Fox Television Stations























































Fox Television Stations, LLC
Fox Television Stations Group, Inc.
Type
Subsidiary
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
Parent Fox Corporation
Divisions


  • 28 stations


  • Movies! (50%)

  • MyNetworkTV


Website 21st Century Fox

Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), 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 Corporation.


FTS produced the first 25 seasons of Fox's program COPS (through Fox Television Stations Productions), until it moved to Spike (now Paramount Network) in the 2013-14 season. It also oversees the MyNetworkTV service and has a half-interest in the Movies! digital subchannel network, which is shared with Weigel Broadcasting.




Contents






  • 1 History


  • 2 Units


  • 3 Stations


    • 3.1 Current


    • 3.2 Former




  • 4 References


  • 5 External links





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 Broadcasting Company, 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.[citation needed]


Initially, FTS was a semi-autonomous unit in which News Corporation owned over 99% of the equity but only 24% 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 per cent 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 Broadcasting Company 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 was original to be syndicated.[5] On May 23, 2016, it was announced that one of the Fox-owned former UPN affiliates that were left out of the initial negotiations for CW affiliation a decade earlier, MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated station WPWR in Chicago, would be taking over the market's affiliation with the network from rival WGN-TV in September of that year. MyNetworkTV remains on WPWR as a secondary affiliation.


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.[citation needed] 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, it was announced that Fox Television Stations would be a charter launch partner for Buzzr, a new digital multicast network from Debmar-Mercury and FremantleMedia North America devoted to classic game shows, which launched that June.[25] Later in the year, FTS also agreed to carry Weigel Broadcasting's Heroes & Icons network on subchannels of 11 major market stations.[26]


On April 30, 2017, it was reported that 21st Century Fox was in talks to purchase Tribune Media in a joint venture with the Blackstone Group.[27][28] On May 7, 2017, it was reported that Sinclair Broadcast Group was nearing a deal to purchase Tribune Media,[29][30] and that 21st Century Fox had dropped its bid for the company.[31][32] The deal was officially announced the next day.[33] (However, on August 9, 2018, Tribune canceled the Sinclair deal.)[34] On August 2, 2017, it was reported that 21st Century Fox was in talks to form a similar joint venture with Ion Media in an effort to counter Sinclair and displace Fox affiliations from their stations; analysts felt that the proposed partnership was meant as a bargaining ploy against Sinclair, as it would have to make significant investments into the acquired stations to make them profitable and capable of producing local news programming (Ion stations have historically had few employees or local infrastructure), and that Fox risked losing viewers through these transitions.[35][36][37]


On December 14, 2017, after rumors of such a sale, The Walt Disney Company announced that it would purchase FTS's parent company, 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion, plus the assumption of $13.7 billion in debt by Fox, subject to government approval. FTS, along with several other assets will be spun off into a company owned by the Murdoch family.[38]


In January 2018, the Financial Times reported that FTS was finalizing a deal to acquire as many as 10 Fox affiliates from Sinclair, as part of an effort to reach FCC approval of its proposed acquisition of Tribune Media. The deal would likely include Seattle's KCPQ (as Sinclair already owns ABC affiliate KOMO-TV there), KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City (Tribune already owns KFOR-TV), KSTU-TV in Salt Lake City (Sinclair already owns KUTV), KTVI in St. Louis (Sinclair owns KDNL) and Tribune's Fox/CW duopoly of KDVR and KWGN in Denver. This deal would bring several former O&Os previously divested to Local TV LLC (which was acquired by Tribune) back under Fox ownership.[39][40]


On May 9, 2018, Fox announced it would purchase KCPQ, KDVR, KSTU, KTXL in Sacramento, KSWB-TV in San Diego, WJW in Cleveland and WSFL-TV, the CW affiliate for Miami-Fort Lauderdale. The move would give Fox stations in the home markets for the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins as the network takes over the Thursday Night Football package from CBS and NBC.[41][42] After Tribune terminated its merger agreement with Sinclair on August 9, 2018, however, the sale of the seven aforementioned stations to FTS was likewise nullified, though a subsequent deal by Tribune with Nexstar Media Group will likely see Fox purchase some of those stations as Nexstar tries to meet FCC regulatory caps.



Units



  • 28 stations

  • Fox Television Stations Productions

  • MyNetworkTV


  • Movies! (JV with Weigel Broadcasting)



Stations


Stations are arranged alphabetically by state and city of license.




Current


Notes:



  • (**) – Indicates an original Fox-owned station from the network's inception in 1986.

  • (++) – Indicates a station owned by New World Communications prior to its acquisition by News Corporation in 1997.

