Fox Television Stations
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | Rupert Murdoch (via News Corporation acquisition) |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Television stations, MyNetworkTV programming service, LiveNOW from Fox, Fox Local, Fox Soul, Movies! digital sub-channel network (50% ownership) |
| Owner | Fox Corporation |
| Parent | Fox Corporation |
Fox Television Stations, LLC (branded as FOX TV STATIONS; also referred to as FTS) represents a collection of television stations across the United States that are owned-and-operated by Fox Corporation. The company manages LiveNOW from Fox, Fox Local, and Fox Soul, administers the MyNetworkTV programming service, and holds a 50% ownership interest in the Movies! digital sub-channel network in partnership with Weigel Broadcasting.
Origins
The inception of the Fox Broadcasting Company dates back to March 1985 when Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation acquired a half stake in TCF Holdings, the parent company of 20th Century Fox. In May of that year, News Corporation broadened its broadcasting reach by purchasing six independent television stations from Metromedia for $2.55 billion: WNEW-TV (now known as WNYW) in New York City, WTTG in Washington, D.C., KTTV in Los Angeles, KRIV in Houston, WFLD in Chicago, and KRLD-TV (currently KDAF) in Dallas. However, WCVB-TV in Boston was excluded due to regulatory restrictions and was transferred to Hearst Broadcasting.
These Metromedia stations, which had roots tracing back to the DuMont Television Network legacy, played a crucial role in Fox’s initial network strategy; notably, WNEW-TV and WTTG were among DuMont’s original owned-and-operated outlets. The former DuMont Tele-Centre located in Manhattan has since transformed into today’s Fox Television Center.
On December 31, 1986, WXNE-TV in Boston (renamed WFXT in January 1987) became Fox’s seventh owned station and the first to be acquired independently from the Metromedia transaction. Due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules restricting common ownership of newspapers and television stations within the same market, News Corporation temporarily maintained ownership of WFXT alongside its newspaper, the Boston Herald, under a special waiver. To adhere to these regulations, Fox placed WFXT into a trust by 1989 and sold it to the Boston Celtics’ ownership group in 1990. After divesting the Boston Herald in 1994, News Corporation fully reacquired WFXT by July 1995.
In 1990, Fox Television Stations expanded its portfolio by purchasing KSTU in Salt Lake City, marking its initial owned-and-operated presence within the Utah market.
Acquisition of New World Communications
FTS experienced substantial growth through acquiring most stations from New World Communications in 1997, following a 1994 affiliation agreement that transitioned New World's stations to Fox during 1994–95. This expansion was largely motivated by Fox securing broadcast rights for NFL games—specifically those involving the NFC—which significantly enhanced viewership and local advertising revenues. Ownership of these stations strengthened FTS's position during retransmission consent negotiations with cable and satellite providers.
The 1994 affiliation agreement sparked widespread changes across various markets and led to multiple station transactions. Renaissance Broadcasting sold WATL in Atlanta to FTS in 1993, establishing it as Fox’s first owned-and-operated station in that city. However, plans to launch a news department at WATL were abandoned after New World's station WAGA-TV, Atlanta’s long-time CBS affiliate, switched its affiliation to Fox; consequently, FTS divested WATL.
Renaissance also traded KDVR (Denver) and its satellite station KFCT (Fort Collins) to FTS in exchange for KDAF (Dallas). KDVR lost Fox affiliation to New World's KDFW, Dallas’s longstanding CBS affiliate.
New World expanded its station portfolio in 1994 but faced FCC ownership caps limiting control of more than twelve stations nationwide. To comply with these rules, it placed WGHP (High Point, North Carolina) and WBRC (Birmingham, Alabama) into a trust for eventual sale. While New World retained their licenses during this period, former owner Citicasters managed their operations under outsourcing agreements.
In April 1995, Citicasters transferred operational control of WBRC and WGHP to FTS through time brokerage agreements; both stations were directly acquired by Fox by July 1995.
