WGXA
Encyclopedia
WGXA is the Fox affiliated television station
for Central Georgia
that is licensed to Macon
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 16 from a transmitter on GA 87/U.S. 23/U.S. 129 Alternate
(Golden Isles Highway) along the Twiggs
and Bibb
County line. The station can also be seen on Cox
channel 2 and in high definition on digital channel 702. Owned by Frontier Radio Management, it has studios on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (GA 11
/GA 22
/GA 49
/U.S. 80
/U.S. 129
) in Downtown Macon. Syndicated
programming on WGXA includes: Ellen
, Two and a Half Men
, Everybody Hates Chris
, and Judge Jeanine Pirro
.
affiliate on a second
digital subchannel. Known on-air as ABC 16 after the physical digital channel location, this can also be seen on Cox channel 15 and in high definition on digital channel 715. Syndicated programming on WGXA-DT2 includes: Entertainment Tonight
, The Insider
, Extra
, and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
. The channel space for WGXA is split into two 720p
high definition signals for the original service and the second digital subchannel. 720p is the native broadcasting format for both networks.
On February 17, 2009 at noon, WGXA turned-off its analog transmitter and continued to broadcast its digital signal on channel 16 using PSIP to display on digital television as virtual channel
24.
affiliate. It was the last of the big three
stations in Middle Georgia after CBS
affiliate WMAZ-TV
and NBC
affiliate WCWB-TV (now WMGT-TV
). Prior to that time, ABC programming was only available to area residents either during the off-network hours (via tape delay) on WMAZ or on affiliates from nearby markets
such as Atlanta's WXIA (later WSB-TV
) or Columbus
' WTVM
. This made Macon one of the last markets in the country to get full network service.
During its years as an ABC affiliate, WGXA preempted various network news programs such as the Saturday and Sunday editions of World News Tonight
(instead showing syndicated reruns of various shows), ABC World News This Morning (instead showing cartoons), Nightline (instead showing The Arsenio Hall Show
), and This Week with David Brinkley
. When NFL
broadcasts moved from CBS to Fox in the early-1990s, WGXA aired them on Sunday afternoons until WPGA-TV
signed-on as the area's first Fox affiliate in 1995.
The station was purchased in July of that year by GOCOM Communications. On January 1, 1996, WGXA and WPGA swapped affiliations resulting in this station becoming a full Fox affiliate and WPGA joining ABC. On October 29, 2009 WPGA's owner, Register Communications, announced it would drop ABC and go Independent on New Year's Day
2010. The company cited current network programming that is not "family-friendly", specifically homosexual content, as its reason for dropping ABC. Shortly afterward, WGXA entered a long-term agreement with ABC and once again picked up the network as an affiliate on a new second digital subchannel. In effect, it regained the affiliation given up fourteen years earlier.
Cox had intended to remove WPGA from its lineup and place WGXA-DT2 on channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 706. However on December 22, WPGA was granted a temporary restraining order requiring Cox to continue to carry that station on those channels. As a result, WGXA-DT2 is instead seen on channel 15 pre-empting what is usually the channel space for The Inspiration Network until the settlement of WPGA's issues. On April 30, 2010, the court dismissed WPGA's case which would have allowed WGXA-DT2 to be seen on Cox channels 6 and 706 while WPGA moved to another channel. However, Register fileed an appeal. In light of this, the judge ordered Cox to leave WPGA at channels 6 and 706 until an appeals court hears the case. In addition, Register also filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) over the status of WPGA.
On June 23, 2011, it was announced that the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that would enable Cox to drop WPGA from its line-up, effective July 28. On that date, WGXA-DT2 will simulcast on its new slot on channel 6, as well as its current channel 15 position; on August 28, it will be seen on channel 6 only, with channel 15 replaced with another channel.
On July 12, 2011 Register filed a complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, seeking an injunction to prevent Cox from not only dropping WPGA, but from giving channel 6 to WGXA-DT2. However, Cox announced that their plan will continue anyway, despite the complaint, as the previous court case authorised them to make the changes.
