WXXV-TV

WXXV-TV, virtual and UHF digital channel 25, is a Fox/NBC/CW+-affiliated television station licensed to Gulfport, Mississippi, United States and serving the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The station is owned by Morris Multimedia. WXXV-TV's studios are located on US 49 in Lyman (with a Gulfport postal address), and its transmitter is located on Wire Road East, in unincorporated Stone County, northeast of McHenry.

WXXV-TV
Gulfport/Biloxi/
Pascagoula, Mississippi
United States
CityGulfport, Mississippi
ChannelsDigital: 25 (UHF)
Virtual: 25 (PSIP)
Branding
  • WXXV Fox 25 (general)
  • News 25 (newscasts)
  • WXXV NBC 25 (on DT2)
  • Gulf Coast CW (on DT3)
Slogan
Programming
Affiliations25.1: Fox / MyNetworkTV (secondary)
25.2: NBC
25.3: CW+
Ownership
OwnerMorris Multimedia
(Morris Network of Mississippi, Inc.)
History
First air date
February 14, 1987 (1987-02-14)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
25 (UHF, 1987–2009)
Digital:
48 (UHF, until 2020)
Secondary:
ABC (NYPD Blue, 1994–2005)
UPN (1995–2006)
DT2:
MyNetworkTV (2006–2012)
Cable-only:
MyNetworkTV (2012–2014)
Call sign meaning
XXV (Roman numeral 25)
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID53517
ClassDT
ERP190 kW
HAAT483 m (1,585 ft)
Transmitter coordinates30°44′49″N 89°3′30″W
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewxxv25.com
Gulf Coast CW (DT3)

History

The station signed on February 14, 1987 as the market's third television outlet (after WLOX and WMAH-TV). It was originally owned by Gulf Coast Television Ltd. Airing an analog signal on UHF channel 25, WXXV was Mississippi's first Fox affiliate to launch before WDBD in Jackson and WNTZ-TV in Natchez (the latter two signed on before WXXV did). For the first four months of the network's existence, the network (which only aired late night programs at the time) was only available over-the-air in the extreme western and extreme eastern portions of the market via independent stations WNOL-TV (now an affiliate of The CW) or WPMI-TV (now an NBC affiliate); WXXV signed on two months prior to Fox's first night of primetime programming. Gulf Coast Television sold the station to AmSouth Realty, a subsidiary of AmSouth Bank in 1989. Prime Cities Broadcasters bought the station in 1991. WXXV aired the ABC crime drama NYPD Blue starting in 1994 when local ABC affiliate WLOX refused to air the show. From January 1995 until September 2006, the station also featured some limited UPN programming out-of-pattern through a secondary affiliation. Prime Cities Broadcasters sold the station to current owner Morris Multimedia in 1997.

A new second digital subchannel was launched in September 2006 to be the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate. Now considered a programming service rather than a true over-the-air broadcast network, it is a sister operation to Fox. WXXV's broadcasts became digital-only on February 17, 2009.[1] The station continues to broadcast on digital channel 48.[2] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display WXXV's virtual channel as 25. The station was added to DirecTV's local station offering on June 16, 2010.

The station also served as the Hattiesburg–Laurel market's longtime default Fox affiliate. WXXV's transmitter tower site and directional antenna pattern are strategically located and designed to enable the station to cover the entire southern half of Mississippi, including the Gulf Coast and Pine Belt regions. In addition, WXXV could be picked up locally on Comcast in the Pine Belt. On October 13, 2011, low-powered WHPM-LD joined the network as the first ever Fox outlet for Hattiesburg and Laurel.

Despite the addition of that outlet to the network, Comcast in Hattiesburg and Laurel continues to offer WXXV's standard and high definition channels on its system. That market still lacks its own MyNetworkTV-affiliated station resulting in WXXV being the Pine Belt's default affiliate (through its main channel's secondary affiliation as of 2015).

Subchannels

WXXV-DT2

WXXV-DT2 is the NBC-affiliated second digital subchannel of WXXV-TV, broadcasting on virtual and UHF channel 25.2. Over the air, WXXV-DT2 broadcasts a 720p high definition signal (downconverted from the native 1080i resolution of the NBC network); however, a direct-to-cable full 1080i high definition feed of this subchannel is available on select cable providers.

WXXV-DT2 can also be seen on Sparklight channel 18 and in full high definition on digital channel 465.

History

WXXV-DT2 first signed on in September 2006 to be the market's MyNetworkTV affiliate. On June 25, 2012, it was announced WXXV would become the area's first-ever locally based NBC affiliate. The MyNetworkTV affiliation was moved to cable-exclusive status so that WXXV-DT2 could become the NBC outlet. Prior to the station adding NBC, both WDSU-TV in New Orleans (for Gulfport, Long Beach and Pass Christian) and WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg–Laurel (for Biloxi, D'Iberville, Jackson County and Stone County) served as the Gulf Coast's longtime de facto affiliates on cable, with both affiliates having over-the-air coverage in some portions of the market.[3]

WXXV-DT3

WXXV-DT3 is the CW+-affiliated third digital subchannel of WXXV-TV, broadcasting on virtual and UHF channel 25.3. It can also be seen on Cable ONE digital channel 476. Presently, WXXV-DT3 airs in a 16:9 widescreen standard definition picture format, most likely due to WXXV's current multiplexer limitations prohibiting the station from airing all three of its subchannels in high definition.

