View source for 1994–1996 United States broadcast television realignment

{{short description|Series of events tied to deal between Fox Broadcasting Company and New World Communications}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
Between 1994 and 1996, a wide-ranging realignment of television [[Network affiliate|network affiliations]] took place in the United States as the result of a multimillion-dollar deal between the [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] and [[New World Pictures#New World Communications (1992–1997)|New World Communications]], announced on May 23, 1994. Unprecedented in the broadcast industry, the deal resulted in stations owned by, or in the process of being purchased by New World, switch network affiliations to Fox over the course of a two-year period when existing contracts expired. These stations were long-standing affiliates of the traditional "[[Big Three (American television)|Big Three]]" [[Television broadcasting|television networks]] in some of the country's largest markets, with the majority having been aligned with [[CBS]] individually for over 40 years.

The major impetus for the changes was to allow Fox to improve its local affiliate coverage, in preparation for the commencement of its rights to the [[National Football Conference]] (NFC) television package, which the [[National Football League]] (NFL) awarded to the fledgling network in December 1993. As a result of various other deals that followed as a result of the affiliation switches created by the deal between Fox and New World, most notably the buyout of CBS by [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]], the switches constituted some of the most sweeping changes in American television history. As a result of this realignment, Fox ascended to the status of a major television network, comparable in influence to CBS, [[NBC]], and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].

Nearly 70 stations in 30 [[media market|market]]s throughout the United States changed affiliations between in September 1994 and September 1996, although an additional switch occurred in February 1997 through the launch of an upstart station that gained its network partner through one of the ancillary deals. Along with the concurrent January 1995 launches of [[The WB]] and [[UPN]], these changes were some of the most expansive to have ever occurred in American television.

== Fox launches and pursues the NFL ==
[[File:Rupert Murdoch - Flickr - Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer.jpg|thumb|223x223px|[[Rupert Murdoch]]]]
The genesis of the [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] took place through two 1985 transactions made by [[News Corporation]], headed by Australian publishing magnate [[Rupert Murdoch]]. After a failed takeover of [[Warner Communications]], Murdoch purchased a 50 percent interest in [[20th Century Studios|20th Century-Fox Film Corporation]] (TCF) on March 20, 1985, for $250&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news |last=Schrage |first=Michael |date=March 21, 1985 |title=Murdoch Agrees to Buy A 50 Percent Share of 20th Century Fox Film |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1985/03/21/murdoch-agrees-to-buy-a-50-percent-share-of-20th-century-fox-film/8862819b-50de-4ad3-aeb5-70ca84f109f1 |accessdate=December 13, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Storch |first=Charles |date=March 21, 1985 |title=MURDOCH BUYING HALF OF 20TH CENTURY-FOX |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-03-21-8501160118-story.html |accessdate=December 13, 2022}}</ref> Murdoch and TCF minority investor [[Marvin Davis]] then announced a $3.5&nbsp;billion purchase of [[Metromedia]]'s program syndication unit and six television stations—including [[WNYW|WNEW-TV]] in [[New York City]], [[KTTV]] in [[Los Angeles]] and [[WTTG]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]—from [[John Kluge]] on May 6, 1985, for $2.55&nbsp;billion. Murdoch boasted that the Metromedia stations could exploit TCF's film and television library, prompting speculation these stations might form a new "[[fourth television network]]" alongside the traditional "[[Big Three (American television)|Big Three]]" networks: [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]], and [[NBC]].<ref>{{cite news |date=May 7, 1985 |title=MURDOCH TO BUY & TV STATIONS; COST $2 BILLION |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/07/business/murdoch-to-buy-tv-stations-cost-2-billion.html |accessdate=December 14, 2022}}</ref> To win regulatory approval for the deal, Murdoch gave up his Australian citizenship and [[Citizenship of the United States|became a naturalized U.S. citizen]] on September 4, 1985.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 4, 1985 |title=Murdoch Becomes U.S. Citizen, Can Buy TV Network |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-09-04-mn-23112-story.html |accessdate=December 14, 2022}}</ref> Davis, who later revealed he declined to participate in the Metromedia purchase, sold his stake in TCF to Murdoch 20 days later.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 24, 1985 |title=MURDOCH WILL BUY OUT DAVIS'S HOLDINGS IN FOX |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/24/business/murdoch-will-buy-out-davis-s-holdings-in-fox.html |accessdate=December 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=September 24, 1985 |title=Davis Sells Murdoch His 20th Century Fox Stake for $325 Million |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-09-24-fi-18712-story.html |accessdate=December 14, 2022}}</ref> The Metromedia deal closed on March 6, 1986, forming [[Fox Television Stations|Fox Television Stations Group]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 10, 1986 |title=In Brief |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1986/BC-1986-03-10.pdf |magazine=Broadcasting |volume=110 |issue=10 |page=112 |access-date=April 27, 2023 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> After consummation, Fox, which only consisted of president [[Jamie Kellner]] and his secretary, began recruiting an executive team.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 24, 1986 |title=Closed Circuit: Four to get ready |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1986/BC-1986-03-24.pdf |magazine=Broadcasting |volume=110 |issue=12 |page=7 |access-date=April 27, 2023 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>

In July 1986, syndicated newspaper columnist Gary Deeb reported on the possibility ABC might not renew their broadcast rights to ''[[Monday Night Football]]'' (MNF), then the league's top-rated program, unless NFL commissioner [[Pete Rozelle]] agreed to lower the television rights fee significantly. The previous contract was set in 1981 when the annual [[inflation]] was at a substantial 13&nbsp;percent, a rate that fell to 3–4&nbsp;percent by 1986, in turn, causing ABC Sports to lose $40&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Deeb |first=Gary |date=July 12, 1986 |title='Monday Night Football' may be dumped because of large expense |page=4:Leisure |work=The Post-Crescent |agency=News America Syndicate |location=Appleton, Wisconsin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-post-crescent-monday-night-football/123605048/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> ABC had been purchased earlier in 1986 by [[Capital Cities/ABC|Capital Cities]], owner of some of ABC's most influential affiliates, and was under pressure to cut costs in both their [[ABC News|news]] and [[ESPN on ABC|sports]] divisions.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rothenberg |first=Fred |date=July 14, 1986 |title=Networks Tighten Belts Again: CBS-TV cuts costs, eliminates 700 jobs |page=22:VI |work=Los Angeles Times |agency=Associated Press |location=Los Angeles, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-networks-tighten-b/123603573/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> By September 1986, CBS, rights-holder for the [[National Football Conference]] (NFC), and NBC, rights-holder for the [[American Football Conference]] (AFC), declined any interest in MNF, but Fox considered making a bid and even invited former MNF announcer [[Howard Cosell]] to be a part of it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Larry |date=September 5, 1986 |title=The Decline and Fall of Monday Night Football |page=10:III |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-the-decline-and-fa/123603030/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> 

Fox formally launched as a network on October 9, 1986, with the debut of ''[[The Late Show (1986 talk show)|The Late Show with Joan Rivers]]'', and was preparing to unveil its first night of prime time programming on April 5, 1987.<ref name="Newsd19870115p13II">{{Cite news |last=Kubasik |first=Ben |date=January 15, 1987 |title=Fox Network Wants the NFL |page=13:II |work=Newsday |location=New York, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-fox-network-wants-the-nfl/123604676/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Against this backdrop, TCF chairman [[Barry Diller]] announced in January 1987 that Fox was ready to bid on MNF in an attempt to win legitimacy, telling the ''[[Miami Herald]]'', "We would take ABC's (current) contract and sign it ''today''."<ref name="MiamiH19870118p11K">{{Cite news |last=Sonsky |first=Steve |date=January 18, 1987 |title=Fox's Ambitious Plans a Big Deal |page=11K |work=Miami Herald |location=Miami, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-foxs-ambitions-plans-a/123603826/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Diller viewed an MNF bid as making a long-term investment, and was prepared for Fox to "lose money in the double-digit eight figures" with such a deal<ref name="Newsd19870115p13II" /> buoyed by Murdoch's financial resources.<ref name="MiamiH19870118p11K" /> ABC decided to bid for a renewal based largely on Fox's interest in MNF,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Howard |date=April 4, 1987 |title=2 New Fox Series—Plainly No Vanilla |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-2-new-fox-seriesp/123606120/ 12]:VI |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-2-new-fox-seriesp/123605991/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> with a fee reduction saving the network approximately $20&nbsp;million per year, with low-rated [[ESPN Sunday Night Football|Sunday]] and [[Thursday Night Football|Thursday]] games moved to [[ESPN]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Deed |first=Gary |date=March 16, 1987 |title=TV and football negotiators are tackling a new contract |page=D4 |work=The San Bernardino County Sun |agency=News America Syndicate |location=San Bernardino, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-bernardino-county-sun-tv-and-foo/123607410/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> While Fox bid $7&nbsp;million per game compared to ABC's $6.5&nbsp;million per game,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pisetzner |first=Joel |date=March 15, 1987 |title=A limited attack on the Big 3 |page=A27 |work=The Record |location=Hackensack, New Jersey |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-a-limited-attack-on-the-big-3/123607564/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Rozelle was reportedly uninterested in the Fox offer as the network with still unestablished.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=February 13, 1987 |title=Networks still have inside track on NFL TV coverage |page=13D |work=The Baltimore Sun |location=Baltimore, Maryland |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-networks-still-have-in/123606550/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> NFL officials also expressed a willingness to remain with ABC and were unsure if Fox would exist in three years, a fate shared by other past attempts at a "fourth network".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Raissman |first=Bob |date=March 17, 1987 |title=Blackout for non-cable NFL fans |page=68 |work=Daily News |location=New York, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-blackout-for-non-cable-nfl-fa/123607008/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
== Securing the NFC rights ==
{{main|NFL on Fox}}In 1993, six years after Fox's failed MNF bid, the NFL opened up negotiations for all broadcast contracts, including the NFC and AFC rights. At the same time, [[Dallas Cowboys]] owner [[Jerry Jones]] and [[Denver Broncos]] owner [[Pat Bowlen]] asserted control over the NFL's broadcasting committee, usurping [[Cleveland Browns]] owner [[Art Modell]], who had been a long-time ally of CBS. Murdoch privately called Jones and declared his intent to bid, saying, "Jerry, I think I was a [[stalking horse]] last time (in 1990). I'm not going to do that and be just a stalking horse."<ref name="curtis20181213" /> When negotiations began on December 7, Murdoch presented to the broadcasting committee a [[sizzle reel]] by [[Sky Sports]] president [[David Hill (producer)|David Hill]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Mark |date=January 18, 2019 |title=The secret history of Cleatus, Fox Sports's bizarre football robot |work=Fast Company |location= |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90293253/the-secret-history-of-cleatus-foxs-enduringly-weird-football-robot |access-date=}}</ref> proposing Fox could produce NFL games similarly to Sky's soccer coverage, with emphasis on more cameras and in-game [[natural sounds]], and have the network market the league year-round. Jones later said, "I was just mesmerized by their imaginative thinking. They were changing the presentation of the game."<ref name="curtis20181213" />

{{Quote box
| quote = It'll be first class. We want to make the NFL look better than what we've seen. We have the crown jewel of all sports.
| author = [[Lucie Salhany]]
| source = Fox network president, on the network securing a broadcast deal for the NFL's NFC games{{r|NYT19931221pA1}}
| width = 275px
}}

On December 17, 1993, Fox stunned the sports and television worlds by reaching a four-year, $1.58&nbsp;billion contract with for NFC regular season and playoff games, effective with the [[1994 NFL season|1994 season]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 18, 1993 |title=Fox nabs NFC rights from CBS |page=29A |work=The Herald Statesman |agency=Associated Press |location=Yonkers, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-statesman-fox-nabs-nfc-rights/123569306/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> News of the Fox–NFC deal was first reported on during the ''[[CBS Evening News]] with [[Dan Rather]]''.<ref name="Dail931218">{{Cite news |last=Raissman |first=Bob |date=December 18, 1993 |title=Fox scores with NFL pact: Its $300M-a-year deal may end CBS' grid days |page=3 |newspaper=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123572123/fox-scores-with-nfl-pact-its-300m-a-ye/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> As part of the deal, Fox was also awarded broadcast rights to [[Super Bowl XXXI]] in 1997.<ref name="AkronB19931219p 41">{{Cite news |date=December 19, 1993 |title=After losing NFC rights, CBS scrambling for AFC |page=D3 |newspaper=Akron Beacon Journal |location=Akron, Ohio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111956606/after-losing-nfc-rights-cbs-scrambling/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025031853/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111956606/after-losing-nfc-rights-cbs-scrambling/ |archive-date=October 25, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The NFC package had been owned by CBS since 1956—fourteen years before the [[AFL–NFL merger]] and subsequent restructuring into the NFC and the AFC—and had been considered a "cornerstone" for [[CBS Sports]].<ref name="Dail931218" /> Fox's deal was regarded as a [[loss leader]];<ref name="News931218">{{Cite news |last=Topol |first=Manny |date=December 18, 1993 |title=Move Over, Homer: Fox outbids CBS for NFC |page=95 |newspaper=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123571676/move-over-homer-fox-outbids-cbs-for-nf/ |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> network CEO [[Chase Carey]] framed it as one that would not directly make money but would establish momentum for Fox and elevate it to the Big Three networks.<ref name="curtis20181213">{{cite web |last=Curtis |first=Bryan |date=December 13, 2018 |title=The Great NFL Heist: How Fox Paid for and Changed Football Forever |url=https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/12/13/18137938/nfl-fox-deal-rupert-murdoch-1993-john-madden-terry-bradshaw-howie-long-jimmy-johnson-cbs-nbc |access-date=December 13, 2018 |website=The Ringer}}</ref> Fox had pursued the NFC rights from the beginning as the conference had more teams located in the country's largest broadcast markets.<ref name="News931218" />

CBS lost close to $100&nbsp;million on their prior NFC deal signed in 1990, a situation shared by the NFL's other broadcast partners due to aftereffects of the [[Early 1990s recession in the United States|early 1990s recession]].<ref name="Dail931218" /> Underestimating the value of the NFC broadcast rights, CBS's chairman [[Laurence Tisch]] insisted on offering a bid equal to their 1990 contract,<ref name="curtis20181213" /> resulting in Fox exceeding CBS's bid by as much as $1.29&nbsp;billion (or more than $100&nbsp;million per year).<ref name="Dail931218" /> NBC, which held the AFC broadcast rights since 1970, retained the rights after a last-minute [[Bid price|bidding war]] with CBS, shutting out the network from pro football entirely.<ref name="NYT19931221pA1">{{Cite news |date=December 21, 1993 |title=NBC Gets Final N.F.L. Contract While CBS Gets Its Sundays Off |page=A1 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/21/sports/nbc-gets-final-nfl-contract-while-cbs-gets-its-sundays-off.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |access-date=June 22, 2012}}</ref> Morale at CBS Sports was depicted as "somber and not optimistic", with veteran announcer [[Pat Summerall]] saying, "[I]t's a shock. It hurts. It's a big part of my life."<ref name="AkronB19931219p 41" /> Murdoch expressed a want to hire Summerall's broadcast partner [[John Madden]],<ref name="NYT19931221pA1" /> which happened the following month.<ref name="WSJ19940124pC16" /> Most of the ''[[NFL on CBS]]'' announcing team, including Summerall, [[Terry Bradshaw]] and [[James Brown (sportscaster)|James Brown]], also left to join [[Fox Sports]].<ref name="curtis20181213" /> Early financial projections for CBS owned-stations and affiliates were grim: network flagship [[WCBS-TV]] alone stood to lose $5&nbsp;million a year without the NFL, with their general manager calling it "a straight drop to the bottom line." The general manager of affiliate [[KDFW]] in [[Dallas]]–[[Fort Worth, Texas]], called it "a big financial kick."<ref name="NYT19931221pA1" />

== Fox upgrades in small markets ==
Entering 1994, Fox's 141-station affiliate base remained smaller than ABC, CBS or NBC, which each boasted more that 200 affiliates; this resulted in an approximate six&nbsp;percent differential in terms of national reach. The network supplied [[Foxnet]] for cable systems in smaller markets that did not have a dedicated affiliate.<ref name="BC19940110p18">{{Cite magazine |last=Flint |first=Joe |date=January 10, 1994 |title=Fox uses NFL to woo network affiliates |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-01-10.pdf |magazine=Broadcasting & Cable |volume=124 |issue=2 |page=18 |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> Some affiliates still had no local departments, with the prior recession resulting in Fox lessening the priority level on their affiliates. One of these affiliates, [[WOIO]] in [[Cleveland|Cleveland, Ohio]], initiated plans to launch a news service after seeing success with co-owned [[WXIX-TV]] in [[Cincinnati]].<ref name="CPD19940304p4E">{{cite news |last=Feran |first=Tom |date=March 4, 1994 |title=News at 10 looks like coming thing |page=4E |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0F807C82C6F02EDC |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110034118/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F807C82C6F02EDC&f=basic |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |via=NewsBank}}</ref> While [[WUAB]] already had an established 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast in the Cleveland market, an unnamed executive told the ''[[Akron Beacon Journal]]'' in 1992, "they (WOIO) don't have to get ratings, they just have to exist."<ref name="AkronB19920216p 33">{{Cite news |last=Dyer |first=Bob |date=February 16, 1992 |title=News wars might get new player: Shaker Square's WOIO hopes to add newscast to its lineup |pages=D1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111215832/news-wars-might-get-new-player-shaker/ D4] |newspaper=Akron Beacon Journal |location=Akron, Ohio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111215804/news-wars-might-get-new-player-shaker/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020053830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111215804/news-wars-might-get-new-player-shaker/ |archive-date=October 20, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[E. W. Scripps Company|Scripps-Howard Broadcasting]] started developing newscasts for two of their three Fox affiliates, [[KNXV-TV]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] and [[KSHB-TV]] in [[St. Louis]]. KSHB's newscast launched in August 1993 with an irreverent tone and de-emphasis on sports and weather;<ref name="Kans930731">{{Cite news |last=Garron |first=Barry |date=July 31, 1993 |title='41 News' seeks new approach: KSHB hopes fresh ideas, faces catch on |page=E-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117709633/channel-41-ready/ E-2] |newspaper=The Kansas City Star |location= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117709610/41-news-seeks-new-approach-kshb-hopes/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202005217/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117709610/41-news-seeks-new-approach-kshb/ |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="Kans930811">{{Cite news |last=Garron |first=Barry |date=August 11, 1993 |title='Fresh' newscast needs more seasoning |page=F-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117709659/fox-41-news-needs-some-more-seasoning/ F-5] |newspaper=The Kansas City Star |location= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117709650/fresh-newscast-needs-more-seasoning/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202005216/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117709650/fresh-newscast-needs-more-seasoning/ |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> likewise, KNXV was assembling their news department with an unconventional style in line with Fox's younger demographics.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chadwell |first=Teena |date=September 17, 1993 |title=Fox station plans newscast |page=2 |work=Phoenix Business Journal |id={{ProQuest|225095983}} |via=ProQuest}}</ref>

