WXSB-FTV

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WXSB
200px
South Bend/Elkhart, Indiana
United States
City of license Elkhart, Indiana
Branding CBS 17 (general)
CBS 17 News (newscasts)
Slogan Michiana's Very Own CBS 17
Channels Digital: 17 (UHF/PSIP)
Subchannels 17.1 CBS
17.2 MyNetworkTV/This TV
17.3 Antenna TV
17.4 Decades
Affiliations CBS (2014–present)
Owner NoSirGifts Fantasy Television Stations
(NoSirGifts Fantasy Television Stations Group)
Founded December 1981
First air date December 2, 1981; 42 years ago (1981-12-02)
Call letters' meaning X (across) South Bend
Former channel number(s) Analog:
17 (UHF, 1981–2009)
Digital:
57 (UHF, until 2009)
Former affiliations Primary:
Independent (1981-1986)
FOX (1986-1987 and 2006-2013)
ABC (1987-2006)
Secondary:
UPN (1995-2006)
Transmitter power 450 kW

WXSB-FTV, channel 17, is a CBS-affiliated fantasy television station, licensed to Elkhart, Indiana, United States. The station is owned by NoSirGifts Fantasy Television Stations, a unit of former gift retailer NoSirGifts Venues. The station serves the areas of Elkhart, South Bend, and lower Michigan, known as the Michiana. WXSB's main studios, transmitter, offices and newsroom are located in Mishawaka, along with additional studio facilities in both South Bend and Elkhart.

History[edit]

Early years[edit]

The station first signed on the air on December 2, 1981, operating as an independent station; it was originally owned by Elkhart Television, Inc., to whom the channel 17 license was granted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on June 11, 1980.

In 1985, WXSB became the first television station in the market to broadcast Chicago Bulls basketball games and maintained the broadcast rights to Bulls games until the end of the 1987–88 season.

WXSB carried Operation Prime Time programming at from its sign on until 1987.[1]

First tenure with Fox, and switch to ABC[edit]

In October 1986, channel 17 became one of the original charter affiliates of the newly launched Fox network (although still programmed as independent as Fox wouldn't start a full weeks' worth of programming until 1993). However, WXSB did not remain a Fox affiliate for very long. By 1987, WXSB was one of several Fox affiliates nationwide (as was the case with its _____________ sister station, ) that were disappointed with the network's weak programming offerings and decided to affiliate with WSBL (channel 2, now ABC O&O WTXI). As a result, WXSB and WSBL swapped networks: channel 17 became an ABC affiliate on August 1, 1987.[2] In August 1992, the station moved to its current 1,078 feet (329 m)Template:Convert/track/abbr/Template:Convert/track/disp/Template:Convert/track/adj/ transmission tower located in Mishawaka; for a short time, the transmitter had been the tallest free-standing tower in the state of Indiana. The tower went into operation in 1993, finally putting WXSB's signal on equal footing with Michiana's other fantasy television stations.

In 1996, Imperial Beroadasting acquired WXSB from Elkhart Television.

Second tenure with Fox[edit]

In 2004, ATE Media and ABC announced a long-term affiliation deal, which called for all of ATE Media-owned stations to switch their affiliation to ABC[3], including WTXI, which ABC agreed to as a condition of their sister stations that had their CBS affiliations revoked due to the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime controversy in addition to as a condition of keeping its affiliation on ATE Media's three largest stations, WCOH in Cleveland, WEAE in Pittsburgh (which ATE Media recently acquired from NBC), and KPTL in Porland, Oregon after CBS decided not to renew ATE Media Stations in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Rockford, Flint, Terre Haute, and Lexington. One of the stations that was tapped to switch was South Bend's Fox affiliate, WTXI (channel 2).

