WFTX
Encyclopedia
WFTX-TV is the Fox
-affiliated television station
for Southwest Florida
licensed to Cape Coral
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter in Punta Gorda
east of I-75
/SR 93 near the Charlotte
and Lee County
line. The station can also be seen on Comcast
channel 4 (hence the Fox 4 branding) and in high definition on digital channel 434. Owned by the Journal Broadcast Group, WFTX has studios on Southwest Pine Island Road (SR 78) in Cape Coral. Syndicated
programming on the station includes The Simpsons
, Judge Judy
, Judge Joe Brown, and Friends
.
.
WFTX-TV does not currently offer any syndicated or local programming in high definition
. All high definition programming on the station is provided by Fox.
in Tampa
, from which the WFTX call letters are derived. It became a charter Fox affiliate on October 9, 1986. Family Group Broadcasting would sell the station to Wabash Valley
Broadcasting of Terre Haute, Indiana
, controlled by the family of Tony Hulman
, that December. Under Wabash Valley Broadcasting, elements of the station closely paralleled that of Wabash Valley's flagship station in Terre Haute, WTHI-TV
; the two stations used the same voice-over announcer and identical logos, and one of WTHI's news anchors subsequently transferred to WFTX. The station changed hands again in 1998, when Emmis Communications
purchased the assets of Wabash Valley Broadcasting.
From 2001 until 2005, WFTX's master control and other internal operations were operated from WKCF
, its sister station in Orlando
sister station, as its studios in Lake Mary
served as a centralcasting location for Emmis' stations in the Southeastern United States
. From WKCF's facilities, Emmis maintained broadcast capabilities during several major hurricanes, including Charley
, that impacted WFTX and WKCF. This arrangement was discontinued in 2005, when Emmis decided to sell its television stations; that August, WFTX and two of its sister stations were sold to the Journal Broadcast Group. Journal introduced a new logo known as the "big red 4", which is generally used along with the Fox logo, but excludes any Fox reference during local newscasts. In March 2007, WFTX redesigned its website with a new look and began offering more interactive content to viewers.
WFTX was the last station in the area airing in analog. The market's other stations converted to digital-only broadcasts on the original transition date, February 17, 2009, but WFTX's analog signal continued in operation until June 12.
After the sale to Journal, WFTX expanded its news department with a focus on consumer advocacy and investigative reporting as the main theme. A weekday morning show known as Fox 4 News Rising was added and originally aired from 5 until 9. However, due to the lack of ratings and consistent viewership, it was cut back to two hours, from 6 until 8; the 5 a.m. hour would return on January 17, 2011. To complement the 10 p.m. show, WFTX eventually launched Fox 4 News Tracker at 11 on weeknights.
Starting on August 13, 2007, in place of the last hour of its morning newscast, WFTX began producing a lifestyle and entertainment magazine show. Known as Fox 4 Morning Blend, the program was adapted from a similar talk show on Journal flagship WTMJ-TV
in Milwaukee. Airing for an hour weekday mornings at 8 from a secondary set, it had been solo hosted by Bill Wood but was most recently joined by Carley Wegner. Bill Wood is formerly of the Food Network
and had been serving as the weekday morning news feature reporter.
On September 17, 2007, longtime weeknight co-anchor Krista Fogelsong left WFTX in a much publicized departure. Weekday morning co-anchor and Cape Coral native Amy Wegmann moved to the weeknight broadcasts to fill the vacancy.
Due to the highly competitive nature of the Fort Myers
/Naples
market
, WFTX's flagship 10 p.m. newscast has attracted competition over the years. In August 2006 when ABC
affiliate WZVN-TV
announced that it would launch a nightly prime time show on cable-only MyNetworkTV
affiliate "WNFM". On March 26, 2007, CBS
affiliate WINK-TV
entering into the 10 p.m. race with its own broadcast on CW affiliate WXCW. Right from the start, this emerged as a strong second place production to WFTX, building on WINK-TV's longtime status as the most watched station in the market
. On May 25 after only eight months on-the-air, the nightly WZVN-produced newscasts on WNFM were dropped, due to Comcast's frequent technical difficulties (the cable provider operates the MyNetworkTV affiliate) which hindered in the program's ratings, as well as the success of the WXCW production.
To take on the big three stations
, WFTX began airing an hour-long newscast weeknights at 6 p.m. on August 2, 2010, with the second half competing against the national evening news programs. The station had aired a broadcast at that time in the 1990s when the news department was first established, but it was dropped in 2000 in favor of syndicated programming. The new show required the hiring of new reporters.