Fox also lacked coverage in 47 markets where only three or fewer commercial TV stations operated. In these markets, it began discussing secondary affiliations with the local ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates.{{r|BC19940110p18}} Though most of the CBS affiliates turned down Fox's overture, a number of small-market ABC affiliates agreed to Fox's terms, which included the carriage of at least six hours a week of Fox prime time programs. CBS and ABC responded by threatening to withhold ''[[60 Minutes]]'' (in the case of CBS) and postseason baseball (in the case of ABC) from affiliates that added Fox programming. CBS president of affiliate relations Tony Malara said that if ''60 Minutes'' did not air nationally at the same time, it would lose value to advertisers.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Fox football luring new affils—almost|work=Variety|first=Joe|last=Flint|date=April 18, 1994|id={{ProQuest|1286112461}}|pages=25–26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=CBS, Fox Scrimmage Over Affiliates|page=24|agency=Variety|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=April 9, 1994}}</ref> CBS followed through with its threat; [[KXMB-TV]] in [[Bismarck, North Dakota]], added Fox football and lost ''60 Minutes'' for the duration of the football season.<ref name="Bism940913">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88726090/cbs-jerks-60-minutes-in-football-dispu/|date=September 13, 1994|page=1A|first=Chris|last=Steinbach|title=CBS jerks '60 Minutes' in football dispute|newspaper=The Bismarck Tribune|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 26, 2023}}</ref><!-- Tue -->

The network began making overtures to group operators like [[Freedom Communications|Freedom Newspapers]], [[Stauffer Communications]] and Brisette Broadcasting about having their stations switch to Fox, mostly to upgrade in markets serviced by ultra high frequency ([[ultra high frequency|UHF]]) stations that transmitted at a lower [[effective radiated power|radiated power]] than their very high frequency ([[Very high frequency|VHF]]) counterparts.{{r|BC19940110p18}}{{efn|For more, see {{section link|UHF television broadcasting|UHF vs VHF}}.}} Several affiliate defections were announced prior to May 1994. The first was ABC affiliate [[KARD (TV)|KARD]] in [[West Monroe, Louisiana]], announced in January 1994 with an April changeover.<ref name="WSJ19940124pC16">{{cite news|title=Madden leaves CBS for football on Fox|page=C16|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|id={{ProQuest|398386532}}|date=January 24, 1994}}</ref> In April, Robinson Everett's CBS stations—[[KECY-TV]] in [[El Centro, California]], and [[WSFX-TV|WJKA-TV]] in [[Wilmington, North Carolina]]—announced they would affiliate with Fox. Several factors motivated the Everett switch, including CBS's insistence that the stations restore previously unsuccessful news operations, a desire for more network compensation in Wilmington, and particularly CBS's refusal to make a translator of KECY-TV, "[[KDFX-CD|KDBA]]", as the CBS affiliate of record for [[Palm Springs, California]], because it felt cable coverage of Los Angeles station [[KCBS-TV]] was adequate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-04-18.pdf#page=18|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=April 18, 1994|page=16|title=Fox's latest four add up to 96%|first=Steve|last=McClellan|accessdate=September 2, 2021}}</ref>

There had previously been two Big Three stations to join Fox: [[WSVN]] in [[Miami]] switched from NBC on January 1, 1989, and KLMG (now [[KFXK]]) in [[Longview, Texas]], switched from CBS on April 1, 1991.<ref name="Long910125">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47717572/klmg-tv-makes-foxy-plans-april-1/|date=January 25, 1991|page=1-D|first=Van|last=Craddock|title=KLMG-TV makes Foxy plans April 1|newspaper=Longview News-Journal|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 26, 2023}}</ref><!-- Fri --> WSVN's conversion to Fox came under unique circumstances, as CBS had purchased the market's Fox affiliate [[WFOR-TV|WCIX (channel 6)]] after NBC purchased long-standing CBS affiliate [[WTVJ|WTVJ (channel 4)]], triggering [[1989 South Florida television affiliation switch|a complicated two-market, six-station realignment in South Florida]].<ref name="Miam19890101p1A">{{Cite news |last=Sonsky |first=Steve |date=January 1, 1989 |title=3 million TV viewers affected |page=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74463579/3-million-tv-viewers-affected-p2/ 25A] |work=The Miami Herald |location=Miami, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74463186/3-million-tv-viewers-affected/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412212200/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74463186/3-million-tv-viewers-affected/ |archive-date=April 12, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kelley |first=Bill |date=December 28, 1988 |title=Shifting TV channels confuse many viewers |page=8A |newspaper=South Florida Sun-Sentinel |location=Fort Lauderdale, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74535146/shifting-tv-channels-confuse-many/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034453/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74535146/shifting-tv-channels-confuse-many/ |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Unlike any other Fox affiliate or owned-station, WSVN adopted a news-intensive [[Tabloid journalism|tabloid]] format<ref name="MiamiH19880902p23">{{Cite news |last=Sonsky |first=Steve |date=September 2, 1988 |title=Channel 7 plans news, news, news |pages=1B, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74517401/channel-7-plans-news-news-news-p2/ 4B] |newspaper=The Miami Herald |location=Miami, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74517197/channel-7-plans-news-news-news/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034452/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74517197/channel-7-plans-news-news-news/ |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="MiamiN19881207p23">{{Cite news |last=Jicha |first=Tom |date=December 7, 1988 |title=WSVN keeps word to be news-heavy as an independent |page=5C |newspaper=The Miami News |location=Miami, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74480227/wsvn-keeps-word-to-be-news-heavy-as-an/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034506/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74480227/wsvn-keeps-word-to-be-news-heavy-as-an/ |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> which shattered conventional wisdom and proved a ratings and financial success.<ref name="SouthF19900101p 1">{{Cite news |last=Jicha |first=Tom |date=January 1, 1990 |title=TV switch was 1989's cliffhanger: Last year's shuffle defied predictions |pages=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122589744/tv-switch-was-1989s-cliffhanger-last/ 12A] |newspaper=South Florida Sun Sentinel |location=Fort Lauderdale, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122589689/tv-switch-was-1989s-cliffhanger-last/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410191546/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122589689/tv-switch-was-1989s-cliffhanger-last/ |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> WSVN news director [[Joel Cheatwood]] briefly worked with Fox on developing [[Fox News|a network news service]] in 1990,<ref name="MiamiH19910408p115">{{Cite news |last=Coto |first=Juan Carlos |date=April 8, 1991 |title=URGENT! This just in! ... Joel Cheatwood is back in charge of the Channel 7 News. |pages=1C, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122628221/urgent-this-just-in-joel/ 4C] |newspaper=The Miami Herald |location=Miami, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122628175/urgent-this-just-in-joel/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410191538/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122628175/urgent-this-just-in-joel/ |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and by May 1994, Fox network president [[Lucie Salhany]] called the station "the future of television".<ref name="StarTr19940623p 55">{{Cite news |last=Marin |first=Rick |date=June 23, 1994 |title=If it bleeds, it leads: Miami station's news is notorious |pages=1E, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94630765/if-it-bleeds-it-leads-miami-stations/ 3E] |newspaper=Star Tribune |agency=Newsweek |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94630741/if-it-bleeds-it-leads-miami-stations/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410191543/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94630741/if-it-bleeds-it-leads-miami-stations/ |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

== The New World–Fox affiliation pact ==
{{see also|New World Pictures#New World Communications (1992–1997)}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em; float:right;"
|+New World stations affected by the Fox affiliation deal
! scope="col" |Station
! scope="col" |Market
! scope="col" |Channel
! scope="col" |Prior affiliation
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[KDFW]]
| [[Dallas]]–[[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth, TX]] || 4 || CBS
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[KSAZ-TV]]
| [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix, AZ]] || 10 || CBS
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[KTBC (TV)|KTBC-TV]]
|[[Austin, Texas|Austin, TX]] || 7 || CBS
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[KTVI]]
| [[St. Louis|St. Louis, MO]] || 2 || ABC
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WAGA-TV]]
| [[Atlanta|Atlanta, GA]] || 5 || CBS
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WDAF-TV]]
| [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City, MO]] || 4 || NBC
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WGHP]]
| [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]]–[[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem, NC]] || 8 || ABC
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WITI (TV)|WITI]]
| [[Milwaukee|Milwaukee, WI]] || 6 || CBS
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WJBK|WJBK-TV]]
| [[Detroit|Detroit, MI]] || 2 || CBS
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WJW (TV)|WJW-TV]]
| [[Cleveland|Cleveland, OH]] || 8 || CBS
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WTVT]]
| [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa, FL]] || 13 || CBS
|}
Originally constituted as an independent producer of low-budget feature films, and later as a television studio, New World Pictures was purchased by investor [[Ronald Perelman]] in 1989 while in the middle of a [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] restructuring. Under Perelman, New World purchased a majority stake in SCI Television on February 17, 1993, for $100&nbsp;million and $63&nbsp;million in newly issued debt.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fabrikant |first=Geraldine |date=February 18, 1993 |title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Perelman Agrees to Acquire Control of SCI Television |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/18/business/the-media-business-perelman-agrees-to-acquire-control-of-sci-television.html |access-date=December 23, 2015}}</ref> SCI contained most of the assets of the former [[Storer Communications]] and was itself undergoing a complex debt restructuring;<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 17, 1993 |title=Entertainment: Tampa TV Station Sold |work=Los Angeles Times |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-17/business/fi-131_1_cbs-stations |access-date=December 23, 2015}}</ref> as part of the deal, SCI and New World merged to form New World Communications.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 29, 1993 |title=SCI Television and New World Entertainment. (to be merged into New World Group) |url=https://business.highbeam.com/137332/article-1G1-14694589/sci-television-and-new-world-entertainment |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227134634/https://business.highbeam.com/137332/article-1G1-14694589/sci-television-and-new-world-entertainment |archive-date=December 27, 2015 |access-date=December 23, 2015 |via=HighBeam Research |periodical=Mediaweek}}</ref> In May 1994, two major purchases were announced by New World in the span of three days: four stations from [[Hearst Television|Argyle Television Holdings]] for $717&nbsp;million, and four [[Taft Broadcasting|Great American Communications]] stations for $350&nbsp;million and $10&nbsp;million in [[warrant (finance)|share warrants]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foisie |first=Geoffrey |date=May 3, 1993 |title=Times Mirror sells stations, part 1. (Times Mirror Co. to sell four stations to Argyle Communications Inc.) |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-13826471.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-13826471.html |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |access-date=December 12, 2015 |publisher=Cahners Business Information |via=HighBeam Research |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 6, 1994 |title=COMPANY NEWS; GREAT AMERICAN SELLING FOUR TELEVISION STATIONS |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/06/business/company-news-great-american-selling-four-television-stations.html |access-date=December 23, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Foisie |first=Geoffrey |date=May 30, 1994 |title=Argyle socks away profit. (New World Communications Group Inc. acquires Argyle Television Holdings) |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15493423.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15493423.html |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |access-date=December 12, 2015 |publisher=Cahners Business Information |via=HighBeam Research |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref>

On May 23, 1994, Fox purchased a 20&nbsp;percent stake in New World Communications in what was a $500&nbsp;million investment. This deal contained a groupwide multi-year affiliation agreement that would have the majority of stations owned by—or in the process of being acquired by—New World, switch network affiliations to Fox after existing contracts expired per-station.<ref name="nytbusinessdigest22">{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=May 24, 1994 |title=FOX WILL SIGN UP 12 NEW STATIONS; TAKES 8 FROM CBS |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/24/us/fox-will-sign-up-12-new-stations-takes-8-from-cbs.html?pagewanted=4 |url-status=live |access-date=October 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625021414/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/24/us/fox-will-sign-up-12-new-stations-takes-8-from-cbs.html?pagewanted=4 |archive-date=June 25, 2017}}</ref><ref name="nyt-abcpreemptscbs">{{cite magazine |last=Foisie |first=Geoffrey |date=May 30, 1994 |title=Fox and the New World order |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-05-30.pdf |magazine=Broadcasting & Cable |volume=124 |issue=22 |pages=6, 8 |access-date=April 25, 2013 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> Several stations were divested by New World in the process: NBC affiliates [[KNSD]] in [[San Diego|San Diego, California]], and [[WVTM-TV]] in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], were sold to the network for $425&nbsp;million on May 22, 1996.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 23, 1996 |title=COMPANY NEWS;NEW WORLD COMMUNICATIONS TO SELL 2 STATIONS. |page=4 |work=The New York Times |agency=[[Dow Jones & Company|Dow Jones]]}}</ref> [[WSBK-TV]] in [[Boston]], operating as an [[Independent station (North America)|independent]], was excluded due to Fox's repurchase of [[WFXT]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 12, 1995 |title=Fox Gets Celtics Station |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/12/business/fox-gets-celtics-station.html |access-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref> and was sold to [[Paramount Stations Group]], affiliating with [[UPN]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 1, 1994 |title=Viacom agrees to purchase WSBK in Boston |work=[[Bangor Daily News]] |publisher=Bangor Publishing Company |agency=Associated Press |url=http://archive.bangordailynews.com/1994/12/01/viacom-agrees-to-purchase-wsbk-in-boston/ |access-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 30, 1994 |title=Viacom to purchase Boston's WSBK-TV from New World Television |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Viacom+to+purchase+Boston%27s+WSBK-TV+from+New+World+Television.-a015921272 |access-date=June 23, 2012 |publisher=[[Viacom (original)|Viacom]]/Farlex |via=The Free Library |agency=[[Business Wire]]}}</ref> WVTM-TV's sale was necessitated as WVTM (included as part of the Argyle Television deal) was in the same market as [[WBRC]] (which was part of the Great American deal). WBRC and WGHP were placed in a [[Trust company|trust]] and operated by Great American successor Citicasters<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Geoffrey Foisie |last2=Julie A. Zier |date=August 22, 1994 |title=Fox et al. to buy three stations; affiliation shuffle continues |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15738628.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15738628.html |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |access-date=December 5, 2015 |publisher=Cahners Business Information |via=HighBeam Research |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref> until April 1995, when operating control for both stations were transferred to [[Fox Television Stations|Fox Television Stations Group]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McAvoy |first=Kim |date=April 10, 1995 |title=Washington Watch |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1995/BC-1995-04-10.pdf |magazine=Broadcasting & Cable |volume=125 |issue=15 |page=78 |access-date=April 25, 2013 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> Fox purchased both WBRC and WGHP on July 22, 1995, in exchange for $130&nbsp;million in [[promissory note]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 14, 1994 |title=Citicasters, Inc., announces completion of sale of three television stations |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CITICASTERS+INC.+ANNOUNCES+COMPLETION+OF+SALE+OF+THREE+TELEVISION...-a015824760 |access-date=August 17, 2014 |publisher=[[Taft Broadcasting|Citicasters]] |via=[[The Free Library]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 24, 1995 |title=Fox Television Stations last week closed its deal to acquire WBRC-TV Birmingham |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17326792.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17326792.html |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |access-date=December 5, 2015 |publisher=Cahners Business Information |via=HighBeam Research |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref> Two Fox-owned stations displaced by the New World deal were also sold: [[WATL]] in [[Atlanta]] and [[KDAF]] in Dallas–Fort Worth, went to [[Renaissance Broadcasting|Renaissance Communications]] for $100&nbsp;million and joined [[The WB]], with Renaissance concurrently selling [[KDVR]] in [[Denver]] to Fox for $70&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zier |first=Julie A. |date=November 21, 1994 |title=Fox, Renaissance trade markets |work=Broadcasting & Cable |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/94-OCR/BC-1994-11-21-Page-0059.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=July 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222103213/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15893350.html |archive-date=February 22, 2016 |via=World Radio History}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 16, 1994 |title=Parent Firm Of WTIC-TV To Buy, Sell |work=[[Hartford Courant]] |url=http://articles.courant.com/1994-11-16/business/9411160013_1_fox-affiliated-kdvr-renaissance |url-status=live |access-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040426/http://articles.courant.com/1994-11-16/business/9411160013_1_fox-affiliated-kdvr-renaissance |archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cole Smith |first=Steven |date=June 28, 1995 |title=Don't feel sorry for Channel 33 |page=E1 |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81875492/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721062956/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81875492/dont-feel-sorry-for-channel-33/ |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In total, twelve New World-owned stations were affected by the Fox affiliation pact, eight of which were long-tenured CBS affiliates in some of the nation's largest cities.''<ref name="Phoenix">{{Cite news |last=Andy Meisler |date=August 29, 1994 |title=Murdoch's Raid Brings a Shuffling of TV Stations in Phoenix |page=2 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/29/business/murdoch-s-raid-brings-a-shuffling-of-tv-stations-in-phoenix.html?pagewanted=1 |access-date=October 21, 2012}}</ref>'' KDFW had been with CBS for 45 years,<ref name="tide">{{Cite news |last=Cole Smith |first=Steven |date=July 2, 1995 |title=TV changes expected to cause a tide of confusion |pages=F1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81875626/switch/ F2], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81875597/switch/ F3] |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81875655/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721062955/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81875655/tv-changes-expected-to-cause-a-tide-of/ |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[WJBK|WJBK-TV]] for 44 years,<ref name="Detr940524">{{Cite news |last1=Duffy |first1=Mike |last2=Gunther |first2=Marc |date=May 24, 1994 |title=Channel 2 dumps CBS, joins with Fox |page=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93279283/ 2A] |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |location=Detroit, Michigan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31849514/channel-2-dumps-cbs-joins-with-fox/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123190302/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31849514/channel-2-dumps-cbs-joins-with-fox/ |archive-date=January 23, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[KTBC (TV)|KTBC-TV]] and [[WAGA-TV]] for 43 years,<ref name="Atla940524">{{Cite news |last=Kloer |first=Phil |date=May 24, 1994 |title=TV shake-up in Atlanta; Keep your remote control handy this fall |page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107110959/fox-where-will-viewers-find-cbs/ A4] |newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31849522/tv-shake-up-in-atlanta-keep-your/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807060608/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31849522/tv-shake-up-in-atlanta-keep-your/ |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[WJW (TV)|WJW-TV]] and [[KSAZ-TV]] for 40 years<ref name="CPD19940902p1A">{{cite news |last=Feran |first=Tom |date=September 2, 1994 |title=Touch that dial! TV turnabout begins tomorrow on Channels 8, 19, 43 |page=1A |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0F3413A60C43494E |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110034117/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F3413A60C43494E&f=basic |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |via=NewsBank}}</ref><ref name="Ariz940910">{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Dave |date=September 10, 1994 |title=TV switch: Channel 5 to carry CBS today |page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89556043/channel-5-begins-carrying-cbs-today/ A20] |work=Arizona Republic |location=Phoenix, Arizona |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28879847/tv-switch-channel-5-to-carry-cbs-today/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126045400/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28879847/tv-switch-channel-5-to-carry-cbs-today/ |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and [[WTVT]] for 39 years.<ref name="SPTimes940524">{{Cite news |last1=Huntley |first1=Helen |last2=Stevenson |first2=Jennifer L. |date=May 24, 1994 |title=WTVT-Ch. 13 is switching channels to Fox |page=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91216499/ 6A] |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times |location=St. Petersburg, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31849571/wtvt-ch-13-is-switching-channels-to-fox/ |url-status=live |access-date=December 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205074410/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31849571/wtvt-ch-13-is-switching-channels-to-fox/ |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Additionally, [[WDAF-TV]] had been an NBC affiliate for 45 years.<ref name="Kans940524">{{Cite news |last=McTavish |first=Brian |date=May 24, 1994 |title=WDAF to leave NBC, join Fox |page=A-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61708944/wdaf-to-drop-link-with-nbc/ A-8] |newspaper=The Kansas City Star |location=Kansas City, Missouri |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61708935/wdaf-to-leave-nbc-join-fox/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202004736/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61708935/wdaf-to-leave-nbc-join-fox/ |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The majority of these stations were also located in markets with established NFC teams,<ref name="Ariz940524">{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Dave |date=May 24, 1994 |title=Channel 10 would leave CBS to go with Fox |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90695176/ A11] |work=Arizona Republic |location=Phoenix, Arizona |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28879924/republic-front-page-coverage-of-new/ |url-status=live |access-date=December 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217030852/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28879924/republic-front-page-coverage-of-new/ |archive-date=December 17, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>{{Efn|This does not include KTVI, which became a "home station" for the [[St. Louis Rams]] after that team's relocation from Los Angeles in 1995.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 15, 1995 |title=Rams Still Waiting For N.F.L. Approval |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/15/sports/rams-still-waiting-for-nfl-approval.html |access-date=December 4, 2012}}</ref> Nor does it include WGHP, which was in a secondary market for the [[Carolina Panthers]] when that team began playing in 1995.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Larry Weismann |date=September 2, 2004 |title=Expansion teams waiting for cues |work=[[USA Today]] |publisher=[[Gannett Company]] |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/55251199.html?dids=55251199:55251199&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+02%2C+1994&author=Larry+Weisman&pub=USA+TODAY+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=Expansion+teams+waiting+for+cues&pqatl=google |access-date=December 4, 2012}}</ref>}} which served as "a significant factor" for New World, along with Fox's programming lineup being largely limited to prime time, enabling the stations to sell more local advertising.<ref name="nytbusinessdigest22" /> News of the agreement caught CBS's Tony Malara off guard when notified over the phone; as Malara later explained, "I said (to New World CEO William C. Bevins), 'In what market?'&nbsp;... He said, 'All of them.' I said, 'What the hell are you doing?'"<ref name="CPD19940923p7E">{{cite news |last=Feran |first=Tom |date=September 23, 1994 |title=CBS enjoying ties with WOIO |page=7E |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0F807D9E77570B8C |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110034119/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F807D9E77570B8C&f=basic |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |via=NewsBank}}</ref>

