WXMI

WXMI is a commercial television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and serving the broader West Michigan market. Branded primarily as Fox 17, it is affiliated with the Fox television network and is owned by The E. W. Scripps Company. The station operates studios on Plaza Drive near M-37 on the northern side of Grand Rapids, while its main transmitter is located southwest of Middleville. Its signal is supplemented by translators and digital repeaters serving communities including Muskegon, Hesperia, Kalamazoo, and Battle Creek. The station began broadcasting on March 18, 1982, under the call sign WWMA. The calls reflected the concept of West Michigan's Alternative, and the station was notable as the first locally based independent station in the market not affiliated with a religious organization. Heritage Broadcasting Company founded and initially owned the outlet. In 1983, after additional shareholders acquired control, the station adopted the WXMI call sign, which it continues to use. WXMI became West Michigan's Fox affiliate on April 9, 1987, during Fox's expansion from a programming service with limited offerings into a broader prime-time network. That affiliation became the central element of the station's identity and programming strategy. Ownership later changed several times: Odyssey Television Partners acquired the station's stock in 1989; Emmis Communications purchased WXMI in 1998 and subsequently traded it, together with Seattle sister station KTZZ, to Tribune Broadcasting for New York radio station WQCD. The station was involved in a series of complicated ownership transactions in 2017–2019. Sinclair Broadcast Group's proposed acquisition of Tribune Media would have created ownership conflicts because Sinclair already controlled WWMT in the same market. WXMI was therefore included in a proposed divestiture to Standard Media Group. The Sinclair-Tribune transaction was terminated in 2018 after regulatory objections and litigation, also ending the dependent Standard Media transaction. Nexstar Media Group later agreed to acquire Tribune Media, but Nexstar could not retain WXMI because of its existing West Michigan television holdings. Scripps announced an agreement to acquire the station from Nexstar, and the transaction closed on September 19, 2019. WXMI is also a significant local-news operation. It launched its news department in January 1999 with the market's first prime-time 10 p.m. newscast. Over the following years it added morning, early-evening, weekend-morning, and late-night broadcasts, creating one of the largest local-news schedules in the Grand Rapids market. The station began producing local newscasts in high definition in April 2009. Its digital service includes Fox programming and additional multicast services, including Court TV on a subchannel operated in the Scripps corporate family. WXMI's present positioning combines Fox network entertainment and sports with a substantial local-news presence aimed at viewers across West Michigan.

WXMI began broadcasting on March 18, 1982, as WWMA, an independent station founded by Heritage Broadcasting Company. The original call letters referred to West Michigan's Alternative. The station occupied a distinctive position in the Grand Rapids market because it was locally based and unaffiliated with a religious organization, unlike some earlier independent operations. Control changed approximately one year after launch when additional shareholders acquired control and the call sign became WXMI on August 15, 1983. In 1987, WXMI secured an affiliation with the developing Fox network. The relationship began on April 9, 1987, when Fox expanded its schedule to include prime-time programming. Fox affiliation gave WXMI a stronger network identity and provided a foundation for subsequent growth in entertainment, sports, and local news. In 1989, the station's stock was purchased by Odyssey Television Partners, a New York-based company led by Robert Dudley. In 1998, Emmis Communications acquired WXMI and later exchanged it, along with sister station KTZZ in Seattle, to Tribune Broadcasting for WQCD, a New York FM radio station. WXMI developed its news operation relatively late compared with some traditional network affiliates. On January 11, 1999, it premiered a 10 p.m. newscast, described as the first prime-time local newscast in the market. The broadcast initially ran for 35 minutes on weeknights and 30 minutes on weekends. It expanded to a full hour seven nights a week in 2004. The station added the Fox 17 Morning News in August 2006, expanding the initial two-hour program to four hours in 2008. A one-hour 6 p.m. newscast followed in September 2009, and an hour-long lifestyle program, The One Seven, briefly occupied the 5 p.m. weekday slot in 2011 before being replaced by a conventional local newscast. Weekend morning news began in 2013, while 11 p.m. and 4 p.m. broadcasts were added in 2014. The station upgraded its local newscasts to high definition on April 17, 2009. It introduced refreshed branding, graphics, music, and studio presentation in 2011. WXMI also expanded its transmission footprint through translators and repeaters serving parts of the lakeshore and southern portions of the market. Its digital transition occurred on June 12, 2009, when analog broadcasting on channel 17 ended and the digital signal continued on pre-transition UHF channel 19 while retaining virtual channel 17. Ownership became complicated during the proposed 2017 Sinclair Broadcast Group acquisition of Tribune Media. Sinclair already owned WWMT in the Grand Rapids market, preventing direct retention of WXMI under applicable ownership rules. In April 2018, Sinclair announced a proposed sale of WXMI and several other stations to Standard Media Group for an aggregate transaction value of $441.1 million. Tribune terminated the broader Sinclair transaction in August 2018 after the Federal Communications Commission referred the proposal for administrative-law review amid concerns about the parties' representations concerning divestitures. Tribune also filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit, and the Standard Media sale did not proceed. Nexstar Media Group announced a $6.4 billion acquisition of Tribune Media in December 2018. Because Nexstar already held several West Michigan television properties, including WOOD-TV, WXSP-CD, and WOTV, WXMI was designated for divestiture. Scripps announced in March 2019 that it would acquire WXMI as part of a larger group of stations being sold in connection with the Nexstar-Tribune transaction. The Scripps purchase closed on September 19, 2019. WXMI remains an active Fox affiliate and a major local-news outlet for West Michigan.