In addition to its main studios, WFTX operates a Naples Newsroom on Tamiami Trail
North (U.S. 41/SR 45) in that city. There is currently no sports department.
Sky Warn 4 Weather
Reporters
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida is a region of Florida , United States located along its gulf coast, south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee and mostly north of the Everglades...
licensed to Cape Coral
Cape Coral, Florida
Cape Coral is a municipality located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a master-planned, pre-platted community, the city grew to a population of 154,305 by the year 2010. With an area of , Cape Coral is the largest city between Tampa and...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter in Punta Gorda
Punta Gorda, Florida
Punta Gorda is a city in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates of 2007, the city had a population of 16,762. It is the county seat of Charlotte County and the only incorporated municipality in the county...
east of I-75
Interstate 75 in Florida
Interstate 75 is a part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from Hialeah, Florida, a few miles northwest of Miami to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan...
/SR 93 near the Charlotte
Charlotte County, Florida
Charlotte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 141,627. In 2005, the population of the MSA was 154,030.The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county was 152,814...
and Lee County
Lee County, Florida
Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Located in southwest Florida, the principal cities in the county are Fort Myers and Cape Coral...
line. The station can also be seen on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
channel 4 (hence the Fox 4 branding) and in high definition on digital channel 434. Owned by the Journal Broadcast Group, WFTX has studios on Southwest Pine Island Road (SR 78) in Cape Coral. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on the station includes The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Judge Judy
Judge Judy
Judge Judy is an American court show featuring former family court judge Judith Sheindlin arbitrating over small claims cases in small claims court...
, Judge Joe Brown, and Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
.
Digital programming
On WFTX-DT2 and Comcast digital channel 232 is LATVLATV
LATV is a bilingual music and entertainment network. LATV has been on the air in the Los Angeles market as KJLA since 2001 and is distributed through mostly digital television subchannels throughout the United States and Puerto Rico....
.
| Channels (physical/virtual) | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35.1/36.1 | 720p 720p 720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
main WFTX programming/Fox HD |
| 35.2/36.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | WFTX-DT2 LATV |
WFTX-TV does not currently offer any syndicated or local programming in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
. All high definition programming on the station is provided by Fox.
History
The station began broadcasting on October 14, 1985 as an independent station owned-and-operated by Family Group Broadcasting. The company had previously owned WFTS-TVWFTS-TV
WFTS, virtual channel 28, is the ABC affiliate television station for the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida market, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 29. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.-History:...
in Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, from which the WFTX call letters are derived. It became a charter Fox affiliate on October 9, 1986. Family Group Broadcasting would sell the station to Wabash Valley
Wabash Valley
The Wabash Valley is a region with parts in both Illinois and Indiana. It is named for the Wabash River and spans the middle to the middle-lower portion of the river and is centered at Terre Haute, Indiana...
Broadcasting of Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
, controlled by the family of Tony Hulman
Tony Hulman
Anton "Tony" Hulman, Jr. was a businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana who rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 and made the Indianapolis 500 popular....
, that December. Under Wabash Valley Broadcasting, elements of the station closely paralleled that of Wabash Valley's flagship station in Terre Haute, WTHI-TV
WTHI-TV
WTHI-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station in Terre Haute, Indiana. Owned by LIN TV Corporation, it operates on VHF digital channel 10. Its transmitter is located in Farmersburg, Indiana...
; the two stations used the same voice-over announcer and identical logos, and one of WTHI's news anchors subsequently transferred to WFTX. The station changed hands again in 1998, when Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio stations and magazines in the United States, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.-History:...
purchased the assets of Wabash Valley Broadcasting.
From 2001 until 2005, WFTX's master control and other internal operations were operated from WKCF
WKCF
WKCF is the CW-affiliated television station for Central Florida licensed to Clermont. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 17 from a transmitter in unincorporated Bithlo. The station can also be seen on Bright House Networks channel 8 and Comcast channel 13...
, its sister station in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
sister station, as its studios in Lake Mary
Lake Mary, Florida
Lake Mary is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,456 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 15,230...
served as a centralcasting location for Emmis' stations in the Southeastern United States
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
. From WKCF's facilities, Emmis maintained broadcast capabilities during several major hurricanes, including Charley
Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to August 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the...
