WPGH-TV

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WPGH-TV

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Branding	FOX53
Channels	53 (UHF) analog, 43 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	FOX (Since 1987)
Owner	Sinclair Broadcasting Group (90%); Cox Enterprises (10%)
Founded	July 14, 1953
Call letters meaning	W PittsburGH
Former callsigns	WKJF-TV (1953-69)
Former affiliations	Independent (1953-87) Also served as secondaries for ABC, CBS and NBC in the 1970s and 1980s
Website	www.wpgh53.com

WPGH-TV FOX53 is the FOX television affiliate broadcasting in Pittsburgh. It broadcasts on analog channel 53 and digital channel 43. The station is 90% owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, with Cox Enterprises owning the remaining 10%. Its transmitter is located in Pittsburgh.

[edit] History

The station originally signed on the air on July 14, 1953 as WKJF-TV. However, financial woes and the fact that it was a UHF station competing against the more established VHF station WDTV-TV (now KDKA-TV) forced the station to sign off in August 1954.

The station returned to air under new ownership in February 1969 as WPGH-TV. However, financial problems continued to plague the station again, forcing it off the air by August 1971.

WPGH was finally back on air for good in January 1974, after being sold again in 1973. The station offered cartoons, some off-network dramas, old movies and low-budget off-network sitcoms. It also served as a secondary affiliate for CBS, ABC and NBC when it came to picking up shows that KDKA-TV, WTAE and WIIC (Now WPXI) passed on.

Meredith Corporation purchased WPGH-TV in 1978 and added some first-run syndicated talk shows to the station. It also gradually added more recent off-network sitcoms. With WPTT now in the competition, WPGH put in very high bids for programming, and even overpaid for it, in order to prevent it from ending up on WPTT.

That practice, however, caused the station to become unprofitable despite its high ratings. As a result, Meredith put WPGH up for sale in 1985. Sinclair, the owner of WPTT, put in a bid so it could combine assets and sell WPTT to the Home Shopping Network. However, it was outbid by Lorimar-Telepictures, which took over the station in 1986. WPGH became the market's Fox affiliate in 1986, and was sold to Renaissance Broadcasting in 1987.

As a FOX affiliate, WPGH continued to receive very high ratings, but its practice of overpaying for programming also continued to keep the station unprofitable. It was put up for sale again in 1990, and this time Sinclair successfully acquired the station. However, the group struggled to obtain financing, so it worked out a deal to sell WPTT to its general manager and longtime employee Eddie Edwards.

Sinclair took over WPGH in the fall of 1991, and moved the best programming on WPTT's schedule to WPGH. WPGH added more first-run syndicated talk and reality shows, and added a 10 p.m. newscast, Fox53 Ten O'Clock News in 1996 to compete with the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel.

WPGH and WPTT (the latter having changed its call letters to WCWB) moved into the same building in 1997, and the two became officially co-owned by Sinclair in 2000 after the FCC relaxed its rule, allowing one company to own two television stations in the same market.

By 2002, WPGH was no longer running cartoons, with FOX Kids being removed from the weekday lineup around the country. WPGH focused now on court shows, talk shows, reality shows and off-network sitcoms, along with Fox programming.

In 2003, WPGH's parent company, Sinclair Broadcasting, changed the newscast to a NewsCentral format. This included the loss of the station's local weather operations in exchange for meteorologists stationed near Baltimore, Maryland. National news and some sports highlights also originate from NewsCentral in Maryland.

As of Jan. 12, 2006, Sinclair and Cox Broadcasting (owner of WPXI-TV) entered into an agreement where WPXI will begin producing newscasts specifically for WPGH. This agreement, called a "news share", began Jan. 30. All of WPGH's former news staff, except for sportscaster Alby Oxenreiter were laid off. The 10 p.m. newscast became "Channel 11 News at Ten on Fox 53."

Sinclair and Fox cut a six-year affiliation contract extension for Sinclair's 19 Fox affiliates; thus, Fox will remain on WPGH at least through March 2012.

The deal also includes WPGH/Pittsbugh, despite Fox having a O&O, My Network TV affiliate WMYP, in the same market.

WPGH logo until 2004

WPGH logo from 2004-present. Modified from previous logo, the Fox searchlight style logo discontinued and has a 3D effect.

[edit] Address

750 Ivory Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15214

[edit] External link

Broadcast television in the Pittsburgh market (Nielsen DMA #22)

KDKA 2 (CBS) - WTAE 4 (ABC) - WPXI 11 (NBC) - WQED 13 (PBS) - WQEX 16 (AS) - WPCW 19 (The CW) - WPMY 22 (MNTV) - WNPB 24 (PBS/WVPB) - WIIC 29 (MTV2) - WBYD 35 (Ind) - WGPT 36 (PBS/MPT) - WPCB 40 (CSTV) - WLLS 49 (A1) - WPGH 53 (Fox) - WBGN 59 (Ind) - W63AU 63 (Ind) - WPTG 69 (Ind)
Local cable television channels
FSN Pittsburgh - PCNC

Broadcast television in the Wheeling / Steubenville market (Nielsen DMA #155)

WTRF 7 (CBS) - WTOV 9 (NBC) - WJPW-CA 18 / WVTX-CA 28 (Ind/WBGN) - WSSS-LP 29 (MTV2) - W41AA 41 (PBS/WVPB) - WWVW-LP 56 (JTV)
Pittsburgh market stations serving the area
KDKA 2 (CBS) - WTAE 4 (ABC) - WPXI 11 (NBC) - WQED 13 (PBS) - WPMY 22 (MNTV) - WPGH 53 (Fox)
Youngstown market stations received in area
WFMJ 21 (NBC) - WKBN 27 (CBS) - WYTV 33 (ABC) See also: Broadcast television stations in the Cleveland, Youngstown, Columbus, Parkersburg, Zanesville and Pittsburgh markets

Fox Network Affiliates in the state of Pennsylvania

WWCP 8 (Johnstown) - WFXI-CA 17 (Mercer) - WTXF 29 (Philadelphia) - WPMT 43 (York) - WPGH 53 (Pittsburgh) - WOLF 56 (Hazelton) - WFXP 66 (Erie)
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Pennsylvania

Sinclair Broadcast Group

CBS Network Affiliates: KGAN | WGME

NBC Network Affiliate: WPXI⁶ | WTWC

¹Sinclair has ownership interests in these stations, but management capabilities belong to Nexstar Broadcasting Group.

²Sinclair operates these stations owned by Cunningham Broadcasting under a local marketing agreement.
However, Sinclair effectively owns these stations because it controls nearly all of Cunningham's stock.

³Sinclair operates these stations, which are owned by local groups, under a local marketing agreement.
Sinclair also effectively owns WTTA because it is majority-owned by the Smith family, founders of Sinclair.

⁴Sinclair operates this station owned by Tennessee Broadcasting under an outsourcing agreement.

⁵Cox Enterprises holds a 10% interest in this station.

⁶Sinclair holds a 10% interest in this station, of which Cox Enterprises owns the remaining 90%.

Annual Revenue: $1.24 billion USD (2004) | Employees: Unknown at this time. | Stock Symbol: NASDAQ: SBGI| Website: www.sbgi.net

Cox Enterprises, Inc.