WYZZ-TV

Last updated

WYZZ-TV
WYZZ43.png
City Bloomington, Illinois
Channels
BrandingWYZZ
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
Operator Nexstar Media Group via LMA
WMBD-TV, WHOI
History
First air date
October 18, 1982(41 years ago) (1982-10-18)
Former call signs
WBLN (1982–1985)
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 43 (UHF, 1982–2009)
Independent (1982–1986)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 5875
ERP 1,000 kW
HAAT 293 m (961 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 40°38′40.5″N89°10′45.9″W / 40.644583°N 89.179417°W / 40.644583; -89.179417
Links
Public license information
Website www.centralillinoisproud.com

WYZZ-TV (channel 43) is a television station licensed to Bloomington, Illinois, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Peoria area. It is owned by Cunningham Broadcasting, which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Nexstar Media Group, owner of CBS affiliate WMBD-TV (channel 31), for the provision of certain services. The two stations share studios on North University Street in Peoria, with a secondary studio and news bureau on East Lincoln Street in Bloomington (which served as WYZZ's original studios). WYZZ-TV's transmitter is located near Congerville, a village of Montgomery Township, Woodford County.

Contents

Although WYZZ is sister to TBD owned-and-operated station WHOI (channel 19, owned by Cunningham's partner company, Sinclair Broadcast Group), that outlet is managed outright by Sinclair.

History

The station signed on the air on October 18, 1982, as WBLN (standing for "What We Believe In") and aired an analog signal on UHF channel 43. It was founded by Grace Communications, [2] a consortium of members of Peoria's Grace Presbyterian Church. Except for the call sign, it was unrelated to the old WBLN that broadcast on UHF channel 15 in the 1950s. The station first broadcast from studios located on East Empire Street/IL 9 in Bloomington. The station was a general entertainment independent and first new commercial outlet to sign-on since future sister WMBD hit the airwaves 24 years earlier. Grace Communications sold the station to Midwest Television Associates in 1983. It initially signed on at 9 a.m. running religious shows until noon and low budget and barter shows from noon to midnight. This would be a mix of cartoons, public domain movies, some drama shows, westerns, news from CNN, and exercise shows.

In 1984, the station began signing on at 7 a.m. and began running a block of cartoons from 7 to 9 weekday mornings. Midwest then sold WBLN to local businessman G.J. Robinson in 1985, who changed its call letters to the current WYZZ-TV in September 1985. [3] The station slightly cut back the religious shows but also began running stronger programming such as more of-network sitcoms, both older and recent. On October 9, 1986, the station joined Fox as a charter affiliate. WYZZ later relocated its operations to a new facility located on East Lincoln Street in Bloomington. The station would eventually be sold to Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1996.

On December 1, 2001, Sinclair and the Nexstar Broadcasting Group (owner of WMBD) entered into a local marketing agreement (LMA) in which WMBD would take over WYZZ's operations. [4] As part of the deal, WYZZ abandoned its Bloomington studios and merged its operations into WMBD's facility in Peoria. In August 2005, a similar agreement would be established between Sinclair's WUHF and Nexstar's WROC-TV in Rochester, New York.

WYZZ broadcasts digitally on UHF channel 28 and (like most Sinclair-owned stations) has been digital-only since February 17, 2009. [5] According to a post on The Peoria Chronicle website, WYZZ and WMBD were planning on terminating the LMA between the two effective April 1, 2010. This move was ultimately not followed through with. [6] On May 15, 2012, Sinclair and Fox agreed to a five-year extension to the network's affiliation agreement with Sinclair's nineteen Fox stations, including WYZZ, allowing them to continue carrying the network's programming until 2017. [7]

Sinclair announced the acquisition of Barrington Broadcasting's stations, including WHOI, on February 28, 2013. On that date, Sinclair made public that it would transfer the WYZZ license (along with that of then-sister station WSYT in Syracuse, New York; it would later be dropped from the plan and sold separately) to Cunningham Broadcasting because the WHOI purchase would violate Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations on duopoly ownership. [8] However, nearly all of Cunningham Broadcasting's stock is controlled by trusts in the names of the principal owners of Sinclair. Thus, for all intents and purposes, Sinclair still owns WYZZ. Even with the nominal ownership change (the transaction was finalized on November 22), WMBD will continue to operate WYZZ for the time being.

