WXIX-TV
WXIX-TV, channel 19, is a Fox-affiliated television station licensed to Newport, Kentucky, USA and serving the Cincinnati, Ohio television market. WXIX-TV is owned by Raycom Media, and maintains studios on Seventh Street in downtown Cincinnati; its transmitter is located in the South Fairmount neighborhood on the northwest side of Cincinnati.
History
WXIX-TV began operation as an independent station on August 1, 1968; it was founded by U.S. Communications Corporation, which also owned UHF independent stations in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. WXIX-TV was the first new commercial station in the market since 1949, and the second UHF station in the area (behind PBS member station WCET, channel 48). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had allocated one full-power commercial UHF station to Cincinnati – channel 65 (later 64, now occupied by WSTR-TV). However, when U.S. Communications found out that the FCC had dropped in a channel 19 allocation across the river in Newport, it sought a license for that allocation instead. The lower channel number not only allowed WXIX to provide wider signal coverage at less cost, but was also thought to be more marketable.