WYFX-LP

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WYFX-LP and WFXI-CA
station_
location = Youngstown, Ohio
station_branding = Fox 17/62
Fox Youngstown| station_slogan = "Where Your News Comes First"
analog = 62 (WYFX-LP) (UHF),
17 (WFXI-CA) (UHF)| digital = 41.2 (UHF), subchannel of WKBN-DT| affiliations = FOX
owner = New Vision Television
founded = 1998
callsign_meaning = Warren and Youngstown's FoX
former_affiliations = none"'
effective_radiated_power = WYFX-LP: 25 kw (analog)
WFXI-CA: 9.4 kw (analog)
homepage = [http://www.wkbn.com/wyfx 27 First News and Fox 17/62 homepage]

WYFX-LP is the FOX affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts on channel 62 as a low-power station. Its headquarters are located in Boardman Township with sister station WKBN-TV. The station's programs are also broadcast on another low-power station, WFXI-CA channel 17 (originally on channel 31) in Mercer, Pennsylvania, and the combined operation is identified on-air as Fox 17/62.

The station was launched in 1998 as the area's first full-time Fox affiliate. Previously, ABC affiliate WYTV showed some Fox Sports events from 1994-1998. With digital television in its infancy at the time, WYFX (as well as WFXI) was launched with its own signal as opposed to future stations WBCB and MY-YTV (which both were launched on a digital subchannel of WFMJ-TV and WYTV, respectively), and as a result has its own license with the FCC. Because of duopoly rules at the time (which would be repealed only two years later), the station was launched with low-power.

Although the station does not qualify under "must-carry" rules due to being low-power, it is carried on all area cable systems that are part of the Youngstown DMA due to its affiliation with Fox as well as being owned by WKBN, which does have "must-carry" status. It is, however, noticeably absent from Comcast cable systems in New Castle, Pennsylvania, which despite being considerably closer to Youngstown is part of the Pittsburgh DMA. A standard definition simulcast of the WYFX signal is also available on WKBN-TV's digital channel, which has the added benefit of greatly increasing the over-the-air range of the station, since WKBN's digital signal is very strong, and WYFX's signal is weak, barely extending much outside the Youngstown city limits.

For special sporting events, WKBN/WYFX has added a high-definition signal for WYFX via WKBN-DT 27.3. Otherwise, WYFX's FOX HDTV programming is available on some local cable systems.

On January 23, 2006, WYFX's "First News at 10 p.m. on FOX 17/62" became the Youngstown market's only hour-long evening newscast. It is currently anchored by Dave Sess or Whitney Ward, with Chief Meteorologist Don Guthrie providing weather reports, and Joe Aulisio on Sports. The station also airs morning news from 7-9 while WKBN is airing CBS's "The Early Show", while simulcasting the noon news from WKBN. All news programming is produced by WKBN and uses WKBN personalities.

Future

While the station is trying to get a license from the FCC to broadcast in digital full-power, the station is expected to remain on WKBN's digital subchannel 27.2 for the foreseeable future. The station does have a construction permit to broadcast as a Class A station on channel 35 in Youngstown.

In either scenario, the on-air branding of "Fox 17/62" would be rendered useless once the station would be forced to sign off its two low-powered analog signals in 2012 (low-powered analog signals have a later deadline for sign-off than the February 17th, 2009 signoff for full-powered analog signals). In 2008, the station started branding themselves as Fox Youngstown in some advertisements despite still using the current logo. The station is expected to be fully rebranded as "Fox Youngstown" by the start of the fall season, with a new logo already in use in advertisements for an upcoming "American Idol" tryouts at the Eastwood Mall in Niles. The new logo is similar to the current logo except that the "17/62" designation is removed as well as the WYFX calls being omitted from the logo.

External links

* [http://www.wkbn.com/wyfx WYFX Homepage at wkbn.com]
*TVQ|WYFX-LP
*TVQ|WFXI-CA