| Macon, Georgia | |
|---|---|
| Branding | ABC 16 (general) NewsCentral |
| Slogan | Your Source For Local News |
| Channels | Digital: WGXA-DT 16.2 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Owner | Frontier Radio Management, Inc. (Fox 24 of Macon License, LLC) |
| Founded | January 1, 2010 |
| Call letters' meaning | see WGXA |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW (digital) |
| Height | 216 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 43847 (digital) |
| Transmitter coordinates | (digital) |
WGXA-DT2 is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Georgia. The station is a second digital subchannel of Fox affiliate WGXA that is owned by Frontier Radio Management. Over-the-air, it broadcasts a digital signal on UHF channel 16.2 from a transmitter on GA 87/U.S. 23/U.S. 129 Alternate along the Bibb and Twiggs County line. It can also be seen on Cox channel 15 and in high definition on digital channel 715. Syndicated programming on WGXA-DT2 includes: Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, and Extra.
Known on-air as ABC 16 after WGXA's physical digital channel location, its parent station has studios on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (GA 11/GA 22/GA 49/U.S. 80/U.S. 129) in Downtown Macon. The channel space for WGXA is split into two 720p high definition signals for the original service and the second digital subchannel. 720p is the native broadcasting format for both networks. [1]
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On October 29, 2009, Register Communications owner of ABC affiliate WPGA-TV announced they would drop the network and go Independent on New Year's Day 2010. The company cited current network programming that is not "family-friendly," specifically homosexual content, as its reason for dropping ABC. [2] Shortly afterward, WGXA entered a long-term agreement with the network and once again picked it up as an affiliate this second digital subchannel. The main channel had been Macon's original ABC affiliate from its 1983 sign-on until switching to Fox in 1996. [3] [4] [5] [6] Cox had intended to remove WPGA from its lineup and place WGXA-DT2 on channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 706.
However on December 22, WPGA was granted a temporary restraining order requiring Cox to continue to carry that station on those channels. As a result, WGXA-DT2 is instead be seen on channel 15 pre-empting what is usually the channel space for The Inspiration Network until the settlement of WPGA's issues. [7] [8] On April 30, 2010, the court dismissed WPGA's case which would have allowed WGXA-DT2 to be seen on Cox channels 6 and 706 while WPGA is moved to another channel. However, Register filed an appeal and, in light of this, the judge ordered Cox to leave WPGA at channels 6 and 706 until an appeals court hears the case. In addition, Register also filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over the status of WPGA. [9]
On June 23, 2011, it was announced that the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that would enable Cox to drop WPGA from its line-up, effective July 28. On that date, WGXA-DT2 will simulcast on its new slot on channel 6, as well as its current channel 15 position; on August 28, it will be seen on channel 6 only, with channel 15 reused for Cox's high definition services.[10]
On July 12, 2011 Register filed a complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, seeking an injunction to prevent Cox from not only dropping WPGA, but from giving channel 6 to WGXA-DT2. However, Cox announced that their plan will continue anyway, despite the complaint, as the previous court case authorised them to make the changes.[11]
Starting March 1, 2010, there were new weeknight 7 and 11 o'clock broadcasts (along with weekday morning Good Morning America local cut-ins) added to WGXA-DT2 which required an expansion of the news department and personnel. These newscasts have a separate anchor team but utilize the same reporting, weather, and sports personnel. The 7 p.m. show competes with a newscast that airs on MyNetworkTV affiliate WMGT-DT2.
In a report in the May 28, 2010 edition of The Macon Telegraph, it was announced that talk show hosts Kenny Burgamy, Charles Richardson, and Liz Fabian would no longer be hosting a morning show on WPGA-TV and WPGA-FM 100.9 after July 20. [12] The morning news, talk, information, and entertainment show moved to the WGXA stations as well as WMAC-AM 940 on July 26. The program currently airs on weekdays from 6 to 7 on WGXA-DT2 and from 6 to 9 on the main signal. The Good Morning America weather cut-ins continue to be seen as well.
Anchors/Hosts
StormTrack Central
Sports team
Reporters
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