WYFX-LD

WYFX-LD is a low-power television station licensed to serve Youngstown, Ohio, and affiliated with the Fox network. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group and operates alongside CBS affiliate WKBN-TV. Nexstar also supplies selected operational and programming services to ABC affiliate WYTV through arrangements involving Vaughan Media. The stations share studios on Sunset Boulevard in Youngstown’s Pleasant Grove neighborhood, and WYFX’s transmitter is located at the same general facility. The station began broadcasting on September 6, 1998, under the WYFX-LP call sign, together with repeater W31BW in Masury, Ohio. Their launch gave the Youngstown area full-time local Fox affiliates. Before that point, Fox programming had been available in the market through a mixture of Fox Sports broadcasts on WYTV and out-of-market stations carried by cable systems, including Pittsburgh and Cleveland affiliates. The original service used the channel branding “Fox 40/62,” later changing to “Fox 31/62” and “Fox 17/62” as the stations’ distribution arrangements evolved. WYFX’s low-power license limits the reach of its over-the-air signal, making the station’s distribution strategy particularly important. To extend Fox programming across the broader Youngstown market, WYFX is also carried in high definition on WKBN-TV’s second digital subchannel. The station’s relationship with WKBN is central to its business model: WKBN provides local news, weather, production, engineering, and other support, while WYFX operates as a distinct Fox-branded service. The station gradually moved away from numerical channel branding during the late 2000s. Advertisements began using “Fox Youngstown” in 2008, and a redesigned logo introduced in 2009 removed most references to the channel numbers and the WYFX call letters. This repositioning reflected the changing television environment, including the transition from analog broadcasting to digital distribution and the fact that cable systems placed the station on different channel numbers. WYFX carries Fox entertainment, sports, and news programming, together with locally produced newscasts supplied by WKBN. Its weekday schedule has included an hour-long evening newscast branded First News on Fox and a weekday morning program, First News This Morning on Fox. The news operation was upgraded to high definition in 2010. The station also participates in a news and weather-sharing relationship involving WKBN and an iHeartMedia radio cluster serving the Youngstown area. Digital television expansion has allowed WYFX to host additional multicast services. The station has carried or relayed services including Laff, GetTV, Ion Television, Bounce TV, and a high-definition simulcast of MyNetworkTV programming associated with WYTV. These assignments changed over time as local stations reorganized their spectrum following federal spectrum-reallocation actions. Today, WYFX’s principal identity remains its Fox affiliation and its role as a Youngstown-area broadcast outlet supported by Nexstar’s local television group.

WYFX-LD began operation on September 6, 1998, as WYFX-LP, with a companion repeater serving the Masury, Ohio, area. The two facilities were created to provide full-time Fox programming to the Youngstown television market. Before their launch, local viewers received only partial Fox programming through WYTV, while Fox’s prime-time schedule and other network content reached the market through cable carriage of stations based in Pittsburgh or Cleveland. The stations initially marketed themselves as “Fox 40/62,” later adopting “Fox 31/62” and “Fox 17/62” as their channel identities changed. The Masury repeater’s call sign became WFXI-LP in 2000. It was later converted to a Class A facility on a different channel and was ultimately taken off the air in 2009, with its license returned to the Federal Communications Commission. WYFX remained the surviving Youngstown-area Fox outlet. During the late 2000s, the station began shifting its public identity from channel-number branding to “Fox Youngstown.” The change anticipated the disappearance of analog channel references and reflected the different channel positions used by cable providers. A redesigned logo introduced in 2009 removed the old numerical designations, making the market identity more prominent than the station’s terrestrial channel number. Because WYFX operates with a low-power license, its own digital signal reaches only a limited portion of the Youngstown area. Its programming has therefore also been distributed in high definition through WKBN-TV’s digital subchannel. A 2009 technical test demonstrated the feasibility of carrying two high-definition services on the WKBN signal, and WYFX’s high-definition distribution continued through WKBN until a later change moved the transmission to WYFX’s own antenna system. WYFX’s local news programming is produced by WKBN. In 2006, its prime-time newscast became an hour-long weekday program, later known as First News on Fox after the station’s branding change. WYFX also carried a weekday morning extension of WKBN’s local news operation while WKBN aired CBS Mornings. The combined operation moved to high-definition production in 2010, including the local news shown on WYFX. WKBN and WYFX have also maintained a news and weather relationship with several Youngstown-area iHeartMedia radio stations. Ownership changed several times in the 2010s. LIN TV acquired New Vision Television’s stations, including WYFX and WKBN, in 2012. Media General then acquired LIN Media in 2014. Nexstar Broadcasting Group acquired Media General in a transaction completed in January 2016, placing WYFX within Nexstar Media Group’s station portfolio. Digital multicast services became an increasingly important part of WYFX’s distribution. Laff and GetTV were added in 2015 and 2016. In 2018, spectrum-sharing changes involving WKBN-TV and WYTV resulted in further service reassignments, placing Ion Television, Bounce TV, Laff, GetTV, and a high-definition MyNetworkTV simulcast on WYFX’s digital multiplex at different times. The station’s core role, however, remains that of a Fox affiliate serving the Youngstown market through its own low-power signal, WKBN’s digital distribution, cable systems, and satellite or other television providers.

