WOFL
Encyclopedia
WOFL, channel 35, is the Fox
owned-and-operated television station
serving the Orlando, Florida
metropolitan area. It is licensed to Orlando, with studios located in Lake Mary
. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22. On cable
, WOFL-TV is currently seen on channel 3 for subscribers of Bright House Networks
in the Orlando area. It is also available on channel 16 for subscribers of Comcast
in Indian River County, even though that is part of the West Palm Beach
TV market.
Its transmitter is located in Bithlo, Florida
. Its digital TV transmitter has a power of 607 kW. WOFL and sister station WTVT
of the bordering Tampa
market commonly share reporters and footage, as other station groups do.
WOFL was the first to start digital broadcasting in the market in February 2000 on WOFL-DT Channel 22. WOFL began broadcasting in 720p
HDTV
format in September 2004. As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, WOFL shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009, and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 22. However, through the use of PSIP
, digital television receivers display its virtual channel
as 35.
WOFL was one of three stations in the Orlando area to participate in the "Analog Nightlight
" program, which lasted through July 12, 2009.
station WMFE. WSWB produced children's programing (Uncle Hubie's Penthouse Barnyard), aired re-runs of such shows as Batman
, Bugs Bunny
, Popeye
, Green Acres
, Mister Ed
, and Lost In Space
. The 1970s recession impacted the station's operations; Sun World encountered financial difficulties and was forced to file for bankruptcy in January 1976. The station signed off the air in 1977.
Then-unknown media mogul Ted Turner
tried to buy the station; however, the attempt failed because of ensuing legal actions. In fact, the station’s 44 acres (178,061.8 m²) transmission site was briefly owned by Turner while the tower and broadcasting equipment were tied up in a judgment claim held by Pat Robertson
, owner of the Christian Broadcasting Network
. As a result, channel 35 remained off the air until the license was granted to a group of investors known as The Omega Group, with the Meredith Corporation
owning a non-voting interest. Meredith would be consultants for the station, holding an option to eventually buy out the other partners. The station signed back on the air in 1979 under its current calls, WOFL. The WSWB
call sign is now used by the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate of the CW.
Like its predecessor, WOFL was a typical independent station, carrying cartoons such as Bugs Bunny
, Tom and Jerry
, Scooby Doo, Woody Woodpecker
, and the Flintstones; sitcoms such as Bewitched
, I Dream Of Jeannie
, Leave It To Beaver
, I Love Lucy
, Green Acres
, Petticoat Junction
, Andy Griffith
, and, by 1984, Alice
, the Jeffersons, Welcome Back Kotter, and Barney Miller
. During prime time
, the station offered drama shows such as Hawaii Five-O
, Cannon
, Charlie's Angels
, and The Dukes Of Hazzard
. Older movies aired after 1 a.m. and on weekends.
Meredith Corporation exercised its full purchase option from Omega in 1982, and the station moved to a new studio building in Lake Mary in 1986, a major change from the prior studios that were located in a converted bank building in Orlando's adult-entertainment district centered on South Orange Blossom Trail. As the 1980s progressed, WOFL acquired more recent sitcoms, cartoons, and movies.
WOFL became one of he Fox Broadcasting Company
's charter affiliates at the network's inception in 1986. The station was frequently ranked as one of the country's leading Fox affiliates during the network's early years, achieving a number one ranking on several occasions through the early 1990s. It was also the most profitable station in Meredith's multi-station group, despite being its only UHF "independent" station at that time. As the 1990s progressed, WOFL offered fewer movies and older shows and more talk, reality and court shows. As with most Fox affiliates and stations, WOFL carried children's programming including that from the network itself
. Despite having competiting independents, WOFL was one of the last remaining Fox affiliates in a major market to retain broadcasting rights to most cartoons syndicated by Disney throughout the 1990s; while this left Orlando without an official The Disney Afternoon
lineup (due to Fox Kids competing for those same timeframes in most markets) the station still aired all of the lineup still, though out of pattern in other timeslots. News would not be added till later in the decade. In the mid-1990s, WOFL took over the operations of Gainesville
's Fox affiliate, Ocala
-based WOGX
channel 51. WOFL began expanded news operations in March 1998, as Fox encouraged its affiliates to offer news. The newscasts were simulcast on WOGX. It launched its digital TV signal on channel 22 in January 2000, and began broadcasting in widescreen format in January 2002.
