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WRSP-TV is a Fox-affiliated television station serving Springfield and the wider Central Illinois television market under the Fox Illinois brand.

Last updated August 31, 2026

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Overview

WRSP-TV is a commercial television station licensed to Springfield, Illinois, and operating on UHF channel 55. It is the principal Central Illinois affiliate of the Fox television network and is marketed together with WCCU, channel 27 in Urbana, as Fox Illinois. WCCU functions as a semi-satellite of WRSP for the eastern portion of the market, including Champaign-Urbana and Danville. The two stations carry Fox programming and syndicated content from the parent service while inserting their own local commercial material and legal identifications. The station began broadcasting on June 1, 1979, as WBHW, a religious independent station established by Windmill Broadcasting Company. Its original call letters referred to the phrase “We Believe His Word.” The launch made it the first new commercial television station in the Springfield market since WCIA began broadcasting in 1953, excluding satellite operations. After a change of ownership in November 1982, the station adopted the call sign WRSP-TV and shifted to a general-entertainment independent format, broadening its programming beyond religious content. WRSP joined the newly established Fox network in 1986. To extend Fox programming into the eastern part of Central Illinois, the operation added WCCU as a full-time satellite in Urbana on February 19, 1986. Both stations later introduced digital broadcasting and carried Fox programming in high definition. WRSP’s digital signal ultimately moved from its pre-transition UHF channel 44 allocation to UHF channel 16 in July 2020, while WCCU moved from channel 26 to channel 36 in January 2020. In December 2022, the pair began broadcasting an ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV signal for the Champaign–Springfield market. The stations’ operating structure has involved several ownership and service relationships. GOCOM Media owns the station licenses and also owns WBUI, the Decatur-licensed CW affiliate. Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired the non-license assets of GOCOM’s three stations in 2012 and has provided sales and other non-programming services through shared-services and joint-sales arrangements. GOCOM also maintains shared-services and joint-sales agreements with Rincon Broadcasting Group, the owner of Springfield ABC affiliate WICS and Champaign affiliate WICD. These relationships have resulted in progressively consolidated technical, administrative, advertising, and news operations, particularly at the WICS facilities on East Cook Street in Springfield and the WICD facilities in Champaign. Local news has been a significant part of the Fox Illinois identity. In 2006, WRSP and WCCU began carrying a jointly produced 9 p.m. newscast supplied by WICS and WICD. Initially called NewsChannel at 9 on Fox Illinois, the program provided market-wide coverage with separate weather segments for the Springfield and eastern portions of the market. The weekday edition expanded to one hour in 2013. WICS later added Good Day Illinois, a two-hour weekday morning newscast, in 2014. Following changes to WICD’s separate local-news operations in 2015, WCCU began carrying an eastern-market program titled Fox Champaign News at Nine, while WRSP’s edition was refocused on Springfield as Fox News at Nine. WRSP-TV remains an active Fox affiliate and a locally branded broadcast outlet rather than a standalone national media company. Its principal role is to deliver Fox network programming, syndicated entertainment, local advertising, and news programming to viewers in the Springfield market, with WCCU extending the brand’s reach into Champaign-Urbana and Danville.

