Between 1994 and 1996, a wide-ranging realignment of television network affiliations took place in the United States as the result of a multimillion-dollar deal between the Fox Broadcasting Company and New World Communications, announced on May 23, 1994. Unprecedented in the broadcast industry, the deal resulted in twelve stations owned by, or in the process of being purchased by New World, switching network affiliations to Fox over the course of a two-year period when existing contracts expired. These stations were long-standing affiliates of the traditional "Big Three" television networks—CBS, NBC, and ABC—in some of the country's largest markets, with the majority having been aligned with CBS individually for over 40 years.

The major impetus for the changes was to allow Fox to improve its local affiliate coverage after having successfully outbid CBS for broadcast rights to the National Football Conference (NFC), which the National Football League (NFL) awarded to the fledgling network in December 1993. The alliance started a domino effect of similar deals between the other networks and their affiliates, mainly to shore up existing affiliate bases and, in the case of CBS, to recoup lost affiliates; CBS signed a critical pact with Westinghouse Broadcasting that resulted in Westinghouse's parent company purchasing CBS outright. The switches took place throughout the United States between September 1994 and September 1996, with one additional switch taking place in February 1997, in markets ranging in size from Atlanta, Georgia, to Miles City, Montana. In the case of four markets, CBS and NBC exchanged owned-stations between each other, with one market seeing their CBS and NBC-owned stations swap both channel positions and transmitters. The complexities of these deals saw the "Big Three" affiliates in two markets, Baltimore and Denver, exchange networks with each other, but the Fox affiliate was unchanged. In total, these constitute some of the most sweeping and expansive changes in American television history.

As a result of this realignment, Fox ascended to the status of a major television network, comparable in influence to CBS, NBC, and ABC. Multiple New World-owned stations (which Fox purchased outright in 1996) struggled to adjust to their new affiliations, but many ultimately recovered with news-intensive schedules and were buoyed by Fox's success in prime time, particularly throughout the 2000s. CBS was most impacted among the "Big Three" networks, consigned to UHF stations with high channel numbers in markets like Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland, but started to recover in the late 1990s by claiming the American Football Conference (AFC) rights from NBC. Fox Sports, particularly the NFL on Fox, has won acclaim since its 1994 launch for innovations in game presentation, and the network's aggressive bidding in 1993 signaled long-term trends both in American television and professional sports.

Television affiliation switches prior to 1994

The traditional "Big Three" television networks

ABC

CBS

NBC

Affiliation switches led by changing fortunes at the major national networks—the traditional "Big Three" of ABC, CBS, and NBC—began in the late 1970s with the rise of ABC, which had traditionally been in third place, to number one in the national ratings. Even though ABC's national coverage alone was not a disadvantage, the quality of affiliates in larger markets was, and the network began a concerted campaign to pry loose stations associated with its competitors.^[1] From January 1976 to the end of 1978 alone, ABC secured defections from 20 affiliates of the other "Big Three" networks, 11 from CBS and 9 from NBC. By 1983, NBC alone had lost 20 affiliates to ABC, defections that cost the network a full rating point on the NBC Nightly News and resulted in the loss of $9 million in advertising revenue from Nightly and $15 million in prime time.^[2] Among the defections from NBC were a string of major coups in sizable markets: WRTV in Indianapolis; KGTV in San Diego; WSOC-TV in Charlotte; KSTP-TV in the Twin Cities;^[3] and WSB-TV in Atlanta.^[4]

However, as NBC became the number-one network in the mid-1980s, it gained the upper hand. One of the last defectors from NBC to ABC was KOTA-TV in Rapid City, South Dakota, which changed in 1984; the reversal in fortune was not what KOTA-TV officials had expected and instead brought them closer with their primary competitor.^[5] The next year, NBC began a campaign to reverse some of the losses it had experienced.^[4] Two former NBC affiliates returned to the network after short stints with ABC: WSAV-TV in Savannah, Georgia, returned after three years, as did KCEN-TV in Temple, Texas, after changing in 1984.^[6] Between then and 1988, NBC upgraded its affiliations in a number of markets, including Omaha, Nebraska; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Jacksonville, Florida. NBC president Pierson Mapes told Electronic Media that NBC was looking for upgrades based on a number of factors: "Mostly it's because the local news product isn't what it should be, the owners don't want to invest in the station to improve its performance or it's a UHF outlet that we want to upgrade."^[2] Many of the stations added to NBC were stronger than their replacements; the Knoxville station, WBIR-TV, was the dominant station there and commanded nearly half of the television audience for its early evening newscast.^[7] ABC struck back in 1990 with the signing of WHAS-TV in Louisville, Kentucky, the market's number-one station and a CBS outlet for 40 years; this attracted interest on the part of as many as a dozen CBS affiliates in switching to ABC.^[8]

In one of the largest single affiliation switches, six television stations in the Miami and West Palm Beach markets in South Florida changed affiliations on January 1, 1989, when CBS purchased Miami's Fox affiliate WCIX (channel 6) after NBC purchased Miami's CBS affiliate WTVJ (channel 4).^[9]

