WFXB

WFXB is a full-power television station licensed to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and serving the wider Grand Strand and Pee Dee regions. The station broadcasts on digital channel 43 and is affiliated with the Fox television network. Its operating identity combines Fox network programming, syndicated entertainment, locally branded news and talk programs, and additional newscasts produced under a news-sharing arrangement with WBTW, the local CBS affiliate. The station began broadcasting on July 5, 1984, under the call sign WGSE. It was established by Carolina Christian Broadcasting, a Greenville-based religious broadcaster that also owned WGGS-TV. WGSE was Myrtle Beach's first television station and initially operated as a Christian independent outlet. Its schedule included religious programming, regional productions associated with WGGS, family-oriented secular programs, and material from the short-lived Prime of Life Network. The station's early business performance was weak. It depended substantially on support from WGGS-TV and bank financing, while a cable-channel relocation in 1987 made the station less accessible to many viewers who lacked a converter box. These difficulties led to repeated concerns about the station's financial viability and eventual sale. During the early 1990s, WGSE gradually broadened its schedule with more secular programming, including syndicated entertainment and Charlotte Hornets basketball. It became a charter affiliate of The WB on January 11, 1995, although its long-term positioning soon shifted toward a commercial general-entertainment and news format. In 1996, Carolina Christian Broadcasting sold the station to James McGregor Everett. Following the transaction, the proportion of religious programming was reduced substantially, while some programming produced by the former owner remained under the sale arrangements. Everett also pursued a Fox affiliation for the Myrtle Beach–Florence market. On November 10, 1996, the station joined Fox and changed its call sign from WGSE to WFXB. The affiliation gave the market a full-power, over-the-air Fox station at a time when the area had lacked one. The station briefly retained The WB as a secondary affiliation, but later relinquished it when the cable-only WB 100+ service was introduced for the market. WFXB continued evolving toward a conventional commercial station, adding talk shows, reality programming, recent sitcoms, and other syndicated content. Fox's weekday children's programming was removed from the schedule in 2002 after the network discontinued that block. WFXB's local news history has developed in several phases. The station produced a local newscast from the late 1980s until 1992, then re-established local news output after joining Fox. Its initial Fox-era operation began with brief late-evening updates and later expanded to a half-hour 10 p.m. newscast. The independently produced news operation was reduced in January 2001 amid weak ratings and a slowing economy. In 2004, WFXB entered a news-sharing agreement with WBTW, under which WBTW began producing a 35-minute weeknight 10 p.m. newscast for the station. On December 1, 2011, WBTW added Fox Morning News, a weekday morning program for WFXB that subsequently expanded to two hours. Alongside WBTW-produced programming, WFXB maintains locally branded productions including Carolina AM, Fox Midday News, and Not the News. These programs combine news, interviews, weather, community information, and entertainment. The station also operates additional digital services. In late February 2009, it launched a 24-hour local weather service on its third digital subchannel and through area cable systems. On June 7, 2011, another digital subchannel began carrying MeTV programming. WFXB has been owned by Bahakel Communications since 2006 and continues to operate from studios on Huger Street in Myrtle Beach, with an advertising sales office in Florence and a transmitter near Mullins.