WEEK-TV's joint sales and shared services agreements with WHOI were originally set to expire in March 2017. [9] However, Sinclair announced that it would terminate the JSA/SSA with WEEK-TV within nine months after the consummation of its sale from Granite Broadcasting to Quincy Newspapers.

On December 3, 2018, Nexstar announced it would acquire the assets of Chicago-based Tribune Media for $6.4 billion in cash and debt. The deal—which would make Nexstar the largest television station operator by total number of stations upon its expected closure late in the third quarter of 2019—would result in the WYZZ/WMBD virtual duopoly gaining additional sister stations in nearby markets including Chicago (independent station WGN-TV) and St. Louis (Fox affiliate KTVI and CW affiliate KPLR-TV). (Ownership conflicts exist in two existing Nexstar markets involving Nexstar's duopoly of CW affiliate WISH-TV and MyNetworkTV affiliate WNDY-TV and Tribune's duopoly of Fox affiliate WXIN and CBS affiliate WTTV/WTTK in Indianapolis and Nexstar's virtual triopoly of CBS affiliate WHBF-TV, CW affiliate KGCW and Fox-affiliated SSA partner KLJB and Tribune-owned ABC affiliate WQAD-TV in the Quad Cities.) [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

Newscasts

In April 2002, WMBD established a news share agreement with WYZZ, resulting in a prime time newscast on the Fox affiliate that was produced by WMBD, [20] called Fox 43 News at 9. The thirty-minute broadcast was originally broadcast every night before being dropped from weekends at some point in time. The newscast did not have any competition in the time slot until June 5, 2006, when WEEK-TV added its own half-hour newscast at 9 on then-UPN affiliate WAOE (that was also seen solely on weeknights until the end of 2014).

On May 7, 2015, WMBD became the first television station in the market to produce local news in full high definition. On the same day, WYZZ's weeknight 9 p.m. newscast was included in the upgrade and rebranded as WYZZ News at 9 and WMBD also began producing a two-hour weekday morning show for the Fox affiliate called Good Day Central Illinois, airing from 7 to 9 a.m. In addition to its primary studios, it operates a Twin Cities Bureau on East Lincoln Street in Bloomington (in the same building as WYZZ's original, separate studios).

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WYZZ-TV [21]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
43.1 720p 16:9 WYZZ-DTMain WYZZ-TV programming / Fox
43.2 480i 4:3 Merit Merit Street
43.3GetTV Get

On February 19, 2021, This TV was added to WYZZ-TV's second digital subchannel.

Related Research Articles

In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or time-buy.

KTVI is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station KPLR-TV. The two stations share studios on Ball Drive in Maryland Heights; KTVI's transmitter is located in Sappington, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KXRM-TV</span> Fox affiliate in Colorado Springs, Colorado

KXRM-TV is a television station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power CW owned-and-operated station KXTU-LD. The two stations share studios on Wooten Road in Colorado Springs; KXRM-TV's transmitter is located on Cheyenne Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KXNW</span> MyNetworkTV affiliate in Eureka Springs, Arkansas

KXNW is a television station licensed to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, United States, serving Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River Valley as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Rogers-licensed NBC affiliate KNWA-TV and Fort Smith–licensed Fox affiliate KFTA-TV. The three stations share studios on Dickson Street in downtown Fayetteville, with a satellite studio in Rogers and a news bureau and sales office on Kelley Highway in Fort Smith. KXNW's transmitter is located on Humphrey Mountain near Garfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nexstar Media Group</span> American media company

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television stations across the U.S., most of which are affiliated with the four "major" U.S. television networks and MyNetworkTV in markets as large as New York City and as small as San Angelo, Texas. It also operates all of the stations owned by affiliated companies, such as Mission Broadcasting and Vaughan Media, under local marketing agreements to satisfy existing regulations set in place by the Federal Communications Commission. In addition, Nexstar owns one radio station, WGN in Chicago, and operates major TV network the CW through a 75-percent majority stake where all CW affiliates are directly owned-and-operated stations (O&O), two terrestrial television networks airing classic shows, Antenna TV and Rewind TV, one FAST streaming channel airing sports programming, SportsGrid, and has full or partial ownership stakes in three pay television networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCIX</span> MyNetworkTV affiliate in Springfield, Illinois

