WXTV (Ohio)
{{Short description|Television station in Youngstown, Ohio (1960–1962)}}
{{Infobox television station
| logo = file:WXTV45Logo.jpg
| callsign = WXTV
| analog = 45 (UHF)
| affiliations = Independent
| owner = Community Telecasting Company
| licensee =
| location = Youngstown, Ohio
| country = United States
| airdate = {{start date and age|1960|11|15}}
| last_airdate = {{end date and age|1962|2|27}} ({{age in years and days|1960|11|15|1962|2|27}})
| erp = 8.13 kW{{cite web|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1954-1955%20TV/BC%20TV%20Annual%201954-55.pdf|work=1961-62 Broadcasting Yearbook|date=1961|page=A-66 (120)|title=WXTV|accessdate=November 14, 2019}}
| haat = {{convert|330|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| coordinates = {{nowrap|{{coord|41|04|21|N|80|38|23|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}}}
}}
WXTV, UHF analog channel 45, was an independent television station licensed to Youngstown, Ohio, United States, from November 15, 1960, to February 27, 1962. The station was owned and operated by Sanford Schafitz. Mounting issues with the license renewal of a co-owned radio station in Lorain, WWIZ, in which Schafitz had sold a stake to obtain capital to start WXTV, led to the station's closure.
History
=Allocation change and construction=
The construction permit for WXTV was granted to the Community Telecasting Company in November 1955, to telecast on channel 73, and the call letters WXTV were quickly granted.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-11-28-BC.pdf|date=November 28, 1955|work=Broadcasting|page=98|title=For the Record|accessdate=November 14, 2019}} Still unbuilt, the station modified its application in December 1956 to specify channel 45.{{cite news|date=December 10, 1956|work=Broadcasting|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-12-10-BC.pdf|accessdate=November 14, 2019|title=Applications Amended|page=125}} The Federal Communications Commission, however, instead let channel 45 remain in the hands of WKST-TV of New Castle, Pennsylvania, which at the time was not broadcasting;{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1958/1958-05-12-BC.pdf|date=May 12, 1958|work=Broadcasting|accessdate=November 14, 2019|title=Court Rules for WKST-TV Ch. 45|page=10}} the FCC denied a protest by Community against the move.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-09-23-BC.pdf|date=September 23, 1957|title=Youngstown Tv Protest Denied|page=88|accessdate=November 14, 2019|work=Broadcasting}} The next year, it considered, then dropped, a plan to move the channel 73 allotment to Pittsburgh and substitute channel 33 for WXTV's use.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1958/1958-11-10-BC.pdf|date=November 10, 1958|work=Broadcasting|title=Pittsburgh-Youngstown Shift Off|accessdate=November 14, 2019|page=62}}
Ultimately, the two stations' fight for lower channel positions was resolved by letting WKST-TV move to channel 33 (and change its city of license to Youngstown), giving WXTV permission to operate on channel 45 once it was vacated.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1959/1959-08-03-BC.pdf|date=August 3, 1959|title=Government notes|page=76|work=Broadcasting|accessdate=November 14, 2019}} In early 1960, an application to transfer the station's construction permit from Community Telecasting to WXTV, Inc., both owned by Sanford A. Schafitz and Guy W. Gully, was held up by the FCC when WKST-TV petitioned against the move, saying the permittees were not legally or financially qualified; while the FCC dismissed the petition as moot, it decided to look into the charges.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1960/BC-1960-02-22.pdf|title=Another FCC look at WXTV ownership|date=February 22, 1960|work=Broadcasting|page=50|accessdate=November 14, 2019}}
=On the air=
WXTV began regular programming on November 15, 1960 with six hours of programming, including three movies.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=pqgf-8x9CmQC&dat=19601115&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|title=Information Shows Lift Quality of Sunday's TV|work=The Vindicator|date=November 15, 1960|first=Adrian|last=Silika|page=17|accessdate=November 13, 2019}}
