WVPX-TV
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HAAT | 290.32 meters (952 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°3′20″N 81°35′37″W / 41.05556°N 81.59361°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | iontelevision |
WVPX-TV (channel 23) is a
Built and signed on by S. Bernard Berk's Summit Radio Corporation, this station originally was WAKR-TV—the television extension of
Renamed WVPX-TV, the station has been an affiliate of Ion Television since it launched under the Pax TV name on August 31, 1998,
WAKR-TV (1953–1986)
Frozen out of VHF
In early December 1947, Summit Radio Corporation, the family-owned business of S. Bernard Berk and owners of
After the release of the FCC's Sixth Report and Order lifted the freeze in 1952, the Commission reassigned the proposed Akron license from a VHF signal to one of two potential UHF signals,[23] as channel 11 was no longer available in order to protect what would become WTOL in Toledo and WIIC-TV (now WPXI) in Pittsburgh. Moreover, the Commission collapsed both Akron and Canton into the Cleveland market and now limited the combined market to three existing VHF signals—channels 3, 5 and 8 (changed from 4, 5 and 9).[24] Summit Radio was awarded the permit for WAKR-TV on channel 49 by September 4, 1952;[25][26] a coin flip determined the winning bid between Summit and WADC as the other frequency available, channel 65, was not considered operable at the time.[27]
With WAKR already housed at the First Central Tower in the city's downtown,[28][29] a UHF mast was affixed to the top of the building to much fanfare, with onlookers watching from the ground level during the multi-day process,[30] and pictures of the tower installation published on the front page of the Akron Beacon Journal several times.[31][32] Test transmissions began on June 7, 1953 , that consisted solely of a test pattern card featuring the call sign and an illustration of the tower,[33] while appliance stores in the city ran advertisements promoting either new television sets—or converter equipment to upgrade existing sets—concurrently promoting the station's upcoming launch.[34][35] These signal tests continued on a regular set schedule until WAKR-TV formally signed on the air on July 19, 1953 .[36]
In contrast to the tower construction, the studio operations at the First Central Tower were temporary, as Summit Radio had acquired the former Copley Theatre as a permanent home for the WAKR stations; the building operated as a theater between March 1947 and October 1952.
Focused on Akron
You at WAKR-TV must always realize, that the people will be greatly influenced by your programs... I'm sure you will realize your duties to these people.
The Rev. C. Willard Fetter, on WAKR-TV's opening program[36]
Due to both the station's permanent studios still being under construction and ABC not yet programming on a full-time basis, WAKR-TV acquired a film package consisting of high-profile
From the beginning, WAKR-TV eschewed the Cleveland market proper in favor of Akron and Canton, boasting the only television newscast that focused specifically on both cities, sharing resources with WAKR, which had earned the distinction of being one of the first radio stations in the United States to house an active news department at its 1940 establishment.[27] WAKR personalities began appearing on the television side, including long-time radio staffers Jack Fitzgibbons,[54] Bill Murphy and Bob Wylie;[55][56] indeed, the first live programs over WAKR-TV were a local newscast anchored by Bill Murphy, followed by a Bob Wylie-headlined sportscast.[36] Jack Fitzgibbons would become the station's lead anchorman and news director alongside his daily radio news reports,[57] positions he held until leaving broadcasting in 1969 to become Akron's deputy mayor.[58] Future progressive rock radio personality Scott Muni, who was WAKR's evening host from 1956 to 1958, presented the nightly weather report at 6:55 p.m. on WAKR-TV featuring a unique setup allowing him to write the forecast on a pane of glass, then reversed by a mirrored camera, this would directly lead in to his radio program that started at 7:15 pm.[59] Long-time WAKR midday host Jack Ryan—despite having no background in meteorology[60]—later served as WAKR-TV's lead weatherman throughout the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.[61]
Live events and sports coverage heard on WAKR would find itself shown on WAKR-TV. Six days after the station's launch, the station's first live telecast of an outdoor event occurred with coverage of Akron's Sesquicentennial Parade.[62] The following week, the station broadcast film of the 1953 Beacon Journal Soap Box Derby and All-American Finals in prime time, with Bob Wylie providing play-by-play.[63] Wylie in particular soon became known as the "Voice of the Zips", thanks to the station's broadcasts of Akron Zips football and basketball.[55] WAKR-TV also touted itself as having broken news of the armistice agreement which formally suspended the Korean War well before any of the Cleveland market stations reported the news.[64] Another alliance existed with the Akron Beacon Journal, as publisher Knight Newspapers—a forerunner of Knight Ridder—held a minority stake in Summit Radio from 1946 to 1977.[65][66]
Local music, variety and children's shows
In addition to local news and sports, the station tried producing different programs characteristic of the era, continuing to utilize talent from the radio station. WAKR morning host Torey Southwick became the
TV was much more exciting back then—the urgency of it, not knowing what was going to happen... it was live. If you made mistakes, you made mistakes.
