WGXA-DT2
Encyclopedia
WGXA-DT2 is the ABC
-affiliated television station
for Central Georgia
. The station is a second digital subchannel of Fox affiliate WGXA
that is owned by Frontier Radio Management. Over-the-air, it broadcasts a digital signal on UHF channel 16.2 from a transmitter on GA 87/U.S. 23/U.S. 129 Alternate
along the Bibb
and Twiggs
County line. It can also be seen on Cox
channel 15 and in high definition
on digital channel 715. Syndicated programming on WGXA-DT2 includes: Entertainment Tonight
, The Insider
, Extra
, and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
.
Known on-air as ABC 16 after WGXA's physical digital channel location, its parent station has studios on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (GA 11
/GA 22
/GA 49
/U.S. 80
/U.S. 129
) in Downtown Macon
. The channel space for WGXA is split into two 720p
high definition signals for the original service and the second digital subchannel. 720p is the native broadcasting format for both networks.
announced they would drop the network and go Independent on New Year's Day
2010. The company cited current network programming that is not "family-friendly," specifically homosexual content, as its reason for dropping ABC. Shortly afterward, WGXA entered a long-term agreement with the network and once again picked it up as an affiliate this second digital subchannel. The main channel had been Macon's original ABC affiliate from its 1983 sign-on until switching to Fox in 1996. Cox had intended to remove WPGA from its lineup and place WGXA-DT2 on channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 706.
However on December 22, WPGA was granted a temporary restraining order requiring Cox to continue to carry that station on those channels. As a result, WGXA-DT2 is instead be seen on channel 15 pre-empting what is usually the channel space for The Inspiration Network until the settlement of WPGA's issues. On April 30, 2010, the court dismissed WPGA's case which would have allowed WGXA-DT2 to be seen on Cox channels 6 and 706 while WPGA is moved to another channel. However, Register filed an appeal and, in light of this, the judge ordered Cox to leave WPGA at channels 6 and 706 until an appeals court hears the case. In addition, Register also filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) over the status of WPGA.
On June 23, 2011, it was announced that the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that would enable Cox to drop WPGA from its line-up, effective July 28. On that date, WGXA-DT2 will simulcast on its new slot on channel 6, as well as its current channel 15 position; on August 28, it will be seen on channel 6 only, with channel 15 replaced with another channel.
On July 12, 2011 Register filed a complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, seeking an injunction to prevent Cox from not only dropping WPGA, but from giving channel 6 to WGXA-DT2. However, Cox announced that their plan will continue anyway, despite the complaint, as the previous court case authorised them to make the changes.
local cut-ins) added to WGXA-DT2 which required an expansion of the news department and personnel. These newscasts have a separate anchor team but utilize the same reporting, weather, and sports personnel. The 7 p.m. show competes with a newscast that airs on MyNetworkTV
affiliate WMGT-DT2
.
In a report in the May 28, 2010 edition of The Macon Telegraph, it was announced that talk show hosts Kenny Burgamy, Charles Richardson, and Liz Fabian would no longer be hosting a morning show on WPGA-TV and WPGA-FM
100.9 after July 20. The morning news, talk, information, and entertainment show moved to the WGXA stations as well as WMAC-AM 940 on July 26. The program currently airs on weekdays from 6 to 7 on WGXA-DT2 and from 6 to 9 on the main signal. The Good Morning America weather cut-ins continue to be seen as well.
StormTrack Central
Sports team
Reporters
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...
-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 Central Georgia
Central Georgia
Central Georgia refers to the region containing the metropolitan region surrounding the city of Macon, in Bibb County in the U.S. state of Georgia....
. The station is a second digital subchannel of Fox affiliate WGXA
WGXA
WGXA is the Fox affiliated television station for Central Georgia that is licensed to Macon. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 16 from a transmitter on GA 87/U.S. 23/U.S. 129 Alternate along the Twiggs and Bibb County line. The station can also be seen on Cox channel 2...
that is owned by Frontier Radio Management. Over-the-air, it broadcasts a digital signal on UHF channel 16.2 from a transmitter on GA 87/U.S. 23/U.S. 129 Alternate
U.S. Route 129
U.S. Route 129 is an offshoot route of U.S. Route 29, which it intersects near Athens, Georgia. US 129 currently runs for 582 miles from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Chiefland, Florida, at U.S. Route 19 and U.S. Route 98. It passes through the states of Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida...
along the Bibb
Bibb County, Georgia
Bibb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 153,887. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 154,709...
and Twiggs
Twiggs County, Georgia
Twiggs County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on December 14, 1809. As of 2000, the population was 10,590. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 10,280...
County line. It can also be seen on Cox
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
channel 15 and 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...
on digital channel 715. Syndicated programming on WGXA-DT2 includes: Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, The Insider
The Insider (TV series)
The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
, Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
, and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (U.S. syndicated game show)
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a daily syndicated version of the former primetime American quiz game show of the same name that aired on Fox. It ran from September 21, 2009 to March 24, 2011 and was produced by Mark Burnett, and, like the primetime version, was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy...
.
Known on-air as ABC 16 after WGXA's physical digital channel location, its parent station has studios on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (GA 11
Georgia State Route 11
State Route 11 runs the entire length of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the longest route in the state. The route begins at the Florida state line south of Statenville. The route travels north cosigned with US 129 through Statenville, Lakeland, Nashville, Ocilla, Fitzgerald, and Abbeville, before...
