WPXC-TV
| Brunswick, Georgia/Jacksonville, Florida | |
|---|---|
| Branding | Ion Television |
| Slogan | Positively Entertaining |
| 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 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°49′39″N 81°44′27″W / 30.82750°N 81.74083°W |
| Website | www.iontelevision.com |
WPXC-TV is the Ion Television owned-and-operated station in Jacksonville, Florida, serving Florida's First Coast and Georgia's Colonial Coast. Licensed to Brunswick, Georgia, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 24 (virtual channel 21.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter near Kingsland. The station operates a low power fill-in translator in Jacksonville, WPXJ-LP (UHF analog channel 41). Owned by Ion Media Networks, WPXC maintains studios on Blythe Island Highway in Brunswick.
History
WPXC-TV
What is now WPXC-TV was granted a construction permit on December 28, 1987.[1] It began broadcasting April 2, 1990 as independent station WBSG-TV. The station affiliated with The WB upon its launch in January 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 was due to sign on WJXX in Jacksonville, and intended for WBSG to serve as a semi-satellite of WJXX for the northern part of the market. Allbritton had also signed an agreement to switch its entire station group to ABC. WJXX signed on for the first time on February 9, 1997 and took the ABC affiliation from WJKS (channel 17, now WCWJ). On that same day, WBSG dropped The WB and became a semi-satellite of WJXX.[4] The switch was originally supposed to occur in April 1997. However, when WJKS announced that it would drop ABC in February and move to The WB as WJWB, ABC asked Albritton to sign on WJXX two months earlier than planned.[5]
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 addition to the early sign-on, the two stations' combined signal footprint was not nearly as large as those of 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. WBSG was not included in the sale.[5] In March 2000, Allbrittion made WPXC 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]
WPXJ-LP
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 has a construction permit to flash-cut from analog to digital on channel 41.[17] No word on when the flash-cut will commence.
Programming
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.
Newscasts
As an independent station and WB affiliate, WBSG-TV aired local newscasts, targeted to Brunswick and southeast Georgia. The news department shut down in December 1997, when WJXX launched its news department[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 and 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.
Sports programming
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.
Digital television
This station's digital channel is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.1 | 720p | 16:9 | ION | Ion Television |
| 21.2 | 480i | 4:3 | qubo | qubo |
| 21.3 | IONLife | Ion Life | ||
| 21.4 | Shop | Ion Shop | ||
| 21.5 | QVC | QVC | ||
| 21.6 | HSN | HSN |
References
- ↑ "Application Search Details (1)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ "TV Guide South Georgia Edition channel lists". mcsittel.com. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ "Response to Public Notice" (PDF). Electronic Comment Filing System. Federal Communications Commission. June 27, 1997. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
- ↑ Patton, Charlie (August 21, 1997). "Jags fans in lather over TV". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Patton, Charlie (December 13, 1999). "Changing the channel". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Patton, Charlie (May 3, 1997). "Allbritton gives strong signal that ABC's here to stay". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Dickson, Terry (March 22, 2000). "Not easy as ABC for Georgia TV viewers". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ "Paxon to buy WBSG". Jacksonville Business Journal (American City Business Journals). September 25, 2000. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ "Call Sign History (WPXC-TV)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ "Application Search Details (2)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "Call Sign History (WPXJ-LP)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ "Application Search Details (3)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ "Application Search Details (4)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ "Application Search Details (5)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ Basch, Mark (December 4, 1997). "Network expects Jacksonville outlet". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ Basch, Mark (May 23, 1998). "Paxson's TV-41 hits the airwaves". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1307503&Service=LD&Form_id=346&Facility_id=29716
- ↑ "Magic stretch broadcast reach". Tampa Bay Business Journal (American City Business Journals). November 22, 2006. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
External links
- Ion Television website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WPXC
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WPXJ-LP
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WPXC-TV
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
