WFFF-TV

WFFF-TV is a full-power television station licensed to Burlington, Vermont, and serving the Burlington–Plattsburgh television market in Vermont and northern New York. The station broadcasts on channel 44 and operates as the market’s Fox affiliate. Its studios are located on Mountain View Drive in Colchester, Vermont, where it shares facilities with WVNY, the market’s ABC affiliate. WVNY is licensed to Mission Broadcasting and is operated by Nexstar Media Group under a shared services agreement. WFFF-TV’s transmitter is located on Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak, allowing the station to reach a broad regional audience. The station signed on August 31, 1997, at a time when Burlington–Plattsburgh was the last top-100 U.S. television market without a primary Fox affiliate. Before WFFF-TV launched, Fox programming was distributed through a mixture of partial clearances, cable carriage, and distant stations. WCAX-TV carried selected Fox Sports and Fox Kids programming, while Foxnet supplied much of Vermont with a cable-based Fox service. WFFF-TV therefore filled a significant local broadcast gap, although its initial analog transmission arrangement limited coverage in portions of the market. WFFF-TV was initially owned by Champlain Valley Telecasting and operated through a local marketing agreement involving Heritage Media, then the owner of NBC affiliate WPTZ. Ownership and operating arrangements changed several times during the station’s first years. After corporate transactions involving Heritage Media, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Sunrise Television, Hearst-Argyle Television, and Smith Broadcasting, Smith ultimately acquired the station outright in 1999. Smith Media later became the owner following the reorganization of Smith Broadcasting interests after the death of Bob Smith. The station expanded its programming role in 1999 by adding a secondary affiliation with The WB. WB programming was initially scheduled in delayed blocks after Fox programming, and WFFF-TV also carried Kids’ WB and related children’s programming. Following the creation of The CW from The WB and UPN, WFFF-TV carried The CW as a secondary affiliation beginning in 2006. The CW later moved to WFFF-DT2, the station’s second digital subchannel, where it remained until March 2013, when WPTZ-DT2 assumed the market’s CW affiliation. WFFF-DT2 subsequently carried syndicated programming before ceasing operations temporarily and later returning as a multicast outlet. WFFF-TV transitioned to digital-only broadcasting in February 2009. Its digital signal had been available from Mount Mansfield since 2006, while its analog signal continued from Terry Mountain in New York until the analog shutdown. The station also experienced a temporary carriage interruption on Time Warner Cable in December 2010 during a retransmission-consent dispute. Service was restored in January 2011 after the parties reached a new agreement. Nexstar Broadcasting Group agreed to acquire WFFF-TV in 2012, and the transaction received Federal Communications Commission approval in February 2013 before closing on March 1, 2013. At the same time, Mission Broadcasting acquired WVNY, with Nexstar continuing to provide operational services. WFFF-TV subsequently became part of the larger Nexstar Media Group after Nexstar’s acquisition of Media General was completed in 2017. The station remains a Fox outlet and participates in Nexstar’s regional portfolio of local broadcast stations. Its signal and cable distribution also give it unusual importance in southern Quebec, where many Vidéotron systems carry it as a Fox affiliate and where Montreal represents a substantial audience beyond the station’s U.S. market.

WFFF-TV signed on August 31, 1997, as the first primary Fox affiliate serving the Burlington–Plattsburgh market. Before its launch, local viewers received Fox programming through partial carriage on WCAX-TV, the Foxnet cable service, and distant stations such as WXXA-TV, WNYW, WUTV, and WUHF, depending on location and provider. The station was created to supply a full local Fox schedule to a market that had previously lacked one. Champlain Valley Telecasting initially held the station’s license, while Heritage Media operated it through a local marketing agreement connected to WPTZ. The station had intended to transmit its analog signal from Mount Mansfield, but it could not obtain the required collocation approval. After several years of effort, WFFF-TV instead operated its analog service from WPTZ’s tower on Terry Mountain in Peru, New York. This arrangement reduced over-the-air coverage in eastern sections of the market. A digital signal from Mount Mansfield began in 2006, and the station’s analog transmission continued from Terry Mountain until the nationwide digital transition in 2009. WFFF-TV’s ownership changed during a period of consolidation in U.S. television broadcasting. Heritage Media sold its broadcasting interests, and Sinclair briefly became involved before WPTZ and the WFFF-TV operating arrangement moved to Sunrise Television. WPTZ was transferred to Hearst-Argyle Television, while WFFF-TV’s non-license assets went to Smith Broadcasting. Smith later acquired WFFF-TV outright in 1999. Following Bob Smith’s death, the family’s broadcasting group was sold in 2004 to an investment group that operated under the Smith Media name. In 1999, WFFF-TV began airing Vermont’s Most Wanted and the related Citizen’s Patrol, short-form public-safety features produced with local law-enforcement and Crime Stoppers participation. The station also expanded beyond Fox by taking a secondary affiliation with The WB after a local low-power outlet left that network. WB programming was scheduled after Fox’s prime-time lineup, and the station carried Kids’ WB and later daytime children’s programming. When The WB and UPN were replaced by The CW in 2006, WFFF-TV initially carried CW shows in a delayed evening block. In September 2007, the affiliation shifted to WFFF-DT2, improving its digital distribution and replacing WPIX on some cable systems in Vermont and New York. Smith Media also became involved in the operation of WVNY. In 2004, it partnered with Lambert Broadcasting to operate the ABC affiliate under a local marketing agreement while complying with ownership restrictions. WVNY’s operations moved into WFFF-TV’s Colchester facilities, creating a virtual duopoly in which the Fox station served as the senior operating partner. This arrangement linked the two stations’ facilities and operational resources while their licenses remained separately held. The station’s digital and cable history included several changes. WFFF-TV became digital-only on February 17, 2009. WFFF-DT2’s CW service ended on March 4, 2013, when WPTZ’s digital subchannel took over the affiliation. The subchannel later carried syndicated content, ceased broadcasting temporarily, and relaunched in 2016 with Escape, a multicast network subsequently rebranded as Court TV Mystery and Ion Mystery. In 2010, a retransmission dispute led Time Warner Cable to replace WFFF-TV with WNYF-CD. The station was restored in January 2011 after a new carriage agreement was reached. Nexstar agreed to purchase WFFF-TV from Smith Media in November 2012. The FCC approved the transaction in February 2013, and the sale closed on March 1. Mission Broadcasting acquired WVNY at the same time, with Nexstar providing services under a shared-services arrangement. Nexstar’s later acquisition of Media General placed WFFF-TV within the Nexstar Media Group portfolio and connected it with other Nexstar-operated stations across New England and upstate New York. Because WFFF-TV is widely distributed in southern Quebec, its effective audience extends beyond its formal U.S. market. Many Vidéotron systems carry the station as their Fox source, giving it access to viewers in Montreal and surrounding regions. This cross-border reach created a notable programming and advertising issue in the early 2000s, when Canadian simultaneous-substitution rules allowed CJNT-TV to replace WFFF-TV commercials during overlapping programs. WFFF-TV and CJNT adjusted schedules repeatedly in an effort to preserve advertising visibility, eventually using multiple daily broadcasts of a syndicated program to reduce the substitution opportunity.