History

WRSP-TV traces its history to a construction permit granted to Windmill Broadcasting Company in September 1978. The resulting station signed on June 1, 1979, as WBHW on analog UHF channel 55. It operated as a religious independent, with call letters associated with the phrase “We Believe His Word.” The launch was historically notable in the Springfield market because it represented the first new commercial station there since WCIA’s 1953 debut, apart from satellite stations. A change of ownership in November 1982 brought a new identity and programming strategy. The station became WRSP-TV and adopted a general-entertainment independent format. This shift enabled it to compete for a broader audience through syndicated programs, entertainment offerings, and local commercial programming. In the winter of 1985, WRSP announced that it would affiliate with the then-new Fox network. The affiliation began in 1986 and gave Central Illinois a local outlet for Fox’s developing national schedule. To serve the eastern part of the market, WCCU began operating in Urbana on February 19, 1986, on analog UHF channel 27. WCCU was structured as a full-time satellite and later as a semi-satellite of WRSP. It generally carried the same network and syndicated schedule but retained the ability to insert separate local advertisements and legal identifications. Its coverage included Champaign-Urbana and Danville, complementing WRSP’s Springfield service. Both stations moved into digital broadcasting around 2000 and carried Fox programming in high definition. WRSP ended analog transmission in February 2009, retaining digital channel 44 at that stage while continuing to identify virtually as channel 55. WCCU similarly ended analog broadcasting on channel 27 and initially retained digital channel 26. Federal spectrum changes later moved WRSP’s digital signal to UHF channel 16 in July 2020 and WCCU’s signal to UHF channel 36 in January 2020. The ownership structure expanded in the 2000s. In June 2007, GOCOM Media announced its intention to acquire WBUI, the CW affiliate licensed to Decatur. The FCC approved the transaction in September under a failed-station waiver because ordinary duopoly rules would not otherwise have allowed the additional common ownership in the market. The transaction closed on October 25, 2007. WBUI subsequently consolidated its Springfield operations with WRSP, although it maintained an advertising sales presence in Decatur. News-sharing arrangements became central to the stations’ local service. In September 2006, WRSP and WCCU began carrying a WICS/WICD-produced prime-time newscast titled NewsChannel at 9 on Fox Illinois. The program originated from WICS’s Springfield facilities and used a modified set with Fox-specific branding. It offered market-wide reporting, contributions from WICD reporters, and separate weather material for the two service areas. The weekday program expanded from a half-hour format to one hour in October 2013. WICS added the weekday morning program Good Day Illinois in January 2014, airing from 7 to 9 a.m. In 2015, the news structure was reorganized. WICD discontinued its separate weekday newscasts focused on Champaign, Urbana, and Danville after April 3. WICS-produced newscasts were subsequently used across the market, with a reduced eastern bureau at WICD’s studios. WCCU began carrying a separate hour-long Champaign-oriented 9 p.m. program called Fox Champaign News at Nine, while the WRSP edition was refocused on Springfield and renamed Fox News at Nine. On December 31, 2012, Sinclair acquired the non-license assets of GOCOM’s three television stations, reported at approximately $25.6 million, and began providing sales and other non-programming services under shared-services and joint-sales agreements. The stations were initially operated from separate facilities, but WCCU’s advertising operation moved into WICD’s Champaign studios, and WRSP and WBUI later consolidated with WICS at its East Cook Street facility in Springfield. GOCOM remained the license owner. The station group faced regulatory scrutiny in connection with retransmission-consent negotiations. AT&T filed a lawsuit alleging that GOCOM had not negotiated in good faith, and the dispute also involved other Sinclair-managed station owners. On July 28, 2021, the FCC issued a forfeiture order requiring GOCOM to pay $1,536,684. This remains the most significant documented regulatory controversy associated with WRSP and its related stations. WRSP and WCCU entered the NextGen television era on December 6, 2022, when they began broadcasting an ATSC 3.0 signal for the Champaign–Springfield market. The stations continue to operate as Fox Illinois, combining national Fox programming with syndicated content, local advertising, and news supplied through their established Central Illinois service relationships.

  • 2022

    ATSC 3.0 service begins

    [1]

    WRSP and WCCU began broadcasting a NextGen TV signal for the Champaign–Springfield market.

  • 2021

    FCC forfeiture order

    [1]

    The FCC ordered GOCOM to pay a $1,536,684 forfeiture following a retransmission-consent negotiation dispute.

  • 2020

    Digital channel reallocations

    [1]

    WCCU moved its digital signal to channel 36 in January, followed by WRSP’s move to channel 16 in July.

  • 2015

    Eastern-market news structure changes

    [1]

    WICD ended separate weekday newscasts, while WCCU introduced Fox Champaign News at Nine and WRSP adopted the Springfield-focused Fox News at Nine identity.

  • 2014

    Good Day Illinois launches

    [1]

    A two-hour weekday morning newscast began airing on the Fox Illinois stations.

  • 2013

    Prime-time newscast expands

    [1]

    The weekday Fox Illinois 9 p.m. newscast expanded to one hour.

  • 2012

    Sinclair obtains non-license assets

    [1]

    Sinclair acquired the non-license assets of GOCOM’s stations and began providing specified operational services.

  • 2009

    Analog transmission ends

    [1]

    WRSP and WCCU shut down their analog signals during the United States digital television transition.

  • 2007

    GOCOM acquires WBUI

    [1]

    GOCOM’s acquisition of WBUI closed after FCC approval under a failed-station duopoly waiver.

  • 2006

    NewsChannel at 9 launches

    [1]

    The Fox affiliates began carrying a locally produced prime-time newscast through a WICS/WICD news-sharing arrangement.

Products and positioning

A regional Fox network affiliate positioned as a local broadcast and news source for Springfield and Central Illinois, with WCCU extending the Fox Illinois service into the Champaign-Urbana and Danville areas.

  • Regional television station brand · 1986

    Fox Illinois

    Fox Illinois is the shared consumer-facing brand for WRSP-TV in Springfield and WCCU in Urbana. It combines the Fox network affiliation with local commercial inventory, syndicated programming, station identifications, and locally supplied news. WRSP serves the western and central portions of the market, while WCCU operates as a semi-satellite for Champaign-Urbana and Danville.