"Professor Jack" Bennett[74]
A weekly local music and dance program titled The Hop aired on the station beginning in 1957 with a succession of WAKR air talent as host; this included Scott Muni, Jack Ryan and Rick (Hudak) Shaw.[75][76][77] Originally a cross-promotional vehicle for WAKR's Top 40 format, The Hop became popular with teenage viewers as a local version of American Bandstand, which WAKR-TV also carried;[78] dropped from the schedule at the end of 1961, it was temporarily revived in 1962 thanks to viewer demand.[79] WAKR-TV also launched Akron Tonight—a late-evening variety show featuring local musical acts and Akron news headlines—on March 30, 1959;[80][81] the show was briefly reworked the following February into a weekly program presented by WAKR's Charlie Greer.[82] Greer had previously hosted a limited-run dance program devoted to big band music over WAKR-TV in 1958.[83] One of the more successful local shows on WAKR-TV was another early-evening children's television program hosted by Jack Boigegrain (known on air as Jack Bennett) under the "Professor Jack" persona, which debuted on February 25, 1963.[84] Bennett also presented weather reports in the late evenings, billed as the "Weather Profit".[85] The program ended on April 1, 1966, after Bennett was denied a raise by station management; this followed a potential hiring by KYW-TV as a replacement for Linn Sheldon falling through due to a subsequent court-ordered ownership change.[74]
Starting with the 1963–64 television season,[86] WAKR-TV began carrying the entire ABC-TV lineup in pattern with occasional deviations for high school sports and Akron Zips sports coverage;[87] this followed a change in FCC policy that also allowed affiliates to preempt or reschedule network shows at their discretion.[88] Following this, much of the station's local productions were curtailed, with one of the last local prime time shows being Bob Lee Playhouse, a limited-run weekly variety show in the spring of 1963 hosted by WAKR's Bob Lee.[84] Carrying the ABC lineup in pattern also resulted in WAKR-TV's broadcast schedule largely mirroring fellow ABC primary affiliate WEWS's schedule, although WEWS more freely preempted or rescheduled weaker offerings from the network.[87] While WEWS had the larger measured audience by a commanding margin throughout, both stations would continue to fight for each other's viewership.[64] One last attempt at a local variety/talk show occurred in the early 1970s with WAKR morning personality and WAKR-TV evening sportscaster Jerry Healey as host.[89][90] The Jerry Healey Show launched on November 27, 1972, at 11 a.m. weekdays[91] and aired until Healey left the stations at the end of 1973;[92] Healey then hosted TGIF Party, a weekly WAKR-TV program on Friday nights throughout the summer of 1974.[93]
Technical issues and move to channel 23
In promoting the station's sign-on, UHF signals were touted as not being any different from VHF signals in a technical sense,[23] and S. Bernard Berk provided optimistic words that "about 99.44/100% of the Akron area will receive (WAKR-TV) without difficulty."[94] Such sentiment was supported by a study one month after the station launched, showing almost one-third of television sets in the city had been converted to receive UHF, figures much higher than expected for a market serviced by VHF channels.[95] Despite this initial optimism, the station immediately ran into issues with poor reception, transmission issues relating to inclement weather conditions, and a lack of adequate UHF channel tuners.[96]
Even with passage of the
The changes at WAKR-TV were not just technical: founder S. Bernard Berk died on July 11, 1966, at age 69.[99] His widow Viola Berk initially assumed control over Summit Radio[100] then transferred control over in 1970 to son Roger G. Berk,[25] who had been actively involved with the TV station since its establishment.[27]
Geographical disadvantages
While WAKR thrived throughout the 1970s and 1980s, WAKR-TV continued to struggle. Even with the move to channel 23, the Akron and Cleveland markets were collapsed into one, forcing the station to operate in the shadows of the three high-profile VHF stations in the Cleveland market.[4] As one of two ABC affiliates broadcasting in the same market, WAKR-TV continued to clear the network's lineup in pattern with next to no deviations.[5] Most notably, this included running Good Morning America in its entirety from the program's 1975 launch;[101] WEWS did not carry GMA until 1978,[102] and until September 1994 only aired the first hour, opting out at 8 a.m. for The Morning Exchange.[103] At the same time, the carriage of ABC's lineup in its entirety was occasionally seen as a liability for channel 23 whenever WEWS opted to preempt lower-rated or weaker programming.[5] WAKR-TV, however, did have success carrying a steady amount of paid local and national religious programming, including The 700 Club, which was added to the schedule in 1975.[104] By 1979, the station aired religious fare for 32 hours every week,[105] Roger G. Berk having chalked it up to viewer demand.[4]
You have to marvel at Fred (Anthony), keeping spirits up down there in the newsroom, with them not being rated... it's an ego thing. He walks down the street, and people recognize him. 'Hey, Fred,' they say. Ever been out to lunch with him? That ego boost, that recognition, is what keeps the team going. It's sheer guts.
