Editing WPXI (section)

==History==
===As WIIC (1957–1981)===
[[File:Wiiccbs.png|thumb|The proposed logo for WIIC-TV showing the CBS affiliation. The logo was from 1955, two years before WIIC-TV went on the air and before becoming a primary affiliate with NBC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbrtv.com/history-tidbit/|title=History Tidbit|date=February 27, 2013}}</ref>]]
On September 1, 1957, Pittsburgh's second commercial [[VHF]] station signed on as WIIC. The station's [[construction permit#Broadcasting|construction permit]] was originally issued by the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) in June 1955, to WIIC Incorporated – a joint venture of the ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'', which owned WWSW radio (970 AM, now [[WBGG (AM)|WBGG]]), and Pittsburgh Radio Supply House, the then-owners of [[WJAS|WJAS radio]] (1320 AM).<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Pittsburgh Ch. 11 Applicants Merge |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-06-06-BC.pdf#page=54 |magazine=Broadcasting-Telecasting |date=June 6, 1955 |page=54}}</ref> Both radio stations had competed individually for the permit grant along with other applicants. [[CBS]], which was looking to gain its own full-time affiliate in the market, signed a contract with the then-unnamed channel 11 shortly thereafter.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Pittsburgh Ch. 11 Grantee To Be CBS-TV Primary Outlet |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-06-20-BC.pdf#page=91 |magazine=Broadcasting-Telecasting |date=June 20, 1955 |pages=89, 90}}</ref> Before the [[Freeze of 1948|"freeze"]] on television station licenses, the two stations were competing for the channel 10 license originally assigned to Pittsburgh before the FCC reallocated the channels in 1952, with channel 10 going to [[WTAJ-TV|Altoona]]; the [[Hearst Corporation]] (then-owners of [[WPGP (AM)|WCAE]] and eventual owners of [[WTAE-TV]]) and two other companies were also applying for the channel 10 license.<ref name="Allocation">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbrtv.com/original-pittsburgh-allocations/|title=Original Pittsburgh Allocations|date=February 6, 2015}}</ref>

Channel 11, however, did not sign on for well over two years after its permit was granted. The primary reason for the delay was on the part of WENS-TV (channel 16, now [[WINP-TV]]), whose application for the permit had been denied and later contested the FCC's original decision.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hearing Examiner Backs FCC On Pittsburgh Ch. 11 Grant |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-07-09-BC.pdf#page=56 |magazine=Broadcasting-Telecasting |date=July 9, 1956 |page=56}}</ref> In the interim, CBS continued to have most of its programs cleared by [[Westinghouse Broadcasting|Westinghouse]]-owned [[KDKA-TV]] (channel 2), at the time Pittsburgh's only commercial VHF station. When CBS decided to make KDKA-TV its full-time Pittsburgh affiliate, NBC (which shared time on KDKA-TV with CBS, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], and station founder [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] since its sign-on in 1949) reached a deal to affiliate with WIIC.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=WIIC-TV Pittsburgh Joins NBC-TV |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-04-01-BC.pdf#page=7 |magazine=Broadcasting-Telecasting |date=April 1, 1957 |page=7}}</ref> Also, as a condition of the license grant, WJAS radio had to be sold; NBC wound up purchasing that station in August 1957.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=NBC buys WJAS Pittsburgh |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-08-12-BC.pdf#page=9 |magazine=Broadcasting-Telecasting |date=August 12, 1957 |page=9}}</ref> The WJAS interests later divested their 50 percent share of WIIC to another local broadcaster.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Changing Hands: WIIC (TV) Pittsburgh, PA |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-11-04-BC.pdf#page=80 |magazine=Broadcasting-Telecasting |date=November 4, 1957 |page=80}}</ref>

