Wikipedia

WXXV-TV

WXXV-TV(channel 25) is atelevision stationlicensed toGulfport, Mississippi,United States, serving theMississippi Gulf Coastas an affiliate ofFox,MyNetworkTV,NBCandThe CW Plus.The station is owned byMorris Multimedia,and maintains studios onUS 49inLyman(with a Gulfportpostaladdress); its transmitter is located on Wire Road East, inunincorporatedStone County,northeast ofMcHenry.

WXXV-TV
CityGulfport, Mississippi
Channels
Branding
  • WXXV Fox 25
  • WXXV NBC 25 (25.2)
  • News 25
  • Gulf Coast CW (25.3)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
February 14, 1987(37 years ago)(1987-02-14)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:25 (UHF, 1987–2009)
  • Digital:48 (UHF, until 2019)
Call signmeaning
"XXV" is 25Roman numerals
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID53517
ERP190kW
HAAT483 m (1,585 ft)
Transmitter coordinates30°44′49″N89°3′30″W/ 30.74694°N 89.05833°W/30.74694; -89.05833
Links
Public license information
Websitewxxv25

Channel 25 began broadcasting in February 1987 as just the second local station on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It affiliated with Fox two months after signing on the air. After an early history that was financially turbulent, including a bankruptcy filing in order to stave off a public auction, the station stabilized under owners Prime Cities Broadcasting in the 1990s. Morris acquired WXXV in 1997 and debuted its first local newscast, which ran from 1999 to 2001 before being shelved for economic reasons. In the digital era, WXXV has useddigital subchannelsto add NBC and The CW to its lineup. As part of the addition of NBC, in 2013, the station returned to producing local newscasts and has expanded to provide full-day coverage on the Fox and NBC channels.

History

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Construction and early years

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In July 1982, theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) received three applications for channel 25 on theMississippi Gulf Coast,all fighting to be just the area's second local station (afterABCaffiliateWLOX). The firms were Payvision Communications ofKnoxville, Tennessee;Hightower Communications, owner ofWPMI-TVinMobile, Alabama;and Four-O Inc. ofBrandon, Mississippi.[2]Four-O won the permit and selected the call sign WXXV, but it had yet to choose by September 1983 whether channel 25 would be a network affiliate or anindependent station.[3]It elected to run the station as an independent outlet, and construction was under way on the station's studios inLymanby March 1986.[4]However, work on the tower atMcHenrywas considerably delayed, and station officials repeatedly pushed back WXXV's projected sign-on.[5]

WXXV-TV made its first broadcast on February 8, 1987; owing to technical difficulties on start-up, it then left the air and began full-time broadcasting on February 14.[6][7]Its programs included brief local news updates, live sports, and other syndicated shows,[8]which were broadcast as far north asHattiesburg.[9]In April, channel 25 joined theFoxnetwork, picking up its weekend prime time and late-night programming.[10]

Financial difficulties and Prime Cities ownership

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Within months of signing on, the station encountered financial difficulties. In the construction process, Four-O had become the managing general partner in the station's licensee, Gulf Coast Television. The station sought new limited partners, only to put the round on hold; it owed money to several large creditors, most notablyAmSouth BankofBirmingham, Alabama.[11]During this time, in January 1988, WXXV debuted a call-in public affairs program,25 Live.[12]

AmSouth moved to put WXXV-TV up for public auction in September 1988, with the station having fallen several months behind on its loan repayments.[13]Days before the auction was to take place, Gulf Coast Television preempted the action by filing forChapter 11 bankruptcyprotection.[14]A year later, the bankruptcy case was resolved in a settlement that transferred the station to AmSouth.[15]The new management grappled with WXXV's reputation as a station that did not pay its bills; to earn their trust, the station paid syndicators earlier for programming.[16]

The bank, through its realty division, put channel 25 on the market a year later;[17]it was acquired by Prime Cities Broadcasting, a partnership of Dick Shively and Jim Tupper. Shively had been serving as consultant to WXXV since AmSouth took control.[18]Under Prime Cities ownership, WXXV-TV began airing the ABC drama seriesNYPD Blue;WLOX, along with all other ABC affiliates in Mississippi, refused to air it when it debuted in 1993, and channel 25 picked it up beginning with the second season.[19]