• 2018

  Digital multicast services are reorganized

  [1]WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org

  Spectrum-sharing changes lead to a broader and revised multicast lineup on WYFX.

• 2016

  Nexstar acquires Media General

  [1]WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org

  WYFX becomes part of Nexstar’s broadcast portfolio.

• 2014

  Media General acquires LIN Media

  [1]WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org

  The merger transfers WYFX to Media General ownership.

• 2012

  LIN TV acquires New Vision stations

  [1]WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org

  WYFX and WKBN become part of LIN TV’s station group after the acquisition of New Vision Television.

• 2009

  High-definition local news and digital distribution

  [1]WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org

  The WKBN-WYFX news operation adopts high-definition production, while WKBN tests and begins high-definition carriage of WYFX programming.

• 2009

  WFXI-CA shuts down

  [1]WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org

  The former Masury-area companion facility ceases operation and its license is returned to the FCC.

• 2008

  Fox Youngstown branding begins

  [1]WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org

  The station starts transitioning from numerical channel branding to the Fox Youngstown identity.

• 2006

  Prime-time local newscast expands

  [1]WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org

  WYFX’s WKBN-produced evening newscast becomes an hour-long weekday program.

• 2000

  Masury repeater changes call sign

  [1]WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org

  The W31BW repeater is renamed WFXI-LP.

• 1998

  WYFX-LP begins broadcasting

  [1]WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org

  WYFX-LP launches with a Masury repeater, bringing full-time Fox network service to the Youngstown market.

A local Fox television service for the Youngstown market, combining national network programming with locally produced news and weather supported by sister station WKBN-TV.

• broadcast television · 1998

  Fox network service

  WYFX’s principal service is Fox network programming for the Youngstown market, including entertainment, sports, news, and special events. Because the station is low-power, the service is supplemented by high-definition distribution through WKBN-TV’s digital infrastructure and by carriage on local television systems.

• local news · 2006

  First News on Fox

  This WKBN-produced evening newscast is the station’s principal local-news offering. It developed from the earlier First News at 10 on Fox program and expanded to an hour on weeknights. Coverage includes local reporting, weather, traffic, and other information relevant to the Youngstown viewing area.

• local news

  First News This Morning on Fox

  A weekday morning news service carried by WYFX while WKBN broadcasts CBS Mornings. The program extends the sister station’s local news operation to Fox viewers and provides morning local reporting and weather.

• digital television · 2015

  Digital multicast services

  WYFX has used its digital multiplex to carry additional services, including Laff, GetTV, Ion Television, Bounce TV, and a high-definition simulcast of MyNetworkTV programming. The exact channel assignments have changed as local broadcasters adjusted spectrum use and shared transmission capacity.

• 2018

  Reorganization of digital multicast capacityStrategy

  Background

  Nexstar’s spectrum and transmission changes involving WKBN-TV and WYTV required several multicast services to be reassigned.

  Action taken

  WYFX added or relocated Ion Television, Bounce TV, Laff, GetTV, and a high-definition MyNetworkTV simulcast across its digital subchannels.

  Aftermath

  WYFX took on a broader role as a digital distribution platform for services associated with the Youngstown station group.

  Source

• 2016

  Transfer to Nexstar ownershipM&A

  Background

  Nexstar Broadcasting Group agreed to acquire Media General and its stations, including WYFX.

  Action taken

  The FCC approved the transaction in January 2016, and the sale closed later that month.

  Aftermath

  WYFX became part of Nexstar’s national local-television operating group.

  announced transaction value. $4.6 billion (2015 acquisition announcement)

  Source

• 2012

  Transfer to LIN TV ownershipM&A

  Background

  New Vision Television agreed to sell its station group, including WYFX-LD and WKBN-TV, to LIN TV.

  Action taken

  The transaction received FCC approval and closed in October 2012.

  Aftermath

  WYFX joined LIN TV’s station portfolio and continued operating with WKBN and related WYTV service arrangements.

  announced purchase price. $330.4 million plus assumption of $12 million in debt (2012 transaction announcement)

  Source

• 2009

  Expansion of high-definition distributionOther

  Background

  WYFX’s low-power signal could not cover the entire Youngstown market, while digital television made high-definition subchannel distribution increasingly practical.

  Action taken

  WKBN tested dual high-definition operation and carried WYFX programming in high definition on a digital subchannel.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement extended WYFX’s reach beyond the immediate coverage area of its own transmitter.

  Source

• 2008

  Transition from channel-number branding to Fox YoungstownStrategy

  Background

  The station’s older Fox 17/62 identity depended on analog and cable channel references that were becoming less useful as digital television expanded and cable systems used different channel positions.

  Action taken

  WYFX gradually adopted Fox Youngstown branding and introduced redesigned visual identities that removed most numerical channel references.

  Aftermath

  The market-based identity became the station’s primary public brand by 2009.

  Source

1. 1WYFX-LDen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WKBN-TV official websitewkbn.com