WXSP-CD

WXSP-CD, virtual and UHF digital channel 15, is a low-powered, Class A MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States and serving the Grand Rapids–Kalamazoo–Battle Creek television market. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is a sister station to Nexstar's duopoly of Grand Rapids-licensed NBC affiliate WOOD-TV (channel 8) and Battle Creek-licensed ABC affiliate WOTV (channel 41). The three stations share studios on College Avenue Southeast in the Heritage Hill section of Grand Rapids; WXSP-CD's transmitter is located in Walker (along I-96). There is no separate website for WXSP-CD; instead, it is integrated with that of sister station WOOD-TV.

"WOHO" redirects here. For the AM radio station formerly known as WOHO, see WLQR (AM).
WXSP-CD
Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/
Battle Creek, Michigan
United States
CityGrand Rapids, Michigan
ChannelsDigital: 15 (UHF)
Virtual: 15 (PSIP)
BrandingWXSP The X (general)
News 8 (newscasts)
SloganWatching Out for You
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerNexstar Media Group
(Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.)
Sister stationsWOOD-TV, WOTV
History
First air dateJuly 23, 1986 (1986-07-23)
Former call signs
  • W29AD (1986–1988)
  • W15AM (1988–1995)
  • WOWD-LP (1995–2000)
  • WXSP-LP (2000)
  • WXSP-CA (2000–2010)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 29 (UHF, 1986–1988)
  • 15 (UHF, 1988–2010)
  • Translator:
  • 27 WOLP-CA
  • 41 WOLP-LD
Former affiliations
Call sign meaningWXSP: X SPorts (referring to its past broadcasts of sporting events)
other stations: WO + city of license initialized
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID36851
ClassClass A
ERP15 kW
HAAT124 m (407 ft)
Transmitter coordinates43°1′1″N 85°44′25″W
Translator(s)See below
Links
Public license informationProfile
LMS
Websitewww.woodtv.com/wxsp

Repeaters

Due to its low-power status, WXSP-CD's broadcasting radius only covers the immediate Grand Rapids area. Therefore, in order to serve the entire Grand Rapids–Kalamazoo–Battle Creek market, it is relayed on four Class A translators that repeat WXSP-CD's programming:

Call letters digital channel City of license Transmitter location
WOBC-CD14Battle Creekbehind Family Altar Chapel on 6½ Mile Road
WOMS-CD29MuskegonEgelston Township's Wolf Lake section
WOHO-CD33Hollandin Zeeland along I-196
WOKZ-CD33Kalamazooat 1560/WTOU's studios on M-43/West Main Street in Westwood section of city

History

The station signed on the air on July 23, 1986 as W29AD, broadcasting on UHF channel 29. It moved to UHF channel 15 and acquired the W15AM calls on January 12, 1988. In the station's early days, it was a translator for World Harvest Television from WHME-TV in South Bend, Indiana, which is owned by LeSEA Broadcasting (now Family Broadcasting Corporation). The station eventually switched to LIN TV's Local Weather Station (LWS) format with the call sign WOWD-LP (variation on WOOD-TV). WOWD and its low-power network of repeaters aired 24-hour weather information direct from WOOD-TV's weather center. This was in an early pre-digital format comparable to the now defunct NBC Weather Plus.

The weather programming aired from the mid-1990s until it switched to a general entertainment programming format a few years later. It featured graphic displays of various current conditions and forecasts as well as periodic forecast segments from WOOD-TV's meteorologists. Short commercial breaks would feature local television spots as well as LWS' station identification. A format change took place when it became a UPN affiliate on August 31, 1999 (displacing that network from secondary carriage on WOOD-TV and WOTV), prompting the move of LWS to the early morning hours and the adoption of new calls, WXSP-LP. The call-sign WXSP-CA was acquired after it became a Class A station, which meets stricter requirements than most low-powered television stations.

On January 24, 2006, the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner and CBS Corporation announced that the two companies would shut down The WB and UPN and combine the networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network called The CW.[1][2] On February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced the launch of a new "sixth" network called MyNetworkTV, which would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created to compete against another upstart network that would launch at the same time that September, The CW (an amalgamated network that was originally consisted primarily of UPN and The WB's higher-rated programs) as well as to give UPN and WB stations that were not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates another option besides converting to independent stations.[3][4]

CBS affiliate WWMT (channel 3) announced on April 4 that it would affiliate with The CW on a new second digital subchannel. WXSP became available as a MyNetworkTV affiliate partly because then-WB affiliate WZPX-TV (channel 43) was also an i: Independent Television (now Ion Television) owned-and-operated station and ran WB programming on a 22-hour delay (prime-time shows ran at 6 p.m. the night after the original broadcast and the Kids' WB Saturday block aired at 5 a.m. on Sunday mornings). As a result, Southwestern Michigan is one of the largest markets in which The CW was only available via digital subchannel/cable and on an entirely new station. It was reported that WXSP was in discussions to join The CW, but due to the station's heavy reliance upon professional sports during primetime and the network's concerns over pre-empted programming, the two sides could not come to an agreement.

