Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation. FTS also produces the Fox program COPS and overseees distribution wing 20th Television as well as myNetworkTV.

History[link]

Fox Television Stations was formed in April 1986 after the acquisition of the Metromedia-owned independent stations by the 20th Century Fox film studio, at the time jointly owned by Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, and Denver-based billionaire Marvin Davis. These stations would later become the basis of the Fox television network, which launched in October 1986. Not long after the Metromedia deal was made, Murdoch purchased Davis's shares and News Corporation assumed complete control of 20th Century Fox.

Initially FTS was a semi-autonomous unit in which News Corporation owned over 99 percent of the equity but only 24 percent of the voting power; the balance was held personally by Murdoch.^[1] Federal Communications Commission regulations of that era prohibited foreign interests or non-American citizens from controlling more than 25 percent of an FCC-licensed broadcast station. Though News Corporation was still based in Australia, Murdoch had become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1985, and the nominal transfer of a majority voting interest to Murdoch was sufficient to get around this hurdle. The quirk was removed permanently when News Corporation reincorporated in the U.S. in 2004.^[2] The Fox network itself and affiliated cable channels were not affected by these regulations.

Starting with the original six stations, Fox Television Stations gained the bulk of its group through two large transactions: the 1997 purchase of New World Communications, succeeding a 1993 business deal between the two companies which led to all of New World's stations switching from other networks to Fox during 1994-95; and the 2001 acquisition of the Chris-Craft/United group, which gave Fox ownership of several stations then affiliated with the UPN network, and also created several duopolies (two stations in the same market owned by the same company).

The Fox-owned UPN affiliates were not included in the UPN/WB merger (The CW), which was announced on January 24, 2006. Soon after, these stations removed references to UPN from their on-air branding and websites. On February 22, 2006, Fox Television Stations announced that all of their non-Fox outlets will be charter affiliates of a new service known as MyNetworkTV [1], which commenced operations on September 5, 2006.

See also: U.S. television network affiliate switches of 1994, 2006 United States broadcast TV realignment

Partnerships with NBC Local Media, E. W. Scripps and CBS[link]

On November 13, 2008 Fox Television Stations and NBC Local Media, the station division of NBCUniversal, announced the formation of a partnership that will allow Fox-owned stations and NBC-owned stations to pool their news resources. The partnership is first being tested in the Philadelphia market, where Fox owns WTXF-TV and NBC operates WCAU-TV. The two stations are the first network affiliates in the nation to undertake the plan as an effective way to deal with rising in costs in news operations.

The service is scheduled to roll out later in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Dallas/Fort Worth and Washington, D.C., each a market in which Fox owns and operates two stations and NBC owns and operates an English-language station. ^{[3] [4][5][6][7]}

On April 1, 2009, Fox Television Stations announced a similar arrangement with the broadcast division of the E.W. Scripps Company, which covers markets where the two entities own stations: Detroit, Phoenix and Tampa/St. Petersburg. (title)

On May 19, 2009, WFXT in Boston announced a video-sharing agreement with that city's CBS-owned station, WBZ-TV. The stations will share video for general market news, along with a helicopter for traffic reports and breaking news. (title)

List of Fox owned-and-operated stations[link]

Stations are arranged alphabetically by state and city of license. Currently (as of 2012) a total of 27 stations, consisting of 17 Fox stations and 10 MyNetworkTV stations.

Notes:
1) ** -- Indicates an original Fox-owned station from the network's inception in 1986;
2) ++ -- Indicates a station owned by New World Communications prior to its acquisition by News Corporation in 1997;
3) ¤¤ -- Indicates a station owned by Chris-Craft Industries prior to its acquisition by News Corporation in 2001.

Former[link]

Footnotes:

• ¹ WCVB-TV was included in the original sale of the Metromedia stations to News Corporation, but was spun off in a separate, concurrent deal to the Hearst Corporation as part of a right of first refusal related to that station's 1982 acquisition by Metromedia.

On a side note, in between the events of Fox acquiring its original charter affiliates and the New World affiliation agreement, only WTXF, WFXT, KDVR, WOFL, KSTU and WOGX were already affiliated with Fox when they were acquired much later on.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official listing of FTSG stations

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

A television station is a business, organisation or other enterprise, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits (broadcasts) content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can occur via analog television signals or, more recently, via digital television signals. Broadcast television systems standards are set by the government, and these vary around the world. Television stations broadcasting over an anolog system were typically limited to one television channel, but digital television enables broadcasting via subchannels as well. The term "television station" is normally applied to terrestrial television stations, and not to cable television or satellite television broadcasting.

Television stations usually require a broadcast license from a government agency which sets the requirements and limitations on the station. In the United States, for example, a television license defines the broadcast range, or geographic area, that the station is limited to, allocates the broadcast frequency of the radio spectrum for that station's transmissions, sets limits on what types of television programs can be programmed for broadcast, and requires a station to broadcast a minimum amount of certain programs types, such as public affairs messages, among other conditions.

Most commercial television stations are owned independently, but many are either affiliated with a television network or are owned-and-operated (O&O) by a television network. Another form a television station may take is non-commercial educational (NCE) and considered public broadcasting. To avoid concentration of media ownership of television stations, government regulations in most countries generally limit the ownership of television stations by television networks or other media operators, but these regulations vary considerably. Some countries have set up nationwide television networks, in which individual television stations act as mere repeaters of nationwide programs. In those countries, the local television station has no station identification and, from a consumer's point of view, there is no practical distinction between a network and a station, with only small regional changes in programming, such as local television news.

