WJAX-TV
| Company type | Television broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | August 1, 1980 |
| Headquarters | Jacksonville, Florida , United States |
Area served | Jacksonville metropolitan area |
| Owner | Hoffman Communications |
| Parent | Cox Media Group (operates under joint sales agreement) |
WJAX-TV (channel 47) serves as a CBS-affiliated television broadcaster located in Jacksonville, Florida. The station is owned by Hoffman Communications and functions under a joint sales agreement (JSA) with Cox Media Group, which owns WFOX-TV (channel 30), the local Fox/MyNetworkTV/Telemundo affiliate. Both stations operate from shared facilities on Central Parkway and utilize transmitter sites on Hogan Road in the Southside area of Jacksonville.
History
The station's inception traces back to John Stone Thigpenn, who in 1977 envisioned launching a Christian television outlet in Jacksonville, inspired by Pat Robertson’s program "Shout it From the Housetops." Initial community backing included a $1,000 contribution from listener Janice Paulk. Thigpenn joined forces with local Christian entrepreneurs such as Russell Linenkohl and physicians Stephen Gyland and Douglas Fowler to establish Christian Television of Jacksonville. To avoid competition with channel 30, they opted to apply for UHF channel 47.
Christian Television of Jacksonville obtained the FCC construction permit but faced financial hardships. Subsequently, ownership shifted to board president Thomas McGehee, who partnered with his brother Frank to form North Florida Television Incorporated; the FCC approved this license transfer while retaining Thigpenn on the board.
The station officially began broadcasting on August 1, 1980, under the call sign WXAO-TV—symbolizing "Christ, the Alpha and Omega"—from its Southside Jacksonville location. It was Jacksonville's pioneering independent station, offering family-oriented religious content alongside secular programming including cartoons, westerns, and classic sitcoms. WXAO also became the first local station to broadcast around the clock but attracted only modest viewership. On June 27, 1983, it rebranded as WNFT and shifted its focus toward movies and drama series. By 1989, its schedule featured cartoons, sitcoms, dramas, and films.
In 1990, the McGehee family sold WNFT to Krypton Broadcasting for approximately $3 million; Krypton also owned stations in West Palm Beach and Birmingham. After Krypton's bankruptcy in 1993, RDS Broadcasting acquired WNFT in October 1994. RDS entered into a local marketing agreement with Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), which owned Fox affiliate WAWS (channel 30), consolidating operations at WAWS’s studios. Under this arrangement, WNFT concentrated on older cartoons, movies, sitcoms, and dramas.
With UPN’s launch on January 16, 1995, WNFT became a charter affiliate of the network and subsequently changed its call letters to WTEV-TV on March 4, 1996. During the late 1990s, WTEV transitioned away from classic sitcoms and cartoons in favor of talk shows and reality programming. Clear Channel acquired full ownership of the station in 2000, creating Jacksonville’s second television duopoly.
Joining CBS
On April 23, 2002, CBS entered into an affiliation agreement with Clear Channel for WTEV-TV to serve as Jacksonville’s new CBS affiliate. The previous CBS partner, WJXT (channel 4), declined to renew its contract after CBS imposed demands for reverse compensation and restricted preemptions. Officially affiliating with CBS on July 15, 2002, WTEV replaced WJXT as the network’s local outlet; WJXT became an independent station. This change prompted a similar affiliation switch in Gainesville where WGFL moved from WB to CBS. Meanwhile, WAWS adopted UPN programming on a delayed basis and acquired syndicated sitcoms dropped by WTEV. Additionally, WTEV secured broadcast rights for most Jacksonville Jaguars games through CBS’s NFL contract and high-profile college football matchups via the SEC contract—including the annual Florida–Georgia rivalry held at EverBank Field.
This affiliation switch created an uncommon market dynamic wherein two separate companies owned Big Four network affiliates: Gannett controlled ABC’s WJXX and NBC’s WTLV, while Clear Channel (later Newport Television) managed CBS’s WTEV alongside Fox’s WAWS. As a result, Jacksonville became one of few U.S. markets featuring all six major broadcast networks distributed among five stations within a six-station market.
On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel agreed to divest its television stations to Newport Television—a company backed by private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. Due to FCC regulations prohibiting ownership of two top-four stations within one market by a single entity, Newport obtained a temporary waiver for owning both WTEV and WAWS but was required to sell one within six months. The transaction finalized on March 14, 2008; Newport initially planned to sell WAWS but ultimately retained WTEV.
In May 2008, Newport sold the license assets of WTEV along with five other stations to High Plains Broadcasting due to ownership restrictions; this sale closed on September 15. However, Newport continued managing these stations through a shared services agreement—effectively making High Plains a shell corporation akin to arrangements seen between Nexstar/Mission Broadcasting or Sinclair/Cunningham Broadcasting. Consequently, WTEV functioned as the junior partner in a virtual duopoly alongside Fox affiliate WAWS.