On January 1, 2011, WGXA TV programming was removed from Dish Network in a dispute with the satellite carrier over retransmission fees. Subscribers of Dish Network lost both WGXA's "ABC-16" and "Fox-24" channels as a result. Both channels has since been restored on Dish Network.
affiliate WGNM. On January 5, 2008, it began airing a weekend edition of its 10 o'clock show. Starting March 1, 2010, there were new weeknight 7 and 11 o'clock broadcasts (along with weekday morning Good Morning America
weather cut-ins) added to WGXA-DT2 which required an expansion of the news department and personnel. Those newscasts have a separate anchor team but utilize the same reporting, weather, and sports personnel.
On the same day, the main channel also launched a weeknight newscast at 5:30. In a report in the May 28, 2010 edition of The Macon Telegraph, it was announced that a talk show hosted by Kenny Burgamy, Charles Richardson, and Liz Fabian would no longer be airing its weekday morning show on WPGA-TV and WPGA-FM
100.9 after July 20. The morning news, talk, information, and entertainment show moved to the WGXA stations as well as WMAC-AM 940 on July 26. Known as NewsTalk Central, the program currently airs on weekdays from 6 to 7 on WGXA-DT2 and from 6 to 9 on the main signal. The Good Morning America weather cut-ins continue to be seen. The weeknight news anchors also serve as reporters.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for Central Georgia
Central Georgia
Central Georgia refers to the region containing the metropolitan region surrounding the city of Macon, in Bibb County in the U.S. state of Georgia....
that is licensed to Macon
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 16 from a transmitter on GA 87/U.S. 23/U.S. 129 Alternate
U.S. Route 129
U.S. Route 129 is an offshoot route of U.S. Route 29, which it intersects near Athens, Georgia. US 129 currently runs for 582 miles from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Chiefland, Florida, at U.S. Route 19 and U.S. Route 98. It passes through the states of Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida...
(Golden Isles Highway) along the Twiggs
Twiggs County, Georgia
Twiggs County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on December 14, 1809. As of 2000, the population was 10,590. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 10,280...
and Bibb
Bibb County, Georgia
Bibb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 153,887. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 154,709...
County line. The station can also be seen on Cox
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
channel 2 and in high definition on digital channel 702. Owned by Frontier Radio Management, it has studios on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (GA 11
Georgia State Route 11
State Route 11 runs the entire length of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the longest route in the state. The route begins at the Florida state line south of Statenville. The route travels north cosigned with US 129 through Statenville, Lakeland, Nashville, Ocilla, Fitzgerald, and Abbeville, before...
/GA 22
Georgia State Route 22
State Route 22 is a state route located in the central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The route travels from the Alabama state line in Columbus east, then northeast, then north, to Comer.-Route description:...
/GA 49
Georgia State Route 49
State Route 49 is a north–south state route located in the central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The route travels from State Route 45 north of Dawson to State Route 22/State Route 24 and State Route 112 in Milledgeville.-Route description:...
/U.S. 80
U.S. Route 80
U.S. Route 80 is an east–west United States highway, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the route number indicates, it was originally a cross-country route, from the Atlantic to the Pacific...
/U.S. 129
U.S. Route 129
U.S. Route 129 is an offshoot route of U.S. Route 29, which it intersects near Athens, Georgia. US 129 currently runs for 582 miles from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Chiefland, Florida, at U.S. Route 19 and U.S. Route 98. It passes through the states of Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida...
) in Downtown Macon. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on WGXA includes: Ellen
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
, Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
, and Judge Jeanine Pirro
Judge Jeanine Pirro
Judge Jeanine Pirro is an American reality series that debuted on The CW on September 22, 2008...
.
Digital programming
It operates the area's ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate on a second
WGXA-DT2
WGXA-DT2 is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Georgia. The station is a second digital subchannel of Fox affiliate WGXA that is owned by Frontier Radio Management. Over-the-air, it broadcasts a digital signal on UHF channel 16.2 from a transmitter on GA 87/U.S. 23/U.S. 129 Alternate...
digital subchannel. Known on-air as ABC 16 after the physical digital channel location, this can also be seen on Cox channel 15 and in high definition on digital channel 715. Syndicated programming on WGXA-DT2 includes: Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, The Insider
The Insider (TV series)
The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
, Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
, and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (U.S. syndicated game show)
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a daily syndicated version of the former primetime American quiz game show of the same name that aired on Fox. It ran from September 21, 2009 to March 24, 2011 and was produced by Mark Burnett, and, like the primetime version, was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy...
