WXTX
Encyclopedia
WXTX is the primary Fox
and secondary MyNetworkTV
-affiliated television station
for the Chattahoochee
Valley of West Central Georgia
and East Central Alabama. Licensed to Columbus, Georgia
, it broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 49 (or virtual channel
54 via PSIP) from a transmitter in the Vista Terrance section of South Columbus
. The station can also be seen Mediacom
and Knology
channel 7 as well as Charter
channel 8. There is a high definition feed seen on Charter digital channel 708, Mediacom digital channel 807, and Knology digital channel 905.
Owned by Southeastern Media Holdings
, WXTX is operated by Raycom Media
thorough a shared services
agreement (SSA) as sister to ABC
affiliate WTVM
. The two share studios on Wynnton Road/SR 22 Spur
in the Diglewood
section of Columbus. This station maintains a secondary facility on Buena Vista Road in the Vista Terrance section of South Columbus. Syndicated
programming on WXTX includes: Everybody Hates Chris
, Judge Judy
, Maury
, and The Dr. Oz Show
. Programming from MyNetworkTV airs Tuesday through Saturday mornings from midnight until 2. There is no separate local branding and/or logo indicating the secondary affiliation.
.
affiliate after Fox dropped WATL for New World
-owned WAGA-TV
in Atlanta. By 1993, WXTX grew to a seven night network affiliate after Fox expanded its programming offerings. The station was named a top ten affiliate with the network in November 1994 for its prime time audience share.
It has subsequently been named to the "Fox Number One Club" several times, most recently in 2007, in recognition of the station's sweeps ratings. Southeastern Media Holdings acquired WXTX in December 2003. (http://cnhi.com/wxtx/x1036627277/WXTX-FOX-54-Columbus) On September 5, 2006, it became the area's secondary MyNetworkTV affiliate after The CW chose then-UPN
station WLGA
to become its affiliate in Columbus. The CW is currently seen on a second digital subchannel
of NBC
affiliate WLTZ
. Originally, WXTX aired programming from MyNetworkTV on weeknights from 11 until 1 in the morning.
For Saturday night prime time, that network was shown early Sunday mornings from 12:30 until 2:30. It has since shifted to the current time slot. At one point, the station offered The Tube (a 24-hour automated music video network) on a second digital subchannel. This was dropped on October 1, 2007 when the service shut down. WXTX-DT2 now carries This TV (an all movie channel) which began late-December 2008. After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion
took place on June 12, 2009, WXTX remained on its current pre-transition channel number (49). Digital television receivers display its virtual channel as 54 through the use of PSIP.
Since 2004, WTVM has been producing the area's only prime time newscast at 10 on WXTX. Known as Fox 54 News at 10, it airs every night for thirty minutes and originates from a secondary set at WTVM's studios. In 2007, that station began airing an hour-long extension of its weekday morning show on WXTX. Known as Fox 54 Morning News, this broadcast was seen for an hour starting at 7. The production was cancelled for an unknown reason. Newscasts on WXTX are seen in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition since WTVM remains one of Raycom's few stations to have not yet upgraded local broadcasts to 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen
or full high definition.
In late-October 2010, HD-ready graphics began to be seen in weather forecasting segments indicating the station may be making the switch soon. The entire graphics package made a full switch to an updated theme in January 2011. WXTX's weeknight news co-anchor Jason Dennis is not seen on WTVM. In addition to its main studios and secondary facility, the station also operates an East Alabama Bureau on Executive Park Drive in Opelika
. WXTX's website offers a live stream of WTVM's 24-hour local weather channel, "Storm Team 9 Weather Now".
Since half of the viewing area includes East Central Alabama, it is part of the "Raycom News Network" which is a system designed to rapidly share information among the company's widespread group of television stations and websites in Alabama. A regional network has developed among WSFA
in Montgomery
, WAFF
in Huntsville
, and WBRC
in Birmingham
in which stations share information, equipment (such as satellite trucks), and stories from reporters. Between them, these four stations cover the entire state of Alabama (except for the Gulf Coast) and also comprise the "Raycom Weather Network".
