Independent TV station in Jacksonville, Florida
Not to be confused with
WJXX
.
WJXT
(channel 4) is an
independent television station
in
Jacksonville, Florida
, United States. It is owned by
Graham Media Group
alongside
CW
affiliate
WCWJ
(channel 17). The two stations share studios at 4 Broadcast Place on the south bank of the
St. Johns River
in Jacksonville; WJXT's transmitter is located on Anders Boulevard in the city's Killarney Shores section.
History
[
edit
]
As a CBS affiliate
[
edit
]
WJXT originally signed on the air on September 15, 1949, as WMBR-TV. It was Jacksonville's first television station, the second television station in Florida and a primary
CBS
affiliate on
VHF
channel 4 after
WTVJ
(also on channel 4, now an
NBC
owned-and-operated station
on channel 6) in
Miami
?
Fort Lauderdale
. The station was co-owned alongside WMBR radio (1460 AM,
[2]
now
WQOP
;
[3]
and 96.1 FM, now
WEJZ
). Though the station was originally a primary CBS affiliate, it also maintained secondary affiliations with NBC,
ABC
and the
DuMont Television Network
. In 1953, the WMBR stations were purchased by
The Washington Post Company
. WMBR-TV dropped the DuMont affiliation in 1955, less than a year before the network ceased operations. Since its only competition in the Jacksonville market came from UHF station
WJHP-TV
(which signed on in 1953 and went dark three years later), channel 4 had a virtual television monopoly in northern Florida until September 1957, when it lost the NBC affiliation to upstart WFGA (channel 12, now
WTLV
).
The Washington Post Company sold WMBR-AM-FM in 1958, while it kept the television station, whose callsign it changed to the current WJXT. WJXT remained a primary CBS and secondary ABC affiliate until WJKS-TV (channel 17, now
CW
sister station
WCWJ
) took the ABC affiliation upon its sign-on in February 1966, leaving WJXT exclusively with CBS. For much of its tenure as a CBS affiliate, WJXT was the only station affiliated with the network that was located between
Savannah, Georgia
, and
Orlando, Florida
, and was thus carried on many cable systems between Jacksonville and Orlando.
In 1973, WJXT's
FCC
license renewal was challenged by supporters of President
Richard Nixon
following the
Watergate
coverage of his administration by
The Washington Post
, whose
parent company
owned the station. Robert W. Schellenberg, WJXT's general manager, successfully led the effort to defeat the opposition.
[4]
In 2001, WJXT was awarded the local broadcast rights to
Jacksonville Jaguars
preseason football games, replacing WTLV as the official station for the
NFL
franchise (WTLV had carried preseason games and Jaguars-related programs starting with the team's
1995 inaugural season
); the deal also included carriage of the team's coaches show and other Jaguars-related television programs.
[5]
The station had already been airing Jaguars games since
1998
, when
CBS
gained the national broadcast rights to football games from the NFL's
American Football Conference
division. That year, speculation arose that WJXT would become an independent station after it had reached only a one-year affiliation renewal with the network, instead of a four to eight-year affiliation agreement that stations usually obtain from the major broadcast networks.
[6]
Independence
[
edit
]
During negotiations between Post-Newsweek Stations and CBS on a new affiliation agreement in early 2002, CBS supplied Post-Newsweek with a list of demands that would have resulted in WJXT no longer receiving monetary compensation for the carriage of the network's programming (CBS was moving toward a
reverse compensation
model for its affiliates during this time) and would have required the station to run the entire CBS network schedule in pattern without preemptions, except for extended local breaking news and severe weather coverage. Station and Post-Newsweek company management believed these stipulations would come at the expense of local programming.
[7]
[8]
Rather than give in to CBS' demands, Post-Newsweek Stations announced on April 3, 2002, that it would not renew channel 4's affiliation agreement with CBS, which was set to expire on July 10.
[7]
[8]
[9]
UPN
affiliate WTEV-TV (channel 47, now
WJAX-TV
)?at that time owned by
Clear Channel Communications
?subsequently signed an agreement with CBS to become the network's new Jacksonville affiliate two weeks after WJXT's disaffiliation announcement on April 23, 2002.