• 2019

  Scripps ownership begins

  [1]WXMIen.wikipedia.org

  The E. W. Scripps Company completed its acquisition of WXMI from Nexstar.

• 2009

  Local news moves to high definition

  [1]WXMIen.wikipedia.org

  WXMI became the first West Michigan station to broadcast local newscasts in high definition.

• 1999

  Local news department launches

  [1]WXMIen.wikipedia.org

  WXMI introduced a 10 p.m. local newscast and began building its current news operation.

• 1987

  Fox affiliation begins

  [1]WXMIen.wikipedia.org

  WXMI joined Fox as the network expanded its prime-time programming.

• 1983

  Call sign changes to WXMI

  [1]WXMIen.wikipedia.org

  Following a change in control, the station adopted the WXMI call sign.

• 1982

  WWMA begins broadcasting

  [1]WXMIen.wikipedia.org

  The station signed on as WWMA, an independent television station licensed to Grand Rapids.

A Fox network affiliate combining a high-volume local-news operation with national network entertainment, sports, and syndicated programming for West Michigan.

• Local news · 1999

  Fox 17 News

  WXMI's local-news franchise covers breaking news, government, community affairs, weather, traffic, and sports across West Michigan. The operation became a central part of the station's identity after its launch in 1999 and expanded into several daily and weekend time periods.

• Morning television news · 2006

  Fox 17 Morning News

  The station's weekday morning news program debuted in 2006 as a two-hour broadcast and was expanded in 2008 to run from 5 a.m. through 9 a.m. It combines local reporting, weather, traffic, interviews, and national material supplied through the Fox affiliation.

• Network television · 1987

  Fox network programming

  As West Michigan's Fox affiliate, WXMI carries Fox programming, including the network's entertainment, sports, news, and special-event schedule. This network service forms the core national-programming component of the station's broadcast offering.

• Digital multicast television · 2019

  Court TV

  WXMI's third digital subchannel carries Court TV, a service associated with Scripps sister company Katz Broadcasting. The subchannel provides additional court and trial-focused programming alongside the station's primary Fox service.

• 2019

  Transfer ownership to ScrippsM&A

  Background

  Nexstar's acquisition of Tribune required the divestiture of WXMI because of Nexstar's existing West Michigan television holdings.

  Action taken

  Scripps acquired WXMI from Nexstar, with the transaction closing on September 19, 2019.

  Aftermath

  WXMI joined the Scripps station portfolio and gained an ownership connection to Katz Broadcasting multicast services.

  Source

• 2009

  Upgrade local news production to high definitionOther

  Background

  Local television stations were upgrading production systems and on-air presentation as digital broadcasting became standard.

  Action taken

  WXMI began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition on April 17, 2009.

  Aftermath

  The station gained an early technical distinction in the West Michigan market before other major local stations completed similar upgrades.

  Source

• 1999

  Launch a dedicated local-news operationProduct launch

  Background

  WXMI sought to compete more directly with established Grand Rapids network affiliates through locally produced journalism.

  Action taken

  The station launched a 10 p.m. newscast and subsequently expanded its news schedule into mornings, evenings, weekends, and late night.

  Aftermath

  WXMI developed one of the market's largest local-newscast schedules.

  Source

• 1987

  Adopt Fox network affiliationStrategy

  Background

  Fox was expanding beyond limited programming and preparing a broader prime-time schedule.

  Action taken

  WXMI joined Fox on April 9, 1987, while continuing to operate as a local commercial television station.

  Aftermath

  The affiliation became the station's enduring national-programming identity and led to its Fox 17 branding.

  Source

• 2019

  Scripps completes acquisition of WXMI[1]WXMIen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  The E. W. Scripps Company completed its purchase of WXMI from Nexstar following the Tribune Media transaction and related station divestitures.

• 2018

  Sinclair-Tribune transaction and proposed WXMI divestiture collapse[1]WXMIen.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Regulation · Lawsuit

  Regulatory objections and the termination of Sinclair Broadcast Group's proposed acquisition of Tribune Media ended a related plan to sell WXMI to Standard Media Group.

• 2009

  WXMI becomes the first West Michigan station to produce local newscasts in high definition[1]WXMIen.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  The station upgraded its local-news production to high definition, ahead of several competing stations in the Grand Rapids market.

• 1999

  WXMI launches its first local news operation[1]WXMIen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  WXMI began producing local news and introduced a 10 p.m. newscast, establishing a dedicated news identity for the Fox affiliate.

1. 1WXMIen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WXMI official websitefox17online.com