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| WDFX-TV | |
| History | |
| Founded | January 23, 1986 |
First air date | May 1, 1988 (36 years ago) (1988-05-01) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 28 (UHF, 1988–2009) |
Call sign meaning | Panama City and Gulf Coast's Fox |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 2942 |
| ERP | 24.1kW |
| HAAT | 217 m (712 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°23′42″N85°32′2″W / 30.39500°N 85.53389°W /30.39500; -85.53389 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WPGX (channel 28) is atelevision station inPanama City, Florida, United States, affiliated with theFox network. The station is owned byLockwood Broadcast Group, and maintains transmitter facilities on Blue Springs Road inunincorporatedYoungstown,Bay County. Its studios are located on West 23rd Street/SR 368 in Panama City, though most of its on-airmaster control operations originate fromGray Media'sWBRC inBirmingham, Alabama, its former sister Fox affiliate until the start of 2019.
The station, originally owned byFamily Group Broadcasting, began operations on May 1, 1988, and aired ananalog signal onUHF channel 28. Its previous owner, Waitt Media, sold WPGX toRaycom Media in 2003. At one point under Raycom ownership, WPGX previously maintained its facilities in Panama City on Luverne Avenue in a building (known as the "Fox Television Center") shared with aSuntrust Bank branch. In May 2010, it launched a website for the first time under Raycom's control. It mainly serves as anadvertorial web address with various promotions from Panama City businesses and has limited station-related content, including FCCpublic file and EEO disclosures.
Atlanta-basedGray Television announced its acquisition of Raycom on June 25, 2018; Gray immediately put WPGX on the market, as it already ownedWJHG-TV (channel 7).[2] On August 20, 2018, Gray announced that WPGX, along with fellow Fox affiliatesWTNZ inKnoxville, Tennessee,WFXG inAugusta, Georgia, andWDFX-TV inDothan, Alabama, would be sold toLockwood Broadcast Group.[3] The sale was completed on January 2, 2019.[4]
At one time in the 1990s, WJHG produced a 9 p.m. newscast for WPGX. This was very short-lived, and Panama City was one of the few places in the country (and a very select group of Fox affiliates) not to have a prime time newscast of any kind.
In January 2010, local ABC outletWMBB (then owned by Hoak Media) began producing localweather cut-ins for this station (recorded in advance) through an arrangement. Although there was speculation this agreement would eventually be expanded into a prime time newscast at 9, these plans never came to fruition at the time. The weather segments ceased airing at some point and this Fox affiliate resumed taped weather forecasts produced byWeatherVision, which had produced them before the arrangement with WMBB was made.
On June 1, 2020, WPGX debuted an hour-long weeknight 9 p.m. newscast produced by WMBB, titledFox 28 News at 9:00.[5] This happened alongside fellow sister station WDFX in Dothan terminating their existing arrangement with former sister stationWSFA. Like in Panama City, Lockwood contracted withNexstar-ownedWDHN to produce a locally-based 9 p.m. newscast in Dothan.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WPGX-DT | Main WPGX programming /Fox |
| 28.2 | 480i | WPGX-BN | Bounce TV | |
| 28.3 | WPGX-GT | Grit | ||
| 28.4 | WPGX-CT | Court TV |
WPGX-DT2 was a charter affiliate ofThe Tube Music Network before its ended operations in October 2007. The subchannel was relaunched in 2013 to carry Bounce TV, with Grit joining WPGX on its third subchannel in September 2014 and Court TV joining WPGX on its fourth subchannel in May 2019.
WPGX shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 28, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transitionVHF channel 9,[7] usingvirtual channel 28.