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...
and secondary MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
-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 the Chattahoochee
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
Valley of West Central Georgia
Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area
The Columbus, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties in Georgia and one county in Alabama, anchored by the city of Columbus...
and East Central Alabama. Licensed to Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, 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 49 (or 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....
54 via PSIP) from a transmitter in the Vista Terrance section of South Columbus
South Columbus, Georgia
South Columbus, or the southside, as locals refer to it as, is a district in Columbus, Georgia, situated just below financial district of Downtown Columbus, and just above the United States Army post Fort Benning. It is mainly the military-houseing area of Columbus...
. The station can also be seen Mediacom
Mediacom
Mediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
and Knology
Knology
Knology Inc. is a cable company that formed in 1994 by ITC Holding Company, Inc, a telecommunications holding company in West Point, Georgia that also founded Internet service provider Mindspring. In late 1994, shortly after Knology's inception, two employees made a $600,000 investment to make...
channel 7 as well as Charter
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
channel 8. There is a high definition feed seen on Charter digital channel 708, Mediacom digital channel 807, and Knology digital channel 905.
Owned by Southeastern Media Holdings
Southeastern Media Holdings
Southeastern Media Holdings is a broadcasting company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It owns television stations in several cities in the Southeastern United States.-Fox Affiliates:* WXTX-TV, Columbus, Georgia* WSFX-TV, Wilmington, North Carolina...
, WXTX is operated by Raycom Media
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
thorough a shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
agreement (SSA) as sister to 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 WTVM
WTVM
WTVM is the ABC-affiliated television station for Columbus, Georgia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter in Cusseta. The station can also be seen on Charter, Knology, and Mediacom channel 10...
. The two share studios on Wynnton Road/SR 22 Spur
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:...
in the Diglewood
Dinglewood, Columbus, Georgia
Dinglewood is a neighborhood/subdistrict located at the southern edge of Downtown Columbus, Georgia. In it is the tallest building in Columbus, the Aflac Tower. It is also home to the famous Dinglewood Pharmacy, which serves, in the opinions of the city's residents, the city's best scrambled hot dog...
section of Columbus. This station maintains a secondary facility on Buena Vista Road in the Vista Terrance section of South Columbus. 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 WXTX includes: Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
, 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...
, Maury
Maury (TV series)
Maury is a syndicated American tabloid talk show hosted by Maury Povich.When the series first aired in 1991, the show was called The Maury Povich Show and was produced by MoPo Productions in association with Paramount Domestic Television...
, and The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
. Programming from MyNetworkTV airs Tuesday through Saturday mornings from midnight until 2. There is no separate local branding and/or logo indicating the secondary affiliation.
Digital television
On WXTX-DT2, Mediacom channel 84, Knology digital channel 173, and Charter digital channel 174 is This TVThis TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
.
| Channels | Name | Video Display resolution The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection... |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54.1 | WXTX-HD | 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 WXTX programming / FOX and MyNetworkTV |
| 54.2 | WXTV-DT2 | 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 | This TV |
History
WXTX signed-on November 1984 as an Independent. Three years later in 1987, it became a Fox affiliate and has remained with the network ever since. The station is the network's longest serving GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
affiliate after Fox dropped WATL for New World
New World Communications
New World Pictures was an independent motion picture and television production company, and later television station owner in the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s...
-owned WAGA-TV
WAGA-TV
WAGA-TV, virtual channel 5.1 is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Television Network and based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
in Atlanta. By 1993, WXTX grew to a seven night network affiliate after Fox expanded its programming offerings. The station was named a top ten affiliate with the network in November 1994 for its prime time audience share.
