WSFL-TV
kW | |
HAAT | 297 m (974 ft) |
---|---|
Transmitter coordinates | 25°58′8″N 80°13′19″W / 25.96889°N 80.22194°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | wsfltv |
WSFL-TV (channel 39) is a
History
As an independent station
The station first signed on the air on October 16, 1982, as WDZL. It was originally owned by Channel 39 Broadcasting Ltd. Operating as an
In December 1984,
In mid-January 1994, the station began airing the
As a WB affiliate
WDZL became a charter
As a CW affiliate
On January 24, 2006, the
On September 1, 2008, in a corporate move by Tribune to de-emphasize references to The CW in the branding of its CW-affiliated stations, channel 39 was rebranded as "SFL" and it debuted a logo featuring the stylistic capital "S" in the Sun-Sentinel nameplate logo. Around the same time, WSFL moved its operations into the Fort Lauderdale offices of the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.[7] By February 2012, the station rebranded as "SFL-TV" to de-emphasize its connection to the Sun-Sentinel, as WSFL no longer offers full-scale local newscasts.[8]
On July 10, 2013, Tribune announced plans to spin off its publishing division into a separate company. The split was finalized in 2014, and WSFL-TV remain with the Tribune Company (which retain all non-publishing assets, including the broadcasting, digital media and
Sale attempts and sales since 2017
Sinclair Broadcast Group entered into an agreement to acquire Tribune Media on May 8, 2017, for $3.9 billion, plus assumption of $2.7 billion in Tribune debt.[10][11] In order to meet regulatory approval, Sinclair agreed to divest WSFL to Fox Television Stations[12] in what was part of a $910 million deal;[13] Fox executives declined to make any public statement regarding the status of current affiliate WSVN[14] which had a contract with the network through June 30, 2019.[15] Both transactions were nullified when Tribune Media terminated the merger and filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Sinclair;[16][17] this followed FCC chairman Ajit Pai rejecting the deal[18] and the commission voting to put it through a hearing.[19]
Nexstar Media Group subsequently announced their acquisition of Tribune Media on December 3, 2018, for $6.4 billion in cash and debt.[20] As part of the deal, WSFL was divested to the E. W. Scripps Company in a series of transactions with multiple companies that totaled $1.32 billion.[21][22] The sale was completed on September 19, 2019.[23][24] On April 19, 2024, Nexstar announced that The CW would not renew its affiliations with Scripps-owned stations, including WSFL-TV.[25]
Newscasts
Tribune era
In 1997, NBC owned-and-operated station WTVJ and the Sun-Sentinel entered into a partnership to co-produce a nightly 10 p.m. newscast on WDZL, titled WB 39 News at 10.[26] When the station became a CW affiliate, the newscast's title was changed accordingly to CW News at 10. On March 5, 2008, WTVJ began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition; the 10 p.m. broadcast on WSFL was included in the upgrade. For the duration of the 2008 Summer Olympics, WSFL's newscast utilized a two-anchor format and closely mirrored the format of the newscasts airing on WTVJ. The 10 p.m. newscast during this time was broadcast from WTVJ's primary news set at Peacock Plaza in Miramar, with the only alterations being differences in the set's duratrans for the WSFL newscast. The WTVJ-produced newscast on WSFL was one of a handful of newscasts that were produced through news share agreements with Tribune-owned stations, including newscasts airing sister stations WPHL-TV in Philadelphia (whose 10 p.m. newscast was originally produced by NBC-owned WCAU, and has since transferred production to ABC-owned WPVI-TV) and KRCW-TV in Portland, Oregon (whose prime time newscast was originally produced by NBC affiliate KGW, and has since transferred production to Nexstar-owned CBS affiliate KOIN).
