WXSP-CA

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WXSP-CA
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Branding	WXSP, The X
Slogan	The TV Station with Game
Channels	15 UHF analog, WOOD-DT 7.2 WOTV-DT 20.2 digital
Translators	14 WOBC-CA Battle Creek 27 WOLP-CA Grand Rapids 29 WOMS-CA Muskegon 33 WOHO-CA Holland 50 WOKZ-CA Kalamazoo
Affiliations	My Network TV
Owner	LIN Television (WOOD License Company, Inc.)
Founded	1986 (as W29AD), 1995 (under LWS format), 2000 (general programming format)
Call letters meaning	W- eXtreme and SPorts (for sports coverage) WOLP - WOOD Low-Power Other stations - WO + city of license initialized
Former callsigns	W29AD, W15AM, WOWD-LP, WXSP-LP
Former affiliations	WOOD Local Weather Service (1995-2000) UPN (2000-2006)
Class	CA (Class A service); DC (digital Class A, WXSP-CA permits only)
Facility ID	36851
Website	www.wxsp.tv

WXSP-CA (WXSP, "The X") is a low-power MyNetworkTV affiliated television station affiliate serving Grand Rapids, Michigan and nearby cities. It is owned by the same company as WOOD-TV, LIN Television. Its primary broadcast is on UHF channel 15, but is simulcast on the following stations:

• WOBC-CA (channel 14) - Battle Creek
• WOLP-CA (channel 27) - Grand Rapids (Middleville through Federal Communications Commission Special Temporary Authorization)
• WOMS-CA (channel 29) - Muskegon
• WOHO-CA (channel 33) - Holland
• WOKZ-CA (channel 50) - Kalamazoo

WXSP can also be seen on the digital signals of WOOD-TV and WOTV.

Normally, per FCC regulations, low-powered stations aren't eligible for "must-carry". However, due to their coverage of major regional sports (Detroit Pistons, Red Wings, Tigers and Big Ten sports), along with a major network (MyNetworkTV), retransmission deals allow the LPTV to be carried by both major cable and satellite systems. WXSP has managed to be carried on almost every cable system in the market and on DirecTV.

WXSP's studio-to-transmitter (STL) link is WPOL564.

Contents 1 History 2 Programming 2.1 The CW/MyNetworkTV 2.2 Syndicated 2.3 News 2.4 Weather 3 Sports programming 4 Digital television 5 External links

[edit] History

WXSP-CA itself started on channel 29 as W29AD on 23 July 1986. It moved to channel 15 and acquired the W15AM callsign on 12 January 1988. Early programming is unknown.

When it was an LWS station and through four months as a UPN affiliate, it had the callsign WOWD-LP from 1 March 1996. WOWD-LP and its low-power network of translators used to air 24-hour weather information direct from Storm Team 8's weather center on a network called LWS, or Local Weather Station, an early pre-digital format which is comparable to the NBC Weather Plus digital channel. The weather programming aired from the mid-1990s until WXSP's programming took over a few years later. It featured graphic displays of various conditions and forecasts, as well as periodic forecasts from Storm Team 8's meteorologists. Short commercial breaks would feature local TV spots, as well as LWS' ident.

A format change took place when UPN was added in 2000, prompting the move of LWS to the early mornings and new calls, WXSP-LP. WXSP-CA was acquired after it became a Class A station, which meets stricter requirements than most LPTVs.

[edit] Programming

[edit] The CW/MyNetworkTV

The CW Television Network, the network resulting from the merger of the WB and UPN, announced that it would begin broadcasting in Fall 2006. Because WWMT (Channel 3) announced on April 4, 2006 that it would start a CW digital subchannel [1], WXSP became available as a My Network TV affiliate, partly because the (then) WB affiliate WZPX was also an i network-owned station and ran WB programming on a 22-hour delay. Grand Rapids is one of the largest television markets in which the CW is not available by over-air broadcasts, and one of the few to which the CW was awarded to a station not affiliated with either the WB or UPN. As a result, WXSP may also air NBC programs whenever WOOD-TV preempts for either a breaking news story, a local special, or the annual North American International Auto Show charity preview. It is reported that WXSP was up to be an affiliate of The CW Television Network, but due to WXSP's heavy reliance upon prime-time professional sports (the programming that gets the highest ratings on the channel) and the CW's concerns over preemptive programming, the two sides couldn't come to an agreement.

[edit] Syndicated

Weekdays: Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, Judge Hatchett, Judge Mathis, People's Court, Fear Factor, Cops and sitcoms from the 1980's to the present.

Weekends: 24, DaVinci's Inquest, Star Trek: The Original Series (2006 remastered version), Tom Joyner, Maximum Exposure, This Old House, Hometime, Rebecca's Garden, HomeTeam, and outdoor shows.

[edit] News

WOOD-TV's 6:00pm newscast airs at 7:00pm on WXSP.

[edit] Weather

WOOD-TV's meteorologists provide Local Weather Station at 5am-6:30am Sunday-Friday and Saturday 5am-7am on WXSP; it is the only surviving portion of the all-LWS schedule from the late 1990s.

[edit] Sports programming

Part of WXSP's call letters come from the word "sports", and for good reason: the station is known for its coverage of sports in both the Grand Rapids and Detroit areas. The station also carries the University of Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State University Spartans basketball and football teams . These broadcasts of regional sports give WXSP more viewership than other programming on this channel.

The station airs Detroit Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings, picking up feeds from statewide networks.

[edit] Digital television

• Federal Communications Commission records show WXSP holds a permit to "flash-cut" to an ATSC-only signal on channel 15, after which it may change to the call letters WXSP-DC.

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WXSP-CA
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WOBC-CA
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WOGC-CA
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WOLP-CA
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WOMS-CA
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WOHO-CA
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WOKZ-CA

Broadcast television in the Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo-Battle Creek/Muskegon area  (Nielsen DMA #39)
WWMT 3 (CBS - The CW on DT2) - WOOD 8 (NBC) - WZZM 13 (ABC) - WXSP 15 (MNTV) - WXMI 17 (Fox) - WUHQ 29 (A1/MTV3) - WGVU 35 / WGVK 52 (PBS) - WUHO 36 (Ind.) - WMKG 38 (FN/Sportsman) - WOTV 41 (ABC) - WZPX 43 (ION) - W48CL 48 (3ABN) - WTLJ 54 (TBN) - WLLA 64 (FN)

Coordinates: 43° 01' 1.00" N 85° 44' 25.00" W