== The Scripps–ABC alliance ==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em; float:right;"
|+The Scripps-Howard–ABC affiliation deal at a glance
! scope="col" |Station
! scope="col" |Market
! scope="col" |Channel
! scope="col" |Prior affiliation
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WEWS-TV]]
| [[Cleveland|Cleveland, OH]] || 5 || ABC
|- style="border-bottom: 2px solid grey;"
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WXYZ-TV]]
| [[Detroit|Detroit, MI]] || 7 || ABC
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[KNXV-TV]]
| [[Phoenix|Phoenix, AZ]] || 15 || Fox
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WMAR-TV]]
| [[Baltimore|Baltimore, MD]] || 2 || NBC
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WFTS-TV]]
| [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa, FL]] || 28 || Fox
|}
Immediately following the Fox–New World announcement, CBS courted Scripps-Howard, owners of [[WEWS-TV]] in Cleveland and [[WXYZ-TV]] in Detroit, two long-standing ABC affiliates, along with three Fox affiliates impacted by Fox–New World: KNXV-TV, KSHB-TV and [[WFTS-TV]] in [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]]. As part of a possible deal leaked to ''[[Broadcasting & Cable]]'', CBS would also affiliate with KNXV and WFTS and acquire a minority stake in Scripps's cable channel [[HGTV]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McClellan |first=Steve |date=June 6, 1994 |title=Counterstrike: CBS targets Scripps |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-06-06.pdf |url-status=live |magazine=Broadcasting & Cable |volume=124 |issue=23 |pages=6, 8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151238/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-06-06.pdf |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |access-date=October 5, 2022 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> In discussions with ABC, Scripps insisted that KNXV-TV and WFTS-TV, along with NBC affiliate [[WMAR-TV]] in Baltimore, switch to ABC as a condition of any renewal with WEWS and WXYZ<ref name="BaltiSun19950101p1L">{{Cite news |last=Zurawik |first=David |author-link=David Zurawik |date=January 1, 1995 |title=Changing Channels; Get ready, get set, get confused, in TV's big switch in Baltimore |pages=1L, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-changing-channels-get/123696646/ 3L] |work=The Baltimore Sun |location=Baltimore, Maryland |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-changing-channels-get/123696603/ |access-date=April 28, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="millerdec">{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=William |date=October 29, 1995 |title=Declaration of William Miller |url=https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filing/151886 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630063726/https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filing/151886 |archive-date=June 30, 2021 |access-date=March 16, 2021 |website=Comments of Southern Broadcast Corporation of Sarasota |publisher=Federal Communications Commission}}</ref>{{rp|16}} and threatened to switch both to CBS if KNXV in particular was not included.{{r|millerdec|page=7}} KNXV's inclusion came at the expense of [[KTVK]], the market leader for local news and regarded as a model ABC affiliate<ref name="Ariz940616">{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Dave |date=June 16, 1994 |title=ABC drops Ch. 3 after 40 years |page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33050880/abc-to-drop-ch-3-after-40-years/ A15] |work=Arizona Republic |location=Phoenix, Arizona |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33050851/abc-drops-ch-3-after-40-years/ |url-status=live |access-date=December 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226034726/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33050851/abc-drops-ch-3-after-40-years/ |archive-date=December 26, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> but was a standalone family-run station and not part of a larger group.<ref name="outmuscled">{{Cite news |last=Muller |first=Bill |date=June 30, 1994 |title=Family-owned Ch. 3 outmuscled for prize |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92131509/arizona-republic/ A7] |work=The Arizona Republic |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33050928/eye-say-channel-5-called-up-to-majors/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630063726/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33050928/eye-say-channel-5-called-up-to-majors/ |archive-date=June 30, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The network offered Scripps $25&nbsp;million as an alternative to KNXV-TV, which was rejected in what ABC executive Bryce Rathbone described as Scripps "[having] a gun to their head".{{r|millerdec|page=16}} When KTVK general manager Bill Miller asked [[Capital Cities/ABC]] CEO [[Thomas Murphy (broadcasting)|Tom Murphy]] if there was anything the station could do, Murphy replied, "you should light some candles".{{r|millerdec|page=5}}

ABC acquiesced to Scripps's demands and announced on June 15, 1994, that KNXV, WFTS and WMAR would join the network, and WEWS and WXYZ would remain affiliates.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stevenson |first=Jennifer L. |date=June 16, 1994 |title=ABC switching channels in bay area |page=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68960914/ 17A] |work=St. Petersburg Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68960825/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205074413/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68960825/abc-switching-channels-in-bay-area/ |archive-date=February 5, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=June 17, 1994 |title=COMPANY NEWS; TV Stations Shift to ABC |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/17/business/company-news-tv-stations-shift-to-abc.html |access-date=October 21, 2012}}</ref> Scripps's other former Fox affiliate, KSHB, affiliated with NBC as WDAF-TV's replacement in Kansas City.<ref name="Eye say!">{{Cite news |last=Mattern |first=Hal |date=June 30, 1994 |title=Eye say! Channel 5 called up to majors: Homeless CBS picks longtime independent |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33051073/cbs-calls-up-channel-5-to-televisions/ A7] |work=The Arizona Republic |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33050928/eye-say-channel-5-called-up-to-majors/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630063710/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33050928/eye-say-channel-5-called-up-to-majors/ |archive-date=June 30, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The new ABC alliance prompted WFTS-TV to expedite work on establishing a news department,<ref name="focus">{{cite news |last=Belcher |first=Walt |date=June 17, 1994 |title=TV stations focus on change |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68961118/ 10] |work=Tampa Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68961076/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205074415/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68961076/tv-stations-focus-on-change/ |archive-date=February 5, 2022}}</ref> with local newscasts launching the day of the switch from facilities formerly used by the [[Home Shopping Network]] in a temporary setup.<ref name="justin2">{{cite news |last=Yant |first=Monica |date=December 9, 1994 |title=This just in: Ch. 28 will have news |pages=1B, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68964645/ 11B] |work=St. Petersburg Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68964406/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205074415/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68964406/this-just-in-ch-28-will-have-news/ |archive-date=February 5, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Belcher |first=Walt |date=December 13, 1994 |title=Big switch helps spark the big hype |page=5 BayLife |work=Tampa Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68962603/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205074411/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68962603/big-switch-helps-spark-the-big-hype/ |archive-date=February 5, 2022}}</ref> Stripped of the ABC affiliation and failing to land CBS,<ref name="outmuscled" /> KTVK spent the next few months rebuilding itself into a news-intensive independent.<ref name="stronghold">{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Dave |date=January 9, 1996 |title=Channel 3 maintains stronghold despite loss of network affiliation |page=C5 |work=The Arizona Republic |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34044173/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630063716/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34044173/channel-3-maintains-stronghold-despite/ |archive-date=June 30, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

== The CBS–Westinghouse deal ==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em; float:right;"
|+The CBS–Group W affiliation deal at a glance
! scope="col" |Station
! scope="col" |Market
! scope="col" |Channel
! scope="col" |Prior affiliation
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[KDKA-TV]]
| [[Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh, PA]] || 2 || CBS
|- style="border-bottom: 2px solid grey;"
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[KPIX-TV]]
| [[San Francisco|San Francisco, CA]] || 5 || CBS
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[KYW-TV]]
| [[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, PA]] || 3 || NBC
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WBZ-TV]]
| [[Boston|Boston, MA]] || 4 || NBC
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WJZ-TV]]
| [[Baltimore|Baltimore, MD]] || 13 || ABC
|}
Scripps's insistence on WMAR-TV joining ABC came at the expense of [[WJZ-TV]], which had been with ABC since 1948 and was the network's longest-tenured affiliate.<ref name="Balt940617">{{Cite news |last=Zurawik |first=David |author-link=David Zurawik |date=June 17, 1994 |title=ABC-TV to switch from WJZ to WMAR |page=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121812166/scripps-abc-tv-to-switch-to-wmar-from-l/ 9A] |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |location= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121812096/abc-tv-to-switch-from-wjz-to-wmar/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328170026/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121812096/abc-tv-to-switch-from-wjz-to-wmar/ |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> WJZ-TV owner [[Westinghouse Broadcasting]] (Group W) engaged in off-and-on discussions over the past six months with CBS, NBC and Fox over a possible group-wide affiliation deal, which accelerated when the Scripps-ABC agreement was announced.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 11, 1994 |title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Group W's Negotiations |page=D8 |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=Reuters |location=New York, New York |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/11/business/the-media-business-group-w-s-negotiations.html |access-date=April 28, 2023}}</ref> Industry trade publications also suggested a possibility of Fox purchasing Group W.<ref name="Balt940617" /> On July 14, 1994, Group W and CBS agreed to a group-wide 10-year contract, renewing CBS's existing ties with [[KDKA-TV]] in [[Pittsburgh]] and [[KPIX-TV|KPIX]] in [[San Francisco]] and adding WJZ-TV, [[WBZ-TV]] in [[Boston]] and [[KYW-TV]] in [[Philadelphia]] to the network, the latter two stations switching from NBC.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=July 15, 1994 |title=CBS to Add Three Affiliates in Deal With Westinghouse |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/15/business/the-media-business-cbs-to-add-three-affiliates-in-deal-with-westinghouse.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023121452/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/15/business/the-media-business-cbs-to-add-three-affiliates-in-deal-with-westinghouse.html |archive-date=October 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name="BroadCab19940718p14" /> As part of the deal, Group W and CBS formed a [[joint venture]] to acquire other television stations and operate a syndication company.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zurawik |first=David |author-link=David Zurawik |date=July 15, 1994 |title=WJZ to join CBS in 3-station deal |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-wjz-to-join-cbs-in-3-s/123688174/ 7A] |work=The Baltimore Sun |location=Baltimore, Maryland |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-wjz-to-join-cbs-in-3-s/123688156/ |access-date=April 29, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> WJZ-TV and WBZ-TV switched to CBS on January 1, 1995,<ref name="BaltiSun19950101p1L" /> with Baltimore and Boston's existing CBS affiliates, [[WBAL-TV]] and [[WHDH (TV)|WHDH-TV]], switching to NBC, the former in a three-way affiliation swap.<ref>{{cite news |author=Zurawik |first=David |author-link=David Zurawik |date=August 5, 1994 |title=Delaying switches until Jan. annoys WMAR, WBAL |pages=1D, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-delaying-switches-unti/123688523/ 5D] |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |location=Baltimore, Maryland |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-delaying-switches-unti/123688486/ |access-date=April 29, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Biddle |first=Frederic M. |date=August 3, 1994 |title=Boston's TV shuffle will put NBC on Ch. 7 |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-bostons-tv-shuffle-wil/123688764/ 8] |work=The Boston Globe |location=Boston, Massachusetts |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-bostons-tv-shuffle-wil/123688708/ |access-date=April 29, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> NBC agreed to pay WHDH-TV owner [[Sunbeam Television]] a total of $100&nbsp;million to $150&nbsp;million over a ten-year span, coincidentally reuniting Sunbeam with the network that had bypassed their Miami station WSVN five years earlier.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Biddle |first=Frederic M. |date=August 4, 1994 |title=NBC pays top dollar to stay on VHF dial |page=62 |work=The Boston Globe |location=Boston, Massachusetts |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-nbc-pays-top-dollar-to/123697811/ |access-date=April 29, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

The Philadelphia market, however, posed an immediate logistical issue as KYW-TV would replace CBS-owned [[WCAU|WCAU-TV]]; consequently, both NBC and Fox made offers for WCAU-TV, while CBS expressed interest in conducting an [[asset swap]].<ref name="BroadCab19940718p14">{{Cite news |last=Zier |first=Julie A. |date=July 18, 1994 |title=CBS, Group W form historic alliance: affiliations, joint station buying, program deals in prospect |page=14 |work=Broadcasting & Cable |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-07-18.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307183829/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-07-18.pdf |archive-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref> By September 1994, Fox agreed to purchase existing Philadelphia affiliate [[WTXF-TV]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Zier |first=Julie A. |date=September 5, 1994 |title=Fox buys WTXF Philly for $200 million plus: seller, Viacom-Paramount, rumored to be negotiating for Combined's WGBS-TV and WBFS-TV |page=12 |work=Broadcasting & Cable |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-09-05.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131031021/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-09-05.pdf |archive-date=January 31, 2023}}</ref> With NBC remaining as the only bidder for WCAU-TV, talks began in earnest over an swap of stations between the two networks. An early outline leaked to ''Mediaweek'' had NBC offering [[KCNC-TV]] in [[Denver]] and [[KUTV]] in [[Salt Lake City]] to CBS, along with the channel 4 signal in Miami.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Miles |first=Laureen |date=September 5, 1994 |title=WTXF-Phila. fetches $200 million |page=5 |work=Mediaweek |id={{Gale|A15809876}}}}</ref> This was largely confirmed on November 21, 1994, with NBC selling KCNC and KUTV to the Group W–CBS joint venture, along with WTVJ's channel 4 license and transmitter site; CBS would sell to NBC both WCAU-TV and WCIX's channel 6 license and transmitter site.<ref name="Sout941122">{{Cite news |last=Jicha |first=Tom |date=November 22, 1994 |title=CBS, NBC Changing Channels |work=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]] |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-11-22/news/9411210600_1_wcix-nbc-programs-stations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110703093638/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-11-22/news/9411210600_1_wcix-nbc-programs-stations |archive-date=July 3, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Miam941122">{{Cite news |last=Boedeker |first=Hal |date=November 22, 1994 |title=NBC: We're sticking with WTVJ |page=1C, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121813844/nbc-were-not-dropping-wtvj/ 3C] |newspaper=The Miami Herald |location=Miami, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121813819/nbc-were-sticking-with-wtvj/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328170032/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121813819/nbc-were-sticking-with-wtvj/ |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The transmitter and license swap in Miami would see WCIX "move" to channel 4, renamed [[WFOR-TV]], and WTVJ "move" to channel 6.<ref name="Miam941214">{{Cite news |date=December 14, 1994 |title=Channel 6 will drop CIX for FOR |page=1C |newspaper=The Miami Herald |location= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121813880/channel-6-will-drop-cix-for-for/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328170026/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121813880/channel-6-will-drop-cix-for-for/ |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In Denver, another three-station station affiliation swap took place: NBC-owned KCNC-TV became CBS-owned, outgoing CBS affiliate [[KMGH-TV]] joined ABC, and outgoing ABC affiliate [[KUSA (TV)|KUSA]] linked with NBC.<ref name="BuffaloN19941122pB10">{{Cite news |last=Mankowski |first=Cal |date=November 22, 1994 |title=CBS, NBC trade some TV stations |page=B10 |work=The Buffalo News |location=Buffalo, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-cbs-nbc-trade-some-tv/123687752/ |access-date=April 28, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> KMGH was part of a group-wide deal between ABC and owner [[McGraw Hill Education|McGraw-Hill]] announced on October 21, 1994,<ref>{{cite news |author=Saunders |first=Dusty |date=October 22, 1994 |title=TV Stations Play Spin the Dial: Channel 7 Quits CBS, Joins ABC, Kicking Off Network Realignment |page=5A |newspaper=Rocky Mountain News |location=Denver, Colorado |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0EB4DF0BABA1E319 |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 29, 2023 |via=NewsBank}}</ref> with McGraw's other CBS affiliate, [[KERO-TV]] in [[Bakersfield, California]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 24, 1994 |title=Denver's Channel 7 goes from CBS to ABC |page=11A |work=The Daily Sentinel |agency=Associated Press |location=Grand Junction, Colorado |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-sentinel-denvers-channel-7-go/123698311/ |access-date=April 28, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> switching to ABC on March 1, 1996.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Newell |first=Maria |date=March 1, 1996 |title=Translator switch won't change much |pages=B1–[https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-press-translator-switch-wont-chan/123695553/ B2] |work=Daily Press |location=Victorville, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-press-translator-switch-wont-chan/123695519/ |access-date=April 29, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Prior to finalizing their trade with Renaissance for KDVR, Fox had been rumored to acquire Tribune's [[KWGN-TV]] via a station trade.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saunders |first=Dusty |date=October 22, 1994 |title=Fox Broadcasting could join Denver TV wheeling, dealing |page=35A |work=Rocky Mountain News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1994 |title=At press time: KWGN-TV eyes Fox tie |page=1 |work=Electronic Media |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_televisionweek_1994-11-07_13_45/mode/2up?q=KDVR}}</ref> In Salt Lake City, [[KSL-TV]] agreed to switch from CBS to NBC.<ref name="BuffaloN19941122pB10" /> Because of the complexity of the NBC-CBS asset swap, the FCC granted approval in August 1995 after weeks of delays, with the Philadelphia, Miami, Denver and Salt Lake City market affiliation switches all taking place on September 10, 1995.<ref name="Miam950522">{{Cite news |last=Whitefield |first=Mimi |date=May 22, 1995 |title=Date for channel switch pushed back |page=Business Monday 7 |newspaper=The Miami Herald |location= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121814759/date-for-channel-switch-pushed-back/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328170028/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121814759/date-for-channel-switch-pushed-back/ |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="Miam950818">{{Cite news |last=Dougherty |first=Robin |date=August 18, 1995 |title=TV switcheroo II set for Sept. 10 |page=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121815173/crossing-of-the-channels-set-for-sept-1/ 17A] |newspaper=The Miami Herald |location= |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121815112/tv-switcheroo-ii-set-for-sept-10/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328170024/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121815112/tv-switcheroo-ii-set-for-sept-10/ |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

