WRGT

From Freepedia

WRGT (Fox)
Slogan: Your Local News Source
Dayton, Ohio
Channel 45 Digital channel -
Owner	Sinclair Broadcasting Group
Founded	1984
Signal Radius	Dayton, Ohio
Transmitter location	Dayton
Callsign Meaning	WRiGht Television (Wright Bros. were from Dayton)
Address	45 Broadcast Plaza Dayton, Ohio 45408

WRGT is a broadcast television station in Dayton, Ohio, affiliated with the Fox network. It broadcasts on channel 45. WRGT is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group.

History

WRGT signed on as an indepedent station in 1984. The station was owned by Act III. The station ran a general entertainment format consisting of cartoons, calssic sitcoms, recent off network sitcoms, old movies, drama shows, and sports. Act III wanted assurance they would be the only independent in town. So shortly before signing on they bought the small programming inventory of secular shows ran on Channel 26 previously and these shows would move to Channel 45 when it signed on. Channel 26 then would become strictly religious.

WRGT was very profitable. While the only independent in town offering general entertainment, Dayton also received 19 WXIX and 64 WIII (now WSTR) out of Cincinnati. In 1986 WRGT gained a Fox affiliation in 1986 and became known as Fox 45. Act III meanwhile built a station in Charleston (West Virginia) in 1985, Charleston SC in 1986 plus they bought stations in Greensboro in 1987, Buffalo in 1987, Richmond in 1988, and Nashville in 1989. In those markets they prevented indpendent station from competing by buying their assets and selling off the competition excluding programming to a non commercial interest. In Dayton the only other available license was then all religious so WRGT was secure as the only independent in town.

Act III merged with Abry in the early 1990's. Abry would sell most of their stations to Sinclair in 1996 but sold WRGT Fox 45 to Sullivan (which Sinclair would still manage). By the late 90's more reality and talk shows would be in Fox 45's mix.

In 1998 Sullivan's managing partner, Sinclair, would buy 22 WKEF the NBC affiliate in a merger. In 2001 SInclair would also buy Fox 45 WRGT.

Broadcast television in the Dayton market
WDTN 2 (NBC) - WHIO 7 (CBS) - WPTD 16 (PBS) - WKEF 22 (ABC) - WBDT 26 (i/The WB) - WRGT 45 (Fox)