WFOX-TV
| Company type | Television broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | February 15, 1981 |
| Headquarters | Jacksonville, Florida , United States |
Area served | Jacksonville metropolitan area |
| Owner | Cox Media Group |
WFOX-TV (channel 30) serves as a television broadcaster in Jacksonville, Florida, affiliated with the networks Fox, MyNetworkTV, and Telemundo. The station is owned by Cox Media Group and operates under a joint sales agreement (JSA) with Hoffman Communications to provide certain services to the CBS affiliate WJAX-TV (channel 47). Both stations share their production studios on Central Parkway as well as transmitter facilities located on Hogan Road in Jacksonville's Southside area.
1980s Beginnings
The station commenced operations on February 15, 1981, initially under the call sign WAWS-TV, which was shortened by October of the same year. Its name honored Ashley Wellhouse Stein, the granddaughter of founding co-owner Martin Stein. As Jacksonville’s first independent station offering general entertainment, it launched more than a year after WXAO-TV (which later became WJAX) that primarily focused on religious content. WAWS-TV’s original facilities, including studios and transmitter, were situated on Hogan Road within the Killarney Shores antenna farm. Originally owned by Crown Broadcasting, ownership transferred to Malrite Communications shortly before the station went live; Malrite also held ABC affiliate WCTI-TV in New Bern, North Carolina, and independent WUHF in Rochester, New York. The station’s programming lineup centered on cartoons, movies, sitcoms, and drama series.
On October 9, 1986, WAWS became a founding affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. During Fox’s initial years, channel 30 operated similarly to an independent station because Fox’s programming was limited at first—offering just an hour of late-night shows Monday through Friday and weekend prime-time starting in April 1987. It was not until September 1993 that Fox expanded to a full seven-night schedule. Until then, WAWS filled non-network time slots with feature films airing at 8 p.m.
Clear Channel Era
In 1989, Malrite sold the station to Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), based in San Antonio, which had previously acquired its first TV outlet WPMI-TV serving Pensacola–Mobile. Throughout the mid-to-late 1990s, WAWS gradually shifted its focus toward talk shows and reality programming while scaling back on classic sitcom reruns. In 1995, Clear Channel began operating channel 47 (later WNFT) under a local marketing agreement (LMA), combining programming and resources with WAWS. The company fully acquired channel 47 in 2000—by then known as UPN affiliate WTEV-TV—creating Jacksonville’s second TV duopoly.
Following WTEV's acquisition of the CBS affiliation from longtime partner WJXT (channel 4), which dropped CBS due to disputes over reverse compensation fees, WAWS took on local UPN broadcasting rights on July 15, 2002. The station aired UPN’s evening lineup as a secondary affiliation while also carrying children’s programming blocks from both UPN and Fox. Additionally, WAWS picked up syndicated sitcoms displaced by WTEV’s schedule adjustments. This arrangement made Jacksonville distinctive as one of the few six-station markets where all six major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN, and The WB) were represented across only five stations; it was also unique in that just two companies controlled all four major network affiliates.
On January 24, 2006, Warner Bros. and CBS announced plans to discontinue UPN and The WB networks in favor of launching The CW—a new venture combining top-rated shows from both predecessors. In reaction to this development, News Corporation introduced MyNetworkTV on February 22, 2006, aiming to rival The CW and offer an alternative for stations not joining the new network.
On March 28 of that year, Media General revealed that WB affiliate WJWB (channel 17) would serve as Jacksonville’s inaugural CW affiliate (later rebranded as WCWJ). On July 12, Clear Channel confirmed that WAWS would become a MyNetworkTV affiliate through a newly created second digital subchannel. Before this subchannel launched in January 2007, WAWS broadcasted MyNetworkTV programs weeknights from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Following the launch of WAWS-DT2, MyNetworkTV moved into its recommended prime-time slot from 8 to 10 p.m., while Variety Television Network programming (which became MeTV in 2011) occupied other time periods.
Newport Television ownership
On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel reached an agreement to divest its television station portfolio to Newport Television, a newly formed entity overseen by the private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. Since WTEV was part of the package and had outperformed other local competitors in ratings, FCC ownership regulations for leading market stations mandated that Newport secure a temporary waiver to own both WAWS and WTEV simultaneously, with the stipulation that one station be sold within six months. Following the completion of the acquisition on March 14, 2008, Newport initially intended to retain WTEV while putting WAWS up for sale.
Due to ownership conflicts, on May 21, 2008, High Plains Broadcasting agreed to acquire the license assets of WTEV along with six additional stations from Newport. This transaction was effectively a paper sale; operational control remained with Newport under a shared services agreement, maintaining WTEV and WAWS as affiliated stations. Consequently, High Plains functioned as a nominal entity for Newport Television, paralleling similar structures seen between Nexstar Broadcasting Group and Mission Broadcasting or Sinclair Broadcast Group and Cunningham Broadcasting. Notably, in this virtual duopoly arrangement, WAWS operated as the senior partner as a Fox affiliate alongside CBS affiliate WTEV, which is atypical since Fox affiliates usually act as junior partners. WAWS continues to be Jacksonville’s sole station that has never altered its primary network affiliation.