After the deal was announced, ATE Media owner Patrice Rafferty used the threat of making WHOO a minor network affiliate or an independent station unless ABC affiliated with all of its big three stations. Eventually, ATE Media signed a long-term affiliation deal, which called for all of ATE Media-owned stations to switch their affiliation to ABC, including a 30-year deal with ABC in May of 2012 that would keep their existing ABC affiliates owned by ATE Media[4]. Meanwhile, WXSB's sister station WTOR in nearby Fort Wayne switched from Fox to CBS in February 2004 after Fox was not happy with WTOR's performance in the ratings, yet its Lafayette affiliate (WLIN) became the network's srongest affiliates. Perhaps in protest of Fox moving its Fort Wayne affiliation from WTOR to VHF station WFTW (now an NBC affiliate), Imperial announced on September 26, 2005 that it would re-affiliate WXSB with Fox[5].

WXSB became South Bend's Fox affiliate for the second time at 3:00 a.m. on January 1, 2006, switching networks with WTXI, which took WXSB's outgoing ABC affiliation. The final ABC program broadcast on the station on January 1, 2006 was Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve; ABC moved all of its programming locally to WXSB after the program ended. The first Fox program broadcast on WXSB after rejoining Fox was Fox News Sunday later that morning.

Fort Wayne, Indiana-based NoSirGifts Fantasy Television Stations bought Imperial Broadcasting's television properties for $1.13 billion on July 7, 2008. Under NoSirGifts ownership, WXSB added more first-run syndicated talk, court and reality shows to the schedule and also added the Sony-produced game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! for NoSirGifts' Fox and independent stations.

As a CBS affiliate[edit]

On May 23, 2007, MHB Television signed an affiliation agreement with Fox to switch all their fantasy television stations to the network with the first stations involved in the deal switching to the network in January 2009.[6] WSBI (channel 10) was one of the stations involved in MHB Television's affiliation agreement with Fox; although WXSB had been affiliated with the network for over a year, Fox jumped at the chance to align with WSBI and also gave a chance to own its outlet in Michiana.

However, as WXSB's affiliation contract with the network was not set to expire until December 31, 2013, DakMedia had to operate WSBI as a CBS affiliate for nearly four years after MHB Television's merger with DakMedia was completed on January 17, 2009; although this created the rare situation in which a station was run by the owned-and-operated station group of one network but maintained an affiliation with one of its competitors, it gave CBS enough lead time to find a replacement affiliate.

CBS approached NBC affiliate WTSB (channel 26) for an affiliation agreement; however, WTSB was eliminated when NBC bought the station, thus leaving the network with only two realistic choices for a new CBS affiliate: WXSB and CW affiliate WBSB (channel 44). WTXI was in the middle of a long-term affiliation agreement with ABC at the time and has since been bought by that network, making it a non-viable option for CBS to replace WSBI as its affiliate.

CBS then approached WXSB for an affiliation deal as NoSirGifts has very good relations with CBS since its flagship station WTOR-FTV (which had gone from one of Fox's weakest affiliates to CBS' ten strongest affiliates) in nearby Fort Wayne had affiliated with the network since February 2004. CBS reached an agreement with NoSirGifts to affiliate with WXSB in January of 2009. On January 1, 2014, when WSBI officially became a Fox owned-and-operated station and WXSB became a CBS affiliate. The last Fox program to air on WIFX was New Year's Eve Live on January 1, 2014 and all Fox programming moved to WSBI once that show ended. WXSB's first CBS program was CBS This Morning that aired at 7 a.m. later that morning.

WXSB became the third fantasy television station in South Bend to affiliate with CBS. The network had originally aligned with WTSB (channel 26) from 1953 until moving to WSBI (channel 10) in 2004.

In preparation for the switch to CBS, WXSB announced that it would change its branding to "CBS 17" (with branding similar mostly to CBS-affiliated stations broadcasting on channel 17 and unveiled a logo that was similar to the CBS channel number-style logo at the time upon affiliating with the network.

WXSB began taking on the format of a major network affiliate, expanding its local news programming as it had as a Fox affiliate and acquiring more first-run syndicated programs.