Robert Bostian[60]
WAKR-TV's audience was often outranked by WEWS in
The station successfully fought to be excluded from market limitations for syndicated programming in 1974 for two years, and after
Becoming a training ground
Even with the numerous limitations facing the station, local newscast production remained consistent. Fred Anthony joined WAKR as a reporter in 1969, then became news director for both the radio and television stations, and lead anchor for WAKR-TV's 6 p.m. newscast.[112] The station won the 1973 Ohio Associated Press award for best regularly scheduled news program,[113] with Anthony receiving credit for helping instill "a renewed sense of pride" among the staffers.[60] WAKR-TV was able to add an 11 p.m. newscast on September 20, 1976,[114] and while Anthony gradually left his on-air position, he remained active in channel 23's operations into the mid-1980s and at WAKR until 1992.[112] Under Anthony, the news department attained a reputation for hard work and scrappiness, competing against the Cleveland stations with a smaller staff, fewer resources and sometimes equipment shortages;[64] at one point, the news department only had one camera capable of recording sound.[60] Such shortages were not unique. The station ceased telecasting Akron Zips basketball games after the 1968–69 season when their remote unit used for the games—which only functioned in black-and-white—was donated to the university, and a replacement color remote unit was cost-prohibitive.[115]
It was almost like we're sort of in it together ... working for good video [for an audition tape] instead of money.
Mark Nolan[64]
Similar to the reputation WAKR developed in the 1940s and 1950s as a "stepping stone" for future famous radio and television announcers,[99] WAKR-TV became a training ground for future broadcasters. Long-time anchorman Ted Henry began his career as a reporter for both WAKR and WAKR-TV in 1965,[116] as did veteran Cleveland news anchor and reporter Dick Russ in 1976.[117] Future CNN anchor Carol Costello, a Minerva native, got her start at the WAKR stations in 1984 as a reporter, covering the Akron police beat and multiple court trials.[118][64] Sportscaster Jeff Phelps began his broadcast career in 1981 co-hosting a weekly program with Kent State Golden Flashes football coach Ed Chlebek on WAKR-TV, in addition to being a color commentator for Kent State football broadcasts on WAKR.[119] Denny Schreiner was WAKR and WAKR-TV's sports director prior to joining ESPN as lead play-by-play voice for their PBA Tour coverage.[120] Future WKYC meteorologist Mark Nolan and future WEWS chief meteorologist Mark Johnson worked together at the station, with Johnson training Nolan.[64] Eventual lead anchor and news director Mark Williamson started his tenure with channel 23 in 1979; one of the first major stories he covered while doing helicopter-based traffic reports for the WAKR stations was the August 2, 1979, plane crash that killed Thurman Munson.[121]
One bright spot for the TV station came when WAKR personality Billy Soule became a
WAKC-TV (1986–1998)
Separated from radio
You just deliver the news. And you don't tell people how to think. You don't tell them it's an 'awful' murder. Yeah, it's awful that the kid got run over by the steamroller... we don't ask his mother, 'How do you feel?' I don't do that because you know how she feels, for crissakes.
