WOGX
 | |
| Ocala - Gainesville, Florida United States | |
|---|---|
| City | Ocala, Florida |
| Branding |
Fox 51 (general) Fox 35 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan |
We Are Fox 51 (general) See the difference (newscasts) |
| Channels |
Digital: 31 (UHF) Virtual: 51 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels |
51.1 Fox 51.2 Movies! |
| Affiliations |
Fox (O&O) (as semi-satellite of WOFL; affiliated 1991–present) |
| Owner |
Fox Television Stations (Fox Television Stations, Inc.) |
| First air date | November 1, 1983 |
| Call letters' meaning | Ocala–Gainesville X |
| Sister station(s) | WOFL, WRBW, WTVT, Fox Sports Florida, Sun Sports |
| Former callsigns | WBSP-TV (1983–1987) |
| Former channel number(s) | 51 (UHF analog, 1983–2009) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1983–1991) |
| Transmitter power | 500 kW |
| Height | 259 m (850 ft) |
| Facility ID | 70651 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 29°21′33.2″N 82°19′42.6″W / 29.359222°N 82.328500°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website |
www |
WOGX, channel 51, is a television station licensed to Ocala, Florida, USA. The station is owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of 21st Century Fox and is an owned-and-operated station of the Fox Broadcasting Company. Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, WOGX is actually considered a semi-satellite of WOFL in Orlando. As such, it clears all network programming as provided through its parent station but airs a separate offering of syndicated programming, albeit with separate local commercials and legal station identifications. It is also the smallest DMA in the U.S. to be owned by one of the "Big Four" networks.
WOGX maintains an advertising sales office in Gainesville, and its transmitter is located in unincorporated Marion County, between Williston and Fairfield. Master control and most internal operations of WOGX originate from the studios of WOFL and sister station WRBW in Lake Mary.
The Gainesville television market is located between several other Florida media markets. As a result, the Bright House Networks system in Ocala (part of the Orlando market) does not carry WOGX but opts instead for WOFL, despite Ocala being WOGX's city of license. In addition, the Comcast system in Ocala carries WOFL in high definition on its digital tier in lieu of one from WOGX.
History
The station began as independent station WBSP-TV on November 1, 1983. The original owners, Big Sun Television, sold WBSP to Wabash Valley Broadcasting of Terre Haute, Indiana in 1986[1] which changed the call letters to the current WOGX in 1987. The previous calls now belong to a repeater of Fort Myers Univision affiliate WUVF-LP.
On May 30, 1991, the station became a Fox affiliate. Prior to that date, Gainesville did not have a Fox affiliate of its own. Cox Cable's Gainesville system didn't carry any of the nearest Fox affiliates--WOFL, Tampa Bay's WTOG (through 1988 when Fox moved to WFTS-TV), or Jacksonville's WAWS. Marion County, home to Ocala, had received Fox programming through WOFL and WTOG (until 1988). Citrus County (which is part of the Tampa Bay market, but has long been claimed by WOGX as part of its primary coverage area) received Fox from W49AI (now WYKE-CD), which at the time was a repeater of WOFL (except for late night programming as W49AI signed-off at midnight). W49AI was forced to discontinue Fox and WOFL programming upon WOGX's affiliation.
Channel 51 struggled for most of its first decade on the air, as Gainesville was not large enough for the station to be viable on its own. This was true even after the switch to Fox; until the network began airing a full week's worth of programming in 1994, most Fox stations were essentially programmed as independents. Finally, in 1996, Wabash Valley Broadcasting sold WOGX to the Meredith Corporation, owner of WOFL.[2] Meredith turned WOGX into a semi-satellite of WOFL, and closed down WOGX' separate facility on Southwest 37th Avenue in Ocala (along I-75). While Meredith retained a separate sales office for WOGX in Gainesville, most operations were merged at WOFL's studios in Lake Mary. In 2002, Meredith sold WOFL and WOGX to Fox Television Stations in a deal that also saw Meredith obtain KPTV in Portland, Oregon. This made WOFL and WOGX both Fox owned-and-operated stations as well as sister to WRBW (then a UPN affiliate).
Sometime in late 2009, the station redesigned its website to match other Fox-owned stations (including WOFL) although it still does not use a "MyFox"-style web address. In addition, the domain names "MyFoxGainesville.com" and "MyFoxOcala.com" both link to WOGX's website, WOGX.com.
Until WNBW signed on, WOGX was the only commercial television station in the Gainesville-Ocala market to never have changed its affiliation.
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WOGX-DT | Main WOGX programming / Fox |
| 51.2 | 480i | Movies! | Movies![4] |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WOGX discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 51, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 31.[5] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 51.
Newscasts
WOGX presently broadcasts 41½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (7½ hours of weekdays and 2 hours on weekends).
WOGX began simulcasting WOFL's local news programs when its news department launched in March 1998. Currently, it clears all newscasts from the Orlando station except for the weeknight 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. newscasts and the weekend morning newscast from 8:00-10:00 a.m. The 9:00 a.m. weekday morning hour was a part of it, but WOGX has carried that hour since then.[6] There is no separate title open seen on WOGX or local inserts targeted to the Gainesville/Ocala area since there are no news-related personnel based out of this outlet's facility. WOFL will provide regional coverage (such as events at the University of Florida) when conditions warrant. There is a separate weather forecast segment targeting the greater North Central Florida area that is taped in advance.[7][8]
References
- ↑ "Application Search Details (1)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
- ↑ "Application Search Details (2)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 21, 2009.
- ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for WOGX
- ↑ Fox O&O, Weigel Launch Movies! Digi-Net, Broadcasting & Cable, January 28, 2013.
- ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ↑ Lots of changes within the Gainesville market that I didn't know about... The Changing Newscasts Blog, September 13th, 2014.
- ↑ http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCSGrid.do?fromTimeInMillis=1367294400000&stnNum=32622&channel=1013&sgt=grid
- ↑ http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCSGrid.do?fromTimeInMillis=1367294400000&stnNum=21221&channel=1035&sgt=grid