Separately, FTS purchased WHBQ-TV (Memphis) in August 1994.
Amid other affiliation realignments triggered by Westinghouse Broadcasting’s 1995 agreement with CBS—which involved complex station exchanges among CBS, Westinghouse, and NBC—FTS independently acquired Philadelphia’s WTXF-TV.
Following completion of the New World acquisition in 1997, ten additional stations became part of Fox's owned-and-operated group: KSAZ-TV (Phoenix), WTVT (Tampa), WAGA-TV (Atlanta), WJBK (Detroit), KTBC (TV) (Austin), KDFW (Dallas), WDAF-TV (Kansas City), KTVI (St. Louis), WJW (TV) (Cleveland), and WITI (TV) (Milwaukee).
Acquisition of Chris-Craft
In 2000, FTS broadened its presence by acquiring the Chris-Craft/United group, which included multiple stations affiliated with the UPN network. This acquisition, completed in 2001, allowed Fox to create several duopolies—ownership of two stations within the same market—in major areas such as Phoenix (KSAZ and KUTP), Los Angeles (KTTV and KCOP-TV), and New York City (WNYW and WWOR-TV).
Due to regulatory restrictions, a duopoly was not possible in Salt Lake City between the former Chris-Craft station KTVX and Fox’s KSTU. To meet these requirements, FTS exchanged KTVX and KMOL (currently WOAI-TV) in San Antonio with Clear Channel Communications for WFTC in Minneapolis, establishing a duopoly alongside the former Chris-Craft station KMSP-TV. Taking advantage of KMSP’s superior VHF signal strength, FTS realigned affiliations in 2002: Fox programming moved to KMSP, while WFTC adopted UPN content.
Additional strategic moves included the acquisition of KDFI in Dallas (2000) and WPWR-TV in Chicago (2002), forming duopolies with Fox-owned KDFW and WFLD respectively. In 2002, FTS made trades to optimize its station lineup: former Chris-Craft station KPTV was swapped with the Meredith Corporation for WOFL in Orlando, pairing it with another former Chris-Craft outlet, WRBW. Furthermore, KBHK (now KPYX) in San Francisco was traded to Viacom in exchange for UPN stations KTXH in Houston and WDCA in Washington, D.C., creating duopolies with Fox-owned KRIV and WTTG accordingly. It is noteworthy that WUTB in Baltimore remained the sole Chris-Craft station retained without forming a duopoly or being part of any trade.
Creation of MyNetworkTV
The Fox-owned UPN affiliates were excluded from the January 23, 2006 announcement of the UPN/WB merger. These stations promptly discontinued their UPN branding. On February 22, 2006, Fox Television Stations (FTS) revealed that its nine non-Fox outlets would become charter affiliates of a new network, MyNetworkTV, which debuted on September 5, 2006, featuring original telenovela content. In May 2016, MyNetworkTV's owned-and-operated station WPWR in Chicago assumed the market’s affiliation from competitor WGN-TV, maintaining a secondary affiliation until 2019 when the CW affiliation transferred to WCIU-TV.
On December 21, 2007, FTS announced plans to sell eight smaller-market stations to Local TV, LLC, an entity backed by Oak Hill Capital Partners. This group comprised six former New World stations—two acquired directly by FTS in 1995 (WGHP in High Point, North Carolina and WBRC in Birmingham, Alabama) and four obtained through the 1997 merger (WDAF-TV in Kansas City, Missouri, KTVI in St. Louis, WJW in Cleveland, and WITI in Milwaukee)—alongside KSTU in Salt Lake City and KDVR, including its satellite KFCT in Colorado. The deal concluded in 2008.
In January 2009, FTS collaborated with NBC Owned Television Stations to establish the first Local News Service in Philadelphia by sharing resources across their respective stations. This partnership later expanded into other markets where both companies held ownership.
On May 15, 2012, Fox secured a five-year extension of its affiliation agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group’s 19 Fox affiliates through 2017, which included an option for Sinclair to acquire WUTB. Sinclair exercised this option on November 29, 2012, purchasing WUTB through Deerfield Media. The FCC granted approval on May 6, 2013, and the transaction was finalized on June 1.
