WHPX-TV

WHPX-TV is a television station licensed to New London, Connecticut, and serving the Hartford–New Haven designated market area. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 26 and is affiliated with Ion Television, the national broadcast network formerly known as Pax TV and Paxson Communications' Pax network. Its facilities include offices at Shaws Cove in New London and a transmitter site on Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, Connecticut. The station began broadcasting on September 15, 1986, under the call sign WTWS. Initially operated as an independent station, it used a low-cost general-entertainment schedule assembled from syndicated programming and other acquired content. C&S Broadcasting owned the station at launch, with Neil Denenberg as its majority owner. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, WTWS expanded its programming inventory by taking on material displaced by financially troubled WHCT-TV and by programming that WTXX chose not to renew. As the economics of independent television became more difficult, the station increasingly relied on infomercials and other low-cost schedule components. Paxson Communications acquired WTWS in 1995. Under Paxson's ownership, the station adopted the company's inTV format, combining religious programs, infomercials, and worship programming. This arrangement was later affected by programming-rights changes involving LIN Television and WTVU. Paxson also operated WHCT beginning in 1997, while WTWS passed through ownership by Roberts Broadcasting and DP Media. DP Media was controlled by Devon Paxson, the son of Paxson Communications founder Bud Paxson. Paxson regained control of the station's programming relationship and, in 1998, moved WTWS into the Pax TV network, the predecessor of Ion Television. The call letters changed to WHPX-TV to reflect the new network affiliation. Paxson Communications acquired DP Media in 2000. From 2001 through 2005, WHPX retransmitted newscasts produced by NBC-owned WVIT. This gave the station a local-news component without requiring it to operate a full independent newsroom. The station has otherwise focused primarily on carrying Ion's national schedule rather than building a large locally originated programming operation. WHPX completed the federally mandated transition from analog to digital broadcasting on February 17, 2009. Its digital signal initially moved from pre-transition UHF channel 34 to UHF channel 26. During the 2019 television-spectrum repack, the station moved its transmission facilities to UHF channel 28 and began transmitting from Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, a major Connecticut broadcast-transmitter location. Before 2021, WHPX's facilities also served as the principal Federal Communications Commission studio location for sister station WLWC and former sister station WPXQ-TV. The station is currently owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings and remains part of the Ion Television distribution system.

WHPX-TV signed on September 15, 1986, as WTWS, an independent station licensed to New London, Connecticut. C&S Broadcasting owned the new outlet, with Neil Denenberg holding the majority interest. Its initial schedule consisted primarily of inexpensive general-entertainment programming, reflecting the limited resources and competitive position of a local independent station. In 1988, WTWS took on some programming that had been associated with WHCT-TV after WHCT encountered financial problems. The station continued to build its inventory in the early 1990s by acquiring programs that WTXX did not renew. WTWS also attempted to obtain additional WTXX programming in 1992, although WTXX's owner, Renaissance Broadcasting, declined that proposal. By 1993, infomercials represented a growing part of the station's schedule. Paxson Communications purchased WTWS in 1995 and placed it within the company's inTV programming system. The resulting schedule generally combined religious programming in the morning, infomercials during portions of the day and evening, and worship-oriented material overnight. Programming-rights changes involving LIN Television affected the distribution of some of these programs. Paxson subsequently began programming WHCT in 1997, while WTWS was sold to Roberts Broadcasting and then to DP Media in 1998. DP Media was controlled by Devon Paxson, the son of Paxson Communications founder Bud Paxson. Paxson Communications later re-established control over WTWS and affiliated it with Pax TV in 1998. Pax TV was the predecessor to Ion Television. At the same time, the station changed its call letters to WHPX-TV, aligning its identity with the Pax network. Paxson Communications acquired DP Media in 2000, consolidating its relationship with the station. From 2001 through 2005, WHPX retransmitted newscasts produced by WVIT, an NBC-owned station serving Connecticut. This arrangement supplied local-news content while WHPX remained principally a network and acquired-programming outlet. The station's facilities also served, before 2021, as the primary FCC studio location for sister station WLWC and former sister station WPXQ-TV. WHPX ended its analog broadcasts on February 17, 2009, as part of the nationwide digital-television transition. Its digital operation moved from pre-transition UHF channel 34 to channel 26. In 2019, the station participated in the FCC television-spectrum repack and moved its digital transmission to UHF channel 28. Its transmitter is located on Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, Connecticut, while station offices are maintained at Shaws Cove in New London. WHPX is currently owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings and operates as an Ion Television affiliate serving the Hartford–New Haven market.