Fox launches and pursues the NFL

Rupert Murdoch

Barry Diller

The genesis of the Fox Broadcasting Company took place through two 1985 transactions made by News Corporation, headed by Australian publishing magnate Rupert Murdoch. After a failed takeover of Warner Communications, Murdoch purchased a 50 percent interest in 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation (TCF) on March 20, 1985, for $250 million.^[10][11] Murdoch and TCF minority investor Marvin Davis then announced a $2.5 billion purchase of Metromedia's program syndication unit and six television stations—including WNEW-TV in New York City, KTTV in Los Angeles and WTTG in Washington, D.C.—from John Kluge on May 6, 1985. Murdoch boasted that the Metromedia stations could exploit TCF's film and television library, prompting speculation these stations might form a new "fourth television network" alongside ABC, CBS, and NBC.^[12] To win regulatory approval for the deal, Murdoch gave up his Australian citizenship and became a naturalized U.S. citizen on September 4, 1985.^[13] Davis, who later revealed he declined to participate in the Metromedia purchase, sold his stake in TCF to Murdoch 20 days later.^[14][15] The Metromedia deal closed on March 6, 1986, forming Fox Television Stations Group.^[16] After consummation, Fox, which only consisted of president Jamie Kellner and his secretary, began recruiting an executive team.^[17]

In July 1986, syndicated newspaper columnist Gary Deeb reported on the possibility ABC might not renew their broadcast rights to Monday Night Football (MNF), then the league's top-rated program, unless NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle agreed to lower the television rights fee significantly. The previous contract was set in 1981 when the annual inflation was at a substantial 13 percent, a rate that fell to 3–4 percent by 1986, in turn, causing ABC Sports to lose $40 million.^[18] ABC had been purchased earlier in 1986 by Capital Cities, owner of some of ABC's most influential affiliates, and was under pressure to cut costs in both their news and sports divisions.^[19] By September 1986, CBS, rights-holder for the National Football Conference (NFC), and NBC, rights-holder for the American Football Conference (AFC), declined any interest in MNF, but Fox considered making a bid and even invited former MNF announcer Howard Cosell to be a part of it.^[20]

Fox formally launched as a network on October 9, 1986, with the debut of The Late Show with Joan Rivers and was preparing to unveil its first night of prime time programming on April 5, 1987.^[21][a] Against this backdrop, TCF chairman Barry Diller announced in January 1987 that Fox was ready to bid on MNF in an attempt to win legitimacy, telling the Miami Herald, "We would take ABC's (current) contract and sign it today."^[23] Diller viewed an MNF bid as making a long-term investment, and was prepared for Fox to "lose money in the double-digit eight figures" with such a deal^[21] buoyed by Murdoch's financial resources.^[23] ABC decided to bid for a renewal based largely on Fox's interest in MNF,^[24] with a fee reduction saving the network approximately $20 million per year and low-rated Sunday and Thursday games moved to ESPN.^[25] While Fox bid $7 million per game compared to ABC's $6.5 million per game,^[26] Rozelle was reportedly uninterested in the Fox offer as the network was still unestablished.^[27] NFL officials also expressed a willingness to remain with ABC and were unsure if Fox would exist in three years, a fate shared by other past attempts at a "fourth network".^[28]

Securing the NFC rights

In 1993, six years after Fox's failed MNF bid, the NFL opened up negotiations for all broadcast contracts, including the NFC and AFC rights. At the same time, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen asserted control over the NFL's broadcasting committee, usurping Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell, who had been a long-time ally of CBS. Murdoch privately called Jones and declared his intent to bid, saying, "Jerry, I think I was a stalking horse last time (in 1990). I'm not going to do that and be just a stalking horse."^[29] When negotiations began on December 7, Murdoch presented to the broadcasting committee a sizzle reel by Sky Sports president David Hill^[30] proposing Fox could produce NFL games similarly to Sky's soccer coverage, with emphasis on more cameras and in-game natural sounds, and have the network market the league year-round. Jones later said, "I was just mesmerized by their imaginative thinking. They were changing the presentation of the game."^[29]

On December 17, 1993, Fox stunned the sports and television worlds by reaching a four-year, $1.58 billion contract with for NFC regular season and playoff games, effective with the 1994 season.^[32] News of the Fox–NFC deal was first reported on during the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.^[33] As part of the deal, Fox was also awarded broadcast rights to Super Bowl XXXI in 1997.^[34] The NFC package had been owned by CBS since 1956—fourteen years before the AFL–NFL merger and subsequent restructuring into the NFC and the AFC—and had been considered a "cornerstone" for CBS Sports.^[33] Fox's deal was regarded as a loss leader;^[35] network CEO Chase Carey framed it as one that would not directly make money but instead establish momentum for Fox and elevate it to the "Big Three" networks.^[29] Fox had pursued the NFC rights from the beginning as the conference had more teams located in the country's largest broadcast markets.^[35]

