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WJAX-TV
WJAX-TV (channel 47) is a television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Hoffman Communications, which maintains a joint sales agreement (JSA) with Cox Media Group, owner of Fox affiliate WFOX-TV (channel 30), for the provision of certain services. The two stations, whose combined news department is known as Action News Jax, share studios on Central Parkway and transmitter facilities on Hogan Road, both on Jacksonville's Southside.
Channel 47 went on the air on August 1, 1980, as WXAO-TV, the first new television station in the city since 1966. It was originally a Christian-oriented independent station with a mix of religious and family-friendly secular programs. Channel 30 launched as WAWS-TV six months later and remained the higher-rated independent in the Jacksonville market. Beginning in 1982, the station actively shed its religious image and programming, culminating in a call sign change to WNFT in 1983. Despite improvements in programming and facilities, WNFT remained behind WAWS in the ratings. In 1990, Krypton Broadcasting acquired WNFT. The station lost money every year under the firm's ownership, which culminated in a bankruptcy filing in 1993 and the station's operation under a court-appointed receiver. RDS Broadcasting won the bankruptcy auction for WNFT, which in 1995 affiliated with the new UPN network and entered into a local marketing agreement with WAWS and its then-owner, Clear Channel Television. The call sign was changed to WTEV-TV in March 1996. The stations moved into their present studios, and WAWS's news department was extended to WTEV with the launch of 6:30 p.m. and 11 a.m. newscasts. Clear Channel acquired WTEV-TV outright in 1999 after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) permitted duopoly ownership of TV stations.
In 2002, CBS and its longtime Jacksonville affiliate, WJXT (channel 4), ended their relationship after 53 years. WTEV-TV became the new Jacksonville CBS affiliate on July 15 of that year; the news department was expanded to produce additional daily newscasts for channel 47. Ratings for CBS network programming were generally unchanged as a result of the switch. Clear Channel sold its stations to Newport Television in 2007; because WTEV's ratings increase as a CBS affiliate made it one of the four highest-rated stations in the market, Newport was forced to divest the channel 47 license and operate the station under agreement. The stations adopted the Action News brand for their newscasts in 2009. In 2012, Cox Media Group acquired channel 30; during its ownership, the channel 47 license has been owned by former executives of Cox. In 2014, WAWS and WTEV became WFOX-TV and WJAX-TV as part of a station overhaul; by 2023, Action News had moved into second place in the local TV news ratings.
In February 1978, Christian Television of Jacksonville, a non-profit corporation, announced it would apply to the Federal Communications Commission to build a non-commercial television station on channel 47 in Jacksonville. The group of local businessmen was headed by Tom McGehee and the second to apply for the channel, after Malrite Communications; Malrite had filed for channel 47 when two other groups joined it in filing for channel 30.
Malrite withdrew in a settlement agreement reached in 1978, and Christian Television of Jacksonville was awarded the construction permit on June 22, 1979. However, facing financial difficulties as well as lower-than-expected contributions from potential viewers, it sold the permit to American Standard Leasing Corporation, a firm owned by Tom McGehee and his brother Frank. The new ownership meant the station would be operated on a commercial instead of noncommercial basis.
WXAO began broadcasting on August 1, 1980, as the first new television station in Jacksonville since WJKS (channel 17) began in 1966. The station's call sign, WXAO, represented "Christ, the Alpha and the Omega". WXAO aired religious programming as well as family-friendly secular series. Its manager, George Ivey, came from the Christian Broadcasting Network–owned WANX in Atlanta. Within months, Jacksonville went from having no independent stations to having two, as channel 30—a majority share in the permit having been acquired by Malrite—began broadcasting on February 15, 1981, as WAWS. That station quickly attracted a larger audience from sign-on to sign-off; a May 1981 ratings survey from the Nielsen Company measured total-day viewership for WXAO at 5,000 viewers and WAWS at 19,000. At one point, the station held a wooden nickel contest that awarded prizes to people who received matching sets of WXAO wooden nickels.
Jim Kontoleon, a former general manager of WTLV (channel 12), joined the staff as a consultant at the start of 1982 before becoming general manager. Under Kontoleon, management consciously began uncoupling channel 47 from its religious image and programming. Christian Television of Jacksonville, which had continued to exist as a producer of religious programming for WXAO, shut down that May. In February 1983, most of the prime time religious programming was removed from the station's lineup, with The 700 Club moving into the 10 p.m. hour. The station added more children's programming, including the syndicated TV Powww, which moved from WAWS. On August 8, it adopted a new call sign, WNFT (for North Florida Television). Kontoleon, who was known on-air for frequent editorials, departed WNFT in late 1983 to run WTWS in New London, Connecticut.
With Kontoleon out, the McGehees invested in new programming and a signal upgrade; the station's antenna had been damaged in May 1982, affecting its signal, but this was not known for more than a year. The relaunch gave WAWS stiffer competition. However, the gap between the two stations widened again after WAWS became the Jacksonville affiliate of the startup Fox network. In 1988, the station increased its effective radiated power to 5 million watts. In spite of the increase, WNFT continued to struggle to shed the image it had earned in its early years as a "small-time" Christian station, and WAWS continued to lead WNFT in sign-on-to-sign-off ratings.
