WXFT-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WXFT-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan =
station_branding = TeleFutura 60
analog = 60 (UHF)
digital_temporary = 59 (UHF)
digital = 59, moving to 50 (UHF) in 2009
other_chs =
subchannels = 60.1 TeleFutura
network =
founded =
airdate = April 20, 1982
location = Aurora/Chicago, Illinois
callsign_meaning = C(X)hicago/Xtreme TeleFuTura
(WCFT was already in use)
former_callsigns = WBBS-TV (1982-1987)
WEHS (1987-1992)
WEHS-TV (1992-2001)
WXFT (2001-2003)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Univision Communications, Inc.
licensee = TeleFutura Chicago, LLC
sister_stations = WGBO-TV, WOJO, WPPN
former_affiliations = Spanish independent (1982-1987)
HSN (1987-2002)
effective_radiated_power = 5000 kW (analog)
200 kW (digital)
172 kW (after 2009)
HAAT = 494 m (analog)
508.7 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 60539
coordinates = coord|41|52|44|N|87|38|8.9|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.univision.com/content/channel.jhtml?chid=6&schid=1611 TeleFutura]

WXFT-TV is a TeleFutura affiliated television station offering Spanish entertainment programming such as Spanish movies, serials, comedies, children's shows, and sports. Owned by Univision, the station is licensed to Aurora, Illinois, but serves the Greater Chicago market.

History

The original licensee of Channel 60 was WLXT-TV, which aired in 1969-1970, on evenings and weekends. 100% of WXLT's programming was in black-and-white. WLXT broadcast Northern Illinois University football on tape delay and Mickey Mouse cartoons (both, of course, in black and white). Channel 60 went dark in 1970. One part-time WLXT-60 employee was then high schooler, Jeff Skilling (brother of WGN-TV's Tom Skilling), who later became well known as a member of Enron Corporation's management team.

While Channel 60 remained dark, WSNS Channel 44 initially aired in 1970 (Instant News; and later general market programming, including White Sox, Bulls, Cougars (WHA Hockey), Blackhawks, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois basketball), religious WCFC Channel 38 (formerly the Chicago Federation of Labor's never-on-air WCFL-TV 38) went on-air in 1976, and WFBN-TV 66 in Joliet went on-air in 1981 (Financial News Network weekdays; Spectrum Subscription Pay-TV on evenings and weekends). Commercial channel allocations for WGMI TV 56 (later WDAI TV 56) in Gary, IN and Channel 62 in Hammond, IN remained dark.

Ultimately, Channel 60 re-emerged in 1982 after a compromise between two competing license applicants resulted in a unique compromise: Metrowest Corporation (later Newsweb Corporation) and HATCO-60 agreed to split the Channel 60 license. Metrowest's WPWR-TV Channel 60 would be licensed to the City of Aurora and broadcast from 2:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily, HATCO-60's WBBS-TV Channel 60 would be licensed to the City of West Chicago (located in western DuPage County, near the Kane County border) and broadcast from 7:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. daily.

Fred Eychaner's Metrowest Corporation originally applied for the license in 1978. Finally, after reaching the "compromise", in April 1982, WPWR-TV Channel 60, premiered with a large percentage of its broadcast schedule dedicated to a new subscription (pay) television service called SportsVision, which Eychaner had developed in a deal with Chicago White Sox owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn. To access the service, viewers had to pay for a set top converter and subscription fees to watch their favorite baseball team. However, SportsVision was not a success and moved to cable in January 1984. With SportsVision gone, Eychaner ran public domain movies and old sitcoms from the early to mid 1950s as well as old cartoons. In 1984, more familiar classic sitcoms and newer barter cartoons were mixed in.

The station was something of an oddity, especially for a major market, in that it was a split-licensed station. WPWR aired from 2:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week and was licensed to Aurora, Illinois. At 7 p.m., Spanish language station WBBS signed on. WBBS, owned by Marcelino Miyares and doing business as Hatco-60, broadcast a Spanish entertainment format and was licensed to West Chicago, Illinois (DuPage County).

However, at this point in Chicago's television history, the market could only handle two Spanish language stations. Three were on the air, including WCIU, WSNS, and WBBS. Though ratings were good for WBBS, the 1985 announcement that WSNS was affiliating with the Spanish International Network (SIN) caused WBBS to end weekday programming at the end of 1985: the exception was on the weekends when it broadcast Spanish movies into 1986.

Eychaner spent $1.5 million for WGMI (and later, WDAI), a channel 56 construction permit that had been held by a group of Indiana businessmen since 1976, but was never built. In 1982, Eychaner opted to help build Channel 60 with help from Marcelino Miyares. In 1985, Eychaner acquired the educational broadcast license for WCAE, Channel 50 (licensed to Gary, IN) which belonged to Lake Central School Corporation of St. John, IN. He then swapped the licenses and channel 56 became WYIN. Channel 50 became a commercial license with plans to be put on the air and re-dubbed WPWR with Channel 60's assets. The primary reason for swapping Channel 50 and 56 was due to the Channel 50 allocation was able to go on to the Sears Tower, while 56 was not (nor was Hammond-based WJYS Channel 62).

In early 1986, Eychaner bought WBBS's share of Channel 60 for $11 million. When Channel 50 was ready to sign on he sold Channel 60 to the Home Shopping Network (HSN) for $25 million. HSN changed the calls to WEHS and on January 17, 1987, went on the air right in the middle of a sale. At the same time, WPWR moved off Channel 60 and reappeared on Channel 50.

In January 1987, Silver King bought Channel 60 and ran Home Shopping Network programming. Barry Diller, who owned USA Network, acquired Silver King in the mid 1990s. The company became known by 1997 as USA Broadcasting. There were plans to convert Channel 60 to a general entertainment programming schedule, and USA almost sold to Disney (which would have made Channel 60 a sister to ABC-owned WLS-TV). However, the station was sold to Univision in a group deal. As a result, WEHS switched to Univision's new network, Telefutura.

There were rumors that Tribune Company would buy WXFT-TV from Univision, essentially creating a duopoly in Chicago with CW affiliate WGN-TV (channel 9). However, the Tribune Company is now selling off TV stations in order to reduce debt (notably in Atlanta and Boston). Tribune acquiring more stations is considered unlikely to happen.

WXFT's 5,000,000 watt transmitter on the 101st floor of the Sears Tower malfunctioned in the early hours of December 6, 2006, causing an alarm which forced action by the Chicago Fire Department to extinguish the smoldering equipment [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-061206sears-tower-fire,1,732720.story?coll=chi-news-hed] . The transmitter was destroyed, leaving only one-half power available. The station was also still available via cable due to a direct connection to local cable systems. A new transmitter was commissioned on January 11th, 2007, restoring normal operation.

References

External links

*TVQ|WXFT-TV
*BIA|WXFT|TV|TV