WRGT
From Free net encyclopedia
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 independent station on September 17, 1984. The station was owned by Act III. The station ran a general entertainment format consisting of cartoons, classic 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 WXIX and WIII (now WSTR) out of Cincinnati. In 1987 WRGT gained a Fox affiliation and became known as Fox 45. Act III meanwhile built a station in Charleston, West Virginia in 1985, Charleston, South Carolina in 1986 plus they bought stations in Greensboro, North Carolina & Buffalo, New York in 1987, Richmond, Virginia in 1988 and Nashville, Tennessee in 1989. In those markets they prevented independent 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 1992. Abry would sell most of their stations to Sinclair in 1996 but sold WRGT Fox 45 to Sullivan (which Sinclair would still manage). By 1999 more reality and talk shows would be in Fox 45's mix.
In 1998 Sullivan's managing partner, Sinclair, bought WKEF the NBC affiliate in a merger. In 2001 Sinclair would also buy WRGT.