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| Channels | |
| Branding | Maine's CW |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WMTW | |
| History | |
| Founded | August 22, 1983 |
First air date | September 14, 1986 (39 years ago) (1986-09-14) |
Former call signs | WHSI (CP only, 1983–1985) |
Former channel numbers |
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Call sign meaning | "We're Portland's Exciting Television" |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 53065 |
| ERP | 500kW |
| HAAT | 590.4 m (1,937 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°50′44″N70°45′41″W / 43.84556°N 70.76139°W /43.84556; -70.76139 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WPXT (channel 51) is atelevision station inPortland, Maine, United States, affiliated withThe CW. It is owned byHearst Television alongsidePoland Spring–licensedABC affiliateWMTW (channel 8). The two stations share studios on Ledgeview Drive inWestbrook; WPXT's transmitter is located inWest Baldwin, Maine.
The station signed on September 14, 1986, as Maine's firstindependent station and the first newcommercial station to launch in the Portlandmarket in 32 years. After a few weeks as an independent, it became a charter affiliate withFox on October 9. In 1996, the station's original owner, Bride Communications, enteredbankruptcy and WPXT was sold to Pegasus Broadcasting.
On October 7, 2001, WPXT switched toThe WB; the deal, which also includedWDBD inJackson, Mississippi, came after renewal negotiations between Fox and Pegasus broke down. A Fox spokesman said that the two stations "were not honoring the terms and conditions of the affiliate agreement", an assertion denied by WPXT staff. The WB had previously aired in off-hours on sisterUPN affiliate WPME (channel 35).[3] The affiliation change left Maine with no over-the-air Fox affiliate until April 2003, when Portland's Pax TV affiliate WMPX-TV (nowWPFO) switched to the network andWFVX-LP signed on as the first over-the-air Fox affiliate for theBangor area. In the interim, Fox's prime time and children's programming was only available on cable viaWFXT inBoston (which was owned by the network at the time) for those living on the New Hampshire side of the market and viaFoxnet for those living in Maine;WCKD-LP (which was initially expected to serve as the network's replacement Bangor affiliate) carried the network's sports programming during that time.[4][5]
Pegasus declared bankruptcy in June 2004 over a dispute withDirecTV (then co-owned with Fox byNews Corporation) over marketing of thedirect broadcast satellite service in rural areas. The Pegasus station group was sold in August 2006 to private investment firm CP Media, LLC ofWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, for $55.5 million. Eventually, CP Media formed a new broadcast company, New Age Media.
As a WB affiliate, WPXT was originally branded on-air as "Maine's WB 51", but in 2004, changed to "Maine's WB" to reflect its status as the only over-the-air WB affiliate in the state. Although Bangor andPresque Isle also had affiliates, they were only provided on cable throughThe WB 100+ (a similar operation to Foxnet).
On January 24, 2006,Time Warner andCBS Corporation announced that they would merge the broadcast operations of The WB and UPN to formThe CW Television Network. On March 9, it was announced WPXT would become Portland's CW affiliate. Later on May 1, it was made public sister station WPME would affiliate withMyNetworkTV. With the new affiliation, WPXT's branding became "The CW Portland". In 2007, WPXT changed its on-air branding to reflect its call letters rather than a city.
WPXT ceased analog transmission August 12, 2008, more than seven months prior to the originalFederal Communications Commission (FCC) digital switchover deadline of February 17, 2009, due to transmitter failure. On May 2, 2011, WPXT signed on a new seconddigital subchannel to become the area'sMeTV affiliate. On November 7, 2016, Escape (nowIon Mystery) was added to subchannel 51.3.
