WFFT-TV

WFFT-TV is a commercial television station serving Fort Wayne, Indiana, and surrounding communities in northeastern Indiana. Broadcasting on virtual and digital channel 55, it is affiliated with the Fox network and operates from studios and transmitter facilities on Hillegas Road in Fort Wayne. The station is part of a local television group that also includes WPTA and WISE-TV under Gray Media ownership. WFFT-TV began broadcasting on December 21, 1977, as an independent station. In its early years it built an audience through a broad mixture of syndicated entertainment, classic television series, films, cartoons, and occasional programming displaced from WPTA's ABC schedule. Its library-based programming included series such as The Little Rascals, Superman, Batman, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Night Gallery, The Wild Wild West, and McHale's Navy. The station also carried Chicago Cubs baseball, local event coverage including the Three Rivers Festival, and CNN Headline News programming during parts of the day beginning in 1982. A severe snowstorm soon after the station's launch helped establish one of its early programming innovations. During the Great Blizzard of 1978, station engineers were unable to leave the facility, so WFFT remained on the air with weather information, public-domain films, and other available material. The response encouraged regular overnight broadcasting on Fridays and Saturdays, including the film program Nite Owl Theatre and later horror-movie presentations under the Nightmare Theatre title. At a time when many viewers lacked cable access to distant superstations, WFFT's movies, old sitcoms, and cartoons gave it a distinctive local role. It was reportedly voted the leading independent station in the United States during this period, despite operating in a relatively small market. WFFT became a charter Fox affiliate when the network launched on October 9, 1986. It used the Super 55 Fox identity during the 1990s and later adopted Fox Fort Wayne in 2008. The station also carried UPN programming on a secondary basis after that network launched in 1995. Its locally produced children's program Happy's Place was an important part of its 1980s and early-1990s identity, combining syndicated children's shows with locally hosted characters and studio interaction. As the station moved away from original local entertainment production in the mid-to-late 1990s, its schedule increasingly relied on Fox programming and syndicated talk, court, entertainment, and sitcom programming. A major change occurred in 2011, when Fox ended its affiliation agreement with WFFT amid a broader dispute involving Nexstar-owned stations and Fox retransmission-consent terms. WFFT became independent on August 1, 2011, while Fox programming moved to a digital subchannel of WISE-TV. Nexstar sued Granite Broadcasting over the structure of local station operations and advertising sales. As part of a settlement, Fox returned to WFFT on March 1, 2013, making the station an unusual example of a former Fox affiliate rejoining the network after the dispute. Ownership subsequently changed several times. Nexstar sold WFFT and other stations to Heartland Media in 2016 as part of regulatory divestitures associated with Nexstar's merger with Media General. Allen Media Group acquired the station from Heartland in 2020. Gray Media later acquired WFFT in a transaction involving multiple Allen Media Group stations, bringing WFFT into the same ownership group as Fort Wayne stations WPTA and WISE-TV. WFFT's news history has included several different models. Its first regular news department launched in 1980 with The 10 O'Clock Report, but the program was canceled after about a year. The station later relied mainly on news bulletins before launching a second local news operation in 2009. Fox Fort Wayne News First at 10, subsequently known as Fox 55 News First at 10, initially aired on weeknights and later expanded during WFFT's independent period. It was also among the first Fort Wayne local newscasts to broadcast in high definition. In 2023 the station added hour-long 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts. News production and weather operations have continued to evolve through shared services, centralized weather production, and cooperation with other stations in the ownership group.