CBS lost close to $100 million on their prior NFC deal signed in 1990, a situation shared by the NFL's other broadcast partners due to aftereffects of the early 1990s recession.^[33] Underestimating the value of the NFC broadcast rights, CBS's chairman Laurence Tisch insisted on offering a bid equal to their 1990 contract,^[29] resulting in Fox exceeding CBS's bid by as much as $1.29 billion (or more than $100 million per year).^[33] NBC, which held the AFC broadcast rights since 1970, retained the rights after a last-minute bidding war with CBS, shutting out the network from pro football entirely.^[31] Morale at CBS Sports was depicted as "somber and not optimistic", with veteran announcer Pat Summerall saying, "t's a shock. It hurts. It's a big part of my life."^[34] Murdoch expressed a want to hire Summerall's broadcast partner John Madden,^[31] which happened the following month.^[36] Most of the NFL on CBS announcing team, including Summerall, Terry Bradshaw and James Brown, also left to join Fox Sports.^[29] Early financial projections for CBS owned-stations and affiliates were grim: network flagship WCBS-TV alone stood to lose $5 million a year without the NFL, with their general manager calling it "a straight drop to the bottom line". The general manager of affiliate KDFW in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas, who at the time were in a position to lose the games of the Dallas Cowboys, called it "a big financial kick".^[31]

Fox upgrades in small markets

Entering 1994, Fox's 141-station affiliate base remained smaller than ABC, CBS or NBC, which each boasted more than 200 affiliates; this resulted in an approximate six-percent differential in terms of national reach. The network supplied Foxnet for cable systems in smaller markets that did not have a dedicated affiliate.^[37] Some affiliates still had no local newscasts, with the prior recession resulting in Fox lessening the priority level on affiliates to establish them. One of these affiliates, WOIO in Cleveland, Ohio, initiated plans to launch a news service after seeing success with co-owned WXIX-TV in Cincinnati.^[38] While WUAB already had an established 10 p.m. newscast in the Cleveland market, an unnamed executive told the Akron Beacon Journal in 1992, "they (WOIO) don't have to get ratings, they just have to exist."^[39] Scripps-Howard Broadcasting started developing newscasts for two of their three Fox affiliates, KNXV-TV in Phoenix and KSHB-TV in Kansas City. KSHB's newscast launched in August 1993 with an irreverent tone and de-emphasis on sports and weather;^[40][41] likewise, KNXV was assembling their news department with an unconventional style in line with Fox's younger demographics.^[42] WOIO, WXIX, KNXV and KSHB were all UHF stations, which accounted for 85 percent of Fox's affiliate roster.^[29]

Fox also lacked coverage in 47 markets where only three or fewer commercial TV stations operated. In these markets, it began discussing secondary affiliations with the local ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates.^[37] Though most of the CBS affiliates turned down Fox's overture, a number of small-market ABC affiliates agreed to Fox's terms, which included the carriage of at least six hours a week of Fox prime time programs.^[b] CBS and ABC responded by threatening to withhold 60 Minutes (in the case of CBS) and postseason baseball (in the case of ABC) from affiliates that added Fox programming. CBS president of affiliate relations Tony Malara said that if 60 Minutes did not air nationally at the same time, it would lose value to advertisers.^[45][46] CBS followed through with its threat; KXMB-TV in Bismarck, North Dakota, added Fox football and lost 60 Minutes for the duration of the football season.^[47] WSBT-TV in South Bend, Indiana, also signed up for Fox football and lost 60 Minutes, with CBS offering the show to WHME-TV.^[48][49] Dual NBC/ABC affiliate KTEN in Ada–Ardmore, Oklahoma, joined Fox on a tertiary basis to accommodate Dallas Cowboys fans and boasted a "monopoly of football" with Fox, NBC and MNF; as part of the deal, KTEN also aired select Fox prime time shows beginning in July 1994.^[50]

The network began making overtures to group operators like Freedom Newspapers, Stauffer Communications and Brisette Broadcasting about having their stations switch to Fox, mostly to upgrade in markets with UHF affiliates that reached fewer households than their VHF counterparts.^[37][c] Led by network distribution president Preston Padden, videotaped pitches asserted Fox affiliates could sell more local ads and generate more revenue.^[51] Several affiliate defections were announced prior to May 1994. The first was ABC affiliate KARD in West Monroe, Louisiana, announced in January 1994 with an April changeover.^[36] In April, Robinson Everett's CBS stations—KECY-TV in El Centro, California, and WJKA-TV in Wilmington, North Carolina—announced they would affiliate with Fox. Several factors motivated the Everett switch, including CBS's insistence that the stations restore previously unsuccessful news operations; a desire for more network compensation in Wilmington; and particularly CBS's refusal to make KECY-TV translator "KDBA" the CBS affiliate of record for Palm Springs, California, because it felt cable coverage of Los Angeles station KCBS-TV was adequate.^[52] WJKA, which also supplanted Foxnet in the Myrtle Beach market, switched to Fox under the new WSFX-TV call sign on September 18, 1994.^[53]

There had previously been two "Big Three" stations to join Fox: WSVN in Miami switched from NBC on January 1, 1989, and KLMG (now KFXK-TV) in Longview, Texas, switched from CBS on April 1, 1991.^[54] WSVN's conversion to Fox came under unique circumstances, as it was part of the two-market, six-station South Florida realignment.^[9][55] Unlike any other Fox affiliate or owned-station, WSVN adopted a news-intensive tabloid format^[56][57] which shattered conventional wisdom and proved a ratings and financial success.^[58] WSVN news director Joel Cheatwood briefly worked with Fox on developing a network news service in 1990,^[59] and by May 1994, Fox network president Lucie Salhany called the station "the future of television".^[60] In Longview, CBS was available on cable from its affiliates in Dallas and Shreveport, Louisiana, which outrated KLMG locally, and there was no Fox affiliate available in the market.^[61][54]