== CBS scrambles for replacement affiliates ==
Relegated to the UHF dial in Cleveland, CBS signed former Fox affiliate WOIO,<ref name="CPD19940630p1A2">{{cite news |last=Feran |first=Tom |date=June 30, 1994 |title=Channel 19 likely to be CBS choice |page=1A |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0F807D27A9E464EE |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006020656/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F807D27A9E464EE&f=basic |archive-date=October 6, 2022 |via=NewsBank}}</ref> which despite having no news department, committed to launching one by taking over WUAB through a [[local marketing agreement]].<ref name="CPD19940820p1E">{{cite news |last=Feran |first=Tom |date=August 20, 1994 |title=WOIO fires 8 at TV-43 in takeover |page=1E |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=1082885C71926A79&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0F807D774E46BD4F |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006020657/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0F807D774E46BD4F&f=basic |archive-date=October 6, 2022 |via=NewsBank}}</ref> Tampa was equally straightforward, with outgoing ABC affiliate [[WTSP]] joining CBS.<ref name="justin2" /> A multi-station deal with CBS and [[Meredith Corporation]] saw Phoenix independent [[KPHO-TV]] replace KSAZ-TV, and [[WNEM-TV]] in [[Bay City, Michigan]], switch from NBC to CBS, as part of a renewal with [[KCTV]] in Kansas City.<ref name="Eye say!" /> The Meredith deal resulted in another side deal: after rumors of NBC courting existing ABC affiliate [[WJRT-TV]] in [[Flint, Michigan]], Capital Cities/ABC purchased it and [[WTVG]] in [[Toledo, Ohio]], from [[Lilly Broadcasting|SJL Broadcasting]] for $155&nbsp;million on October 1994, converting the latter from NBC to ABC.<ref>{{cite news |date=August 30, 1995 |title=Capital Cities-ABC Completes Buy of Two TV Stations |work=Associated Press News |url=https://apnews.com/0f7931c0a0cab27df0160c2abdd6f6dd |access-date=April 10, 2015}}</ref> Capital Cities/ABC's purchase was made largely to prevent NBC from signing, or purchasing, WJRT as a replacement for WNEM.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pullen |first=Doug |date=September 2, 1994 |title=Channel 5 Adds Weathercaster; Channel 25 Focuses On Health |pages=C16, [https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/pullen/dwbhjavzlbzsntrhsztvcgjkexwniher_wma-gateway013_1682708957344 C25] |work=Flint Journal |location=Flint, Michigan |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/channel-5-adds-weathercaster-channel-25-focuses-health/jdtphadztqeswjboraoghcothftdaugf_wma-gateway019_1682709195140 |access-date=April 29, 2023 |via=GBank}}</ref><ref name="BroadCab19941010p96">{{Cite magazine |last=Zier |first=Julie A. |date=October 10, 1994 |title=ABC, CBS make market moves |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-10-10.pdf#page=96 |magazine=Broadcasting & Cable |volume=124 |issue=11 |page=96 |access-date=April 28, 2023 |via=World Radio History}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 16, 1994 |title=Notes: Scramble for affiliates |page=2 |work=The Journal Times Spectrum Sunday |location=Racine, Wisconsin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-times-notes-scramble-for-af/123694007/ |access-date=April 29, 2023}}</ref> As a result, former CBS affiliate [[WEYI-TV]] became Flint-Bay City's NBC affiliate.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pullen |first=Doug |date=January 17, 1996 |title=The Big Switch, One Year Later: TV viewers maintain news loyalty but change channels for programs |page=B1 |work=The Flint Journal |location=Flint, Michigan}}</ref> CBS also signed up [[KEYE-TV|KBVO-TV]] to fill the void in Austin left by KTBC-TV;<ref name="BroadCab19941010p96" /> when that switch took place on July 1, 1995, KBVO was renamed KEYE-TV.<ref>{{cite news |last=Holloway |first=Diane |date=May 31, 1995 |title=In CBS switch, KBVO will be KEYE |pages=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77199802/ B5] |work=Austin American-Statesman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77199766/ |accessdate=May 6, 2021}}</ref>

In Detroit, however, outgoing Fox affiliate [[WKBD-TV]] and independents [[WMYD|WXON-TV]] and [[WADL (TV)|WADL]] rejected affiliation or purchase offers by CBS,<ref name="jag">{{cite news |last=Roush |first=Matt |date=September 26, 1994 |title=WGPR sale means CBS spending jag: Network may spend millions on expansion, hiring |page=3 |work=Crain's Detroit Business}}</ref> effectively forcing the network to purchase [[WWJ-TV|WGPR-TV]] (channel 62) from the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons for $24&nbsp;million.<ref name="Detr940923">{{Cite news |last=Duffy |first=Mike |date=September 23, 1994 |title=CBS purchase may juice up TV landscape: Channel 62 likely to hire big names |page=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93097579/cbs-purchase-expected-to-add-jobs/ 8A] |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |location=Detroit, Michigan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93097575/cbs-purchase-may-juice-up-tv-landscape/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128163040/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93097575/cbs-purchase-may-juice-up-tv-landscape/ |archive-date=January 28, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> WGPR-TV was the first Black-owned television station in the mainland United States<ref name="pioneer">{{Cite news |last=Kiska |first=Tim |date=January 29, 2016 |title=Black broadcast pioneer WGPR honored in history exhibit |language=en-US |work=Detroit Free Press |url=https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/television/2016/01/29/black-broadcast-pioneer-wgpr-honored-history-exhibit/79518026/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123194049/https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/television/2016/01/29/black-broadcast-pioneer-wgpr-honored-history-exhibit/79518026/ |archive-date=January 23, 2022}}</ref> and, up until October 1992, employed an 11-person news department with daily newscasts focused on the city's Black population.<ref name="busting">{{Cite news |last=Kiska |first=Tim |date=October 12, 1992 |title=Union-busting charged in WGPR firings |page=5B |work=The Detroit News}}</ref> Despite this, an unnamed CBS executive told ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' reporter Bill Carter about WGPR-TV: "[T]his station has no news and no history in the market. It's amazing."<ref name="chaotic">{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=September 20, 1994 |title=Most chaotic season ever has begun for network TV |page=12E |work=The Plain Dealer |agency=New York Times}}</ref>

Struggling to secure either WATL or [[WANF|WGNX]] as a replacement affiliate in Atlanta, CBS made a $22&nbsp;million purchase offer for [[WUPA|WVEU]] (channel 69) out of desperation in September 1994.<ref name="Atla940924">{{Cite news |last=Kloer |first=Phil |date=September 24, 1994 |title=Clearing up the local TV picture: Price was right: But will viewers follow CBS to Channel 69? |page=B1 |newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107110760/clearing-up-the-local-tv-picture-price/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807060608/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107110760/clearing-up-the-local-tv-picture-price/ |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Even with the pending deal, CBS continued to lobby WATL and WGNX, and reached an affiliation with WGNX on November 16, 1994;<ref name="Atla941116">{{Cite news |last=Kloer |first=Phil |date=November 16, 1994 |title=Channel surfing: CBS to flip from 69 to 46 |page=A1 |newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107111175/channel-surfing-cbs-to-flip-from-69-to/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807060618/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107111175/channel-surfing-cbs-to-flip-from-69-to/ |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> the purchase of WVEU and an immediate resale was also made official.<ref name="Atla941117">{{Cite news |last=Kloer |first=Phil |date=November 17, 1994 |title=The networks go channel surfing |page=F1 |newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107014650/the-networks-go-channel-surfing/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807060623/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107014650/the-networks-go-channel-surfing/ |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The Milwaukee market proved to be the most problematic for CBS. [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]], owner of outgoing Fox affiliate [[WCGV-TV]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kirchen |first=Rich |date=October 1, 1994 |title=In CBS' search for a mate, Channel 24 still plays hard to get |work=Milwaukee Business Journal |id={{Gale|A16335176}}}}</ref> and operator of [[WVTV]], turned down all offers made by CBS,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dudek |first=Duane |date=October 11, 1994 |title=Channels 18, 24 next to snub CBS |page=News 5 |work=Milwaukee Sentinel}}</ref> the [[VCY America|Wisconsin Voice of Christian Youth]] turned down a longshot purchase offer for [[WVCY-TV|their TV station]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flint |first=Joe |date=October 3, 1994 |title=Nay for Eye on affil buy |page=168 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |id={{ProQuest|1401389916}}}}</ref> and [[Weigel Broadcasting]], owner of [[WDJT-TV]] (channel 58) ended talks due to CBS's continued pursuit of another station.<ref name="MilS941001">{{Cite news |last=Dudek |first=Duane |date=October 1, 1994 |title=Channel 58 says CBS is too late: Owners no longer wooing network |page=News 4 |work=Milwaukee Sentinel}}</ref> CBS's situation in Milwaukee was dire to the point the network agreed to supply their owned-stations in Chicago and Green Bay to cable providers in the event no replacement affiliate could be secured.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Battaglio |first=Stephen |date=December 2, 1994 |title=CBS ensures Milwaukee feed |pages=3, 50 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |id={{ProQuest|2362015453}}}}</ref> Five days before WITI's contract was to lapse, on December 6, 1994, Weigel and CBS reached an agreement to affiliate WDJT-TV in a 10-year deal.<ref name="MBJ941210">{{Cite news |last=Kirchen |first=Rich |date=December 10, 1994 |title=Down-to-the-wire deal kept Milwaukee on CBS' map |page=2 |work=Milwaukee Business Journal |id={{Gale|A16541130}} {{ProQuest|222390177}}}}</ref>

==The Savoy—Fox joint venture==
{{see also|SF Broadcasting}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em; float:right;"
|+SF Broadcasting stations
! scope="col" |Station
! scope="col" |Market
! scope="col" |Channel
! scope="col" |Prior affiliation
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[KHON-TV]]
| [[Honolulu|Honolulu, HI]] || 2 || NBC
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WALA-TV]]
| [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile, AL]] || 10 || NBC
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WLUK-TV]]
| [[Green Bay, Wisconsin|Green Bay, WI]] || 11 || NBC
|-
! scope="row" {{rh}} class="table-rh" | [[WVUE-DT|WVUE]]
| [[New Orleans|New Orleans, LA]] || 8 || ABC
|}

In March 1994, Fox and [[Savoy Pictures]] established a venture called SF Broadcasting to acquire and operate additional television stations. Fox held no voting stock in the company—which instead was held entirely by Savoy Pictures chairmen Victor Kaufman and Lewis Korman—but supplied 58&nbsp;percent of the original $100&nbsp;million in capital.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 18, 1994 |title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Savoy and Fox TV Venture |page=15 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/18/business/the-media-business-savoy-and-fox-tv-venture.html}}</ref> SF acquired four stations owned by Burnham Broadcasting in two separate deals: [[WLUK-TV]] on July 29, 1994, for $38&nbsp;million,<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 29, 1994 |title=Company Town Annex |work=Los Angeles Times |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-07-29/business/fi-21366_1_fox-television-stations |access-date=May 9, 2014}}</ref> and [[WALA-TV]], [[KHON-TV]] and [[WVUE-DT|WVUE]] one month later on August 25 for $229&nbsp;million. The deal further upgraded Fox's affiliation base in two additional NFC markets.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Andy Meisler |date=August 27, 1994 |title=COMPANY NEWS; Fox Adds 3 Network-Affiliated Stations |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/27/business/company-news-fox-adds-3-network-affiliated-stations.html |access-date=October 22, 2012}}</ref>

NBC protested the sale of WLUK before the FCC, alleging SF was a [[shell corporation|shell]] created by News Corporation to circumvent FCC limits on the amount of capital that a foreign company can invest in an American television station.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 27, 1994 |title=NBC ASKS FCC TO PUT BRAKES ON FOX'S EXPANSION PLANS |work=[[The Deseret News]] |publisher=[[Deseret News Publishing Company]] |agency=[[The New York Times|New York Times News Service]] |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/378144/NBC-ASKS-FCC-TO-PUT-BRAKES-ON-FOXS-EXPANSION-PLANS.html?pg=all |access-date=May 9, 2014}}</ref> This petition was soon followed with another protesting Fox's KDVR purchase and concurrent station sales in Dallas and Atlanta to Renaissance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flint |first=Joe |date=January 15, 1995 |title=NBC Asks FCC To Nix Fox Bid For KDVR |url=https://variety.com/1995/tv/features/nbc-asks-fcc-to-nix-fox-bid-for-kdvr-99125296/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093637/http://variety.com/1995/tv/features/nbc-asks-fcc-to-nix-fox-bid-for-kdvr-99125296/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=March 4, 2016 |periodical=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> NBC withdrew these and all other petitions against Fox on February 17, 1995.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 20, 1995 |title=NBC drops opposition to Fox |page=7 |work=Broadcasting & Cable |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1995/BC-1995-02-20.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=July 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308033455/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1995/BC-1995-02-20.pdf |archive-date=March 8, 2021}}</ref><ref name="WLUK approval">{{Cite news |last=Bill Carter |date=April 28, 1995 |title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; F.C.C. Approves Purchase of TV Station by Fox Unit |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/28/business/the-media-business-fcc-approves-purchase-of-tv-station-by-fox-unit.html |access-date=October 22, 2012}}</ref>