WOFL, along with KVVU in Las Vegas
, were excluded from the 1994 affiliation deal between Meredith and CBS. They were at the time two of Fox's strongest affiliates, despite WOFL broadcasting on the UHF band. At the same time, CBS's existing Orlando station, WCPX-TV (now WKMG-TV
), was one of that network's weaker affiliates, and Fox did not want to move from a UHF outlet to a lower-rated VHF outlet. Meredith briefly owned WCPX for one day in September 1997, following a merger with that station's owner, First Media.
In 2002, Meredith traded WOFL and WOGX to News Corporation
's Fox Television Stations Group
, and, in return, Meredith received KPTV
in Portland, Oregon
. This made WOFL a Fox owned-and-operated station
(O&O), and sister station to UPN
affiliate WRBW
. Fox had acquired WRBW and KPTV several months earlier, when it acquired the stations of the United Television group. This trade protected WOFL as the Fox affiliate. After the trade was finalized, WRBW's operations were integrated with those of WOFL. WOFL was the only network O&O in the Orlando/Daytona Beach market until UPN and the WB were incorporated into the CW
, broadcasting on WKCF
. In response, Fox formed My Network TV, which airs on former Fox-owned UPN stations, including WRBW. WOFL began airing fewer cartoons in the late 1990s and, in 2002, dropped them altogether when Fox ended its children's programming. WOFL is one of a Fox-owned triplet of stations in Central Florida operated from Fox 35's Lake Mary studios, the other two being WRBW and WOGX. Most of WOFL's programming, including Fox programming, was originally seen in Citrus County
on W49AI
in the 1980s. The station did nor air WOFL's late-night programming, however, as it signed off at midnight. This arrangement continued until WOGX became a Fox affiliate in 1991.
On April 23, 2007, WOFL launched a new logo, modeled after that of sister station WTVT
in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. Coincidentally, the channel number font resembles that of the WOFL logo from the mid-1980s. WOFL then updated its news set, introduced a new musical theme for its news, and changed its slogan from "First on Fox" to "The Most Powerful Name in Local News", reflecting the national Fox News slogan. The current news set premiered in January 2005.
WOFL simulcasts WTVT
's Tampa Bay Buccaneers
pregame show Chip Carter's Tailgate Sunday.
The station premiered a half-hour 10 p.m. newscast in 1998, and became the first independently produced newscast in the Orlando market outside of the "big three" major-network affiliates. WOFL was noted for initially providing "hip" white Ford Mustangs for its news crews. The newscast expanded to an hour in the fall of 1999. In September 2000, the station launched a two-hour morning newscast called Good Day Orlando. The morning newscast expanded to three hours from 6-9 a.m. in 2001. In September 2002, WOFL added a 6 a.m. newscast, dumped the "Good Day Orlando" label for the existing 7-9 a.m. show and started calling all its newscasts "Fox 35 News."
WOFL began competing against the Big Three affiliates in the early evening timeslot with the debut of the 5 p.m. newscast in March 2006, which expanded to seven days a week that fall. A 6 p.m. newscast was added in August 2007 and an 11 p.m. newscast began in January 2008. Unlike many other Fox owned-and-operated stations, the 11 p.m. newscast does not use the NewsEdge title. WOFL's sister station in Ocala, WOGX
(channel 51), currently simulcasts all of WOFL's newscasts except for the weekday 9 a.m., 6 and 11 p.m. editions.
On February 9, 2009, WOFL became the third station in the Central Florida area to broadcast news in high definition. In June 2009, WOFL shut down its sports department, making it the only Fox-owned station without a sports department. Sports anchors Kevin Holden and Tom Johnson were resassigned to other positions. In July 2009, WOFL revealed new plans for a new radar called "The Guardian", claiming it will top all weather radars combined with the new radar operating on 1 million watts of power. It was launched on October 27, 2009.