Expansion into Additional NFL Markets
On January 28, 2013, FTS revealed that 17 of its stations would join the newly launched subchannel network Movies!, a collaboration with Weigel Broadcasting. That same day, FTS also announced the purchase of the Charlotte duopoly—CW affiliate WJZY and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYT-TV—from Capitol Broadcasting Company. The Federal Communications Commission gave its approval on March 11, with the transaction finalized on April 17. Subsequently, WJZY transitioned into a Fox owned-and-operated station on July 1. This acquisition highlighted Fox's strategic focus on owning stations in NFL markets, especially those hosting NFC franchises such as the Carolina Panthers, to strengthen its leverage in retransmission consent negotiations with cable and satellite providers.
Following the separation of News Corp and 21st Century Fox, it was declared on July 8, 2013, that 20th Television, previously part of FTS, would be managed under 20th Century Fox Television.
On June 24, 2014, FTS reached an agreement to acquire its San Francisco Bay Area affiliate KTVU along with its duopoly partner KICU-TV from Cox Media Group, in exchange for WFXT (Boston) and WHBQ-TV (Memphis). This deal was completed on October 8, 2014. The addition of KTVU further advanced Fox's strategy to possess stations in NFL markets containing NFC teams like the San Francisco 49ers.
Beyond the acquisitions in Charlotte and San Francisco, Fox pursued opportunities in other NFL regions such as Seattle and St. Louis. While negotiations with Seattle’s Fox affiliate KCPQ and owner Tribune Broadcasting were ongoing, Fox agreed on September 19, 2014, to buy Bellingham’s KBCB for $10 million as a strategic alternative. Tribune extended KCPQ's affiliation through July 2018 and agreed to increased reverse compensation payments to Fox starting January 2015. Nevertheless, the FCC dismissed Fox's application to acquire KBCB on November 20, 2014.
On January 20, 2015, FTS became an initial launch partner for Buzzr, a digital multicast network focusing on classic game show content. Later that year, FTS consented to broadcast Weigel Broadcasting's Heroes & Icons network on subchannels across 11 key market stations.
Reports emerged on April 30, 2017, indicating that 21st Century Fox was negotiating with the Blackstone Group regarding a potential acquisition of Tribune Media. By May 7, Sinclair Broadcast Group was reportedly close to finalizing a deal for Tribune Media; following this development, Fox withdrew its bid. Sinclair’s $3.9 billion acquisition was officially announced on May 8 but ultimately canceled by Tribune on August 9, 2018.
On August 2, 2017, it was reported that 21st Century Fox was contemplating a joint venture with Ion Media aimed at countering Sinclair's growing influence and possibly replacing some Fox affiliations. Industry analysts viewed this as a strategic initiative requiring substantial investment to enhance Ion stations’ profitability and local news production capabilities.
In January 2018, Financial Times reported that FTS was close to securing an agreement to purchase up to ten Sinclair-owned Fox affiliates as part of efforts to gain FCC approval for its proposed Tribune Media acquisition. Targeted stations included Seattle’s KCPQ (where Sinclair owns ABC affiliate KOMO-TV), Oklahoma City’s KOKH-TV (Tribune owns KFOR-TV), Salt Lake City’s KSTU-TV (Sinclair owns KUTV), St. Louis’s KTVI (Sinclair owns KDNL), and Denver’s KDVR/KWGN duopoly (owned by Tribune). This move would reunite several former owned-and-operated stations divested to Local TV LLC back under Fox ownership.
On May 9, 2018, Fox announced plans to acquire KCPQ (Seattle), KDVR (Denver), KSTU (Salt Lake City), KTXL (Sacramento), KSWB-TV (San Diego), WJW (TV) (Cleveland), and WSFL-TV (Miami-Fort Lauderdale). These acquisitions supported Fox’s expansion into NFL home markets for franchises such as the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos amid its takeover of the Thursday Night Football broadcast rights from CBS and NBC. However, following Tribune's cancellation of its merger agreement with Sinclair on August 9, 2018, this sale was rendered void.