WCIX is a television station licensed to Springfield, Illinois, United States, serving the Central Illinois region as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Champaign-licensed CBS affiliate WCIA. Both stations share studios on South Neil Street/US 45 in downtown Champaign and also operate a sales office and news bureau on West Edwards Street near the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. WCIX's transmitter is located in Clear Lake Township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNDY-TV</span> MyNetworkTV affiliate in Marion, Indiana

WNDY-TV is a television station licensed to Marion, Indiana, United States, serving the Indianapolis area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Indianapolis-licensed CW affiliate WISH-TV and low-power, Class A getTV affiliate WIIH-CD. The stations share studios on North Meridian Street on the near north side of Indianapolis; WNDY-TV and WISH-TV also share transmitter facilities on Walnut Drive in the Augusta section of the city's northwest side. Despite Marion being WNDY-TV's city of license, the station maintains no physical presence there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRCW-TV</span> CW TV station in Salem, Oregon

KRCW-TV is a television station licensed to Salem, Oregon, United States, serving as the Portland-area outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group alongside CBS affiliate KOIN. The two stations share studios in the basement of the KOIN Center skyscraper on Southwest Columbia Street in downtown Portland; KRCW-TV's transmitter is located in the Sylvan-Highlands neighborhood of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMBD-TV</span> TV station in Peoria, Illinois

WMBD-TV is a television station in Peoria, Illinois, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to Bloomington-licensed Fox affiliate WYZZ-TV under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Cunningham Broadcasting. The two stations share studios on North University Street in Peoria, with a secondary studio and news bureau on East Lincoln Street in Bloomington. WMBD-TV's transmitter is located on Pinecrest Drive in East Peoria, a section of Groveland Township, Tazewell County.

WHO-DT is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Grand Avenue in downtown Des Moines, and its transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDAF-TV</span> Fox affiliate in Kansas City, Missouri

WDAF-TV is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Summit Street in the Signal Hill section of Kansas City, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTAT-TV</span> Fox affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina

WTAT-TV is a television station in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. The station is owned by Cunningham Broadcasting, a partner company of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. However, although Sinclair effectively owns WTAT-TV, it is one of two Cunningham-owned stations not to be operated by Sinclair. WTAT-TV's studios are located on Arco Lane in North Charleston, and its transmitter is located in Awendaw, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVBT</span> Fox/CW affiliate in Virginia Beach, Virginia

WVBT is a television station licensed to Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of the Fox network. Its second digital subchannel serves as an owned-and-operated station of The CW. WVBT is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Portsmouth-licensed NBC affiliate WAVY-TV. The two stations share studios on Wavy Street in downtown Portsmouth; WVBT's transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia.

WHOI is a television station in Peoria, Illinois, United States, broadcasting the digital multicast network TBD. Owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains a transmitter on Springfield Road in East Peoria, a section of Groveland Township, Tazewell County. WHOI was the ABC affiliate for the market until 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEEK-TV</span> TV station in Peoria, Illinois

WEEK-TV is a television station in Peoria, Illinois, United States, affiliated with NBC, ABC, MyNetworkTV and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Springfield Road in East Peoria, a section of Groveland Township, Tazewell County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNWA-TV</span> NBC/Fox affiliate in Rogers, Arkansas

KNWA-TV is a television station licensed to Rogers, Arkansas, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River Valley. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Fort Smith–licensed Fox affiliate KFTA-TV and Eureka Springs–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KXNW. The stations share studios on Dickson Street in downtown Fayetteville, with a satellite studio in Rogers. KNWA-TV's transmitter is located southeast of Garfield, Arkansas.

