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| City | Miami, Florida |
| Channels | |
| Branding | WSFL-TV Channel 39 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WPXM-TV | |
| History | |
First air date | October 16, 1982 (1982-10-16) |
Former call signs |
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Former channel numbers |
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Call sign meaning | South Florida |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10203 |
| ERP | 1,000kW |
| HAAT | 297 m (974 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 25°58′8″N80°13′19″W / 25.96889°N 80.22194°W /25.96889; -80.22194 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | wsfltv |
WSFL-TV (channel 39) is anindependent television station inMiami, Florida, United States. It is owned by theE. W. Scripps Company alongsideWPXM-TV (channel 35), anowned-and-operated station ofIon Television. WSFL-TV's studios are located on Southwest 78th Avenue inPlantation; its transmitter is located inAndover.
Channel 39 began broadcasting on October 16, 1982, as WDZL. Though it was the second major independent outlet in the city afterWCIX-TV, it struggled in its early years. A mishap when the antenna was installed caused the original owners to develop financial difficulties that forced a sale of controlling interest to Odyssey Partners, while a third independent,WBFS-TV (channel 33), went on the air in December 1984 and nearly immediately surpassed WDZL in the ratings. Under the ownership ofRenaissance Communications, the station airedFox Kids programming in the Miami market, became affiliated withThe WB in 1995, and began airing a 10 p.m. newscast produced byNBC stationWTVJ in January 1997.
TheTribune Company acquired Renaissance in a deal completed in March 1997. Tribune required a waiver to own theSouth Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper and WDZL in the same market; under a temporary waiver it obtained from theFederal Communications Commission, it was required to keep their operations separate. WDZL became WBZL in April 1998 to emphasize its network affiliation. In 2002, the hold-separate condition was removed, and Tribune moved WBZL operations into theSun-Sentinel facility inFort Lauderdale; began featuringSun-Sentinel content on channel 39's newscasts; and integrated their advertising sales and other operations. The WTVJ newscast was dropped in 2008 ahead of the 2009 debut of a four-hour morning show, originally known asSouthFlorida.com/Live and laterThe Morning Show; it lasted 16 months before being canceled due to low ratings. In 2014, Tribune split its publishing and broadcasting holdings into separate companies.
Nexstar Media Group bought Tribune Media in 2019 and sold WSFL-TV to Scripps as part of the transaction. Scripps intended to start a news department but instead contracted withWPLG for local newscasts between 2021 and 2025. The station airs a lifestyle show,Inside South Florida, and is the broadcast television home ofFlorida Panthers hockey.
In early 1981, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) designated four applications for channel 39 forcomparative hearing. Four groups applied: Contemporary Television Broadcasting, Inc.; Florida Broadcasting Ministry, Inc.; Susan M. Jaramillo and Howard R. Conant, a limited partnership, doing business as 39 Broadcasting Company; and Sun Belt Broadcasting, Inc.[2] Two applicants dropped out, and the Jaramillo–Conant group merged with Contemporary Television Broadcasting, owned by Irving Pollack and other stockholders,[3] later in 1981 as 39 Broadcasting Ltd.[4] WDZL began broadcasting on October 16, 1982, from studios inHollywood, Florida—at its launch, it was the only television station with studios inBroward County. It was anindependent station—Miami's second, afterWCIX-TV (channel 6)—which featured classic action and adventure TV series as well as Spanish-language programs on Sunday nights.[5][6]
From the start, WDZL was hamstrung. When its antenna was first installed, it fell to the ground and was damaged. The station got on the air with an emergency antenna but suffered from financial difficulties due to the three-month delay in operating at full power and needed new investors.[7] In a deal negotiated in 1983 and completed in 1984, 39 Broadcasting Ltd. sold 79% of the station to Odyssey Partners, a New York investment firm.[8][7] After the sale, Odyssey hiredBig Wilson, formerly of WCIX-TV, to host a late night movie.[9] Shortly after the purchase, the Miami market gained another independent station whenMilton Grant putWBFS-TV (channel 33) on the air.[10] Within months, WBFS surpassed WDZL in the ratings, making channel 39 the third-rated independent in the market.[11]
