WSYX

WSYX is a commercial television station licensed to Columbus, Ohio, and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Its primary channel is affiliated with ABC, while its digital subchannels carry Fox and MyNetworkTV programming. The station also produces local news and public-affairs programming for the Columbus market and shares facilities and certain operational relationships with other Sinclair-associated stations in the area. The station began broadcasting on September 29, 1949, under the call sign WTVN. It was Columbus’s second television station and initially carried programming from the DuMont Television Network, with ABC programming provided on a secondary basis. After DuMont ceased operations, channel 6 became a full-time ABC affiliate in 1955. Its early operations were based first in the Lincoln-LeVeque Tower in downtown Columbus and then, from 1952, in a facility on Harmon Avenue in the Franklinton area. The station moved to its present Dublin Road studios in 1978. Ownership changed several times. Picture Waves Inc., controlled by investor and attorney Edward Lamb, sold the station in 1953 to Radio Cincinnati, the broadcasting company associated with the Taft family. Radio Cincinnati later became Taft Broadcasting, and the station operated for decades as WTVN-TV. In 1987, a hostile takeover of Taft by interests led by Carl Lindner resulted in regulatory consequences for the station’s existing ownership arrangements. A group of former Taft shareholders led by Robert Bass acquired WTVN-TV through Anchor Media. The transaction closed on August 31, 1987, and the station adopted the WSYX call sign. Anchor Media was acquired by River City Broadcasting in 1993, and River City became part of Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1996. Sinclair retained WSYX after regulatory restrictions prevented it from directly keeping the Columbus Fox affiliate WTTE as well. WTTE was transferred to Glencairn, later renamed Cunningham Broadcasting, while its operations were combined with WSYX under a local marketing agreement. Although the formal ownership structures were separate, the arrangement attracted scrutiny because of the close financial and governance relationships between Cunningham and Sinclair. WSYX has remained one of Columbus’s major local television news providers. Its news operation has used several branding approaches, including Action News and News Center, and has traditionally emphasized local reporting and consumer-oriented coverage under the “On Your Side” identity. The station launched local high-definition newscasts in 2008. It currently produces substantial weekday and weekend local-news programming on both its main ABC service and its Fox-branded digital service. In January 2021, Fox programming formerly associated with WTTE’s primary digital signal began moving to WSYX’s third digital subchannel. The subchannel continued to use the established “Fox 28” identity for viewers and providers, even though the programming was transmitted as part of WSYX’s digital operation. WSYX therefore became an unusual large-market station carrying ABC and Fox services within the same station operation, alongside its MyNetworkTV digital subchannel. The station remains active as a local broadcast brand serving central Ohio.

WSYX began broadcasting on September 29, 1949, as WTVN, Columbus’s second television station. It was established by Picture Waves Inc., controlled by Toledo-based attorney and investor Edward Lamb, who also had interests in WICU-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania. The station initially operated as a primary DuMont affiliate and carried ABC programming secondarily. When DuMont shut down in the mid-1950s, channel 6 became a full-time ABC affiliate, beginning a relationship that has continued into the present. The station initially operated from the Lincoln-LeVeque Tower in downtown Columbus. In 1952 it moved to a new facility on Harmon Avenue in the Franklinton area, and in 1953 Picture Waves sold the station to Radio Cincinnati, the broadcasting interests of the Taft family. Radio Cincinnati also acquired Columbus radio station WHKC, renamed it WTVN, and added the “-TV” suffix to channel 6’s call sign. The company later became Taft Broadcasting, creating a long period of common ownership between the television station and Columbus radio properties. During the 1970s, the Federal Communications Commission’s restrictions on overlapping television ownership affected Taft’s ownership of WTVN-TV and WKRC-TV in Cincinnati. Existing combinations could receive protection under grandfather provisions, and the two stations operated within that regulatory context for a time. A change in Taft’s ownership in 1987 altered the regulatory status. Carl Lindner acquired control of Taft through a hostile takeover and reorganized the company as Great American Broadcasting. Because the FCC treated the transaction as an ownership change, the previous grandfathered protection no longer applied to WTVN-TV. A group of former Taft shareholders led by Robert Bass acquired the Columbus station through a new company, Anchor Media. The sale closed on August 31, 1987, and the station changed its call letters from WTVN-TV to WSYX. The new call sign reflected FCC rules concerning the use of identical base call letters by separately owned radio and television stations in the same market. Anchor Media subsequently acquired other network affiliates, including WLOS and KOVR, before River City Broadcasting purchased the company in 1993. Sinclair Broadcast Group merged with River City in 1996, bringing WSYX into Sinclair’s portfolio. Sinclair already controlled Columbus Fox affiliate WTTE, but contemporary FCC ownership rules prevented it from directly owning both stations. WTTE was therefore sold to Glencairn, later renamed Cunningham Broadcasting, while its operations were combined with WSYX through a local marketing agreement. The arrangement became part of wider criticism and regulatory debate concerning whether Cunningham functioned as an ownership vehicle closely connected to Sinclair. In 2001, the FCC declined to approve Sinclair’s direct acquisition of WTTE because of both market-concentration rules and the limited number of full-power stations in the Columbus market. WSYX’s programming and news operation developed alongside these ownership changes. The station historically used the Action News brand and later adopted News Center branding for a period after Sinclair began producing programming for WTTE. That unified presentation was discontinued in 2006, although the stations continued sharing some personnel and operational resources. WSYX did not adopt Sinclair’s full News Central format, but it carried the short-form conservative commentary feature The Point until that program ended in 2006. In 2008, WSYX and WTTE introduced local high-definition newscasts. In late 2004, WSYX was among Sinclair-owned ABC affiliates that declined to air the television broadcast of Saving Private Ryan. The decision reflected concerns that the Federal Communications Commission might treat the film’s language as actionable after the controversy surrounding the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime broadcast. The FCC later determined that airing the film would not have violated its regulations. The incident illustrated the regulatory uncertainty affecting broadcasters at the time. The station expanded its digital operations over the following years. WSYX-DT2 launched in 2006 with MyNetworkTV programming and later carried This TV during much of the remaining schedule. In 2021, Sinclair shifted Fox programming from WTTE’s primary digital service to WSYX-DT3. The Fox service continued to be promoted as Fox 28, preserving its established cable and satellite channel identity. Around the same period, the Columbus station group reorganized several multicast services, including a later exchange of Antenna TV and Stadium positions. Today WSYX remains an ABC-affiliated Columbus station owned by Sinclair. Its main service, Fox-branded third digital service and MyNetworkTV second digital service collectively provide network programming, local news and multicast content. The station operates from Dublin Road studios near the Columbus–Grandview Heights border, with its transmitter in Columbus’s Franklinton section.