Mark Williamson[126]
Summit Radio sold off WAKR, WONE-FM, and their radio stations in Dayton, Dallas and Denver—held under the "Group One Broadcasting"
The terms of the radio station sale called for WAKR and WONE-FM to be moved out of the Copley Road studios, as Summit/Group One retained ownership of the building, both radio stations left the following year.[133] A co-op agreement was also established between the radio stations and WAKC; one WAKR reporter was notably fired due to his displeasure over having to record a video segment for a public affairs program jointly aired on both radio and television.[134] WAKR and WAKC also continued co-production of Civic Forum of the Air in coordination with the Jewish Community Center of Akron;[135] this weekly public affairs program, which aired on Sunday mornings on WAKC throughout this time, debuted on both radio and television on June 4, 1961,[136] and remains on the WAKR schedule to the present day as Forum 360.[137] Staff were eventually separated, however. Tim Daugherty—who had been hired by Summit/Group One as part of WONE-FM's initial airstaff following its conversion from WAEZ on January 1, 1985[138]—was retained by WAKC as their lead weatherman,[139] despite minimal on-camera experience and, like Jack Ryan before him, no meteorological background.[121] Meanwhile, Carol Costello briefly stayed with the radio stations after WAKC did not offer her a substantial on-air position, ultimately leaving the market altogether.[140]
While the Berks had initially invested the profits from the radio station divestitures into WAKC,
ValueVision ownership
In an era when more and more local broadcasters are worshiping at the Shrine of the Tabloid ... the Berk family and its news managers usually have erred on the side of caution. Far more often than not, they have been responsible, conscientious journalists. It is sad to see yet another local, family-owned broadcasting outlet gobbled up by a faceless, out-of-state conglomerate.
Bob Dyer[141]
On November 20, 1993, the Akron Beacon Journal reported that Summit/Group One was in talks to sell off WAKC to a then-undisclosed
By mid-December, two ValueVision representatives visited the station and made multiple pledges to the staff, including no reduction in newscast output, no layoffs, and that WAKC would not become a 24-hour home shopping channel; other promises even included the establishment of a news bureau in Washington, D.C.[148] Despite the assurances, Beacon Journal TV columnist Bob Dyer questioned the company's motives based on their prospectus, suggesting that WAKC was bought to help get their home shopping programming on cable thanks to the FCC's "must-carry" regulations for full-power television stations that apply to all cable systems.[141] One of those representatives, vice president of broadcast operations Mike Jones, took over as WAKC's vice president and general manager when the deal closed on April 18, 1994;[149] concurrently, ValueVision and ABC came to an agreement on a new affiliate contract for WAKC, effectively keeping the home shopping programming off of the station entirely.[10]
This sudden change again attracted the ire of Bob Dyer, who openly asked in his June 22, 1994, column why their initial plans for WAKC becoming a home shopping outlet of some sort—all of which were publicly announced to investors, the FCC and the
As part of the promised revamp of the news operations, veteran broadcaster Bob Tayek was hired as vice president of news, while existing news director/lead anchor Mark Williamson was also appointed to head a new investigative reporting unit.[149] Rebranded as "The NorthOhio NewsStation" despite retaining a focus on Akron and Canton,[154] WAKC's 6 p.m. newscast was expanded to one hour on October 31, 1994.[155] That change, however, took longer than expected to implement and came at the expense of their weekend 11 p.m. newscasts, which were canceled and never reinstated.[156] Questions still persisted among the staff about the new owners' commitment to news, while Tayek had assumed most of Mark Williamson's administrative duties.[157] Despite the changes, viewership remained minimal and the quality was uneven at best; general manager Mike Jones even sent a memo to the staff calling one August 1995 newscast he had viewed "the worst newscast ever produced in the history of broadcasting."[156] Bob Dyer later likened Jones unfavorably to then-Browns head coach Bill Belichick in his newspaper column, saying that Jones was "the perfect illustration of why people in places like Akron loathe most of what resides inside the Beltway," owing to his weekend commutes to a Washington, D.C., residence.[154]
Paxson takeover
Faced with operating a station that they could not use for their own programming, ValueVision announced the sale of WAKC on August 25, 1995, to
News ceases at this moment.
Dean Goodman, Paxson Communications president, to the WAKC newsroom on February 28, 1996[11]
Hours after the transaction closed on February 28, 1996, Paxson Communications president Dean Goodman entered the newsroom at 1:40 p.m. and tersely said to the staff, "News ceases at this moment."
