WXIN (channel 59) is atelevision station inIndianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with theFox network. It is owned byNexstar Media Group alongsideBloomington-licensedCBS affiliateWTTV, channel 4 (and itsKokomo-licensedsatellite WTTK, channel 29). The stations share studios on Network Place (near 71st Street andI-465) in northwestern Indianapolis; WXIN's transmitter is located on West 73rd Street (or Westlane Road) on the northern outskirts of the city.
Channel 59 debuted asindependent station WPDS-TV on February 1, 1984, broadcasting from studios onMeridian Street. Majority-owned byAnacomp, Inc., it was named for its founding owners: Ron Palamara, Chris Duffy, andMelvin andHerbert Simon. The station dabbled in production of local programs including a newscast, a late-night talk show, and a children's program. Within a year, the partners sold the station toOutlet Communications, which changed the call sign to WXIN in 1985 to reduce confusion withPBS andWTBS. An aggressive program purchasing policy and the financial troubles of WTTV, its chief competitor, made the station more competitive in the market, and the station joined Fox at its creation in 1986.
After more than two years on the market and an abortive sale to locally basedEmmis Communications, Chase Broadcasting purchased WXIN in 1990. The station began airing a 10 p.m. newscast in 1991, but it was not untilTribune Broadcasting ownership that it grew beyond late news. A morning newscast debuted in 1999, and from 2004 to 2014, the station tripled its weekly news output with new and expanded newscasts in nearly every key daypart. Tribune acquired WTTV in 2002 and moved both stations the next year to their present studios in northwest Indianapolis. WTTV became a CBS affiliate in 2015 with a partially separate news operation.
The first group to express interest in the long-dormant channel 59 in Indianapolis was a group backed byClint Murchison, who proposedsubscription television (STV) operation for the channel in 1978.[4] The group, Channel 59 of Indiana, formally filed that July.[5] United Television Corporation of Indiana (owned by United Cable) filed the next month with a similar plan.[6] That December, Indianapolis Television—a consortium ofshopping mall andIndiana Pacers co-ownerMelvin Simon, his brother Fred, and Gerald Kraft—filed for channel 59,[7] A fourth application, from Indianapolis 59 (subsidiary of a youngSinclair Broadcast Group), was also received.[8]
Indianapolis Television Corporation secured the channel in 1981 under the terms of a joint settlement, reimbursing its competitors a combined $128,300 in the process.[9] While it, too, had proposed subscription programming, changes in technology and the industry led the firm to hold off on building an STV outlet[10] and ultimately find the concept unviable.[11] The permit, initially with the call sign WSMK,[12] soon changed hands. In 1983, 80 percent of the stock in the company was sold to local computer services companyAnacomp, Inc.; Melvin retained 10 percent, while his other brother,Herbert Simon, bought a 10-percent stake. The $800,000 acquisition produced capital to be invested in the construction of the station.[13] Anacomp was headed by Ron Palamara, while one of the vice presidents in Anacomp was Chris Duffy, who had been the general manager atWTHR for five years before joining Anacomp in 1981. The reconfigured ownership group, known as USA Communications, changed channel 59's call letters to WPDS-TV, after Palamara, Duffy and Simon's initials.[11]
Palamara had promised the station would be on air for the new year of 1984; due to weather delays, that turned into theChinese New Year when WPDS-TV signed on February 1, 1984.[14][15] Originally operating as anindependent station, channel 59 maintained a general entertainment programming format featuringcartoons,movies, classicsitcoms anddrama series. The station originally operated from studios located at 1440 NorthMeridian Street along Indianapolis's "Media Row", which had previously been occupied byWFYI.[16] Under USA Communications, the station had a heavy emphasis on local programming. The station produced59er Diner, a local kids' show, plus as exercise, gospel, and stand-up comedy programs,[17] as well as a late-night talk show,Night Talk with Dick Wolfsie.[18] A local news department also featured in channel 59's early months, including a half-hour 9 p.m. newscast; due to low ratings, this was scaled back to periodic news updates at the end of August.[19] Duffy told Richard K. Shull ofThe Indianapolis News, "I made a strategic error in how viewers perceive us. They see us as an entertainment vehicle. They look to the network stations for news."[20]