[[Bill Cardille]] signed the station on the air. In addition to Cardille, five other [[continuity announcer|announcers]] that were with the station when it launched in 1957 include Mal Alberts, Bob Cochran, Ed Conway, Len Johnson and Mark Schaefer. Some of the first original programming to air on WIIC included ''[[Studio Wrestling]]'' and ''[[Chiller Theatre (Pittsburgh)|Chiller Theatre]]'', both hosted by Cardille. Shortly after its sign-on, WIIC was briefly affiliated with the [[NTA Film Network]], sharing the affiliation with KDKA-TV, WTAE-TV, and [[public television]] station [[WQED (TV)|WQED]].<ref name="IEG1957k">''Indiana Evening Gazette'' (Indiana, Pennsylvania): p.&nbsp;12. November 1, 1957.</ref>

In 1964, WIIC was sold to Cox Enterprises; Cox subsequently traded its share in the then new cable system (today's [[Buckeye Broadband]]) in [[Toledo, Ohio]], to the ''Post-Gazette''{{'s}} parent company [[Block Communications]], which is based in Toledo.<ref>"A banner week in station sales." ''Broadcasting'', September 7, 1964, pg. 54. [http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/64-OCR/1964-09-07-BC-0054.pdf]{{Dead link|date=July 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>"Cox buy of WIIC (TV) approved." ''Broadcasting'', November 23, 1964, pp. 64-65. [http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/64-OCR/1964-11-23-BC-0066.pdf]{{Dead link|date=July 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} [http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/64-OCR/1964-11-23-BC-0067.pdf]{{Dead link|date=July 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The station has been the longest running NBC affiliate under Cox's ownership, especially after sister stations [[WSOC-TV]] in [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] and [[WSB-TV]] in [[Atlanta]] switched their affiliations to ABC in 1978 and 1980, respectively. In 1970, WIIC made Pittsburgh broadcasting history when [[Eleanor Schano]] became the first woman to anchor a newscast solo. Schano also hosted a weekly 30-minute [[public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] program called ''Face to Face''.

Around 1975, Channel 11 branded itself as "e11even". Around 1977, WIIC used the "11 Alive" moniker (which had become popularized by fellow NBC affiliate [[WXIA-TV]] in Atlanta and [[WPIX]] in [[New York City]]). WIIC carried the [[Operation Prime Time]] package in 1979.<ref>{{Cite news|date = May 13, 1979|access-date =July 4, 2013 |page=TV5| newspaper = The Pittsburgh Press |url =  https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NjAcAAAAIBAJ&pg=5637,5371648&dq=the+bastard+john+jakes&hl=en |title = 'Rebels' Continues Kent Family Saga}}</ref>

===As WPXI (1981–present)===
[[File:WPXIstudios.png|thumb|right|300px|WPXI's current studios from [[Interstate 279]] northbound.]]
On April 20, 1981, the station's call sign was changed to WPXI (for "Pittsburgh 11", with "XI" being the [[Roman numeral]] for 11).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1981/BC-1981-04-20.pdf#page=129|title=In Brief|work=Broadcasting|date=April 20, 1981|page=129}}</ref> Although the station has officially never had the "-TV" suffix since adopting the WPXI call sign, the station has on occasion been marketed as "WPXI-TV". The WIIC calls in Pittsburgh were later used by an unrelated [[low-power broadcasting#Television|low-power]] [[independent station]] that ran a [[music video]] format (that station is currently a [[Rev'n]] affiliate).

[[Image:WPXI Logo Pre-04.png|thumb|WPXI logo, 1996–2004. Former sister station [[WTOV-TV]] still uses a variation of this logo.]]
WPXI joined the syndicated [[MGM/UA Premiere Network]], with the November 10, 1984, showing of ''[[Clash of the Titans (1981 film)|Clash of the Titans]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Farber|first1=Stephen|title=Film Studio's New Approach to TV|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/23/movies/film-studio-s-new-approach-to-tv.html|access-date=April 8, 2015|work=New York Times|date=October 23, 1984}}</ref>

WPXI also televised the ''[[Jerry Lewis]] [[MDA Telethon]]'' as the "Love Network" affiliate of the annual fundraiser for the Pittsburgh market, until the [[Muscular Dystrophy Association]] decided to move the event from [[broadcast syndication|syndication]] to ABC (and locally to WTAE) as the ''[[MDA Show of Strength]]'' in 2013; the show ended the next year. The local portion of the telethon continued to be hosted by Bill Cardille until 2012.