Fox had also occasionally changed its affiliate in a given market. Most notably, over the course of 1990, it moved to higher-rated independent stations in Birmingham, Alabama; Little Rock; and Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee.^[62] Consolidation among independents also led to switches such as the Nashville move, in which new affiliate WZTV bought the Fox affiliation and the rights to much of the programming aired by WXMT;^[63] the 1990 programming merger of WNYB-TV into WUTV in Buffalo, New York;^[64][65] and the 1992 purchase of the assets of bankrupt WXGZ-TV serving Green Bay, Wisconsin, by that city's WGBA-TV.^[66]

The New World–Fox affiliation pact

Originally constituted as an independent producer of low-budget feature films, and later as a television studio, New World Pictures was purchased by investor Ronald Perelman in 1989 while in the middle of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring. Under Perelman, New World purchased a majority stake in SCI Television on February 17, 1993, for $100 million and $63 million in newly issued debt.^[67] SCI contained most of the assets of the former Storer Communications and was itself undergoing a complex debt restructuring;^[68] as part of the deal, SCI and New World merged to form New World Communications.^[69] In May 1994, two major purchases were announced by New World in the span of three days: four stations from Argyle Television Holdings for $717 million and four Great American Communications stations for $350 million and $10 million in share warrants.^[70][71][72]

On May 23, 1994, Fox purchased a 20 percent stake in New World Communications in what was a $500 million investment.^[73] This deal contained a groupwide multi-year affiliation agreement that would have the majority of stations owned by—or in the process of being acquired by—New World, switch network affiliations to Fox after existing contracts expired per-station.^[74][75] Calling the agreement "the largest network affiliation realignment in television history", Murdoch said it would "forever change the competitive landscape of network television".^[73]

Several stations were divested by New World in the process: NBC affiliates KNSD in San Diego, California, and WVTM-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, were sold to the network for $425 million on May 22, 1996.^[d][77] WSBK-TV in Boston, operating as an independent, was excluded due to Fox's repurchase of WFXT^[78] and was sold to Paramount Stations Group, affiliating with UPN.^[79] WVTM-TV's sale was necessitated as WVTM (included as part of the Argyle Television deal) was in the same market as WBRC (which was part of the Great American deal). WBRC and WGHP were placed in a trust and operated by Great American successor Citicasters^[80] until April 1995, when operating control for both stations were transferred to Fox Television Stations Group.^[81] Fox purchased both WBRC and WGHP on July 22, 1995, in exchange for $130 million in promissory notes.^[82] Two Fox-owned stations displaced by the New World deal were also sold: WATL in Atlanta and KDAF in Dallas–Fort Worth, went to Renaissance Communications for $100 million and joined The WB, with Renaissance concurrently selling KDVR in Denver to Fox for $70 million.^[83][84][85]

In total, twelve New World-owned stations were affected by the Fox affiliation pact, eight of which were long-tenured CBS affiliates in some of the nation's largest cities.^[86] WJBK-TV had been with CBS for 46 years,^[87] KDFW for 45 years,^[88] KTBC-TV and WAGA-TV for 43 years,^[89] WJW-TV and KSAZ-TV for 40 years^[90][91] and WTVT for 39 years.^[92] Additionally, WDAF-TV had been an NBC affiliate for 45 years.^[93] The majority of these stations were also located in markets with established NFC teams,^[94][e] which served as "a significant factor" for New World, along with Fox's programming lineup being largely limited to prime time, enabling the stations to sell more local advertising.^[74] News of the agreement caught CBS's Tony Malara off guard when notified over the phone; as Malara later explained, "I said (to New World CEO William C. Bevins), 'In what market?' ... He said, 'All of them.' I said, 'What the hell are you doing?'"^[96] Management at the New World stations, including WJW-TV general manager Virgil Dominic, were notified of the pending deal five days in advance and sworn to secrecy. Dominic later said, "My mouth fell to my knees. There was five or six seconds of absolute silence after (New World stations president Bob Selwyn) told me. It really was a shock."^[97]

The Scripps–ABC alliance

Immediately following the Fox–New World announcement, CBS courted Scripps-Howard, owners of WEWS-TV in Cleveland and WXYZ-TV in Detroit, two long-standing ABC affiliates, along with three Fox affiliates impacted by Fox–New World: KNXV-TV, KSHB-TV and WFTS-TV in Tampa. As part of a possible deal leaked to Broadcasting & Cable, CBS would also affiliate with KNXV and WFTS and acquire a minority stake in Scripps's cable channel HGTV.^[98] In discussions with ABC, Scripps insisted that KNXV-TV and WFTS-TV, along with NBC affiliate WMAR-TV in Baltimore, switch to ABC as a condition of any renewal with WEWS and WXYZ^{[99][100]: 16} and threatened to switch both to CBS if KNXV in particular was not included.^[100]: 7 KNXV's inclusion came at the expense of KTVK, the market leader for local news and regarded as a model ABC affiliate^[101] but was a standalone family-run station and not part of a larger group.^[102] The network offered Scripps $25 million as an alternative to KNXV-TV, which was rejected in what ABC executive Bryce Rathbone described as Scripps " a gun to their head".^[100]: 16 When KTVK general manager Bill Miller asked Capital Cities/ABC CEO Tom Murphy if there was anything the station could do, Murphy replied, "you should light some candles".^[100]: 5

