WFXW

WFXW, virtual and UHF digital channel 15, is a TCT Network owned-and-operated television station licensed to Greenville, Mississippi, United States and serving the Delta area of northwestern Mississippi. The station is owned by Marion, Illinois-based Tri-State Christian Television. WFXW's transmitter is located northeast of Shaw, Mississippi.

WXVT's previous logo, from 2015 to 2016, before moving to WNBD-LD.
For the Terre Haute, Indiana television station that held the call sign WFXW on channel 38 from 2005 to 2011, see WAWV-TV.
WFXW
Greenville/Greenwood, Mississippi
United States
CityGreenville, Mississippi
ChannelsDigital: 15 (UHF)
Virtual: 15 (PSIP)
Affiliations15.1: TCT (O&O, 2020–present)
OwnerTri-State Christian Television
LicenseeRadiant Life Ministries, Inc.
First air dateNovember 7, 1980 (1980-11-07)
Former call signsWXVT (1980–2017)
Former channel number(s)Analog:
15 (UHF, 1980–2009)
Former affiliationsCBS (1980–2016)
UPN (secondary, 1995–2006)
Silent (2016–2019)
Ion Television (2019–2020)
Transmitter power330 kW
Height269 m (883 ft)
Facility ID25236
Transmitter coordinates33°39′26″N 90°42′18″W
Licensing authorityFCC
Public license informationProfile
CDBS
Websitewww.tct.tv

From 1980 to 2016, the station broadcast as CBS affiliate WXVT.

History

Its first broadcast was on November 7, 1980,[1] under the call sign WXVT. It had been a CBS affiliate for its entire existence. Before this, WJTV in Jackson had served as the default affiliate. The station was originally owned by Big River Broadcasting. Future sister station WABG-TV (channel 6, now a dual ABC/Fox affiliate) was actually the Delta's original CBS affiliate when it launched back in October 1959. However, a few months later, WJTV complained that WABG was encroaching on its service area. This is because WABG's signal reaches the far northern fringes of the Jackson market. Big River Broadcasting sold the station to Lamco Communications in 1984. Lamco then sold WXVT to a local ownership group in 1991. Saga Communications purchased WXVT in 1999.

On May 4, 2012, an application was filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to transfer ownership of WXVT from Saga Communications to H3 Communications. H3 Communications is owned by the adult children of Charles Harker, president of Commonwealth Broadcasting Group, which owns WABG and NBC affiliate WNBD-LD (channel 33). On January 28, 2013, the FCC granted the sale of WXVT, and it was completed two days later.[2][3] Commonwealth then took over WXVT's operations, effectively bringing all of the Delta's Big Three network stations under the control of one company.

H3 Communications agreed to sell WXVT to Cala Broadcast Partners for $3.7 million on October 30, 2015;[4] concurrently, Cala would purchase WABG-TV, WNBD-LD, and WFXW-LD from Commonwealth Broadcasting Group.[5] Cala is jointly owned by Brian Brady (who owns several other television stations, mostly under the Northwest Broadcasting name) and Jason Wolff (who owns radio and television stations through Frontier Radio Management).[5] On November 30, 2015, Cala assigned its right to purchase WXVT to John Wagner for $100,000.[4] The sale was completed on August 1, 2016;[6] on that date, the station went off the air, with Wagner stating in a filing with the FCC that it was looking for new programming.[7]

The station changed its call sign to WFXW on June 26, 2017. It returned to the air on July 29, 2019 as an affiliate of Ion Television.

In February 2019, Reuters reported that Apollo Global Management had agreed to acquire the entirety of Brian Brady's television portfolio, which it intends to merge with Cox Television (which Apollo is acquiring at the same time) and stations spun off from Nexstar Media Group's purchase of Tribune Broadcasting, once the purchases are approved by the FCC.[8] In March 2019 filings with the FCC, Apollo confirmed that its newly-formed broadcasting group, Terrier Media, would acquire Northwest Broadcasting, with Brian Brady holding an unspecified minority interest in Terrier.[9] In June 2019, it was announced that Terrier Media would instead operate as Cox Media Group, as Apollo had reached a deal to also acquire Cox's radio and advertising businesses.[10] The transaction was completed on December 17.[11]

Donation to Tri-State Christian Television

On March 9, 2020, it was announced that John Wagner would donate WFXW to Radiant Life Ministries, an affiliate company of Tri-State Christian Television.[12] The transaction was completed on June 12, making WFXW an owned-and-operated station of the TCT network and the first full-power religious station in the Delta area.[13]

Digital channel
Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming
15.1720p16:9WFXW-HDMain WFXW programming / TCT

Analog-to-digital conversion

WFXW (as WXVT) shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 15, on February 17, 2009, the original target date in which full-power television stations were to transition from analog to digital television under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 15, using PSIP to display its virtual channel as 15 on digital television receivers.

Programming

Syndicated programming on the then-WXVT included Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Divorce Court, and Judge Joe Brown.

References
  1. Television & Cable Factbook 1988 Edition (PDF). 1988. p. A-587. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  2. http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1538748.pdf%5B%5D
  3. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101539488&formid=905&fac_num=25236
  4. "Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License (WXVT)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 3, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  5. "Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License (WABG-TV)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 3, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  6. Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, 1 August, 2016, Retrieved 10 August, 2016.
  7. Wagner, John (August 12, 2016). "Suspension of Operations and Silent Authority of a DTV Station Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  8. "EXCLUSIVE-Apollo nears $3 billion deal to buy Cox TV stations -sources" from CNBC (February 10, 2019)
  9. Jessell, Harry A. (March 6, 2019). "Cox TV Valued At $3.1 Billion In Apollo Acquisition". TV News Check. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  10. Jacobson, Adam (June 26, 2019). "It's Official: Cox Radio, Gamut, CoxReps Going To Apollo". Radio & Television Business Report. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  11. "Cox Enterprises Announces Close of Cox Media Group Sale to Affiliates of Apollo Global Management", prnewswire.com, 17 December 2019, Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  12. WFXW Donation Agreement
  13. "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, 15 June 2020, Retrieved 15 June 2020.
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