| Brunswick, Georgia/Jacksonville, Florida | |
|---|---|
| Branding | Ion Television |
| Channels | Digital: 24 (UHF) Virtual: 21 (PSIP) |
| Translators | WPXJ-LP 41 Jacksonville |
| Affiliations | Ion Television |
| Owner | Ion Media Networks, Inc. (Ion Media Brunswick License, Inc.) |
| First air date | April 2, 1990 |
| Call letters' meaning | PaXson Communications (original name of current owner) |
| Former callsigns | WBSG-TV (1990-2001) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 21 (1990-2009) |
| Former affiliations | independent (1990-1995) The WB (1995-1997) ABC (1997-2000) Pax TV (2000-2005) i (2005-2007) |
| Transmitter power | 500 kW |
| Height | 418 m |
| Facility ID | 71236 |
| Website | www.iontelevision.com |
WPXC-TV is the Ion Television television station in the Jacksonville, Florida, market, but licenced to serve Brunswick, Georgia. Owned by Ion Media Networks, the station broadcasts on digital channel 24. In addition, the station has a low power repeater in Jacksonville, WPXJ-LP, on channel 41.
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What is now WPXC-TV was granted a construction permit on December 28, 1987.[1] It began broadcasting April 2, 1990 as WBSG-TV, an independent station. The station affiliated with The WB upon its launch in 1995.[2] However, WBSG struggled financially, and on August 2, 1996, the station's owner signed a local marketing agreement with Allbritton Communications, effective September 1.[3] Allbritton had also reached a deal to switch its entire station group to ABC, and in February 1997 WBSG, along with new station WJXX, replaced WJKS (now WCWJ) as Jacksonville's ABC affiliate.[4]
Allbritton heavily invested in the two stations[5], including building studios on A.C. Skinner Parkway in Jacksonville.[6] However, WBSG and WJXX failed to gain significant traction in the market, in part because the stations joined ABC earlier than planned (the switch was moved up, at ABC's request, from April 1997 after WJKS announced it would no longer air the entire ABC schedule) and, even between their two transmitters, never had full signal parity with WJXT and WTLV.[5] After the Federal Communications Commission legalized duopolies on November 15, 1999, Allbritton announced the sale of WJXX to WTLV owner Gannett Company the next day.[5] Gannett did not acquire WBSG[5], and in March 2000 it became an affiliate of Pax (a forerunner to Ion Television).[7] The network's parent company, Paxson Communications (now Ion Media Networks), bought the station that September[8], and changed its call letters to WPXC-TV the following year.[9]
What is now WPXJ-LP was granted a construction permit to operate on channel 59 on November 12, 1986[10], under the callsign W59BC.[11] A license to cover was issued on July 29, 1988.[12] The station applied to move to channel 41 and become W41BM in 1992.[11][13] Although the FCC regards the station has having immediately changed callsigns[11], the move was not licensed until 1996[14]; a few months later, the station was renamed WDVL-LP.[11]
WDVL was silent by December 1997, when Paxson Communications purchased the station from original owner Jacksonville Translator, Inc.[15] It returned to the air in April 1998 as WPXJ-LP, temporarily carrying Paxson's inTV infomercial programming until the launch of Pax on August 31.[16] WPXJ was the only Pax station in the market until WBSG-TV's switch to Pax and acquisition by Paxson in 2000.
This station have a construction permit to flash-cut from analog to digital on channel 41. [17] No word on when the flash-cut commence.
Outside of Ion network programming, WPXC's schedule, as with most Ion stations, currently consists primarily of infomercials and religious programming. The station presents little local programming; it airs public affairs programming on Saturday mornings, as well as a Sunday afternoon local religious program from the Wesconnett Church of Christ.
As an independent station and WB affiliate, WBSG-TV aired local newscasts, targeted to Brunswick and southeast Georgia. The news operation ended in December 1997, when WJXX launched its news operation[5] and Allbritton transferred most of WBSG's news staff to WJXX.[7] (During the stations' first months as an ABC affiliate, the two stations split their simulcast at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., with WBSG continuing its local newscasts while WJXX showed a M*A*S*H rerun.[6]). Well known journalists Jacque Reid & Lacey Johnson Leonardi both started their broadcast careers as News Reporters with WBSG-TV. Early on the news programming was dubbed "Newscenter 21". News Directors included Karen Boudrie and later Hector Garcia.
Through the 2008 season, WPXC aired Tampa Bay Rays baseball games from the Rays Television Network. The station also aired Orlando Magic basketball during the 2006-2007 season.[18] Both teams left WPXC after moving all games to Fox Sports Florida.
WPXC's over the air digital channel is multiplexed:
| Virtual Channel |
Physical RF Channel |
Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.1 | 24.1 | 720p | 16:9 | main WPXC-TV programming (Ion Television) |
| 21.2 | 24.2 | 480i | 4:3 | qubo |
| 21.3 | 24.3 | 480i | 4:3 | Ion Life |
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