WCTX

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WCTX
station_
station_slogan = Coverage You
Can Count On
station_branding = My TV 9
NewsChannel 8
analog = 59 (UHF)
digital = 39 (UHF)
affiliations = MyNetworkTV
Weather (on DT2)
founded = November 5, 1994
location = New Haven / Hartford, Connecticut
callsign_meaning = CT (Connecticut USPS abbreviation)
former_callsigns = WTVU (1994-1996)
WBNE (1996-2000)
owner = LIN TV
licensee = WTNH Broadcasting, Inc.
sister_stations = WTNH
former_affiliations = Independent (1994-1995)
The WB (1995-2001)
UPN (2001-2006)
effective_radiated_power = 5,000 kW (analog)
170 kW (digital)
HAAT = 314 m (analog)
301 m (digital)
facility_id = 33081
coordinates = coord|41|25|22.7|N|72|57|4.1|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.myzone.tv/ myzone.tv]

WCTX, channel 59, is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the state of Connecticut (except Fairfield County) that licensed to New Haven. Its transmitter is located northwest of Hamden. Owned by LIN TV, the station is sister to ABC affiliate WTNH. The two stations share studios on Elm Street in downtown New Haven. WCTX is available on channel 9 on almost all of Connecticut's cable systems and this is reflected in its on-air branding, "My TV 9". This branding is not to be confused with WWOR-TV in New York City which has a similar branding, "My 9". Syndicated programming on the station includes: "The King of Queens", "Reno 911!", "According to Jim", and "Scrubs".

Digital television

The station's digital signal is multiplexed. After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009, WCTX will continue digital broadcasts on its current pre-transition channel number, 39. However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display WCTX's virtual channel as 59.

History

A construction permit was issued for this station by the FCC in 1953, and was originally owned by the Connecticut Radio Foundation. However, that group was never able to get the station on the air, and sold the permit to Impart Systems in 1967. For many years, it served as a translator for New Britain-based NBC affiliate WVIT. But it took 41 years for this license to make it to air as a stand-alone operation. Of all the television licenses ever granted, this one took the longest to take effect. On November 5, 1994, channel 59 finally began broadcasting as a stand-alone independent station with the calls WTVU. It broadcasted initially on low-power, ran Shop at Home programming, and later adding coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

In April 1995, WTVU upgraded to full power operations. In June of that year, LIN TV took over control of the station through a local marketing agreement (LMA) with its owned station WTNH. With the LMA, came an affiliation with the new WB Television Network, which at that point had been airing its primetime programming on WTNH, following their Saturday late news. The LMA allowed WTVU to acquire other syndicated programs, some of which barter products or are second runs from WTNH. With of some of these clearances, the WB's Wednesday primetime lineup was seen on Saturday nights until the summer of 1996. They also began running classic sitcoms such as I Love Lucy, Happy Days, Honeymooners, Family Ties and others that fell off WTXX's schedule some years back. In that same year, the station changed its call letters to WBNE, for "Warner Brothers New England". After Tribune Broadcasting (a minority owner of the WB) purchased the area's UPN affiliate WTXX, WBNE and that station swapped network affiliations, an action that took place on January 1, 2001. With the new network relationship came the current WCTX calls and use of the on-air identity "The X". That identity was used in lieu of the conventional "UPN (channel number)" branding. LIN TV purchased WCTX outright in 2002. On September 19, 2005, WCTX became known as "UPN 9" which highlighted its channel position on some areas. This branding was the same as WWOR-TV in New York City, a station that is available over-the-air and on cable in southwestern Connecticut.

On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge to create a new network, the CW Television Network, jointly owned by CBS and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. WTXX was chosen as Connecticut's CW affiliate leaving WCTX to tentatively become an independent station once again. However, on April 26, WCTX announced it would join MyNetworkTV a new program service launched by the News Corporation's Fox Broadcasting Company unit. MyNetworkTV began broadcasting on September 5, and as a result, WCTX did not carry the final two weeks of programming from UPN. With its new network affiliation, the station changed its branding to the current "My TV 9". As of the 2007 / 2008 season, game broadcasts of the University of Connecticut men's college basketball games now air primarily on WCTX while a handful of games air on sister station WTNH. Until March 31, 2008, WCTX served (on cable) as the default MyNetworkTV affiliate for the Springfield / Holyoke, Massachusetts television market as that area did not have an affiliate of its own. However, ABC affiliate WGGB-TV added MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliation on its second digital subchannel on that date.

Newscasts

Since 2000, WTNH has been producing various newscasts for WCTX. Originally, there was a nightly, 35-minute 10 o'clock newscast known as "The 10 O'Clock News on WB 59". Currently, the 10 P.M. news is known as "NewsChannel 8 at 10 on My TV 9". In 2005, WCTX began simulcasting the 6 A.M. hour of WTNH's weekday morning news ("Good Morning Connecticut") followed by a second hour, 7 to 8 A.M., seen only on WCTX. The 6 A.M. hour was eventually dropped. The station broadcasts a 24-hour local weather channel on its second digital subchannel. It features a live radar feed, current conditions, and updated forecasts by WTNH meteorologists. The channel is also offered on WTNH's second digital subchannel and Cox digital cable.

News team

"Good Morning Connecticut on My TV 9"
"(Weekday Mornings 7 to 8 A.M.)"
*Anchors:
**Darren Kramer
**Sonia Baghdady
*Weather:
**Gil Simmons
*Traffic:
**Desiree Fontaine

"NewsChannel 8 at 10 on My TV 9"
"(Weeknights 10 to 10:35 P.M.)"
*Anchors:
**Keith Kountz
**Ann Nyberg
*Weather:
**Geoff Fox
*Sports:
**Noah Finz

"Weekends (10 to 10:30 P.M.)"
*Anchor:
**Sara Welch
*Weather:
**Gil Simmons
*Sports:
**John Pierson

"WCTX uses additional news personnel from WTNH. See that article for a complete listing."

External links

* [http://www.myzone.tv/ WCTX "My TV 9"]
* [http://www.wtnh.com/ WTNH "NewsChannel 8"]
*TVQ|WCTX