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WJAX-TV
WJAX-TV (channel 47) is a television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Hoffman Communications, which maintains a joint sales agreement (JSA) with Cox Media Group, owner of Fox affiliate WFOX-TV (channel 30), for the provision of certain services. The two stations, whose combined news department is known as Action News Jax, share studios on Central Parkway and transmitter facilities on Hogan Road, both on Jacksonville's Southside.
Channel 47 went on the air on August 1, 1980, as WXAO-TV, the first new television station in the city since 1966. It was originally a Christian-oriented independent station with a mix of religious and family-friendly secular programs. Channel 30 launched as WAWS-TV six months later and remained the higher-rated independent in the Jacksonville market. Beginning in 1982, the station actively shed its religious image and programming, culminating in a call sign change to WNFT in 1983. Despite improvements in programming and facilities, WNFT remained behind WAWS in the ratings. In 1990, Krypton Broadcasting acquired WNFT. The station lost money every year under the firm's ownership, which culminated in a bankruptcy filing in 1993 and the station's operation under a court-appointed receiver. RDS Broadcasting won the bankruptcy auction for WNFT, which in 1995 affiliated with the new UPN network and entered into a local marketing agreement with WAWS and its then-owner, Clear Channel Television. The call sign was changed to WTEV-TV in March 1996. The stations moved into their present studios, and WAWS's news department was extended to WTEV with the launch of 6:30 p.m. and 11 a.m. newscasts. Clear Channel acquired WTEV-TV outright in 1999 after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) permitted duopoly ownership of TV stations.
In 2002, CBS and its longtime Jacksonville affiliate, WJXT (channel 4), ended their relationship after 53 years. WTEV-TV became the new Jacksonville CBS affiliate on July 15 of that year; the news department was expanded to produce additional daily newscasts for channel 47. Ratings for CBS network programming were generally unchanged as a result of the switch. Clear Channel sold its stations to Newport Television in 2007; because WTEV's ratings increase as a CBS affiliate made it one of the four highest-rated stations in the market, Newport was forced to divest the channel 47 license and operate the station under agreement. The stations adopted the Action News brand for their newscasts in 2009. In 2012, Cox Media Group acquired channel 30; during its ownership, the channel 47 license has been owned by former executives of Cox. In 2014, WAWS and WTEV became WFOX-TV and WJAX-TV as part of a station overhaul; by 2023, Action News had moved into second place in the local TV news ratings.
In February 1978, Christian Television of Jacksonville, a non-profit corporation, announced it would apply to the Federal Communications Commission to build a non-commercial television station on channel 47 in Jacksonville. The group of local businessmen was headed by Tom McGehee and the second to apply for the channel, after Malrite Communications; Malrite had filed for channel 47 when two other groups joined it in filing for channel 30.
Malrite withdrew in a settlement agreement reached in 1978, and Christian Television of Jacksonville was awarded the construction permit on June 22, 1979. However, facing financial difficulties as well as lower-than-expected contributions from potential viewers, it sold the permit to American Standard Leasing Corporation, a firm owned by Tom McGehee and his brother Frank. The new ownership meant the station would be operated on a commercial instead of noncommercial basis.
WXAO began broadcasting on August 1, 1980, as the first new television station in Jacksonville since WJKS (channel 17) began in 1966. The station's call sign, WXAO, represented "Christ, the Alpha and the Omega". WXAO aired religious programming as well as family-friendly secular series. Its manager, George Ivey, came from the Christian Broadcasting Network–owned WANX in Atlanta. Within months, Jacksonville went from having no independent stations to having two, as channel 30—a majority share in the permit having been acquired by Malrite—began broadcasting on February 15, 1981, as WAWS. That station quickly attracted a larger audience from sign-on to sign-off; a May 1981 ratings survey from the Nielsen Company measured total-day viewership for WXAO at 5,000 viewers and WAWS at 19,000. At one point, the station held a wooden nickel contest that awarded prizes to people who received matching sets of WXAO wooden nickels.
Jim Kontoleon, a former general manager of WTLV (channel 12), joined the staff as a consultant at the start of 1982 before becoming general manager. Under Kontoleon, management consciously began uncoupling channel 47 from its religious image and programming. Christian Television of Jacksonville, which had continued to exist as a producer of religious programming for WXAO, shut down that May. In February 1983, most of the prime time religious programming was removed from the station's lineup, with The 700 Club moving into the 10 p.m. hour. The station added more children's programming, including the syndicated TV Powww, which moved from WAWS. On August 8, it adopted a new call sign, WNFT (for North Florida Television). Kontoleon, who was known on-air for frequent editorials, departed WNFT in late 1983 to run WTWS in New London, Connecticut.
With Kontoleon out, the McGehees invested in new programming and a signal upgrade; the station's antenna had been damaged in May 1982, affecting its signal, but this was not known for more than a year. The relaunch gave WAWS stiffer competition. However, the gap between the two stations widened again after WAWS became the Jacksonville affiliate of the startup Fox network. In 1988, the station increased its effective radiated power to 5 million watts. In spite of the increase, WNFT continued to struggle to shed the image it had earned in its early years as a "small-time" Christian station, and WAWS continued to lead WNFT in sign-on-to-sign-off ratings.