In August 1985, Odyssey Partners hired Harvey Cohen, general manager of WCIX-TV, to the same role at WDZL. Two WCIX executives followed him to channel 39.[11] The new management revamped the station's lineup by airing more movies, including uncut films.[12] Michael Finkelstein, who ran the TV stations for Odyssey Partners, foundedRenaissance Communications in 1988 with the backing ofWarburg Pincus. In addition to acquiring other stations,[13] Renaissance purchased WDZL andWTXX in Connecticut from Odyssey.[14]
WhenFox Kids began in 1990, MiamiFox affiliateWSVN (channel 7) passed on the weekend lineup, which aired on channel 39.[15] Two years later, WDZL signed a five-year deal to air all Fox Kids programming.[16] AfterHurricane Andrew, which blew down WCIX's tower, WDZL simulcast that station's 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts;[17] WCIX, by this point aCBS affiliate, was already rebroadcasting its late news on WDZL and producing prime time news breaks for channel 39.[18]
Beginning in late 1993,Warner Bros. andParamount Pictures entered into a war with each other to launch new national television networks. Renaissance initially was said to have committed WDZL-TV toThe WB and was the network's first announced affiliate.[19] However, it never signed an agreement, and in December, it announced it was going withthe Paramount network. While Paramount Television Group chairman Kerry McCluggage toldBroadcasting & Cable that Finkelstein had "felt he backed the wrong horse", executives familiar with the negotiations told the magazine that Paramount's partner in the network,Chris-Craft Industries, was hinting that it might buy WBFS-TV, which earlier that year had been up for sale—an outcome that Finkelstein feared would put channel 39 at a disadvantage.[20] Renaissance had previously explored a bid for WBFS-TV that would have combined it with WDZL.[21][22] The switch surprised observers because Finkelstein had previously been a public supporter of The WB.[23]
Even though WBFS-TV entered into an affiliation agreement with The WB in April 1994, ahead of a January 1995 launch.[24] WBFS-TV owner Combined Broadcasting reached an agreement to sell the stationParamount Stations Group. As a consequence, WBFS-TV and WDZL swapped proposed affiliations to leave WBFS-TV with UPN and WDZL with The WB,[25] and WDZL joined The WB at its launch on January 11, 1995.[26]
On July 1, 1996,Chicago-basedTribune Broadcasting announced that it would acquire Renaissance Communications for $1.13 billion (equivalent to $2.08 billion in 2024 dollars).[27][28][29] The deal came with a complication specific to WDZL. Tribune needed to pursue a newspaper–broadcastcross-ownership waiver to retain WDZL and theSouth Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper, published inFort Lauderdale.[28]Knight-Ridder, owner ofThe Miami Herald, opposed the permanent waiver sought by Tribune, arguing that the waiver either not be granted or the rule be changed for all.[30] In approving the broader purchase of Renaissance, the FCC denied a permanent waiver and instead gave Tribune 12 months to divest itself of either WDZL or theSun-Sentinel,[31] with the company indicating its intention to keep the newspaper. Tribune appealed this decision unsuccessfully to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which ruled that the FCC could require the sale even though it was considering lifting the cross-ownership restrictions.[32] However, in light of the pending review and pressure from Republican lawmakers, Tribune received an extended waiver lasting through the commission's review.[33] Fox Kids programming was dropped in 1997 to make way for an expansion ofKids' WB, with the block moving to WYHS (channel 69, nowWAMI-DT),[16] and the station changed itscall sign to WBZL on April 27, 1998, to emphasize its network affiliation.[34]
On January 6, 1997,NBC affiliateWTVJ (channel 6) began producing a 30-minute 10 p.m. newscast for channel 39. TheWB39 News at 10 was initially anchored on weeknights by WTVJ anchors Willard Shepard andJackie Nespral. It competed with WSVN's 10 p.m. news hour.[35] By 1999, it drew about half the audience of WSVN.[36] In 2001, a new, channel 39-exclusive anchor team of Julia Yarbough andMicah Ohlman replaced Nespral and Shepard.[37] Under the waiver, Tribune was forbidden from usingSun-Sentinel resources in channel 39's operation.[38][39] This changed in 2002, when the FCC permitted Tribune to combine the operations of the newspaper and the TV station so that it could offer its own TV news service.[40] Tribune proceeded to do so, combining news, promotions, and advertising sales and placing the operation underSun-Sentinel publisher Bob Gremillion. TheSun-Sentinel began promoting WBZL's 10 p.m. newscast, and the newspaper also began partnering with WTVJ, which had been working withThe Miami Herald.[41] Advertising sales executives from WBZL were teamed with those of theSun-Sentinel, which had a larger, more specialized group of account executives.[42]
