WPMT

WPMT is a commercial television station licensed to York, Pennsylvania, and serving the Harrisburg–Lancaster–Lebanon–York television market and the wider Susquehanna Valley. The station operates under the Fox 43 and FOX43 branding and is a Fox network affiliate. Its studios are located on South Queen Street in Spring Garden Township, while its transmission facilities are operated through a channel-sharing arrangement with PBS member station WITF-TV. WPMT is also rebroadcast by translator W20EU-D in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The station began broadcasting on December 21, 1952, as WSBA-TV. It was established by Susquehanna Radio Corporation, a subsidiary of the Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff conglomerate, which also owned WSBA radio. WSBA-TV originally carried ABC programming and was among the earliest commercially licensed UHF television stations in the United States. Based on the supplied historical account, it is the oldest continuously broadcasting UHF station in the country. In 1963, the station changed network affiliation to CBS and participated in the Keystone Network arrangement with WHP-TV in Harrisburg and WLYH-TV in Lebanon. The three stations coordinated much of their CBS programming to extend network coverage before cable television became widely available. Susquehanna sold the station in 1983 to Mohawk Broadcasting. The new owner changed the call sign to WPMT, temporarily took the station off the air during the transition, and relaunched it as a general-entertainment independent station. Its schedule emphasized syndicated series, films, cartoons, drama programs, sports and westerns. WPMT joined the newly launched Fox network on October 9, 1986, making it one of Fox’s charter affiliates. The station later became part of Renaissance Communications and then Tribune Broadcasting after Tribune acquired Renaissance in 1996. During the Tribune era, WPMT also carried selected programming from The WB outside Fox programming hours. WPMT developed a substantial local news operation in response to Fox’s effort to encourage affiliates to build news departments, particularly after Fox acquired the National Football Conference television rights. The station launched Fox 43 News at Ten on September 12, 1994. Its local programming subsequently expanded through weekend newscasts, extended morning coverage, early-evening broadcasts and sports programming. By the supplied account, WPMT produces approximately 47 hours of locally originated newscasts each week, the highest weekly local-news output among stations in its market. The station’s local-news portfolio has included Fox 43 Morning News, Fox 43 News at Ten, weekday 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. broadcasts, a 6:30 p.m. newscast, and seasonal high-school sports coverage under the High School Football Frenzy name. WPMT began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition in January 2011 and upgraded field-news equipment as part of that transition. It has also operated digital multicast services, including Fox 43 News 24/7, Antenna TV and This TV at different times. WPMT completed the transition from analog to digital broadcasting in 2009. It later sold spectrum in the FCC incentive auction and entered a channel-sharing agreement with WITF-TV, allowing both stations to transmit from WITF’s spectrum and antenna facilities. Ownership changed again during the attempted Sinclair-Tribune transaction and the subsequent Nexstar acquisition of Tribune. Nexstar initially retained its existing ABC affiliate WHTM-TV and sold WPMT to Tegna. The supplied material states that Nexstar announced an acquisition of Tegna in 2025 and completed it in 2026, while litigation temporarily prevented WPMT from being integrated with WHTM-TV. WPMT’s continuing role is that of a regional Fox affiliate combining network entertainment and sports programming with a large local-news operation and digital distribution.