  • Local television news · 2015

    Fox News at Nine

    Fox News at Nine is the Springfield-focused prime-time newscast carried by WRSP-TV. It developed from the earlier NewsChannel at 9 on Fox Illinois service and is produced through the stations’ shared news relationship with WICS and related Central Illinois operations.

  • Local television news · 2015

    Fox Champaign News at Nine

    Fox Champaign News at Nine is the eastern-market prime-time newscast introduced for WCCU after WICD reduced its separate weekday news operation. The program focuses on Champaign-Urbana and surrounding eastern Central Illinois communities.

  • Local morning television news · 2014

    Good Day Illinois

    Good Day Illinois is a two-hour weekday morning news program produced for the Fox Illinois stations by WICS. It provides local news, weather, traffic, and regional coverage during the morning period, serving as a local alternative to national network morning shows.

  • Digital broadcast service · 2022

    ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV service

    WRSP and WCCU began transmitting an ATSC 3.0 signal in December 2022. The service forms part of the NextGen TV deployment for the Champaign–Springfield market and supplements the stations’ conventional digital television broadcasts.

Controversies

  • 2021

    Retransmission-consent negotiation dispute

    AT&T sued GOCOM Media alleging that it had failed to negotiate retransmission consent in good faith for WRSP, WCCU, WBUI, and related stations. On July 28, 2021, the FCC issued a forfeiture order requiring GOCOM to pay $1,536,684. The dispute involved other Sinclair-managed station owners as well.

    Source

Read more

Brand decisions

  • 2022

    Launch ATSC 3.0 serviceProduct launch

    Background

    Broadcasters in the Champaign–Springfield market began adopting the NextGen TV transmission standard.

    Action taken

    WRSP and WCCU began broadcasting an ATSC 3.0 signal on December 6.

    Aftermath

    The Fox Illinois stations added a next-generation digital broadcast layer to their existing television service.

    Source

  • 2015

    Refocus local news by submarketStrategy

    Background

    WICD ended separate weekday newscasts focused on the eastern portion of Central Illinois, while the broader news operation moved toward WICS-produced market-wide broadcasts.

    Action taken

    WCCU received Fox Champaign News at Nine, while WRSP’s edition was refocused on Springfield and renamed Fox News at Nine.

    Aftermath

    The stations maintained separate geographic identities within a more centralized news-production structure.

    Source

  • 2013

    Expand the weekday prime-time newscastGeneration change

    Background

    The Fox Illinois stations used a shared local-news operation to compete in the 9 p.m. time period.

    Action taken

    The weekday NewsChannel at 9 edition was expanded to one hour.

    Aftermath

    The longer program increased the amount of local news available during Fox’s prime-time schedule.

    Source

  • 2012

    Transfer non-license assets to SinclairM&A

    Background

    GOCOM retained station licenses while seeking an arrangement for operational support and service provision.

    Action taken

    Sinclair acquired the non-license assets of WRSP/WCCU, WBUI, and related GOCOM stations and began providing sales and other non-programming services.

    Aftermath

    The stations operated under shared-services and joint-sales arrangements, with facilities and administrative functions increasingly consolidated.

    Reported transaction value. $25.6 million (2012)

    Source

  • 2007

    Acquire WBUIM&A

    Background

    GOCOM sought to acquire the Decatur-licensed CW affiliate, although the market’s ownership structure required an FCC waiver.

    Action taken

    The FCC approved the purchase under a failed-station waiver, and GOCOM completed the transaction on October 25, 2007.

    Aftermath

    WBUI became a commonly owned sister station and later consolidated much of its operation with WRSP’s Springfield facilities.

    Source

  • 1986

    Join the Fox networkStrategy

    Background

    Fox was establishing a new national television network and sought local affiliates in markets including Central Illinois.

    Action taken

    WRSP became a Fox affiliate and added WCCU as a full-time Urbana satellite to extend coverage eastward.

    Aftermath

    The stations became the Fox outlets for the Springfield and eastern Central Illinois portions of the market.

    Source

  • 1982

    Convert from religious independent to general entertainmentStrategy

    Background

    Following an ownership change, the station was repositioned from its original religious programming model.

    Action taken

    The station adopted the WRSP-TV call sign and changed to a general-entertainment independent format.

    Aftermath

    The repositioning broadened the station’s programming scope and prepared it for a later network affiliation.

    Source

Sources2 sources

  1. 1WRSP-TVen.wikipedia.org
  2. 2Fox Illinois official websitefoxillinois.com

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