WJZY

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox television station WJZY (channel 46) is a television station licensed to Belmont, North Carolina, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Charlotte area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Rock Hill, South Carolina–licensed WMYT-TV (channel 55), an owned-and-operated station of The CW. The two stations share studios on Performance Road (along I-85) in unincorporated western Mecklenburg County (with a Charlotte mailing address) and broadcast from the same transmitter near Dallas, North Carolina, along the Catawba River.

A merged group including Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt obtained the construction permit from a field of as many as nine applicants in 1985. Gantt's involvement in the firm was not initially publicly disclosed, creating an ethical scandal that contributed to his losing re-election. The station began broadcasting on March 9, 1987. Capitol Broadcasting Company obtained a minority stake in the firm and bought the entirety of channel 46 later that year. WJZY was a competitive independent station to Charlotte's original Fox affiliate, WCCB (channel 18), and the broadcast home of Charlotte Hornets basketball from 1992 to 1998. The station affiliated with UPN in 1995 and The CW in 2006.

Fox Television Stations purchased WJZY in 2013, giving the network an owned-and-operated station in Charlotte, a market it coveted due to the presence of the Carolina Panthers football team. In time for the station to become the Fox affiliate in 2014, a news department was started; previously, WJZY had carried newscasts produced under contract by WBTV on three separate occasions. WJZY's newscasts originally had an alternative structure oriented toward younger viewers but struggled in the ratings and soon adopted a more conventional format. Nexstar acquired WJZY from Fox in 2020 and relaunched its news department under the brand Queen City News. The station produces Template:Frac hours of local programming a day and is the television home of Panthers preseason football.

History

Early history

In December 1983, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) assigned UHF channel 46 to Belmont, North Carolina, near Gastonia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nine groups applied for the channel,Template:R including Piedmont Crescent Broadcasting Company, which included Harvey Gantt, the mayor of Charlotte, and officials associated with local radio station WPEG and its owner, the Suburban Radio Group.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Another company, Metro Broadcasting, consisted of Charlotte dentist Spurgeon Webber and Winston-Salem attorney David Wagner. Metro and Piedmont Crescent merged to form Metro-Crescent Broadcasting, which settled with the other applicants<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was awarded the construction permit.<ref name="Char851210">Template:Cite news</ref> Originally, the station received the call sign WMHU. Capitol Broadcasting Company of Raleigh reached a deal to buy a 49 percent stake in Metro-Crescent with an option to purchase the remainder later in February 1986; to do so, it had to divest itself of two Charlotte-market radio stations.<ref name="Char860211">Template:Cite news</ref> The sale stood to make the partners, including Gantt, about $3 million (equivalent to $Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/yearTemplate:Inflation/fn);<ref name="Char860322">Template:Cite news</ref> Gantt later admitted to the Charlotte city council that he had violated city ethics policy in failing to disclose his stake in the firm.<ref name="Char860325">Template:Cite news</ref> Before the station went on the air, the call sign was changed to WJZY in November 1986 in order to differentiate the new channel 46 from other Charlotte television stations, none of which had a "J" or "Z" in their call signs.<ref name="Char870306">Template:Cite news</ref>

WJZY, originally an independent station, made its first broadcast on March 9, 1987.<ref name="Char870311">Template:Cite news</ref> Channel 46 pushed up its launch to aid cable companies who dropped out-of-town stations to carry it. Cablevision of Charlotte, for instance, dropped WDCA of Washington, D.C., to air the new station. It initially only aired a schedule of older movies in evening hours only. It began full commercial operations in July, airing a general entertainment format of off-network and first-run syndicated shows, movies, and cartoons.<ref name="Char870703">Template:Cite news</ref> It was the first full-market Charlotte station since WCTU-TV (channel 36, now WCNC-TV) launched in July 1967.Template:R<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Capitol exercised its option to buy the remainder of WJZY months after it signed on; a group petitioned against the sale, claiming Metro–Crescent had reneged on its promises for local programming.<ref name="Char870708">Template:Cite news</ref> The challenge was dropped, and the sale was approved by the FCC in November.<ref name="Char871125">Template:Cite news</ref> By that time, however, Gantt's stake had been an issue in his run for re-election; he lost in a close race to Sue Myrick and admitted that her statements on Metro–Crescent may have swung the race for her.Template:R

By 1990, channel 46 was even with WCCB (channel 18), the Fox affiliate, in key dayparts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1994, Capitol reached a deal to provide nearly all the programming of a new Charlotte-market TV station—WFVT (channel 55), licensed to Rock Hill, South Carolina—under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with its owner, Family Fifty Five.<ref name="Char940611">Template:Cite news</ref>