[10]
The affiliation switch became official at 5 a.m. on July 15, 2002, ending WJXT's 53-year association with CBS. This also triggered an affiliation switch in
Gainesville
where
WGFL
became a CBS affiliate; that station was a primary affiliate of The WB at the time.
As an independent, WJXT expanded its news programming and began filling daytime, prime time and late night timeslots that were formerly occupied by CBS programs with additional syndicated programming, as well as replacing
network sports coverage
with
SEC
college football
and
basketball
telecasts from the
syndicated sports provider
Jefferson Pilot Sports (later
Raycom Sports
).
[11]
WJXT retained rights to Jaguars preseason games for one additional year following the switch, despite the fact that the AFC regular season and playoff football games had moved to WTEV due to national broadcast rights held by CBS and a contract stipulation that reserved the team the right to move local broadcasts of preseason games and other Jaguars programs to another station if WJXT changed its network affiliation.
[12]
[13]
The team cut ties with WJXT after the 2002 NFL preseason and moved its preseason games to WTEV-TV in
2003
.
[14]
WJXT does not entirely follow the same "Local" branding scheme as its Graham Media sister stations, although it uses the on-air slogan "
The
Local Station", and in 2014, the station adopted a slanted logo similar to
Detroit
NBC affiliate
WDIV-TV
, but with elements of its previous boxed 4, alongside changing its news branding to
News4JAX
.
On May 27, 2016, it was announced that CW affiliate WCWJ, along with
WSLS-TV
in
Roanoke, Virginia
, would be sold to Graham Media for $120 million as part of the station divestitures required as a result of the pending merger of the
Nexstar Broadcasting Group
, then-owners of WCWJ, and WCWJ's former owner
Media General
.
[15]
The sale was approved by the FCC on January 11, 2017, and completed January 17,
[16]
making WJXT part of a
duopoly
(Graham Media's first) with WCWJ.
News operation
[
edit
]
WJXT presently broadcasts 59 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 10 hours each weekday,
5
+
1
⁄
2
hours on Saturdays and
3
+
1
⁄
2
hours on Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to local news programming, it is the third-highest newscast output among Florida's television stations, behind Fox stations
WTVT
in
Tampa
and
WSVN
in Miami (which respectively broadcast
72
+
1
⁄
2
and
63
+
1
⁄
2
hours of newscasts each week).
Because of the ownership structure of the Jacksonville market's Big Four network affiliates, WJXT is the only television station in the market whose news department operates independently of the other local stations (WTLV and WJXX have jointly produced their newscasts since WTLV owner Gannett's 2000 purchase of WJXX and the resulting consolidation of their news departments, and WAWS transferred production duties of its news department to
SSA
partner WTEV following that station's 2002 affiliation switch to CBS).
Channel 4 used the
Eyewitness News
format for its newscasts for 38 years from 1967 to 2005, when its newscasts were retitled as
Channel 4 News.
From 1997 until the station became independent in 2002, WJXT identified as
News Channel 4
for general branding purposes, while the
Eyewitness News
title continued in use for its newscasts. This made for some rather verbose station announcements ("From WJXT News Channel 4 ... this is Eyewitness News").
[17]
Since 2014, it has been known as
News 4 Jax,
a nod to its longtime Website URL.
WJXT has been the dominant news station in Jacksonville for almost half a century, in part because many of its personalities have been at the station for ten years or more. Its evening news team of anchors Tom Wills and Deborah Gianoulis, chief meteorologist
George Winterling
and sports director Sam Kouvaris were together for 22 years from 1981 until Gianoulis' retirement in 2003 ? one of the longest-running anchor teams in the nation at the time.
[18]
Upon losing its CBS affiliation, channel 4 rebranded as a news-intensive independent station. Following the example of a number of former Big Three affiliates that switched to Fox in the 1990s, it has a news schedule similar to its days as a CBS affiliate. It retained all existing newscasts, while tacking two additional hours onto its weekday morning program and adding a 6:30 p.m. newscast on weeknights (the former two replacing
The Early Show
and the
CBS Evening News
) and a 10 p.m. newscast seven nights a week (airing for an hour on weeknights and a half-hour on weekends).