No public on-air notice was given, nor were any newscast promos or "NorthOhio News Station" station identifications removed,[166] resulting in some viewers expressing surprise over the syndicated Today's Health airing in place of the 6 p.m. news.[165] Williamson expressed regret over not being able to break the news of the news department's shutdown, saying, "I was looking at that ugly building with that awful decor and thinking how I've been there almost every day for 17 years. And I was just crying my eyes out because I knew I'd never see it like that again."[167] Williamson's wife, Beacon Journal columnist Mary Ethridge, disclosed that he was one of several employees that was offered a severance package described as "decent" but not extended to all the fired staffers.[168] Then-Akron mayor Don Plusquellic, who subsequently hired Williamson as the communications director for the Akron Public Schools,[169] compared the shuttering of WAKC's news operations to the closure of the O'Neil's department store seven years earlier, musing "people said it was such a shame, and I asked, 'when was the last time you shopped there?'", alluding to the low ratings that had plagued the newscasts throughout.[11][12] Akron's City Council, however, unanimously passed a resolution critical of the firings and the city's loss of local TV newscasts, with one councilman urging a boycott against channel 23.[170]
You never forget, it's like when JFK was shot... Mark Williamson and I were out at The Church of (Jesus Christ of) Latter-Day Saints out in Cuyahoga Falls...we were getting ready to put this three-part series (on Mormonism) together. We literally walked back in the station and they said, "about ten seconds ago, they (Paxson management) said none of us had jobs."
Tim Coffey[162]
The total number of WAKC's 70 employees who were dismissed varied significantly. Paxson management said it was as low as 15, while former staffers said it was between 50 and 60.
Moving out of Akron
Dean Goodman and WAKC acting general manager Terry Hanson defended the dissolution of the news department. Hanson said, "we decided this is not the news we want to put on" and were re-evaluating many things
News of the station's move to Warrensville Heights upset residents and business owners in the West Akron neighborhood, with city officials worried about the building's vacancy potentially harming plans for the neighborhood's economic redevelopment.[177] Indeed, the former studios were used as storage; a onetime employee broke in to the building several times throughout 1997 to steal $75,000 worth of equipment once used by the news department for resale, only to be discovered by former colleagues who managed a Tallmadge electronics store.[178] The Good Shepherd Baptist Church purchased the building in 1998 after their prior sanctuary across the street was destroyed in a fire,[179] but moved out in 2014 after prolonged flooding and water damage to the building.[180] Vacant from that point until the building was demolished in April 2022,[121] signage bearing the "WAKC" name was never fully removed and still graced the building's entrance.[181][182] WAKC's news tape archive held a better fate: Schiller arranged for the remaining tapes to be loaned to NBC for conversion to digital, then donated to the Summit County Historical Society at no cost.[183]
In the fall of 1996, the station began branding itself as "ABC 23" and added some additional, newly-purchased syndicated programs to its schedule.[184] Despite this, Paxson decided to end WAKC's affiliation at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 1997,[185] a decision that even surprised Schiller, who intended to continue operating WAKC as an ABC affiliate from the new Warrensville Heights facility even without local newscasts.[184] The remainder of their general programming inventory was also dropped on December 31 in favor of Paxson's infomercial service inTV (or the Infomall Television Network).[186] WEWS general manager Gary Robinson expressed relief at no longer having to compete against WAKC for the same audience, a distinction no other Cleveland station had even as WAKC's prime time ratings were minimal by comparison.[184] Having become largely superfluous, Paxson sold off managerial control of WOAC to Global Broadcasting Services in April 1997 for $23 million, but the deal was delayed after Global entered bankruptcy and was purchased by Shop at Home Network, who completed the transaction, while WOAC's operations remained in Warrensville Heights.[187]
Bolstered by a Supreme Court decision affirming the "must-carry" FCC regulations, Paxson began developing plans for a network anchored by their chain of UHF stations, including WAKC,[188] announcing the creation of Pax TV on November 18, 1997, following the acquisition of multiple off-network rerun packages.[189] Consequently, WAKC assumed its current WVPX-TV callsign on January 13, 1998, to reinforce the Pax TV branding, while it was also seen as a symbolic severing of the station's last remaining connection to Akron.[2] Positioned as a "family-friendly" network consisting mostly of high-profile off-network reruns, Pax TV launched on August 31, 1998, with WVPX as a charter owned-and-operated station, carrying the network's entire schedule.[14]
WVPX-TV (1998–present)
Attempts at local news
...in trying to get Channel 23 to put on a local newscast, (Akron) city officials are ignoring some unpleasant realities about the way TV works. First of all, a newscast, no matter how simple, isn't made by elves. Someone has to pay for it.