==Repercussions==
{{Further|Repercussions of the 1994–1996 United States broadcast TV realignment}}
{| class="wikitable collapsible" style="font-size:75%;margin-left:1.5em;float:right;"
|+ Stations involved in the realignment by market
|-
! scope="col" | [[Media market|Market]]
! scope="col" | Call sign
! scope="col" | Channel
! scope="col" | Affiliation<br />before switch
! scope="col" | Affiliation<br />after switch
|-
| | [[Ada, Oklahoma|Ada]]–[[Ardmore, Oklahoma|Ardmore]]–[[Sherman, Texas|Sherman]]
! [[KTEN]] 
|10|| [[NBC]] / [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] || NBC / [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] / ABC 
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[Atlanta]]
! [[WAGA-TV]]
|5|| [[CBS]] || Fox 
|-
! [[WGTA (TV)|WNEG-TV]]
|32|| Independent || CBS 
|-
! [[WATL]]
|36|| Fox || [[The WB]]
|-
! [[WANF|WGNX]]
|46|| [[Independent station (North America)|Independent]]{{efn-lg|WGNX was initially slated to become an affiliate of [[The WB]] upon the network's launch in January 1995.}}|| CBS 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Austin, Texas|Austin]]
! [[KTBC (TV)|KTBC]]
|7|| CBS || Fox 
|-
! [[KEYE-TV|KBVO]]
|42|| Fox || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]]
! [[KERO-TV]]
|23|| CBS || ABC 
|-
! [[KBAK-TV]]
|29|| ABC || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Baltimore]]
! [[WMAR-TV]]
|2|| [[NBC]]|| ABC 
|-
! [[WBAL-TV]]
|11|| CBS || NBC 
|-
! [[WJZ-TV]]
|13|| ABC || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Billings, Montana|Billings]]
! [[KYUS-TV]]
|3|| ABC || Fox 
|-
! [[KHMT]]
|4|| {{n/a}}{{efn-lg|KHMT was previously known as ABC affiliate KOUS-TV (now [[KSVI]]), which moved from channel 4 to channel 6 in January 1993; between 1994 and August 1995, KSVI had a part-time affiliation with Fox.}} || Fox 
|-
| [[Binghamton, New York|Binghamton]]
! [[WICZ]]
|40|| NBC || Fox 
|-
| rowspan="7" | [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]]–[[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]]–[[Anniston, Alabama|Anniston]]
! [[WBRC|WBRC-TV]]
|6|| ABC || Fox 
|-
! [[WDBB]]
|17|| Fox || Independent 
|-
! [[WTTO]]
|21|| Fox || Independent 
|-
! [[WSES|WCFT-TV]]
|33|| CBS || ABC 
|-
! [[WGWW|WJSU-TV]]
|40|| CBS || ABC 
|-
! [[WPXH-TV|WNAL-TV]]
|44|| Fox || CBS 
|-
! [[WBMA-LD|W58CK]]
|58|| Independent || ABC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Boston]]
! [[WBZ-TV]]
|4|| NBC || CBS 
|-
! [[WHDH (TV)|WHDH-TV]]
|7|| CBS || NBC 
|-
| [[Brownsville, Texas|Brownsville]]–[[McAllen, Texas|McAllen]] <br />([[Matamoros, Tamaulipas|Matamoros]]–[[Reynosa]])
! [[XHTAM-TDT|XHFOX-TV]]
|17||{{n/a}}{{efn-lg|XHFOX-TV signed on as a Fox affiliate on September 4, 1994; it would disaffiliate from the network in February 2002. The network would lack an over-the-air affiliate in the Brownsville–McAllen market between 2002 and 2005, when [[XHRIO-TV]] began operations; [[KFXV-LD]] became the region's Fox affiliate in August 2012 and was converted to a translator of [[KFXV (TV)|KFXV]] in May 2020.}}|| Fox  
|-
| [[Cedar Rapids, Iowa|Cedar Rapids]]–[[Waterloo, Iowa|Waterloo]]–[[Dubuque, Iowa|Dubuque]]
! [[KFXB-TV|KDUB-TV]]
|40|| ABC || Fox{{efn-lg|KFXB-TV became a satellite of Fox affiliate [[KFXA-TV]] on August 13, 1995.}} 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]]
! [[WCBD]]
|2|| ABC || NBC 
|-
! [[WGWG|WCIV]]
|4|| NBC || ABC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Cincinnati]]
! [[WCPO-TV]]
|9|| CBS || ABC 
|-
! [[WKRC-TV]]
|12|| ABC || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Cleveland]]
! [[WJW (TV)|WJW-TV]]
|8|| CBS || Fox 
|-
! [[WOIO]]
|19|| Fox || CBS 
|-
| [[Corpus Christi, Texas|Corpus Christi]]
! [[K22JA-D|K47DF]]
|47|| Independent || Fox 
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[Dallas]]–[[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]]
! [[KDFW|KDFW-TV]]
|4|| CBS || Fox 
|-
! [[KTVT]]
|11|| Independent || CBS 
|-
! [[KDAF]]
|33|| Fox || [[The WB]]
|-
! [[KXTX-TV]]
|39|| The WB || Independent 
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Denver]]
! [[KCNC-TV]]
|4|| NBC || CBS 
|-
! [[KMGH-TV]]
|7|| CBS || ABC 
|-
! [[KUSA (TV)|KUSA-TV]]
|9|| ABC || NBC 
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Detroit]]
! [[WJBK|WJBK-TV]]
|2|| CBS || Fox 
|-
! [[WKBD-TV]]
|50|| Fox || [[UPN]]
|-
! [[WWJ-TV|WGPR-TV]]
|62|| Independent || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Evansville, Indiana|Evansville]]
! [[WTVW]]
|7|| ABC || Fox 
|-
! [[WEHT]]
|25|| CBS || ABC 
|-
! [[WEVV-TV]]
|44|| Fox || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]]
! [[KTVF]]
|11|| CBS || NBC 
|-
! [[KXDF-CD|K13XD]]
|13|| {{n/a}}{{efn-lg|K13XD signed on as a CBS affiliate on August 7, 1996; KTVF had a part-time affiliation with NBC prior to K13XD's sign-on.}} || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Flint, Michigan|Flint]]–[[Bay City, Michigan|Bay City]]–[[Saginaw, Michigan|Saginaw]]
! [[WNEM-TV]]
|5|| NBC || CBS / UPN 
|-
! [[WEYI-TV]]
|25|| CBS || NBC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Green Bay, Wisconsin|Green Bay]]–[[Fox Cities]]
! [[WLUK-TV]]
|11|| NBC || Fox 
|-
! [[WGBA-TV]]
|26|| Fox || NBC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]]–[[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]]–<br>[[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]]
! [[WGHP]]
|8|| ABC || Fox 
|-
! [[WXLV-TV|WNRW]]
|45|| Fox || ABC / UPN
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Honolulu]]
! [[KHON-TV]]
|2|| NBC || Fox 
|-
! [[KHNL]]
|13|| Fox || NBC 
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]]
! [[WCWJ|WJKS]]
|17|| ABC || The WB 
|-
! [[WPXC-TV|WBSG]]
|21|| The WB || ABC 
|-
! [[WJXX]]
|25|| {{n/a}}{{efn-lg|WJXX signed on as an ABC affiliate on February 9, 1997.}}|| ABC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]
! [[WDAF-TV]]
|4|| NBC || Fox 
|-
! [[KSHB-TV]]
|41|| Fox || NBC 
|-
| [[Laredo, Texas|Laredo]] ([[Nuevo Laredo]])
! [[XHLAR-TDT|XHFTX-TV]]
|57||{{n/a}}{{efn-lg|XHFTX-TV signed on as a Fox affiliate on September 3, 1995; it would disaffiliate from the network in February 2002. The Laredo area would not gain another over-the-air Fox affiliate until July 2007, when [[KETF-CD|KXOF-CA]] affiliated with the network; the KXOF callsign and Fox affiliation would be transferred to [[KXOF-CD|another station]] in 2018.}} || Fox  
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]]–[[Grand Island, Nebraska|Grand Island]]
! [[KSNB-TV]]
|4|| ABC || Fox 
|-
! [[KTVG-TV]]
|17|| Independent || Fox 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Macon, Georgia|Macon]]
! [[WGXA-TV]]
|24|| ABC || Fox 
|-
! [[WPGA-TV]]
|58|| Fox || ABC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Marquette, Michigan|Marquette]]
! [[WBKP]]
|5
|{{efn-lg|WBKP signed on as an ABC affiliate on October 30, 1996; WLUC had part-time affiliations with NBC and Fox before it formally became a primary affiliate of NBC.}}
|ABC
|-
! [[WLUC-TV]]
|6
| ABC / NBC / Fox
| NBC 
|-
| [[Medford, Oregon|Medford]]
! [[KMVU]]
|26|| {{n/a}}{{efn-lg|KMVU signed on as a Fox affiliate on August 8, 1994.}} || Fox 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]]
! [[WHBQ-TV]]
|13|| ABC || Fox 
|-
! [[WATN-TV|WPTY-TV]]
|24|| Fox || ABC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Miami]]–[[Fort Lauderdale, Florida|Fort Lauderdale]]
! style="text-align:center;" |[[WFOR-TV|WCIX]]
|6|| colspan="2" rowspan="2" {{unofficial|Channel allocations changed}}{{efn-lg|WFOR-TV and WTVJ retained their affiliations in the September 1995 transmitter/channel allocation swap through the trade deal between Group W/CBS and NBC that caused KYW-TV and WCAU to swap their affiliations, as the respective networks were included among the intellectual assets held by WFOR and WTVJ that were involved in the transfer.}} 
|-
! [[WTVJ]]
|4
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Milwaukee]]
! [[WITI (TV)|WITI-TV]]
|6|| CBS || Fox 
|-
! [[WVTV-DT2|WCGV-TV]]
|24|| Fox || UPN 
|-
! [[WDJT-TV]]
|58|| Independent || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]]
! [[WALA-TV]]
|10|| NBC || Fox 
|-
! [[WPMI-TV|WPMI]]
|15|| Fox || NBC 
|-
| [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]]–[[El Dorado, Arkansas|El Dorado]]
! [[KARD-TV]]
|14|| ABC || Fox 
|-
| [[Myrtle Beach]]–[[Florence, South Carolina|Florence]]
! [[WFXB|WGSE]]
|43|| The WB || Fox 
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[New Orleans]]
! [[WVUE-DT|WVUE-TV]]
|8|| ABC || Fox 
|-
! [[WGNO]]
|26|| The WB || ABC 
|-
! [[WNOL-TV|WNOL]]
|38|| Fox || The WB 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Philadelphia]]
! [[KYW-TV]]
|3|| NBC || CBS 
|-
! [[WCAU|WCAU-TV]]
|10|| CBS || NBC 
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]]
! [[KTVK]]
|3|| ABC || The WB 
|-
! [[KPHO-TV]]
|5|| Independent || CBS 
|-
! [[KSAZ-TV]]
|10|| CBS || Fox{{efn-lg|KSAZ-TV operated as an independent station from September 15 to December 14, 1994, as its contract with CBS ended three months prior to KNXV's handover of the Fox affiliation and assumption of the ABC affiliation.}}
|-
! [[KNXV-TV]]
|15|| Fox || ABC{{efn-lg|KNXV-TV operated as a part-time ABC affiliate from August 29, 1994, until it formally became a primary affiliate of the network on January 9, 1995, carrying ABC programs that KTVK began removing from its schedule during its eventual transition into a WB affiliate.}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Pocatello, Idaho|Pocatello]]–[[Idaho Falls]]
! [[KPVI-TV]]
|6|| ABC{{efn-lg|KPVI had a part-time affiliation with UPN programming between January and December 1995.}}|| NBC 
|-
! [[KIFI-TV]]
|8|| NBC || ABC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]]
! [[WLNE-TV]]
|6|| CBS || ABC 
|-
! [[WPRI-TV]]
|12|| ABC || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]–[[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]]-[[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]]
! [[WNCN|WYED]]
|17|| The WB{{efn-lg|Despite its primary affiliation with The WB, WNCN aired NBC programs that were preempted by WRDC between January and September 1995; during that time, WRDC aired UPN programs in time slots that were not occupied by NBC programming.}} || NBC 
|-
! [[WRDC]]
|28|| NBC || UPN
|-
! [[WNPX-TV|WFAY]]
|62||Independent || Fox 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Rapid City, South Dakota|Rapid City]]
! [[KHSD-TV|KIVV]]
|5|| NBC || Fox 
|-
! [[KOTA-TV|KEVN-TV]]
|7|| NBC || Fox 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]]
! [[KRXI-TV]]
|11|| {{n/a}}{{efn-lg|KRXI-TV signed on as a Fox affiliate on January 1, 1996.}} || Fox 
|-
! [[KNSN-TV|KAME-TV]]
|21|| Fox || UPN 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Rockford, Illinois|Rockford]]
! [[WREX-TV|WREX]]
|13|| ABC || NBC 
|-
! [[WTVO]]
|17|| NBC || ABC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[St. Louis]]
! [[KTVI]]
|2|| ABC || Fox 
|-
! [[KDNL-TV]]
|30|| Fox || ABC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]]
! [[KXTV]]
|10|| CBS || ABC 
|-
! [[KOVR]]
|13|| ABC || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Salt Lake City]]
! [[KUTV]]
|2|| NBC || CBS 
|-
! [[KSL-TV]]
|5|| CBS || NBC 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[San Antonio]]
! [[KABB]]
|29|| Independent || Fox 
|-
! [[KMYS|KRRT]]
|35|| Fox || UPN 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Seattle]]–[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]]
! [[KIRO-TV]]
|7|| CBS || UPN 
|-
! [[KSTW]]
|11|| Independent || CBS 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[South Bend, Indiana|South Bend]]
! [[WSJV]]
|28|| ABC || Fox 
|-
! [[WBND-LD|W58BT]]
|58|| {{n/a}}{{efn-lg|W58BT signed on as an ABC affiliate on October 18, 1995.}} || ABC 
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]]–[[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]]
! [[WTSP]]
|10|| ABC || CBS 
|-
! [[WTVT]]
|13|| CBS || Fox 
|-
! [[WFTS-TV]]
|28|| Fox || ABC 
|-
| [[Terre Haute, Indiana|Terre Haute]]
! [[WAWV-TV|WBAK-TV]]
|38|| ABC || Fox 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Toledo, Ohio|Toledo]]
! [[WTVG]]
|13|| NBC || ABC 
|-
! [[WNWO-TV]]
|24|| ABC || NBC 
|-
| [[Tupelo, Mississippi|Tupelo]]–[[Columbus, Mississippi|Columbus]]–[[West Point, Mississippi|West Point]]
! [[WLOV-TV]]
|27|| ABC || Fox{{efn-lg|WLOV-TV operated as a part-time Fox affiliate between August 1994 and October 10, 1995, when it became a primary affiliate of the network.}}
|-
| | [[Twin Falls, Idaho|Twin Falls]]
! [[KXTF|KKVI-TV]]
|35|| ABC || Fox 
|-
| [[Victoria, Texas|Victoria]]
! [[KVCT]]
|19|| Independent{{efn-lg|KVCT, which carried a secondary affiliation with [[FamilyNet]] on a per-program basis as a religious independent station after its prior disaffiliation from ABC in July 1990, was off the air between March and September 1994 due to financial problems that were affecting the station's owners.}}|| Fox 
|-
| [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]]
! [[WSFX-TV|WJKA-TV]]
|26|| CBS || Fox 
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Yuma, Arizona|Yuma]]–[[El Centro, California|El Centro]]
! [[KECY-TV]]
|9|| CBS || Fox 
|-
! [[KYMA-DT|KSWT]]
|13|| ABC || CBS 
|}
The affiliation changes informally commenced on April 17, 1994, when ABC affiliate [[KARD]] (channel 14) in [[Monroe, Louisiana]], became a Fox affiliate, through an agreement unrelated to the network's group affiliation deal with New World; CBS affiliates [[KECY-TV]] (channel 9) in [[El Centro, California]]/[[Yuma, Arizona]] and [[WJKA-TV]] (channel 26, now WSFX-TV) in [[Wilmington, North Carolina]] also switched their affiliations to Fox that same year, along with [[Trinity Broadcasting Network|TBN]] affiliate [[KVCT]] (channel 19) in [[Victoria, Texas|Victoria]] and low-powered independent station [[K47DF]] (channel 47; now [[K22JA-D]], which returned to independent status in February 2008) in [[Corpus Christi, Texas]].

The switches officially began on September 3, 1994, when CBS affiliate WJW-TV became the first station involved in the New World agreement to switch its affiliation to Fox; the CBS affiliation in Cleveland consequently moved to the market's Fox charter affiliate [[WOIO]] (channel 19). Sister station WDAF-TV followed suit on September 12, trading affiliations with original Fox affiliate [[KSHB-TV]] (channel 41; New World had finalized its acquisition of KSAZ-TV (which temporarily became an independent station) and WDAF only three days before the latter switched from NBC to Fox). The majority of the New World stations switched their affiliations to Fox between December 1994 and August 1995 (WGHP and WBRC respectively did not become Fox stations until September 1, 1995, and September 1, 1996, due to their existing affiliation contracts with ABC). The affiliation changes formally concluded on September 1, 1996, when WBRC officially joined Fox as an owned-and-operated station; however, an additional affiliation transaction caused by an agreement spurred by the Fox-New World deal occurred on February 1, 1997, when upstart [[WJXX]] (channel 25) in [[Orange Park, Florida]], signed on as the new ABC affiliate for the [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]] market, replacing WJKS (channel 17, now [[WCWJ]]), which became a WB affiliate under the [[call sign|callsign]] WJWB.

With ABC, NBC and CBS suddenly in need of new affiliates in the markets affected by the New World and Burnham deals, major affiliation shakeups began to occur. In some markets (such as [[KSHB-TV|Kansas City]], [[KEYE-TV|Austin]], [[WOIO|Cleveland]], [[WXLV-TV|Piedmont Triad]], [[KDNL-TV|St. Louis]] and [[KHNL|Honolulu]]), the old Fox affiliates simply assumed the previous affiliation of the new Fox affiliate;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://greensboro.com/station-may-change-its-call-letters/article_881b2629-8f9a-53f6-9bf9-1dce3c3a1cd3.html|title=Station May Change ITS Call Letters}}</ref><ref name="American Radio History">{{cite web|title=Changing partners in Sacramento|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/94-OCR/BC-1994-08-29-Page-0006.pdf|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|publisher=[[Reed Business Information|Cahners Business Information]]|via=American Radio History|page=54|date=August 29, 1994|access-date=July 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Barry Garron |date=October 29, 1994 |title=Ratings have surprise 'winner': 'Big switch' leaves KSMO in best shape |work=[[Kansas City Star]] |publisher=[[Capital Cities/ABC Inc.]] |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=KC&p_theme=kc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF4100F3944067&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |access-date=February 6, 2013}} {{closed access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=June 16, 1995 |title=Fox and CBS Pull the Switcheroo: Musical Affiliates |work=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |publisher=Austin Chronicle Corp. |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/1995-06-16/533652/ |access-date=February 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 24, 1994 |title=CHANNEL 8 TO DROP CBS FOR FOX \ 40-YEAR AFFILIATION ENDS IN AUTUMN AS FOX OWNER PAYS $500 MILLION TO STATION'S PARENT. WJW TO REGAIN NFL GAMES, LOSE LETTERMAN. CHANNELS 19, 43 TO FIGHT FOR CBS |work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]] |publisher=[[Knight Ridder]] |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AK&s_site=ohio&p_multi=AK&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB6307C763727F0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |access-date=February 6, 2013 |via=Newsbank}} {{closed access}}</ref> in other markets (such as [[WKBD-TV|Detroit]], [[WNOL-TV|New Orleans]] and [[KNXV-TV|Phoenix]]), the former Fox station affiliated with a network that was not the prior affiliation of the new Fox outlet, resulting in swaps involving multiple stations. The shakeups involving the Big Three networks were mostly along station group lines, which also affected markets where neither New World or Burnham had operated stations.