It has subsequently been named to the "Fox Number One Club" several times, most recently in 2007, in recognition of the station's sweeps ratings. Southeastern Media Holdings acquired WXTX in December 2003. (http://cnhi.com/wxtx/x1036627277/WXTX-FOX-54-Columbus) On September 5, 2006, it became the area's secondary MyNetworkTV affiliate after The CW chose then-UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
station WLGA
WLGA
WLGA was a television station in Opelika, Alabama. The channel broadcast in digital on UHF channel 47. Its studios were located in Opelika, with its transmitter located in Cusseta, Georgia...
to become its affiliate in Columbus. The CW is currently seen on a second digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WLTZ
WLTZ
WLTZ is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Chattahoochee Valley of West-Central Georgia and East-Central Alabama. Licensed to Columbus, Georgia, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 from its studios on NBC 38 Drive in the Vista Terrance section of South...
. Originally, WXTX aired programming from MyNetworkTV on weeknights from 11 until 1 in the morning.
For Saturday night prime time, that network was shown early Sunday mornings from 12:30 until 2:30. It has since shifted to the current time slot. At one point, the station offered The Tube (a 24-hour automated music video network) on a second digital subchannel. This was dropped on October 1, 2007 when the service shut down. WXTX-DT2 now carries This TV (an all movie channel) which began late-December 2008. After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
took place on June 12, 2009, WXTX remained on its current pre-transition channel number (49). Digital television receivers display its virtual channel as 54 through the use of PSIP.
News operation
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
or full high definition.
In late-October 2010, HD-ready graphics began to be seen in weather forecasting segments indicating the station may be making the switch soon. The entire graphics package made a full switch to an updated theme in January 2011. WXTX's weeknight news co-anchor Jason Dennis is not seen on WTVM. In addition to its main studios and secondary facility, the station also operates an East Alabama Bureau on Executive Park Drive in Opelika
Opelika, Alabama
Opelika is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. According to 2010 Census, the population of Opelika was 26,477...
. WXTX's website offers a live stream of WTVM's 24-hour local weather channel, "Storm Team 9 Weather Now".
Since half of the viewing area includes East Central Alabama, it is part of the "Raycom News Network" which is a system designed to rapidly share information among the company's widespread group of television stations and websites in Alabama. A regional network has developed among WSFA
WSFA
WSFA is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Alabama's Black Belt region licensed to Montgomery. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Grady along the Montgomery and Pike County line. The station can also be seen on Knology and Charter...
in Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, WAFF
WAFF (TV)
WAFF is the NBC television network affiliate in Huntsville, Alabama. The station broadcasts on UHF channel 49 and serves the northern portion of Alabama and several counties in southern Tennessee.-Decatur years, 1954 - 69:...
in Huntsville
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, and WBRC
WBRC
WBRC, virtual channel 6, is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Birmingham, Alabama designated market area. The station is owned by Raycom Media, and its transmitter is located atop Red Mountain in Birmingham...
in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
in which stations share information, equipment (such as satellite trucks), and stories from reporters. Between them, these four stations cover the entire state of Alabama (except for the Gulf Coast) and also comprise the "Raycom Weather Network".
News team
Anchors- Jason Dennis - weeknight news
- Semone Doughton - weeknight news
- Katherine Kington - weekend news and East Alabama Bureau reporter (also fill-in news and weather anchor)
- Kurt Schmidt - weeknight meteorologist
- Derek Kinkade (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
and NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seals of Approval) - weekend meteorologist - Dave Platta - Sports DirectorSports DirectorA sports director is an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. In local news, the sports director is typically the station's primary sportscaster, and often anchors the primetime newscasts on weekdays. They are in charge of sports programming and...
seen Tuesday through Friday - Kristin Gold - Saturday sports and sports reporter
- Daryll Jones ("DJ") - Sportsvisions host
- Dale Williams - Sportsvisions host
- Danita Lloyd - Sportsvisions host
- Bill Rancic - AmericaUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Now host
Reporters
- Cheryl Renee - "Woman to Woman" segment producer
- Zaneta Lowe - "ConsumerWatch" segment producer
- Elizabeth White - East Alabama Bureau Chief
- Taylor Barnhill - video journalist
- Mackenzie Patterson
- Lindsey Connell
- Curtis McCloud
- Laura Ann Sills
- Roslyn Giles