WPMT’s history began in the early development of UHF television. The station signed on December 21, 1952, as WSBA-TV, using channel 43 and serving York, Pennsylvania. It was owned by Susquehanna Radio Corporation, part of the Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff organization, and operated alongside WSBA radio. The station originally carried ABC programming. Its launch placed it among the first commercially licensed UHF stations in the United States, at a time when UHF broadcasters faced technical and audience limitations because many television receivers were better equipped for VHF signals. The supplied historical account identifies WSBA-TV as the first of several contemporaneous UHF applicants to begin transmission using commercially manufactured equipment and describes WPMT as the country’s oldest continuously broadcasting UHF station. In 1963, WSBA-TV became a CBS affiliate and joined the Keystone Network with WHP-TV in Harrisburg and WLYH-TV in Lebanon. Although the stations had separate ownership, they coordinated much of their CBS schedule. Their overlapping signals and complementary scheduling helped viewers receive more of CBS’s programming in the period before cable systems achieved broad penetration. The arrangement also reflected the difficulty of distributing network television across the region’s geography using over-the-air signals. Susquehanna sold WSBA-TV to Mohawk Broadcasting in April 1983. The new owner changed the call sign to WPMT. The station went off the air during the ownership and programming transition, returning in September 1983 as a general-entertainment independent station. Its schedule consisted primarily of syndicated entertainment, movies, cartoons, sitcoms, dramas, sports and westerns. This made WPMT an important alternative to the market’s network affiliates and to WGCB-TV, which at that point was primarily religious in its programming. On October 9, 1986, WPMT became a charter affiliate of the newly launched Fox network. Fox’s initial schedule was smaller than those of established networks, so the station continued to rely heavily on syndicated programming. From 1990 to 2004, it also featured original children’s programming hosted by Pete McTee, a clown character whose name echoed the station’s call letters. Renaissance Communications acquired WPMT in 1990, and Tribune Broadcasting took ownership after acquiring Renaissance in 1996. During the Tribune period, WPMT carried selected WB programming during hours not occupied by Fox, while the full WB schedule was available through Tribune’s Philadelphia station WPHL-TV. The station’s local-news history has several phases. As WSBA-TV, it operated a small department branded NewsWatch 43. In 1980, it attempted to expand the operation and used the TeleJournal News name, but its signal limitations and strong competition from established news departments hindered the service. The news department was discontinued in 1983 when the station was relaunched as an independent. Fox’s acquisition of the National Football Conference television package increased the network’s emphasis on local news at affiliates. In response, WPMT and Renaissance developed a new news department, launching Fox 43 News at Ten on September 12, 1994. Weekend editions followed in 1995, and the program was progressively expanded to one hour on weeknights and weekends. Local output grew further in the 2000s and 2010s. WPMT introduced Fox 43 Morning News in 2006, expanded the morning program to earlier start times and additional hours, and began a 4 a.m. start in 2013. A 9 a.m. block was added in 2018. The station launched High School Football Frenzy in 2009, added a 6:30 p.m. newscast that year, and introduced an 11 p.m. newscast in 2010. It later expanded early-evening coverage with 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. broadcasts, while changing or discontinuing some later programs. The local-news operation moved to high definition in January 2011, including upgrades to studio systems, field cameras, electronic-news-gathering vehicles and satellite equipment. WPMT also developed digital distribution. It launched a 24-hour news service on its second digital subchannel in 2009, later replacing that service with Antenna TV and then This TV at different times. The station’s news stream remained available through its website after the multicast news channel ended. Analog broadcasting ended on June 12, 2009, as part of the nationwide digital transition. WPMT subsequently participated in the FCC incentive auction, reportedly receiving $50 million for its spectrum, and entered a channel-sharing agreement with WITF-TV in 2017. WPMT now transmits through facilities associated with WITF in Susquehanna Township and maintains a translator serving Chambersburg. Corporate ownership has continued to change. Sinclair Broadcast Group’s proposed 2017 acquisition of Tribune Media would have placed WPMT in a divestiture package, but the transaction encountered regulatory difficulties and was terminated. Nexstar later acquired Tribune and retained WHTM-TV, its ABC affiliate in the market, while selling WPMT to Tegna. The supplied reference material states that Nexstar subsequently announced an acquisition of Tegna in 2025 and completed that transaction in 2026. It also states that court action temporarily prevented WPMT from being integrated into WHTM-TV. Through these changes, WPMT has remained an active Fox affiliate centered on local news, weather, traffic, sports and regional programming.

• 2017

  WITF channel-sharing agreement announced

  [1]WPMTen.wikipedia.org

  WPMT arranges to transmit using WITF-TV’s spectrum and antenna facilities after the spectrum auction.