On September 14, 2009, the station rescheduled Fox 35 Morning News to 5-8:30 a.m. and launched an extension of the newscast called Good Day (marking a return of the brand after 7 years), running weekdays from 8:30-10 a.m., anchored by Christine van Blokland, Jacquie Sosa, Amy Kaufeldt, and Heidi Hatch. The 8:30 half-hour was shortly reabsorbed into the morning news; however, on November 8, 2010, the entire morning newscast took on the Good Day name, along with an updated version of their news theme music. Also, in April 2010, the morning news was expanded to 4:30 a.m., expanding the entire morning newscast to 5½ hours each weekday morning and competing against an earlier launched 4:30 a.m. newscast on NBC affiliate WESH
(channel 2).
Fox 35 Weather Team
Reporters
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
owned-and-operated television station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
serving the Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
metropolitan area. It is licensed to Orlando, with studios located in Lake Mary
Lake Mary, Florida
Lake Mary is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,456 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 15,230...
. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22. On cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, WOFL-TV is currently seen on channel 3 for subscribers of Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...
in the Orlando area. It is also available on channel 16 for subscribers of Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
in Indian River County, even though that is part of the West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
TV market.
Its transmitter is located in Bithlo, Florida
Bithlo, Florida
Bithlo is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,626 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. For 20 years in the early 20th century, Bithlo was an incorporated...
. Its digital TV transmitter has a power of 607 kW. WOFL and sister station WTVT
WTVT
WTVT, channel 13, is a television station in Tampa, Florida. It is an owned and operated station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the News Corporation...
of the bordering Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
market commonly share reporters and footage, as other station groups do.
Digital television
| 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,... |
Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35.1 | 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 ... |
WOFL-DT | Main WOFL programming / FOX |
WOFL was the first to start digital broadcasting in the market in February 2000 on WOFL-DT Channel 22. WOFL began broadcasting in 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...
HDTV
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...
format in September 2004. As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, WOFL shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009, and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 22. However, through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers display its 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....
as 35.
WOFL was one of three stations in the Orlando area to participate in the "Analog Nightlight
Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act
The Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act, or SAFER Act, is a U.S. law to require the Federal Communications Commission to allow the continuation of full-power analog TV transmissions in 2009 for 30 more days, for the purpose of broadcasting public service announcements regarding the...
" program, which lasted through July 12, 2009.
History
Channel 35 in Orlando is in its second incarnation. On March 31, 1974, Channel 35 signed on as WSWB, Central Florida's first independent station. Owned by Sun World Broadcasting, it was based in the east Orlando building that use to houses PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
station WMFE. WSWB produced children's programing (Uncle Hubie's Penthouse Barnyard), aired re-runs of such shows as Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
, Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
, Mister Ed
Mister Ed
Originally produced in late 1960, Mister Ed is an American television situation comedy produced by Filmways that first aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966....
, and Lost In Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
. The 1970s recession impacted the station's operations; Sun World encountered financial difficulties and was forced to file for bankruptcy in January 1976. The station signed off the air in 1977.
Then-unknown media mogul Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
tried to buy the station; however, the attempt failed because of ensuing legal actions. In fact, the station’s 44 acres (178,061.8 m²) transmission site was briefly owned by Turner while the tower and broadcasting equipment were tied up in a judgment claim held by Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
, owner of the Christian Broadcasting Network
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
. As a result, channel 35 remained off the air until the license was granted to a group of investors known as The Omega Group, with the Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation
The Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:...
owning a non-voting interest. Meredith would be consultants for the station, holding an option to eventually buy out the other partners. The station signed back on the air in 1979 under its current calls, WOFL. The WSWB
WSWB
WSWB is the CW-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania licensed to Scranton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter northwest of Scranton and I-476. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 7 and Service Electric channel 11...
call sign is now used by the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate of the CW.
