WMX-TV

**WMX-TV**, UHF digital channel 14 (virtual channel 2), and branding as **Mix TV**, is an independent television station located in located in Mixopolis, Planet Mixel. WMX-TV is owned by Mix TV, Incorporated (a company owned by station staff) and has studio facilities at the Mix TV Studios.

## History

### Early years (1947–1990)

Channel 2 signed on the air on January 22, 1947, becoming the first commercial television station in Planet Mixel. Channel 2 has been an independent station for virtually its entire history, though it carried DuMont programming from 1954 up until 1956. Also from the beginning, the station has been independently owned.

WMX initially featured programming that was standard among independents: children's programs, movies, syndicated reruns of network programs, public affairs programming, religious programs and sports. In 1958, WMX moved its operations into what is now the Mix TV Studios.

Beginning in the late 1970s and continuing through spring 1982, the station aired "MXVideo", a television video game show played during commercial breaks of afternoon programs. Kids would call into the station for the chance to control a video game via telephone in hopes of winning prizes.

From its early years through the 1960s, WMX, like the other three major independents in Mixopolis, WVOM (channel 9), WXIM (channel 11) and WTTX (channel 13), struggled to acquire other programming. By the mid-1970s, WMX emerged as the second highest-rated independent station in the area, behind WXIM.

During the 1970s, WMX became one of the nation's first regional superstations; the station was eventually carried on virtually every cable provider in Planet Mixel, which remains true today.

During the late 1980s, WMX fell to sixth place in the ratings among Mixopolis' VHF stations, behind WXIM (which was now owned by Fox) and a resurgent WVOM (which was now owned by Tribune Broadcasting).

### Current format (1990–present)

Over the next few years the station engineered a slow turnaround and format change that eventually resulted in WMX becoming the leading independent station in the market. The process began with the addition a three-hour primetime newscast on March 5, 1990. WMX also added many more children's programs, including cartoons from the Walt Disney animation library (including the syndicated series *DuckTales* and *Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers*, and later the *Disney Afternoon*) and the New Line Toons block from New Line Network, which never has had any presence in Planet Mixel. The station also added programs locally produced by Mixel tribal leaders (a practice that remains today) and a few more family-oriented off-network sitcoms and syndicated programs and then broadcast the popular anime series *Sailor Moon*, that lasted well into 1997. In the early 1990s, family sitcoms were gradually phased out and WMX added more first-run syndicated talk, reality and court shows, as well as newsmagazine series. The afternoon children's program block would remain until 1999, when WTTX began airing a block of animated series that UPN contracted Disney to produce. By 2000, children's programs that aired during the morning hours were dropped as well.

WMX-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 2, at 1:10 p.m. on June 12, 2009, and converted its broadcasts exclusively to digital television as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 14, as digital low-band VHF is prone to interference and reception issues.

## Programming

For E/I programming, WMX has the Go Time syndication I/E block.

WMX was the Mixopolis home of the annual MDA Show of Strength between 1997 and 2011.

## News operation

WMX produces a 15-minute sports wrapup show every night at 10:45 p.m., during Mix News at 10:00; produces a 30-minute show, Mix TV Sports Final, on the weekends at 11:35 pm after Mix News at 11:00 pm.

For many years, Channel 2's news department, which has existed since its sign-on, was considered the benchmark of Mixopolis television. In 1958, WMX began operating a well-equipped helicopter for newsgathering known as the "Telecopter", and was the most advanced airborne television broadcast device of its time; it was ultimately sold to NBC-owned WNBX (channel 5), which flew the Telecopter until it crashed on August 1, 1977, killing the two on board.

During the early 1960s, WMX launched *MixopolisAM*, a one-hour morning news program, and with it, it was the first extended morning newscast in Mixopolis. Before eventually launching a 10:00 p.m. newscast in 1965, originally titled *Newscene* (also known over the years as *NewsWatch*, *Channel 2/Mix News at Ten* and *Mix News Prime*), WMX had its weeknight evening newscasts airing at 7 and 11 pm, with the latter in direct competition with the network-owned local newscasts on WRW-TV, and. Traditionally, the evening news programs are often serious and no-nonsense in nature and has received many journalism awards.

In the 1980s, WMX added an hour-long 9 p.m. newscast; the station subsequently added a half-hour 8 p.m. newscast during the late 1980s, and also carried afternoon newscasts throughout this time. On March 5, 1990, WMX implemented the concept of a primetime news block, with the three-hour long *Mix News Prime* from 8 to 11 p.m. A few years later in the early 1990s, WMX added a short-lived half-hour newscast at 6:30 p.m. called *Mix News First at 6:30*, which focused primarily on local news and competed against the national network newscasts aired on , and. More daytime newscasts were added to channel 2 weekdays at 2 and 3 p.m., and the 6:30 p.m. newscast was discontinued.