UPN and CW affiliation

WJZY became a charter affiliate of the United Paramount Network (UPN) when the network launched on January 16, 1995;<ref name="Char940127">Template:Cite news</ref> WFVT joined The WB at the same time.<ref name="Hera950107">Template:Cite news</ref> By 2006, it was tied with UPN's Atlanta owned-and-operated station WUPA as the network's fifth highest-rated station.<ref name="Char060125">Template:Cite news</ref>

WJZY served as the over-the-air home of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets from 1992 to 1998; the last two seasons were shared with WFVT.<ref name="Char980403">Template:Cite news</ref> When the Hornets returned as the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004, WJZY served as the team's over-the-air flagship until the telecasts moved to WMYT in 2006.<ref name="Char060811">Template:Cite news</ref>

On January 24, 2006, Time Warner and CBS Corporation announced that The WB and UPN would shut down, to be replaced by a merged network known as The CW that September.Template:R On March 1, the Capitol Broadcasting Company announced that WJZY would become the Charlotte-area affiliate of The CW, making it one of the first five stations outside of the core Tribune Company and CBS Television Stations groups to agree to carry the new network.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> WJZY affiliated with The CW upon the network's debut on September 18, 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Later that week, channel 55 signed with MyNetworkTV.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sale to Fox Television Stations and switch to Fox

On January 14, 2013, Fox Television Stations entered into an agreement to acquire WJZY and WMYT from Capitol Broadcasting for $18 million (the sale was formally announced on January 28).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=WCCBNews>Template:Cite news</ref> Although Fox had been affiliated with WCCB for 27 years, the network was interested in buying a station in a steadily growing market. According to Fox Television Stations president Jack Abernethy, another factor was that Charlotte was home to the Carolina Panthers, a National Football Conference team whose games air primarily on Fox; Abernethy said that Fox had set its sights on getting an owned-and-operated station in Charlotte specifically because it was an NFC market.Template:R

Another likely factor in the purchase was an option that Fox held to purchase WLFL and WRDC in the Raleigh–Durham market from Sinclair Broadcast Group; had Fox exercised the option, it would have jeopardized the affiliation of another Capitol station, WRAZ, in that market.<ref name=TVNewsCheck>Template:Cite news</ref> The deal included a time brokerage agreement clause that would have had Fox take over the operations of WJZY and WMYT and acquire the duopoly's non-license assets for $8.24 million if the deal was not closed by June 1.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After receiving FCC approval, the deal was consummated on April 17, 2013.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On April 18, WCCB announced that it would become the new CW affiliate for the Charlotte market on July 1, the date its Fox affiliation contract ended.<ref name=b&c-wccbcw>Template:Cite news</ref> On that date, WJZY became the new Fox outlet for the Charlotte market, branding as "Fox 46 Carolinas" in a reflection of its two-state coverage area.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=b&c-wccbnofox7-1>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Nexstar ownership

On November 5, 2019, Fox Corporation announced that WJZY and WMYT-TV would be acquired by Nexstar Media Group for $45 million in a deal concurrent with Fox buying KCPQ and KZJO in Seattle and WITI in Milwaukee from Nexstar. Nexstar stated that WJZY and WMYT were "geographically complementary" to its existing properties in the Southeastern United States. The sale was completed on March 2, 2020.<ref name="wjzytonxst">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="b&c-saletonexstar">Template:Cite news</ref>

WJZY replaced WSOC-TV and WAXN-TV as the preseason television broadcaster and "official station" of Carolina Panthers football ahead of the 2022 season. The five-year contract also includes the production of a variety of Panthers-related programming, including pre- and postgame shows.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

News operation

News share agreements

Template:See From May 1994 to June 1995 and again from September 2003<ref name="Char030929">Template:Cite news</ref> to April 8, 2012, CBS affiliate WBTV produced a nightly 10 p.m. newscast for WJZY through separate news share agreements. The 1990s attempt was replaced by a five-year deal between WBTV and PBS member station WTVI (channel 42). The second iteration was placing third behind 10 p.m. newscasts aired by WCCB and WAXN-TV (from WSOC-TV); the low ratings for the program on WJZY and a more "news-friendly audience" on its sister station were cited as the reason for its move to WJZY's duopoly partner WMYT on April 9, 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was simulcast by both stations for one week, before syndicated reruns of Law & Order: Criminal Intent replaced the simulcast on WJZY on April 16, 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