• 2021

  Fox programming moved to WSYX-DT3

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  Sinclair shifted the Fox 28 schedule to WSYX’s third digital subchannel.

• 2008

  Local news moved to high definition

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  WSYX and WTTE newscasts began broadcasting in high definition on May 10.

• 2006

  Launched MyNetworkTV digital service

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  WSYX-DT2 began carrying MyNetworkTV programming.

• 1996

  Joined Sinclair Broadcast Group

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  Sinclair acquired River City Broadcasting, making WSYX part of its station group.

• 1993

  Acquired by River City Broadcasting

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  Anchor Media became part of River City Broadcasting.

• 1987

  Became WSYX

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  Anchor Media completed its acquisition and changed the station’s call sign from WTVN-TV to WSYX on August 31.

• 1978

  Moved to current Dublin Road studios

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  The station began operating from its current studio complex near the Columbus–Grandview Heights border.

• 1955

  Became a full-time ABC affiliate

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  After the DuMont network ceased operations, channel 6 adopted ABC as its full-time network affiliation.

• 1953

  Sold to Radio Cincinnati

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  Picture Waves sold the station to the Taft family’s Radio Cincinnati broadcasting interests.

• 1952

  Moved to Harmon Avenue facility

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  The station moved from the Lincoln-LeVeque Tower to a new facility in the Franklinton area.

• 1949

  WTVN begins broadcasting

  [1]WSYXen.wikipedia.org

  The station launched on September 29 as Columbus’s second television station and a primary DuMont affiliate with secondary ABC programming.

A major Columbus local broadcast station combining network television, local news and digital multicast services, with a strong emphasis on regional reporting and consumer-oriented journalism.

• Broadcast television service · 1949

  WSYX ABC 6

  The station’s primary television service and long-running ABC affiliate. It carries ABC network programming, locally produced news, weather and public-affairs content, and syndicated programming serving viewers in the Columbus, Ohio market.

• Digital multicast television service · 2021

  Fox 28 on WSYX-DT3

  WSYX’s third digital service carries the Fox programming schedule historically associated with WTTE and continues to use the Fox 28 identity for viewers and distribution partners. It also carries locally produced newscasts targeted at the Fox audience.

• Digital multicast television service · 2006

  MyNetworkTV on WSYX-DT2

  The second digital subchannel launched in 2006 to carry MyNetworkTV programming. It has also carried additional multicast-network content, including This TV during portions of its schedule.

• News programming · 1949

  Local news operation

  WSYX produces local newscasts, weather, traffic and community reporting for central Ohio. Its programming has used several station brands and has emphasized locally focused and consumer-oriented journalism, including the long-running “On Your Side” positioning.

• 2004

  Saving Private Ryan preemption

  WSYX declined to air ABC’s presentation of Saving Private Ryan because Sinclair-owned affiliates feared possible FCC penalties after the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime-show controversy. The FCC later determined that broadcasting the film would not have violated its rules.

  Source

• 2001

  Cunningham Broadcasting ownership controversy

  Sinclair’s operational relationship with WTTE through Cunningham Broadcasting drew criticism and allegations that Cunningham functioned as a shell company used to work around FCC ownership limits. The issue concerned the broader Columbus station structure rather than an allegation that WSYX’s broadcast content was fraudulent.

  Source

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• 2021

  Consolidated Fox programming on WSYX-DT3Strategy

  Background

  Sinclair reorganized Fox affiliations in markets where Fox programming had been carried by related Cunningham or Deerfield stations.

  Action taken

  Fox 28 programming moved from WTTE’s primary digital service to WSYX-DT3, while the existing Fox 28 identity was retained for distribution and viewers.

  Aftermath

  WSYX became a large-market station carrying ABC and Fox services within its own operation, while WTTE’s programming and carriage arrangements changed.

  Source

• 2006

  Launched MyNetworkTV on WSYX-DT2Product launch

  Background

  The expansion of digital television created additional capacity for network and multicast programming.

  Action taken

  WSYX introduced a second digital subchannel carrying MyNetworkTV programming, with other multicast content later filling portions of the schedule.

  Aftermath

  The service became a long-running digital-network offering in the Columbus market.

  Source

• 1987

  Adopted the WSYX call sign after ownership changeStrategy

  Background

  The sale of WTVN-TV from Taft-related ownership to Anchor Media changed the station’s regulatory and corporate status.

  Action taken

  The station changed its call sign to WSYX on August 31, 1987.

  Aftermath

  WSYX retained its ABC affiliation and continued as a major Columbus television station under Anchor Media, later River City and Sinclair ownership.

  Source

1. 1WSYXen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WSYX official websitewsyx6.com