WSFB

**WSFB-TV**, virtual channel 2 (UHF digital channel 29), is an FOX-affiliated television station licensed to Miami, Florida, United States. The station is locally-owned by Biscayne Media. The station's studios are located on 79th Street Causeway in the North Bay Village section of Miami; WSFB's transmitter facilities are located in the Norland neighborhood north of downtown Miami.

## History

The station first signed on the air on August 12, 1955 as WSF-TV, the second television station to launch in Miami-Fort Lauderdale. Originally operating as a primary CBS affiliate, it was founded by the Biscayne Broadcasting Corporation. Biscayne also owned WSF radio (610 AM, and 97.3 FM).

Before WSF signed on, CBS programming had been carried as a secondary affiliation on primary NBC affiliate WRFL, which also held a secondary affiliation with the DuMont Television Network and with ABC. When Biscayne won a construction permit and broadcast license to operate a station on VHF channel 2, CBS and ABC quickly agreed to move their affiliations to WSF. Until WFLS-TV signed on in August 1957, WSF remained a primary affiliate of CBS and carried a secondary affiliation with ABC. After WFLS-TV signed on, CBS moved to WFLS with a primary affiliation (WFLS radio was a longtime affiliate of CBS), making WSF a full-time ABC affiliate.

In the station's early years, programming was limited to only what ABC offered and an occasional movie, as such WSF had the shortest broadcast day of any television station in South Florida. In 1961, WSF launched a news department and began programming a midday and evening newscast into the schedule. Over time, the station expanded it's programming offerings by running off-network sitcoms and dramas, as well as created local programs including a children's show called "The Fantastic Gizmo" (which ran cartoons), "Perky Homemaker" (a cooking/lifestyle show), and a local matchmaking game show called "Cupid's Arrow" that would become the inspiration for the national ABC game show "The Dating Game."

By the 1960s, WSF was one of the first television stations in South Florida to begin broadcasting in color. All of the station's local programs began broadcasting in color as early as 1964 and select ABC programs began broadcasting in color by 1965.

By the late 1960s, Biscayne Broadcasting Corporation explored putting the station up for sale along with the WSF radio stations. The sale was soon called off due to the success of the ABC television network and the television station's ratings through the 1970s.

WSF was one of the first stations in South Florida and in the country to begin offering a morning newscast in 1973 called "The Sunrise Show" that aired for one hour beginning at 6 a.m. The show would soon expand to the 7 a.m. hour in 1978, preempting ABC's Good Morning America.

As ABC dominated the network ratings in the 1970s and early 1980s, WSF would ease back on the network preemptions it had started doing in the 1960s, largely due to local programming being canceled for cost-cutting measures. The station would expand it's programming day with off-network sitcoms and dramas, first-run talk shows and game shows, and expanded newscasts. By 1984, WSF offered newscasts from 5-7 a.m., 12 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. on weekdays.

In 1985, Biscayne Broadcasting sold off the WSF radio stations. FCC rules at the time prohibited WSF-TV from continuing to use the call sign since the radio stations, which had been on the air longer, held onto the WSF call sign. As such, WSF-TV became WSFB on August 1, 1985.

In 1990, WSFB once again began preempting ABC network programming again to expand newscasts even more. The station continued to preempt Good Morning America for an expanded local morning newscast, and even preempted primetime programs to run extended special reports and local sporting events. ABC grew tired of consistent preemptions, but allowed WSFB to continue so long as the programs aired on another channel. In this case, WSFB partnered with FOX affiliate WFLM to carry programming that WSFB didn't want to air. This included Good Morning America, the ABC daytime soap operas, and occasional primetime shows.

### Network affiliation switch

By the time WSFB's affiliation came up for renewal in the fall of 1994, ABC sent Biscayne Broadcasting a list of demands that the station must follow in order for the affiliation to be renewed. This included airing ABC network programming in pattern, including Good Morning America, and only preempting network programming in the event of breaking news or severe weather. Also, the network would no longer compensate the station for carriage of its programming, one of the earliest examples of network reverse compensation, in which the station would be required to pay the network to affiliate.

Biscayne scoffed at ABC's demands and negotiations broke down quickly. With ABC running out of patience for a renewed affiliation deal, the network approached FOX affiliate WFLM, who by this time had been airing preempted ABC programs for several years. WFLM agreed to affiliate with ABC once their contract was up with FOX, which wouldn't take into effect until January 1, 1995. In turn, Biscayne approached FOX for an affiliation agreement and signed on as a FOX affiliate, ending their nearly 40 year relationship with ABC.

The switch was gradual starting in September of 1994, with ABC World News Tonight and Nightline moving immediately over to WFLM, leaving only ABC primetime programming on WSFB. WSFB, in turn, received some of WFLM's programming they no longer had time to air including syndicated shows A Current Affair and Hard Copy. WSFB would then expand their morning newscast from 5-9 a.m., and launch an hour long 10 p.m. newscast by November, preempting the last hour of ABC primetime programming and allowing WFLM to take the hour. The swap was complete by January 1, 1995.

## Digital television

### Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

 2.3

### Analog-to-digital conversion

WSFB shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 2, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 18, using PSIP to display WSFB's virtual channel as 2 on digital television receivers. The station moved to a stronger UHF channel 29 in 2019.

## Programming

Syndicated programming includes ***Ho**t Bench*, *The Real, Tamron Hall, The Drew Barrymore Show, Inside Edition, and Entertainment Tonight,* among others.

### On-air staff

WSFB claims the use of talent from WSVN-TV in Miami, FL.