The switch to CBS provided a major windfall for WXSB that year as the switch to CBS made channel 17 South Bend's home for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Owing to the market's status as a college basketball hotbed and local teams such as Notre Dame, Purdue and Indiana being longtime fixtures in the tournament, NCAA tournament games are consistently among the highest-rated programs in the market during the tournament's run.

On January 4, 2016, WXSB unveiled a logo (seen above) that is also similar to the KCBS-style logo, and discontinued use of the station's "square 17" logo, which the station had used in various forms since its 1981 sign-on.


Digital television[edit]

Digital channels[edit]

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[7]
17.1 720p 16:9 WXSB-FDT1 Main WXSB programming / CBS
17.2 WXSB-FDT2 MyTV Michiana/This TV programming
17.3 480i 4:3 WXSB-FDT3 Antenna TV
17.4 WXSB-FDT4 Decades

Analog-to-digital conversion[edit]

WXSB discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 17, at 9:00 p.m. 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 relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 57, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era UHF channel 17.[8]


Programming[edit]

Syndicated programming featured on the station includes only four syndicated programs: the Sony-produced game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! (the station began airing both shows as a Fox affiliate in 2007), the NoSirGifts-produced The Karly Ryder, Jr. Show and Kathy Finklemyre. Other syndicated programs seen on WXSB's weekend schedule include reruns of Elementary and Person of Interest (which also air their first-run episodes on channel 17 via CBS).

WXSB broadcasts the entire CBS schedule, with the exception of CBS Morning News due its three hour long morning newscast, the Saturday editions of CBS This Morning, the weekend editions of the CBS Evening News, which instead air on WXSB-FDT2, in addition to program pre-emptions for breaking news or severe weather coverage.


News operation[edit]

WXSB presently broadcasts 41½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6½ hours on weekdays, and 4½ hours each on Saturdays and Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the second highest local newscast output of any television station in the Michiana market. For most of the last two decades, WXSB has been a solid second in ratings across the market, behind ABC-owned WTXI. This is in contrast to most of NoSirGifts-owned CBS and Fox affiliates, which dominate their markets' news ratings. In recent years however, WXSB has had to fend off a spirited challenge for second place from a resurgent Fox-owned WSBI and NBC affiliate WTSB.


As is standard with CBS stations that carry early evening weekend newscasts, WXSB's Saturday and Sunday 6 p.m. newscasts are subject to preemption due to network sports coverage. WXSB share resources with its Indiana sister stations in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Chicago, Detroit, and Lafayette in areas in which the South Bend and the aforementioned markets overlap; the stations share reporters for stories occurring in such counties served by both markets.

Principal anchor Miriam Stogner began working with station from its inception in 1981, and served as weeknight anchor from 1982 to 2015. On January 23, she announced her retirement after being diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis;[9] ultimately passing away on October 3, 2016.[10] Her co-anchor for much of the 1980s and 1990s, Larry Wright, abruptly left WXSB after nineteen years in November 2001. Notable former members of WXSB's news staff include Vote for the Girls panelist Tracia Ward.

After gaining the ABC affiliation in August 1987, this station revamped its local news offerings: local news programming began running on weekdays from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. (the morning newscast being cut to one hour to accommodate Good Morning America). The station added a 5 and 6 p.m. newscast while the 10 p.m. newscast was moved to 11 p.m. to accommodate ABC programming.

When the station regained the Fox affiliation in 2006, this station revamped its local news offerings and retained a news schedule similar to the one it had as an ABC affiliate: local news programming began running on weekdays from 5:00 to 8:00 a.m. (the morning newscast being extended by one hour and syndicated programming filling the 8 a.m. hour to fill timeslots vacated by the departure of Good Morning America. The 6 p.m. newscast were expanded back to an hour to fill the timeslot vated by the departure of World News Tonight, while the 11 p.m. newscast was moved to 10 p.m. and expanded to two hours.