WFXB traces its origins to July 5, 1984, when Carolina Christian Broadcasting launched WGSE on channel 43. The new station was the first television station in Myrtle Beach and was associated with WGGS-TV in Greenville, South Carolina. Its initial schedule emphasized Christian and religious programming, supplemented by family-friendly secular programs and content aimed at older viewers. The station's early finances were fragile: it required support from WGGS-TV and bank loans, and its audience reach was damaged when Cox Cable moved it from channel 4 to channel 23 on major Grand Strand cable systems in 1987. WGSE gradually became less exclusively religious during the early 1990s. It added more secular syndicated programming and sports, including Charlotte Hornets basketball, and became a charter WB affiliate on January 11, 1995. Continued audience and financial challenges led Carolina Christian Broadcasting to sell the station to James McGregor Everett in 1996. The new ownership reduced religious programming from roughly one-third of the schedule to about 12 percent, while retaining some programming produced by the former owner under the terms of the sale. Everett pursued Fox affiliation for the Myrtle Beach–Florence market. On November 10, 1996, WGSE joined Fox and changed its call sign to WFXB. The move supplied the region with a full-power, over-the-air Fox affiliate and repositioned the station as a commercial general-entertainment broadcaster. WFXB retained The WB on a secondary basis for approximately two years, later dropping it when the WB 100+ cable service was created for the market. Its schedule increasingly relied on talk programs, reality shows, sitcoms, and other syndicated entertainment. Children's programming was removed in 2002 after Fox ended its weekday children's block. Local news production has been intermittent. WGSE produced a local newscast from the late 1980s through 1992. After becoming a Fox affiliate, WFXB reintroduced local news, first with brief 10 p.m. updates and then with a half-hour late-evening newscast. That operation was scaled back in January 2001 because of low ratings and broader economic weakness. In 2004, WFXB adopted a different model by arranging for WBTW to produce a 35-minute weeknight 10 p.m. newscast. WBTW expanded its role on December 1, 2011, when it began producing the weekday Fox Morning News, which later grew to two hours. WFXB continues to supplement the WBTW-produced broadcasts with programs made under its own brand, including Carolina AM, Fox Midday News, and Not the News. The station's digital expansion included a 24-hour local weather service launched on a third digital subchannel in late February 2009, with distribution through local cable systems. A MeTV service began on digital subchannel 43.4 on June 7, 2011. Bahakel Communications acquired WFXB in 2006 and remains its owner. The station's main studios are on Huger Street in Myrtle Beach, while it maintains an advertising sales office on East Evans Street in Florence and a transmitter near Mullins.

• 2011

  MeTV and expanded morning news are added

  [1]WFXBen.wikipedia.org

  WFXB adds MeTV on digital subchannel 43.4 and WBTW begins producing Fox Morning News for the station.

• 2009

  Local weather multicast service launches

  [1]WFXBen.wikipedia.org

  WFXB adds a 24-hour local weather service to a digital subchannel and local cable distribution.

• 2006

  Bahakel Communications becomes owner

  [1]WFXBen.wikipedia.org

  Bahakel Communications purchases WFXB.

• 2004

  WBTW begins producing a WFXB newscast

  [1]WFXBen.wikipedia.org

  A news-sharing agreement leads WBTW to produce WFXB's weeknight 10 p.m. newscast.

• 2002

  Fox ends weekday children's block

  [1]WFXBen.wikipedia.org

  Children's programming leaves WFXB's schedule following Fox's discontinuation of its weekday children's block.

• 2001

  Local news operation reduced

  [1]WFXBen.wikipedia.org

  WFXB scales back its independently produced newscast amid weak ratings and a slowing economy.

• 1996

  Ownership and network transition

  [1]WFXBen.wikipedia.org

  James McGregor Everett acquires the station, which reduces religious programming and joins Fox on November 10 under the WFXB call sign.

• 1995

  WGSE joins The WB

  [1]WFXBen.wikipedia.org

  WGSE becomes a charter affiliate of The WB.

• 1987

  Cable distribution change affects reach

  [1]WFXBen.wikipedia.org

  Cox Cable moves WGSE from channel 4 to channel 23 on key Grand Strand systems, making the station harder to receive for some viewers.

• 1984

  WGSE launches on channel 43

  [1]WFXBen.wikipedia.org

  Carolina Christian Broadcasting begins operating Myrtle Beach's first television station on July 5 under the WGSE call sign.

A locally operated Fox affiliate focused on broadcast television, regional news, weather, syndicated entertainment, and community-oriented programming for the Myrtle Beach–Florence market.

• Television network affiliation · 1996

  Fox network programming

  WFXB's core offering is Fox programming for the Myrtle Beach–Florence market. The affiliation began on November 10, 1996, when the station changed from WGSE to WFXB. Network programming forms the central broadcast schedule around which local news, weather, syndicated entertainment, and locally produced programs are arranged.