For the final two weeks of UPN's existence, Fox affiliate WXMI (channel 17) aired WWE Smackdown until WWMT-DT2's launch. WXSP joined MyNetworkTV on September 5, while WWMT-DT2 signed on with The CW on September 18. On July 21, 2010, WXSP flash-cut from analog to a digital signal. The call letters were changed to WXSP-CD on August 30. In late-October 2010, LIN TV discontinued the simulcast of WXSP on WOTV-DT2, replacing it with a new digital subchannel network, TheCoolTV (which it discontinued on July 15, 2013). On July 1, 2013, LIN TV ended the simulcast of WXSP on WOOD-DT2, replacing that signal with Bounce TV.

On March 21, 2014, it was announced that Media General would acquire LIN.[5] The deal closed on December 19, bringing WXSP, along with WOOD and WOTV, under common ownership with CBS affiliate WLNS-TV in Lansing.

On January 27, 2016, Media General announced that it had entered into a definite agreement to be acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting Group. The combined company will be known as Nexstar Media Group, and own 171 stations (including WOOD, WOTV and WXSP), serving an estimated 39% of households.[6][7]

On December 3, 2018, Nexstar announced it would acquire the assets of Tribune Media (owners of Fox affiliate WXMI) for $6.4 billion in cash and debt. Nexstar is precluded from acquiring WXMI directly or indirectly, as FCC regulations prohibit common ownership of more than two stations in the same media market, or two or more of the four highest-rated stations in the market. As such, Nexstar was required to sell either WXMI, WOOD and/or WOTV to separate, unrelated companies to address the ownership conflict. A sale of WXSP-CD was not required, as WXSP does not rank among the four highest-rated stations in the Grand Rapids–Kalamazoo–Battle Creek market and does not comply with FCC duopoly rules as it is licensed as a Class A low-power station.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] On March 20, 2019, it was announced Nexstar would keep both the WOOD-TV/WOTV duopoly and WXSP-CD and sell WXMI to the Cincinnati-based E. W. Scripps Company, as part of the company's sale of nineteen Nexstar- and Tribune-operated stations to Scripps and Tegna Inc. in separate deals worth $1.32 billion.[18][19]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[20][21][22][23][24]
15.1720p16:9WXSP CDMain WXSP-CD programming / MyNetworkTV
15.2480iCOZI TVCozi TV
15.34:3ESCAPECourt TV Mystery

Programming

Overnights, WXSP airs a live feed of WOOD-TV's Doppler weather radar (known as "Storm Track Live"), along with NOAA Weather Radio broadcast audio. The station may sometimes air ABC or NBC programming in the event of preemptions by WOTV or WOOD-TV.

The station was the Grand Rapids home for the former Detroit Pistons, Detroit Red Wings, and Big Ten Conference syndicated packages.[25]

Newscasts

On October 21, 2007, WXSP introduced a 10 p.m. newscast produced by sister station WOOD-TV, now known as News 8 at 10:00. The half-hour newscast competes with Fox station WXMI's hour-long prime time newscast, and later began to compete with a WWMT-produced program for its The CW subchannel.

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References
  1. 'Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner venture beginning in September, CNNMoney.com, January 24, 2006.
  2. UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
  3. "News Corp. to launch new mini-network for UPN stations". USA Today. February 22, 2006. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  4. News Corp. Unveils MyNetworkTV, Broadcasting & Cable, February 22, 2006.
  5. Sruthi Ramakrishnan (21 March 2014). "Media General to buy LIN Media for $1.6 billion". Reuters. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  6. "Nexstar-Media General: It's A Done Deal". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  7. "Nexstar Clinches Deal to Acquire Media General". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  8. "Acquisition of Tribune Media Company" (PDF). Nexstar Media Group. December 3, 2018.
  9. Mark K. Miller (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar Buying Tribune Media For $6.4 Billion". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media.
  10. Peter White; Dade Hayes (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar Confirms $4.1B Tribune Media Acquisition To Become Leading Local TV Station Owner". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
  11. Gerry Smith; Nabila Ahmed; Eric Newcomer (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar to buy WGN owner Tribune Media for $4.1 billion". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. Bloomberg News.
  12. Arjun Panchadar; Sonam Rai (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar to buy Tribune Media for $4.1 billion". Reuters.
  13. Jon Lafayette (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar Announces Deal to Buy Tribune for $6.4B". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
  14. Adam Jacobson (December 3, 2018). "It's Official: Nexstar Takes Tribune In Billion-Dollar Stock Deal". Radio-Television Business Report. Streamline-RBR, Inc.
  15. Harry A. Jessell; Mark K. Miller (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar To Spin Off $1B In Stations". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media.
  16. "Nexstar Media Group Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Tribune Media Company for $6.4 Billion in Accretive Transaction Creating the Nation's Largest Local Television Broadcaster and Local Media Company". Nexstar Media Group. December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  17. "Nexstar Media Group Enters Into Definitive Agreement To Acquire Tribune Media Company". Tribune Media. December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  18. Mark K. Miller (March 20, 2019). "Nexstar Selling 19 TVs In 15 Markets For $1.32B". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media.
  19. Nabila Ahmed; Anousha Sakoui (March 20, 2019). "Nexstar to Sell Stations to Tegna, Scripps for $1.32 Billion". Bloomberg News. Bloomberg, L.P.
  20. RabbitEars TV Query for WXSP-CD
  21. RabbitEars TV Query for WOBC-CD
  22. RabbitEars TV Query for WOMS-CD
  23. RabbitEars TV Query for WOHO-CD
  24. RabbitEars TV Query for WOKZ-CD
  25. Romano, Allison (December 16, 2005). "A Tale of Three Cities". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
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