WBRC's switch in Birmingham resulted in the most complicated swap, in which six stations changed affiliations. Although Fox Television Stations assumed ownership once its purchase of the station from the New World-controlled trust was completed in January 1996, it had to continue operating WBRC as an ABC station for nine additional months as its affiliation contract with the network did not expire until August 31, 1996; as Fox had purchased WBRC the previous summer, this gave ABC a year's leeway to find a new affiliate in the area. In January 1996, it reached a unique deal with [[Allbritton Communications]] in which WCFT-TV (channel 33, now [[Heroes & Icons]] affiliate [[WSES]]) and WJSU-TV (channel 40, now [[WGWW]], also a Heroes & Icons affiliate), the respective CBS affiliates for [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]] and [[Anniston, Alabama|Anniston]] (which had both been annexed from the Birmingham Designated Market Area by [[Arbitron]] in 1977, and eventually were collapsed back into that market by [[Nielsen N.V.|Nielsen]] in September 1998<ref name="em121597">{{Cite news |last=Jon Lafayette |date=December 15, 1997 |title=Birmingham's WBMG-TV cleans house with news staff. |page=2 |work=Electronic Media}}</ref>), would jointly become the ABC affiliate for central Alabama (weeks prior to that deal, Allbritton had entered into an agreement with Osborne Communications Corporation to take over the operations of WJSU under a local marketing agreement). However, because over-the-air reception of both stations in Birmingham proper was marginal at best and neither would likely be able to be counted in Nielsen ratings reports for that market as WCFT and WJSU were officially out-of-market stations, Allbritton purchased [[low-power broadcasting|low-power]] independent station W58CK (channel 58, now [[WBMA-LD]]); under the deal, Albritton would also affiliate W58CK with ABC and make it the main station of the cluster, while WCFT and WJSU would serve as its [[Broadcast relay station#Satellite stations|satellites]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elizabeth Rathbun |date=January 8, 1996 |title=Allbritton takes another route to Birmingham |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17986166.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17986166.html |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |access-date=November 30, 2015 |publisher=Cahners Business Information |via=HighBeam Research |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 22, 1996 |title=Allbritton Communications Co. and ABC have signed a 10-year affiliation agreement |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18220783.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18220783.html |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |access-date=November 30, 2015 |publisher=Cahners Business Information |via=HighBeam Research |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref> [[Gadsden, Alabama|Gadsden]] Fox affiliate WNAL-TV (channel 44, now [[WPXH-TV]]) replaced WJSU-TV as the CBS affiliate for northeast Alabama – the second in the area, alongside Birmingham's WIAT (WNAL would later become the Pax TV (now [[Ion Television]]) O&O for the entire Birmingham market in August 1999, three years after it was acquired by Paxson Communications (now [[Ion Media Networks]]), the network's parent company).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elizabeth Rathbun |date=September 16, 1996 |title=Paxson picks up CBS affiliate. (Paxson Communications buys WNAL-TV Gadsden, Alabama, KCMY-TV, Sacramento, California, KOOG-TV Ogden, Utah and WPVJ-FM, Jacksonville, Florida) |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=Cahners Business Information |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18698456.html |url-status=dead |access-date=January 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610085341/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18698456.html |archive-date=June 10, 2014 |via=HighBeam Research}} {{closed access}}</ref> [[WTTO]] (channel 21) and its semi-satellite WDBB (channel 17), the Fox affiliates for Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, became independent stations before affiliating with [[The WB]] in February 1997, several months after WDBB became a full-time repeater of WTTO.

In September 1995, Scripps-owned CBS affiliate [[WCPO-TV]] (channel 9) in Cincinnati agreed to switch to ABC, but that station had to wait until June 3, 1996, to switch its affiliation due to its then-existing affiliation contract with CBS.<ref name="b&c-wcpotoabc">{{Cite news |last=Jessell |first=Harry A. |date=September 11, 1995 |title=ABC, Fox change partners again |page=16 |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]] |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1995/BC-1995-09-11.pdf |access-date=December 2, 2018}}</ref> [[S&P Global|McGraw-Hill]], [[River City Broadcasting]] and Allbritton Communications also expanded their relationships with ABC, adding a combined five affiliates (two of which maintained satellite stations, including the W58CK/WCFT/WJSU cluster in Birmingham) as part of deals that renewed agreements with existing ABC stations owned by both companies.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dusty Saunders |date=October 22, 1994 |title=TV STATIONS PLAY SPIN THE DIAL CHANNEL 7 QUITS CBS, JOINS ABC, KICKING OFF NETWORK REALIGNMENT |work=[[Rocky Mountain News]] |publisher=[[E. W. Scripps Company]] |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RM&p_theme=rm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4DF0BABA1E319&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |access-date=October 21, 2012 |via=Newsbank}} {{closed access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 17, 1999 |title=In Brief: Gannett to buy WJXX |work=[[Daily Record (Morristown)|Daily Record]] |publisher=Gannett Company |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/dailyrecord/access/1846151661.html?FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:FT&type=current&date=Nov+17%2C+1999&author=&pub=Daily+Record&desc=IN+BRIEF&pqatl=google |access-date=August 25, 2012}} {{closed access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 22, 1996 |title=Allbritton Communications Co. and ABC have signed a 10-year affiliation agreement |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18220783.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18220783.html |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |access-date=December 23, 2015 |publisher=Cahners Business Information |via=HighBeam Research |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref><ref name="American Radio History" />

As a result of losing the National Football Conference television rights to Fox, CBS{{'}}s problems accelerated as it struggled to compete in the ratings (lagging behind ABC and NBC, but placing ahead of Fox) with a slate of programming that attracted an older audience than the other networks.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bill Carter |date=May 15, 1995 |title=Letterman in London, Seeking Boost at Home |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/15/arts/letterman-in-london-seeking-boost-at-home.html |access-date=August 21, 2012}}</ref> As a direct result of the New World-Fox alliance, only six of the new CBS affiliates were VHF stations (including [[KTVT]] (channel 11) in Dallas-[[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]];<ref name="KTVT-KSTW">{{Cite news |date=September 19, 1994 |title=Gaylord gets CBS affiliates in Seattle and Dallas |page=14 |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=Cahners Business Information |url=http://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-09-19-Page-0014.pdf |via=World Radio History}} {{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[KSTW]] (channel 11) in [[Seattle]]–[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]]<ref name="KTVT-KSTW" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chuck Taylor |date=January 15, 1995 |title=The Expanding Network Universe – CBS' Move From KIRO To KSTW Is Just Part of the Channel-Changing That's Shaking Up Seattle's TV |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |publisher=[[The Seattle Times Company]] |url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950115&slug=2099981 |access-date=October 23, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chuck Taylor |date=March 12, 1995 |title=The CBS Switch – Questions, Answers On Tomorrow's Big Move |work=The Seattle Times |publisher=The Seattle Times Company |url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950312&slug=2109708 |access-date=October 23, 2012}}</ref> and [[KPHO-TV]] (channel 5) in Phoenix, although KSTW would lose its CBS affiliation to the market's previous affiliate, [[KIRO-TV]] (channel 7), on June 30, 1997, in a deal that resulted in KSTW assuming the UPN affiliation held by KIRO since January 1995<ref name="KIRO">{{Cite news |last=Chuck Taylor |date=June 12, 1997 |title=KIRO-TV Sets Show Lineup For CBS Return |work=The Seattle Times |publisher=The Seattle Times Company |url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19970612&slug=2544209 |access-date=June 29, 2012}}</ref>); in [[WANF|Atlanta]],<ref name="CBS WGNX">{{Cite news |last=Steve McClellan |date=November 21, 1994 |title=CBS signs WGNX Atlanta. |page=8 |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=Cahners Business Information |url=http://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1994/BC-1994-11-21-Page-0008.pdf |via=World Radio History}} {{dead link|date=September 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[WWJ-TV|Detroit]] and [[WDJT-TV|Milwaukee]], CBS found itself in the extremely undesirable situation of ending up on low-profile UHF stations with far less transmitting power and viewer recognition than their previous affiliates or even the UHF stations that CBS affiliated with in other markets, due in part to unwillingness by other local stations to agree to switch to the then-struggling network. While the former CBS affiliates in the three markets – WAGA, WJBK and WITI – were all considered to be ratings contenders, local viewership for CBS programming dropped significantly after the network moved to the lower-profile UHF stations, which had virtually no significant history as a former major network affiliate or as a first-tier independent station. The network's viewership eventually recovered, and CBS became the most-watched broadcast television network in the U.S. by 1999.

One major positive that came from the deal was an increase in local news programming on the new Fox affiliates, a benefit that came as the network had demanded that its affiliates launch newscasts in the run-up to the launches of [[Fox News|Fox News Channel]] and the Fox NewsEdge affiliate news service in August 1996. The new Fox affiliates retained most of their existing newscasts, but expanded their morning newscasts by one or two hours and early evening newscasts by a half-hour to replace news programs aired by their former network, with the majority also adding newscasts in the final hour of prime time (9:00 or 10:00&nbsp;pm, depending on the [[time zone]]). However, most of the twelve stations involved in the New World-Fox deal chose not to carry Fox's children's programming block, [[Fox Kids]], which resulted in Fox deciding to allow its owned-and-operated stations and affiliates to drop the block if another local station was interested in airing it. A complication of this was that religious-secular independent [[KNLC]] (channel 24, now a [[MeTV]] affiliate) in St. Louis, owned by the New Life Christian Church, chose to air ministry messages (dealing with controversial topics such as abortion, [[same-sex marriage]] and the death penalty) instead of commercials during the block's program breaks, resulting in Fox moving the block to KTVI in September 1996, after several attempts by Ted Koplar to bring the Fox Kids block to The WB affiliate in St. Louis has been turned down.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pennington|first=Gail|date=August 1, 1995|title=For Some Viewers, 2 Doesn't Go Into 30|work=[[St. Louis Post Dispatch]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Pennington|first=Gail|date=August 4, 1995|title=Power Base|work=[[St. Louis Post Dispatch]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Alan Bash |date=August 30, 1995 |title=A grim outlook for Moore's 'TV Nation' |work=USA Today |publisher=Gannett Company |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/72740044.html?dids=72740044:72740044&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+30%2C+1995&author=Alan+Bash&pub=USA+TODAY+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=A+grim+outlook+for+Moore%27s+%60TV+Nation%27&pqatl=google |access-date=February 10, 2013}} {{closed access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Pennington|first=Gail|date=August 1, 1996|title=Fox Kids Programming Moves to Channel 2|work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]}}</ref>

Many of the new Big Three UHF affiliates found difficulty gaining an audience, and all but two of them had to give in to launching newscasts to back up the national news programs provided by the networks. Four stations affected by the switches – [[WEVV-TV]] (channel 44) in [[Evansville, Indiana]] (which became a CBS affiliate after losing its Fox affiliation to [[WTVW]] (channel 7, now a CW affiliate) through a separate deal),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bob Boxell |date=November 2011 |title=The Big Switch |url=http://www.evansvilleliving.com/articles/the-big-switch |access-date=September 24, 2015 |periodical=Evansville Living}}</ref> [[WWJ-TV]] (channel 62) in Detroit,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dan Trigoboff |date=April 9, 2001 |title=WWJ-TV LAUNCHES NEWSCAST |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-73460253.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224083143/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-73460253.html |archive-date=February 24, 2016 |access-date=September 24, 2015 |publisher=Reed Business Information |via=HighBeam Research |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dan Trigoboff |date=November 24, 2002 |title=CBS Drops News in Detroit |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/cbs-drops-news-detroit/94621 |access-date=September 24, 2015 |publisher=Reed Business Information |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Carl Marcucci |date=March 29, 2009 |title=Free Press will join WWJ-TV for reports |work=Radio-Television Business Report |publisher=Streamline RBR, Inc. |url=http://rbr.com/free-press-will-join-wwj-tv-for-reports/ |access-date=June 22, 2012}}</ref> [[KDNL-TV]] (channel 30) in St. Louis and [[WXLV-TV]] (channel 45) in the Piedmont Triad – failed to gain traction with their competitors in the local news field and eventually either cancelled or outsourced their newscasts (although WWJ-TV,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Michael Malone |date=December 12, 2012 |title=Exclusive: WWJ Detroit Scrapping Morning News |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=NewBay Media |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/exclusive-wwj-detroit-scrapping-morning-news/43815 |access-date=December 12, 2012}}</ref> KDNL-TV<ref name="slpd-ksdkonkdnlend">{{Cite news |last=Lisa Brown |date=June 20, 2013 |title=KSDK to stop producing newscasts for KDNL |work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |publisher=[[Lee Enterprises]] |url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ksdk-to-stop-producing-newscasts-for-kdnl/article_1f7db579-5ba9-55c7-ab4e-1dc5c33771dc.html |access-date=June 22, 2013}}</ref><ref name="slpd-kdnlallmanreport">{{Cite news |last=Gail Pennington |date=November 24, 2014 |title=KDNL will launch 'non-traditional newscast' in January |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |publisher=Lee Enterprises |url=http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/gail-pennington/kdnl-will-launch-non-traditional-newscast-in-january/article_063117bd-780b-5c58-9302-d01167353510.html |access-date=November 24, 2014}}</ref> and WXLV<ref>{{Cite news |last=Diana Marszalek |date=February 21, 2012 |title=WXLV, TWC Share (and Share) News Alike |work=TVNewsCheck |publisher=NewsCheck Media |url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/57597/wxlv-twc-share-and-share-news-alike |access-date=June 22, 2012}}</ref> have since made other attempts at news programming in some form to mixed results; WEVV-TV was the only one that failed in its previous news programming to fully resume in-house news operations, launching a news department in August 2015, months after its sale to [[Bayou City Broadcasting]] was finalized<ref>{{Cite news |last=Susan Orr |date=December 9, 2014 |title=WEVV to add local news programming |work=[[Evansville Courier & Press]] |publisher=[[Journal Media Group]] |url=http://www.courierpress.com/business/local/wevv-to-add-local-news-programming_10858384}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Zach Evans |date=July 24, 2015 |title=WEVV readying young news team for Tri-State |work=Evansville Courier & Press |publisher=Journal Media Group |url=http://www.courierpress.com/news/local-news/wevv-readying-young-news-team-for-tristate_40372311}}</ref>). Generally, the stations that continue to air newscasts to this day have generally finished in third or fourth place behind their VHF competitors, although some have experienced gradual ratings growth.

==Post-switchover changes==
Fox continued to upgrade its stations in at least two unrelated deals struck later:
* On August 18, 1994, Fox Television Stations purchased ABC affiliate [[WHBQ-TV]] (channel 13) in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] – a station that was once part of the [[RKO General]] broadcasting empire, which had collapsed in the late 1980s due to corruption and [[perjury]] – from [[Communications Corporation of America]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Andy Meisler |date=August 19, 1994 |title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Fox to Buy Memphis ABC Outlet |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/19/business/the-media-business-fox-to-buy-memphis-abc-outlet.html |access-date=June 22, 2012}}</ref> Former Fox affiliate WPTY-TV (channel 24, now [[WATN-TV]]) assumed the ABC affiliation on December 1, 1995.
* On September 8, 2002, UPN affiliate [[KMSP-TV]] (channel 9) in [[Minneapolis]]–[[St. Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] – the home market of the [[Minnesota Vikings]] of the NFC – became a Fox affiliate, trading affiliations with [[WFTC]] (channel 29, now a MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated station).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Troy Gunderson |date=September 6, 2002 |title=Calling all surfers: FOX, UPN changing channels |work=[[Brainerd Dispatch]] |publisher=[[Morris Communications]] |url=http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/090602/spo_0906020016.shtml |url-status=dead |access-date=June 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214084824/http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/090602/spo_0906020016.shtml |archive-date=December 14, 2013}}</ref> A similar swap occurred that year in [[Portland, Oregon]], when the [[Meredith Corporation]] swapped the affiliations of Fox affiliate [[KPDX]] (channel 49, now a MyNetworkTV affiliate) and newly acquired UPN affiliate [[KPTV]] (channel 12); KPTV and KMSP were previously affiliated with Fox from the network's launch in October 1986 until September 1988, when they both disaffiliated from the network due to issues over its then-weakly performing programs. Fox had purchased both stations as part of its 2001 acquisition of [[Chris-Craft Industries]]' [[BHC Communications|television station group]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sallie Hofmeister |date=August 12, 2000 |title=News Corp. to Buy Chris-Craft Parent for $5.5 Billion, Outbidding Viacom |work=Los Angeles Times |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2000/aug/12/business/fi-3272 |access-date=March 23, 2011}}</ref> but traded KPTV to Meredith in exchange for [[WOFL]] (channel 35) in [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] and its [[Gainesville, Florida|Gainesville]] semi-satellite [[WOGX]] (channel 51) in 2002.

Between 1997 and 1999, Fox gained several affiliates in smaller markets, including [[WFFF-TV]] (channel 44) in [[Plattsburgh, New York]]; [[WVFX]] (channel 10) in [[Clarksburg, West Virginia]]; [[WFXS]] (channel 55) in [[Wausau, Wisconsin|Wausau]]/[[Rhinelander, Wisconsin]]; [[KFFX-TV]] (channel 11) in [[Yakima, Washington]]; [[KPTH]] (channel 44) in [[Sioux City, Iowa]]; and K24EJ (channel 24, now [[KKFX-CD]]) in [[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara]]/[[San Luis Obispo, California]]. However, there have been several occasions since that time when several markets lost over-the-air availability of Fox programming with no immediate local replacement. For example, in October 2001, Pegasus Broadcasting-owned [[WDBD]] (channel 40) in [[Jackson, Mississippi]] (which would reaffiliate with Fox in 2006) and [[WPXT]] (channel 51, now a CW affiliate) in [[Portland, Maine]] became affiliates of [[The WB]] due to a payment dispute between Pegasus and Fox; the network would not be available over-the-air in the state of Maine until April 2003 (after an attempt by [[WCKD-LP]] [channel 30, now defunct] to affiliate with the network fell through), when [[Ion Television|Pax]] station [[WPFO]] (channel 23) joined Fox, restoring over-the-air availability of the network to the Portland market, and [[WFVX-LD|WFVX-LP]] (channel 22) signed on as the network's first [[Bangor, Maine|Bangor]]-based affiliate.<ref name="bdn-wckdvsupn">{{Cite news |last=Neff |first=Andrew |date=September 25, 2001 |title=WCKD may lose baseball playoffs |page=C7 |work=Bangor Daily News |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hqVJAAAAIBAJ&pg=1438%2C2680466 |access-date=August 25, 2012}}</ref><ref name="bdn-adelphiafoxnet">{{Cite news |last=Neff |first=Andrew |date=October 9, 2001 |title=Adelphia cable axes WCKD from lineup |pages=C4–7 |work=Bangor Daily News |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gaRJAAAAIBAJ&pg=4253%2C2398974 |access-date=August 27, 2012}}</ref>

On July 14, 1997, Sinclair Broadcast Group and [[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]] reached a long-term affiliation agreement to switch several of the former's television stations, including Fox affiliates in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] ([[WLFL]] [channel 22, now a CW affiliate]) and [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]] ([[WTVZ]] [channel 33, now a MyNetworkTV affiliate]), as well as UPN affiliates in Pittsburgh (WPTT-TV [channel 22, subsequently re-called WCWB and now operating as MyNetworkTV affiliate [[WPNT]]]), [[Baltimore]] ([[WNUV]] [channel 54, now a CW affiliate]), [[Cincinnati]] ([[WSTR-TV]] [channel 64, now a MyNetworkTV affiliate]), [[San Antonio]] (KRRT [channel 35, now [[Dabl]] affiliate [[KMYS]]]), [[Oklahoma City]] ([[KOCB]] [channel 34, now a CW affiliate]), and [[Indianapolis]] ([[WTTV]] [channel 4], which was added to the agreement through a separate deal), to The WB. In most of the markets affected, UPN programming was displaced to an upstart general entertainment station or a converted former non-commercial outlet (in one such example, UPN sister company [[Paramount Stations Group]] was forced to purchase PBS member station KTLC [channel 43, subsequently re-called KPSG and then [[KAUT-TV]]], a former independent station-turned-Fox affiliate that previous owner Heritage Media had donated to the [[Oklahoma Educational Television Authority]] [OETA] in 1991, to replace KOCB as the network's Oklahoma City affiliate); in Raleigh (where Fox moved to [[WRAZ-TV]] [channel 50]) and Indianapolis (where UPN moved to [[WNDY-TV]] [channel 23, now a MyNetworkTV affiliate]), however, the former WB stations in those markets took over the affiliation previously held by the Sinclair-run WB outlet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-15-fi-12900-story.html|title = Sinclair Group to Switch 5 Stations from UPN to WB|website = [[Los Angeles Times]]|date = July 15, 1997}}</ref>

