FORT WAYNE – A Fort Wayne station will go it alone as an independent without a national network affiliate but is promising a strong emphasis on local news.
Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc. of Irving, Texas, said WFFT Local will debut Aug. 1 on Channel 55 and feature expanded community news, popular syndicated shows and movies. WFFT Local will be available on Comcast Channel 12 and Frontier Channel 5.
The affiliation agreement between Fox and Nexstar expired a year ago. They were unable to reach a new deal, according to a Fox official last month who declined to comment on negotiations. New York-based Granite Broadcasting Corp. entered into talks with Fox a few months ago, and a deal was announced last month.
Media companies typically pay a fee to carry a network affiliate’s programming. At least one news report said Fox was demanding that affiliates pay a percentage of the money they receive from cable operators for retransmitting their signals.
In any case, WFFT-TV Channel 55 is no longer the Fox carrier, and Granite – which already has local affiliations with NBC (WISE Channel 33), ABC (WPTA Channel 21), CW and MyNetworkTV – will have a stranglehold on national programming in northeast Indiana.
Granite will now air such popular Fox shows as “American Idol” and “Glee” along with the NFL on what will be called My Fox Fort Wayne, Channel 33.2. It will be available on Comcast Channel 252 and Frontier Channel 9.
Even so, Bill Ritchhart, vice president and general manager of WFFT Local, said in a statement that his station will have much to offer. For instance, he said it will be the first station in the market to offer “full HD broadcasts” of locally produced news and special programming beginning Oct. 1.
Ritchhart said the equipment upgrades and high-definition broadcasts show the station’s long-term community commitment.
Another bonus, WFFT officials say, is that the 10 p.m. news will expand to a full hour. The station also will debut a Sunday night live weekly sports wrap-up show, “The Locker Room,” to air at 11 p.m.