Like its predecessor, WOFL was a typical independent station, carrying cartoons such as Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
, Scooby Doo, Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
, and the Flintstones; sitcoms such as Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, I Dream Of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
, Leave It To Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
, I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
, Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...
, Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
, and, by 1984, Alice
Alice (TV series)
Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job...
, the Jeffersons, Welcome Back Kotter, and Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
. During prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
, the station offered drama shows such as Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, Cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
, and The Dukes Of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
. Older movies aired after 1 a.m. and on weekends.
Meredith Corporation exercised its full purchase option from Omega in 1982, and the station moved to a new studio building in Lake Mary in 1986, a major change from the prior studios that were located in a converted bank building in Orlando's adult-entertainment district centered on South Orange Blossom Trail. As the 1980s progressed, WOFL acquired more recent sitcoms, cartoons, and movies.
WOFL became one of he Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's charter affiliates at the network's inception in 1986. The station was frequently ranked as one of the country's leading Fox affiliates during the network's early years, achieving a number one ranking on several occasions through the early 1990s. It was also the most profitable station in Meredith's multi-station group, despite being its only UHF "independent" station at that time. As the 1990s progressed, WOFL offered fewer movies and older shows and more talk, reality and court shows. As with most Fox affiliates and stations, WOFL carried children's programming including that from the network itself
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
. Despite having competiting independents, WOFL was one of the last remaining Fox affiliates in a major market to retain broadcasting rights to most cartoons syndicated by Disney throughout the 1990s; while this left Orlando without an official The Disney Afternoon
The Disney Afternoon
The Disney Afternoon was a created-for-syndication two-hour television programming block which aired from September 10, 1990, until Fall 1999. At that time, it was taken out of syndication, and a new Disney weekday afternoon block was started on UPN. The Disney Afternoon was produced by The Walt...
lineup (due to Fox Kids competing for those same timeframes in most markets) the station still aired all of the lineup still, though out of pattern in other timeslots. News would not be added till later in the decade. In the mid-1990s, WOFL took over the operations of Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
's Fox affiliate, Ocala
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
-based WOGX
WOGX
WOGX is the Fox owned-and-operated television station for North Central Florida that is licensed to Ocala. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter along CR 316 west of I-75/FL 93 and the Heijahs Town section of Reddick...
channel 51. WOFL began expanded news operations in March 1998, as Fox encouraged its affiliates to offer news. The newscasts were simulcast on WOGX. It launched its digital TV signal on channel 22 in January 2000, and began broadcasting in widescreen format in January 2002.
WOFL, along with KVVU in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, were excluded from the 1994 affiliation deal between Meredith and CBS. They were at the time two of Fox's strongest affiliates, despite WOFL broadcasting on the UHF band. At the same time, CBS's existing Orlando station, WCPX-TV (now WKMG-TV
WKMG-TV
WKMG-TV channel 6 is the CBS network affiliate for Central Florida . WKMG is licensed to Orlando and is owned and operated by Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. The station refers to itself as "Local6". WKMG's transmitter is located in Bithlo, Florida...
), was one of that network's weaker affiliates, and Fox did not want to move from a UHF outlet to a lower-rated VHF outlet. Meredith briefly owned WCPX for one day in September 1997, following a merger with that station's owner, First Media.
In 2002, Meredith traded WOFL and WOGX to News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
's Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation...
, and, in return, Meredith received KPTV
KPTV
KPTV is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Portland, Oregon market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX , with its studios located in Beaverton and...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. This made WOFL a Fox owned-and-operated station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
(O&O), and sister station to UPN
UPN
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 WRBW
WRBW
WRBW is the MyNetworkTV owned and operated station serving the Orlando/Daytona Beach/Melbourne, Florida television market. It is owned by the Fox Television Stations Group, along with Fox station WOFL Channel 35. Known on-air as "My65", the station offers sitcoms, cartoons, court shows, and...
