Fox Television Stations

Fox Television Stations, Inc.
Fox Television Stations Group, Inc.
Subsidiary of 21st Century Fox
Industry Broadcast television
Predecessor Metromedia
New World Communications
United Television
BHC Communications
Founded April 1986 (1986-04)
Founder Rupert Murdoch
Barry Diller
Headquarters New York City, USA
Area served
 United States
Canada
Key people
 Jack Abernethy, CEO
Roger Ailes (Chairman)
Owner Fox Entertainment Group
Parent 21st Century Fox
Divisions 17 Fox stations
10 MyNetworkTV stations
1 independent station
Fox Television Stations Productions
Movies!
MyNetworkTV
Website 21st Century Fox

Fox Television Stations, Inc. (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, Inc.), is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of 21st Century Fox. Until it moved to Spike in the 2013-14 season, FTS produced the first 25 seasons of Fox's program COPS (through Fox Television Stations Productions [FTSP]), and also oversees the MyNetworkTV service and a half-interest in the Movies! digital subchannel network, which is shared with Weigel Broadcasting.

History

FTS was formed in April 1986 after the acquisition of the Metromedia-owned independent stations by the 20th Century Fox film studio, at the time jointly owned by Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, and Denver-based billionaire Marvin Davis. These stations would later become the basis of the Fox television network, which launched in October 1986. Not long after the Metromedia deal was made, Murdoch purchased Davis's shares and News Corporation assumed complete control of 20th Century Fox.

Initially, FTS was a semi-autonomous unit in which News Corporation owned over 99 percent of the equity but only 24 percent of the voting power; the balance was held personally by Murdoch.[1] Federal Communications Commission regulations of that era prohibited foreign interests or non-American citizens from controlling more than 25 percent of an FCC-licensed broadcast station. Though News Corporation was still based in Australia, Murdoch had become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1985, and the nominal transfer of a majority voting interest to Murdoch was sufficient to get around this hurdle. The quirk was removed permanently when News Corporation reincorporated in the U.S. in 2004.[2] The Fox network itself and affiliated cable channels were not affected by these regulations.

Starting with the original six stations, FTS gained the bulk of its group through two large transactions: the 1997 purchase of New World Communications, succeeding a 1994 business deal between the two companies which led to all of New World's stations switching from other networks to Fox during 1994–95;[3] and the 2000 acquisition of the Chris-Craft/United group, which gave Fox ownership of several stations then affiliated with the UPN network, and also created several duopolies (two stations in the same market owned by the same company).[4] A significant factor that resulted in Fox's affiliation with, and later purchase of, New World Communications was Fox acquiring TV rights to the National Football League (NFL), primarily covering games involving teams in the National Football Conference (NFC).[3]

The Fox-owned UPN affiliates were not included in the UPN/WB merger (The CW), which was announced on January 23, 2006. Soon after, these stations removed references to UPN from their on-air branding and websites. On February 22, 2006, FTS announced that all nine of their non-Fox outlets will be charter affiliates of a new service known as MyNetworkTV, which commenced operations on September 5, 2006 with telenovela programming that were original to be syndicated.[5]

On December 21, 2007, FTS announced that it would sell nine of its stations to Local TV, LLC, a division of Oak Hill Capital Partners.[6] Six of the stations that were sold are ex-New World stations. The transaction was completed in 2008.

In January 2009, NBC Owned Television Stations and FTS set up the first Local News Service with their Philadelphia stations after testing since the summer 2008. Fox and NBC then added other markets where they both own stations.[7]

On January 28, 2013, FTS announced that 17 of their stations would be affiliating with new subchannel network, Movies!, which is a joint venture between FTS and Weigel Broadcasting, on their subchannels.[8] That same day, the company announced it would be acquiring the Charlotte duopoly of CW affiliate WJZY and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYT-TV from Capitol Broadcasting Company.[9] The deal was approved by the FCC on March 11[10] and completed on April 17.[11][12] As part of the deal, WJZY became a Fox owned-and-operated station on July 1. The station community believed that the Charlotte station's purchase by FTS is proof that Fox is interested in owning a TV station in NFL markets (specifically those with NFC teams, as Charlotte is) to up the station groups' "bargaining power in retransmission consent negotiations with cable, satellite and telco operators." [13]

As part of the restructuring that stemmed from the News Corporation/21st Century Fox split, it was announced on July 8, 2013 that 20th Television, which was until that time under FTS, will operate under the management of 20th Century Fox Television.[14]

