ATSC 3.0 station | |
---|---|
| |
Channels | |
Branding | Fox 35 Plus |
Programming | |
Affiliations |
|
Ownership | |
Owner | Fox Television Stations, LLC |
WOFL | |
History | |
Founded | July 30, 1993 |
First air date | June 6, 1994 |
Former channel number(s) |
|
| |
Call sign meaning | Rainbow Media (original owner and station branding) |
Technical information [1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 54940 |
ERP | 1,000 kW |
HAAT | 447 m (1,467 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 28°36′14″N81°5′10″W / 28.60389°N 81.08611°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WRBW (channel 65), branded on-air as Fox 35 Plus, is a television station in Orlando, Florida, United States, serving as the local outlet for the MyNetworkTV programming service. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet WOFL (channel 35). The two stations share studios on Skyline Drive in Lake Mary; WRBW's transmitter is located in unincorporated Bithlo, Florida.
WRBW began operation as an independent station on June 6, 1994, airing vintage sitcoms, cartoons and older movies. It was owned by Rainbow Media, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation. It originally operated from studio facilities located on the backlot of Universal Studios Florida. WRBW became the Orlando area affiliate of the United Paramount Network (UPN) (a network created by BHC and Paramount), when the network debuted on January 16, 1995. Since UPN only provided two hours of network programming two nights a week at launch, WRBW essentially still programmed itself as an independent station. During the late 1990s, especially during the wildfire plagued summer of 1998, there were occasions to which ABC Sports programming was moved to channel 65 in order for the market's ABC affiliate WFTV (channel 9) to provide wall-to-wall news coverage. Some of ABC's Saturday morning children's programs also aired on WRBW, until WRDQ signed on the air in April 2000.
Chris-Craft Industries, part-owner of UPN (through its United Television unit) bought the station in 1998, making WRBW the first owned-and-operated station of a major network in the Orlando market. Fox Television Stations acquired most of Chris-Craft's television stations, including WRBW, in 2001. Fox did not consider moving its affiliation from WOFL to WRBW, however; not only was WOFL one of Fox's strongest affiliates, but WRBW was located on a very high channel number. The buyout of Chris-Craft's stake in UPN by Viacom (which owned 50% of UPN since 1996) and the subsequent purchase of WRBW by Fox effectively stripped the station of its status as a UPN owned-and-operated station. A few months after the Chris-Craft deal closed, Fox traded KPTV in Portland, Oregon, to Meredith Corporation in return for WOFL (and its Ocala-based semi-satellite WOGX), giving the company a duopoly in the Orlando market when the deal was finalized on June 17, 2002. Fox subsequently moved WRBW's operations to the WOFL studios in Lake Mary.
On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation (the restructured original Viacom, which acquired UPN, after CBS and Viacom split and spun off a separate company carrying the Viacom name in December 2005) and Time Warner announced that UPN and The WB would be shut down, and replaced by a new network that would feature some of the higher-rated programs from both networks called The CW Television Network. [2] The CW's initial list of stations did not include any of Fox's UPN affiliates; as a result, Fox removed all network references and branding from its UPN affiliates, and stopped promoting the network's programming. Accordingly, WRBW began branding itself as "WRBW 65" (WRBW's website, however, retained the "UPN 65" logo until just over a week after the change). On March 1, 2006, WB affiliate WKCF was announced as the Orlando area affiliate of The CW. It was very unlikely, however, that WRBW would have been selected in any event. The CW's management was on record as preferring to affiliate with the "strongest" stations in terms of viewership among UPN and The WB's affiliates, and WKCF had been The WB's strongest affiliate for virtually all of that network's run.
On February 22, 2006—less than a month after the formation of The CW—Fox announced the formation of MyNetworkTV, with WRBW and the other Fox-owned UPN stations as the nuclei. [3] With the impending switch to MyNetworkTV, channel 65's on-air branding was changed to "My 65" beginning in May 2006. Despite MyNetworkTV's announcement that its launch date would be September 5, 2006, UPN continued to broadcast on stations across the country until September 15, 2006. While some UPN affiliates that switched to MyNetworkTV aired the final two weeks of UPN programming outside its regular prime time period, WRBW and the rest of the network's Fox-owned affiliates dropped UPN's programming entirely on August 31, 2006. The launch of MyNetworkTV made WOFL and WRBW the only English-language network-owned stations in the market.