. The channel space for WGXA is split into two 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
high definition signals for the original service and the second digital subchannel. 720p is the native broadcasting format for both networks.
On February 17, 2009 at noon, WGXA turned-off its analog transmitter and continued to broadcast its digital signal on channel 16 using PSIP to display on digital television as virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
24.
| Channel | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24.1 | 720p 720p 720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
Main WGXA programming / Fox |
| 24.2 | WGXA-DT2 "ABC 16" |
History
WGXA began broadcasting on April 21, 1982 as an ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate. It was the last of the big three
Big Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...
stations in Middle Georgia after CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WMAZ-TV
WMAZ-TV
WMAZ-TV, channel 13, is the CBS affiliate television station in Macon, Georgia, United States. It is owned by Gannett.-History:The station signed on for the first time on September 27, 1953, owned by Southeastern Broadcasting Company along with WMAZ radio...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WCWB-TV (now WMGT-TV
WMGT-TV
WMGT-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Georgia that is licensed to Macon. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 40 from a transmitter on GA 87/U.S. 23/U.S. 129 Alternate along the Bibb and Twiggs County line. The station is the flagship of owner Morris...
). Prior to that time, ABC programming was only available to area residents either during the off-network hours (via tape delay) on WMAZ or on affiliates from nearby markets
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
such as Atlanta's WXIA (later WSB-TV
WSB-TV
WSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...
) or Columbus
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
' WTVM
WTVM
WTVM is the ABC-affiliated television station for Columbus, Georgia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter in Cusseta. The station can also be seen on Charter, Knology, and Mediacom channel 10...
. This made Macon one of the last markets in the country to get full network service.
During its years as an ABC affiliate, WGXA preempted various network news programs such as the Saturday and Sunday editions of World News Tonight
World News with Charles Gibson
ABC World News is the flagship daily evening program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting Company television network in the United States. Currently, the weekday editions are anchored by Diane Sawyer and the weekend editions are anchored by David Muir. The program has been...
(instead showing syndicated reruns of various shows), ABC World News This Morning (instead showing cartoons), Nightline (instead showing The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show is an American variety/talk show that aired late weeknights in syndication from January 3, 1989 to May 27, 1994. The show was created and hosted by comedian/actor Arsenio Hall.- Background :...
), and This Week with David Brinkley
This Week (ABC TV series)
This Week is ABC's Sunday morning political affairs program.The Sunday morning talk show has aired on Sunday mornings on ABC since 1981; the program is initially aired at 9:00 AM ET, although many stations air the program later, especially those in other time zones...
. When NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
broadcasts moved from CBS to Fox in the early-1990s, WGXA aired them on Sunday afternoons until WPGA-TV
WPGA-TV
WPGA-TV is an Independent, Me-TV and Bounce TV affiliated television station serving Macon, Georgia and the Middle Georgia region. It broadcasts digitally on UHF channel 32...
signed-on as the area's first Fox affiliate in 1995.
The station was purchased in July of that year by GOCOM Communications. On January 1, 1996, WGXA and WPGA swapped affiliations resulting in this station becoming a full Fox affiliate and WPGA joining ABC. On October 29, 2009 WPGA's owner, Register Communications, announced it would drop ABC and go Independent on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
2010. The company cited current network programming that is not "family-friendly", specifically homosexual content, as its reason for dropping ABC. Shortly afterward, WGXA entered a long-term agreement with ABC and once again picked up the network as an affiliate on a new second digital subchannel. In effect, it regained the affiliation given up fourteen years earlier.
Cox had intended to remove WPGA from its lineup and place WGXA-DT2 on channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 706. However on December 22, WPGA was granted a temporary restraining order requiring Cox to continue to carry that station on those channels. As a result, WGXA-DT2 is instead seen on channel 15 pre-empting what is usually the channel space for The Inspiration Network until the settlement of WPGA's issues. On April 30, 2010, the court dismissed WPGA's case which would have allowed WGXA-DT2 to be seen on Cox channels 6 and 706 while WPGA moved to another channel. However, Register fileed an appeal. In light of this, the judge ordered Cox to leave WPGA at channels 6 and 706 until an appeals court hears the case. In addition, Register also filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) over the status of WPGA.