R.D. Heldenfels[190]
Several attempts were made to fill the void. Former channel 23 sports anchor Phil Ferguson attempted a
This was our TV station that they packed up and moved out of town, and now they want to climb up on our roof and put an antenna up. I have a problem with that.
Michael Williams, Akron councilman[192]
When Paxson submitted a zoning request to the Akron City Council on November 15, 1999, for a replacement 963-foot (294 m)
WKYC alliance and Pax 23 News
I hope people will see that we tried. We stepped up when nobody was stepping up.
Eric Mansfield[205]
WKYC subsequently announced on March 28, 2001, the launch of a new newscast produced for WVPX by WKYC's news department but focused on Akron stories, and based at an expanded Akron bureau.[206] Launched on June 13, 2001, under the Pax 23 News banner,[205] the program was anchored by WKYC's Akron bureau chief Eric Mansfield, with sports and weather provided by Jim Donovan and Mark Nolan, respectively; both Mansfield and Nolan previously worked at WAKC in the early 1990s.[64] The $300,000 payment provided by Paxson was envisioned by the city of Akron as potential "seed money" for a new television news operation; a seven-member board to manage the funds was considered by Akron mayor Don Plusquellic, but the positions were never filled.[206] However, those funds—along with an additional $200,000 in taxpayer funds from both the city and county governments—were provided by the city of Akron to help finance construction of a new facility for WKYC and Pax 23 News at the United Building in the city's downtown.[13] Former WAKC anchor Mark Williamson, in his position as a spokesperson for the city, likened his involvement on the WKYC alliance to "planning your ex-wife's next wedding."[206] While ratings for the 6:30 p.m. broadcast were relatively small, production of a 10 p.m. newscast began in January 2003,[205] and WKYC general manager Brooke Spectorsky made known at launch that the station was fully committed to Pax 23 News for the long-term.[206]
Paxson formally withdrew the joint sales agreement between WKYC and WVPX on March 25, 2005,
Concurrent with the termination of the joint sales agreement with WKYC, Pax TV was rebranded as i,[208] then as Ion Television the following year,[211] with WVPX carrying the network schedule in pattern with no deviations.
Sale to Scripps and resale to Inyo
Ion Media agreed to be acquired by the
Following the acquisition, Scripps announced the March 1, 2021, closure of several digital multicast networks operated by Ion Media—Ion Plus, Ion Shop and Qubo—in favor of existing Katz Broadcasting networks.[218] On February 27, WVPX's 23.2 and 23.3 subchannels switched from Qubo and Ion Shop to Grit and Ion Mystery (the latter re-mapped to 23.4) and co-owned WDLI-TV concurrently switched from Ion Plus to Court TV; WVPX 23.5 changed from HSN to Defy TV on July 1. WDLI-TV assumed the Bounce TV affiliation on January 1, 2023, in a further subchannel realignment, while Ion Mystery is currently duplicated on WQHS-DT's 61.4 subchannel.[219]
Notable alumni
- Carol Costello[118]
- Elwood Edwards[172]
- Lauren Glassberg[220]
- Ted Henry[116]
- Scott Muni[75][59]
- Jeff Phelps[119]
Technical information
Subchannels
WVPX-TV presents seven subchannels on its
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
23.1 | 720p | 16:9 |
ION | Ion Television |
23.2 | 480i | CourtTV | Court TV | |
23.3 | SCRIPPS | Scripps News | ||
23.4 | Mystery | Ion Mystery | ||
23.5 | Jewelry | Jewelry TV
| ||
23.6 | QVC | QVC | ||
23.8 | HSN | HSN | ||
17.1 | 480i | 16:9 | Bounce | Bounce TV (WDLI-TV) |
On April 20, 2010, WVPX started broadcasting Ion Television programming on the station's main channel (23.1) in high definition.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WVPX-TV shut down its analog signal, over
References
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- ^
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This is something I discovered during my first serious job when I worked at WAKR TV and Radio in Akron. I spent three years there and loved the fact that the sense of discovery with my job changed every day as the news would change.
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Documentaries
- Russo, Cheri (April 1, 2008). Akron, Ohio: The City Where Commercial Television News Went to Black (Television production). Athens, Ohio: WOUB-TV. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
External links
- Ion Television official website
- Media related to WVPX-TV at Wikimedia Commons