In August 2019, Fox announced that WRBW would rebrand as "Fox 35 Plus" on September 9, serving as a brand extension of WOFL. [4]
Occasionally, WRBW may take on the responsibility of running Fox network programming in lieu of its regular schedule, whenever WOFL cannot in the event of extended breaking news coverage; until 2019, this arrangement included Fox Sports telcasts that conflicted with WOFL's contractual obligations to show ACC college sports programming from Raycom Sports. In addition, as of June 2013 [update] , much of WOFL's syndicated programming temporarily moved to WRBW to accommodate coverage of the George Zimmerman trial on WOFL; this included some programs already seen on WRBW in other time slots, as well as Dr. Phil , though little inconvenience was expected as only The Wendy Williams Show had original episodes, with the remainder of syndicated shows either on summer hiatus or canceled. [5]
In the 1990s, ABC affiliate WFTV began producing a 10 p.m. newscast for WRBW under a news share agreement; the program later moved to independent station WRDQ, after that station signed on in April 2000 due to a local marketing agreement with that station and WFTV's owner Cox Media Group.
As part of WRBW's rebranding to "Fox 35 Plus", an 8 p.m. newscast produced by WOFL premiered on September 9, 2019. [4]
In 2022, WRBW began simulcasting programming from Fox Weather. This programming airs from 10 to 11 a.m. on weekdays, with an extra hour from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. [6]
In 2019, Major League Soccer team Orlando City SC signed a multi-year deal with WRBW to broadcast locally-televised matches. [7]
The station's ATSC 1.0 channels are carried on the multiplexed signals of other Orlando television stations:
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | ATSC 1.0 host |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
65.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WRBW DT | MyNetworkTV | WOFL |
65.2 | 480i | Movies | Movies! | WRDQ | |
65.3 | HandI | Heroes & Icons | WKMG-TV | ||
65.4 | Grio | TheGrio | WFTV |
WRBW had previously broadcast a color test pattern and tone on digital subchannel 65.2. However, the subchannel has also been used occasionally to provide a 480i standard definition feed of the signals of co-owned WOFL, that station's Ocala semi-satellite WOGX or even WRBW's own programming at times. Digital subchannel 65.2 began regular use on August 27, 2012, with the addition of Bounce TV, through a groupwide affiliation deal between the network and Fox Television Stations. [12]
WRBW ended programming on its analog signal, on UHF channel 65, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. [13] The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 41, [14] using virtual channel 65.
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
6.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WKMG | CBS (WKMG-TV) |
9.1 | 720p | WFTV | ABC (WFTV) | |
27.1 | WRDQ | WRDQ (Independent) | ||
35.1 | WOFL | Fox (WOFL) | ||
65.1 | WRBW | MyNetworkTV |
WWHO is a television station licensed to Chillicothe, Ohio, United States, serving the Columbus area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Manhan Media, Inc., which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of ABC/MyNetworkTV/Fox affiliate WSYX, for the provision of certain services. Sinclair also operates TBD station WTTE under a separate LMA with Cunningham Broadcasting; however, Sinclair effectively owns WTTE as the majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith. The stations share studios on Dublin Road in Grandview Heights, while WWHO's transmitter is located in the Franklinton section of Columbus.
WFTC is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, broadcasting the MyNetworkTV programming service to the Twin Cities area. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet KMSP-TV. Both stations share studios on Viking Drive in Eden Prairie, while WFTC's transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota.
WBKI is a television station licensed to Salem, Indiana, United States, serving the Louisville, Kentucky, area as a dual affiliate of The CW and MyNetworkTV. It is the only full-power Louisville-area station licensed to the Indiana side of the market. WBKI is owned by Block Communications alongside Fox affiliate WDRB. Both stations share studios on West Muhammad Ali Boulevard in downtown Louisville, while WBKI's transmitter is located in rural northeastern Floyd County, Indiana. Despite Salem being WBKI's city of license, the station maintains no physical presence there.
WOFL is a television station in Orlando, Florida, United States, serving as the market's Fox network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV station WRBW. The two stations share studios on Skyline Drive in Lake Mary; WOFL's transmitter is located in unincorporated Bithlo, Florida.
WXSP-CD is a low-power, Class A television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, serving West Michigan as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Grand Rapids–licensed NBC affiliate WOOD-TV and Battle Creek–licensed ABC affiliate WOTV. The stations share studios on College Avenue Southeast in the Heritage Hill section of Grand Rapids, while WXSP-CD's transmitter is located in Walker. Another repeater station licensed to Grand Rapids, WOLP-CD, utilizes and is co-located with WOOD-TV's transmitter southwest of Middleville.
XHDTV-TDT is a television station in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico, affiliated with Milenio Televisión and serving the Tijuana–San Diego international metropolitan area. The station's license and transmitter are owned by Mexican company Televisora Alco, which is 40% owned by station operator Entravision Communications; XHDTV is a sister station to Entravision-owned Univision affiliate KBNT-CD, UniMás affiliate KDTF-LD and Azteca América affiliate XHAS-TDT. All four stations share studios on Ruffin Road in the Kearny Mesa section of San Diego, California, United States; XHDTV's transmitter is located on Cerro Bola, within the municipality of Tecate. Despite no longer carrying American content, XHDTV continues to be carried on channel 13 by San Diego Cox systems on the U.S. side of the market; the station is also carried in Tijuana on Izzi channel 49.
