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|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | Fox59 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| WTTV / WTTK | |
| History | |
| Founded | July 12, 1983 |
First air date | February 1, 1984 |
Former call signs |
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Former channel number(s) |
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| Independent (1984–1986) | |
Call sign meaning | Intended as a memory aid to distinguish from other stations, with "IN" for Indiana[2] |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 146 |
| ERP | 1,000 kW |
| HAAT | 304 m (997 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°53′20″N 86°12′7″W / 39.88889°N 86.20194°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | fox59 |
WXIN (channel 59) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Bloomington-licensed CBS affiliate WTTV, channel 4 (and its Kokomo-licensed satellite WTTK, channel 29). The stations share studios on Network Place (near 71st Street and I-465) in northwestern Indianapolis; WXIN's transmitter is located on West 73rd Street (or Westlane Road) on the northern outskirts of the city.
Channel 59 debuted as independent station WPDS-TV on February 1, 1984, broadcasting from studios on Meridian Street. Majority-owned by Anacomp, Inc., it was named for its founding owners: Ron Palamara, Chris Duffy, and Melvin and Herbert Simon. The station dabbled in production of local programs including a newscast, a late-night talk show, and a children's program. Within a year, the partners sold the station to Outlet Communications, which changed the call sign to WXIN in 1985 to reduce confusion with PBS and WTBS. An aggressive program purchasing policy and the financial troubles of WTTV, its chief competitor, made the station more competitive in the market, and the station joined Fox at its creation in 1986.
After more than two years on the market and an abortive sale to locally based Emmis Communications, Chase Broadcasting purchased WXIN in 1990. The station began airing a 10 p.m. newscast in 1991, but it was not until Tribune Broadcasting ownership that it grew beyond late news. A morning newscast debuted in 1999, and from 2004 to 2014, the station tripled its weekly news output with new and expanded newscasts in nearly every key daypart. Tribune acquired WTTV in 2002 and moved both stations the next year to their present studios in northwest Indianapolis. WTTV became a CBS affiliate in 2015 with a partially separate news operation.
- ^ "Commercial Broadcast Stations Biennial Ownership Report (FCC Form 323)". Federal Communications Commission. January 31, 2020. p. 11. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Munc850810was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Facility Technical Data for WXIN". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.