On July 19, 2012, Newport announced plans to sell both WAWS and WTEV-TV to Cox Media Group as part of a $1 billion deal involving four stations including Tulsa’s KOKI-TV and KMYT-TV. This acquisition aligned WAWS and WTEV with Cox’s radio cluster in Jacksonville as well as its Orlando television duopoly comprising ABC affiliate WFTV and independent WRDQ. Due to FCC ownership constraints similar to previous sales, Cox took full ownership of WAWS but transferred WTEV’s license assets to Bayshore Television, LLC—operating WTEV under a joint sales agreement. The deal received approval on October 24 and was completed December 3.
On August 26, 2014, Cox announced that WTEV would adopt new call letters—WJAX-TV—to strengthen its association with Jacksonville; concurrently sister station WAWS was renamed WFOX-TV. These changes became effective September 7. The call sign WJAX had formerly been used by an unrelated AM radio station in Jacksonville.
On February 27, 2018, Bayshore Television agreed to sell WJAX-TV to Hoffman Communications for $1.2 million while Cox continued operating the station under existing agreements. The FCC approved this transaction on April 17; it was finalized May 8.
In February 2019, Apollo Global Management revealed intentions to acquire Cox Media Group’s television assets along with Northwest Broadcasting’s holdings—including the joint sales agreement involving WJAX-TV. Initially operating under the name Terrier Media during acquisition processes, Apollo later confirmed retaining the Cox Media Group brand after purchasing Cox’s radio and advertising divisions. The sale concluded on December 17, 2019.
Sports programming
Following its affiliation with CBS in 2002, then-WTEV-TV became the primary broadcaster for the majority of Jacksonville Jaguars regular-season contests, capitalizing on CBS's NFL rights for AFC teams. The station’s inaugural Jaguars game as a CBS affiliate was the Week 1 home matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on September 8, 2002.
In October 2015, WJAX simulcast a streaming broadcast produced by Yahoo! of the Jaguars’ London game against the Buffalo Bills. This event was notable as the NFL's first-ever streaming-only game to be simulcast on local over-the-air channels in accordance with league regulations.
News operation
WJAX-TV currently delivers 30 hours of local news programming each week, which includes five hours on weekdays and weekend sports highlight shows such as Action Sports Jax Primetime and Friday Night Blitz. The station sources Doppler radar information from the National Weather Service located near Jacksonville International Airport.
During the late 1990s, WAWS produced a half-hour early evening newscast titled UPN 47 News at 6:30 for WTEV; this program was discontinued in June 2002 prior to WTEV’s transition to CBS. After WTEV joined CBS in July 2002, it expanded its local news offerings with multiple daily broadcasts and weekend coverage, with WAWS’s news team assuming primary production responsibilities. Initially, both stations maintained distinct on-air branding and separate anchors to preserve their individual identities.
By the late 2000s, WTEV’s weekday morning newscast began simulcasting on WAWS, extending Action News This Morning into a two-hour segment and subsequently lengthening further on WAWS. On September 19, 2010, WAWS introduced its own unique graphics and music package, differentiating itself from WTEV. Earlier, on April 13, 2009, both stations unified their news branding under Action News to strengthen competition against rivals WTLV and WJXX; this rebranding included new sets, updated graphics, a weather center, and a revamped website.
On January 31, 2010, WTEV/WAWS transitioned to high-definition broadcasts, becoming Jacksonville’s second news operation to do so. Later in that year, they launched a half-hour weekday morning extension at 4:30 a.m. on channel 30; meanwhile, WTEV continued starting its morning newscast at 5 a.m. due to airing CBS Morning News on tape delay.
On May 28, 2014, Cox Media Group executed significant restructuring within its news team by terminating five prominent anchors—including weeknight anchors Mark Spain, Tera Barz, Paige Kelton and morning anchors Lynnsey Gardner and Mike Barz—with changes effective around September 1. This move was met with criticism from Jacksonville city council president Bill Guilford, who labeled Cox Media Group’s decision as misguided.
Notable current on-air staff
- Mike Buresh (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) – chief meteorologist
Notable former on-air staff
- Mike Barz – anchor
Subchannels
WJAX-TV broadcasts multiple subchannels as detailed below:
| Channel | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WJAX-HD | CBS |
| 47.2 | 480i | 16:9 | WJAX-CZ | Cozi TV |
| 47.3 | 480i | 16:9 | WJAX-CC | Catchy Comedy |
| 47.4 | 480i | 16:9 | WJAX_TN | MeTV Toons |
In 2014, Cox Media Group introduced the movie channel GetTV on subchannel 47.2, replacing the Live Well Network. By the year 2020, GetTV was supplanted by Cozi TV, which had formerly been broadcast on WRCZ-LD channel 35.3.
Analog-to-digital conversion
On June 12, 2009, WJAX-TV (formerly WTEV-TV) discontinued its analog transmission on UHF channel 47 in compliance with the federally required digital transition. The station's digital broadcast continued on UHF channel 19, while maintaining virtual channel 47 for viewers.