WPMT is a television station licensed to York, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Susquehanna Valley region. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on South Queen Street in Spring Garden Township. Through a channel sharing agreement with Harrisburg–licensed PBS member WITF-TV, the two stations transmit using WITF-TV's spectrum from an antenna in Susquehanna Township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHP-TV</span> TV station in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

WHP-TV is a television station licensed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of CBS, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station has studios on North 6th Street in the Uptown section of Harrisburg, with the building bisected by the city line for Harrisburg and Susquehanna Township. Through a channel sharing agreement with Lancaster-licensed Univision affiliate WXBU, the two stations transmit using WHP-TV's spectrum from an antenna on a ridge north of Linglestown Road in Middle Paxton Township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFTA-TV</span> Fox/NBC affiliate in Fort Smith, Arkansas

KFTA-TV is a television station licensed to Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Arkansas River Valley and Northwest Arkansas. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Rogers-licensed NBC affiliate KNWA-TV and Eureka Springs–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KXNW. The stations share studios at the Underwood Building on Dickson Street in downtown Fayetteville, with a satellite studio in Rogers. KFTA-TV's transmitter is located in unincorporated northeastern Crawford County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attempted acquisition of Tribune Media by Sinclair Broadcast Group</span> Failed 2017 business transaction

The attempted acquisition of Tribune Media by Sinclair Broadcast Group was a proposed broadcast media transaction between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media. Formally announced on May 8, 2017, the $3.9 billion deal would have resulted in Sinclair owning—or having operational control over—stations available in 72% of all households with a television set in the United States.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WYZZ-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "WBLN" (PDF). History Cards. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission . Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Facility ID:5875; WYZZ-TV". Licensing and Management System. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission . Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  4. ↑ WYZZ, Inc.; WYZZ Licensee, Inc.; Nexstar Broadcasting of Peoria, L.L.C. (November 28, 2001), Outsourcing Agreement (PDF), The term of this Agreement (the "Term") shall commence on December 1, 2001 [...] Filed as part of "filed - WYZZ JSA redacted (14170367746771).pdf" (PDF). Public Inspection Files. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. November 26, 2014. p. 24. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  5. ↑ FCC list of full-service US TV stations, February 16, 2009
  6. ↑ "WMBD and WYZZ to split". The Peoria Chronicle. January 20, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Sinclair Reups With Fox, Gets WUTB Option". TVNewsCheck. Ardmore, PA: NewsCheckMedia. May 15, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  8. ↑ Malone, Michael (February 28, 2013). "Sinclair's Chesapeake TV Acquires Barrington Stations". Broadcasting & Cable . Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ "CDBS Print". licensing.fcc.gov.
  10. ↑ "Acquisition of Tribune Media Company" (PDF). Nexstar Media Group . December 3, 2018.
  11. ↑ Miller, Mark K. (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar Buying Tribune Media For $6.4 Billion". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media.
  12. ↑ White, Peter; Hayes, Dade (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar Confirms $4.1B Tribune Media Acquisition To Become Leading Local TV Station Owner". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
  13. ↑ Smith, Gerry; Ahmed, Nabila; Newcomer, Eric (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar to buy WGN owner Tribune Media for $4.1 billion". Chicago Tribune . Tribune Publishing. Bloomberg News.
  14. ↑ Panchadar, Arjun; Rai, Sonam (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar to buy Tribune Media for $4.1 billion". Reuters .
  15. ↑ Lafayette, Jon (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar Announces Deal to Buy Tribune for $6.4B". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
  16. ↑ Jacobson, Adam (December 3, 2018). "It's Official: Nexstar Takes Tribune In Billion-Dollar Stock Deal". Radio-Television Business Report. Streamline-RBR, Inc.
  17. ↑ Jessell, Harry A.; Miller, Mark K. (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar To Spin Off $1B In Stations". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media.
  18. ↑ "Nexstar Media Group Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Tribune Media Company for $6.4 Billion in Accretive Transaction Creating the Nation's Largest Local Television Broadcaster and Local Media Company". Nexstar Media Group. December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Nexstar Media Group Enters Into Definitive Agreement To Acquire Tribune Media Company". Tribune Media. December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  20. ↑ "WYZZ". Nexstar Media Group, Inc. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Digital TV Market Listing for WYZZ". RabbitEars. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.