History

What is now WXXV-DT3 began its life on September 21, 1998, as "WBGP" (standing for The WB GulfPort), a cable-only affiliate of The WB through the national WB 100+ service. Since it was only available on cable, the call sign was fictional in nature and thus not officially recognized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Before its sign-on, viewers in the area received The WB through Superstation WGN or the network's New Orleans affiliates (first WGNO, then later WNOL-TV).[4]

With the merge between UPN and The WB on September 18, 2006, the station became part of The CW through the new network's similar national service, The CW Plus. Throughout its cable-exclusive period, the station did not have an actual owner and had a signal provided to cable companies through a closed circuit satellite feed. "WBGP" was carried on Cable ONE channel 7 in Harrison County and channel 80 in Jackson County. Its previous CW logo referred to the channel 7 slot but it was not identified on-air with reference to it.

On January 1, 2015, WXXV took over promotional and advertising responsibilities of "WBGP" from Cable ONE. As a result, the service was added to a new third subchannel of WXXV in order to offer over-the-air viewers access to The CW for the first time. The new subchannel did not retain the slots on Cable ONE's basic tier allotted to "WBGP"; instead, WXXV-DT3 replaced WXXV's cable-only MyNetworkTV channel on digital channel 476. MyNetworkTV programming concurrently moved to a secondary affiliation on WXXV's primary channel and can be seen on weeknights from 10 until midnight.[5]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP short name Programming [6]
25.1720p16:9WXXVFOXMain WXXV-TV programming / Fox & MyNetworkTV
25.2WXXVNBCWXXV-DT2 / NBC
25.3480iWXXV CWGulf Coast CW[7]

Programming

Syndicated programming on WXXV-DT1 includes The Dr. Oz Show, The Big Bang Theory, Family Feud, and The Doctors among others. Syndicated programming on WXXV-DT2 includes Judge Judy, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Family Feud among others.

News operation

The station airs all national breaking news coverage from Fox News and the network's weekly public affairs show. Unlike most Fox affiliates, however, WXXV did not operate a local news department of its own for most of its existence but has done so in two previous attempts in the past. From 1991 to 1992, WDBD aired a local newscast called Mississippi News Tonight which was simulcasted on WXXV and produced by WLOX's then-owners Love Communications. Likewise, it featured regional news and weather coverage despite being produced at WDBD's studios in Jackson. Due to low ratings and inconsistent viewership, the program was dropped from both outlets after only a year on the air.

For a few years in the late-1990s and early 2000s, WXXV operated its own locally based news operation from its Gulfport studios. A broadcast, known as Fox 25 News at Nine, attempted to provide another option for viewers in the market besides longtime dominant WLOX. For an unknown reason, however, this effort also eventually ceased production.

On September 30, 2013, WXXV launched an in-house news operation for the second time in its history following the expansion of its studios to house the department; the station hired 15 personnel to staff the startup operation. Locally produced newscasts, running a half-hour in length, air on both the Fox and NBC channels in high definition under the News 25 branding. The main channel airs a weeknight prime time show at 9 p.m. while weeknight newscasts at 5:30 and 10 p.m. are seen on WXXV-DT2. NBC Nightly News is therefore aired on an alternate live feed at 6 p.m. which is unlike most NBC affiliates in the Central Time Zone. The NBC subchannel also carries local weather cut-ins on weekday mornings from 7 to 11 a.m. during the Today Show.[3][8][9][10][11] The station does not maintain a sports department. On September 21, 2015, WXXV debuted an hour-long weekday morning newscast from 7 to 8 a.m. called News 25 Today on its main channel while it airs from 6 to 7 a.m. on the NBC subchannel. On September 27, 2015, it debuted a Sunday night newscast on both stations.

See also

References
  1. http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20090207/NEWS01/902070322
  2. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
  3. Malone, Michael (March 22, 2012). "Exclusive: NBC Signs Affiliate For Biloxi". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  4. http://www.yourcwtv.com/partners/gulfcoast/schedule.php
  5. http://www.sunherald.com/2014/12/24/5985870/wxxv-to-become-coasts-first-local.html
  6. RabbitEars Query for WXXV
  7. wxxv25.com
  8. Local News to Debut on WXXV Tonight TVSpy, September 30, 2013.
  9. WXXV NBC Lineup
  10. WXXV Fox Lineup
  11. Scallan, Melissa M. (May 25, 2013). "WXXV-TV in South Mississippi will begin local newscasts this fall". Sun Herald. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
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