park. Overnight, the station airs programing from Jewelry Television.
[edit] History
The station began broadcasting on January 11, 1995. It was affiliated with the new WB network and was available only on cable. Due to its channel 10 location, the station was known on-air as WB 10. It used the call letters WSWF in a fictional manner. In 1998, WSWF switched its WB affiliation with UPN affiliate WTVK (now WXCW). Several months later, it took over the operations of the market's replacement over-the-air UPN affiliate, WEVU-LP. At that time, the station discarded the WSWF call letters in favor of WEVU and adopted the on-air moniker UPN 8 after changing its cable channel location to that channel (which had previously been used by WEVU-LP). In 2004, the station resumed using a fictional call sign, this time WNFM. Comcast ended the working agreement when WEVU added its signal onto DirecTV.
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW, the letters representing the first initial of its corporate parents: CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. On February 22, News Corporation announced that they would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV. This new network, which would be sister to Fox, would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming independent, as well as to compete against The CW.
On March 9, Acme Communications announced that all of its WB stations (including WTVK) would affiliate with The CW. However, it was likely that WTVK would receive the CW affiliation without the corporate deal, as WNFM is a cable-only station. On August 10, confirmation that WNFM would become the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate was made. On that date, the station became known on-air as My TV 8. A new website for the station was made public that featured a new MyNetworkTV logo. At one point, WNFM was the broadcast home of the Florida Everblades ice hockey team.
[edit] Newscasts
WNFM airs a news magazine program called D'Latinos Morning News, which airs in Spanish, on weekday mornings at 7. It is hosted by Mayela Rosales, Martin Ycaza, and Carlos Zapata. There are also weekday Noon and 5 P.M. editions of the show that air on Azteca América affiliate WTPH-LP. In late-August of 2006, ABC affiliate WZVN-TV began producing a nightly, half-hour 10 o'clock news on WNFM. Known as ABC 7 Gulfshore News at 10 on My TV 8, this was the second 10 o'clock newscast established in the market behind Fox affiliate WFTX.
On March 26, 2007, CBS affiliate WINK-TV began producing a nightly 10 p.m. news on WXCW. This was the third 10 o'clock newscast in the market, and within days was ranked as the #2 10 p.m. newscast in the market. The WNFM news ended its broadcasting on May 25. This was the result of Comcast's frequent technical difficulties, which hindered the show's ratings, as well as the popularity of the WINK-TV production on WXCW.
[edit] External links
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