In early 2002, two [[Televisa]]-owned stations, XHFOX-TV (channel 57, now [[XHTAM-TDT]]) in [[Matamoros, Tamaulipas|Matamoros]]/[[Reynosa]] (serving the [[Harlingen, Texas|Harlingen]]–[[Brownsville, Texas|Brownsville]]–[[McAllen, Texas|McAllen]] market) and XHFTX-TV (channel 2, now [[XHLAR-TDT]]) in [[Nuevo Laredo]] (serving the [[Laredo, Texas|Laredo]] market), were stripped of their affiliations with Fox and consequently became affiliates of Televisa's Canal de las Estrellas (now simply [[Las Estrellas]]).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002 |title=Valley station will end Fox affiliation |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/valley-station-will-end-fox-affiliation/article_9c8abd68-ebac-5e8c-92e4-9ae9f3ff302c.html |website=The Brownsville Herald}}</ref> This left the western and southern areas of [[South Texas]] without an over-the-air Fox affiliate until 2005, when [[XHRIO-TDT|XHRIO-TV]] (channel 2 [later channel 15], later a [[The CW Plus|CW Plus]] affiliate, now silent as of 2021) became the network's affiliate for the Harlingen–Brownsville–McAllen market. (KXOF-CA [channel 39, now [[UniMás]] affiliate [[KETF-CD]]] signed on as the network's new affiliate for the Laredo area in July 2007; it swapped programming and call letters with a [[KXOF-CD|sister low-power outlet]] on virtual channel 31 in December 2018.) In early 2004, NBC and [[LIN Media|LIN Television]] announced an agreement to renew the contracts of the company's existing NBC stations, while also switching its then-ABC stations in [[Dayton, Ohio]] ([[WDTN]] [channel 2]) and [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]]–[[Decatur, Illinois]] ([[WAND-TV]] [channel 17]) to the network; the decision to flip LIN's Dayton and Springfield stations was in response to a separate deal involving Sinclair Broadcast Group that resulted in ABC moving its programming to the outgoing NBC affiliates in both markets ([[WKEF]] [channel 22], and [[WICS]] [channel 20] and its [[Champaign, Illinois|Champaign]] semi-satellite [[WICD (TV)|WICD]] [channel 15], respectively). In any case, the LIN and Sinclair deals reversed a January 1980 network swap between WDTN and WKEF, one of several occurring between 1979 and 1981 as NBC's national viewership languished in third place (behind ABC and CBS).<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2004/03/01/daily25.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120123121401/http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2004/03/01/daily25.html| archive-date = January 23, 2012| title = Channel 2 switching to NBC - Dayton Business Journal}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=WKEF-TV to Become ABC Affiliate |url=https://sbgi.net/wp-content/uploads/company-news-archives/2004/07_27_2004_WKEF-TV_to_Become_ABC_Affiliate.pdf |website=Sinclair Broadcast Group |date=July 27, 2004}}</ref>

Another switch occurred in San Diego on August 1, 2008, when [[KSWB-TV]] (channel 69) – one of 16 charter CW affiliates owned by [[Tribune Broadcasting]] – became a Fox affiliate, swapping networks with XETV.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Michael Malone |date=July 27, 2008 |title=San Diego Stations Switch Affiliations; Longtime Fox affiliate XETV becomes a CW outlet on Aug. 1 as KSWB goes from CW to Fox. |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=Reed Business Information |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/programming/san-diego-stations-switch-affiliations/32937 |access-date=January 21, 2013}}</ref> Although it might have been seen as a downgrade on the surface, as KSWB's analog position was UHF channel 69 while XETV was on VHF channel 6, the market has heavy cable penetration and the majority of its stations are on UHF, which then brand by their dominant cable channel slot rather than their broadcast channel allocation; as such, KSWB is branded as "Fox 5" and only uses its over-the-air channel position as its [[Program and System Information Protocol|PSIP]] [[virtual channel]], in legally required [[station identification|station IDs]] and (from 2008 to 2012) a short sweep of a "Fox 69" logo in the [[digital on-screen graphic|bug]] seen during its newscasts. With the switch to Fox, Tribune re-established a news department for KSWB (which produced a prime time newscast from September 1999 to September 2005, before production was taken over by KNSD through a news share agreement).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Robert P. Laurence |date=September 22, 2005 |title=KSWB news changes hands; 30 to lose jobs |work=[[San Diego Union-Tribune|U-T San Diego]] |publisher=[[Copley Press]] |url=http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/features/20050922-9999-1c22kswb.html |access-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-date=December 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213191007/http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/features/20050922-9999-1c22kswb.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Karla Peterson |date=July 3, 2008 |title=Fox and CW changing channels |work=U-T San Diego |publisher=Copley Press |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080703/news_1m3tvswitch.html |url-status=dead |access-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202103148/http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080703/news_1m3tvswitch.html |archive-date=February 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Karla Peterson |date=August 25, 2008 |title='Fox 5': First the bad news and now the good news? |work=U-T San Diego |publisher=Copley Press |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080825/news_1c25karla.html |url-status=dead |access-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916230108/http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080825/news_1c25karla.html |archive-date=September 16, 2008}}</ref> In regards to the NFL, this switchover was an irrelevant issue; as the [[Los Angeles Chargers|Chargers]], who played in San Diego until 2017, play in the AFC, most of the team's Sunday afternoon games aired locally on CBS affiliate [[KFMB-TV]] (channel 8) from 1998 to 2016 (ironically, Chargers games had aired on KNSD from 1977 to 1997). Beginning with the 2017 season, with the Chargers moving to the Los Angeles area, the primary station for the team's games in that market is CBS' [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] [[flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] [[KCBS-TV]] (channel 2). Another affiliation switch came in the [[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]] television market was in 2008 when [[Nexstar Media Group|Nexstar Broadcasting Group]] struck a deal with Fox to affiliate it with NBC affiliate [[KBTV-TV|KBTV]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=December 2008|first=Michael Malone 09|date=December 9, 2008|title=Nexstar: $20 Million in Retrans In 2008|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/nexstar-20-million-retrans-2008-41449|access-date=September 13, 2021|website=Broadcasting Cable|language=en}}</ref>

CBS saw an affiliate downgrade from VHF to UHF in an unrelated transaction in the [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]]–[[Brunswick, Georgia|Brunswick]] market – home of the [[Jacksonville Jaguars]] (whose games also air on CBS through its rights to the AFC) – after [[Graham Media Group|Post-Newsweek Stations]] announced in April 2002 that it would end the network's affiliation with [[WJXT]] (channel 4) due to a dispute over planned [[reverse compensation]] demands by CBS.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 3, 2002 |title=WJXT-TV 4 to drop CBS |work=[[The Florida Times-Union]] |publisher=Morris Communications |url=http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/040302/met_wjxt.html |access-date=July 11, 2012}}</ref> On July 15, 2002, WTEV-TV (channel 47, now [[WJAX-TV]]<ref name="ftu-wjaxwfoxcallsigns">{{Cite news |last=Drew Dixon |date=September 3, 2014 |title=Jacksonville's Action News stations WAWS and WTEV change call letters Sunday |work=The Florida Times-Union |publisher=Morris Communications |url=http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2014-09-03/story/jacksonvilles-action-news-stations-waws-and-wtev-change-call-letters |access-date=September 4, 2014}}</ref>) became the market's CBS affiliate, with Fox-affiliated sister station WAWS (channel 30, now [[WFOX-TV]]<ref name=ftu-wjaxwfoxcallsigns/>) assuming its displaced UPN affiliation as a secondary affiliation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dan Trigoboff |date=July 14, 2002 |title=Station Break: Jacksonville jump |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=Cahners Business Information |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/station-break/93143 |access-date=July 11, 2012}}</ref> The loss of the CBS affiliation on WJXT, which became an independent station, caused a switch in nearby Gainesville (home to the [[University of Florida]], whose [[Florida Gators football|football games]] [[SEC on CBS|regularly air on CBS]] through its contract with the [[Southeastern Conference]]), where primary WB/secondary UPN affiliate [[WGFL]] (channel 53, now on channel 28) switched to CBS for the network to remain available in that area; UPN and The WB were relegated to a [[digital subchannel]] of the station (now affiliated with MyNetworkTV, as well as low-power [[WMYG-LP]]), one of the earliest instances of a subchannel being established to carry a major network prior to the [[2006 United States broadcast TV realignment|2006 realignment]] resulting from the merger of The WB and UPN to form The CW.

Out of the CBS affiliates in the 16 AFC markets, WJAX-TV and Cleveland affiliate WOIO – in the home market of the [[Cleveland Browns|Browns]] – are the only stations which have virtual channels corresponding to the UHF band. WOIO (which actually transmits its digital signal over VHF channel 10) was Cleveland's charter Fox affiliate before swapping affiliations with WJW as a result of the New World deal, and has even held rights to the teams' preseason games from [[1988 Cleveland Browns season|1988]] as a Fox affiliate until [[1995 Cleveland Browns season|1995]], and in [[2005 Cleveland Browns season|2005]] as a CBS affiliate. Currently, WOIO only airs the Browns' CBS game telecasts, due to conflicts between the team and WOIO's news department in the past over coverage about personal issues involving team players and ownership that resulted in the Browns organization choosing not to renew its preseason rights deal with WOIO after the 2005 season; ABC affiliate [[WEWS]] (channel 5) carries the bulk of the team's preseason games and other Browns programs.

On July 1, 2013, CW affiliate [[WJZY]] (channel 46) in Charlotte, North Carolina, became a Fox owned-and-operated station (now owned by [[Nexstar Media Group]]), after Fox Television Stations purchased it and MyNetworkTV-affiliated sister station [[WMYT-TV]] (channel 55) from the [[Capitol Broadcasting Company]] that April; similar to the situation it faced following its purchase of WBRC, Fox Television Stations had to operate WJZY as a CW affiliate for three months after its purchase of the WJZY-WMYT duopoly was completed, as that station's existing contract with the network did not expire until June 30, 2013. The switch resulted in an upgrade for The CW through the network's move to displaced Fox charter affiliate [[WCCB]], as that station broadcasts on UHF channel 18,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Doug Halonen |date=January 28, 2013 |title=WCCB Charlotte To Lose Its Fox Affiliation |work=TVNewsCheck |publisher=NewsCheck Media |url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/65069/fox-buying-charlotte-duo-of-wjzywmyt |access-date=January 28, 2013}}</ref><ref name="b&c-wccbcw">{{Cite news |last=Michael Malone |date=April 18, 2013 |title=Fox Affiliate WCCB Charlotte Shifts to CW |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=NewBay Media |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/fox-affiliate-wccb-charlotte-shifts-cw/43998 |access-date=April 18, 2013}}</ref> and also has a news department (becoming one of a handful of news-producing CW-affiliated stations as a result), which WJZY did not have until January 2014 as a Fox O&O.

Another notable switch involving an AFC market occurred in [[Indianapolis]], after a dispute between station management at [[WISH-TV]] (channel 8) and the network during affiliation renewal negotiations over reverse compensation demands led CBS to reach an agreement with Tribune Broadcasting on August 11, 2014, in which WTTV and its [[Kokomo, Indiana|Kokomo]]-based satellite WTTK (channel 29) would jointly become the market's CBS affiliate through a broader deal that renewed affiliations for the company's five existing CBS stations ([[KFSM-TV]] [channel 5] in [[Fort Smith, Arkansas]]; [[WHNT-TV]] [channel 19] in [[Huntsville, Alabama]]; [[WTKR]] [channel 3] in [[Norfolk, Virginia]]; [[WTVR-TV]] [channel 6] in [[Richmond, Virginia]]; and [[WREG-TV]] [channel 3] in Memphis).<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 11, 2014 |title=WTTV Move Shows CBS Testing The Market |work=TVNewsCheck |publisher=NewsCheck Media |url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/78359/cbs-moving-indianapolis-affiliation-to-wttv |access-date=August 11, 2014}}</ref> WTTV/WTTK originally planned to move its CW affiliation to a digital subchannel upon the January 1, 2015, switch until Tribune decided to sell The CW's Indianapolis affiliation rights to WISH owner Media General (which had completed its merger with that station's former owner [[LIN Media]] three days earlier) on December 22, 2014, with WTTV/WTTK opting instead to operate its DT2 subchannel as an independent station.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Michael Malone |date=December 22, 2014 |title=Tribune Sells Indianapolis CW Affiliation to Media General |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=NewBay Media |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/tribune-sells-indianapolis-cw-affiliation-media-general/136613 |access-date=December 23, 2014}}</ref> The switch was an upgrade for The CW, due to WISH's prior history as a major network station and its operation of a news department; it was also an upgrade at least for WTTV even if it was arguably one for CBS, as the station had not been a major network affiliate since it lost the ABC affiliation to WLWI (channel 13, now NBC affiliate [[WTHR]]) in October 1957, had not maintained a news department since November 1990 or aired any newscasts of its own since the termination of an agreement with ABC affiliate [[WRTV]] (channel 6) in December 2002, following Tribune's purchase of the station (the newscasts that Tribune re-established for WTTV upon the switch use resources from [[WXIN (TV)|WXIN]] (channel 59)'s existing news department, which began operations in September 1991, but compete against and maintain anchor teams largely separate from its Fox-affiliated sister station). In fact, the major impetus of the deal was that it allowed WTTV to become the local broadcaster of the [[Indianapolis Colts]] through CBS' rights to the AFC.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Anthony Schoetle |date=August 11, 2014 |title=CBS affiliation switch means major changes at WTTV |work=[[Indianapolis Business Journal]] |publisher=[[American City Business Journals]] |url=http://www.ibj.com/cbs-affiliation-switch-means-major-changes-at-wttv/PARAMS/article/48994}}</ref>

==Long-term impact==

===Growth of Fox Sports===
The affiliation switches helped elevate Fox to major network status, on par with its older, established competitors. As of 2015, its sports division has expanded to include [[Fox Major League Baseball|Major League Baseball]],<ref>{{Cite press release |title=FOX Secures MLB Rights Through 2021 |date=October 2, 2012 |publisher=[[Fox Sports (United States)|Fox Sports Media Group]] |url=http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom/binary/2012/10/02/FOX_MLB_Agreement1349194799783.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113183517/http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom/binary/2012/10/02/FOX_MLB_Agreement1349194799783.pdf |archive-date=November 13, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Fox NASCAR|NASCAR]]<ref name="NASCAR and FOX Sports Media Group Reach Expansive Multi-Year, Multi-Platform Rights Agreement">{{Cite press release |title=NASCAR and FOX Sports Media Group Reach Expansive Multi-Year, Multi-Platform Rights Agreement |date=October 15, 2012 |publisher=Fox Sports Media Group |url=http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom//binary/2012/10/15/FOX_NASCAR_Rights_Deal1350308921237.pdf |access-date=November 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021041337/http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom/binary/2012/10/15/FOX_NASCAR_Rights_Deal1350308921237.pdf |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and collegiate events from select [[National Collegiate Athletics Association|NCAA]] athletic conferences. In addition, [[NHL on Fox|Fox]] aired [[National Hockey League]] games from [[1995–96 NHL season|1995]] to [[1998–99 NHL season|1999]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=[[Richard Sandomir]] |date=September 10, 1994 |title=Fox Outbids CBS for N.H.L. Games |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/10/sports/hockey-fox-outbids-cbs-for-nhl-games.html?sq=National+Hockey+League+Fox&scp=4&st=nyt |access-date=March 20, 2008}}</ref> and the [[Bowl Championship Series]] (except for the [[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowl]]) from [[2006–07 NCAA football bowl games|2007]] to [[2009–10 NCAA football bowl games|2010]]. Other former properties include [[Formula One]] races (now held by [[ESPN]]) and the [[Cotton Bowl Classic]] (which moved to [[ESPN]] in 2015). Fox Sports' coverage also has expanded to encompass several cable networks, led by its [[Fox Sports Networks|Fox Sports Net]] chain of [[regional sports network]]s (a group launched in 1996, that is composed largely of channels that were formerly part of the [[Prime Sports]] and [[SportsChannel]] groups) and its two flagship national networks, [[Fox Sports 1]] and [[Fox Sports 2]] (both of which launched in August 2013, replacing existing niche sports networks [[Speed (TV channel)|Speed]] and Fuel TV). In 2019, Fox Sports Networks were sold to [[Diamond Sports Group]], joint venture of [[Sinclair Broadcasting Group]] and [[Entertainment Studios]], and were rebranded into [[Bally Sports]] in 2021.<ref name="ballysdeal">{{Cite web|last=Novy-Williams|first=Eben|date=November 19, 2020|title=Bally's Buys Sinclair RSN Naming Rights As Part of Sports Betting Push|url=https://www.sportico.com/business/sports-betting/2020/ballys-sinclair-naming-rights-1234616912/|access-date=November 19, 2020|website=Sportico.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="ballysrename">{{Cite web|date=January 27, 2021|title=Sinclair to rebrand Fox Sports regional networks as Bally Sports|url=https://theathletic.com/news/fox-sports-bally-sports-sinclair/RuyBzKuWfzAL|access-date=January 27, 2021|website=The Athletic|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2019-08-23/sinclair-completes-acquisition-of-regional-sports-networks-from-Disney|title=Sinclair completes acquisition of regional sports networks from Disney| publisher=Bloomberg |date=August 22, 2019 |access-date=August 23, 2019}}</ref>

In the fall of 2011, Fox added regular season [[college football]] games from the [[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]] and [[Big 12 Conference]]s,<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 7, 2012 |title=Big 12 announces 13-year broadcast agreement with ESPN, Fox |work=USA Today |publisher=Gannett Company |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2012/09/big-12-agreement-fox-espn-13-years/1#.UqtUfLQa7Ec}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release |title=FOX Sports Media Group Secures Pac-12 Multi-Platform Media Rights; FOX and FX To Air Games |date=May 4, 2011 |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/05/04/fox-sports-media-group-secures-pac-12-multi-platform-media-rights-fox-and-fx-to-air-games/91516/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506062950/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/05/04/fox-sports-media-group-secures-pac-12-multi-platform-media-rights-fox-and-fx-to-air-games/91516 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 6, 2011 |website=[[TV by the Numbers]] |via=Fox Sports Media Group}}</ref> and the [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] and Pac-12 championship games,<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 18, 2010 |title=Fox Sports Signs Up Six Big Ten Title Games in 2011–16 |work=[[AdWeek]] |publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]] |url=http://www.adweek.com/news/television/fox-sports-signs-six-big-ten-title-games-2011-16-116590}}</ref> as well as four matches per year from the [[Ultimate Fighting Championship]].<ref name="ufc-on-fox">{{Cite web |last=Mike Whitman |title=UFC, Fox Announce 7-Year Broadcast Deal |url=http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/UFC-Fox-Announce-7-Year-Broadcast-Deal-34862 |access-date=August 18, 2011 |website=[[Sherdog]]}}</ref> [[The Football Association|England]]'s [[FA Cup]] final came to the network on May 11, 2013. In August 2013, Fox Sports signed a deal to broadcast the three major open championships of the [[United States Golf Association]], including the [[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]], starting in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tim Baysinger |date=August 7, 2013 |title=Fox Sports Reaches Rights Deal for Golf's U.S. Open |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/programming/fox-sports-reaches-rights-deal-golfs-us-open/66215 |access-date=August 7, 2013 |publisher=NewBay Media |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref> Current Fox Sports properties seen over-the-air also include exclusive coverage of the [[Daytona 500]], the [[FIFA World Cup]], and from 2009 to 2018, the final game of the [[UEFA Champions League]]. In addition, the [[World Superbike Championship]] races at [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway]] were moved to Fox Sports 1 in 2013.