On January 14, 2009, beginning with its noon newscast, WJXT became the first television station in the Jacksonville market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in
high definition
(unlike most stations that transition their newscasts to HD, certain newscasts were not upgraded until later dates: the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts would not upgrade to HD until two days later on January 16; the weekend newscasts on January 17 and the weekday morning, and 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts respectively upgraded to HD on January 26 and 28).
[19]
The upgrade saw the introduction of new on-air graphics (opens were designed in-house at Detroit sister station WDIV-TV, while the graphics were designed at Miami sister station
WPLG
) and
news music
(commissioning an updated version of the "WJXT News Theme", a customized package that was originally used from 1992 to 1997, and was composed specifically for the station by
Gari Media Group
), as well as the upgrade to robotic and computer-operated cameras for studio segments within its newscasts, the automation of its
control room
using the Miranda Vertigo system and Ignite technology.
On April 23, 2009, George Winterling announced he would semi-retire after nearly 47 years as WJXT's chief meteorologist. On May 20, 2009, Winterling stepped down as meteorologist for the station's 6 and 6:30 p.m. newscasts.
[20]
On May 21, 2012,
Metro Jacksonville
, a news and discussion blog on local urban issues, announced that it would enter into a content partnership with WJXT. Under the agreement,
Metro Jacksonville
formats content for WJXT's News4Jax.com website on a self-branded page. The mutually beneficial partnership provides WJXT with more web content and provides
Metro Jacksonville
with a wider audience.
[21]
On October 28, 2013, WJXT expanded its weekday morning newscast to 5½ hours, with the addition of an hour to the program from 9 to 10 a.m.
[22]
Notable former on-air staff
[
edit
]
Technical information
[
edit
]
Subchannels
[
edit
]
The station's signal is
multiplexed
:
Analog-to-digital conversion
[
edit
]
On June 12, 2009, at 8:55 a.m. (during its broadcast of the weekday morning newscast
The Morning Show
), WJXT terminated its analog signal, on VHF channel 4, as part of the
federally mandated transition from analog to digital television
.
[25]
The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 42,
[26]
using
virtual channel
4.
WJXT anchor/reporter Melanie Lawson reported live from WJXT's Killarney Shores transmitter site as a veteran station technician pushed the "plate off" button in the building at the base of the transmitter. The WJXT analog signal had transmitted from that site for over two decades following a failure on the original transmitter tower at the station's 4 Broadcast Place studios. The station's digital transmitter also broadcasts from the same site, alongside the digital transmitters of NBC affiliate WTLV and ABC affiliate WJXX. Several monitors at WJXT's South Bank studios were reported by on-camera talent to have gone out upon the digital switchover.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Facility Technical Data for WJXT"
.
Licensing and Management System
.
Federal Communications Commission
.
- ^
"Directory of Standard (AM) Broadcasting Stations in the United States"
.
Broadcasting Yearbook
. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1949
. Retrieved
March 3,
2016
.
- ^
"Station Search Details"
.
licensing.fcc.gov
.
Archived
from the original on March 7, 2016
. Retrieved
April 25,
2018
.
- ^
Colee Jr., Donn (2016).
Towers in the Sand, The History of Florida Broadcasting
. Salem Author Services.
ISBN
9781635053517
.
- ^
WJXT TV-4 adds new features in station's official coverage of Jaguars
Archived
June 7, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Florida Times-Union
, August 31, 2001.
- ^
Basch, Mark (November 20, 2001).
"Speculation aside, WJXT plans to stay with CBS"
.
The Florida Times-Union
. Archived from
the original
on June 7, 2014.
- ^
a
b
McAlister, Nancy (April 4, 2002).
"CBS dumped by local affiliate"
.
The Florida Times-Union
. Archived from
the original
on December 3, 2013.
- ^
a
b
Basch, Mark (April 5, 2002).
"TV-4's decision rooted in bottom line"
.
The Florida Times-Union
. Archived from
the original
on June 6, 2014.