On June 23, 2011, it was announced that the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that would enable Cox to drop WPGA from its line-up, effective July 28. On that date, WGXA-DT2 will simulcast on its new slot on channel 6, as well as its current channel 15 position; on August 28, it will be seen on channel 6 only, with channel 15 replaced with another channel.
On July 12, 2011 Register filed a complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, seeking an injunction to prevent Cox from not only dropping WPGA, but from giving channel 6 to WGXA-DT2. However, Cox announced that their plan will continue anyway, despite the complaint, as the previous court case authorised them to make the changes.
On January 1, 2011, WGXA TV programming was removed from Dish Network in a dispute with the satellite carrier over retransmission fees. Subscribers of Dish Network lost both WGXA's "ABC-16" and "Fox-24" channels as a result. Both channels has since been restored on Dish Network.
News operation
Within a few months of signing-on, WGXA surged to second place behind WMAZ because its news product was far more modern than that of WCWB. For a brief time in the 1990s as an ABC affiliate, its weeknight 6 o'clock broadcast was repeated at 10 on then UPNUPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
affiliate WGNM. On January 5, 2008, it began airing a weekend edition of its 10 o'clock show. Starting March 1, 2010, there were new weeknight 7 and 11 o'clock broadcasts (along with weekday morning Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
weather cut-ins) added to WGXA-DT2 which required an expansion of the news department and personnel. Those newscasts have a separate anchor team but utilize the same reporting, weather, and sports personnel.
On the same day, the main channel also launched a weeknight newscast at 5:30. In a report in the May 28, 2010 edition of The Macon Telegraph, it was announced that a talk show hosted by Kenny Burgamy, Charles Richardson, and Liz Fabian would no longer be airing its weekday morning show on WPGA-TV and WPGA-FM
WPGA-FM
WPGA-FM is a radio station serving the middle Georgia area with a hot adult contemporary format, focusing on the late 1970s through today. Licensed to Perry, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Macon, Georgia area, broadcasting on FM frequency 100.9 MHz and is owned by Register Communications...
100.9 after July 20. The morning news, talk, information, and entertainment show moved to the WGXA stations as well as WMAC-AM 940 on July 26. Known as NewsTalk Central, the program currently airs on weekdays from 6 to 7 on WGXA-DT2 and from 6 to 9 on the main signal. The Good Morning America weather cut-ins continue to be seen. The weeknight news anchors also serve as reporters.
Newscast titles
- News 24 (1980s–1996)
- Fox 24 News (1996–2010)
- NewsCentral (2010–present)
Station slogans
- "Middle Georgia's Best Local News Coverage" (early-1990s)
- "Where Your News Comes First" (1999–2010)
- "Your Source For Local News" (2010–present)
Anchors/Hosts
- Kenny Burgamy - weekday mornings NewsTalk Central (6-9 a.m.); heard on WMAC-AM 940; and as of February 26, 2011, "Live at Five w/ Kenny B."
- Liz Fabian - morning news updates
- Portia Lake - weeknights at 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
- Adam Hammond - weeknights at 5:30 p.m and 10 p.m.; also reporter
- Kendall Herold - weeknights at 7 and 11 p.m. (on WGXA-DT2); also reporter
- Mario Ramirez - weeknights at 7 and 11 p.m.; also reporter
- Charles Richardson - weekday mornings NewsTalk Central (6-9 a.m.); heard on WMAC-AM 940
- Michelle Quesada - weekends at 10 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
StormTrack Central
- Jeff Cox - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5:30 and 10 p.m. on WGXA, and 7 and 11 p.m. on WGXA-DT2
- Tyler Southard - Meteorologist; weekends at 10 p.m.; also Science and Environmental Reporter
Sports team
- Rick Devens - Sports Anchor/Reporter
Reporters
- Chace Ambrose - general assignment reporter
- Amber Jones - general assignment reporter
- Larry Spurill, Jr. - general assignment reporter; also substitute morning newsreader
- Linnie Supall - general assignment reporter
- Johanna Torres - general assignment reporter