Morris ownership and digital expansion

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By 1996, Prime Cities was shopping WXXV to potential buyers,[20]including the owners ofWWTV and WWUPin northern Michigan.[21]Prime Cities announced the sale of WXXV toMorris Networkfor $17.5 million in February 1997, with the new owners taking over in June.[22][23]In the 2000s, WXXV switched from analog to digital broadcasting, launching its digital signal before goingdigital-onlyon February 17, 2009.[24]

Morris announced in March 2012 that it would addNBCto asubchannelof WXXV, displacingMyNetworkTV,that July; in addition, it would expand the studios in Lyman and start a news operation to support the Fox and NBC channels.[25]The move coincided with WLOX, its competitor with an 80 percent share of market revenue,[25]adding aCBSsubchannel, giving the four major networks in-market affiliates on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.[26]On January 1, 2015, WXXV added a subchannel forThe CW,replacing MyNetworkTV, which began running in late nights on WXXV–Fox.[27]

News operation

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Channel 25 picked up its first long-form local news program when the station began airingMississippi News Tonight,a 9 p.m. newscast produced inJackson,in January 1992.Mississippi News Tonightwas produced by Love Communications, a venture from the same family as the then-owners of WLOX, Love Broadcasting.[28]The program only aired for three months on WXXV before being canceled altogether on April 4.[29]

While station management considered producing full-length local news to debut sometime in 1993 or early 1994 following the discontinuation ofMNT,[16]general manager Bill Ritchie opted against expanding beyond news breaks because of the management hassle and expense the endeavor would incur.[23]Morris demonstrated more interest in producing a newscast and launchedFox 25 News at Ninein March 1999.[30]The news department was not an economic success and was discontinued on January 6, 2001, for financial reasons.[31]

After obtaining the NBC affiliation, Morris announced its plans to expand the Lyman studios to support a news operation. On September 30, 2013, the newscasts launched on the Fox and NBC subchannels; the station hired 15 personnel to staff the startup operation.[25][32]The original newscast lineup included 9 p.m. news on WXXV–Fox and 5:30 and 10 p.m. newscasts on WXXV–NBC, both only airing on weeknights.[33]In 2015, the news lineup was expanded withNews 25 Today,initially airing for two hours total across the NBC and Fox channels, and Sunday night newscasts.[34]Since then, the station has added noon (on NBC, in 2016)[35]and 5 p.m. (on Fox, in 2017) newscasts; it also extended its morning news to four hours and its 9 p.m. news to a full hour.[36][37]The 5:30 p.m. newscast moved to 6 p.m. in 2023.[38]

Subchannels

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The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WXXV-TV[39]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
25.1 720p 16:9 WXXVFOX Fox&MyNetworkTV
25.2 WXXVNBC NBC
25.3 480i 4:3 WXXVCW+ Gulf Coast CW
25.4 16:9 WXXVION Ion Plus
25.5 WXXVGRT Grit