- ^
WJXT-TV 4 to drop CBS
Archived
March 28, 2015, at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Florida Times-Union
, April 3, 2002.
- ^
TV-47 to become new CBS affiliate
Archived
September 28, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Florida Times-Union
, April 23, 2002.
- ^
TV-4 lands SEC football, basketball
Archived
June 7, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Florida Times-Union
, April 19, 2002.
- ^
WJXT keeps preseason Jags games
Archived
June 6, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Florida Times-Union
, May 25, 2002.
- ^
Affiliate change means Jags are TV free agents
Archived
June 6, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Florida Times-Union
, April 23, 2002.
- ^
Changing channels; Jaguars to drop TV-4, near deal with TV-47
Archived
June 7, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Florida Times-Union
, March 6, 2003.
- ^
"Nexstar Selling Five Stations in Four Markets"
.
TVNewsCheck
. May 27, 2016
. Retrieved
May 27,
2016
.
- ^
Nexstar Broadcasting Group Completes Acquisition of Media General Creating Nexstar Media Group, The Nation's Second Largest Television Broadcaster
Nexstar Media Group, January 17, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^
NewmanNewsman (September 17, 2007).
"WJXT CBS Jacksonville, FL 1998 Open"
.
Archived
from the original on June 17, 2016
. Retrieved
April 25,
2018
– via YouTube.
- ^
Gianoulis drops anchor to chart new course
Archived
November 5, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Florida Times-Union
, June 9, 2003.
- ^
WJXT first station to broadcast local news in HD
Archived
January 17, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Florida Times-Union
, January 14, 2009.
- ^
After nearly 50 years, TV-4's Winterling leaves daily duties
Archived
October 8, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Florida Times-Union
, April 24, 2009.
- ^
MetroJacksonville.com & Channel 4 Partnership Launches
Archived
June 24, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
,
Metro Jacksonville
, November 19, 2012.
- ^
WJXT Expands 'The Morning Show'
Archived
March 27, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
,
TVNewsCheck
, October 24, 2013.
- ^
"ESPN's Mike Patrick to receive JU honor"
.
Archived
from the original on April 17, 2010
. Retrieved
September 16,
2012
.
- ^
"Digital TV Market Listing for WJXT"
.
RabbitEars.Info
.
Archived
from the original on February 11, 2017
. Retrieved
January 26,
2017
.
- ^
"DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds"
(PDF)
. August 29, 2013. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013
. Retrieved
March 20,
2023
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
"CDBS Print"
.
fcc.gov
. Retrieved
April 25,
2018
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with
cable television
|
Full-power
|
- WJXT
(4.1
Ind.
, 4.2
Dabl
, 4.3
Start
)
- WJCT
(7.1
PBS
, 7.2
Create
, 7.3
Kids
, 7.4
The Florida Channel
/More!, 7.5
World
)
- WTLV
(12.1
NBC
, 12.2
ANT
, 12.3
Crime
, 12.4
Defy
, 12.5
LC
, 12.6
HSN
, 12.7
Comet
, 12.8
Charge!
)
- WCWJ
(17.1
CW
, 17.2
Bounce
, 17.3
Movies!
, 17.4
Get
)
- WPXC-TV
(21.1
Ion
, 21.2
Court
, 21.3
Mystery
, 21.4
Grit
, 21.5
Defy
, 21.6
Laff
, 21.7
Scripps
, 21.8
QVC
, 21.9
QVC2
)
- WJXX
(25.1
ABC
, 25.2/.8 FCN Wx, 25.3
Quest
, 25.4
Mystery
, 25.5
Nest
, 25.6/.7
[Blanks]
)
- WFOX-TV
(30.1
Fox
, 30.2
MNT
/
MeTV
, 30.3
H&I
, 30.4
TMD
)
- WJAX-TV
(47.1
CBS
, 47.2
Cozi
, 47.3
Catchy
)
- WJEB-TV
(59.1
TBN
, 59.2
Inspire
, 59.3
Smile
)
|
---|
Low-power
|
- WJKF-CD
(9.1
Ind.
