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| Programming | |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| Operator | Gray Media viaSSA |
| WTVM,WLTZ | |
| History | |
First air date | June 27, 1983 (42 years ago) (1983-06-27) |
Former channel numbers |
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| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 12472 |
| ERP | 200kW |
| HAAT | 339 m (1,112 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 32°27′41″N84°52′43″W / 32.46139°N 84.87861°W /32.46139; -84.87861 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WXTX (channel 54) is atelevision station inColumbus, Georgia, United States, affiliated with theFox network. It is owned byAmerican Spirit Media, which maintains ashared services agreement (SSA) withGray Media, owner ofABC affiliateWTVM (channel 9), for the provision of certain services. Gray also operates dualNBC/CW+ affiliateWLTZ (channel 38) under a separate SSA with ownerSagamoreHill Broadcasting.[2] WXTX and WTVM share studios (which also housemaster control and most internal operations for WLTZ) on Wynnton Road (GA 22) in theDinglewood section of Columbus; WXTX's transmitter is located in the Vista Terrace section ofSouth Columbus.
WXTX expected to go on the air on May 30, 1983, after false first air dates.[3] It never came as technicians were still testing the transmitter.[4] The official air date was postponed several times, and the station finally went on the air on June 17, 1983,[5] as themarket's secondindependent television outlet afterOpelika, Alabama'sWSWS-TV (channel 66). Even though WXTX, under original owner Media Central, had spurred Fox when it launched in 1986, on July 6, 1987, it became a Fox affiliate and has remained with the network ever since.[6] The station is the network's longest serving Georgia affiliate after Fox droppedWATL forNew World-ownedWAGA-TV inAtlanta. By 1993, WXTX grew to a full-fledged network affiliate after Fox expanded its programming offerings to seven nights a week. The station was named a top ten affiliate with the network in November 1994 for its prime time audience share. It has subsequently been named to the "Fox Number One Club" several times, most recently in 2007, in recognition of the station'ssweeps ratings.
On September 5, 2006, it became the area's secondaryMyNetworkTV affiliate afterThe CW chose then-UPN station WLGA to become its affiliate in Columbus. The CW is currently seen on a seconddigital subchannel of NBC affiliate WLTZ. Originally, WXTX aired programming from MyNetworkTV on weeknights from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. For Saturday night prime time, that network was shown early Sunday mornings from 12:30 to 2:30 a.m. It eventually shifted to the Tuesday through Saturday time slot of midnight until 2 a.m. after the network transitioned to a programming service. In 2012, WXTX dropped MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliation; this left Columbus with no affiliate of the service until 2017, when WLTZ launched MyNetworkTV in prime time on its third digital subchannel, which airsAntenna TV at all other times.
At one point, the station offeredThe Tube (a 24-hour automated music video network) on a second digital subchannel. This was dropped on October 1, 2007, when the service shut down due to a lack of advertising revenue. WXTX's broadcasts became digital-only, effective June 12, 2009.
Since 2004 through a news share agreement, WTVM has been producing the Chattahoochee Valley's only prime time newscast on WXTX calledFox 54 News at 10, which airs weeknights for an hour (thirty minutes on weekends) from the ABC affiliate's facility on Wynnton Road/SR 22 Spur in theDinglewood section of Columbus. In 2007, the ABC outlet began airing an hour-long extension of its weekday morning show on WXTX under the nameFox 54 Morning News, this program aired for an hour starting at 7 p.m. and offered a local alternative to the national morning broadcasts on thebig three stations in Columbus. The production was eventually cancelled most likely due to inconsistent viewership and/or lowratings.
WXTX's newscasts have a separate music package and graphics theme from WTVM and employs the use of the ABC affiliate's primary set but modified withduratrans indicating the Fox-branded show. Although WXTX features the majority of WTVM's on-air personnel, this station maintains a separate additional news anchor on weeknights that can fill-in on WTVM when necessary.
In late-October 2010, HD-ready graphics began to be seen inweather forecasting segments indicating WTVM and WXTX would be making the switch to high definition newscasts. The entire graphics package made a full switch to an updated theme in January 2011. On February 16, 2012, production ofFox 54 News at 10 moved to the newsroom while a temporary weather office was constructed in the hallway between the editing bay and the newsroom. The main set during this time was finally upgraded to high definition. The new HD set and transition to high definition news was completed on March 14 at which point WXTX retained the same graphics scheme and news music package. On July 25, 2012, WXTX debuted an updated set ofRaycom Media corporate graphics and a new music package.
On September 17, 2012, the station launched a weeknight half-hour newscast at 7 p.m. Since Alabama (which is in theCentral Time Zone) is an hour behind Georgia, this program is the only local news catering to viewers on the western side of the market airing at 6 p.m. Viewers in those areas also have access to stations fromDothan andMontgomery offering broadcasts geared for the Central Time Zone. In addition to WTVM's main studios, that station also operates an East Alabama Bureau on Executive Park Drive in Opelika offering coverage of that city (in addition toAuburn andPhenix City).
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WXTX-DT | Fox |
| 54.2 | 480i | MeTV | MeTV | |
| 54.3 | Dabl | Dabl | ||
| 54.4 | MeTOONS | MeTV Toons | ||
| 54.5 | H&I | Heroes & Icons | ||
| 54.6 | StartTV | Start TV | ||
| 54.7 | Nosey | Nosey |
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the U.S. state ofGeorgia | ||
|---|---|---|
Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Georgia | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| MyNetworkTV | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| PBS | ||
| Religious | ||
| Spanish | ||
| Other | ||
| ATSC 3.0 | ||
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Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofAlabama | ||
|---|---|---|
Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Alabama | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| MyNetworkTV | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| PBS |
| |
| Religious | ||
| Other | ||
| ATSC 3.0 | ||
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