• 2019

  Spectrum-repack channel move

  [1]WHPX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station moves its digital transmission to UHF channel 28 and operates from Rattlesnake Mountain.

• 2009

  Digital conversion

  [1]WHPX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WHPX ends analog broadcasting and continues as a digital station.

• 2001

  WVIT newscast arrangement begins

  [1]WHPX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WHPX begins retransmitting newscasts produced by WVIT, an arrangement that continues through 2005.

• 2000

  Paxson acquires DP Media

  [1]WHPX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Paxson Communications acquires DP Media, bringing the station's recent ownership chain back under Paxson control.

• 1998

  Pax TV affiliation and call-sign change

  [1]WHPX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WTWS joins Pax TV and becomes WHPX-TV.

• 1995

  Paxson Communications acquisition

  [1]WHPX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Paxson Communications purchases WTWS and introduces its inTV schedule structure.

• 1988

  WTWS acquires programming from WHCT-TV

  [1]WHPX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WTWS adds programming formerly associated with financially troubled WHCT-TV.

• 1986

  WTWS launches as an independent station

  [1]WHPX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station begins broadcasting from New London County under the WTWS call sign with a general-entertainment independent format.

A network-affiliated broadcast station emphasizing Ion Television's nationally distributed entertainment schedule and broad over-the-air coverage of the Hartford–New Haven market, with limited locally originated programming.

• Broadcast television network affiliate · 1998

  Ion Television service

  WHPX-TV's principal offering is the Ion Television network schedule delivered to viewers in the Hartford–New Haven market. The station provides the local over-the-air transmission and market presence for Ion programming rather than presenting a large schedule of locally produced shows.

• Broadcast transmission · 2009

  Digital terrestrial television

  The station distributes television programming through a digital terrestrial signal serving Connecticut. Its post-repack transmission operates from Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington on UHF channel 28, while the station is identified to viewers by virtual channel 26.

• Local-news carriage · 2001

  WVIT-produced newscast retransmission

  Between 2001 and 2005, WHPX carried newscasts produced by WVIT. The arrangement gave WHPX access to local-news programming from an established Connecticut newsroom without evidence that WHPX operated a comparable full-service news department of its own.

• 2019

  Implement the Connecticut spectrum-repack moveGeneration change

  Background

  The FCC's television-spectrum repack required participating stations to change transmission frequencies.

  Action taken

  WHPX moved its digital transmission to UHF channel 28 and transmitted from Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington.

  Aftermath

  The station continued serving the Hartford–New Haven market under its virtual channel 26 identity.

  Source

• 2009

  Complete the analog-to-digital conversionGeneration change

  Background

  The federally mandated transition from analog television required full-power broadcast stations to end analog transmissions and operate digitally.

  Action taken

  WHPX shut down its analog UHF channel 26 signal and continued digitally, with its digital channel moving from pre-transition UHF 34 to UHF 26.

  Aftermath

  The station continued over-the-air broadcasting as a digital television service.

  Source

• 1998

  Adopt Pax TV affiliation and WHPX-TV identityStrategy

  Background

  Paxson Communications was repositioning WTWS within its emerging national television-network strategy after the station had moved through several ownership and programming arrangements.

  Action taken

  The station affiliated with Pax TV, the predecessor of Ion Television, and changed its call sign from WTWS to WHPX-TV.

  Aftermath

  The station became part of the Pax-to-Ion network lineage and moved away from its earlier independent-station identity.

  Source

1. 1WHPX-TVen.wikipedia.org