, that impacted WFTX and WKCF. This arrangement was discontinued in 2005, when Emmis decided to sell its television stations; that August, WFTX and two of its sister stations were sold to the Journal Broadcast Group. Journal introduced a new logo known as the "big red 4", which is generally used along with the Fox logo, but excludes any Fox reference during local newscasts. In March 2007, WFTX redesigned its website with a new look and began offering more interactive content to viewers.
WFTX was the last station in the area airing in analog. The market's other stations converted to digital-only broadcasts on the original transition date, February 17, 2009, but WFTX's analog signal continued in operation until June 12.
News operation
Starting on August 13, 2007, in place of the last hour of its morning newscast, WFTX began producing a lifestyle and entertainment magazine show. Known as Fox 4 Morning Blend, the program was adapted from a similar talk show on Journal flagship WTMJ-TV
WTMJ-TV
WTMJ-TV, digital channel 28 ; branded as "Today's TMJ4", is the NBC-affiliated television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the flagship station of the Journal Broadcast Group. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin and parts of northeastern Illinois, including Racine, Kenosha,...
in Milwaukee. Airing for an hour weekday mornings at 8 from a secondary set, it had been solo hosted by Bill Wood but was most recently joined by Carley Wegner. Bill Wood is formerly of the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
and had been serving as the weekday morning news feature reporter.
On September 17, 2007, longtime weeknight co-anchor Krista Fogelsong left WFTX in a much publicized departure. Weekday morning co-anchor and Cape Coral native Amy Wegmann moved to the weeknight broadcasts to fill the vacancy.
Due to the highly competitive nature of the Fort Myers
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
/Naples
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
, WFTX's flagship 10 p.m. newscast has attracted competition over the years. In August 2006 when ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate WZVN-TV
WZVN-TV
WZVN-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southwest Florida licensed to Naples. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 41 from a transmitter in Southeastern Punta Gorda along SR 31. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 7 and in high definition on...
announced that it would launch a nightly prime time show on cable-only MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate "WNFM". On March 26, 2007, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WINK-TV
WINK-TV
WINK-TV, virtual channel 11, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Southwest Florida that is licensed to Fort Myers. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter north of Fort Myers Shores near the Lee and Charlotte County line in Punta Gorda. The...
entering into the 10 p.m. race with its own broadcast on CW affiliate WXCW. Right from the start, this emerged as a strong second place production to WFTX, building on WINK-TV's longtime status as the most watched station in the market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
. On May 25 after only eight months on-the-air, the nightly WZVN-produced newscasts on WNFM were dropped, due to Comcast's frequent technical difficulties (the cable provider operates the MyNetworkTV affiliate) which hindered in the program's ratings, as well as the success of the WXCW production.
To take on the big three stations
Big Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...
, WFTX began airing an hour-long newscast weeknights at 6 p.m. on August 2, 2010, with the second half competing against the national evening news programs. The station had aired a broadcast at that time in the 1990s when the news department was first established, but it was dropped in 2000 in favor of syndicated programming. The new show required the hiring of new reporters.
In addition to its main studios, WFTX operates a Naples Newsroom on Tamiami Trail
Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....
North (U.S. 41/SR 45) in that city. There is currently no sports department.
Station slogans
- "The Network for the 90s" (1991–1994)
- "The Fastest Growing Newscast in Florida" (1998–2002)
- "This is Your News" (2002–2005)
- "Southwest Florida's News Source" (2005–2007)
- "Fox 4 In Your Corner" (2007–present)
News team
Anchors- Emily Dishnow - weekends at 10 p.m.
- Patrick Nolan - weeknights at 6, 10 and 11 p.m.; also "Patrick Nolan's Real Florida" and "4 In Your Corner Medical Reports" segment producer
- Lisa Spooner - weekday mornings Fox 4 Rising
- Amy Wegmann - weeknights at 6, 10 and 11 p.m.; also consumer advocate reporter
- Carley Wegner - Fox 4 Morning Blend host
- Bill Wood - Fox 4 Morning Blend host
Sky Warn 4 Weather
- Jim Syoen - chief weather anchor; weeknights at 6, 10 and 11 p.m.
- Liza Fernandez - meteorologist; weekends at 10 p.m., also general assignment reporter
- Jamie Kagol - meteorologist; weekday mornings Fox 4 Rising
Reporters
- Matt Grant
- Colleen Hogan
- Pooja Lodhia - weekday morning reporter
- Mike Mason - investigative reporter
- John Rupolo
- Julie Salomone - Naples Newsroom reporter
- Greg Tanner - weekday morning traffic reporter