. Fox had acquired WRBW and KPTV several months earlier, when it acquired the stations of the United Television group. This trade protected WOFL as the Fox affiliate. After the trade was finalized, WRBW's operations were integrated with those of WOFL. WOFL was the only network O&O in the Orlando/Daytona Beach market until UPN and the WB were incorporated into the CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, broadcasting on WKCF
WKCF
WKCF is the CW-affiliated television station for Central Florida licensed to Clermont. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 17 from a transmitter in unincorporated Bithlo. The station can also be seen on Bright House Networks channel 8 and Comcast channel 13...
. In response, Fox formed My Network TV, which airs on former Fox-owned UPN stations, including WRBW. WOFL began airing fewer cartoons in the late 1990s and, in 2002, dropped them altogether when Fox ended its children's programming. WOFL is one of a Fox-owned triplet of stations in Central Florida operated from Fox 35's Lake Mary studios, the other two being WRBW and WOGX. Most of WOFL's programming, including Fox programming, was originally seen in Citrus County
Citrus County, Florida
Citrus County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 118,085. The U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimate for the county was 141,416 . Its county seat is Inverness, Florida...
on W49AI
WYKE-LP
WYKE-CD channel 47 is a digital low-powered station serving Citrus County, Florida with a mixture of general and religious programming. It is owned by the Citrus County Association for Retarded Citizens, a not-for-profit organization that assists handicapped and disabled people in Citrus County.The...
in the 1980s. The station did nor air WOFL's late-night programming, however, as it signed off at midnight. This arrangement continued until WOGX became a Fox affiliate in 1991.
On April 23, 2007, WOFL launched a new logo, modeled after that of sister station WTVT
WTVT
WTVT, channel 13, is a television station in Tampa, Florida. It is an owned and operated station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the News Corporation...
in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. Coincidentally, the channel number font resembles that of the WOFL logo from the mid-1980s. WOFL then updated its news set, introduced a new musical theme for its news, and changed its slogan from "First on Fox" to "The Most Powerful Name in Local News", reflecting the national Fox News slogan. The current news set premiered in January 2005.
WOFL simulcasts WTVT
WTVT
WTVT, channel 13, is a television station in Tampa, Florida. It is an owned and operated station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the News Corporation...
's Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
pregame show Chip Carter's Tailgate Sunday.
News operation
WOFL broadcasts a total of 39 hours of local news a week (seven hours on weekdays, and two hours each on Saturdays and Sundays), the most of any Orlando-area television station; however as is standard with Fox stations that carry early evening weekend newscasts, WOFL's Saturday and Sunday 5 p.m. newscasts are subject to preemption due to sports coverage.The station premiered a half-hour 10 p.m. newscast in 1998, and became the first independently produced newscast in the Orlando market outside of the "big three" major-network affiliates. WOFL was noted for initially providing "hip" white Ford Mustangs for its news crews. The newscast expanded to an hour in the fall of 1999. In September 2000, the station launched a two-hour morning newscast called Good Day Orlando. The morning newscast expanded to three hours from 6-9 a.m. in 2001. In September 2002, WOFL added a 6 a.m. newscast, dumped the "Good Day Orlando" label for the existing 7-9 a.m. show and started calling all its newscasts "Fox 35 News."
WOFL began competing against the Big Three affiliates in the early evening timeslot with the debut of the 5 p.m. newscast in March 2006, which expanded to seven days a week that fall. A 6 p.m. newscast was added in August 2007 and an 11 p.m. newscast began in January 2008. Unlike many other Fox owned-and-operated stations, the 11 p.m. newscast does not use the NewsEdge title. WOFL's sister station in Ocala, WOGX
WOGX
WOGX is the Fox owned-and-operated television station for North Central Florida that is licensed to Ocala. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter along CR 316 west of I-75/FL 93 and the Heijahs Town section of Reddick...
(channel 51), currently simulcasts all of WOFL's newscasts except for the weekday 9 a.m., 6 and 11 p.m. editions.