On June 24, 2014, FTS announced it would acquire its existing San Francisco Bay Area affiliate KTVU, along with its duopoly partner KICU-TV, from Cox Media Group in exchange for WFXT in Boston and WHBQ-TV in Memphis.[15][16][17] The station sale/trade was completed on October 8, 2014.[18] Fox's motivation for acquiring KTVU was that it was another NFL market with an NFC team.[15]

In addition to FTS's aforementioned purchases of Charlotte's WJZY in 2013 and the San Francisco Bay Area's KTVU in 2014, Variety reported that Fox is also interested in acquiring stations in the following other NFL markets: Seattle and St. Louis (the latter's KTVI had previously been owned by Fox, but was included in the 2007 sale to Local TV;[13] with the St. Louis Rams relocating to Los Angeles starting with the 2016 NFL season, there is no word as to whether or not FTS' pursuit of a station in the St. Louis market has diminished). While discussions with Seattle's Fox affiliate KCPQ and its owner Tribune Broadcasting remained ongoing, Fox struck a deal on September 19, 2014, to buy KBCB, a station in nearby Bellingham, for $10 million;[19] the purchase, submitted for FCC approval on October 3,[20][21] was described as a "strategic option" for Fox by an insider.[22] Tribune then agreed on October 17 to extend its affiliation agreement for KCPQ through July 2018, and pay increased reverse compensation fees to Fox for the broadcasting of the network's programming beginning in January 2015.[23] Fox's application to acquire KBCB was dismissed by the FCC on November 20, 2014.[24]

On January 20, 2015, Deadline.com announced that FTS's stations will carry the new digital multicast network Buzzr TV, a joint venture of FremantleMedia and Debmar-Mercury. Buzzr TV will carry classic game show content and will debut on Monday June 1.[25]

Units

Stations

Stations are arranged alphabetically by state and city of license.


Notes:

City of license / Market Station Channel
TV (RF)		 Owned Since Primary Affiliation
Phoenix KSAZ-TV ++ 10 (10) 1997 Fox
KUTP ¤¤ 45 (26) 2001 MyNetworkTV
Los Angeles KTTV ** 11 (11) 1986 Fox
KCOP ¤¤ 13 (13) 2001 MyNetworkTV
Oakland - San Francisco - San Jose KTVU 2 (44) 2014 Fox
KICU-TV 36 (36) 2014 Independent
Washington, D.C. WTTG ** 5 (36) 1986 Fox
WDCA 20 (35) 2002 MyNetworkTV
Ocala – Gainesville, FL WOGX
(semi-satellite of WOFL)		 51 (31) 2002 Fox
Orlando – Daytona Beach WOFL 35 (22) 2002 Fox
WRBW ¤¤ 65 (41) 2001 MyNetworkTV
Tampa – St. Petersburg WTVT ++ 13 (12) 1997 Fox
Atlanta WAGA-TV ++ 5 (27) 1997 Fox
Chicago WFLD ** 32 (31) 1986 Fox
Gary, IN – Chicago WPWR-TV 50 (51) 2002 MyNetworkTV
Detroit WJBK ++ 2 (7) 1997 Fox
Bemidji, Minnesota KFTC
(satellite of WFTC)		 26 (26) 2002 MyNetworkTV
Minneapolis – St. Paul KMSP-TV ¤¤ 9 (9) 2001 Fox
WFTC 29 (29) 2002 MyNetworkTV
Secaucus, N.J. – New York City WWOR-TV ¤¤ 9 (38) 2001 MyNetworkTV
New York City WNYW ** 5 (44) 1986 Fox
Philadelphia WTXF-TV 29 (42) 1995 Fox
Belmont – Charlotte, N.C. WJZY 46 (47) 2013 Fox
Rock Hill, S.C. – Charlotte WMYT-TV 55 (39) 2013 MyNetworkTV
Austin, Texas KTBC ++ 7 (7) 1997 Fox
Dallas – Fort Worth KDFW ++ 4 (35) 1997 Fox
KDFI 27 (36) 2000 MyNetworkTV
Houston KRIV ** 26 (26) 1986 Fox
KTXH 20 (19) 2002 MyNetworkTV

