WSYX

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
The station began operations on September 29, 1949, as WTVN, Columbus' second television station.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1">1</a> At its launch, the station was owned by Picture Waves Inc., a company controlled by <a href="/facts/Toledo%2c_Ohio/pvCIPsAt">Toledo</a>-based attorney and investor <a href="/facts/Edward_Lamb/a6NeAKAv">Edward Lamb</a>; Lamb also owned <a href="/facts/WICU-TV/t2AkLlJy">WICU-TV</a> in <a href="/facts/Erie%2c_Pennsylvania/mwuQGr3c">Erie, Pennsylvania</a>, which went on the air six months earlier. WTVN was an affiliate of the <a href="/facts/DuMont_Television_Network/m39SPdCc">DuMont Television Network</a> at its inception, and was one of only three primary affiliates of that network;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2">2</a> it also carried a secondary affiliation with ABC.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a> Channel 6 became a full-time ABC affiliate in 1955, after DuMont closed down its operations. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the <a href="/facts/NTA_Film_Network/Ih4NspDr">NTA Film Network</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> The station was first housed within the <a href="/facts/LeVeque_Tower/oebKoYmP">Lincoln-LeVeque Tower</a> in <a href="/facts/Downtown_Columbus%2c_Ohio/caSp0lCr">Downtown Columbus</a> until 1952, when it moved into a new facility on Harmon Avenue in Franklinton. Channel 6's present home, on <a href="/facts/U.S._Route_33_in_Ohio/fPbJ6dL6">Dublin Road</a> near the Columbus–Grandview Heights border, has been in operation since 1978.
In March 1953, Picture Waves sold WTVN to Radio Cincinnati, Inc., the broadcasting interests of the <a href="/facts/Taft_family/pMFj6EFM">Taft family</a> of <a href="/facts/Cincinnati/PcyTWhS4">Cincinnati</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> The following year, Radio Cincinnati purchased WHKC radio (610 AM) in Columbus from the publishers of the <a href="/facts/Cleveland_Plain_Dealer/N7I7vFXb">Cleveland Plain Dealer</a>, renaming that station <a href="/facts/WTVN_(AM)/3bvEymoD">WTVN (AM)</a> and subsequently adding a "-TV" suffix to channel 6's call sign.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> Radio Cincinnati would later become the <a href="/facts/Taft_Broadcasting_Company/X6h2lwTK">Taft Broadcasting Company</a>, and Taft would launch a second radio station in Columbus, WTVN-FM (96.3 FM, now <a href="/facts/WLVQ/xkY4y4lP">WLVQ</a>), in April 1960.
In the early 1970s, Taft's common ownership of WTVN-TV and <a href="/facts/WKRC-TV/F7gYRB2W">WKRC-TV</a> (channel 12) in Cincinnati was given protection under a "<a href="/facts/Grandfather_clause/M4Sh8KI8">grandfather clause</a>" by the <a href="/facts/Federal_Communications_Commission/Ueghz8W0">Federal Communications Commission</a> (FCC) from its newly enacted "<a href="/facts/Concentration_of_media_ownership/SSqslIb3">one-to-a-market</a>" rule. The ordinance prohibited television stations with overlapping signals from sharing common ownership while protecting existing instances. WKRC-TV's signal provided at least secondary coverage to much of the southern portion of the Columbus market. One of WTVN-TV's competitors, Crosley/<a href="/facts/Avco/5SuHK0Jy">Avco</a>-owned WLWC (channel 4, now <a href="/facts/WCMH-TV/87Jl9x1a">WCMH-TV</a>), was given grandfathered protection through a similar situation with sister stations in <a href="/facts/WDTN/f1f4CTsu">Dayton</a> and <a href="/facts/WLWT/EyUgaWmn">Cincinnati</a>.
In 1987, Cincinnati financier (and future <a href="/facts/Cincinnati_Reds/dXCFjCGI">Cincinnati Reds</a> owner) <a href="/facts/Carl_Lindner_Jr./gWP8djhF">Carl Lindner</a> acquired a majority of Taft's shares in a hostile takeover, renaming the company Great American Broadcasting, a subsidiary of his Great American Insurance Company. The manner in which the takeover was structured led the FCC to deem it to be an ownership change. As a result, WTVN-TV lost its grandfathered protection and could not be retained by Great American. A group of former Taft Broadcasting shareholders, led by <a href="/facts/Texas/B987WHF0">Texas</a> millionaire <a href="/facts/Robert_Bass/YEB3c157">Robert Bass</a> (who also participated in the hostile takeover), purchased WTVN-TV for their new company, called Anchor Media. The sale closed on August 31, 1987, and the new owners renamed the station WSYX that same day. The change was required as FCC rules at the time prohibited TV and radio stations with separate ownership in the same market from retaining the same base callsign. WTVN and WLVQ remained owned by Great American for several years.