Palamara, Duffy, and Simon sold the station toOutlet Communications (through its Atlin Communications subsidiary) in a deal announced in October 1984 and completed in February 1985. The $22 million transaction was touted as among the largest for a TV station in its first year of operation.[21][22] The station's call letters were then changed to the current WXIN on August 10, 1985, a decision precipitated not by the ownership change but by a desire to avoid confusion (particularly in ratings diaries) with the similar-sounding cable channelWTBS andPBS.[23][2] Under Outlet, the station maintained its competitiveness with established Indianapolis-market independent stationWTTV; the station touted a total audience share of 7%, which it claimed was among the largest for a new independent in a top-35 market (only beaten byKTXH in Houston andWBFS-TV in Miami).[24]
WXIN became a charter affiliate of theFox Broadcasting Company when the network launched on October 9, 1986.[25] With aggressive program purchases, the station eroded WTTV's market share[26] and moved ahead in the key early evening time slot of 6–8 p.m.,[27] aided by that station's multi-year bankruptcy.[28] However, these purchases also drained the bottom line.[29]
In December 1987, Outlet Communications put WXIN andWATL inAtlanta on the market to repay debt from the related company that owned both stations' licenses, Atlin Communications.[30] In May 1988,Emmis Communications, an Indianapolis-based radio station group owner, announced it would purchase the Indianapolis station for $17.5 million, marking its first television property.[31] Emmis, which had twice attempted to buy WTTV, needed a waiver to own WXIN as well as local radio stationWENS.[28] Outlet's directors rebuffed the offer because its $15 million bid for WATL was seen as too low.[32] Emmis sued,[33] but the lawsuit was dismissed in federal court.[34] During the attempted Emmis purchase, WXIN won the rights to telecastIndiana Pacers basketball road games from WTTV, which had broadcast the team since 1974.[35] The relationship lasted five seasons, concluding in 1993 when WXIN was no longer able to air the team due to its commitment to Fox network programming.[36]
The Atlin sale process came to an end in 1989, as Outlet agreed to sell WXIN and WATL, plus two radio stations in Washington, D.C., to Chase Broadcasting ofHartford, Connecticut, for $120 million. The purchase made Chase, which already ownedWTIC-TV in Hartford and was buyingKDVR inDenver, the largest single owner of Fox-affiliated stations[34] when it was concluded in March 1990.[37]
In 1991, Chase Broadcasting announced it would sell some or all of its properties in order to invest in new business ventures in Eastern Europe after the end of the Cold War, particularly successful cable television systems in Poland.[38] Four of its five Fox affiliates, including WXIN, were sold toRenaissance Broadcasting ofGreenwich, Connecticut.[39] Renaissance was forced to tamp down rumors of a combination of WTTV and WXIN under common operation, with rumors suggesting either alocal marketing agreement or the Fox affiliation moving outright to WTTV paired with a donation of channel 59.[40] These rumors surfaced again in 1996, whenSinclair Broadcast Group—having just acquired WTTV—was rumored as an acquirer for WXIN and the Renaissance group.[41]
Tribune acquired WTTV and itssatellite station inKokomo, WTTK (channel 29), from Sinclair on April 29, 2002;[43] this created the market's first televisionduopoly under current FCC regulations with WXIN when the purchase was finalized on July 24[44] With WXIN already at capacity in its existing building,[45] the company began investigating new sites for a larger facility, leaving behind Meridian Street, the "media row" home to all of the city's other major TV stations.[46] By year's end, zoning approval had been obtained for a site inside Intech Park on the northwest side of Indianapolis.[45] Construction began in January 2003, and the 51,200-square-foot (4,760 m2) facility was completed at the end of the year.[47]
Beginning in 2003, WXIN was the broadcast home for the state lottery game showHoosier Millionaire, which had aired on WTTV. As part of the move, the show's hosts were changed to Cody Stark andCatt Sadler, who presented morning showFox 59 a.m. at the time.[48]Hoosier Millionaire was canceled by theIndiana Lottery in 2005 due to declining ticket sales.[49] In 2006, the station picked up the rights to theIndianapolis Colts coaches' shows;[50] The shows later returned toWISH-TV. Beginning in 2015, WXIN and WTTV acquired the rights to all Colts preseason games and coaches' shows.[51]
WTTV became a CBS affiliate on January 1, 2015, with dedicated local newscasts but using some of the same staff.[52]
After a failed attempt by Sinclair Broadcast Group to acquire Tribune Media,[53] Nexstar Media Group announced in December 2018 that it would acquire the company.[54][55][56] Nexstar already owned WISH-TV andWNDY-TV, and due to FCC ownership rules and scrutiny, Nexstar was required to divest two of the stations; the company ultimately elected to sell WISH and WNDY to the owner ofBayou City Broadcasting, in favor of retaining WTTV and WXIN.[57] The deal closed on September 19, 2019.[58]