In 2000, Cox Enterprises purchased [[WTOV]] in [[Steubenville, Ohio]], and [[WJAC-TV]] in [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania]], from Sunrise Television. Those stations—which are also NBC affiliates—often appear in channel lineups for the same viewers that watch WPXI, either by over-the-air signal or via cable provider, and due to the proximity of the three stations to each other (as well as the common affiliation with NBC), were occasionally marketed together as a result. Cox changed the stations' on-air appearances to match WPXI's look, despite WPXI changing its own look in 2004. WTOV still used WPXI's former look until October 2010, and WJAC-TV adopted WPXI's current design in October 2011.

Over the [[Labor Day]] weekend of 2007, WPXI began relocating from its longtime studios at Television Hill in Pittsburgh's [[Fineview]] neighborhood after 50 years, to a new studio facility in the city's Summer Hill neighborhood near the [[Parkway North]]. The station's transmitter tower continues to be located in the Fineview neighborhood.<ref>{{cite web |title=WPXI tunes in to Summer Hill folks |url=https://archive.triblive.com/news/wpxi-tunes-in-to-summer-hill-folks/ |website=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|first=Tony|last=LaRussa|date=July 26, 2007|access-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006030931/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_519002.html |archive-date=October 6, 2008}}</ref> WPXI began broadcasting its newscasts from the Summer Hill studio on October 6 beginning with the 6 p.m. newscast. In turn, it also became the first station in the Pittsburgh market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[high-definition television|high definition]]. The station was criticized for technical glitches during the initial week of the new system run but worked through the issues and set the pace of technological advances for WTAE and KDKA to follow.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Owen |first1=Rob |title=Tuned In: WPXI moves to sleek, new digs |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv/2007/09/28/Tuned-In-WPXI-moves-to-sleek-new-digs/stories/200709280265 |website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |access-date=February 9, 2022 |date=September 28, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=TUNED IN JOURNAL: WPXI's major malfunctions |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv/2007/10/09/TUNED-IN-JOURNAL-WPXI-s-major-malfunctions/stories/200710090200 |website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |access-date=February 9, 2022 |date=October 9, 2007}}</ref> With the switch to HD came a new set, created by FX Group and a new graphics package designed by Hothaus Creative.

In mid-October 2008, WPXI, in collaboration with Cox's longtime partner [[Internet Broadcasting]], launched a redesigned website. By early November 2008, the websites of all of Cox's stations east of the [[Mississippi River]] began using the new format pioneered by WPXI; the websites of the company's stations west of the Mississippi River followed suit a month later. In 2011, Cox Media Group's partnership with Internet Broadcasting was dissolved, and the Cox television stations relaunched their website operations in-house. WPXI's and WSOC-TV's websites remained under the stewardship of Internet Broadcasting until late January 2012, when they became the last two stations to have redesigned their websites to match the format of the in-house web operations of their sister stations.

With Cox Media Group's February 23, 2013, sale of WJAC and WTOV (a sale which also included [[KFOX-TV]] in [[El Paso, Texas]], and [[KRXI]] and [[KAME-TV]] in [[Reno, Nevada]]) to the [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]], owners of local [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[WPGH-TV]] and [[MyNetworkTV]] affiliate [[WPMY]] (which was completed on May 2<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/COX%20Closing_l951bqjg.shtml |title=Sinclair Broadcast Group |access-date=June 2, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610153751/http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/COX%20Closing_l951bqjg.shtml |archive-date=June 10, 2013 }}</ref>), WPXI became Cox's only NBC-affiliated station until 2019 when the company acquired [[Northwest Broadcasting]] stations [[KYMA-DT]] in [[Yuma, Arizona]], [[KIEM-TV]] in [[Eureka, California]], [[KPVI-DT]] in [[Pocatello, Idaho]], and [[WNBD-LD]] in [[Grenada, Mississippi]]; these four stations were sold in 2022 to [[Imagicomm Communications]], a company affiliated with the cable network [[INSP (TV network)|INSP]], at which time WPXI regained its status as the only Cox-owned NBC affiliate.