• 2011

  Local news moves to high definition

  [1]WPMTen.wikipedia.org

  WPMT upgrades studio and field production for high-definition newscasts.

• 2009

  Digital news channel launches

  [1]WPMTen.wikipedia.org

  WPMT introduces Fox 43 News 24/7 on its second digital subchannel.

• 1994

  Fox 43 News at Ten launches

  [1]WPMTen.wikipedia.org

  WPMT restores a full-scale local news operation with a prime-time newscast.

• 1986

  WPMT becomes a charter Fox affiliate

  [1]WPMTen.wikipedia.org

  WPMT joins Fox when the network launches.

• 1983

  Mohawk Broadcasting acquires the station

  [1]WPMTen.wikipedia.org

  The station is sold, renamed WPMT and relaunched as a general-entertainment independent.

• 1963

  CBS affiliation and Keystone Network participation

  [1]WPMTen.wikipedia.org

  WSBA-TV becomes a CBS affiliate and joins the coordinated Keystone Network with WHP-TV and WLYH-TV.

• 1952

  WSBA-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]WPMTen.wikipedia.org

  The station signs on from York on December 21 as an ABC affiliate and an early commercial UHF broadcaster.

A regional Fox affiliate positioned around extensive local news, weather, traffic, sports and community coverage for viewers in South Central Pennsylvania.

• Local television news · 1994

  Fox 43 News

  WPMT’s principal local-news brand, covering regional breaking news, public affairs, weather, traffic and community developments across the Susquehanna Valley. The brand includes the station’s prime-time, daytime and early-evening broadcasts and is also distributed through the station’s web and streaming services.

• Morning television news · 2006

  Fox 43 Morning News

  A weekday morning news program featuring recurring weather and traffic updates alongside local reporting and interviews. The program expanded over time from an initial one-hour broadcast to a substantially longer morning block, including an early start and a later morning hour.

• Prime-time television news · 1994

  Fox 43 News at Ten

  WPMT’s flagship prime-time newscast, launched when the station rebuilt its local news department in the 1990s. It began as a weekday half-hour program, later gained weekend editions and expanded to an hour on weeknights and weekends.

• Local sports television · 2009

  High School Football Frenzy

  A seasonal local sports program focused on high-school football highlights and results in the station’s coverage area. It debuted in 2009 and aired during the high-school football season.

• Digital multicast news · 2009

  Fox 43 News 24/7

  A 24-hour digital news service consisting primarily of simulcasts and repeat presentations of WPMT local-news programming. It was carried on the station’s second digital subchannel and by selected cable providers before being replaced as a multicast service.

• 2017

  Adopt channel sharing with WITF-TVStrategy

  Background

  WPMT participated in the FCC incentive auction and needed a post-auction transmission arrangement.

  Action taken

  The station entered a channel-sharing agreement with PBS member station WITF-TV and began transmitting through WITF’s spectrum and antenna facilities.

  Aftermath

  WPMT continued over-the-air service while sharing transmission infrastructure with WITF-TV.

  Spectrum auction proceeds. $50 million (2016–2017 FCC incentive auction)

  Source

• 1994

  Rebuild the local news operationProduct launch

  Background

  Fox encouraged affiliates with limited local news to establish full-scale news departments, particularly after the network obtained National Football Conference rights.

  Action taken

  WPMT launched Fox 43 News at Ten in September 1994 and subsequently added weekend and expanded editions.

  Aftermath

  Local-news coverage became a central part of the station’s programming and later grew to approximately 47 hours per week according to the supplied reference.

  Source

• 1986

  Join the newly launched Fox networkStrategy

  Background

  WPMT had operated as a general-entertainment independent after its 1983 relaunch, while Fox was assembling a national affiliate network.

  Action taken

  The station affiliated with Fox on October 9, 1986, becoming one of the network’s charter affiliates.

  Aftermath

  The affiliation established WPMT’s long-term identity as a Fox station and supported later investment in local news.

  Source

1. 1WPMTen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Official WPMT / FOX43 websitefox43.com