ABC acquiesced to Scripps's demands and announced on June 15, 1994, that KNXV, WFTS and WMAR would join the network, and WEWS and WXYZ would remain affiliates.^[103][104] Scripps's other former Fox affiliate, KSHB, replaced WDAF-TV as Kansas City's NBC affiliate; KSHB was tied to contract renewals for KJRH-TV in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and WPTV-TV in West Palm Beach.^[105] The new ABC alliance prompted WFTS-TV to expedite work on establishing a news department,^[106] with local newscasts launching the day of the switch from facilities formerly used by the Home Shopping Network in a temporary setup.^[107][108] Stripped of the ABC affiliation and failing to land CBS,^[102][109] KTVK spent the next few months rebuilding itself into a news-intensive independent.^[110] Scripps's Cincinnati station, WCPO-TV, also signed a 10-year deal with ABC in September 1995 unrelated to the earlier group deal,^[111] and switched from CBS on June 3, 1996.^[112]

The CBS–Westinghouse deal

Scripps's insistence on WMAR-TV joining ABC came at the expense of WJZ-TV, which had been with ABC since 1948 and was the network's longest-tenured affiliate.^[113] WJZ-TV owner Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W) engaged in off-and-on discussions over the past six months with CBS, NBC and Fox over a possible group-wide affiliation deal, which accelerated when the Scripps-ABC agreement was announced.^[114] Industry trade publications also suggested a possibility of Fox purchasing Group W.^[113] On July 14, 1994, Group W and CBS agreed to a group-wide 10-year contract, renewing CBS's existing ties with KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh and KPIX in San Francisco and adding WJZ-TV, WBZ-TV in Boston and KYW-TV in Philadelphia to the network, the latter two stations switching from NBC.^[115][116] As part of the deal, Group W and CBS formed a joint venture to acquire other television stations and operate a syndication company.^[117] WJZ-TV and WBZ-TV switched to CBS on January 1, 1995,^[99] with Baltimore and Boston's existing CBS affiliates, WBAL-TV and WHDH-TV, switching to NBC, the former in a three-way affiliation swap.^[118][119] NBC agreed to pay WHDH-TV owner Sunbeam Television a total of $100 million to $150 million over a ten-year span, coincidentally reuniting Sunbeam with the network that had bypassed their Miami station WSVN five years earlier.^[120]

The Philadelphia market, however, posed an immediate logistical issue as KYW-TV would replace CBS-owned WCAU-TV; consequently, both NBC and Fox made offers for WCAU-TV, while CBS expressed interest in conducting an asset swap.^[116] In September 1994, Fox agreed to purchase existing Philadelphia affiliate WTXF-TV.^[121] With NBC remaining as the only bidder for WCAU-TV, talks began in earnest over an swap of stations between the two networks. An early outline leaked to Mediaweek had NBC offering KCNC-TV in Denver and KUTV in Salt Lake City to CBS, along with the channel 4 signal in Miami.^[122] This was largely confirmed on November 21, 1994, with NBC selling KCNC and KUTV to the Group W–CBS joint venture, along with WTVJ's channel 4 license and transmitter site; CBS would sell to NBC both WCAU-TV and WCIX's channel 6 license and transmitter site.^[123][124] The transmitter and license swap in Miami would see WCIX "move" to channel 4, renamed WFOR-TV, and WTVJ "move" to channel 6.^[125]

In Denver, another three-station affiliation swap took place: NBC-owned KCNC-TV became CBS-owned, outgoing CBS affiliate KMGH-TV joined ABC, and outgoing ABC affiliate KUSA linked with NBC.^[126] KMGH was part of a group-wide deal between ABC and owner McGraw-Hill announced on October 21, 1994,^[127] with McGraw-Hill's other CBS affiliate, KERO-TV in Bakersfield, California,^[128] switching to ABC on March 1, 1996.^[129] Prior to finalizing their trade with Renaissance for KDVR, Fox had been rumored to acquire Tribune's KWGN-TV via a station trade.^[130][131] In Salt Lake City, KSL-TV agreed to switch from CBS to NBC.^[126] Because of the complexity of the NBC-CBS asset swap, the FCC granted approval in August 1995 after weeks of delays, with the Philadelphia, Miami, Denver, and Salt Lake City market affiliation switches all taking place on September 10, 1995.^[132][133]