WPXI currently uses the number 11 drawn into a circle, which debuted in 1987. The "11" symbol is colored gold, while the box around it is dark blue. WPXI previously used the [[NBC Peacock]] in its logo, which was copied by sister stations WTOV and WJAC and is still used by WTOV, but revamped its own look in October 2004. WPXI's current look uses the circle 11 logo with a stylized "WPXI" below it.

On September 2, 2013, WPXI expanded its noon news to an hour, becoming Pittsburgh's first hour-long noon newscast.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Eck |first1=Kevin |title=WPXI Expands Noon News |url=https://www.adweek.com/tvspy/wpxi-expands-noon-news/103467/ |website=AdWeek |access-date=February 9, 2022 |date=August 29, 2013}}</ref>

===Sale to Apollo Global Management===
On July 24, 2018, WPXI parent Cox Enterprises announced that it was "exploring strategic options" for Cox Media Group's television stations, which the company said could involve "partnering or merging these stations into a larger TV company."<ref name="abc-cmgtvforsale">{{cite news |last1=Simon |first1=Mollie |title=Cox Enterprises looks to sell its TV stations |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/07/24/cox-enterprises-looks-to-sell-its-tv-stations.html |access-date=July 24, 2018 |work=[[Atlanta Business Chronicle]] |date=July 24, 2018}}</ref> Cox Media Group's president, Kim Guthrie, subsequently clarified to trade publication ''Radio & Television Business Report'' that the company was solely seeking "a merger or partnership" and not an outright sale of the television stations.<ref name="tvbr-coxmergerpartnership">{{cite news |last1=Jacobson |first1=Adam |title=Cox On The Block: TV 'Merger or Partnership' Confirmed |url=https://www.rbr.com/cox-on-the-block-ajc-confirms-possible-tv-station-sale/ |access-date=July 25, 2018 |work=Radio & Television Business Report |date=July 24, 2018}}</ref><ref name="abc-cmgtvforsale"/>

In February 2019, it was announced that [[Apollo Global Management]] would acquire Cox Media Group and Northwest Broadcasting's stations.<ref name="coxsaletoapollo1">{{cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/174558/apollo-global-management-acquires-coxs-television-stations-plus-radio-newspapers-in-dayton/|title=Apollo Global Management Acquires Cox's Television Stations Plus Radio & Newspapers In Dayton|work=RadioInsight|date=February 15, 2019|access-date=February 15, 2019}}</ref><ref name="terriermedia">{{cite web|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/231448/cox-tv-valued-3-1-billion-apollo-acquisition/|title=Cox TV Valued At $3.1 Billion In Apollo Acquisition|last=Jessell|first=Harry A.|work=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheckMedia LLC|date=March 6, 2019|access-date=March 6, 2019}}</ref> Although the group planned to operate under the name Terrier Media, it was later announced in June 2019 that Apollo would also acquire Cox's radio and advertising businesses, and retain the Cox Media Group name.<ref name="rbr-radiosaletoapollo">{{cite news |last1=Jacobson |first1=Adam |title=It's Official: Cox Radio, Gamut, CoxReps Going To Apollo |url=https://www.rbr.com/cox-media-group-radio-apollo/ |access-date=June 26, 2019 |work=Radio & Television Business Report |date=June 26, 2019}}</ref> The sale was completed on December 17, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/182425/apollo-global-management-closes-on-its-acquisition-of-cox-media-group/|title=Apollo Global Management Closes On Its Acquisition Of Cox Media Group|last=Venta|first=Lance|work=RadioInsight|date=December 17, 2019|access-date=December 17, 2019}}</ref>