Transmission[link]

Cerro de Punta, Puerto Rico's highest peak, and its TV transmission towers

To broadcast its programs, a television station requires operators to operate equipment, a transmitter or radio antenna, which is often located at the highest point available in the transmission area, such as on a summit, the top of a high skyscraper, or on a tall radio tower. To get a signal from the master control room to the transmitter, a studio/transmitter link (STL) is used. The link can be either by radio or T1/E1. A transmitter/studio link (TSL) may also send telemetry back to the station, but this may be embedded in subcarriers of the main broadcast. Stations which retransmit or simulcast another may simply pick-up that station over-the-air, or via STL or satellite. The license usually specifies which other station is it allowed to carry.

VHF stations often have very tall antennas due to their long wavelength, but require much less effective radiated power (ERP), and therefore use much less transmitter power output, also saving on the electricity bill and emergency backup generators. In North America, full-power stations on band I (channels 2 to 6) are generally limited to 100 kW analog video (VSB) and 10 kW analog audio (FM), or 45 kW digital (8VSB) ERP. Stations on band III (channels 7 to 13) can go up by 5dB(W) to 316 kW video, 31.6 kW audio, or 160 kW digital. Low-VHF stations are often subject to long-distance reception just as with FM. There are no stations on Channel 1.

UHF, by comparison, has a much shorter wavelength, and thus requires a shorter antenna, but also higher power. North American stations can go up to 5000 kW ERP for video and 500 kW audio, or 1000 kW digital. Low channels travel further than high ones at the same power, but UHF does not suffer from as much electromagnetic interference and background "noise" as VHF, making it much more desirable for TV. Despite this, in the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking another large portion of this band (channels 52 to 69) away, in contrast to the rest of the world, which has been taking VHF instead. This means that some stations left on VHF will be harder to receive after the analog shutdown. Since at least 1974, there are no stations on channel 37 in North America for radio astronomy purposes.

Program production[link]

Most television stations are commercial broadcasting enterprises which are structured in a variety of ways to generate revenue from television commercials. They may be an independent station or part of a broadcasting network, or some other structure. They can produce some or all of their programs or buy some broadcast syndication programming for or all of it from other stations or independent production companies.

Many stations have some sort of television studio, which on major-network stations is often used for newscasts or other local programming. There is usually a news department, where journalists gather information. There is also a section where electronic news-gathering (ENG) operations are based, receiving remote broadcasts via remote pickup unit or satellite TV. Outside broadcasting vans, production trucks, or SUVs with electronic field production (EFP) equipment are sent out with reporters, who may also bring back news stories on video tape rather than sending them back live.

To keep pace with technology United States television stations have been replacing operators with broadcast automation systems to increase profits in recent years.

Stations not affiliated with major television networks generally do not air to the public, or much other television programming. Some stations (known as repeaters or translators) only simulcast another, usually the programmes seen on its owner's flagship station, and have no television studio or production facilities of their own. This is common in developing countries. Low-power stations typically also fall into this category worldwide.

Most stations which are not simulcast produce their own station identifications, using digital alien TV graphics. TV stations may also advertise on or provide weather (or news) services to local radio stations, particularly co-owned sister stations. This may be a barter in some cases.

See also[link]

• Class A television service
• Digital television transition
• Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow: the first^{[citation needed]} television station in Germany
• List of European television stations
• List of North American broadcast station classes
• Low-power broadcasting
• Must carry
• Significantly viewed out of market TV stations in the United States

Look up television station in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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Fox Broadcasting Company

Type	Television Broadcasting
Country	United States
Availability	International
Founded	by Rupert Murdoch, Barry Diller
Slogan	So Fox
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California
Area	United States
Owner	Fox Entertainment Group (News Corporation)
Key people	Peter Rice Chairman, Entertainment Kevin Reilly President, Entertainment
Launch date	October 9, 1986 (launch of on-air operations) April 5, 1987 (primetime launch)
Former names	Briefly abbreviated "FBC"
Picture format	1080i HD 480i SD (formatted to downconverted widescreen in many markets)
Callsigns	FOX
Affiliates	Lists: By state or By market
Official website	www.fox.com
Notes [1]

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as the Fox Network or simply Fox (and stylized as FOX),^[2][3] is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic from 2004 to 2009.^[4] In the 2007–08 season, Fox became the most popular network in America in household ratings for the first time in its history, replacing CBS.^[4] CBS took back the top spot in the 2008–09 season.^[5]

The Fox Broadcasting Company and its affiliates operate many entertainment channels internationally, although these do not necessarily air the same programming as the U.S. network. Most viewers in Canada have access to at least one U.S. Fox affiliate, although most of Fox's primetime programming is subject to Canadian simultaneous substitution regulations.

The network is named after sister company 20th Century Fox, and indirectly for producer William Fox, who founded one of the movie studio's predecessors, Fox Film.

History[link]

20th Century Fox was involved in the television production as early as the 1950s. The company produced several syndicated programs during this era. In November 1956, 20th Century-Fox purchased 50% of the NTA Film Network, an early syndicator of films and television programs.^[6] Following the demise of the DuMont Television Network, NTA was launched as a new "fourth network".^[7] 20th Century-Fox would also produce original content for the NTA Network.^[6] The film network effort would fail after a few years, but Fox continued to dabble in television through its production arm, TCF Television Productions, producing series such as Perry Mason for the Big Three television networks.