Anchor Media, who also purchased ABC affiliates <a href="/facts/WLOS/KNyC5sqG">WLOS</a> in <a href="/facts/Asheville%2c_North_Carolina/hYk6nWBB">Asheville, North Carolina</a> (in April 1987) and <a href="/facts/KOVR/lL3KjzRX">KOVR</a> in <a href="/facts/Stockton%2c_California/tUa4As3A">Stockton, California</a> (in January 1989, now a <a href="/facts/CBS/BhMsVoej">CBS</a> <a href="/facts/O%2526O/E2jeTvqg">O&O</a>), was purchased by <a href="/facts/River_City_Broadcasting/Et8N58JS">River City Broadcasting</a> in 1993. River City was merged into the Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1996. Sinclair owned Columbus' Fox affiliate, WTTE, but could not keep both stations since the FCC did not allow common ownership of two stations in a single <a href="/facts/Media_market/PtR9gTTw">market</a>. Sinclair kept the longer-established WSYX and sold WTTE to Glencairn, Ltd., owned by former Sinclair executive Edwin Edwards. However, the Smith family (Sinclair's founding owners) controlled nearly all of Glencairn's stock. In effect, Sinclair now had a <a href="/facts/Duopoly_(broadcasting)/coN2KCn9">duopoly</a> in Columbus in violation of FCC rules. Sinclair and Glenciarn further circumvented the rules by merging WTTE's operations with those of WSYX under a local marketing agreement, with WSYX as the senior partner.
In 2001, after the FCC allowed duopolies, Sinclair tried to acquire Glencairn outright. However, the FCC would not allow Sinclair to repurchase WTTE for two major reasons. First, the FCC does not allow duopolies between two of the four highest-rated stations in a single market. Also, the Columbus market, despite its relatively large size, has only seven full-power stations—too few to legally permit a duopoly. Glencairn was renamed Cunningham Broadcasting but is still effectively owned by Sinclair because nearly all of its stock is owned by trusts controlled by the Smith family. This situation is one of many that has led to allegations that Cunningham is simply a <a href="/facts/Shell_corporation/xRH4bJXQ">shell corporation</a> used by Sinclair to circumvent FCC ownership rules. Sinclair would later acquire WKRC-TV in 2012, reuniting the station with WSYX.
In 2004, WSYX (along with other ABC affiliates owned by Sinclair, including sister stations <a href="/facts/WKEF/RUhoHoU7">WKEF</a> in <a href="/facts/Dayton/U8kg5Tf1">Dayton</a> [which had recently switched back to ABC from NBC] as well as WCHS-TV which includes parts of <a href="/facts/Southern_Ohio/4erq6gEa">Southern Ohio</a> in its viewing area) preempted the special showing of <a href="/facts/Saving_Private_Ryan/4HdhrwcF">Saving Private Ryan</a> in late 2004 due to concerns that the FCC would impose a fine on them if they had aired the <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>-set movie due to the <a href="/facts/Super_Bowl_XXXVIII_halftime_show_controversy/qQGICEFD">Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy</a> earlier that year. As ABC affiliates owned by the <a href="/facts/E._W._Scripps_Company/0BQb04T4">E. W. Scripps Company</a> also preempted the film (including <a href="/facts/WEWS-TV/yLPraqEe">WEWS-TV</a> in <a href="/facts/Cleveland/rQb7qveu">Cleveland</a> and <a href="/facts/WCPO-TV/2UEd99LA">WCPO-TV</a> in Cincinnati), only viewers in the far eastern (WYTV) and northwestern (then-ABC O&O <a href="/facts/WTVG/sGl7dph9">WTVG</a> in Toledo) parts of Ohio were able to view the film. It was later determined that the movie's broadcast was not a violation of FCC regulations.
At one point, WTVN-TV/WSYX was one of five ABC affiliates owned by Taft, owing to a longtime friendship between Taft's chairman Hulbert Taft Jr., and then-ABC president <a href="/facts/Leonard_Goldenson/qBjJUq7n">Leonard Goldenson</a>. WSYX is the only one of these stations still affiliated with ABC, the only former Taft station whose ABC affiliation survives that friendship. Following the sale of WCMH-TV by NBC to <a href="/facts/Media_General/G59NYbNd">Media General</a> in 2006 (as well as its subsequent merger with <a href="/facts/Nexstar_Media_Group/N6yrCfHu">Nexstar Media Group</a> in 2017) as well as <a href="/facts/WBNS-TV/UR82cvYw">WBNS-TV</a>'s 2019 sale to <a href="/facts/Tegna_Inc./XLXfLqnm">Tegna Inc.</a>, WSYX currently has the longest active ownership history with one owner among Columbus's "Big Three" affiliates.