  • (¤¤) – Indicates a station owned by Chris-Craft Industries/BHC prior to its acquisition by News Corporation in 2001.










































































































































































































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

Bay Area, CA

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

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

WPWR-TV
50 (51)
2002

The CW
MyNetworkTV (secondary)

Detroit

WJBK ++
2 (7)
1997
Fox

Minneapolis – St. Paul

KMSP-TV ¤¤
9 (9)
2001
Fox

WFTC
29 (29)
2002
MyNetworkTV

KFTC
(satellite of WFTC)
26 (26)
2002
MyNetworkTV

New York City

WNYW **
5 (44)
1986
Fox

WWOR-TV ¤¤
9 (25)
2001
MyNetworkTV

Philadelphia

WTXF-TV
29 (42)
1995
Fox

Charlotte

WJZY
46 (47)
2013
Fox

WMYT-TV
55 (39)
2013
MyNetworkTV

Austin, TX

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, AL

WBRC-TV
6 (50)
1995–2008

Fox affiliate owned by Gray Television

Bay Area, CA

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

KFCT
(satellite of KDVR)
22 (21)
1995–2008

Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting

Atlanta

WATL
36 (25)
1993–1995

MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Tegna Media

Baltimore

WUTB ¤¤
24 (41)
2001–2013

MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Deerfield Media
(operated under an LMA by Sinclair Broadcast Group)

Boston

WCVB-TV ** 1
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, MO

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

WGHP
8 (35)
1995–2008

Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting

Cleveland

WJW-TV ++
8 (8)
1997–2008

Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting

Portland, OR

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 Media Group

Milwaukee

WITI-TV ++
6 (33)
1997–2008

Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting

Other Notes:




  • 1 WCVB-TV was included in the original sale of the Metromedia stations to News Corporation, but was spun off in a separate, concurrent deal to the Hearst Corporation as part of a right of first refusal related to that station's 1982 acquisition by Metromedia.

  • On a side note, in between the events of Fox acquiring its original charter affiliates and the New World affiliation agreement, only KDVR, KTVU, WFXT, WTXF, KSTU, WOFL and WOGX were already affiliated with Fox when they were acquired by Fox in future acquisitions.



References





  1. ^ FCC Order 01-209, exhibit 'B'


  2. ^ FCC Order 06-122


  3. ^ ab Carter, Bill (May 24, 1994). "FOX WILL SIGN UP 12 NEW STATIONS; TAKES 8 FROM CBS". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2012..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  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. ^ ab 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. ^ ab "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. ^ "Fox TV Stations Bolster Game Show Content With Buzzr TV". Deadline Hollywood. January 20, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2016.


  26. ^ Lafayette, Jon (September 18, 2015). "Fox Stations Agree to Carry Heroes & Icons". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved September 16, 2016.


  27. ^ Merced, Michael; Steel, Emily (April 30, 2017). "21st Century Fox and Blackstone Said to Be Interested in Buying Tribune Media". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 1, 2017.


  28. ^ "Reports: Fox News owner joins race to buy Tribune Media". Chicago Tribune. Tronc. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.


  29. ^ Baker, Liana; Toonkel, Jessica (May 7, 2017). "Sinclair Broadcast nears deal for Tribune Media". Reuters. Retrieved May 8, 2017.


  30. ^ Stedman, Alex; Littleton, Cynthia (May 7, 2017). "Sinclair Broadcast Group Nears Deal to Buy Tribune Media". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 8, 2017.


  31. ^ Merced, Michael (May 7, 2017). "Sinclair Is Said to Be Near a Deal for Tribune Media". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 8, 2017.


  32. ^ Flint, Joe (May 7, 2017). "Sinclair Broadcast Near Deal to Buy Tribune Media for About $4 Billion". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. Retrieved May 8, 2017.


  33. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (May 8, 2017). "Sinclair Broadcast Group Sets $3.9 Billion Deal to Acquire Tribune Media". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 8, 2017.


  34. ^ "Tribune calls off nearly $4 billion Sinclair media deal". Retrieved August 9, 2018.


  35. ^ Sakoui, Anousha (August 2, 2017). "Fox in Talks With Ion Media to Operate Local TV Stations, Source Says". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 3, 2017.


  36. ^ Lieberman, David (August 3, 2017). "Sinclair Broadcast Shares Slip On Report That Fox May Switch Affiliations To Ion". Deadline.com. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved August 3, 2017.


  37. ^ "Murdoch's Ongoing Feud With Sinclair Escalates". Bloomberg.com. August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.


  38. ^ Goldman, David. "Disney Buys 21st Century Fox: Who Gets What". CNN Money. Retrieved 21 December 2017.


  39. ^ "Murdoch looks to add 10 Sinclair stations to Fox". Financial Times. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
    (subscription required)



  40. ^ "Fox May Buy 10 Sinclair Stations". TVSpy. Retrieved 2018-01-10.


  41. ^ "21st Century Fox Buys Seven Local TV Stations From Sinclair For $910 Million". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. May 9, 2018.


  42. ^ Mark K. Miller (May 9, 2018). "Fox Buying 7 Sinclair Spinoffs For $910M". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media.




External links


  • Official Website









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