On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation (which had been formed from the split of Viacom in two) andTime Warner'sWarner Bros. Entertainment division announced that they would dissolve UPN and The WB, moving some of their programming to a newly created network,The CW.[43][44] Sixteen Tribune Broadcasting stations, including WBZL, were selected as affiliates.[45] A day before The CW began on September 18, WBZL became WSFL-TV, its new call sign representingSouth Florida.[46]
In 2008, Tribune shuffled WSFL-TV's local programming and moved to increase its connection to theSun-Sentinel. In March, it announced that channel 39 and its 40 employees would relocate to the Las Olas Drive offices of the newspaper,[47] and in April, it announced plans for a four-hour morning news program, from 5 to 9 a.m., focusing on local content and personalities and utilizingSun-Sentinel editorial resources.[48] The WTVJ-produced newscast was discontinued effective September 1 to focus on the new program,[49] which launched on April 13, 2009, asSouthFlorida.com/Live, hosted byDave Aizer, Kristin Anderson, andAmber Lyon.[50] The program, later retitledThe Morning Show, was canceled on August 4, 2010, due to low ratings. It was replaced by new primetime news breaks and a relaunched public affairs program,[51]Inside South Florida. The next year, the station began airing Tribune's syndicatedEye Opener morning news program,[52] adding local news inserts. In 2012, Tribune rebranded WSFL-TV to no longer share logo design elements with theSun-Sentinel and refocus channel 39 on entertainment.[53]
On July 10, 2013, Tribune announced plans to spin off its publishing division into a separate company.[54] When the split was finalized in 2014, Tribune Company changed its name to Tribune Media and retained non-publishing assets, including WSFL-TV and other stations, while newspapers including theSun Sentinel became part of the newTribune Publishing Company.[55] In 2015, WSFL debuted another news program from Tribune,NewsFix.[56]
In 2017, Tribune agreed to sell itself toSinclair Broadcast Group.[57] In order to meet regulatory limits on national TV station reach, Sinclair agreed to divest WSFL toFox Television Stations[58] in what was part of a $910 million deal;[59] Fox executives declined to make any public statement regarding the status of WSVN,[60] which had an affiliation agreement with the network through June 30, 2019.[61] Both transactions were nullified when Tribune Media terminated the merger and filed abreach of contract lawsuit against Sinclair;[62][63] this followed FCC chairmanAjit Pai rejecting the deal[64] and the commission voting to put it through a hearing.[65]
After the Sinclair–Tribune deal fell through,Nexstar Media Group agreed to acquire Tribune Media on December 3, 2018, for $6.4 billion in cash and debt.[66] As part of the deal, WSFL was divested to theE. W. Scripps Company in a series of transactions with multiple companies that totaled $1.32 billion.[67][68] The sale was completed on September 19, 2019.[69][70] Scripps added a second television station in Miami in 2020 with its acquisition ofIon Media,[71] owner ofWPXM-TV (channel 35).[72]
Scripps initially contemplated starting a news operation for channel 39 in 2020.[73] Instead of its own news operation, however, Scripps partnered withWPLG (channel 10) to launch a weekday morning newscast from 7–9 a.m. and a nightly 10 p.m. newscast in June 2021.[74] This was later reduced to the 10 p.m. newscast on weeknights only. The contract forLocal 10 News on WSFL terminated on August 1, 2025.[75]
On April 19, 2024, Nexstar announced that The CW would not renew its affiliations with Scripps-owned stations, including WSFL-TV; WBFS-TV became the network's new affiliate as of September 1.[76][77]
On July 2, 2024,Scripps Sports, the sports division of the E. W. Scripps Company, announced a deal with theFlorida Panthers hockey team to broadcast its games on WSFL-TV beginning in the2024–25 season.[78] In the team's first season with Scripps, which also obtained the rights to broadcast the Panthers in theWest Palm Beach andFort Myers media markets, the team more than doubled its average household delivery per regular-season game.[79]
WSFL-TV's transmitter is located inAndover, Florida.[1] The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WSFL-DT | Main WSFL-TV programming |
| 39.2 | 480i | CourtTV | Court TV | |
| 39.3 | AntTV | Antenna TV | ||
| 39.4 | IONPLUS | Ion Plus | ||
| 39.5 | QVC | QVC |
WBZL began broadcasting a digital signal on December 1, 2001.[81] WSFL-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, overUHF channel 39, on June 12, 2009, the officialdigital television transition date.[82] The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 19.[83]
WAND relocated its signal from channel 17 to channel 20 on April 5, 2019, as a result of the2016 United States wireless spectrum auction.[84][85]
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