<h3>Addition of Fox affiliation</h3>
On January 1, 2021, Sinclair quietly sent a letter to cable and satellite providers saying that it had consolidated the Fox affiliations of stations in markets where it had been on a sister Cunningham or Deerfield-owned station onto Sinclair owned stations, putting those affiliations directly in Sinclair's control.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a> While most markets transitioned on that day, the transition of WTTE-DT1's programming schedule onto WSYX's spectrum would be held off until January 7, as that would be the day <a href="/facts/WWHO/VWoalItI">WWHO</a> would convert to being the market's <a href="/facts/ATSC_3.0/E2PFkryy">ATSC 3.0</a> lighthouse station, and it would be easier for the transition of all the channels being moved or launched to occur then.
On that day, Sinclair began simulcasting "Fox 28" programming on WSYX-DT3, while moving <a href="/facts/Antenna_TV/2BR2q05L">Antenna TV</a> to the newly created 6.4. WTTE's main signal would eventually carry Sinclair-owned <a href="/facts/TBD_(TV_network)/8LTLxDbI">TBD</a> full-time. The simulcast continued until February 3 at 10 a.m., when the "Fox 28" schedule was now only available over-the-air through WSYX-DT3 (WTTE would also become the host of WWHO's main CW schedule in ATSC 1.0 format).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a>
With the move of the "Fox 28" schedule to WSYX-DT3, it became the largest-market <a href="/facts/Subchannel/RVvn1WrJ">subchannel</a>-only Fox affiliate, surpassing <a href="/facts/Albuquerque%2c_New_Mexico/SATmBfJb">Albuquerque, New Mexico</a>'s <a href="/facts/KRQE/hkWxmWA7">KRQE</a>-DT2 for that distinction, along with the largest station by market size holding two affiliations with the Big Four networks (also ahead of KRQE), though it is scheduled to be surpassed in August 2025 when Fox affiliate <a href="/facts/WSVN/bTBhMNTt">WSVN</a> in <a href="/facts/Miami/L5FsgQcb">Miami</a> will add the ABC affiliation to its second digital subchannel, replacing decades-long affiliate <a href="/facts/WPLG/JjylMNQN">WPLG</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> WSYX-DT3 continues to identify as "Fox 28" outside of the change of the call letters for their <a href="/facts/Station_identification/RIPqv6JH">station identification</a>, though in technicality as WSYX uses physical channel 28, it still properly identifies its channel position.
The switch was contractually proper for cable and satellite providers, who continue to carry Fox programming on all of "Fox 28"'s existing low-number channel positions, while WTTE-DT1's carriage now depends on provider; some carry it as a low-number channel, while others no longer carry any of WTTE's channels.
In April 2021, Antenna TV and <a href="/facts/Stadium_(sports_network)/4amceYLd">Stadium</a> swapped channels, with Stadium moving to 6.4 and Antenna TV moving to WTTE-DT2.

<h3>WSYX-DT2</h3>
In August 2006, WSYX launched a new second digital subchannel to carry programming from <a href="/facts/MyNetworkTV/aznXoFme">MyNetworkTV</a>. This channel added programming from <a href="/facts/This_TV/xXccaUN7">This TV</a> in the daytime and overnight hours on November 1, 2008; as of 2011, it takes up a bulk of the schedule outside of MyNetworkTV programming. For a long time, WSYX-DT2 had been the largest-market subchannel-only MyNetworkTV affiliate, but that all changed on November 17, 2014, when <a href="/facts/KMOV/HMmzmLvp">KMOV-DT3</a> "MyTV St. Louis" signed on. However, WSYX-DT2 remained the largest-market MyNetworkTV affiliate to be paired with another multicast digital network, until January 29, 2019, when the Cleveland market's MyNetworkTV affiliation was transferred from <a href="/facts/WUAB/LWRkTL5g">WUAB</a> (which relaunched as a <a href="/facts/The_CW/zPFQN74d">CW</a>-affiliated station) to a late-night offering with <a href="/facts/MeTV/A87PxJDI">MeTV</a> on <a href="/facts/WOIO/QVWHt5qr">WOIO-DT2</a>.

