| Gulfport/Biloxi/Pascagoula/ Hattiesburg, Mississippi |
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|---|---|
| City of license | Gulfport |
| Branding | WXXV 25 MyXXV2 (on DT2) |
| Slogan | Fox for South Mississippi Total Variety (on DT2) |
| Channels | Digital: 48 (UHF) Virtual: 25 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 25.1 Fox 25.2 MyNetworkTV |
| Owner | Morris Multimedia (Morris Network of Mississippi, Inc.) |
| First air date | February 14, 1987 |
| Call letters' meaning | XXV = Roman numeral 25 (former analog and current PSIP channel number) |
| Former channel number(s) | 25 (UHF analog, 1984-2009) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1987-1992) UPN (secondary, 1995-2006) |
| Transmitter power | 300 kW |
| Height | 456 m |
| Facility ID | 53517 |
WXXV-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Mississippi Gulf Coast licensed to Gulfport. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 (or virtual channel 25.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter on Wire Road East in unincorporated Southeastern Stone County. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 3 and Cable ONE channel 9. There is a high definition feed provided on Comcast digital channel 434 and Cable ONE digital channel 475. Owned by Morris Multimedia, WXXV has studios on U.S. 49 in Gulfport near Lyman. Syndicated programming on the station includes Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Family Guy, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory among others.
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The station operates the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate on a second digital subchannel. Known on-air as MyXXV2, this service can also be seen on Cable ONE channel 18 and Comcast digital channel 220. Syndicated programming on the station includes Scrubs, The Office, Excused, and My Name Is Earl along with others.
| Channels (virtual/physical) | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25.1/48.1 | 720p | 16:9 | main WXXV programming/Fox (HD) |
| 25.2/48.2 | 480i | 4:3 | "MyXXV2" (SD) |
The station signed-on February 14, 1987 as the market's third television outlet (after WLOX and WMAH-TV). Airing an analog signal on UHF channel 25, WXXV was Mississippi's third Independent to launch after WDBD in Jackson and WNTZ-TV in Natchez. It would not join Fox as the area's first affiliate until 1992. WXXV aired the ABC crime drama NYPD Blue starting in 1994 when local ABC affiliate WLOX refused to air the show. From 1995 until September 2006, the station also featured some limited UPN programming out-of-pattern through a secondary relation. Its broadcasts became digital-only on February 17, 2009.[1] The station continues to broadcast on digital channel 48.[2] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display WXXV's virtual channel as 25. It was added to DirecTV's local station offering on June 16, 2010.
The station served as the Hattiesburg/Laurel market's longtime default Fox affiliate. WXXV's transmitter tower site and directional antenna pattern are strategically located and designed to enable the station to cover all cities along Mississippi's Gulf Coast and Pine Belt regions. In addition, WXXV could be picked up locally on Comcast systems. On October 13, 2011, low-powered WHPM-LD joined the network as the Pine Belt's first ever Fox outlet. Despite the addition of that outlet to the network, Comcast in Hattiesburg and Laurel continue offering WXXV's standard and high definition channels on its system. That market still lacks its own MyNetworkTV affiliate resulting in WXXV-DT2 being the area's default affiliate over-the-air and through cable television.
The station airs all national breaking news coverage from Fox News and the network's weekly public affairs show. Unlike most Fox affiliates, it does not currently operate a local news department of its own but has done so in two previous attempts in the past. In the early-1990s, WDBD aired a local newscast called Mississippi News Tonight which was simulcasted on WXXV. Likewise, it featured regional news and weather coverage despite being produced at WDBD's studios in Jackson. Due to low ratings and inconsistent viewership, the program was dropped from both outlets after only a year on-the-air. For a few years in the late-1990s and early-2000s, WXXV operated its own locally-based news operation from its Gulfport facilities. A local newscast, known as Fox 25 News at Nine, attempted to provide another option for viewers in the market besides longtime dominant WLOX. For an unknown reason, however, this effort also eventually ceased production.
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