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WZDX
The Fox network logo in black, next to a strip fitting into the right-side notch of the X with the numeral 54, the 5 slightly overlapping the 4 with a border.
CityHuntsville, Alabama
Channels
BrandingFox 54; My8 (DT2)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
April 14, 1985
(39 years ago)(1985-04-14)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:54 (UHF, 1985–2009)
  • Digital:41 (UHF, 2002–2020)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID28119
ERP522 kW
HAAT525.3 m (1,723 ft)
Transmitter coordinates34°44′12.8″N86°31′58.9″W/ 34.736889°N 86.533028°W/34.736889; -86.533028
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.rocketcitynow

WZDX(channel 54) is atelevision stationinHuntsville, Alabama,United States, affiliated withFoxandMyNetworkTV.Owned byTegna Inc.,the station maintains studios onNorth Memorial Parkway(US 72/231/431) in Huntsville, and its transmitter is located onMonte Sano Mountain.

WZDX began broadcasting in April 1985 as the firstindependent stationfor the Huntsville area; it became a Fox affiliate in November 1987. Its original owner, Media Central, filed for bankruptcy that year and eventually sold the station in 1990 to a consortium ofCiticorpandMilton Grant,marking the latter's return to TV station ownership after a prior bankruptcy. The station started a cable channel that served as the local affiliate ofThe WB—predecessor to its MyNetworkTV subchannel—in 2001. A local newscast, produced at first out-of-state and then by localABCaffiliateWAAY-TV,began to air in 2008.

The Grant stations were acquired byNexstar Broadcasting Groupin 2013; Nexstar brought local news production in-house by establishing its own newsroom in 2016, and it formed a duopoly in the market by acquiringThe CWaffiliateWHDFtwo years later. When Nexstar acquiredTribune Media,owner of HuntsvilleCBSaffiliateWHNT-TV,in 2019, it retained that station and WHDF and spun out WZDX along with other stations to Tegna.

History[edit]

Establishment and construction[edit]

In 1975, Thomas Barr and James Cleary under the name Pioneer Communications petitioned theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) to add another television channel to the Huntsville area for the purpose of building anindependent station.At the time, only four channels were assigned to Huntsville: 19, 25, 31, and 48. The FCC proposed adding channel 54, but two Huntsville stations,WAAY-TVandWYUR-TV,opposed the proposal. In 1977, the FCC suggested inserting channel 54 atDecatur, Alabama,which already had channel 23. However, unlike channel 54, channel 23 could not be used atMonte Sano—the main television transmission site in the region, resulting in low interest.[2]

Channel 54 was ultimately added to Huntsville, but there were no applications on file until C. Michael Norton, an attorney fromNashville, Tennessee,applied for it in September 1981 after seeing it on a list of unused TV allocations.[3][4]Norton was soon joined by other applicants, with the FCC selecting Community Service Broadcasting, a company owned by John Pauza ofChattanooga, Tennessee,and Joel Katz ofAtlanta.Pauza owned Media Central, which specialized in the construction of new independent stations in medium markets.[5]

For two years, Media Central missed a series of deadlines. In February 1983, after being selected for theconstruction permit,Media Central announced it intended to begin broadcasting that fall.[5]By that fall, the target date had shifted to spring 1984.[6]Issues with locating the station's tower impeded a launch at that time,[7]but in late 1984, channel 54 began to take shape. A tower site was purchased in August, the call letters WZDX were assigned in September,[8]and construction began in November.[9]Even then, the station did not start broadcasting in 1984; the antenna was not hoisted onto the station's new tower on Green Mountain until March 1985.[10]

From studios on Mastin Lake Road in northeast Huntsville, WZDX first signed on April 14, 1985, as Northern Alabama's first independent station and the area's first new outlet to launch in 22 years.[11][12]Programming consisted of syndicated reruns, movies, and short local newsbreaks.[11]The station cost the owners between $5 million and $6 million to put on the air.[12]