<h2 id="programming">Programming</h2>
<h3>News operation</h3>

WSYX presently broadcasts 38 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with six hours each weekday and four hours each on Saturdays and Sundays) on its main signal, as well as 25+1⁄2 hours on WSYX-DT3 for a total of 63+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts; in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the highest local newscast output among the Columbus market's television stations, though WCMH-TV has the largest output airing on one channel.
Historically, WSYX had been third among Columbus's television news operations, with WBNS the longtime market leader and WCMH having NBC's strength in the 80s into the 2000s (and NBC ownership in-between) to keep up with WBNS. WSYX has begun to challenge WBNS as Sinclair's ownership has become steady, with WCMH ending up a low-priority station under several new ownerships, and WBNS's local ownership ending in 2019 when the Wolfe family sold off the WBNS stations to <a href="/facts/Tegna%2c_Inc./XLXfLqnm">Tegna</a>, itself troubled by cost-cutting and shareholder turbulence and forced corporate-wide news imaging that discounted WBNS's local legacy. While WCMH-TV generally carries a straight newscast (as is common among Nexstar stations) and WBNS-TV has been more lifestyle-oriented under Tegna ownership, WSYX has traditionally had more of a <a href="/facts/Watchdog_journalism/8gcMnpbI">watchdog journalism</a> style, long carrying the slogan "On YOUR Side". Since the sale of WBNS-TV to Tegna, WSYX has been in a neck-and-neck race with WCMH-TV as the market leader, dominating in the mornings while being more competitive in other timeslots.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a>
During the 1977–83 era, WTVN-TV often passed WCMH for second place behind WBNS, and during 1987–1992, WSYX and WBNS traded second place ratings, both behind then-number one WCMH. Over the years, the station has featured high-profile Columbus anchors including Tom Ryan (who moved from WBNS to WTVN in 1979), Pat Lalama, I. J. Hudson, Michelle Gailiun, Lou Forrest (known as Louis de la Foret on <a href="/facts/CNN_Headline_News/0ojr6uKu">CNN Headline News</a>), Deborah Countiss, Bob Hetherington, Charlene Brown, and <a href="/facts/Liz_Claman/0cH8YgWw">Liz Claman</a> (now an anchor on <a href="/facts/Fox_Business_Network/W3rWbEb4">Fox Business Network</a>) and Carol Costello (former <a href="/facts/CNN/kEYsUQqr">CNN</a> news anchor) were also one time anchor/reporters on WSYX.
Prior to Sinclair's acquisition of WSYX, channel 6 used the <a href="/facts/Action_News/9jB9Rdp2">Action News</a> branding for its newscasts. Following its acquisition, WSYX began to produce newscasts for new sister station WTTE and used the unified branding of News Center. This would be dropped in 2006, with the two stations now using their individual station branding for newscasts, though outside the branding it was established that they were sister stations and used the same on-air talent and reporters.
WSYX and WTTE did not participate in the wider implementation of Sinclair's now-defunct, controversial <a href="/facts/News_Central_(American_TV_program)/KDzdt95v">News Central</a> format for its newscasts but did air The Point, a one-minute <a href="/facts/Conservatism_in_the_United_States/ye90yMMJ">conservative</a> political commentary, that was also controversial and a requirement of all Sinclair-owned stations with newscasts until the series was discontinued in December 2006. WSYX does provides weather forecasts to sister <a href="/facts/St._Louis/22beLecX">St. Louis</a> ABC affiliate <a href="/facts/KDNL-TV/0E4KDAQb">KDNL-TV</a> for their Good Morning America cut-ins; KDNL sub-contracts their news/public affairs programming to an outside provider. WSYX launched their newscasts in <a href="/facts/High-definition_television/AuE6FRFI">high definition</a> on May 10, 2008, making them the last Columbus station to make the upgrade. The WTTE newscasts were included in the switch. In addition, this was the second Sinclair-owned station to launch local newscasts in HD.
WSYX was one of Sinclair's first stations it acquired with an established news department, with the company having only dabbled with local news at WPTT in <a href="/facts/Pittsburgh/42yPHyS0">Pittsburgh</a> (now <a href="/facts/WPNT/fet7I5Rz">WPNT</a>) and <a href="/facts/Flagship_station/0T33zr3u">flagship station</a> <a href="/facts/WBFF/Mfz5tzha">WBFF</a> in <a href="/facts/Baltimore/ncJvTzBU">Baltimore</a> prior to buying River City Broadcasting, though it had just launched a 10 PM newscast for its other Pittsburgh broadcast property <a href="/facts/WPGH-TV/LqoxEUKv">WPGH-TV</a> around the time it took over WSYX. (Those newscasts are now produced by <a href="/facts/Cox_Media_Group/ytqlCMVz">Cox Media Group</a>-owned <a href="/facts/NBC/zyfTYCvW">NBC</a> affiliate <a href="/facts/WPXI/RuxplrAp">WPXI</a> in that market.) As a result, aside from the branding changes, WSYX's newscasts were largely left alone; this is in stark contrast to later acquisitions including WKRC-TV that lined up the newscasts with Sinclair's <a href="/facts/Conservatism_in_the_United_States/ye90yMMJ">conservative</a> <a href="/facts/Republican_Party_(United_States)/XXM1EVPr">Republican</a> ideologies and to this day rarely carry Sinclair's must-run programming.