WFFT-TV signed on in Fort Wayne on December 21, 1977, as an independent station. Its initial schedule emphasized syndicated programs, films, cartoons, classic series, and selected ABC programs preempted by WPTA. The station gained an early reputation for unusual programming flexibility. During the Great Blizzard of 1978, engineers remained at the facility and continued transmission rather than signing off. Weather updates, public-domain films, and other available material kept the station operating, and the positive response led to regular Friday and Saturday overnight service through programs such as Nite Owl Theatre and Nightmare Theatre. The station served viewers who did not have cable access to distant superstations. Its entertainment mix included classic sitcoms, adventure programs, cartoons, horror films, and syndicated features. WFFT also carried CNN Headline News segments beginning in 1982, local event coverage, and Chicago Cubs baseball. Its locally produced children's program Happy's Place became a notable part of the station's identity during the 1980s and 1990s. Hosted originally by Mike Fry as Happy, with Froggie and other local characters, the program combined a children's show environment with syndicated series such as DuckTales, Inspector Gadget, The Smurfs, He-Man, Saber Rider, and G.I. Joe. Later versions used field segments from area attractions, including the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, before the program was canceled. WFFT joined Fox at the network's launch in 1986 and used several Fox-oriented brand identities over the following decades. During the 1990s it also carried UPN programming on a secondary basis. The station gradually reduced studio-produced local entertainment and relied more heavily on the Fox schedule and syndicated talk shows, court programs, entertainment news, films, and sitcom reruns. Local news was initially attempted in 1980 through The 10 O'Clock Report. The small news department faced the difficulty of building a lead-in audience without a major network schedule and the program ended after approximately one year. For many years afterward, WFFT supplied news bulletins rather than a full regular newscast. A second news department launched in 2009 with Fox Fort Wayne News First at 10. The production used a small, multi-platform staff whose members frequently recorded and edited their own reports. The program later received a National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences—Lower Great Lakes Chapter nomination for best evening newscast. Fox ended WFFT's affiliation in 2011 during a dispute involving Nexstar and Fox over affiliation and retransmission-consent economics. WFFT became independent on August 1, 2011, and expanded its late news and weekend programming while filling prime time with syndicated programs, crime-series blocks, and films. Nexstar filed an antitrust lawsuit against Granite Broadcasting concerning shared-services arrangements and the concentration of network affiliations and advertising operations among WPTA and WISE-TV. A settlement announced in 2013 enabled Fox to return to WFFT on March 1 of that year. Nexstar sold WFFT-TV to Heartland Media in 2016. Allen Media Group then acquired the station in a transaction completed in 2020. Later ownership changes placed WFFT in Gray Media's Fort Wayne station group alongside WPTA and WISE-TV. The news operation expanded in 2023 with new 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. broadcasts. Weather and news production were subsequently affected by centralized production initiatives and shared services, while WFFT continued to operate as a Fox-affiliated local broadcast outlet.

• 2023

  Local news expansion

  [1]WFFT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WFFT-TV adds hour-long 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts.

• 2020

  Acquired by Allen Media Group

  [1]WFFT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Allen Media Group completes its acquisition of the station.

• 2016

  Sold to Heartland Media

  [1]WFFT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Nexstar announces the sale of WFFT-TV to Heartland Media.

• 2013

  Rejoins Fox

  [1]WFFT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The Fox affiliation returns to WFFT-TV on March 1 after a settlement.

• 2011

  Becomes independent

  [1]WFFT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Fox programming moves away from WFFT-TV on August 1.

• 2009

  Second local news operation launches

  [1]WFFT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Fox Fort Wayne News First at 10 begins regular local news production.

• 1986

  Joins the Fox network

  [1]WFFT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WFFT-TV becomes a charter Fox affiliate at the network's launch.

• 1978

  Blizzard-era continuous broadcasting

  [1]WFFT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WFFT-TV remains on the air during the Great Blizzard of 1978, helping inspire regular overnight programming.

• 1977

  WFFT-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]WFFT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station signs on December 21 as an independent television station in Fort Wayne.

A local Fort Wayne broadcast station combining Fox network programming with regional news, syndicated entertainment, films, and community-oriented coverage.

• Network television affiliation · 1986

  Fox network programming

  WFFT-TV's principal programming offering is the Fox network schedule, supplemented by locally scheduled programs and syndicated content. The station has carried Fox since the network's launch in 1986, except for an independent period from August 2011 until the affiliation returned in March 2013.

• Broadcast journalism · 2009

  Local news

  WFFT-TV produces or carries local news programming focused on Fort Wayne and northeastern Indiana. Its modern news operation began in 2009, expanded during its independent period, and later added 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. broadcasts. Production arrangements have changed as ownership groups have used shared services and centralized resources.

• Children's television

  Happy's Place

  Happy's Place was a locally hosted children's programming block broadcast during the 1980s and 1990s. It combined a two-hour afternoon schedule of syndicated children's series with local characters, including Happy, Froggie, Chester T. Fox, and Lawn Boy. Later versions included segments recorded at area attractions before the program was discontinued.

• 2023

  Expands local evening newsProduct launch

  Background

  The station sought to broaden its local news schedule after more than a decade without a comparable expansion.

  Action taken

  WFFT-TV introduced hour-long 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. local newscasts on February 13.

  Aftermath

  The change increased the station's locally produced or locally branded news presence.

  Source

• 2013

  Rejoins FoxStrategy

  Background

  A settlement of Nexstar's lawsuit involving Granite Broadcasting created the conditions for Fox programming to return to WFFT-TV.

  Action taken

  WFFT-TV resumed Fox affiliation on March 1, with Kitchen Nightmares identified as the first Fox program broadcast after the return.

  Aftermath

  WFFT-TV again operated as the Fort Wayne market's Fox affiliate.

  Source

• 2011

  Accepts loss of Fox affiliation and shifts to independent programmingOther

  Background

  Fox announced that it would end its affiliation with WFFT amid a wider disagreement involving Nexstar stations and Fox affiliation economics.

  Action taken

  WFFT-TV became independent on August 1 and replaced the Fox schedule with syndicated entertainment, crime-series blocks, and films.

  Aftermath

  The station's Fox affiliation returned on March 1, 2013, following a settlement connected with the related litigation.

  Source

1. 1WFFT-TVen.wikipedia.org