 | |
| |
|---|---|
| City | Belmont, North Carolina |
| Channels | |
| Branding | Fox Charlotte;Queen City News |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| WMYT-TV | |
| History | |
First air date | March 9, 1987 (38 years ago) (1987-03-09) |
Former channel numbers |
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| |
Call sign meaning | Original owner wanted "J" and "Z" in calls to differentiate in the market[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 73152 |
| ERP | 1,000kW |
| HAAT | 553.5 m (1,816 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°21′44.5″N81°9′18.3″W / 35.362361°N 81.155083°W /35.362361; -81.155083 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | qcnews |
WJZY (channel 46) is atelevision station licensed toBelmont, North Carolina, United States, serving as theFox affiliate for theCharlotte area. It is owned byNexstar Media Group alongsideRock Hill, South Carolina–licensedWMYT-TV (channel 55), anowned-and-operated station ofThe CW. The two stations share studios on Performance Road (alongI-85) in unincorporated westernMecklenburg County (with a Charlottemailing address) and broadcast from the same transmitter nearDallas, North Carolina, along theCatawba River.
A merged group including Charlotte mayorHarvey Gantt obtained theconstruction permit from a field of as many as nine applicants in 1985. Gantt's involvement in the firm was not initially publicly disclosed, creating an ethical scandal that contributed to his losing re-election. The station began broadcasting on March 9, 1987.Capitol Broadcasting Company obtained a minority stake in the firm and bought the entirety of channel 46 later that year. WJZY was a competitiveindependent station to Charlotte's original Fox affiliate,WCCB (channel 18), and the broadcast home ofCharlotte Hornets basketball from 1992 to 1998. The station affiliated withUPN in 1995 andThe CW in 2006.
Fox Television Stations purchased WJZY in 2013, giving the network an owned-and-operated station in Charlotte, a market it coveted due to the presence of theCarolina Panthers football team. In time for the station to become the Fox affiliate in 2014, a news department was started; previously, WJZY had carried newscasts produced under contract byWBTV on three separate occasions. WJZY's newscasts originally had an alternative structure oriented toward younger viewers but struggled in the ratings and soon adopted a more conventional format. Nexstar acquired WJZY from Fox in 2020 and relaunched its news department under the brandQueen City News. The station produces11+1⁄2 hours of local programming a day and is the television home of Panthers preseason football.
In December 1983, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) assignedUHF channel 46 toBelmont, North Carolina, nearGastonia.[3] Nine groups applied for the channel;[4] one group, Piedmont Crescent Broadcasting Company, included Charlotte mayorHarvey Gantt and officials associated with local radio stationWPEG and its owner, the Suburban Radio Group.[5] Another applicant, Metro Broadcasting, consisted of Charlotte dentist Spurgeon Webber andWinston-Salem attorney David Wagner. Metro and Piedmont Crescent merged to form Metro-Crescent Broadcasting, which settled with the other applicants[6] and was awarded theconstruction permit.[4] Originally, the station received thecall sign WMHU.Capitol Broadcasting Company ofRaleigh reached a deal to buy a 49-percent stake in Metro-Crescent with an option to purchase the remainder later in February 1986; to do so, it had to divest itself of two Charlotte-market radio stations to meet FCC rules on multiple station ownership.[7] The sale stood to make the partners, including Gantt, about $3 million (equivalent to $7.26 million in 2024[8]);[9] Gantt later admitted to the Charlotte city council that he had violated city ethics policy in failing to disclose his stake in the firm.[10] Before the station went on the air, the call sign was changed to WJZY in November 1986 in order to differentiate the new channel 46 from other Charlotte television stations, none of which had a "J" or "Z" in their call signs.[1]
WJZY, originally anindependent station, made its first broadcast on March 9, 1987.[11] Channel 46 brought forward its launch by several months to aid cable companies who dropped out-of-town stations to carry it. Cablevision of Charlotte, for instance, droppedWDCA ofWashington, D.C., to air the new station. It initially only aired a schedule of older movies in evening hours only. It began full commercial operations in July, airing a general entertainment format of off-network and first-run syndicated shows, movies, and cartoons.[12] It was the first full-market Charlotte station since WCTU-TV (channel 36, nowWCNC-TV) launched in July 1967.[12][13]
