WUXP-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WUXP-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan =
station_branding = My30
analog = 30 (UHF)
digital = 21 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = MyNetworkTV
network =
founded =
airdate = February 18, 1984
location = Nashville, Tennessee
callsign_meaning = exploits the U and P from network UPN (former affiliation)
former_callsigns = WCAY-TV (1984-1989)
WXMT (1989-1996)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
licensee = WUXP Licensee, LLC
sister_stations = WNAB, WZTV
former_affiliations = independent (1984-1987)
Fox (1987-1990)
independent (1990-1995)
UPN (1995-2006)
effective_radiated_power = 5000 kW (analog)
1000 kW (digital)
HAAT = 432 m (analog)
413 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 9971
coordinates = coord|36|15|49.8|N|86|47|38.9|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.mytv30web.com/ www.mytv30web.com]

WUXP, channel 30 is the MyNetworkTV affiliate in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and is a sister station to Fox affiliate WZTV channel 17 and the CW affiliate WNAB channel 58. It is currently branded as My 30. Its transmitter is located in Whites Creek, Tennessee.

History

The station signed on the air on February 18, 1984 as WCAY-TV, owned by the TVX Broadcast Group, which had signed on a few other stations in other markets. The station had a general entertainment format with cartoons, sitcoms, movies, and drama shows.

Along with the other TVX stations, WCAY became a Fox affiliate at the network's 1986 inception as part of a group deal. Fox affiliated with all of TVX's stations as a condition of affiliating with WNOL-TV in New Orleans, Louisiana. However, there was a catch: if one of TVX's underperforming stations were sold, it could lose its Fox affiliation, and WCAY was lagging WZTV in the ratings. TVX acquired 5 stations from Taft Broadcasting, some which were in large markets, some independent and some Fox affiliates. TVX Group began to run into debt was heavily leveraged and after the 1987 stock market "bump", the larger investors started pulling their funding. One majority investor used their voting shares and influence to carve up the Group, selling off a number of their smaller market stations. WCAY and sister station WMKW channel 30 in Memphis were sold to MT Communications, which was headed by -- and named after -- Michael Thompson. WCAY then changed its call letters to WXMT.

In 1990, WZTV's owners, Act III Broadcasting -- who were known for buying stations in a medium market, then buying their competitor's programming assets and having the competitor change formats to religion or shopping or go dark altogether in one case -- offered to buy WXMT's entire programming inventory, move it to WZTV, and make WZTV a Fox affiliate. Originally, WXMT was to switch to home shopping 18 hours a day and religion 6 hours, but after negotiations it was decided that WZTV would get only cash programming (sitcoms, movies, some of the cartoons) and the Fox affiliation, while WXMT would keep barter cartoons, a few barter sitcoms plus some religious shows.

WXMT's schedule now looked like this: cartoons from 7-9 AM, religion 9 AM-noon, home shopping noon to 4 PM, low rated barter syndicated shows from 4 to 9 PM and home shopping after 9 PM. In 1991, WXMT provided Nashville its first-ever 9PM newscast in a deal with WSMV, channel 4, Nashville's NBC affiliate. The hour-long weeknight newscast, which featured WSMV's anchors and reporters, lasted less than two years before being replaced with syndicated programming.

Gradually, more first run talk shows, sitcoms and cartoons were added. By 1994, WXMT was once again running general entertainment full time. On January 16, 1995, the station became a UPN affiliate, and branded itself UPN 30. By then, WZTV was owned by Abry, and later that year, WZTV entered into a local marketing agreement with WXMT. MT Communications sold the station to a local owner, but WZTV would program the station. The call letters changed to the current WUXP on August 23, 1996 and would rebrand itself "UXP30" and "UPN Nashville" before going back to "UPN 30" in 2002.

The LMA continued after Sinclair acquired Abry. As time went on, cartoons disappeared gradually and more first run reality and talk shows would be added. In 2000, Sinclair bought WUXP outright.

On September 5, 2006, WUXP became a MyNetworkTV affiliate as My 30., moving UPN programming to late-nights until the network ceased transmission three weeks later. Occasionally as time now permits WUXP may carry CW or Fox network programming should WNAB or WZTV preempt in the event of a local special or an emergency such as a breaking news story.

Before the LMA with WZTV began, WXMT had planned to build a state-of-the-art studio facility along the "south loop" of Interstate 40 in Nashville. For many years, even after the plans had been abandoned, a retaining wall on the site featured a mural reading "Future Home of WXMT-30".

Digital Television

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Analog-to-digital conversion

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf] , WUXP-TV will remain on its current pre-transition channel number, 21. [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101233482&formid=387&fac_num=9971 CDBS Print ] ] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display WUXP-TV's virtual channel as 30.

External links

* [http://www.mytv30web.com/ Official site]
*TVQ|WUXP-TV
*BIA|WUXP|TV|TV

References