When theFoxnetwork began late-night service on October 9, 1986, WZDX initially abstained from affiliating with the network unlike many other strong independent TV stations across the country that had signed on with them, despite the network wanting the station "badly". Program director David Godbout felt that his weekend shows were already attracting ratings and that he would have to charge too much for advertising within Fox programming for it to work economically.[13]This was a posture shared by the entire Media Central chain at the network's launch.[14]However, after Godbout left in late 1987, WZDX joined Fox in December of that year,[15]becoming the fifth Media Central outlet to join the network in 1987.[16]

The late 1980s were times of uncertainty for Media Central. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in July 1987,[17]andAct III Broadcastingsubmitted a bid to buy WZDX andWDBDinJackson, Mississippi,the next year;[18]both were among Media Central's most desirable properties. Act III's bid was rejected, as were proposals from Media Central itself and Maryland investment firm Donatelli & Klein, which did come away with WDBD andWDSI-TVin Chattanooga.[19]

Grant Broadcasting ownership[edit]

The bankruptcy court approved the acquisition of the station by a consortium ofCiticorpandMilton Grantin August 1989;[20][21]the $6.1 million transaction was approved in January 1990.[22]While WZDX represented Citicorp's first venture into broadcasting,[20]WZDX became the first outlet in Grant's return to station ownership.[21]Grant Communications was the successor to the original Grant Broadcasting System, a three-station chain of independent outlets that filed for bankruptcy protection in 1986 and was ultimately sold to its bondholders.[23]

Grant obtained rights toWBnetwork programming in the Huntsville market in 1999, airing it in late night hours on WZDX; the move was a consequence ofSuperstation WGNceasing carriage of WB programs.[24]The company then announced it would launch full-time WB channels in Huntsville and two other markets where it owned stations—theQuad Citiesof Iowa and Illinois andRoanoke, Virginia—in December 2000.[25]"WAWB", known as "The Valley's WB", launched as a cable channel in October 2001.[26]When The WB andUPNmerged intoThe CWin 2006, the merged network selected UPN affiliateWHDF(channel 15), and "WAWB" became "WAMY", broadcastingMyNetworkTV.[27][28]

WZDX began broadcasting a digital signal on June 1, 2002.[29]In 2004, the station moved its broadcasting equipment from Green Mountain to Monte Sano on the replacement tower for WAAY-TV, whose mast collapsed during repair work in September 2003, killing three.[30]

Nexstar ownership[edit]

On November 6, 2013,Nexstar Broadcasting Groupannounced that it would purchase the Grant stations, including WZDX, for $87.5 million.[31]The sale was completed on December 1, 2014.[32]Four years later, in July 2018, Nexstar agreed to acquire WHDF fromLockwood Broadcast Groupfor $2.25 million; Nexstar concurrently took over WHDF's operations through atime brokerage agreement.[33]The sale was completed on November 9, creating aduopolywith WZDX.[34]

On December 3, 2018, less than a month after closing on its purchase of WHDF, Nexstar announced it would acquire the assets ofTribune Media—owner of CBS affiliate WHNT-TV since December 2013—for $6.4 billion in cash and debt. WHNT-TV and WZDX, as two of the four highest-rated stations in the market, could not be owned together, though Nexstar could own either station plus WHDF.[35][36][37]Nexstar decided to retain the higher-rated WHNT-TV along with WHDF and sell WZDX toTegna Inc.after finalizing the Tribune sale; WZDX was one of 19 stations disposed by Nexstar to Tegna and theE. W. Scripps Companyin separate deals worth $1.32 billion.[38][39]The sale of Tribune to Nexstar was approved by the FCC on September 16.[40]

News operation[edit]

Refer to caption
A WZDX anchor conducting an interview at the2018 College Football Playoff National Championshipmedia day

In January 2008, WZDX launched a 30-minuteprime timenewscast known asFox 54 Nine O'Clock News.It was produced byIndependent News Network(INN) inDavenport, Iowa;two local reporters contributed local news stories to the news program, which was presented from Davenport. It was the second prime time newscast in the market, as WAAY had previously produced one for air on WHDF from 2000 to 2001.[41]The INN program continued to air for two and a half years and was replaced in September 2010 with a 9 p.m. newscast produced by WAAY; WAAY news personnel were joined by Ellis Eskew, a WZDX reporter.[42][43]