On February 9, 2009, WOFL became the third station in the Central Florida area to broadcast news in high definition. In June 2009, WOFL shut down its sports department, making it the only Fox-owned station without a sports department. Sports anchors Kevin Holden and Tom Johnson were resassigned to other positions. In July 2009, WOFL revealed new plans for a new radar called "The Guardian", claiming it will top all weather radars combined with the new radar operating on 1 million watts of power. It was launched on October 27, 2009.
On September 14, 2009, the station rescheduled Fox 35 Morning News to 5-8:30 a.m. and launched an extension of the newscast called Good Day (marking a return of the brand after 7 years), running weekdays from 8:30-10 a.m., anchored by Christine van Blokland, Jacquie Sosa, Amy Kaufeldt, and Heidi Hatch. The 8:30 half-hour was shortly reabsorbed into the morning news; however, on November 8, 2010, the entire morning newscast took on the Good Day name, along with an updated version of their news theme music. Also, in April 2010, the morning news was expanded to 4:30 a.m., expanding the entire morning newscast to 5½ hours each weekday morning and competing against an earlier launched 4:30 a.m. newscast on NBC affiliate WESH
WESH
WESH is the NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida. It is licensed to Daytona Beach, with studio facilities in Winter Park. It transmits its digital signal on VHF channel 11, which redirects to virtual channel 2.1, reflecting its former analog channel assignment, through PSIP. It is currently owned by...
(channel 2).
Newscast titles
- News Capsule (1988–1998)
- Fox 35 News (1998–present)
- Good Day Orlando (weekday morning newscast; 2000–2002)
- Fox 35 Morning News (weekday morning newscast; 2002–2010, was used for 4:30–9 a.m. portion of the newscast)
- Good Day (originally 9–10 a.m. extension of morning newscast; 2009–present)
Station slogans
- Florida's Favorite (1980s)
- Your Generation (2001–2003)
- Fair. Balanced. First. (2003–2004; based on Fox News Channel slogan "Fair & Balanced")
- First on Fox (2004–2006)
- The Most Powerful Name in Local News (2005–2007)
- On Your Side (2007–2008)
- You Need to Know (2008–present)
- So Fox 35 (2009–present; local version of Fox ad campaign)
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Sonni Abatta - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- John Brown - weekday mornings Good Day (6-9 a.m.)
- Michelle Burdo - weekday mornings Good Day (4:30-6 a.m. and 9-10 a.m.)
- Mike Dunston - weekday mornings Good Day (4:30-6 a.m.)
- Bob Frier - weeknights at 5 and 10 p.m.
- Tracy Jacim - weekends at 5 and 10 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
- Amy Kaufeldt - weekday mornings Good Day (6-10 a.m.)
- Keith Landry - weekends at 5 and 10 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
- Cale Ramaker - weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.
Fox 35 Weather Team
- Glenn Richards (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m.
- Rob Eicher (AMS Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
and NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; weekends at 5 and 10 p.m. - Jim Van Fleet (NWA Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings Good Day (4:30-10 a.m.)
- Liz HortonElizabeth HortonElizabeth Leigh "Lizzie" Horton was Miss North Carolina 2006 and is now a traffic reporter for WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is a 2002 graduate of Westchester Academy in High Point, North Carolina and a 2006 graduate of Johns Hopkins University, where she was also a member of the Phi Mu...
- Fill-in Forecaster/Weekday Morning traffic reporter
Reporters
- Elizabeth Alvarez - general assignment reporter
- Jennifer Bisram - general assignment reporter
- Valerie Boey - weekday morning reporter
- Holly Bristow - general assignment reporter
- Shannon Butler - general assignment reporter
- Melissa DiPane - general assignment reporter
- Steve Gelbach - general assignment reporter
- Tom Johnson - sports and general assignment reporter
- Kelly Joyce - general assignment reporter
- David Martin - special projects reporter
- Darrol Nail - general assignment reporter
- Patrick Pegues - general assignment reporter
- Tiffany Tift - weekday morning reporter
External links
- MyFoxOrlando.com Official website
- MySpace WOFL Fox 35 MySpace
- WOFL on Orlando TV Times