• 2016

  WFFF-DT2 relaunches as Escape

  [1]WFFF-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The second subchannel returns with Escape programming, later transitioning through Court TV Mystery to Ion Mystery.

• 2013

  Nexstar acquisition closes

  [1]WFFF-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Nexstar completes its purchase of WFFF-TV from Smith Media on March 1.

• 2013

  CW affiliation leaves WFFF-DT2

  [1]WFFF-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WPTZ-DT2 assumes the Burlington–Plattsburgh CW affiliation.

• 2009

  Analog broadcasting ends

  [1]WFFF-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WFFF-TV becomes a digital-only station during the U.S. television transition.

• 2007

  CW service moves to WFFF-DT2

  [1]WFFF-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station places The CW on its second digital subchannel.

• 2006

  Digital signal begins from Mount Mansfield

  [1]WFFF-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WFFF-TV’s digital service becomes available from Mount Mansfield, ahead of the analog shutdown.

• 2004

  WVNY operations move to WFFF-TV facilities

  [1]WFFF-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Smith Media and Lambert Broadcasting establish an operating arrangement that brings WVNY operations into the Colchester facility.

• 1999

  Station adds The WB

  [1]WFFF-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WFFF-TV begins carrying The WB as a secondary affiliation and launches local public-safety vignettes.

• 1997

  WFFF-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]WFFF-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station signs on August 31 as the primary Fox affiliate for the Burlington–Plattsburgh market.

A regional Fox broadcast station serving viewers in northwestern Vermont, northern New York, and southern Quebec, with a focus on network entertainment, syndicated programming, local commercial reach, and over-the-air and multichannel distribution.

• Broadcast television station · 1997

  WFFF-TV Fox 44

  The station’s primary service and Fox network outlet. It carries Fox’s entertainment, sports, news, and special-event programming for the Burlington–Plattsburgh market, supplemented by syndicated content and local commercial inventory. Its terrestrial signal originates from Mount Mansfield, while cable distribution extends its reach across Vermont, northern New York, and parts of southern Quebec.

• Digital multicast channel · 2007

  WFFF-DT2 Ion Mystery

  WFFF-TV’s second digital subchannel. It previously carried The CW under the branding The CW Burlington, later operated for a period as an independent syndicated channel, and returned in 2016 with Escape programming. Following network rebranding, the service became associated with Court TV Mystery and is now identified as Ion Mystery.

• 1999Vermont’s Most Wanted and Citizen’s Patrol

  Vermont · Burlington–Plattsburgh market

  WFFF-TV introduced short daily public-safety features produced with local law enforcement and the Champlain Valley branch of Crime Stoppers. The segments sought community participation in identifying wanted individuals and reporting information.

  Outcome. The features became part of the station’s early local-service programming; the reference material does not provide audience or enforcement results.

  Source

• 2013

  Sale to Nexstar Broadcasting GroupM&A

  Background

  Smith Media agreed to sell WFFF-TV while Lambert Broadcasting separately arranged the sale of WVNY to Mission Broadcasting.

  Action taken

  Nexstar acquired WFFF-TV and began operating alongside Mission-owned WVNY through a shared-services structure.

  Aftermath

  The transaction closed on March 1, 2013, placing WFFF-TV in Nexstar’s station portfolio and preserving the Colchester shared-facility arrangement.

  Source

• 2013

  Transfer of CW programming from WFFF-DT2Strategy

  Background

  WFFF-DT2 had carried The CW after the network moved from a delayed primary-channel arrangement to a digital subchannel.

  Action taken

  The CW affiliation moved to WPTZ-DT2 on March 4, 2013, and WFFF-DT2 shifted to syndicated programming.

  Aftermath

  WFFF-DT2 later returned as a multicast entertainment service, beginning with Escape programming in 2016.

  Source

• 2010

  Resolution of Time Warner Cable retransmission disputeOther

  Background

  Time Warner Cable removed WFFF-TV and related services during an unresolved retransmission-consent negotiation.

  Action taken

  The cable operator substituted another Fox signal beginning December 16, 2010.

  Aftermath

  WFFF-TV returned to the system on January 8, 2011, after the parties reached a new agreement whose terms were not disclosed.

  Source

1. 1WFFF-TVen.wikipedia.org