Nexstar announced in December 2015 that WZDX would launch a standalone news operation on April 4, 2016. Concurrently, the station's newscast was extended to an hour.[44]

Technical information[edit]

Subchannels[edit]

The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WZDX[45]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
54.1 720p 16:9 WZDX-HD Fox
54.2 480i MyNet MyNetworkTV
54.3 MeTV MeTV
54.4 Mystery Ion Mystery
54.5 Crime True Crime Network
54.6 Quest Quest
54.7 NEST The Nest
54.9 COMET Comet


Analog-to-digital conversion[edit]

WZDX shut down its analog signal, overUHFchannel 54, on June 12, 2009, as part of thefederally mandated transition from analog to digital television;the station continued to broadcast on channel 41, usingvirtual channel54.[46]It was then repacked to channel 18 in 2020.[45]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for WZDX".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^"Plans for TV Channel Here Suffer Setback".The Huntsville Times.December 12, 1977. p. 22.
  3. ^"TV Station Permit Sought".The Huntsville Times.September 29, 1981. p. C-2.
  4. ^Kaylor, Mike (October 2, 1981)."Channel 54: Do Television Viewers in Huntsville Have a Void?".The Huntsville Times.p. D-15.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  5. ^abKaylor, Mike (February 3, 1983)."Fun TV? FCC OKs License for New Station in Huntsville; Owners Plan to Put Emphasis on Entertainment".The Huntsville Times.p. D-3.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  6. ^Kaylor, Mike (September 29, 1983)."New TV Station Owners Project Spring Launch".The Huntsville Times.p. D-3.
  7. ^"Channel 54".The Huntsville Times.April 5, 1984. p. D-3.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  8. ^"New Station to Have Call Letters of WZDX".The Huntsville Times.September 13, 1984. p. F-3.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  9. ^Kaylor, Mike (November 21, 1984)."Construction Under Way On Channel 54 Facilities".The Huntsville Times.p. D-6.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  10. ^"Channel 54 Update".The Huntsville Times.March 21, 1985. p. D-3.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  11. ^abKaylor, Mike (April 11, 1985)."Independent Television Station Set to Sign On Sunday Morning; 'Dallas' Reruns, Movies Head WZDX Schedule".The Huntsville Times.p. D-3.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  12. ^abKaylor, Mike (April 14, 1985)."54 to Begin Broadcasting Today".The Huntsville Times.p. A-7.
  13. ^Kaylor, Mike (July 2, 1987)."Competition Heats Up as Local TV Ratings Arrive".The Huntsville Times.p. D-27.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  14. ^Carter, Reon (August 15, 1986)."Some viewers will see Joan Rivers".The Knoxville News-Sentinel.p. B5.Archivedfrom the original on November 30, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023– via Newspapers.
  15. ^Kaylor, Mike (October 31, 1987)."WZDK [sic] to join Fox network in December".The Huntsville Times.p. 2A.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  16. ^"Briefly Noted".Electronic Media.December 7, 1987. p. 46.
  17. ^"Media Central files for bankruptcy"(PDF).Broadcasting.July 13, 1987. pp. 26–27.ProQuest1016931866.Archived(PDF)from the original on January 31, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  18. ^"In Brief..."(PDF).Broadcasting.July 4, 1988. p. 72.ProQuest1016920287.Archived(PDF)from the original on June 25, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 11,2022.
  19. ^Edwards, Jeff (March 17, 1989)."Channel 40's bankruptcy plan denied".Clarion-Ledger.Jackson, Mississippi. p. 1D.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023– via Newspapers.
  20. ^ab"Citicorp to buy local TV station".The Huntsville Times.August 11, 1989. p. 1B.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  21. ^abMermigas, Diane (August 14, 1989)."TV sales spur hopes for market".Electronic Media.pp. 3, 30.