Cox Media Group ownership
On July 19, 2012, Newport Television sold WAWS and WTEV-TV to Cox Media Group as part of a four-station acquisition that also included Fox affiliate KOKI-TV and MyNetworkTV affiliate KMYT-TV in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This purchase integrated WAWS and WTEV into Cox’s Jacksonville radio cluster (including WOKV 690 AM and 106.5 FM, now WHJX, WFYV-FM 104.5, currently WOKV-FM, WJGL 96.9, WXXJ 102.9, now WEZI (FM), and WAPE-FM 95.1) as well as its Orlando duopoly consisting of ABC affiliate WFTV and independent station WRDQ. To comply with FCC regulations, Cox took full ownership of WAWS while transferring WTEV’s license assets to Bayshore Television, LLC, which entered into a joint sales agreement with Cox. The FCC granted approval on October 24, and the transaction was finalized on December 3.
On August 26, 2014, Cox revealed plans to change WAWS’ call letters to WFOX-TV pending FCC approval submitted on July 30. General manager Jim Zerwekh explained that the new callsign would more accurately represent the station’s position among Fox’s top ten affiliates. Unlike other stations that incorporate their network’s name into their callsigns, this change follows examples set by coastal flagship owned-and-operated stations in New York City and Los Angeles. Concurrently, sister station WTEV-TV was rebranded as WJAX-TV. Both changes became effective on September 7, 2014.
In February 2019, Apollo Global Management announced it would acquire Cox Media Group along with Northwest Broadcasting’s stations. Initially intending to operate under the Terrier Media name, Apollo subsequently purchased Cox’s radio and advertising divisions as well but retained the Cox Media Group brand. The acquisition was completed on December 17, 2019.
News operation
WFOX-TV delivers 50 hours of locally generated newscasts each week, featuring eight hours on weekdays and five hours over the weekend. Additionally, it produces the weekend sports recap show Action Sports Jax Primetime, which airs at 10:30 p.m. Both stations rely on Doppler radar information supplied by the National Weather Service Forecast Office located near Jacksonville International Airport.
Back in 1991, the then-ABC affiliate WJKS (currently WCWJ) collaborated with WAWS to air a nightly 10 p.m. prime time newscast titled Fox 30 First Coast News. After WJKS discontinued its news operations in 1996 prior to losing its ABC affiliation, Clear Channel invested in establishing WAWS’s own news team, debuting a half-hour newscast at 10 p.m. on December 30, 1996. This later expanded into a full hour with an additional weeknight broadcast at 10:30 p.m.
In 1999, WAWS launched a 3½-hour morning newscast during weekdays and added a weekday 4 p.m. newscast two years later in 2001. Starting in 1999, it also produced a weeknight 6:30 p.m. newscast for its sister station WTEV. When WTEV transitioned from UPN to CBS in July 2002, it assumed primary responsibility for the jointly operated news department with WAWS, significantly increasing local news content to include early morning, noon, evening, and weekend newscasts. Initially, both stations kept separate anchors and distinct branding to preserve their individual identities; however, WAWS discontinued its 4 p.m. newscast in 2007.
Prominent personnel additions included anchor Mark Spain in 2007 and meteorologist Julie Watkins. By the late 2000s, WTEV’s weekday morning newscast was simulcast on WAWS, extending Action News This Morning to a two-hour block from 5 to 7 a.m., which was later further extended by an additional two hours (7–9 a.m.) exclusively on WAWS.
On April 13, 2009, WTEV and WAWS merged their news branding under the name Action News to better compete with rival First Coast News. This rebranding brought new studio sets—though WAWS maintained its own set for the nightly 10 p.m. broadcast—updated graphics, an enhanced weather center, and a revamped website. On January 31, 2010, they became the second local news operation in Jacksonville to transition to high-definition broadcasts. That same year also saw the introduction of a half-hour weekday morning extension at 4:30 a.m. on WAWS.
WAWS revived the "Fox 30" brand for its news shows on September 19, 2010, featuring refreshed logos and graphics designed by Hothaus Creative.
During a corporate restructuring in May 2014, Cox Media Group dismissed five prominent anchors from WAWS/WTEV—including Mark Spain and Paige Kelton—an action that sparked criticism from local officials.
Beginning September 27, 2014, WFOX-TV expanded Action News This Morning to include weekends with three-hour broadcasts on Saturdays and two-hour segments on Sundays. Unlike weekday editions, these weekend newscasts are not simulcast on WJAX-TV.
On January 11, 2016, WFOX introduced a one-hour early evening newscast at 6 p.m. on weekdays; the first half-hour simulcasts WJAX's existing program while the latter half-hour airs exclusively on WFOX during WJAX’s broadcast of the CBS Evening News.
Notable current on-air staff
- Mike Buresh (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) – chief meteorologist
Distinguished former on-air personnel
- Mike Barz – news anchor
Digital subchannels
The multiplexed broadcast of WFOX-TV consists of the following subchannels:
| Channel | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Identifier | Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WFOX-HD | Fox |
| 30.2 | 480i | 16:9 | WFOX-MY | MyNetworkTV & MeTV |
| 30.3 | 480i | 16:9 | WFOX-HI | Heroes & Icons |
| 30.4 | 720p | 16:9 | WFOX-TM | Telemundo |
Transition from analog to digital
In compliance with the federally mandated digital switch, WFOX-TV (formerly WAWS) discontinued its analog transmission on UHF channel 30 as of June 12, 2009. The station's digital broadcast remains on UHF channel 32, maintaining virtual channel 30.