 | |
| |
|---|---|
| City | Vicksburg, Mississippi |
| Channels | |
| Branding | My 35 The Loo |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Tougaloo College |
| Operator | American Spirit Media viaJSA (certain services are provided byGray Media viaSSA) |
| WDBD,WLBT | |
| History | |
| Founded | October 1, 1996 |
First air date | September 29, 2003 (22 years ago) (2003-09-29) |
Former call signs | WUFX (2003–2013) |
Former channel numbers |
|
Call sign meaning | Tougaloo |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 84253 |
| ERP | 950kW |
| HAAT | 582 m (1,909 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 32°12′49.9″N90°22′56.5″W / 32.213861°N 90.382361°W /32.213861; -90.382361 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WLOO (channel 35) is atelevision station licensed toVicksburg, Mississippi, United States, serving theJackson area as an affiliate ofMyNetworkTV. Owned byTougaloo College, it has ajoint sales agreement (JSA) withFox affiliateWDBD (channel 40, owned byAmerican Spirit Media). Both stations, in turn, are controlled under ashared services agreement (SSA) byGray Media, owner ofNBC affiliateWLBT, channel 3 (with Gray providing limited engineering support to WLOO). The three stations share studios on SouthJefferson Street in downtown Jackson; WLOO's transmitter is located on Thigpen Road southeast ofRaymond, Mississippi.
The station signed on September 29, 2003, as WUFX, airing ananalog signal on UHF channel 35.[2] The station was Jackson's second Fox affiliate; until its launch, there was no over-the-air affiliate in the area because WDBD had dropped the network in favor ofThe WB almost two years earlier in October 2001. During the previous 23 months, Fox programming was made available on cable in Jackson viaFoxnet, although cable providers in theNatchez area carriedWNTZ-TV fromAlexandria, Louisiana, instead. Throughout its Fox affiliation, WUFX carried the branding "Fox 35" and used the slogan "Fox For You".
Channel 35 would have officially begun broadcasting at 11 a.m. on September 7 in time for the start of the2003 NFL season.[3] However, two members of the tower construction crew had shots fired at them at the station's analog transmitter site inEdwards on August 31.[4] As a result, all work was halted for 22 days while theHinds CountySheriff's Department conducted an investigation. Deputies eventually decided it was safe for the construction crew to resume work on WUFX's transmitter and even provided on-site security until its completion.
In early 2006, it was announced The WB andUPN would merge to formThe CW. At the same time,News Corporation (owner of Fox) made public that another new network called MyNetworkTV would be launching as well. UPN affiliateWRBJ was announced as the new station for The CW while WUFX would join MyNetworkTV. In advance of the switch to MyNetworkTV, WUFX and WDBD swapped affiliations. On July 3, 2006, the station temporarily picked up The WB but began identifying itself on-air as "My 35" in anticipation of joining the new network. After joining MyNetworkTV, it continued carrying WB programming in a secondary nature until that network shut down on September 17. Meanwhile, WDBD rejoined Fox and adopted the branding "Fox 40". WUFX and WDBD were sold by Jackson Television to Roundtable Broadcasting in early 2010. However, the latter's licensee listing with theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) still said Jackson Television.
Vicksburg Broadcasting filed to sell WUFX andWBMS-CA to American Spirit Media in July 2012. As American Spirit also acquiredWDBD and WXMS-LP from Roundtable Broadcasting, the WUFX license was then sold for $1 to Tougaloo College, though American Spirit provides sales services to the station under a joint sales agreement. Gray Television, owner of WLBT, provides certain services to the American Spirit stations under a shared services agreement.[5] Tougaloo intends to use WUFX to teach its students about the operation of television stations.[6] On November 13, the transaction was consummated.[7] On April 15, 2013, the call letters were changed to WLOO.[8]
In April 2010, WDBD began producing a weeknight half-hour newscast on WUFX, calledFox 40 News at 10 on My 35, which competed against long-standing news broadcasts seen on the market'sbig three affiliates. After American Spirit Media completed its acquisition of WDBD and entered into the shared services agreement with WLBT, the Fox station's news department was shut down. Production of WDBD's newscasts was assumed by WLBT on November 12, 2012, with all of the news programming retained except for the 10 p.m. show on WUFX since it would compete with WLBT.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WLOO-HD | MyNetworkTV |
| 35.2 | 480i | H&I | Heroes & Icons | |
| 35.3 | StartTV | Start TV | ||
| 35.4 | Decades | Catchy Comedy | ||
| 35.5 | ThisTV | MeTV Toons | ||
| 35.6 | Movies | Movies! |
WLOO (as WUFX) shut down its analog signal, overUHF channel 35, on May 4, 2009.[10] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 41, usingvirtual channel 35.
WUFX was granted an originalconstruction permit after the FCC finalized thedigital television allotment plan on April 21, 1997. As a result, the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station.
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofMississippi | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Mississippi | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS | ||
| Religious | ||
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