Capitol exercised its option to buy the remainder of WJZY months after it signed on; a group petitioned against the sale, claiming Metro–Crescent had reneged on its promises for local programming.[14] The challenge was dropped, and the sale was approved by the FCC in November.[15] By that time, however, Gantt's stake had been an issue in his run for re-election; he lost in a close race toSue Myrick and admitted that her statements on Metro–Crescent may have swung the race for her.[15]
By 1990, channel 46 was even withWCCB (channel 18), theFox affiliate, in key dayparts.[16] In 1994, Capitol reached a deal to provide nearly all the programming of a new Charlotte-market TV station—WFVT (channel 55), licensed toRock Hill, South Carolina—under alocal marketing agreement (LMA) with its owner, Family Fifty Five.[17]
WJZY became a charter affiliate of the United Paramount Network (UPN) when the network launched on January 16, 1995;[18] WFVT joinedThe WB at the same time.[19] By 2006, WJZY was tied with UPN'sAtlantaowned-and-operated stationWUPA as the network's fifth highest-rated station.[20]
WJZY served as the over-the-air home of theNBA'sCharlotte Hornets from1992 to1998; the last two seasons were shared with WFVT.[21] When the Hornets returned as theCharlotte Bobcats in 2004, WJZY served as the team's over-the-air flagship until the telecasts moved to WMYT in2006.[22]
On January 24, 2006,Time Warner andCBS Corporation announced that The WB and UPN would shut down, to be replaced by a merged network known asThe CW that September.[20] On March 1, the Capitol Broadcasting Company announced that WJZY would become the Charlotte-area affiliate of The CW, making it one of the first five stations outside of the coreTribune Company andCBS Television Stations groups to agree to carry the new network.[23] WJZY affiliated with The CW upon the network's debut on September 18, 2006.[24] Later that week, channel 55 signed withMyNetworkTV.[25]
On January 14, 2013,Fox Television Stations entered into an agreement to acquire WJZY and WMYT from Capitol Broadcasting for $18 million (the sale was formally announced on January 28).[26][27][28] Jack Abernathy, president of Fox Television Stations, noted that the company was interested in buying a station in a growing market that was home to aNational Football Conference (NFC) team, theCarolina Panthers; Fox owns the rights to telecast most NFC games.[29][30] After receiving FCC approval, the deal was consummated on April 17, 2013.[31]
The Fox affiliation moved to WJZY on July 1, 2013; the station branded as "Fox 46 Carolinas" in a reflection of its two-state coverage area.[32][33][34] CW programming moved to WCCB.[35]
On November 5, 2019,Fox Corporation announced that WJZY and WMYT-TV would be acquired byNexstar Media Group for $45 million in a deal concurrent with Fox buyingKCPQ andKZJO inSeattle andWITI inMilwaukee from Nexstar. Nexstar stated that WJZY and WMYT were "geographically complementary" to its existing properties in theSoutheastern United States. The sale was completed on March 2, 2020.[36][37]
WJZY replacedWSOC-TV andWAXN-TV as the preseason television broadcaster and "official station" of Carolina Panthers football ahead of the2022 season. The five-year contract also includes the production of a variety of Panthers-related programming, including pre- and postgame shows.[38]
Three times between 1994 and 2013, WJZY aired 10 p.m. local newscasts produced for it by CharlotteCBS affiliateWBTV (channel 3). The first newscast,WBTV News at 10 on WJZY, debuted on May 30, 1994, as the first of two prime-time newscasts to start in the market within several weeks; it was quietly launched weeks before a competing newscast fromWSOC-TV debuted on WCCB.[39] In June 1995, the newscast ended when WBTV moved it to public television stationWTVI (channel 42).[40]
WBTV relaunched a newscast for WJZY in September 2003.[41] This newscast rated third behind 10 p.m. newscasts aired by WCCB and WAXN-TV (from WSOC-TV); the low ratings for the program on WJZY and a more "news-friendly audience" on its sister station were cited as the reason for its move to WJZY's duopoly partnerWMYT-TV in April 2012.[42][43][44]
WJZY also aired the statewide weeklypublic affairs programNC Spin and produced a local public affairs show calledCharlotte Now with Mike Collins, which was discontinued following its June 30, 2013, edition, one day before the official switch to Fox.[45]