CBS scrambles for replacement affiliates

Relegated to the UHF dial in Cleveland, CBS signed former Fox affiliate WOIO,^[134] which despite having no news department, committed to launching one by taking over WUAB through a local marketing agreement.^[135] Tampa was equally straightforward, with outgoing ABC affiliate WTSP joining CBS.^[107] CBS signed up KBVO-TV^[f] to fill the void in Austin left by KTBC-TV;^[136] when that switch took place on July 1, 1995, KBVO was renamed KEYE-TV.^[137] Dallas–Fort Worth was also resolved on July 1 via KTVT, a VHF independent owned by Gaylord Broadcasting. As a condition set forth by Gaylord, KSTW in Seattle–Tacoma, Washington, also joined CBS at the expense of long-standing affiliate KIRO-TV.^[138] Both KTVT and KSTW were slated to join The WB, but after that network's launch was delayed, Gaylord sued to void the pending contracts. In turn, The WB sued Gaylord for breach of contract.^[139] The Seattle switches took place on March 16, 1995, with KIRO-TV joining UPN but maintaining its local news schedule.^{[140][141][g]}

A multi-station deal with CBS and Meredith Corporation saw Phoenix independent KPHO-TV replace KSAZ-TV, and WNEM-TV in Bay City, Michigan, switch from NBC to CBS, as part of a renewal with KCTV in Kansas City.^[109] The Meredith deal resulted in another side deal: after rumors of NBC courting existing ABC affiliate WJRT-TV in Flint, Michigan, Capital Cities/ABC purchased it and WTVG in Toledo, Ohio, from SJL Broadcasting for $155 million on October 1994, converting the latter from NBC to ABC.^[143] Capital Cities/ABC's purchase was made largely to prevent NBC from signing, or purchasing, WJRT as a replacement for WNEM.^{[144][136][145]} As a result, former CBS affiliate WEYI-TV became Flint–Bay City's NBC affiliate.^[146] In Detroit, however, outgoing Fox affiliate WKBD-TV and independents WXON-TV and WADL rejected affiliation or purchase offers by CBS,^[147] effectively forcing the network to purchase WGPR-TV (channel 62) from the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons for $24 million.^[148] WGPR-TV was the first Black-owned television station in the mainland United States^[149] and, up until October 1992, employed an 11-person news department with daily newscasts focused on the city's Black population.^[150] Despite this, an unnamed CBS executive told The New York Times reporter Bill Carter about WGPR-TV: "his station has no news and no history in the market. It's amazing."^[151]

Struggling to secure either WATL or WGNX as a replacement affiliate in Atlanta, CBS made a $22 million purchase offer for WVEU (channel 69) out of desperation in September 1994.^[152] Even with the pending deal, CBS continued to lobby WATL and WGNX, and reached an affiliation with WGNX on November 16, 1994;^[153] the purchase of WVEU and an immediate resale was also made official.^[154][155] The Milwaukee market proved to be the most problematic for CBS. Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of outgoing Fox affiliate WCGV-TV^[156] and operator of WVTV, turned down all offers made by CBS,^[157] the Wisconsin Voice of Christian Youth turned down a longshot purchase offer for their TV station,^[158] and Weigel Broadcasting, owner of WDJT-TV (channel 58) ended talks due to CBS's continued pursuit of another station.^[159] CBS's situation in Milwaukee was dire to the point the network agreed to supply their owned-stations in Chicago and Green Bay to cable providers in the event no replacement affiliate could be secured.^[160] Five days before WITI's contract was to lapse, on December 6, 1994, Weigel and CBS reached an agreement to affiliate WDJT-TV in a 10-year deal.^[161]

Savoy, Petracom and Blackstar link with Fox

In March 1994, Fox and Savoy Pictures established a venture called SF Broadcasting to acquire and operate additional television stations. Fox held no voting stock in the company—which instead was held entirely by Savoy Pictures chairmen Victor Kaufman and Lewis Korman—but supplied 58 percent of the original $100 million in capital.^[162] SF acquired four stations owned by Burnham Broadcasting in two separate deals: WLUK-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on July 29, 1994, for $38 million,^[163] and WALA-TV in Mobile, Alabama, KHON-TV in Honolulu, Hawaii, and WVUE in New Orleans, Louisiana, one month later on August 25 for $229 million. The deal further upgraded Fox's affiliation base in two additional NFC markets.^[164] NBC protested the sale of WLUK before the FCC, alleging SF was a shell created by News Corporation to circumvent FCC limits on the amount of capital that a foreign company can invest in an American television station.^[165] This petition was soon followed with another protesting Fox's KDVR purchase and concurrent station sales in Dallas and Atlanta to Renaissance.^[166] NBC withdrew these and all other petitions against Fox on February 17, 1995.^[167][168]

Fox also made two other equity investments in broadcasters that converted at least one station to Fox. In October 1994, it agreed to purchase an equity stake in Blackstar Communications, a Black-owned company owned by John Oxendine. Blackstar's three existing stations aired the Home Shopping Network;^[169] the company intended to buy as many as 11 VHF stations in mid-sized to smaller markets for conversion. The company made its first station acquisition after the deal in July 1995, when it announced a $20 million deal to purchase the Nebraska Television Network (NTV), a group of ABC affiliates in central and western Nebraska that were already secondary affiliates of Fox, to convert them to Fox.^[170][171] However, the transaction was delayed, ultimately to the point of being called off, by an FCC petition over a matter unrelated to the possible switch.^[h] Blackstar then spent $14 million to purchase KEVN in Rapid City, South Dakota, in September 1995.^[175] After the purchase, Blackstar announced it would switch KEVN to Fox,^[176] which took place on July 15, 1996.^[177]

