WFPX
Encyclopedia
WFPX-TV is one of two Ion Television affiliates for the Raleigh
/Durham, North Carolina
, USA, television market, licensed to nearby Fayetteville
. The station is owned by ION Media Networks
(the former Paxson Communications), and is a full-time satellite of WRPX
. WFPX operates on UHF
digital channel 36. Its transmitter is located in Lumber Bridge, North Carolina
. Through the use of PSIP
, digital television receivers display WRPX's virtual channel
as 62.1.
in Raleigh, along with WJKA (now WSFX-TV
) in Wilmington and WGGT (now WMYV
) in Greensboro, were two of the principals in this company.
The station changed call letters to WFAY 1993 and became a Fox affiliate in 1994. Even though WFAY was located in the same market as WLFL
(a Fox affiliate at the time), it mainly focused on communities located south of Fayetteville that did not get a good signal from WLFL. Some of its non-network programming was also simulcast to the Raleigh-Durham area on WRAY-TV
for a couple of years in the mid-1990s until it was acquired by the Shop at Home network.
WFAY later became WFPX and dropped Fox after being bought out by Paxson in 1998. Later that year, newly-minted Fox station WFXB
out of the Florence
/Myrtle Beach
market expanded its signal to cover areas formerly served by WFAY. It is worthy of note that WFPX's signal is not seen at all in the northern portion of the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville market, but covers northern portions of the Florence-Myrtle Beach market, which does not have its own Ion affiliate.
As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, WFPX-TV shut down its analog transmitter on channel 62, on June 12, 2009 at 12:00 PM.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
/Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, USA, television market, licensed to nearby Fayetteville
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
. The station is owned by ION Media Networks
ION Media Networks
ION Media Networks is an American television broadcasting company that owns and operates over 60 television stations in most major American markets. It is now a privately owned company.-History:...
(the former Paxson Communications), and is a full-time satellite of WRPX
WRPX
WRPX-TV is one of two Ion Television affiliates for the Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina television market, licensed to nearby Rocky Mount. The station is owned by ion Media Networks , and is a sister station to WFPX. WRPX operates on UHF digital channel 15...
. WFPX operates on UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
digital channel 36. Its transmitter is located in Lumber Bridge, North Carolina
Lumber Bridge, North Carolina
Lumber Bridge is a town in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 118 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lumber Bridge is located at ....
. Through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers display WRPX's virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 62.1.
History
Channel 62 signed on in 1984 as WFCT, an independent broadcaster owned by Fayetteville/Cumberland Telecasters. Attorneys Robinson and Katherine Everett of Durham, founders of what is now present-day WRDC-TVWRDC-TV
WRDC, channel 28, is an affiliate station of MyNetworkTV in the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, North Carolina television market. The station is licensed to Durham, but its studios are in the Highwoods office park just outside downtown Raleigh...
in Raleigh, along with WJKA (now WSFX-TV
WSFX-TV
WSFX-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for North Carolina's Cape Fear region licensed to Wilmington. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 30 from a transmitter in Town Creek Township. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable, Charter, and ATMC channel 9...
) in Wilmington and WGGT (now WMYV
WMYV
WMYV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina that is licensed to Greensboro. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter in Randleman along I-73/U.S. 220...
) in Greensboro, were two of the principals in this company.
The station changed call letters to WFAY 1993 and became a Fox affiliate in 1994. Even though WFAY was located in the same market as WLFL
WLFL
WLFL is the CW-affiliated television station for North Carolina's Triangle licensed to Raleigh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter located in Auburn, North Carolina. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in high definition...
(a Fox affiliate at the time), it mainly focused on communities located south of Fayetteville that did not get a good signal from WLFL. Some of its non-network programming was also simulcast to the Raleigh-Durham area on WRAY-TV
WRAY-TV
WRAY-TV is a full-power television station licensed to Wilson, North Carolina and serves the entire Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, North Carolina metropolitan area...
for a couple of years in the mid-1990s until it was acquired by the Shop at Home network.
WFAY later became WFPX and dropped Fox after being bought out by Paxson in 1998. Later that year, newly-minted Fox station WFXB
WFXB
WFXB is the Fox-affiliated television station for South Carolina's Grand Strand and Pee Dee areas licensed to Myrtle Beach. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 18 from a transmitter in Mullins. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable and HTC Cablevision channel 7...
out of the Florence
Florence, South Carolina
-Municipal government and politics:The City of Florence has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits...
/Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina. It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the...
market expanded its signal to cover areas formerly served by WFAY. It is worthy of note that WFPX's signal is not seen at all in the northern portion of the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville market, but covers northern portions of the Florence-Myrtle Beach market, which does not have its own Ion affiliate.
As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, WFPX-TV shut down its analog transmitter on channel 62, on June 12, 2009 at 12:00 PM.