<h3>Live programming</h3>
Like most local stations during the "Golden Era" of television, WTVN-TV produced a wide range of live local news and entertainment programs. Earl Green, better known as Channel 6's news anchor and director in the 1970s, began his career at the station as a movie host; Gene Fullen and Sally Flowers also hosted shows during their careers. WTVN-TV also hosted various live <a href="/facts/Bowling/0o4tKz8h">bowling</a> shows including <a href="/facts/Bowling_for_Dollars/9blcQHby">Bowling for Dollars</a> and Spare Time hosted by Gene Fullen and Sandy Hare from its in-studio bowling lanes at the Harmon Avenue studios. The bowling lanes were not relocated when WTVN-TV moved to its current studio facility at 1261 Dublin Road in 1977.
For a short time in 1988, WSYX-TV aired the first-ever locally-produced 10 a.m. live morning talk-entertainment show in Columbus, appropriately called Good Morning Columbus. The half-hour show was hosted by Calvin Sneed, the station's "Six On Your Side" consumer reporter, and Dawn Meadows, formerly of <a href="/facts/WEWS-TV/yLPraqEe">WEWS-TV</a>, Cleveland.

<h3>Sports</h3>
Through its affiliation with Fox and its <a href="/facts/Big_Ten_Conference/0IzwKheT">Big Ten Conference</a> rights, WSYX-DT3 airs select <a href="/facts/Ohio_State_Buckeyes_football/Sa511dYJ">Ohio State Buckeyes football</a> games, which are a huge ratings draw in Ohio in general and specifically Columbus, home of <a href="/facts/Ohio_State_University/jfSr6u6u">Ohio State University</a>. The station notably aired the Buckeyes' <a href="/facts/2003_Fiesta_Bowl/FDj8dNPG">national championship victory</a> in <a href="/facts/2002_Ohio_State_Buckeyes_football_team/XMs4U4st">2002</a>. WSYX airs pre-game and post-game shows throughout football season on both 6.1 and 6.3. Despite that, WBNS-TV is considered the official "home" station due to its longstanding relationship with Ohio State, and WBNS-TV instead of WSYX airs coach's shows for the Buckeyes.
Since Sinclair's 2019 purchase of the former <a href="/facts/Fox_Sports_Networks/7ydtj7u7">Fox Sports Networks</a> and subsequent conversion into <a href="/facts/Bally_Sports/tsdv9YKa">Bally Sports</a>, WSYX has actively promoted now-sister network <a href="/facts/Bally_Sports_Ohio/duYChMQ5">Bally Sports Ohio</a> as the home of the <a href="/facts/Columbus_Blue_Jackets/SedVneGp">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> and <a href="/facts/Columbus_Crew_SC/2yn12oSJ">Columbus Crew SC</a>, mentioning to viewers during its newscasts when their respective games air on Bally Sports Ohio.

<h3>Tri-State Network</h3>

In 1953, three television stations owned by <a href="/facts/Taft_Broadcasting_Company/X6h2lwTK">Taft Broadcasting Company</a> and <a href="/facts/Cox_Media_Group/ytqlCMVz">Cox Media Group</a> formed the short-lived "Tri-State Network" to compete with entertainment programming produced by <a href="/facts/Crosley_Broadcasting_Corporation/4traxNng">Crosley Broadcasting Corporation</a> on Crosley television stations in the Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton broadcast markets. On January 11, 1954, a new <a href="/facts/The_Wendy_Barrie_Show/ldXfvF0a">Wendy Barrie Show</a> premiered from the studios of <a href="/facts/WHIO-TV/9EzSLH87">WHIO-TV</a> in Dayton, simulcast on Taft Broadcasting's WKRC-TV in Cincinnati and WTVN (now WSYX) in Columbus.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a> Barrie's contract was terminated in October 1954.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a>

<h3>Notable former on-air staff</h3>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Donna_Hanover/mgmwhbAA">Donna Hanover</a> – former wife of <a href="/facts/Rudy_Giuliani/eIXNWUvQ">Rudy Giuliani</a></li></ul>
<h2 id="technical-information">Technical information</h2>
<h3>Subchannels</h3>
The station's signal is <a href="/facts/Multiplex_(TV)/W0eu6fGM">multiplexed</a>:

Subchannels of WSYX<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a><table><tbody><tr><th scope="col"><a href="/facts/Digital_subchannel/RVvn1WrJ">Channel</a></th><th scope="col"><a href="/facts/Display_resolution/8LQTWvl3">Res.</a></th><th scope="col"><a href="/facts/Aspect_ratio_(image)/I3vbqVl3">Aspect</a></th><th scope="col">Short name</th><th scope="col">Programming</th></tr><tr><th scope="row">6.1</th><td><a href="/facts/720p/kHKsELNr">720p</a></td><td rowspan="4"><a href="/facts/16%3a9/rS5YUsQd">16:9</a></td><td>WSYXABC</td><td><a href="/facts/American_Broadcasting_Company/WGxg4vRX">ABC</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row">6.2</th><td><a href="/facts/480i/NTPQFv9B">480i</a></td><td>MyTV</td><td><a href="/facts/MyNetworkTV/aznXoFme">MyNetworkTV</a> & <a href="/facts/The_Nest_(TV_network)/f7pAIS3P">The Nest</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row">6.3</th><td>720p</td><td>Fox28</td><td><a href="/facts/Fox_Broadcasting_Company/yeFeCgGk">Fox</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row">6.4</th><td>480i</td><td>TheNest</td><td><a href="/facts/The_Nest_(TV_network)/f7pAIS3P">The Nest</a></td></tr></tbody></table>
<h3>Analog-to-digital conversion</h3>
WSYX ended regular programming on its analog signal, over <a href="/facts/VHF/8V90M1Sl">VHF</a> channel 6, on June 12, 2009, at 11:59 p.m., as part of the <a href="/facts/Digital_television_transition_in_the_United_States/fbs2Tp7z">federally mandated transition from analog to digital television</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a> The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 13, using <a href="/facts/Virtual_channel/FdHGAsDQ">virtual channel</a> 6.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> On December 11, 2009, the FCC issued a Report & Order granting WSYX's petition to move from VHF channel 13 to UHF channel 48 to improve signal strength and to be consistent with other Columbus stations on the UHF dial.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a> On August 30, 2010, WSYX began broadcasting on <a href="/facts/UHF/S6XDUaDY">UHF</a> channel 48.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a> Like all stations broadcasting on channel 6 prior to the digital switchover, WSYX's audio signal could be heard on <a href="/facts/87.7_FM/LUB79uum">87.75 MHz</a> on the <a href="/facts/Frequency_modulation/qIExDdtv">FM</a> band in Columbus and the surrounding areas.
As part of the <a href="/facts/SAFER_Act/wYRa8xUD">SAFER Act</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a> WSYX kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of <a href="/facts/Public_service_announcement/GvX6wcy8">public service announcements</a> from the <a href="/facts/National_Association_of_Broadcasters/6zmN2Et3">National Association of Broadcasters</a>.
WSYX moved its digital signal from channel 48 to channel 28 on October 19, 2019, as part of the FCC's <a href="/facts/Spectrum_reallocation/qmwqSua0">spectrum reallocation</a> process.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a>