In May 1995, Fox invested $15 million in exchange for 20 percent of Petracom, which was in the middle of buying four TV stations from Banam Broadcasting. Among the four stations were two small-market Fox affiliates^[i] and ABC affiliate WTVW in Evansville, Indiana, which converted to Fox as part of the deal; rumors of the deal occurring had prompted ABC to sign an affiliation agreement with existing CBS affiliate WEHT.^[179][180] The affiliation switch with those stations and WEVV-TV, which changed from Fox to CBS, took place on December 3, 1995.^[181]

Fox also continued to pursue station purchases on their own. On August 18, 1994, the network purchased ABC affiliate WHBQ-TV in Memphis, Tennessee, from Communications Corporation of America (ComCorp).^[182] ComCorp originally bought WHBQ-TV for an estimated $43 million in April, but when two investors backed out, Fox provided the needed financing; following consummation, Fox offered to buy it from ComCorp outright for $80 million, concurrent with their offers for WBRC and WGHP;^[80] former Fox affiliate WPTY-TV assumed the ABC affiliation on December 1, 1995.^[183] More "Big Three" affiliate defections to Fox took place: Quincy Newspapers's WSJV in Elkhart–South Bend, Indiana, agreed to switch from ABC to Fox in April 1995,^[184] with ABC pulling their programming off of Quincy's WREX in Rockford, Illinois, in retaliation.^[185] The switch took place on October 18, with Weigel Broadcasting signing on W58BT (channel 58)^[j] as South Bend's new ABC affiliate, having constructed it from the ground up over a seven-week span.^[186]

Even the smallest of media markets were affected: KYUS-TV in Miles City, Montana, then operating as a satellite of Billings ABC affiliate KSVI,^[187] switched to Fox in 1995 after being purchased by The Marks Group, owner of dual NBC/CBS affiliate KXGN-TV in Glendive;^[188] KXGN had previously taken Fox football in 1994 via a tertiary affiliation.^[189]

Station group influence

Additional affiliation deals between the traditional "Big Three" networks and station group operators took place between 1994 and 1997:

• The Outlet Company reached a long-term deal with NBC renewing the network's ties with WJAR-TV and WCMH-TV, while also switching WNCN in the Raleigh–Durham market to NBC. WNCN's inclusion was centered around NBC's long-standing ties with Outlet.^[190][191] Prior to WNCN switching, on August 3, 1995, NBC offered to purchase Outlet for $396 million.^[192]
• River City Broadcasting signed a multi-station deal with ABC that renewed contracts with WSYX and WLOS, while also making former Fox affiliate KDNL-TV St. Louis's new ABC affiliate, replacing KTVI.^[193]
• The Belo Corporation included CBS affiliate KXTV in Sacramento, California, as part of their deal with ABC that renewed affiliations with WFAA in Dallas and WVEC in Hampton–Norfolk, Virginia.^[194] As a result, River City's KOVR switched from ABC to CBS on March 6, 1995.^[195]
• Young Broadcasting signed a deal with ABC in September 1994 renewing all six of their affiliates (including Green Bay's WBAY-TV) and later involved the switching of NBC affiliate WTVO in Rockford, Illinois, to ABC; in turn, Capital Cities/ABC made a $25 million investment into Young.^[185]
• Pulitzer Publishing agreed to extend affiliations with their six NBC affiliates across-the-board despite overtures made by Capital Cities/ABC to convert WDSU and WXII-TV to ABC as replacements for WVUE and WGHP, respectively. WDSU general manager Wayne Barrett said, "My opinion was we should stay home (with NBC). The stations that don't change are the ones that stand to benefit the most."^[196]
• Allbritton Communications, owner of ABC affiliate WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., inked a 10-year affiliation contract that would either renew or convert their entire station group to ABC, including NBC affiliate WCIV in Charleston, South Carolina.^[197]

Initiating the switches

WJBK studios in Southfield, Michigan

WAGA studios in Atlanta, Georgia

KTBC-TV studios in Austin, Texas

WITI studios in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

WLUK-TV studios in Green Bay, Wisconsin

WBRC studios in Birmingham, Alabama

The Cleveland market was the first in the Fox–New World agreement to initiate an affiliation swap on September 3, 1994, between CBS affiliate WJW-TV and Fox affiliate WOIO.^[90] As the New World stations had the right to decline carriage of Fox Kids, WBNX-TV in Akron, Ohio, an independent owned by televangelist Ernest Angley, agreed to pick up the children's programming block, finalizing a contract two days beforehand.^[198] CBS expressed confidence with WOIO, with Anthony Malara saying, "e got a terrific television station here ... If we have the same kind of experience in every one of our switch markets, it's going to be a lot easier."^[96] With the switch, WJW-TV hired multiple personnel and added a local morning show, giving it the largest news staff and news output of any Ohio television station,^[90] but notably eschewed directly marketing their incoming Fox affiliation. Days after the Fox–New World agreement was announced, WJW general manager Virgil Dominic told The Plain Dealer, "I guarantee you one thing. We are not going to be 'Fox 8.' There is no way in the world we are going to become 'Fox 8'. We are 'Cleveland's Own' and 'Newscenter 8,' and we intend to stay that way."^[97] Conversely, WOIO was tasked with reconciling its youthful, irreverent image with CBS's older-skewing lineup.^[199]

