| WTX-TV | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Location |
Texaville, Ohio |
|
Branding |
WTX-TV Channel 6 |
|
Slogan |
We Deserve You! (newscasts) |
|
Channel(s) |
Digital: 15 (UHF) |
|
Subchannel(s) |
WTX-DT 6.1 |
|
Affiliation |
CBS (O&O; 1995-present) |
|
First air date |
February 13, 1949 |
|
Owner |
CBS Corporation |
|
Former channel number |
Analog: 6 (VHF) (1949-2009) |
|
Former affiliation(s) |
ABC (1949-1995) |
|
Licensing authority |
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WTX-TV, virtual channel 6 (UHF digital channel 17), is a CBS owned-and-operated television station licensed to Texaville, Ohio, United States. The station is owned by the CBS Television Stations division of CBS Corporation (itself owned by Viacom Networks).
History[]
Early years with ABC[]
The station originally began broadcasting on February 13, 1949, as WTPS-TV (calls standing for "Texaville's Pioneer Station"), the first television station in the Texavillian market. Originally an ABC owned-and-operated station, the station broadcast for three hours a day. It was also one of ABC's original owned-and-operated stations to sign-on, after WXYZ-TV in Detroit (now owned by the E.W. Scripps Company).
Ownership by Westinghouse[]
In May 1955, ABC sold WTPS-TV to the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, which then changed its calls to the current WTX-TV, naming it after its AM radio station, WTX. The station has used its most famous and current logo, the number 6 in Group W's typeface, since 1965.
On February 2, 1986, WTX-TV became the third television station in Ohio to broadcast in stereo, after WKYC-TV in Cleveland and WCMH-TV in Columbus, as well as the first ABC affiliate in Ohio to do so.
On June 16, 1994, Baltimore sister station WJZ-TV lost its affiliation with ABC after that network announced a deal with the E. W. Scripps Company to switch three of Scripps' television stations to ABC; one of the Scripps-owned stations joining ABC was Baltimore's NBC affiliate, WMAR-TV. This did not sit well with Westinghouse, who felt betrayed by ABC after nearly half a century of loyalty. As a safeguard, Group W intensified a search (which had begun prior to WJZ's affiliation loss) for affiliation deals of its own. Group W eventually struck an agreement to switch KYW-TV, WBZ-TV, WJZ-TV and WTX-TV to CBS (Westinghouse already had two CBS affiliates in its portfolio at the time, KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh and KPIX-TV in San Francisco). CBS was initially skeptical about including KYW-TV in the deal. While WTX-TV was a poor third, MCA-owned WTGS-TV (channel 3) was a solid runner-up to long-dominant Disney-owned WTXK-TV (channel 28; now PBS member station WTPB). However, after Westinghouse offered to sell CBS a minority stake in WTX-TV, CBS agreed to move its affiliation to channel 6, while MCA put channel 3 up for sale.
On February 8, 1995, as a result of CBS's deal with Westinghouse Broadcasting, WTX-TV ended its nearly 46-year affiliation with ABC, and became a CBS affiliate. The final ABC program to air on WTX was a first-run episode of NYPD Blue on February 7th, at 10:00 PM EST. Westinghouse then merged with CBS, turning the station into an owned-and-operated station.
Programming[]
In addition to carrying the full CBS schedule, WTX-TV syndicates the CBS-distributed Entertainment Tonight.
Under Westinghouse ownership, WTX spent most of its time preempting ABC programs. At one point in the winter of 1985, WTX preempted ABC's entire daytime lineup after Good Morning America.
News operation[]
As an ABC O&O, WTX-TV boasted one of the highest rated newscasts for all Texavillians - Lost Animals.
Broadcast schedules[]
March 3, 1985 (WIP)[]
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM: ???
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Ripley's Believe It or Not
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Rodney Dangerfield: Exposed
9:00 PM - 11:00 PM: Moonlighting (PREMIERE!)
1:00 AM - 5:30 AM: SIGN-OFF
Branding[]
Website history[]
- 20??-present - www.cbs6texaville.com
Slogan history[]
- 1975-76 - Welcome to the Bright New World on Channel 6 (localized version of ABC's 1975-76 slogan)
- 1976-77 - We're Channel 6, Let Us Be the One (localized version of ABC's 1976-77 slogan)
- 1977-78 - Channel 6 is Still the One (localized version of ABC's 1977-78 slogan)
- 1978-79 - Channel 6's the One You Can Turn To (localized version of ABC's 1978-79 slogan)
- 1979-80 - Channel 6 is the One. Still the One. (localized version of ABC's 1979-80 slogan)
- 1980-81 - You and Me and Channel 6. (localized version of ABC's 1980-81 slogan)
- 1981-82 - Now is the time, Channel 6 is the place. (localized version of ABC's 1981-82 slogan)
- 1982-83 - Come On Along with Channel 6. (localized version of ABC's 1982-83 slogan)
- 1983-84 - That Special Feeling on Channel 6. (localized version of ABC's 1983-84 slogan)
- 1984-85 - We're With You on Channel 6. (localized version of ABC's 1984-85 slogan)
- 1985-86 - You'll Love It on Channel 6. (localized version of ABC's 1985-86 slogan)
- 1986-87 - Together on Channel 6. (localized version of ABC's 1986-87 slogan)
- 1987-89 - Something's Happening on Channel 6. (localized version of ABC's 1987-89 slogan)
- 1989-90 - Something's Happening, Here on Channel 6. (localized version of ABC's 1989-90 slogan)
- 1990-92 - Texaville Is Watching Channel 6. (localized version of ABC's 1990-92 slogan)
- 1992-93 - It Must Be Channel 6. (localized version of ABC's 1992-93 slogan)
- 1997-99 - The Address is Channel 6, Welcome Home. (localized version of CBS's 1997-99 slogan)
Sign-off announcement history[]
Gallery[]
Logo history[]
Station ident history[]
Other station elements[]
Trivia[]
- Following WCIX's reallocation to channel 4 from channel 6 in 1995 (channel 6 was then reoccupied by NBC O&O station WTVJ, previously on channel 4), WTX-TV is the only CBS owned-and-operated television station broadcasting on channel 6.
- In the fall of 2015, 17-year old Nextonvillian Carolyn Lenning funded the expedition to retrieve some of the lost recordings from WTX-TV, the first time she had gone on an expedition without her parents. These lost recordings can now be viewed online, either through the station's official website, its YouTube page, or via the Internet Archive. This lead her to becoming one of the most profitable women in Nextonville, Tennessee, thanks to the Lenning Corporation.
- You can read more about the 2015 Lenning expedition here: WTX-TV/2015 Lenning expedition
| Television stations in Texaville, Ohio |
|---|
| WTMD-TV 2 (indie; defunct)
WTGS-TV 3 (ABC) |