<h2 id="out-of-market-coverage">Out of market coverage</h2>
At times, WTVN-TV/WSYX has served as the default ABC affiliate in several markets. This has included the <a href="/facts/Zanesville/LppXwQnH">Zanesville</a> market as a whole (which only has <a href="/facts/NBC/zyfTYCvW">NBC</a>/Fox affiliate <a href="/facts/WHIZ-TV/LKbBnBhr">WHIZ-TV</a>), the <a href="/facts/Lima%2c_Ohio/QSh0DebM">Lima</a> market as a whole (served by NBC affiliate <a href="/facts/WLIO/kpRAw8x6">WLIO</a>), the Ohio portion of the <a href="/facts/Marietta%2c_Ohio/uGr1ml4g">Marietta</a>–<a href="/facts/Parkersburg/WUD2Xym4">Parkersburg</a> market (served by NBC affiliate <a href="/facts/WTAP-TV/oYMpvBtz">WTAP-TV</a>), and the western parts of the <a href="/facts/Wheeling%2c_West_Virginia/rP4yAUVl">Wheeling</a>–<a href="/facts/Steubenville/6BP5Ndvu">Steubenville</a> market (served by <a href="/facts/WTRF-TV/KBBsC11N">WTRF-TV</a> and <a href="/facts/WTOV-TV/IMw0Gfe3">WTOV-TV</a>).
Over-the-air ABC coverage in Marietta–Parkersburg remains absent even as WTAP-TV owners <a href="/facts/Gray_Television/HTQnUVAl">Gray Television</a> have signed on low-powered stations that air the other networks (Fox affiliate <a href="/facts/WOVA-LD/QI3drL03">WOVA-LD</a> and CBS affiliate <a href="/facts/WIYE-LD/T6RVbprE">WIYE-LD</a>), so WSYX and sister station <a href="/facts/WCHS-TV/LME57ohq">WCHS-TV</a> in <a href="/facts/Charleston%2c_West_Virginia/pmrySE8T">Charleston, West Virginia</a>, both serve as default affiliates, with WSYX serving the Ohio side of the market.
In Wheeling–Steubenville, WSYX covered areas that couldn't receive <a href="/facts/WTAE-TV/KCel1WNC">WTAE-TV</a> from <a href="/facts/Pittsburgh/42yPHyS0">Pittsburgh</a>, which served as the <a href="/facts/De_facto/3Du6WQKh">de facto</a> affiliate in most of that market, since it had to short-space its analog signal to protect WCMH-TV; some viewers in the market are also able to receive <a href="/facts/WYTV/aIpHGqj9">WYTV</a> in <a href="/facts/Youngstown/ARwnvGdu">Youngstown</a>. This gave viewers in the Wheeling–Steubenville market an option to watch ABC programming in pattern, since the only stations in the market (WTRF-TV and WSTV-TV/WTOV-TV) aired ABC programming only in the off-hours, and largely dropped them altogether by the 1980s. (WTOV-TV is now a sister station to WSYX.) That market finally received its own full-time ABC affiliate in 2008, when WTRF-TV launched one on its third digital subchannel, although WSYX remains available on <a href="/facts/Cable_television/GzXa4pbW">cable</a> in the western parts of the market.
Until 1980, channel 6 was the closest VHF-signaled ABC affiliate to Lima, as the UHF-signaled WKEF in Dayton and WDHO-TV in Toledo (now <a href="/facts/WNWO-TV/FCD09NAq">WNWO-TV</a>) were both too weak to reach Lima. (Both are now sister stations to WSYX.) However, that year WDTN swapped affiliations with WKEF due to WKEF's weak signal even in Dayton as well as multiple preemptions by that station. (Both stations would reverse the swap in 2004.) WDTN's affiliation with ABC lessened the need for channel 6 to air in Lima, as the channel 2 signal traveled greater distances in the analog era. Channel 6's importance lessened even more when WTVG swapped affiliations with WNWO-TV in 1995 as part of the <a href="/facts/1994%25E2%2580%259396_United_States_broadcast_television_realignment/bvC6TRsg">1994–96 United States broadcast television realignment</a>, which didn't impact Columbus at all. Today, Lima has its own ABC affiliate on low-powered <a href="/facts/WOHL-CD/FX9eqr83">WOHL-CD</a>, owned and operated by WLIO parent <a href="/facts/Block_Communications/uhcK5DrL">Block Communications</a>.
Unlike the other three markets, WHIZ-TV has not signed on low-powered stations or made use of its subchannels to launch ABC or CBS affiliates (only adding Fox and <a href="/facts/MyNetworkTV/aznXoFme">MyNetworkTV</a> programming to its DT2 subchannel on November 14, 2022, with <a href="/facts/Cozi_TV/IsQ4VMeL">Cozi TV</a> on DT3). As a result, WSYX continues to serve as the ABC affiliate of record for the Zanesville market, as it did for Fox from 2021 until WHIZ-TV launched its Fox subchannel.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a>

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Channel_6_virtual_TV_stations_in_the_United_States/Jc95ETwD">Channel 6 virtual TV stations in the United States</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Channel_28_branded_TV_stations_in_the_United_States/SHAIKYvs">Channel 28 branded TV stations in the United States</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Channel_28_digital_TV_stations_in_the_United_States/jvQjStY5">Channel 28 digital TV stations in the United States</a></li></ul>