The rest of the New World chain switched in a staggered manner. WDAF-TV and KSHB-TV traded affiliations on September 12, 1994,^[200] the same day KSAZ-TV's CBS contract ran out and was picked up by KPHO-TV.^[91] Due to contractual obligations with KNXV-TV, KSAZ operated as an independent for a three-month interregnum until December 12,^[201] when KNXV dropped Fox and picked up all ABC News programming, including World News Tonight and Nightline, while KTVK continued to run ABC's daytime and prime time lineups until January 9, 1995.^[202] Tampa also switched on December 12,^[107] while Detroit,^[203] Milwaukee^[161] and Atlanta^[204] all had their affiliation switches the day before. Detroit's changes were the most dramatic largely because of WGPR-TV's prior obscurity: WGPR's ratings for its first night with CBS rose by 11,000 percent compared to its former programming, while CBS's ratings dropped by 25 percent.^[205] Following the switch, WJBK-TV fielded 10,000 phone calls from viewers over a two-day span.^[99]

Changes in Dallas and Austin^[206] occurred on July 1, 1995. St. Louis followed on August 7; Fox Kids in that market went to KNLC after WB affiliate KPLR-TV turned it down,^[207] only to move to KTVI in September 1996 after multiple incidents involving KNLC's religious ownership that embarrassed Fox, including a campaign to encourage children to protest a planned execution, and complaints over its poor signal.^[208] Greensboro–Winston-Salem, North Carolina, switched on September 3, 1995, with Fox affiliate WNRW and satellite WGGT picking up the ABC affiliation vacated by WGHP,^[k] with WNRW renamed WXLV-TV.^[210][l] Three days before the Greensboro market switches, WLUK-TV and WGBA-TV exchanged NBC and Fox in Green Bay. WGBA's NBC pickup was seen as a "triumph" for the station, which had previously fought off bankruptcy twice, and with ownership planning local newscasts.^[213] The three other SF Broadcasting stations switched to Fox on January 1, 1996. In Honolulu and Mobile, former Fox affiliates KHNL and WPMI-TV assumed the dropped NBC affiliations,^[214][215] but New Orleans saw a three-way swap where ABC affiliate WVUE joined Fox, WB affiliate WGNO take ABC, and Fox affiliate WNOL-TV link with the WB.^[216]

Birmingham was the last New World market to switch on September 1, 1996, but initiated the most complicated realignment. Despite having completed their purchase of WBRC in July 1995,^[80][82] Fox honored the balance of WBRC's ABC contract, allowing ABC nearly 15 months to find a replacement. Allbritton acted to buy two CBS affiliates outside of the market:^[m] Tuscaloosa's WCFT-TV in November 1995 and Anniston's WJSU-TV in January 1996, the latter after a deal for Gadsden Fox affiliate WNAL-TV fell through.^[218] Allbritton announced both stations would be converted to ABC for the Birmingham market,^[218] this would later become part of Allbritton's 10-year, group-wide contract with ABC.^[197] WCFT and WJSU's operations were consolidated into one identity, "ABC 33/40",^[219] purchasing W58CK (channel 58) as a low-power simulcast in Birmingham proper. WNAL-TV switched to CBS at the same time, but plans to establish a news department with multiple former WJSU staffers were abruptly suspended with no reason;^[220][221] two weeks after the switch, Paxson Communications purchased WNAL.^[222] Outgoing Fox affiliates WTTO and semi-satellite WDBB became independents^[223] before affiliating with The WB in February 1997 as part a larger group deal with owner Sinclair Broadcast Group.^[224]

The Allbritton–ABC agreement would wind up affecting another market, as Allbritton was in the process of purchasing WBSG-TV in Brunswick, Georgia, the WB affiliate for Jacksonville, Florida. Allbritton announced that WBSG would become Jacksonville's ABC affiliate, usurping WJKS;^[225] as WBSG's signal did not cover the entire market, an unbuilt station on channel 25 licensed to Orange Park was acquired.^[226] WJKS contested the loss of their ABC contract until giving up in August 1996,^[227] but it began aggressively preempting the majority of the network lineup starting in January 1997; this forced WBSG's switch to be moved up from April to February.^[228] The Orange Park station—taking the WJXX call sign—took to the air as the new Jacksonville ABC affiliate on February 9, 1997, with WBSG acting as a semi-satellite.^[229]

As the Birmingham switches were imminent, News Corporation offered to purchase the remainder of New World for $2.48 billion in stock; once the deal closed on January 22, 1997, Fox's 22 owned-stations (ten of which were from New World) surpassed CBS and Tribune Broadcasting as the largest television station owner in the United States with an estimated 40 percent total market reach.^{[230][231][n]} Silver King Communications (then the owned-station group for HSN) acquired Savoy Pictures and SF Broadcasting on November 28, 1995. Headed by former TCF chairman Barry Diller, Silver King's purchase set off industry speculation that Diller could potentially launch another broadcast network backed by the 31-station group.^[236] The four Fox affiliates were ultimately sold to Emmis Communications on April 1, 1998.^[237][o]