| Rockford, Illinois | |
|---|---|
| Branding | Fox 39 (general) Fox 39 News Bounce Rockford (on DT2) |
| Slogan | There's Always Something Better on Fox 39 (general) First. Local. Primetime News. (newscasts) |
| Channels | Digital: 42 (UHF) Virtual: 39 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 39.1 Fox 39.2 Bounce TV |
| Owner | Nexstar Broadcasting Group (Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| First air date | November 27, 1978 |
| Call letters' meaning | Quality RockFord |
| Sister station(s) | WTVO |
| Former channel number(s) | 39 (UHF analog, 1978-2009) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1978-1989) |
| Transmitter power | 900 kW |
| Height | 148 m |
| Class | DT |
| Facility ID | 52408 |
WQRF-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Northern Illinois licensed to Rockford. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 (or virtual channel 39.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter at its studios on North Meridian Road/IL 24 in Rockford. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, WQRF operates ABC affiliate WTVO (owned by Mission Broadcasting) through joint sales and shared services agreements and the two outlets share facilities together. Syndicated programming on this station includes The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Family Guy and The Simpsons among others.
Contents |
On WQRF-DT2 and Comcast digital channel 818 is Bounce TV.
| Channels | Name | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39.1 | WQRF-HD | 720p | 16:9 | Main WQRF programming / FOX |
| 39.2 | WQRF-DT2 | 480i | 4:3 | "Bounce Rockford" |
The station signed-on November 27, 1978 as the market's fourth television outlet. It was the last full-power analog television station to sign-on in Rockford while other stations in the area since then have either been low-powered, cable-only, or a digital subchannels. Airing an analog signal on UHF channel 39, WQRF was founded by local businessman Marvin Palmquist. The channel allotment was previously used by WTVO from its sign-on until 1967. It was promoted as an Independent, "family-oriented" alternative to the area's big three network affiliates. Overcoming a four-month wait to finally get on-the-air, WQRF's first program was an episode of the classic sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. Among some of the earlier programs to also air on the station were I Love Lucy, The Bob Newhart Show, The Jeffersons, The Dick Van Dyke Show and first-run fare such as Entertainment Tonight, the original nighttime edition of Family Feud, The PTL Club and The 700 Club.
As it was the only Independent outlet in the market, WQRF stocked up much of its programming schedule with live sports including Major League Baseball (Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers), the National Basketball Association (Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks), National Football League preseason action (Chicago Bears) and college sports (specifically Big Ten Conference football and basketball). The station joined Fox in August 1989 and, until that point, programming from the network was offered through Chicago's WFLD, Madison's WMSN-TV, or Milwaukee's WCGV (Fox affiliate at the time) depending on location. Within four years of joining Fox, WQRF ranked as one of the network's highest-rated stations.
Of course with the expansion of Fox's primetime programming and due to the lack of a fifth commercial station in the market, much of WQRF's off-network reruns from yesteryear and sports coverage had gradually disappeared. The station joined Nexstar as part of the company's acquisition of Quorum Broadcasting in late-2003. On November 22, 2004, Mission Broadcasting (a subsidiary of Texas-based Nexstar Broadcasting) bought WTVO from Young Broadcasting for $21 million. WTVO shares studios with Nexstar-owned WQRF although that station essentially functions as the senior partner in the agreement. WQRF originates from the WTVO facility and that station produces programming for this outlet.
In March 2006, WTVO began producing the market's second prime time newscast on WQRF known as Fox 39 News at 9. The broadcast only aired on weeknights unlike the area's original prime time show that was seen every night on cable-only WB affiliate "WBR" (produced by WREX). This distinction made WQRF's news Rockford's first over-the-air newscast at 9. Competition between "WBR" and WQRF was short lived, because in late-2007, the former had its news canceled by WREX for an unknown reason. The time slot is currently used to replay that station's weeknight 6 o'clock show. Another addition to local newscasts on WQRF occurred on January 14, 2008 when WTVO launched Fox 39 Evening News at 6:30 to air weeknights on this station.
That show went up against the national broadcasts on the area's big three affiliates. At some point in time after this, WQRF expanded Fox 39 News at 9 to a seven night operation and expanded the weeknight version to a full hour. The station would eventually drop the 6:30 show on weeknights. WIFR was the first outlet in Rockford to upgrade newscasts to high definition followed by WREX on December 12, 2010. Local news seen on WQRF and WTVO remain in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition and there are currently no plans made public to upgrade the two stations to either 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen or full HD level.
News team
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