  22. ^"For the Record"(PDF).Broadcasting.January 22, 1990. p. 63.ProQuest1014730643.Archived(PDF)from the original on January 31, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  23. ^Gnoffo, Anthony Jr. (July 1, 1988)."WGBS emerges from bankruptcy, plans Flyers, Villanova broadcasts".The Philadelphia Inquirer.p. 10-C.Archivedfrom the original on February 22, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 21,2023– via Newspapers.
  24. ^Smallwood, Dean (September 12, 1999). "Fox's WZDX adding popular WB shows".The Huntsville Times.p. G5.
  25. ^Graham, Chad (December 22, 2000). "Grant Comm. plans trio of WB affiliates".The Hollywood Reporter.p. 10.ProQuest2467928070.
  26. ^Welch, Chris (October 21, 2001). "Space Center hires ex-WAAY anchor".The Huntsville Times.p. G6.
  27. ^Welch, Chris (April 23, 2006). "CW Network to take over programming in the fall".The Huntsville Times.p. 3G.
  28. ^"Fox 54, WAMY owner Milton Grant dies at 84".The Huntsville Times.May 11, 2007. p. 3B.
  29. ^"WZDX-DT"(PDF).Television Factbook.2005. p. A-45.Archived(PDF)from the original on November 28, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 27,2023.
  30. ^Welch, Chris (July 25, 2004). "Injuries, illness befall TV news personalities".The Huntsville Times.p. 6G.
  31. ^Malone, Michael (November 6, 2013)."Nexstar to Acquire Seven Grant Stations For $87.5 Million".Broadcasting & Cable.Archivedfrom the original on November 9, 2013.RetrievedNovember 6,2013.
  32. ^"Consummation Notice".Consolidated Database System.Federal Communications Commission.Archivedfrom the original on December 22, 2015.RetrievedDecember 3,2014.
  33. ^"Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License".CDBS Public Access.Federal Communications Commission.Archivedfrom the original on July 24, 2018.RetrievedJuly 24,2018.
  34. ^"Consummation Notice".CDBS Public Access.Federal Communications Commission.Archivedfrom the original on November 13, 2018.RetrievedNovember 13,2018.
  35. ^Miller, Mark K. (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar Buying Tribune Media For $6.4 Billion".TVNewsCheck.Archivedfrom the original on December 4, 2018.RetrievedDecember 4,2018.
  36. ^White, Peter; Hayes, Dade (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar Confirms $4.1B Tribune Media Acquisition To Become Leading Local TV Station Owner".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on December 4, 2018.RetrievedDecember 4,2018.
  37. ^Jessell, Harry A.; Miller, Mark K. (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar To Spin Off $1B In Stations".TVNewsCheck.Archivedfrom the original on December 4, 2018.RetrievedDecember 4,2018.
  38. ^"Nexstar Selling 19 TVs In 15 Markets For $1.32B".TVNewsCheck.March 20, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on March 20, 2019.RetrievedMarch 20,2019.
  39. ^Ahmed, Nabila; Sakoui, Anousha (March 20, 2019)."Nexstar to Sell Stations to Tegna, Scripps for $1.32 Billion".Bloomberg News.Archivedfrom the original on April 13, 2019.RetrievedMarch 20,2019.
  40. ^Channick, Robert (September 16, 2019)."Tribune Media sale to Nexstar approved by FCC; WGN-Ch. 9 no longer Chicago's very own".Chicago Tribune.Archivedfrom the original on September 17, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 17,2019.
  41. ^Welch, Chris (January 13, 2008). "Fox 54 moving into news with weekday shows".The Huntsville Times.p. 12F.
  42. ^Welch, Chris (September 12, 2010). "WAAY to produce Fox 54 newscast".The Huntsville Times.p. 12F.
  43. ^Welch, Chris (September 19, 2010). "News team announced for 31-54 partnership".The Huntsville Times.p. 6F.
  44. ^Kuperberg, Jonathan (December 17, 2015)."Nexstar's WZDX Expanding News, Adding Staff, Remodeling Facilities".Broadcasting & Cable.Archivedfrom the original on December 22, 2015.RetrievedDecember 17,2015.
  45. ^ab"RabbitEars TV Query for WZDX".RabbitEars.Archivedfrom the original on February 22, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 5,2014.
  46. ^"DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds"(PDF).Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on August 29, 2013.RetrievedAugust 29,2021.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WZDX&oldid=1229086074"