WJZY also aired the statewide weekly public affairs program NC Spin and produced a local public affairs show called Charlotte Now with Mike Collins, which was discontinued following its June 30, 2013, edition, one day before the official switch to Fox.<ref name=WashburnSwitchJune29>Template:Cite news</ref>

Building a newsroom

With Fox's purchase of the WJZY/WMYT duopoly, Fox built a standalone news department for WJZY. In the meantime, WBTV's 10 p.m. production returned to WJZY from WMYT when channel 46 officially joined Fox on July 1, 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While initial reports suggested that Fox would move WJZY/WMYT to a facility in Charlotte's University City section used by Fox Sports 1 and previously by Speed,<ref name=WCCBNews/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> it was instead decided to heavily renovate and expand the Performance Road studio to accommodate the news department.<ref name=WashburnSwitchJune29/> WJZY soft-launched its news operation on December 18, 2013, in the form of live webcasts nightly through year's end airing concurrently with the WBTV-produced 10 p.m. news on channel 46.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The words "Queen City News", all touching and in all caps, in blue, black and yellow. The Q is a stylized crown.

Queen City News logo since July 2022

WJZY's local news service debuted on January 1, 2014, with the premiere of a nightly hour-long 10 p.m. newscast titled MyFox Carolinas Primetime.<ref name=tvnc-myfox>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The newscast adopted an alternative format designed to target younger viewers, with the anchor roaming the newsroom; it bore characteristics of the Chasing New Jersey program aired by Fox-owned WWOR-TV in Secaucus, New Jersey, but was more conventional. Jack Abernethy, the head of Fox Television Stations, felt that "when you're not being held by an existing show, it's much easier to do things differently".<ref name=tvnc-myfox/> WJZY also operated five bureaus in Charlotte's outer suburbs staffed by reporters living in those communities to bolster its regional emphasis.<ref name=tvnc-bureausand7pm>Template:Cite news</ref>

WJZY expanded its news operation on June 30, 2014, with the introduction of the hour-long evening newscast MyFox Carolinas Live, followed by the August 25 introduction of the station's morning show, Good Day Carolinas, described as having "more of a sofa-and-coffee-table production" than its competitors.<ref name=tvnc-bureausand7pm/><ref name=tco-wjzymorenewscasts>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite having the highly-viewed Fox primetime lineup as its lead-in, the station continued to lose viewers at 10 p.m. to WAXN and WCCB, while the station's morning news was in fifth place among Charlotte stations and airings of The People's Court on sister station WMYT had slightly better ratings than WJZY's 6 p.m. news. The newsroom had high turnover among its staff. By June 2015, WJZY had begun shifting back towards a traditional format; Mark Washburn of The Charlotte Observer, who noted that viewers were turned away by the station's initial newscasts of "amateurish quality", found the station had "retreated to the formula it once mocked: chasing fire trucks and standard urban crime".<ref name=tco-fox46abandons>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On December 21, 2021, the station announced it would change its news brand to Queen City News (with the slogan "Carolinas' Own"), which took effect on January 10, 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The move came after Nexstar concluded that WJZY had no real brand, with viewers often confusing it with Fox News Channel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By September 2023, WCCB still had higher ratings in total households and among viewers aged 25–54 than WJZY at 10 p.m., though the station had expanded its local output to Template:Frac hours a day on weekdays.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Nick Kosir worked for WJZY for seven years as the morning meteorologist. He was best known for humorous Instagram photos and later for dance videos. He had over 2 million followers on social media when he announced in April 2021 that he was leaving WJZY and moving to Fox Weather.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Technical information and subchannels

<section begin=subs />WJZY and WMYT-TV broadcast from a tower north of Dallas, North Carolina.Template:R

citation

CitationClass=web }}</ref>	License	Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
WJZY	46.1	720p	16:9	WJZY-HD	Fox
	46.3	480i		CHARGE	Charge!
	46.4			Grit	Grit
	46.5			ShopLC	Shop LC
	46.6			ION	Ion Television
	46.7			ANTENNA	Antenna TV
	46.8			REWIND	Rewind TV
WMYT-TV	55.1	720p		WMYT-HD	The CW

<section end=subs />

Analog-to-digital conversion

WJZY began broadcasting a digital signal on May 14, 2002, on UHF channel 47.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It ended regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 46, on June 12, 2009, the official digital television transition date.Template:R The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 47.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

As part of the SAFER Act,<ref name="FCC Nightlight">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> WJZY kept its analog signal on the air in the immediate aftermath of the switch until July 9 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.<ref name="Char090611">Template:Cite news</ref>

ATSC 3.0

WJZY debuted on Charlotte's new ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) service, hosted by WAXN-TV, on July 7, 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website