WTTE: Difference between revisions

| former_channel_numbers = '''Analog:'''<br/> 28 (UHF, 1984–2009)<br>'''Digital:'''<br> 36 (UHF, 2002–2019)

| former_affiliations = '''Primary:'''<br/>[[Independent station (North America)|Independent]] (1984–1986)<br/>[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] (1986–2021)<br />'''Secondary:'''<br/>[[UPN]] (secondary, 1995–1997)<br />[[Kids' WB!]] (secondary, 2000–2001)

'''WTTE''' (channel 28) is a [[television station]] in [[Columbus, Ohio]], United States, airing programming from the [[digital multicast television network|digital multicast network]] [[TBD (TV network)|TBD]]. It is owned by [[Cunningham Broadcasting]], which maintains a [[local marketing agreement]] (LMA) with [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]], owner of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]/[[MyNetworkTV]]/[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[WSYX]] (channel 6), for the provision of certain services. However, Sinclair effectively owns WTTE as the majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith. Sinclair also operates [[Chillicothe, Ohio|Chillicothe]]-licensed [[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[WWHO]] (channel 53) under a separate LMA with Manhan Media. The stations share studios on [[U.S. Route 33 in Ohio|Dublin Road]] in [[Grandview Heights, Ohio|Grandview Heights]] (with a Columbus [[United States Postal Service|mailing]] address), while WTTE's transmitter is located in the [[Franklinton, Columbus, Ohio|Franklinton]] section of Columbus.

A charter Fox affiliate from the network's sign-on from 1986 to 2021, WTTE also served as the Fox station of record for the nearby [[Zanesville, Ohio]], [[media market#Television|market]].

[[File:WTTE28newlogo.PNG|200px|thumb|right|WTTE's final logo as a Fox affiliate, 2000-20212000–2021. The logo was slightly modified in 2021 to include the WSYX [[call signs in North America|call sign]] when its intellectual property moved to WSYX 6.3.]]

WTTE began operations on June 1, 1984, as the first general-entertainment [[Independent station (North America)|independent station]] in central [[Ohio]]. The station was founded by the Commercial Radio Institute, a subsidiary of the [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]]-based Sinclair Broadcast Group (at the time, called Chesapeake Broadcasting Corporation) as the company's third television station after WPTT-TV (now [[WPNT]]) in [[Pittsburgh]] and [[flagship station]] [[WBFF]] in Baltimore. The station originally operated from studio and office facilities at 6130 South Sunbury Road in Columbus.

On June 23, 2014, Sinclair signed a deal with [[Sony Pictures Entertainment]] to carry the [[GetTV]] network as a subchannel on 33 of its stations;<ref>[http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/77232/gettv-signs-big-affiliation-deal-with-sinclair "GetTV Signs Big Affiliation Deal With Sinclair,"] from TVNewsCheck, 6/June 23/, 2014</ref> WTTE was one such station, and the 28.2 subchannel was reactivated.

On January 1, 2021, Sinclair quietly sent a letter to cable and satellite providers saying that it had consolidated the Fox affiliations of stations in markets where it had been on a sister Cunningham or Deerfield-owned station onto Sinclair owned stations, putting those affiliations directly in Sinclair's control.<ref name="sbg-nctc">{{cite web|url=https://www.nctconline.org/index.php/members/resources/technical-notices/item/1690-sinclair-acquisition-of-fox-affiliation|title=Sinclair - Acquisition of Fox affiliation|date=1 January 1, 2021|publisher=Sinclair Broadcast Group/National Cable Television Cooperative|access-date=3 December 3, 2021}}</ref> While most markets transitioned on that day, the transition of WTTE-DT1's programming schedule onto WSYX's spectrum would be held off until January 7, as that would be the day [[WWHO]] would convert to being the market's [[ATSC 3.0]] lighthouse station, and it would easier for the transition of all the channels being moved or launched to occur then.

On that day, Sinclair began simulcasting "Fox 28" programming on WSYX-DT3, while moving [[Antenna TV]] to the newly created 6.4. WTTE's main signal would eventually carry Sinclair-owned [[TBD (TV network)|TBD]] full-time. The simulcast continued until February 3 at 10 a.m., when the "Fox 28" schedule was now only available through WSYX-DT3.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://myfox28columbus.com/news/local/fox-28-over-the-air-signal-moves-to-channel-wsyx-63|title=FOX 28 over-the-air signal moves to channel WSYX 6.3|date=7 January 7, 2021}}</ref>