/GA 22
Georgia State Route 22
State Route 22 is a state route located in the central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The route travels from the Alabama state line in Columbus east, then northeast, then north, to Comer.-Route description:...
/GA 49
Georgia State Route 49
State Route 49 is a north–south state route located in the central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The route travels from State Route 45 north of Dawson to State Route 22/State Route 24 and State Route 112 in Milledgeville.-Route description:...
/U.S. 80
U.S. Route 80
U.S. Route 80 is an east–west United States highway, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the route number indicates, it was originally a cross-country route, from the Atlantic to the Pacific...
/U.S. 129
U.S. Route 129
U.S. Route 129 is an offshoot route of U.S. Route 29, which it intersects near Athens, Georgia. US 129 currently runs for 582 miles from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Chiefland, Florida, at U.S. Route 19 and U.S. Route 98. It passes through the states of Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida...
) in Downtown Macon
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
. The channel space for WGXA is split into two 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...
high definition signals for the original service and the second digital subchannel. 720p is the native broadcasting format for both networks.
History
On October 29, 2009, Register Communications owner of ABC affiliate WPGA-TVWPGA-TV
WPGA-TV is an Independent, Me-TV and Bounce TV affiliated television station serving Macon, Georgia and the Middle Georgia region. It broadcasts digitally on UHF channel 32...
announced they would drop the network and go Independent on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
2010. The company cited current network programming that is not "family-friendly," specifically homosexual content, as its reason for dropping ABC. Shortly afterward, WGXA entered a long-term agreement with the network and once again picked it up as an affiliate this second digital subchannel. The main channel had been Macon's original ABC affiliate from its 1983 sign-on until switching to Fox in 1996. Cox had intended to remove WPGA from its lineup and place WGXA-DT2 on channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 706.
However on December 22, WPGA was granted a temporary restraining order requiring Cox to continue to carry that station on those channels. As a result, WGXA-DT2 is instead be seen on channel 15 pre-empting what is usually the channel space for The Inspiration Network until the settlement of WPGA's issues. On April 30, 2010, the court dismissed WPGA's case which would have allowed WGXA-DT2 to be seen on Cox channels 6 and 706 while WPGA is moved to another channel. However, Register filed an appeal and, in light of this, the judge ordered Cox to leave WPGA at channels 6 and 706 until an appeals court hears the case. In addition, Register also filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) over the status of WPGA.
On June 23, 2011, it was announced that the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that would enable Cox to drop WPGA from its line-up, effective July 28. On that date, WGXA-DT2 will simulcast on its new slot on channel 6, as well as its current channel 15 position; on August 28, it will be seen on channel 6 only, with channel 15 replaced with another channel.
On July 12, 2011 Register filed a complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, seeking an injunction to prevent Cox from not only dropping WPGA, but from giving channel 6 to WGXA-DT2. However, Cox announced that their plan will continue anyway, despite the complaint, as the previous court case authorised them to make the changes.
Newscasts
Starting March 1, 2010, there were new weeknight 7 and 11 o'clock broadcasts (along with weekday morning Good Morning AmericaGood Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
local cut-ins) added to WGXA-DT2 which required an expansion of the news department and personnel. These newscasts have a separate anchor team but utilize the same reporting, weather, and sports personnel. The 7 p.m. show competes with a newscast that airs on 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 WMGT-DT2
WMGT-DT2
WMGT-DT2 is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Central Georgia. The station is a second digital subchannel of NBC affiliate WMGT-TV that is the flagship of owner Morris Multimedia....
.
In a report in the May 28, 2010 edition of The Macon Telegraph, it was announced that talk show hosts Kenny Burgamy, Charles Richardson, and Liz Fabian would no longer be hosting a morning show on WPGA-TV and WPGA-FM
WPGA-FM
WPGA-FM is a radio station serving the middle Georgia area with a hot adult contemporary format, focusing on the late 1970s through today. Licensed to Perry, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Macon, Georgia area, broadcasting on FM frequency 100.9 MHz and is owned by Register Communications...
100.9 after July 20. The morning news, talk, information, and entertainment show moved to the WGXA stations as well as WMAC-AM 940 on July 26. The program currently airs on weekdays from 6 to 7 on WGXA-DT2 and from 6 to 9 on the main signal. The Good Morning America weather cut-ins continue to be seen as well.
News team
Anchors/Hosts- Kenny Burgamy - weekday mornings NewsTalk Central (6-9 a.m.); heard on WMAC-AM 940
- Liz Fabian - morning news updates
- Kendall Herold - weeknights at 7 and 11 p.m.; also reporter
- Mario Ramirez - weeknights at 7 and 11 p.m.; also reporter
- Charles Richardson - weekday mornings NewsTalk Central (6-9 a.m.); heard on WMAC-AM 940
StormTrack Central
- Jeff Cox - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 7 and 11 p.m.
- Michelle Apon - meteorologist; weekday mornings (6-9 a.m.), also Southern Lifestyle reporter and segment producer
- Tyler Southard - meteorologist; fill-in, also science and environmental reporter
- Kimberly Newman - meteorologist; fill-in, also science and environmental reporter
Sports team
- Damon Jones - sports director; weeknights at 7 and 11 p.m., also sports reporter
- Rick Devens - sports anchor; weekends, also sports reporter
Reporters
- Chance Ambrose - general assignment reporter
- Amber Jones - general assignment reporter
- Michelle Quesada - general assignment reporter
- Larry Spurill, Jr. - general assignment reporter; also fill-in morning newsreader
- Linnie Supall - general assignment reporter
- Johanna Torres - general assignment reporter