On June 13, 2024,Fox Sports announced an agreement to become the exclusive broadcaster of theIndyCar Series beginning in 2025 under a multi-year deal, with all races airing on the Fox network.[59] As a result, local television rights to theIndianapolis 500 will move to WXIN fromNBC affiliate WTHR; as perIndianapolis Motor Speedway rules, the live broadcast will continue to beblacked out on WXIN.[60]
In late 1990, WXIN management began analyzing the creation of a local newscast after WTTV discontinued its local news effort.[61] The station also discussed contractingWISH-TV to produce the newscast after WTTV struck a deal to air a newscast produced byWRTV.[62] At the time, WTHR offered a 10 p.m. newscast as part of anearly prime time experiment that was performing poorly.[63] The station opted to produce its own news effort and hired Jim Sanders fromWGME inPortland, Maine, to serve as news director.[64]
With a news staff of 18,[65]Fox 59 Nightcast debuted on September 23, 1991, with the anchor team of Bob Donaldson, Caroline Thau, Chris Wright, and Brian Hammons.[66] Wright, a meteorologist, was the first African-American to be a lead anchor on a weeknight newscast in Indianapolis.[67] After just two weeks, the program was trimmed to a half-hour in length to appease fans ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, which had originally been removed to make way for the news hour, and because WTTV recommitted to its newscast from WRTV.[68]Fox 59 Nightcast was launched days before Chase declared its intention to sell its TV stations, and Steve Hall ofThe Indianapolis Star felt the news department was doomed to be cut by any prospective buyer;[69] a rival general manager indicated to his employees that he believed WXIN would cancel the newscast within six weeks.[70] This did not come to pass. Fox named WXIN its affiliate of the year in 1992, citingNightcast as a model for future news startups by Fox affiliates,[71] and the newscast—while second to WTTV's WRTV-produced newscast in total viewership—performed better in key young adult demographics.[72]
In 1994, the news department expanded into space at 1440 North Meridian previously used by radio stationWZPL as its offices,[70] and that October, WXIN surpassed WTTV in 10 p.m. news total ratings for the first time.[73] Thau departed in 1995 and was replaced by Ginger Gadsden, the first Black woman to be the lead anchor of a late-night newscast in the market.[74]Nightcast was renamedFox News at 10 in September 1995.[75] WTTV's WRTV-produced 10 p.m. newscast ceased airing on December 31, 2002, after Tribune's acquisition of that station; it had lived on until that point to help WTTV, which held the Indiana Lottery contract, comply with a provision that required drawing results to be broadcast within a newscast.[76]
WXIN expanded news programming outside its established 10 p.m. slot in April 1999, when it premieredFox 59 a.m. Formatted as a mix of news, entertainment and lifestyle features with a looser, "personality-driven" style inspired by morning radio programs, the show initially aired from 6 to 9 a.m.[77][78][79] The program was reformatted as a more traditional morning newscast in 2004 and grew to beat competing local and national morning news programs in the 25–54 age demographic.[80]
In 2004, Jerry Martin took over as general manager of WXIN; under his tenure and that of successor Larry Delia, the station grew its news output considerably. On April 17, 2006, WXIN expanded its 10 p.m. newscast to one hour, the first in a series of news expansions.[81] These included a 5 a.m. hour of the morning newscast in 2008, a 5 p.m. newscast and three-hour weekend morning newscasts in 2010,[82][83] 4:30 and later 4 a.m. hours of theFox 59 Morning News, an additional hour for the weekend morning newscasts,[84] a 6 p.m. newscast in 2012,[80] and 7 and 11 p.m. newscasts in 2014.[85] A station that had produced21+1⁄2 hours weekly of local news in 2004[84] grew to 66 hours a week of news in 2014.[86]
WXIN debutedIN Focus, a half-hour Sunday morning program focusing on political and civic issues, on May 3, 2015.[87] A new local lifestyle show,Indy Now, was added to the station's schedule at 10 a.m. in 2021.[88]
WXIN began broadcasting a digital signal onUHF channel 45 on October 28, 1999.[94] It shut down its analog signal, overUHF channel 59, 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.[95] The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition channel 45.[96]
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(*) – indicates station is in one of Indiana's primaryTV markets (**) – indicates station is in an out-of-state TV market, but reaches a small portion of Indiana
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