Subsidiary of Fox Corporation
On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company revealed its plan to purchase 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion, which included taking on $13.7 billion in debt, subject to regulatory clearance. This agreement resulted in FTS and several other assets being separated into Fox Corporation, controlled by the Murdoch family. The deal was completed on March 20, 2019.
After losing Twentieth Television, Fox Stations launched its own syndication division named Fox First Run. Certain syndicated programs continue distribution through a partnership with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, while Dish Nation operates under barter agreements with Trifecta Entertainment and Media.
On November 5, 2019, Nexstar Media Group and Fox Television Stations executed a station swap: Fox obtained WITI in Milwaukee along with KCPQ and KZJO in Seattle, thereby entering larger NFL markets (Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks). Meanwhile, Nexstar gained WJZY and WMYT-TV in Charlotte, affecting the Carolina Panthers market.
Streaming
In January 2020, FTS debuted Fox Soul, a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel aimed at African American audiences.
Later in the same year, FTS launched LiveNOW from Fox, a streaming news service managed by KSAZ, KTTV, and WOFL. This channel delivers live breaking news coverage through a compact team of digital reporters who utilize footage sourced from Fox’s local news stations. Originating from KSAZ’s Fox 10 News Now webcast, the channel expanded nationwide amid the COVID-19 pandemic under the name "CoronavirusNow," before adopting its current branding as LiveNOW from Fox.
Divisions
- Fox Television Stations
- 18 Fox owned-and-operated (O&O) stations
- 11 MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated stations
- Fox Television Stations Productions
- Fox First Run (since 2019) – first-run syndication division; notable programs include Divorce Court, Dish Nation, 25 Words or Less, and TMZ on TV
- Fox Soul (launched January 2020)
- LiveNOW from Fox (2014–present), specializing in niche OTT content
- MyNetworkTV
- Popcorn Entertainment, LLC (a joint venture with Weigel Broadcasting)
- Movies!
- Fox Local
Television Stations
Stations are organized alphabetically by state and city of license.
Owned Stations
| City / Market | Station | Channel | Ownership since | Network affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix, AZ | KSAZ-TV | 10 | 1997 (acquired from New World Communications) | Fox |
| KUTP | 45 | 2001 (acquired from Chris-Craft Industries/BHC Communications) | MyNetworkTV | |
| Los Angeles, CA | KTTV | 11 | 1986 (original Fox-owned station) | Fox |
| KCOP-TV | 13 | 2001 (acquired from Chris-Craft Industries/BHC Communications) | MyNetworkTV | |
| Oakland–San Francisco, CA | KTVU | 2 | 2014 (acquired from Cox Media Group) | Fox |
| KICU-TV | 36 | 2014 (acquired from Cox Media Group) | MyNetworkTV | |
| Washington, D.C. | WTTG | 5 | 1986 (original Fox-owned station) | Fox |
| WDCA | 20 | 2002 | MyNetworkTV | |
| Ocala–Gainesville, FL | WOGX (semi-satellite of WOFL) | 51 | 2002 (acquired from Meredith Corporation) | Fox |
| Orlando–Daytona Beach, FL | WOFL | 35 | 2002 (acquired from Meredith Corporation) | Fox |
| WRBW | 65 | 2001 (acquired from Chris-Craft Industries/BHC Communications) | MyNetworkTV | |
| Tampa–St. Petersburg, FL | WTVT | 13 | 1997 (acquired from New World Communications) | Fox |
