WRCX-LP
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| WRCX-LP | |
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| Dayton, Ohio | |
| Channels | Analog: 40 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | ION Television |
| Owner | Ross Communcations, Ltd. |
| Founded | August 24, 1987 |
| Former callsigns | WUCT-LP (1995-2000) W51CJ (1994-1995) W56BR (1987-1994) |
| Former affiliations | Network One (mid to late-1990s) The WB (1995-1999) Black Family Channel (?-2007) |
| Transmitter Power | 29 kW |
| Website | www.wrcxtv.com |
WRCX-LP is a low power television station in Dayton, Ohio, broadcasting locally on channel 40. Founded August 24, 1987 as WUCT, the station is owned by Ross Communications, Ltd.
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[edit] History
WRCX originally signed on in the mid-1990s as WUCT-LP channel 51; the station was, at one point, a charter affiliate of The WB network. However, they lost the affiliation to WBDT in 1999, in part due to management trouble, and that WBDT's ownership group (ACME Communications) is run by Jamie Kellner, the founding president of the WB, influencing the affiliation their way.
Ross Communications, owned by Dayton resident Glenn "Skip" Ross, purchased the station from Higher Calling Enterprises, who essentially ran WUCT into the ground with unpaid bills and rent.
At one point, the Higher Calling group was locked out of the building due to unpaid rent. The station's lone master control operator at the time, broke into the building to bring the station back on the air.
Upon taking the station over, however, in addition to paying the bills on time, Ross started to gather programming that would be of interest to the area's minority community, and even offered programming that wasn't available on other stations.
During the time of transition of ownership, the previous group was barred from going onto the property, while the legal battles over the license continued.
[edit] New Ownership and Staff
Although the company's offices are located on Hillcrest Avenue in Dayton, the station continued to physically broadcast from WUCT's studios on Gettysburg Avenue, which housed the transmitter and was owned by WPTD, the local PBS station. The building serviced as studios, offices, and the transmitter facility for WRCX, WUCT and WPTD.
In 2001, Ross hired former WKEF Master Control Operator Michael Crook for the same position, with the intent of having him run the station's engineering interests.
However, due to the lack of staff dedicated solely to the station, Crook quickly assumed other responsibilities, acting in the role of Program Director, (later officially referred to as Program Advisor. This was a role left empty by the departure of Walter Briggs, a local sports personality, due to personality conflicts between Briggs and Ross. Briggs had been part of the staff under the old ownership.
Ross also employed the services of Fran Robinson, who at the time was an on-air personality at local station WDTN, although she was mostly on the production side, rarely appearing on-air. She mostly did voiceovers for commercials that the company did for the local Ross automobile dealerships, owned by Ross' cousin.
[edit] Programming
Under Crook's guidance, with constant supervision from Ross, new programming was added constantly, including children's programming, such as Zebby's Zoo, and Blinky Bill. During this time of transition, sports programming was added, which consisted mostly of live coverage of African-American teams. Not only that, but numerous musical specials aired.
When the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred, the station aired around the clock news coverage, thanks to agreements with World Harvest Television, America One, and a special arrangement with CNN. WRCX was also one of the many stations nationwide who aired a live concert as a benefit for the victims' families.
For a time, the station aired Music and the Spoken Word, a program produced by the Mormon church. This program was added upon Ross' learning that Gladys Knight is a member of the church. Another religious show, Singsations, which aired from Chicago. That show was pulled from the schedule in 2001, due to a lack of new shows being produced.
Around this time, Ross was searching for a network that would provide programming and resources for WRCX.
Ross wanted UPN, which was on a cable channel operated by WHIO, and although network representatives met with both Ross and Crook, they did not get the affiliation.
The next possible network was Pax, but that idea was dropped when it was learned the network wanted a ten-year deal.
All hope was not lost, however, in the quest for a network.
Crook was instrumental in bringing the Black Family Channel to WRCX, by presenting the idea to Ross, after he'd instructed Crook to "find a network" after UPN turned the station down. The BFC was then known as MBC, and remains a network that caters to African-American families.
Also added during this time was an agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers. To this day, the station continues to broadcast their games.
However, at one point, ACN, a shop-at-home channel, pulled their paid programming from WRCX after Crook brought to their attention alleged wrongdoing on the part of Ross. On several occasions, Ross allegedly asked Crook to sign off on programming affidavits that affirmed the station broadcast the client's programming for a certain number of hours, when in reality, Ross used that time to experiment with new programming.
Because of what he felt were ethical and legal concerns, Crook suddenly resigned from the station in early March of 2002, and informed several clients of the alleged misdeeds.
WRCX eventually bounced back with paid programming from a competing channel.
[edit] Losing Channel 51
The station began to transition to facilities at the Hillcrest location, in preparation for the loss of their Channel 51 signal. WRCX began sending a signal directly to the cable company to ensure that they would remain available to most of their viewers while arrangements were made to broadcast on Channel 40.
In the Spring of 2002, fellow Dayton station WKEF officially took over the Channel 51 slot for its digital allocation, leaving WRCX without an over-the-air signal for a time, though it remained on Channel 22 for much of the area's Time Warner Cable subscribers.
[edit] WRCX Today
WRCX gained approval to broadcast on Channel 40, and now that the license and ownership has been officially transferred to Ross Communications after years of appeals and battles with one of WUCT's former members, the station continues to broadcast original and syndicated programming to the Dayton area. WRCX TV-40 has become the #1 leader in High School Sports coverage in the Dayton/Miami Valley and an innovator in creating local shows for the market.
WRCX remains active in the Dayton community, according to its website.
[edit] Black Family Channel leaves cable and terrestrial
On April 24, 2007, BFC announced that they would cease as a cable channel, effective April 30, 2007, as part of a deal in which BFC's programming and subscriber base would be sold to the Gospel Music Channel. [1]. It was announced on June 3, 2008 that the station would become the newest affiliate of ION Television, as announced on the home page of their website [2].
[edit] External links
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