With Fox's purchase of the WJZY/WMYT duopoly, Fox built a standalone news department for WJZY. In the meantime, WBTV's 10 p.m. production returned to WJZY from WMYT when channel 46 officially joined Fox on July 1, 2013.[46] While initial reports suggested that Fox would move WJZY/WMYT to a facility in Charlotte'sUniversity City section used byFox Sports 1 and previously bySpeed,[28][47] it was instead decided to heavily renovate and expand the Performance Road studio to accommodate the news department.[45] WJZY soft-launched its news operation on December 18, 2013, in the form of live webcasts nightly through year's end airing concurrently with the WBTV-produced 10 p.m. news on channel 46.[48]
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WJZY's local news service debuted on January 1, 2014, with the premiere of a nightly hour-long 10 p.m. newscast titledMyFox Carolinas Primetime.[49] The newscast adopted an alternative format designed to target younger viewers, with the anchor roaming the newsroom; it bore characteristics of theChasing New Jersey program aired by Fox-ownedWWOR-TV inSecaucus, New Jersey, but was more conventional. Jack Abernethy, the head of Fox Television Stations, felt that "when you're not being held by an existing show, it's much easier to do things differently".[49] WJZY also operated five bureaus in Charlotte's outer suburbs staffed by reporters living in those communities to bolster its regional emphasis.[50]
WJZY expanded its news operation on June 30, 2014, with the introduction of the hour-long evening newscastMyFox Carolinas Live, followed by the August 25 introduction of the station's morning show,Good Day Carolinas, described as having "more of a sofa-and-coffee-table production" than its competitors.[50][51] Despite having the highly-viewed Fox primetime lineup as its lead-in, the station continued to lose viewers at 10 p.m. to WAXN and WCCB, while the station's morning news was in fifth place among Charlotte stations and airings ofThe People's Court on sister station WMYT had slightly better ratings than WJZY's 6 p.m. news. The newsroom had high turnover among its staff. By June 2015, WJZY had begun shifting back towards a traditional format; Mark Washburn ofThe Charlotte Observer, who noted that viewers were turned away by the station's initial newscasts of "amateurish quality", found the station had "retreated to the formula it once mocked: chasing fire trucks and standard urban crime".[52] On December 21, 2021, the station announced it would change its news brand toQueen City News (with the slogan "Carolinas' Own"), which took effect on January 10, 2022.[53] The move came after Nexstar concluded that WJZY had no real brand, with viewers often confusing it withFox News Channel.[54] By September 2023, WCCB still had higher ratings in total households and among viewers aged 25–54 than WJZY at 10 p.m., though the station had expanded its local output to11+1⁄2 hours a day on weekdays.[55]
Nick Kosir worked for WJZY for seven years as the morning meteorologist. He was best known for humorousInstagram photos and later for dance videos. He had over 2 million followers on social media when he announced in April 2021 that he was leaving WJZY and moving toFox Weather.[56]
WJZY and WMYT-TV broadcast from a tower north ofDallas, North Carolina.[2]
| License | Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WJZY | 46.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WJZY-HD | Fox |
| 46.3 | 480i | CHARGE | Charge! | ||
| 46.4 | Grit | Grit | |||
| 46.5 | ShopLC | Shop LC | |||
| 46.6 | ION | Ion Television | |||
| 46.7 | ANTENNA | Antenna TV | |||
| 46.8 | REWIND | Rewind TV | |||
| WMYT-TV | 55.1 | 720p | WMYT-HD | The CW |
WJZY began broadcasting a digital signal on May 14, 2002, on UHF channel 47.[58] It ended regular programming on its analog signal, overUHF channel 46, on June 12, 2009, the officialdigital television transition date.[59] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 47.[60]
As part of theSAFER Act,[61] WJZY kept its analog signal on the air in the immediate aftermath of the switch until July 9 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop ofpublic service announcements from theNational Association of Broadcasters.[59]
WJZY debuted on Charlotte's newATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) service, hosted by WAXN-TV, on July 7, 2021.[62]
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofNorth Carolina | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of North Carolina | ||
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Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofSouth Carolina | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of South Carolina | ||
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| The CW | ||
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** Owned by third parties but operated by Nexstar through various agreements. | ||