On August 26, 2008, WTVJ and WSFL agreed to terminate their news share agreement, most likely due to WTVJ's planned acquisition by
On September 28, 2015, WSFL-TV became the third station to launch the Tribune-developed news format, NewsFix, launching a half-hour prime time newscast, NewsFix SFL at 10:00. The format de-emphasizes the traditional use of anchors and reporters, in favor of using footage featuring those involved and continuity provided by a narrator to help illustrate the story.[28][29] As of September 2018[update], NewsFix SFL no longer airs on the station.
Scripps era
On November 14, 2019, Scripps announced that they would bring local news back to WSFL, originally starting in spring 2020.[30] However, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, the newscast debut did not occur. On March 10, 2021, it was announced that WPLG (now owned by BH Media) would produce 7–9 a.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts for WSFL, which began on June 1.[31]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Video | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
39.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WSFL-DT | The CW |
39.2 | 480i | CourtTV | Court TV | |
39.3 | AntTV | Antenna TV | ||
39.4 | Defy | Defy TV | ||
39.5 | QVC | QVC |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WSFL-TV ended programming on its analog signal, on
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WSFL-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Benson, Jim (January 20, 1994). "'Action' packs wallop, gives markets a boost". Variety. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 26, 1997.
- ^ Channel 39 Changes Its Call Letters, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, April 27, 1998.
- CNNMoney.com, January 24, 2006.
- ^ UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
- ^ TV station, paper to share offices, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 20, 2008.
- ^ a b Malone, Michael (February 10, 2012). "Tribune's WSFL Rebrands in Miami". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ Haughney, Christine; Carr, David (July 10, 2013). "Tribune Co. to Split in Two". New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
- ^ Stephen Battaglio (May 8, 2017). "Sinclair Broadcast Group to buy Tribune Media for $3.9 billion plus debt". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
- ^ Cynthia Littleton (May 8, 2017). "Sinclair Broadcast Group Sets $3.9 Billion Deal to Acquire Tribune Media". Variety. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (February 22, 2018). "21st Century Fox Finalizing Deal With Sinclair to Acquire Six TV Stations (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
- ^ Hayes, Dade (May 9, 2018). "21st Century Fox Buys Seven Local TV Stations From Sinclair For $910 Million". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- TVSpy. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
- ^ Lafayette, Jon. "Ansin: WSVN-TV Will Thrive Despite Fox Buying Fla. Station". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ Mark K. Miller (August 9, 2018). "Tribune Kills Sinclair Merger, Files Suit". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media.
- ^ Jon Lafayette (August 9, 2018). "Tribune Ends Deal with Sinclair, Files Breach of Contract Suit". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
- ^ Benjamin Hart (July 16, 2018). "FCC Throws Wrench Into Sinclair Media Megadeal". New York. New York Media, LLC. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
- ^ Todd Shields (July 16, 2018). "Sinclair and Tribune Fall as FCC Slams TV Station Sale Plan". Bloomberg News. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ Jon Lafayette (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar Announces Deal to Buy Tribune for $6.4B". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
- ^ Mark K. Miller (March 20, 2019). "Nexstar Selling 19 TVs In 15 Markets For $1.32B". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media.
- Bloomberg, L.P.
- ^ "Scripps Closes Acquisition of Eight TV Stations from Nexstar-Tribune Merger Divestitures", E. W. Scripps Company, September 19, 2019, Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (September 19, 2019). "Nexstar Completes Tribune Acquisition, Sean Compton to Head Programming". Variety. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ Lafayette, Jon (April 19, 2024). "Nexstar Dropping Scripps-Owned The CW Affiliates in 7 Markets". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- South Florida Sun-Sentinel, December 13, 1996.
- ^ The Miami Herald. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
- ^ "News Fix Starting Monday 10p". WSFL-TV. September 22, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
- ^ Roly Ortega (September 29, 2015). "The "NewsFix" format expands to South Florida on WSFL, their first local newscast in 5 years". The Changing Newscasts Blog. WordPress. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
- broadcasting & cable. November 14, 2019.
- ^ "WPLG and WSFL Partner On New Newscasts". TV News Check. March 21, 2021.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WSFL
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.