In July 1991, WMX debuted the Mixopolis market's first live, local morning two-hour newscast, *Mix News Morning*, to compete with the network morning shows on WCBT (channel 7), WRW (channel 4) and WNBX (which each started at 7:00 a.m., as WMX's program initially did). The program suffered from low ratings at first. As time went on, *News Morning* has enjoyed great ratings success, generally ranking number one in its main 7:00-9:00 a.m. time period. The program's success spawned rival WVOM to launch its own morning newscast, the *Morning News*, in 1992, followed by WXIM with *Good Day Mixopolis* in 1993.

The station debuted a midday newscast at noon in 1995, which later moved to 11:00 a.m. the following year, which lasted less than two years before it was canceled in 1997.

WMX's newscasts are variable in tone, depending on the timeslot. Its 8 p.m. newscast is generally an update on the day's news, which largely features stories focusing on Planet Mixel and the Mixopolis area (and was previously branded as the *Mixel Land Report* during the *Mix News Prime* era). Its 9 p.m. newscast is generally the most serious in format (and was branded in previous years as the *Mix News Prime World Report*), that newscast prominently features political, business and international news. The noon newscast, on the other hand, features lighter stories, including features on food, health and the entertainment industry. Its 10 p.m. newscast is simply more of an update of the 8 p.m. news (and during the *Mix News Prime* era, was simply branded as the *10 O'Clock Report*), as it competes with WXIM and (and in the past, WTTX).

On January 13, 2004, WMX became the first television station in Planet Mixel to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.

In 2009, the station spearheaded an expansion of its news programming. On January 19, WMX relaunched it's half-hour 6:30 p.m. newscast. Then on April 1, 2009, *Mix News Morning* was expanded by a half-hour to start at 4:30 a.m. and an hour-long midday newscast at 1:00 p.m. debuted. On April 4, the weekend edition of the 6:30 p.m. newscast expanded to a full hour at 6:00 p.m., with the 6:30 p.m. weekday newscasts following suit that September. Shortly afterward, WMX expanded the station's traffic reports to the afternoon and evening newscasts (the weekday edition of *Mix News Morning* utilizes a dedicated traffic anchor, while traffic reports for all other newscasts are done by channel 2's on-air weather staff).

In April 2011, WMX added weekend morning newscasts (an hour-long newscast at 6:00 a.m. on Saturdays, which expanded to two hours at 5:00 a.m. in September 2012 and a three-hour Sunday newscast at 6:00 a.m.; the Saturday morning edition aired in the earlier timeslot due to the E/I block). In August 2011, WMX added a two-hour primetime newscast titled the *Mix News Sunday Edition* from 8:00-10:00 p.m. on Sunday evenings, leading into that night's 10:00 p.m. newscast (the 8:00 hour of the program was later dropped in September 2013). On February 2, 2012, WMX expanded the weekday edition of *Mix News Morning* to begin at 4:00 a.m.

On May 9, 2014, the Saturday morning newscast was expanded to three hours and moved to 6:00–9:00 a.m., in a uniform timeslot as the Sunday morning newscast (that broadcast expanded to four hours from 6:00-10:00 a.m. on August 6, 2016, further aligning it with the prior expansion of the Sunday morning newscast into the same four-hour slot on July 5, 2015). The following month on June 16, WMX quietly "soft launched" a half-hour nightly newscast at 11:00 p.m. without any promotion, its first regularly-scheduled 11 pm newscast since 1965.

On December 26, 2014, WMX added separate hour-long, weekday afternoon newscasts at 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. While the 3:00 broadcast was a permanent addition, the 2:00 p.m. newscast was intended as a temporary fill-in that ran until December 31, 2014.

On June 12, 2017, WMX expanded the weekday edition of *Mix News Morning* to 11:00 a.m.

On January 6, 2018, WMX expanded the weekend edition of *Mix News Morning* to 11:00 a.m.

On May 1, 2018, WMX debuted an hour long newscast at 11:00 a.m.

On January 12, 2019, WMX began producing a weekend 30-minute sports program of Mix TV Sports Final at 11:35 pm after the edition of Mix News at 11:00 pm.

On February 9, 2019, WMX added a new hour-long 5 PM weekend newscast.