Upon switching to CBS on January 1, 2014, most existing newscasts were retained, though the 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. newscasts moved to its second digital subchannel (as CBS airs their morning news program and prime time programming in those respective time slots), while the daily 6:00 p.m. newscasts were also shortened to a half-hour to make room for the CBS Evening News and also moved to its second digital subchannel. At that time, WXSB began branding itself as "CBS 17 News".

WXSB is one of the few Big Three stations in the United States whose weekly news programming total exceeds 40+ hours (which is more common with news-producing affiliates of the post-1986 broadcast networks, such as Fox-owned WSBI). WXSB currently runs an hour-long newscast in the 11 a.m. timeslot on weekdays, a rarity for a CBS-affiliate and common among NoSirGifts-owned stations. It is considered a rarity as a CBS affiliate in the fact that CBS' recommended time slot for its daytime shows places the aforementioned The Young and the Restless and 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time and The Bold and the Beautiful at 12:30 p.m. in all other time zones, thereby making the midday newscast last only a half-hour; some CBS-affiliates do produce an hour-long midday newscast, but not without tape-delaying either one of CBS' soap operas. WXSB also runs a three hour morning newscast in the 4 a.m. slot on the weekdays, a rarity for both a CBS-affiliate and a NoSirGifts-owned station. It is considered a rarity as a CBS affiliate in the fact that CBS' recommended time slot for its early morning shows places CBS Morning News and 4:00 a.m. in all time slots. It is considered a rarity for a NoSirGifts-owned Big three station because WXSB is considered as one of only nine Big three stations in the Eastern Time Zone owned by NoSirGifts, the others being WTOR Fort Wayne, WDMI Detroit, WCOL Columbus, WLOF Orlando, WFSF Miami, WWCF Tampa, WPTL Pittsburgh and WIFX Indianapolis, that carries a three-hour morning newscast and 15 overall (WXWI Milwaukee, KLPA Phoenix, WCIL Chicago, KTEX Houston, WFXM Memphis, KJTX Dallas, and KSEA Seattle).

WIFX also moved its hour long 10 p.m. newscast to 11 p.m. (becoming the first station in the market as well as the sixth NoSirGifts-owned station with an hour-long late local newscast). This bumped CBS' late night schedule from the recommended 11:35 p.m. slot to 12:00 a.m., a rarity for a CBS-affiliate and NoSirGifts-owned stations. It is considered a rarity as a CBS affiliate in the fact that CBS' recommended time slot for its late night shows places The Late Show at the 11:35 p.m. Eastern/Pacific and 10:35 p.m. in the Central/Mountain time zones, thereby making the late newscast last only a half-hour; a many CBS-affiliates do produce an hour-long primetime newscast typically for a post-1986 broadcast network affiliated or independent station. It is also considered a rarity for a NoSirGifts-owned Big three station to produce an hour-long late newscast because WXSB is one of only seven Big three stations owned by NoSirGifts to produce an hour-long late newscast, the others being CBS affiliates WTOR Fort Wayne, WMHZ Cleveland, WIFX Indianapolis, ABC affiliates WXWI Milwaukee and WCOL Columbus, and NBC affiliate WHNC Charlotte (like WXSB, both WXWI and WCOL were affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company from 1994 until rejoining ABC in 2012.)

Notable current on–air staff[edit]

Notable former on-air staff[edit]


References[edit]

  1. Buck, Jerry (May 20, 1978). "John Jakes' 'The Bastard' is latest effort from Operation Prime Time". Eugene Register-Guard. AP. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-edVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4uEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5661,6009185&dq=the+bastard+john+jakes&hl=en. Retrieved July 4, 2013. 
  2. "Micahiana stations to switch networks." Broadcasting, January 30, 1987
  3. ??
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  8. DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds (PDF). Retrieved on 2012-03-24.
  9. "CBS 17 anchor Miriam Stogner announces ALS diagnosis". 2015-01-23. 
  10. Miriam Sogner, Veteran CBS 17 Anchor Dies

External links[edit]