| Atlanta, GA | WAGA-TV | 5 | 1997 (acquired from New World Communications) | Fox |
| Chicago, IL | WFLD | 32 | 1986 (original Fox-owned station) | Fox |
| WPWR-TV | 50 | 2002 | MyNetworkTV | |
| Detroit, MI | WJBK | 2 | 1997 (acquired from New World Communications) | Fox |
| Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN | 'KMSP-TV' | '9' | '2001' (acquired from Chris-Craft Industries/BHC Communications) | 'Fox' |
| 'WFTC' | '9.2' | '2002' | 'MyNetworkTV' | |
| 'KFTC' (satellite of WFTC) | '26' | '2002' | 'Fox/MyNetworkTV' | |
| New York, NY | 'WNYW' | '5' | '1986' (original Fox-owned station) | 'Fox' |
| 'WWOR-TV' | '9' | '2001' (acquired from Chris-Craft Industries/BHC Communications) | 'MyNetworkTV' | |
| 'Philadelphia, PA' | 'WTXF-TV' | '29' | '1995' | 'Fox' |
| 'Austin, TX' | 'KTBC' | '7' | '1997' (acquired from New World Communications) | 'Fox' |
| Dallas–Fort Worth, TX | 'KDFW' | '4' | '1997' (acquired from New World Communications) | 'Fox' |
| 'KDFI' | '27' | '2000' | 'MyNetworkTV' | |
| Houston, TX | 'KRIV' | '26' | '1986' (original Fox-owned station) | 'Fox' |
| 'KTXH' | '20' | '2002' | 'MyNetworkTV' | |
| Tacoma–Seattle, WA | 'KCPQ' | '13' | '2020'(acquired as divestiture following Nexstar's Tribune acquisition) | 'Fox' |
| 'KZJO' | '22' | '2020'(divestiture acquisition) | 'MyNetworkTV' | |
| 'Milwaukee, WI' | 'WITI' | '6' | '2020'(reacquired; previously owned between 1997 and 2008; acquired as divestiture)' | 'Fox' |
Former
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel | Ownership period | Present affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham, AL | WBRC-TV | 6 | 1995–2008 | Fox affiliate currently under Gray Television ownership |
| San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose, CA | KBHK-TV | 44 | 2001–2002[lower-alpha 1] | Independent station KPYX, held by CBS News and Stations |
| Denver, CO | KDVR | 31 | 1995–2008 | Fox affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
| Fort Collins, CO | KFCT[lower-alpha 2] | 22 | 1995–2008 | Fox affiliate under Nexstar Media Group's ownership |
| Atlanta, GA | WATL | 36 | 1993–1995 | MyNetworkTV affiliate operated by Tegna Inc. |
| Baltimore, MD | WUTB | 24 | 2001–2013[lower-alpha 1] | Roar affiliate owned by Deerfield Media[lower-alpha 3] |
| Boston, MA | WCVB-TV | 5 | 1986[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5] | ABC affiliate held by Hearst Television |
| WFXT | 25 |
|
Fox affiliate owned by Cox Media Group | |
| Kansas City, MO | WDAF-TV | 4 | 1997–2008[lower-alpha 6] | Fox affiliate operated by Nexstar Media Group |
| St. Louis, MO | KTVI | 2 | 1997–2008[lower-alpha 6] | Fox affiliate under Nexstar Media Group ownership |
| Charlotte, NC | WJZY | 46 | 2013–2020 | Fox affiliate managed by Nexstar Media Group |
| WMYT-TV | 55 | 2013–2020 | MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group | |
| High Point, North Carolina–Greensboro, North Carolina–Winston-Salem, North Carolina | WGHP | 8 | 1995–2008 | Fox affiliate held by Nexstar Media Group |
| Cleveland, OH | WJW-TV | 8 | 1997–2008[lower-alpha 6] | Fox affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
| Portland, Oregon | KPTV | 12 | 2001–2002[lower-alpha 1] | Fox affiliate currently owned by Gray Television |
- Stations such as KHON-TV in Honolulu and WLUK-TV in Green Bay—part of SF Broadcasting, a collaboration between Savoy Pictures and Fox—acquired before SF Broadcasting's establishment by former Fox executive Barry Diller—are not included in this list.
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