Former

City of license / Market Station Channel
TV (RF)		 Years Owned Current Ownership Status
Birmingham – Tuscaloosa – Anniston WBRC-TV 6 (50) 1995–2008 Fox affiliate owned by Raycom Media
San Francisco – Oakland – San Jose KBHK-TV ¤¤ 44 (45) 2001–2002 The CW affiliate, KBCW, owned by CBS Corporation
Denver KDVR 31 (32) 1995–2008 Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting
Fort Collins, Colorado KFCT
(satellite of KDVR)		 22 (21) 1995–2008 Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting
Atlanta WATL-TV 36 (25) 1993–1995 MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Tegna
Baltimore WUTB ¤¤ 24 (41) 2001–2013 MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Deerfield Media
(operated under an LMA by Sinclair Broadcast Group)
Boston WCVB-TV **4 5 (20) 1986 ABC affiliate owned by Hearst Television
WFXT 25 (31) 1987–1990
1995–2014		 Fox affiliate owned by Cox Media Group
Kansas City, Missouri WDAF-TV ++ 4 (34) 1997–2008 Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting
St. Louis KTVI ++ 2 (43) 1997–2008 Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting
High Point – Greensboro -
Winston-Salem		 WGHP 8 (35) 1995–2008 Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting
Cleveland – Akron WJW-TV ++ 8 (8) 1997–2008 Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting
Portland, Oregon KPTV ¤¤ 12 (12) 2001–2002 Fox affiliate owned by Meredith Corporation
Memphis WHBQ-TV 13 (13) 1995–2014 Fox affiliate owned by Cox Media Group
Dallas – Fort Worth KDAF ** 33 (32) 1986–1995 The CW affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting
San Antonio KMOL-TV ¤¤ 4 (48) 2001 NBC affiliate, WOAI-TV, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Salt Lake City KSTU 13 (28) 1990–2008 Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting
KTVX ¤¤ 4 (40) 2001 ABC affiliate owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Milwaukee WITI-TV ++ 6 (33) 1997–2008 Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting

Other Notes:

References

  1. ↑ FCC Order 01-209, exhibit 'B'
  2. ↑ FCC Order 06-122
  3. 1 2 Carter, Bill (May 24, 1994). "FOX WILL SIGN UP 12 NEW STATIONS; TAKES 8 FROM CBS". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  4. ↑ Hofmeister, Sallie (August 12, 2000). "News Corp. to Buy Chris-Craft Parent for $5.5 Billion, Outbidding Viacom". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  5. ↑ Higgins, John M. & John Eggerton. (February 22, 2006) News Corp. Unveils My Network TV. Broadcasting & Cable. Accessed on November 20, 2013.
  6. ↑ Kercheval, Nancy (27 December 2007). "News Corp. to Sell U.S. TV Stations for $1.1 Billion". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  7. ↑ Greppi, Michele (November 2008). "Fox, NBC Stations Form Local News Service". TV Week.com. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Fox Stations, Weigel Launching Movies!". TV News Check. January 28, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Fox Buying Charlotte Duo Of WJZY-WMYT". January 28, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  10. ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1537401.pdf
  11. ↑ "Consummation Notice (WJZY)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 17, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Consummation Notice (WMYT-TV)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 17, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Abrams, Rachel (August 16, 2013). "Fox Steps Up its Pursuit of Station Acquisitions in NFL Markets". Variety. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  14. ↑ James, Meg (July 8, 2013). "Fox's Dana Walden, Gary Newman receive bigger TV portfolio". LA Times. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Fox Acquires San Francisco TV Stations in Swap with Cox". Variety. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "Boston's WFXT traded by Fox to Cox Media". Boston.com. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Cox Media takes over WHBQ-TV in Memphis". The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN). Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Malone, Michael (October 8, 2014). "Cox, Fox Swap Closes in Boston, Bay Area, Memphis". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  19. ↑ "ASSET PURCHASE AGREEMENT dated as of September 19, 2014 by and among WORLD TELEVISION OF WASHINGTON, LLC, FOX TELEVISION STATIONS, INC. and VENTURE TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, LLC". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  20. ↑ "APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT OF BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE (KBCB)". Federal Communications Commission. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  21. ↑ "Fox Buying Station In Seattle". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  22. ↑ Malone, Michael (October 7, 2014). "Fox Television Stations Acquiring Seattle Independent". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Tribune To Keep KCPQ And Fox Affiliation". TVNewsCheck. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  24. ↑ "Application Search Details (KBCB to Fox)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  25. ↑

External links

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