<ul><li><a href="http://www.earlytelevision.org/wtvn.html">WTVN-TV History Page</a> at the Early Television Foundation</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://abc6onyourside.com/">WSYX "ABC 6"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://columbus.thistv.com">WSYX-DT2 This TV</a></li>
<li><a href="https://myfox28columbus.com/">WSYX-DT3 "Fox 28"</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"WTVN (TV) start; Lamb station bows September 29." Broadcasting - Telecasting, October 3, 1949, pg. 61. <a href="http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/49-OCR/1949-10-03-BC-OCR-Page-0063.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/49-OCR/1949-10-03-BC-OCR-Page-0063.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"DuMont signs 3 in Ohio." Broadcasting - Telecasting, August 1, 1949, pg. 82. <a href="http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/49-OCR/1949-08-01-BC-OCR-Page-0066.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/49-OCR/1949-08-01-BC-OCR-Page-0066.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"WTVN (TV) joins ABC-TV Oct. 1." Broadcasting - Telecasting, September 5, 1949, pg. 60. <a href="http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/49-OCR/1949-09-05-BC-OCR-Page-0062.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/49-OCR/1949-09-05-BC-OCR-Page-0062.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films", Boxoffice: 13, November 10, 1956, archived from the original on June 14, 2009 <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090614204506/http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090614204506/http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"Taft buys WTVN for $1.5 million." Broadcasting, January 19, 1953, pg. 56. Unknown[permanent dead link] <a href="http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/53-OCR/BC-1953-01-19-Page-0056.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/53-OCR/BC-1953-01-19-Page-0056.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"FCC approves WTVN (TV) sale from Lamb to Taft family." Broadcasting, March 2, 1953, pg. 54. [1][permanent dead link] <a href="http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/53-OCR/BC-1953-03-02-Page-0054.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/53-OCR/BC-1953-03-02-Page-0054.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"WHKC bought by WTVN (TV), WKRC interests for $158,000." Broadcasting, April 19, 1954, pg. 7. [2][permanent dead link] <a href="http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/54-OCR/BC-1954-04-19-Page-0007.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/54-OCR/BC-1954-04-19-Page-0007.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">"Sinclair - Acquisition of Fox affiliation". Sinclair Broadcast Group/National Cable Television Cooperative. January 1, 2021. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20211203081413/https://www.nctconline.org/index.php/members/resources/technical-notices/item/1690-sinclair-acquisition-of-fox-affiliation" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20211203081413/https://www.nctconline.org/index.php/members/resources/technical-notices/item/1690-sinclair-acquisition-of-fox-affiliation</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">"FOX 28 over-the-air signal moves to channel WSYX 6.3". January 7, 2021. <a href="https://myfox28columbus.com/news/local/fox-28-over-the-air-signal-moves-to-channel-wsyx-63" target="_blank">https://myfox28columbus.com/news/local/fox-28-over-the-air-signal-moves-to-channel-wsyx-63</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">Weprin, Alex (March 20, 2025). "Warren Buffett's Only TV Station Loses ABC Affiliation as Disney Finds New Miami Partner". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 21, 2025. <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/wplg-miami-loses-abc-affiliation-disney-abc-miami-sunbeam-1236169307/" target="_blank">https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/wplg-miami-loses-abc-affiliation-disney-abc-miami-sunbeam-1236169307/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">"Local News Close-Up: Columbus Offers Cosmopolitan Vibe in Heartland". www.nexttv.com. <a href="https://www.nexttv.com/features/local-news-close-up-columbus-offers-cosmopolitan-vibe-in-heartland#:~:text=For%202022%2C%20according%20to%20Nielsen,over%20WBNS%20in%2025%2D64" target="_blank">https://www.nexttv.com/features/local-news-close-up-columbus-offers-cosmopolitan-vibe-in-heartland#:~:text=For%202022%2C%20according%20to%20Nielsen,over%20WBNS%20in%2025%2D64</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">"Form Regional Webs in 3 Wide TV Areas". Billboard. December 12, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved January 20, 2017. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=agoEAAAAMBAJ&q=wendy%20barrie%20wtvn&pg=PA8" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=agoEAAAAMBAJ&q=wendy%20barrie%20wtvn&pg=PA8</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">"Wendy Barrie Exits Tri-State". Billboard. October 30, 1954. p. 5. Retrieved January 20, 2017. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=nSEEAAAAMBAJ&q=wendy%20barrie%20tri-state&pg=PA7" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=nSEEAAAAMBAJ&q=wendy%20barrie%20tri-state&pg=PA7</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">"RabbitEars TV Query for WSYX". RabbitEars. Retrieved February 12, 2025. <a href="https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WSYX" target="_blank">https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WSYX</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">"List of Digital Full-Power Stations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">"CDBS Print". <a href="https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101234170&formid=387&fac_num=56549" target="_blank">https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101234170&formid=387&fac_num=56549</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">Report & Order from the FCC for WSYX, December 11, 2009 <a href="https://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2582A1.pdf" target="_blank">https://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2582A1.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">"ABC6 Switching to DTV on Aug. 30". <a href="http://www.abc6onyourside.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wsyx_vid_6204.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.abc6onyourside.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wsyx_vid_6204.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">"UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012. <a href="https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-291375A1.pdf" target="_blank">https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-291375A1.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">Wynn, Sarah (September 20, 2019). "How to make sure you can keep receiving ABC 6 on your TV". WSYX. Retrieved April 1, 2021. <a href="https://abc6onyourside.com/news/news-links/how-to-make-sure-you-can-keep-receiving-abc-6-on-your-tv" target="_blank">https://abc6onyourside.com/news/news-links/how-to-make-sure-you-can-keep-receiving-abc-6-on-your-tv</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">Hidle, John E., P.E. (June 22, 2017). "WSYX - Ch 28 - Form 2100 Comprehensive Technical Document - 6-21-2017". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission / Carl T. Jones Corporation. Retrieved April 1, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) <a href="/wiki/Professional_Engineer" target="_blank">/wiki/Professional_Engineer</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">"Marquee Broadcasting is proud and excited to announce FOX 5 – Zanesville's and Southeast Ohio's newest television station" (Press release). Marquee Broadcasting. October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WHIZTV/videos/1373741203158949" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/WHIZTV/videos/1373741203158949</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

WSYX open-in-new

WSYX