In addition to films, WXTV aired some local programming. In January 1962, it started a children's show hosted by John "Dusty" Boyd.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38941197/|title=Conducts TV Show|date=January 13, 1962|work=The Evening Review|accessdate=November 14, 2019|page=3}} A local live music show titled "45 Hop" in the format of American Bandstand aired on weeknights as early as 1961, hosted by WHOT (1570 AM) personality Al DeJulio;{{Cite web|url=https://www.stewart-kyle.com/obituary/1545147|title=Alfred M. DeJulio {{!}} 1924 - 2012 {{!}} Obituary|last=|first=|date=|website=Stewart-Kyle Funeral Home|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=November 14, 2019}} the program later inspired a similar program on WYTV hosted by fellow WHOT personality "Boots" Bell.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ESqUCwAAQBAJ&dq=Al+DeJulio+WXTV&pg=PA110|title=Lost Youngstown|last=Posey|first=Sean T.|publisher=The History Press|year=2016|isbn=9781625853851|location=Charleston, SC|pages=110}}
Having made one channel change already before going on air, WXTV tried to change positions again when it filed to move to channel 15, allocated to Ashtabula, Ohio,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39032089/|title=Wants To Move To Channel 15|agency=Associated Press|date=February 11, 1961|work=Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum|page=9|accessdate=November 14, 2019}} but WICA-TV's license was still in force.
=Signing off=
On February 28, 1962, WXTV did not sign on for the day; a station staffer asked by The Vindicator reported that channel 45 was having technical difficulties.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=pqgf-8x9CmQC&dat=19620301&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|pages=1, 2|date=March 1, 1962|work=The Vindicator|title=Channel 45 Goes Off Air; Faces Hearing Before FCC|accessdate=November 13, 2019}} The station failing to telecast for the day came just days after the FCC had ordered a hearing into all of Schafitz's broadcast holdings, which included WWIZ in Lorain and WFAR in Farrell, Pennsylvania. The FCC announced that issues to be raised in the hearing included an unauthorized transfer of control at the Lorain radio station and misrepresentations relating to Schafitz's employment at WXTV.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1962/1962-02-26-BC.pdf|page=9|work=Broadcasting|date=February 26, 1962|title=Two FCC hearings set on misrepresentation|accessdate=November 13, 2019}} The hearing also revealed that the unreported sale of a minority stake in WWIZ was undertaken in order to raise $55,000 in capital to build channel 45.{{cite news|date=January 28, 1963|title=FCC told to deny WWIZ renewal|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1963/1963-01-28-BC.pdf|work=Broadcasting|pages=58, 60|accessdate=November 13, 2019}} For channel 45—whose transfer to WXTV, Inc. was still pending—there was an additional reason to deny WXTV its license: co-owner Gully was an indicted felon, making him unfit to hold a broadcast license. While hearing examiner Chester F. Naumowicz, Jr., found that Schafitz was unaware of Gully's indictment until after the applications were filed, his failure to provide the information still precluded granting the license.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1963/1963-03-11-BC.pdf|date=March 11, 1963|work=Broadcasting|pages=76, 78|title=Recommend renewal for Schafitz stations|accessdate=November 13, 2018}} The full commission agreed and denied the license application in April 1964; at the same time, it denied the renewal of WWIZ radio's license.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1964/1964-04-06-BC.pdf|date=April 6, 1964|title=FCC kills WWIZ, WXTV(TV)|page=92|accessdate=November 13, 2019|work=Broadcasting}}
The channel 45 allocation remained in Youngstown in the 1965 UHF table revision.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1965/1965-06-14-BC.pdf|date=June 14, 1965|work=Broadcasting|page=90|title=Where the FCC would put TV stations|accessdate=November 14, 2019}} It was moved to Alliance as part of a 1971 application by the Ohio Educational TV Network Commission to build new educational TV stations at Alliance and Akron to be jointly operated by Kent State University, the University of Akron, and Youngstown State University,{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/71-OCR/1971-05-24-BC-OCR-Page-0036.pdf|date=May 24, 1971|accessdate=November 14, 2019|title=2 ETV's for 3 schools asked|page=36|work=Broadcasting}} which went on the air as WNEO in 1973.