, 9.2
Story
, 9.3
NOST
, 9.4
RNowTV
)
- WJXE-LD
(10.1/.3/.4
Ads
, 10.2
beIN
, 10.5 Carz & Trax)
- WUJX-LD
(18.1
Estrella
, 18.2
LATV
, 18.3 Infomercials)
- WKBJ-LD
(20.1
Buzzr
, 20.2 [blank], 20.3 Infomercials, 20.4
beIN Sports Xtra
, 20.5
The365
, 20.6
LC
, 20.7
Outlaw
)
- WJVF-LD
(23.1
Ind.
)
- WWRJ-LD
(27.1
Ind.
)
- WUBF-LD
(29.1
Rel.
)
- WUJF-LD
(33.1
Daystar
, 33.2 DS Espanol)
- WODH-LD
(34.1/.2
beIN
, 34.3 Novelisima, 34.4/.5/.6
Ads
)
- WRCZ-LD
(35.1/.2/.3
Ads
, 35.4
The365
, 35.5
Outlaw
, 35.6
Ads
, 35.7
JTV
)
- W30EE-D
(39.1
HSN
, 39.2
QVC
, 39.3
HSN2
, 39.4
QVC2
, 39.5
QVC3
, 39.6
Dabl
)
- WBXJ-CD (43.1
This
, 43.2
SBN
, 43.3
QVC
, 43.4
Shop LC
, 43.5
Country
)
- W50CO-D
(50.1
3ABN
, 50.2
Proclaim!
, 50.3
D2D
, 50.4
3ABN Latino
, 50.5
3ABN Radio
, 50.6
Radio Latino
, 50.7
Radio 74
)
|
---|
Outlying areas
|
- W06DI-D
(6.1
Ind.
;
Jasper
)
- WXGA-TV
(8.1
PBS
/
GPB
, 8.2
Create
, 8.3
Knowledge
, 8.4
Kids
;
Waycross, Georgia
)
- WQXT-CD
(22.1
Retro
, 22.2
Ind.
/A1A TV, 22.3
Action
, 22.4
Heartland
, 22.5
Rev'n
, 22.6
NewsNet
, 22.7 Walk, 22.8
Rel.
, 22.9 Q-Radio
(Audio)
);
St. Augustine
)
- WJGV-CD
(48.1
Ind.
/
NRB
,
48.2
Rel.
, 48.3
Faith USA
, 48.4
BVOVN
;
Palatka
)
|
---|
Cable
| |
---|
Streaming
| |
---|
Defunct
| |
---|
|
|
---|
Atlanta
stations
| Religious stations
| |
---|
Spanish stations
| |
---|
Other stations
| |
---|
|
---|
Other
markets
| Religious stations
| |
---|
Other stations
|
- WRBL-DT 3.3
(
Ion
,
Columbus
)
- WJXT 4
(
Ind.
,
Jacksonville, FL
)
- WCTV-DT 6.3
(
Ion
,
Thomasville
)
- WJBF-DT 6.3
(
Ion
,
Augusta
)
- WSPA-DT 7.3
(
Ion
,
Spartanburg, SC
)
- WTOC-DT 11.5
(
Ion
,
Savannah
)
- WGGS-TV 16
(
Rel.
,
Greenville, SC
)
- WPXC-TV 21
(
Ion
,
Brunswick
)
- WSCG 35
(
various, see article
;
Baxley
)
- WMUB-LD 38
(
France 24
,
Macon
)
- WMYA-TV 40
ATSC 3.0
(
Dabl
,
Anderson, SC
)
- WDGA-CD 43
(
Heartland
,
Dalton
)
- WSWG-DT 44.4
(
Ion
,
Valdosta
)
- WDNN-CD 49
(
Ind.
,
Dalton
)
- WTLH 49
(
H&I
,
Bainbridge
)
- WPGA-LD 50
(
Scripps News
,
Macon
)
- WPGA-TV 58
(
MeTV
,
Perry
)
- WPGA-DT 58.3
(
Ion
,
Perry
)
- WDSI-TV 61
(
Crime
,
Chattanooga, TN
)
- WGBP-TV 66
(
LX
,
Opelika, AL
)
|
---|
|
---|
Defunct
| |
---|
|