References

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  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for WXXV-TV".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^Cauchon, Dennis (September 10, 1982)."Battle for new Coast TV station begins".The Sun.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. A-14.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  3. ^Cauchon, Dennis (December 16, 1983)."New television operations to vie for viewers".The Daily Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. A-7.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  4. ^Cassreino, Terry R. (March 14, 1986)."New TV station prepares to broadcast to Coast".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. C-1.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  5. ^"Hopper says WXXV-TV to hit air in January".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. October 28, 1986. p. A-3.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  6. ^Dockins, Metric (February 9, 1987)."WXXV goes on air with few problems".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. pp. C-1,C-2.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  7. ^Williams, M.E. (February 10, 1987)."Technical difficulties delay WXXV-TV's broadcast plans".Hattiesburg American.Hattiesburg, Mississippi. p. 3A.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  8. ^"Don't touch that dial: Channel hopes to 'sign on'".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. February 8, 1987. pp. B-1,B-2.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  9. ^Williams, M.E. (February 8, 1987)."Station WXXV signs on today".Hattiesburg American.Hattiesburg, Mississippi. p. 6D.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  10. ^Reynolds, Harold (April 5, 1987)."Channel 25 weds Fox Broadcasting".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. F-5.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  11. ^"Channel 25 owners look to stabilize finances".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. Associated Press. September 25, 1987. p. C-2.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  12. ^Creel, Vincent (February 1, 1988)."'25 Live' expands to four days ".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. B-1.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  13. ^Falkner, Morgan (September 3, 1988)."Birmingham bank puts WXXV-TV on auction block: Independent station fails to make loan payments".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. A-1.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  14. ^Falkner, Morgan (September 23, 1988)."Bankruptcy action halts WXXV auction".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. 1B.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  15. ^Lammons, George (September 22, 1989)."Court settlement gives WXXV to bank".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. B-1.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  16. ^abLacy, Mike (September 20, 1992)."WXXV has own definition of family values".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. pp. F-1,F-2.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  17. ^Lott, Bruce (August 14, 1990)."WXXV owner looking to sell".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. pp. A-1,A-10.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  18. ^Creel, Vincent (March 17, 1991)."WXXV-TV 25 sold for more than $3 million".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. pp. C-1,C-3.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  19. ^Pettus, Gary (October 25, 1994)."Slippery questions / It's 'NYPD Blank' in Mississippi".Clarion-Ledger.Jackson, Mississippi. pp. 1D,2D.Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2023.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  20. ^Lacy, Mike (January 24, 1996)."Word is out: WXXV may be for sale".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. C-8.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  21. ^"Michigan station checks out WXXV".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. May 22, 1996. p. B-6.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  22. ^Pender, Geoff (February 12, 1997)."Morris group buys WXXV-TV: Company to keep present staff and Fox affiliation".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. D-6.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  23. ^abLacy, Mike (June 11, 1997)."WXXV-TV's Ritchie retires again as GM".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. B-6.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  24. ^Jones, Terry L. (February 17, 2009)."Some stations already making digital switch".Hattiesburg American.Hattiesburg, Mississippi. pp. 1A,10A.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  25. ^abcMalone, Michael (March 22, 2012)."Exclusive: NBC Signs Affiliate For Biloxi".Broadcasting & Cable.Archivedfrom the original on October 2, 2013.RetrievedMarch 22,2012.
  26. ^Nelson, Karen (March 23, 2012)."Cable One vows not to drop channels: WLOX adding CBS affiliate; WXXV will add NBC".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. pp. 1A,9A.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  27. ^"Sun Herald".Archived fromthe originalon December 30, 2014.RetrievedDecember 25,2014.
  28. ^Creel, Vincent (January 12, 1992)."Love's 'Mississippi News Tonight' to air on Coast".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. pp. C-1,C-5.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  29. ^Myers, Leslie R. (April 4, 1992)."Low ratings, revenues cancel state news network: Friday's broadcast was the last for the prime-time news program".Clarion-Ledger.Jackson, Mississippi. p. 1A.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  30. ^Alexander, Greg (May 23, 1999)."More news is good news at Fox 25".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. TV Week 2.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  31. ^"Gulfport TV station axes news coverage".The Greenwood Commonwealth.Greenwood, Mississippi. Associated Press. January 9, 2001. p. 5.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  32. ^"Local News to Debut on WXXV Tonight".TVSpy.September 30, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon October 5, 2013.
  33. ^Scallan, Melissa M. (May 25, 2013)."WXXV-TV in South Mississippi will begin local newscasts this fall".Sun Herald.Archivedfrom the original on June 9, 2013.RetrievedMay 28,2013.
  34. ^Skrmetta, James (September 17, 2015)."WXXV morning show will debut next week".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. 2A.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  35. ^Clark, Jeff (January 29, 2016)."WXXV will launch noon newscast on Monday".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. 6D.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  36. ^"WXXV is expanding its newscasts".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. October 14, 2017. p. 9A.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  37. ^Vicory, Justin (October 11, 2016)."WXXV plans to expand daily news broadcasts".Sun Herald.Biloxi, Mississippi. p. 9A.RetrievedDecember 6,2023– via Newspapers.
  38. ^Staff, WXXV (April 22, 2024)."Grant Chighizola's new chapter at WXXV".WXXV25.WXXV News 25.RetrievedNovember 2,2024.
  39. ^"TV query for WXXV-TV".RabbitEars.Archivedfrom the original on July 30, 2023.RetrievedJuly 30,2023.
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