KPDX is a television station licensed to Vancouver, Washington, United States, serving the Portland, Oregon area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is the only major commercial station in Portland that is licensed to the Washington side of the market.
WESH is a television station licensed to Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, serving the Orlando area as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Clermont-licensed CW affiliate WKCF. The two stations share studios on North Wymore Road in Eatonville ; WESH's transmitter is located near Christmas, Florida.
WUPL is a television station licensed to Slidell, Louisiana, United States, serving the New Orleans area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside CBS affiliate WWL-TV. The two stations share studios on Rampart Street in the historic French Quarter district; WUPL's transmitter is located on Cooper Road in Terrytown, Louisiana.
WRDQ is an independent television station in Orlando, Florida, United States. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside ABC affiliate WFTV. The two stations share studios on East South Street in downtown Orlando; WRDQ's transmitter is located near Christmas, Florida.
KMTW is a television station licensed to Hutchinson, Kansas, United States, serving the Wichita area as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Dabl. It is owned by the Mercury Broadcasting Company, which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of dual Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate KSAS-TV, for the provision of certain services. Both stations share studios on North West Street in northwestern Wichita, while KMTW's transmitter is located in rural southwestern Harvey County.
WFQX-TV is a television station licensed to Cadillac, Michigan, United States, serving the northern Lower and eastern Upper peninsulas of Michigan as an affiliate of Fox and The CW Plus. It is owned by Cadillac Telecasting Company, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with 910 Media Group, owner of Cadillac-licensed CBS affiliate WWTV, channel 9, for the provision of certain services. Both stations share studios on Broadcast Way in Cadillac, while WFQX-TV's transmitter is located on 130th Avenue in unincorporated Osceola County, just northeast of Tustin.
WKCF is a television station licensed to Clermont, Florida, United States, serving the Orlando area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Daytona Beach–licensed NBC affiliate WESH. The two stations share studios on North Wymore Road in Eatonville ; WKCF's transmitter is located in unincorporated Bithlo, Florida.
KWBM is a religious television station licensed to Harrison, Arkansas, United States, serving the Springfield, Missouri, area as an owned-and-operated station of the Daystar Television Network. It is the only full-power television station in the Springfield market that is licensed in Arkansas. KWBM's offices are located on Enterprise Avenue in southeast Springfield, and its transmitter is located in rural Taney County, just northeast of Forsyth.
KSHV-TV is a television station in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Texarkana, Texas–licensed NBC affiliate KTAL-TV ; Nexstar also provides certain services to Fox affiliate KMSS-TV under a shared services agreement (SSA) with Mission Broadcasting. The stations share studios on North Market Street and Deer Park Road in northeast Shreveport, while KSHV-TV's transmitter is located southeast of Mooringsport.
WOGX is a television station licensed to Ocala, Florida, United States, but primarily serving the Gainesville area as a Fox network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains an advertising sales office on Northwest 53rd Avenue in Gainesville and a transmitter in unincorporated Marion County, between Williston and Fairfield.
KCOP-TV is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet KTTV. The two stations share studios at the Fox Television Center located in West Los Angeles; KCOP-TV's transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.
KYLE-TV is a television station licensed to Bryan, Texas, United States, serving the Brazos Valley and Central Texas as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Waco-licensed Fox affiliate KWKT-TV. Both stations share studios on Woodway Drive in Woodway, Texas ; KYLE-TV operates a secondary studio on Broadmoor Drive in Bryan and transmitter facilities near Farm to Market Road 2818 on the city's western outskirts.
WMYG-LP is a defunct low-power analog television station in Lake City, Florida, United States, which operated from 1985 to 2015. Last owned by New Age Media, it was most recently affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It was functionally replaced by a digital subchannel of co-owned, High Springs–licensed CBS affiliate WGFL. WMYG-LP was also sister to two Gainesville-licensed stations: low-power, Class A Antenna TV affiliate WYME-CD and full-power NBC affiliate WNBW-DT. The latter is actually owned by MPS Media but operated by New Age Media under a local marketing agreement (LMA). All of the stations, in turn, are operated under a master service agreement by Sinclair Broadcast Group. WMYG-LP's operations were based at the shared studios of WGFL and WNBW-DT on Northwest 80th Boulevard in Gainesville; its transmitter was located in Lake City's Lacymark section.
In January 2006, the United States' two "second-tier" television networks, UPN and The WB, announced they would both cease operations on September 15 and 17 respectively, and their operations would be transferred to a new joint-venture "fifth" network, The CW. Meanwhile, Fox Television Stations signed up with MyNetworkTV, a new "sixth" network owned by then-parent company News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group.