New Age Media announced in March 2012 that it would sell WPXT to Tyche Broadcasting for $75,000.[6] The deal was contingent on WPME's concurrent sale from MPS Media to Triumph Broadcasting.[7] On November 9, 2012, WPXT filed a non-consummation notice to the FCC, meaning the transaction is nulled and void.[8] On February 13, 2013, New Age Media filed to sell WPXT to Ironwood Communications for $1,525,000; the deal was concurrent with a planned sale of WPME to Cottonwood Communications.[9] The FCC granted its approval of the sale on April 2.[10] The sale was consummated on May 20.[11]
On March 22, 2018, MyNetworkTV, Escape andLaff programming was moved to WPXT's respective third, fourth and fifth subchannels; the three networks had been carried by WPME, which was concurrently sold toIon Media Networks to becomeWIPL, anIon Televisionowned-and-operated station.[12][13]Hearst Television announced its acquisition of WPXT on July 30, 2018; the $3,350,000 purchase created aduopoly withABC affiliateWMTW (channel 8).[14] The sale was approved on September 12[15] and was completed on September 21, 2018;[16] concurrently, WPXT changed its branding to "Maine's CW."[17]
The ownership change also resulted in a streamlining of subchannels between WMTW and WPXT the next month. With Hearst's preference for its main station in the market to carry the MeTV affiliation, MeTV and H&I exchanged places, with MeTV moving to WMTW-DT2 and H&I going to WPXT-DT2, and Laff going from WPXT-DT2 to WMTW-DT3, with Escape going to WPXT-DT3 (and the likely non-renewal of theKatz Broadcasting network agreement; Hearst only tends to carryBounce TV from that provider). The syndicated programming formerly on WPXT-DT3's "WPME" service was removed, and MyNetworkTV programming now airs in place of H&I's prime time, an arrangement similar to the setup for the third subchannel of sister stationKCCI inDes Moines, Iowa.[18] In2025, WPXT reached an agreement with theBoston Red Sox to air fourspring training games.[19]
In 1992, WPXT announced the formation of a news department, with plans to launch a 10 p.m. newscast on June 11.[20] For a time, the newscast was simulcast on sister station WPME. WPXT also produced a weeknight broadcast at 7 on that station at one point but the show was eventually canceled due to poorratings and inconsistent viewership. WPXT's newscast made national headlines a week before the2000 Presidential election when reporterErin Fehlau (now at ABC affiliateWMUR-TV) revealedRepublican candidateGeorge W. Bush had been convicted fordriving under the influence ofalcohol 24 years earlier. The news operation, which was rebranded fromFox 51 News toOur Maine News after WPXT's affiliation change, was closed on June 15, 2002.[21]
After shuttering its own news operation, in September 2002 WPXT entered into a news share agreement with Maine's twoNBC affiliates,WCSH andWLBZ (owned byTegna Inc., which at the time was the broadcasting arm of theGannett Company). This arrangement resulted in a nightly half-hour prime time show at 10 to debut on the station on October 21,[22] known asNewsCenter at 10 on Maine's WB 51. On weeknights, the news and sports segments originated from WCSH's studios atCongress Square in downtown Portland while weather forecast segments came from WLBZ's facility on Mount Hope Avenue in Bangor. Weekend broadcasts aired entirely from Portland. The WPXT newscast featured a similar format to newscasts that were simulcast on both WCSH and WLBZ (which largely serves as asemi-satellite of WCSH), with statewide news from both the Portland and Bangor markets. However, since WPXT is a Portland/Auburn market station, there was ultimately a focus on southern areas. With the affiliation switch to The CW in 2006, WPXT's news became known asNewsCenter at 10 on The CW Portland.
WPXT would not face any competition in the time slot until February 5, 2007, when current Fox affiliate WPFO entered into a similar arrangement with CBS affiliateWGME-TV. On November 6, 2008, WCSH moved the WPXT show to its second digital subchannel affiliated withNBC Weather Plus. As a result, WLBZ's production involvement in the newscast was dropped and refocused to Portland. After a six-year run, the production was eventually canceled altogether.
On October 31, 2011, WPXT and WCSH established another news share agreement and debuted an hour-long extension of the big three outlet's weekday morning show. Known on WPXT asNewsCenter Morning Report Xtra, this aired from 7 to 8 a.m. and competed with WGME's one-hour morning newscast on WPFO. It was a rebroadcast of WCSH's 6–7 a.m. show with WPXT inserting its own commercials. This ceased in spring 2014.[23][24] In 2015, WMTW would move their operations from theTime and Temperature Building and into the same building WPXT/WPME operated from; WPXT's former news studio and newsroom had been subdivided and available for lease in subsequent years.[25]
Following WPXT's sale to Hearst Television, the station announced that a WMTW-produced prime time newscast would premiere on September 24, 2018.[17] A WMTW-produced Saturday 7 p.m. newscast debuted on August 31, 2019, and continued through the conclusion ofABC's college football coverage which necessitated the preemption of WMTW's usual 6 p.m. newscast. The WPXT Saturday newscast moved to 6 p.m. for the2020 college football season.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | MAINECW | The CW |
| 51.2 | 480i | H&I |
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| 51.3 | 4:3 | MYS | Ion Mystery | |
| 51.4 | 16:9 | STORY | Story Television | |
| 51.5 | 4:3 | QVC | QVC | |
| 51.6 | NOSEY | Nosey |
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| The CW | ||
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