• Local news · 2011

  Fox Morning News

  Fox Morning News is a weekday morning newscast produced for WFXB by WBTW. It began on December 1, 2011, initially as a one-hour program and later expanded to two hours. The program extends WFXB's local-news presence without requiring the station to maintain a fully independent newsroom.

• Local news

  Fox Midday News

  Fox Midday News is a half-hour local news program produced under the WFXB brand and scheduled at 12:30 p.m. It complements the WBTW-produced morning and late-evening newscasts with a separate midday information window.

• Talk and community programming

  Carolina AM

  Carolina AM is a locally produced morning talk program associated with WFXB. Its format combines interviews, community topics, lifestyle material, and regional information, giving the station a locally distinctive offering beyond network and syndicated programming.

• News and entertainment

  Not the News

  Not the News is a WFXB-produced news and entertainment program. The late-evening format provides a locally branded alternative to the station's conventional newscasts and mixes regional information with entertainment-oriented material.

• Digital multicast television · 2009

  24-hour local weather service

  WFXB launched a continuous local weather service on its third digital subchannel in late February 2009. The service was also distributed through area cable systems, extending weather coverage beyond the station's primary channel.

• Digital multicast television · 2011

  MeTV on digital subchannel 43.4

  WFXB began transmitting MeTV programming on digital subchannel 43.4 on June 7, 2011. The multicast service broadened the station's programming portfolio with a schedule centered on television programs from earlier eras.

• 2011

  Expansion of WBTW-produced morning newsProduct launch

  Background

  WFXB's news strategy relied increasingly on programming produced through its relationship with WBTW.

  Action taken

  WBTW began producing Fox Morning News for WFXB on weekdays, initially for one hour and later for two hours.

  Aftermath

  The expanded morning broadcast strengthened WFXB's daily local-news schedule without restoring a fully independent news operation.

  Source

• 2009

  Launch of a 24-hour weather serviceProduct launch

  Background

  Digital television multiplexing created an opportunity to add specialized local services alongside the primary WFXB channel.

  Action taken

  WFXB introduced a continuous local weather service on a third digital subchannel and through local cable systems.

  Aftermath

  The station expanded its digital and weather-oriented service offering, although later operating details are not established by the supplied material.

  Source

• 2006

  Acquisition by Bahakel CommunicationsM&A

  Background

  WFXB was operating as a Fox affiliate with local and syndicated programming in the Myrtle Beach market.

  Action taken

  Bahakel Communications purchased the station.

  Aftermath

  Bahakel Communications became WFXB's owner and continues to operate the station.

  Source

• 2004

  News-sharing agreement with WBTWStrategy

  Background

  WFXB had reduced its independently produced news operation after weak ratings and economic pressure.

  Action taken

  WFXB arranged for WBTW to produce a weeknight 10 p.m. newscast.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement allowed WFXB to retain a local news presence while relying on production resources from the local CBS affiliate.

  Source

• 1996

  Sale to James McGregor EverettM&A

  Background

  WGSE had struggled financially and had not developed sufficient audience support under its original religious-independent format.

  Action taken

  Carolina Christian Broadcasting sold the station to James McGregor Everett, who reduced religious programming and repositioned the outlet for a commercial network affiliation.

  Aftermath

  The station joined Fox later that year and adopted the WFXB call sign, establishing its current market identity.

  Source

• 1996

  Transition from WGSE to WFXB Fox affiliateStrategy

  Background

  The Myrtle Beach–Florence market lacked a full-power over-the-air Fox affiliate, while Fox preferred an independently operated station rather than a station managed by another local network affiliate.

  Action taken

  The station changed its call sign to WFXB and began carrying Fox programming on November 10.

  Aftermath

  WFXB became the market's full-power Fox outlet and shifted its schedule toward commercial entertainment, news, and syndicated programming.

  Source

1. 1WFXBen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WFXB official websitewfxb.com