===Rise of Fox in prime time===
Fox's entertainment programs have also benefited from the heavy promotion they received during the sports telecasts, including shows that it already aired at the time (such as ''[[Beverly Hills, 90210]]'', ''[[Melrose Place]]'', ''[[Married... with Children]]'', ''[[The X-Files]]'' and ''[[The Simpsons]]''), as well as newer programs (such as ''[[American Idol]]'', ''[[24 (TV series)|24]]'' and ''[[House (TV series)|House]]''). In fact, ''Idol'' was the highest-rated prime time network program for eight consecutive seasons, from [[2004 in American television|2003–04]] to [[2011 in American television|2010–11]], the [[Nielsen ratings#Annual Top-Rated Shows|longest such streak]] in U.S. television history.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lisa de Moraes |date=May 23, 2012 |title=CBS wins network ratings-war again; reality-competition shows still dominate |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/cbs-wins-network-ratings-war-again-reality-competition-shows-still-dominate/2012/05/23/gJQAH7PnlU_story.html |access-date=July 6, 2012}}</ref>

===The resilience of CBS===
While CBS eventually recovered from the loss of the National Football Conference package, the network's recovery is partially linked to, ironically, its re-acquisition of broadcast rights to the NFL in 1998 when it took over the television contract to the American Football Conference from NBC.<ref name="AFCBS">{{Cite news |last=Milton Kent |date=September 4, 1998 |title=CBS mood positively 'electric' after reconnecting with NFL; Intercepting AFC games caps network's comeback from rights turnover in '94 |work=Baltimore Sun |publisher=Times Mirror Company |url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-09-04/sports/1998247169_1_cbs-wolff-football |access-date=June 22, 2012 |archive-date=May 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502212451/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-09-04/sports/1998247169_1_cbs-wolff-football |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[1997 NFL season|last year that NBC held the AFC rights]] saw the [[1997 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]], an original AFL team, defeat the [[1997 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]] in [[Super Bowl XXXII]], which aired on NBC and ended a 13-year drought against the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Around the time CBS assumed the American Football Conference rights, the league trend of the 1980s and 1990s reversed, in that the AFC became the dominant NFL conference over the NFC. The [[New England Patriots]] dynasty in the 2000s in the only top-10 market at the time with an AFC franchise and no NFC team also contributed to the ratings surge. In fact, the primary stations for both the Broncos and Patriots are the same as when NBC carried the AFC (before their respective switches in September 1995 through the trade deal between CBS/Group W and NBC) – KCNC-TV in Denver and WBZ-TV in Boston (KUSA and WHDH-TV carried those teams' games from August 1995 [WHDH]/September 1995 [KUSA] to January 1998).

In addition, the current AFC deal also saw CBS indirectly acquire the rights to air games played by the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]], which air locally on KDKA-TV (which was a CBS O&O by the time the network re-acquired the NFL rights, and has long been one of CBS's strongest stations) and often earn the highest television ratings for an NFL team due to the Steelers' [[Steeler Nation|rabid fanbase]] on a national level. Coincidentally, before the AFL-NFL merger, the team's road games had aired on KDKA as part of the NFL's deal for CBS to air its games, while home games could not be televised ''at all'' during this period, even if tickets for each individual matchup played in the Steelers' home stadium did sell out.  When the Steelers switched to the AFC in 1970 to the end of NFC broadcast rights in 1993, CBS continued airing Steeler home games when NFC teams played at Pittsburgh.

===Impact on NBC===
As CBS took the hardest hit from the switches, due partly to having been relegated to lower-tier affiliates in several major markets, NBC became the most-watched network in the United States, as it not only experienced the fewest effects of the switchover, but also benefited from a strong slate of programming at the time (including ''[[Friends]]'', ''[[Frasier]]'', ''[[Seinfeld]]'', ''[[Law & Order]]'', ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'' and ''[[Dateline NBC]]''). NBC would maintain its ratings lead until 1999, the year after it lost the AFC television rights to CBS, which overtook it for first place.<ref name="AFCBS" />

After ''Friends'' and ''Frasier'' ended their runs in 2004, NBC largely struggled in the ratings until 2013. Although it would be helped by its exclusive rights to the [[Olympic Games]] (a deal effective with the [[2000 Summer Olympics]] in which, along with retaining its existing rights to the [[Summer Olympic Games|Summer Olympics]], it assumed the exclusive rights to the [[Winter Olympic Games|Winter Olympics]] from CBS starting in [[2002 Winter Olympics|2002]]), the network's ratings troubles were also abetted by a slow decline in its [[NBC Sports|sports division]]'s event portfolio that began with the earlier loss of broadcast rights to the AFC to CBS, and later its share of Major League Baseball rights to Fox in 2000 and its contract with the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) to ABC and ESPN in 2002. Its attempts to counter those losses and supplement its inherently sporadic Olympics broadcasts were major failures, most infamously with the original incarnation of the [[XFL (2001)|XFL]] and the [[AFL on NBC|Arena Football League]].

However, one of the few NBC shows to earn strong ratings during the late 2000s and the 2010s was ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]'', which moved to the network from ESPN in September 2006 as part of the same NFL television contract that saw ABC's venerable ''Monday Night Football'' move to ESPN. ''NBC Sunday Night Football'' eventually beat Fox's ''American Idol'' to become the most watched program on U.S. television beginning in [[2011–12 United States network television schedule|2012]]. Additionally, NBC Sports' portfolio was also aided in May 2004 by gaining the rights to air [[NHL on NBC|National Hockey League]] games; however, the network would not air any NHL games until 2006 due to a [[2004-05 NHL lockout|lockout]] that canceled the league's 2004–05 season. NBC aired NHL games until 2021 when national rights to the NHL were transferred to [[NHL on ESPN|ESPN]], [[NHL on ABC|ABC]], and [[NHL on Turner Sports|TNT]] via [[Turner Sports]] starting with the 2021–22 season.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Knoll |first1=Andrew |title=N.H.L. and Turner Sports Reach 7-Year Media Rights Deal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/sports/hockey/nhl-turner-media-rights-deal.html |url-access=limited |access-date=May 13, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 27, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hayes |first1=Dade |last2=Pedersen |first2=Erik |title=Turner & NHL Ice Seven-Year Rights Deal Including Some Playoff & Stanley Cup Final Games, HBO Max – Update |url=https://deadline.com/2021/04/turner-looks-to-skate-in-on-nhl-rights-after-nbcuniversal-bails-will-pucks-fly-on-hbo-max-1234744602/ |access-date=May 13, 2021 |work=Deadline |date=April 27, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=|first=|date=March 10, 2021|title=NHL back on ESPN with 7-year multiplatform deal|work=ESPN|location=|url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31039351/nhl-back-espn-7-year-multiplatform-deal|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=March 10, 2021|title=ESPN officially announces new TV deal with NHL, featuring 25 games on ABC or ESPN, 75 exclusive games on ESPN+ and Hulu, new studio show|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/nhl/espn-officially-announces-new-tv-deal-with-nhl-featuring-25-games-on-abc-or-espn-75-exclusive-games-on-espn-and-hulu-new-studio-show.html|access-date=March 11, 2021|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Current statuses==
On July 17, 1996, News Corporation announced that it would acquire New World outright in an all-stock transaction worth $2.48&nbsp;billion, making the latter company's ten Fox affiliates owned-and-operated stations of the network;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brian Lowry |date=July 18, 1996 |title=New World Vision : Murdoch's News Corp. to Buy Broadcast Group |work=Los Angeles Times |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1996-07-18/business/fi-25271_1_rupert-murdoch-s-news-corp |access-date=June 22, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=July 18, 1996 |title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS;Murdoch's News Corp. Buying New World |work=The New York Times |agency=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/18/business/the-media-business-murdoch-s-news-corp-buying-new-world.html |access-date=October 9, 2015}}</ref> the deal was completed on January 22, 1997. Today, seven of the New World stations that switched to Fox—KDFW, WAGA, WJBK, WITI, KSAZ-TV, WTVT and KTBC—are owned by [[Fox Corporation]]. While under News Corporation ownership, Fox Television Stations sold former New World stations WJW, KTVI, WDAF-TV, WITI-TV, WBRC and WGHP, along with WHBQ-TV, KDVR and [[KSTU]], to [[Local TV LLC]], for $1.1&nbsp;billion on December 21, 2007.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=The New York Times Company Announces Plan to Sell Its Broadcast Media Group |date=September 12, 2006 |publisher=The New York Times Company |url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=105317&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=904561 |access-date=July 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109123708/http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=105317&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=904561 |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Nancy Kercheval |date=December 27, 2007 |title=News Corp. to Sell U.S. TV Stations for $1.1 Billion |agency=[[Bloomberg, L.P.]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a3tNrZzvfKiM |access-date=June 22, 2012}}</ref> To meet regulatory approval, WBRC was traded to [[Raycom Media]] in exchange for [[WTVR-TV]] in [[Richmond, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 6, 2009 |title=Raycom, Local TV to Swap Stations |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/raycom-local-tv-swap-stations/41491 |access-date=December 23, 2015 |publisher=Reed Business Information |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Michael Malone |date=March 31, 2009 |title=Local TV Closes on WTVR |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/local-tv-closes-wtvr/41618 |access-date=December 23, 2015 |publisher=NewBay Media |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref> [[Tribune Broadcasting]] purchased Local TV for $2.75&nbsp;billion in July 2013,<ref name="tribune-localtv">{{Cite web |last=Robert Channick |date=July 1, 2013 |title=Acquisition to make Tribune Co. largest U.S. TV station operator |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-tribune-buying-local-tv-20130701,0,3402241.story |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704152051/http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-tribune-buying-local-tv-20130701,0,3402241.story |archive-date=July 4, 2013 |access-date=July 1, 2013 |publisher=[[Tribune Publishing]] |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] }}</ref> and after [[Attempted acquisition of Tribune Media by Sinclair Broadcast Group|an aborted sale]] to [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]], was purchased by [[Nexstar Media Group]] in December 2018 for $6.4&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Mark K. |date=December 3, 2018 |title=Nexstar Buying Tribune Media For $6.4 Billion |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/226264/nexstar-buying-tribune-media-6-4-billion/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005800/https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/226264/nexstar-buying-tribune-media-6-4-billion/ |archive-date=December 4, 2018 |access-date=January 21, 2020 |website=TVNewsCheck}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Smith |first=Gerry |last2=Ahmed |first2=Nabila |last3=Newcomer |first3=Eric |date=December 3, 2018 |title=Nexstar to buy WGN owner Tribune Media for $4.1&nbsp;billion |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-nexstar-tribune-media-20181202-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405053753/https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-nexstar-tribune-media-20181202-story.html |archive-date=April 5, 2019 |access-date=January 21, 2020 |agency=Bloomberg News |newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> As part of the latter transaction, WITI was resold back to Fox along with Nexstar's [[KCPQ]] and [[KZJO]] in [[Seattle]] in exchange for Fox's Charlotte duopoly of [[WJZY]] and [[WMYT-TV]]; Fox regarded Milwaukee and Seattle as "two key markets that align with the company's sports rights".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lafayette |first=Jon |date=November 5, 2019 |title=Fox Buys Affiliates in Seattle, Milwaukee From Nexstar |work=Broadcasting & Cable |url=https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/fox-buys-affiliates-in-seattle-milwaukee-from-nexstar |access-date=January 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Weprin |first=Alex |date=November 5, 2019 |title=Fox to Buy Three Local TV Stations for $350 Million |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-buy-three-local-tv-stations-350-million-1252596 |access-date=January 21, 2020}}</ref> Fox bought into another NFC market in June 2014 by acquiring San Francisco affiliate KTVU and [[KICU-TV]] from [[Cox Media Group]] in exchange for WHBQ-TV and WFXT.<ref name="b&c-coxfoxcomplete">{{Cite news |last=Michael Malone |date=October 8, 2014 |title=Cox, Fox Swap Closes in Boston, Bay Area, Memphis |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=[[NewBay Media]] |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/cox-fox-swap-closes-boston-bay-area-memphis/134671 |access-date=October 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 24, 2014 |title=Fox And Cox To Swap 4 Stations in 3 Markets |url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/77286/fox-and-cox-to-swap-4-stations-in-3-markets |access-date=June 24, 2014 |website=TVNewsCheck |publisher=NewsCheck Media}}</ref>

SF Broadcasting sold its stations on November 28, 1995, to [[USA Broadcasting|Silver King Communications]], headed by Barry Diller and which consisted of [[HSN]]-affiliated stations. Silver King sold the four Fox affiliates to [[Emmis Communications]] for $307&nbsp;million in cash and $90&nbsp;million in stock on April 1, 1998.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Russ Britt |date=November 28, 1995 |title=STARTING OFF ON THE GROUND FLOOR DILLER BUYING HOME SHOPPING NETWORK, SAVOY PICTURES |work=[[Los Angeles Daily News|Daily News of Los Angeles]] |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-25027821.html |url-status=dead |access-date=May 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924191523/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-25027821.html |archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=April 1, 1998 |title=COMPANY NEWS; EMMIS BROADCASTING TO BUY TV STATIONS FOR $397 MILLION |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/01/business/company-news-emmis-broadcasting-to-buy-tv-stations-for-397-million.html |access-date=June 29, 2015}}</ref> As part of Emmis's divestment of their television portfolio, WLUK and WALA were sold to [[LIN Media|LIN TV]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 22, 2005 |title=Emmis Agrees to Sell 9 Stations |url=http://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2005/08/emmis-agrees-to-sell-9-station/ |access-date=December 23, 2015 |website=TelevisionWeek}}</ref> and KHON was sold to [[Lilly Broadcasting|Montecito Broadcast Group]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 15, 2015 |title=Emmis sells KHON-TV |work=Pacific Business News |publisher=[[American City Business Journals]] |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2005/09/26/daily46.html?full=true |access-date=December 23, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 7, 2012 |title=LIN buying New Vision stations for $342 Million |work=TVNewsCheck |publisher=NewsCheck Media |url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/59232/lin-buying-new-vision-stations-for-342m |access-date=July 18, 2012}}</ref> WVUE's sale was complicated and delayed due to damage sustained by [[Hurricane Katrina]], with New Orleans Saints owner [[Tom Benson]] purchasing the station in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 5, 2008 |title=Saints Owner Grabs WVUE |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/saints-owner-grabs-wvue/84640 |access-date=December 23, 2015 |publisher=Reed Business Information |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 5, 2008 |title=Tom Benson agrees to buy FOX television station in New Orleans |work=[[San Antonio Business Journal]] |publisher=American City Business Journals |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2008/05/05/daily8.html |access-date=January 24, 2013}}</ref>

All of the stations involved in the New World and SF Broadcasting deals, as well as other related affiliation transactions involving Fox (except for two [[Indiana]] stations – WTVW in Evansville and [[WAWV-TV]] (channel 38, now an ABC affiliate) in Terre Haute – that were affected by the network's 2011 dispute with the Nexstar Broadcasting Group over reverse retransmission consent compensation; and KEVN-TV (channel 7) in [[Rapid City, South Dakota]], which had its Fox affiliation and other intellectual assets transferred to a [[KEVN-LD|low-power station]] in March 2016, in a transaction tied to [[Schurz Communications]]' merger with Gray Television that resulted in the intellectual assets of ABC affiliate [[KOTA-TV]] [channel 3, now [[MeTV]] affiliate [[KHME]]] being transferred to KEVN's former full-power signal), remain Fox affiliates.

[[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]] purchased CBS for $5.4&nbsp;billion on August 1, 1995, resulting in all of the CBS-affiliated Group W stations becoming CBS O&Os when the sale was completed that November. This merger deal came just one day after [[The Walt Disney Company]] announced that it would acquire [[Capital Cities/ABC Inc.|Capital Cities/ABC]], parent company of rival ABC.<ref name="Westinghouse-CBS">{{Cite news |last=Sallie Hofmeister |date=August 2, 1995 |title=CBS Agrees to Buyout Bid by Westinghouse : Entertainment: $5.4-billion merger would create biggest TV, radio empire. But the deal faces obstacles. |work=Los Angeles Times |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1995-08-02/news/mn-30646_1_tv-station |access-date=June 22, 2012}}</ref><ref name="nyt-westinghousecbscomplete">{{Cite news |date=November 25, 1995 |title=Westinghouse Completes CBS Acquisition |work=The New York Times |agency=[[Dow Jones & Company|Dow Jones]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/25/business/westinghouse-completes-cbs-acquisition.html |access-date=September 26, 2014}}</ref> [[Viacom (1952–2006)|Viacom]] bought Westinghouse/CBS for $36&nbsp;billion in September 1999, which created duopolies in several markets between O&Os of CBS and UPN. [[Viacom (2005–2019)|Viacom]] and CBS split in December 2005, with the successor [[CBS Corporation]] (a name previously used by the entity that owned CBS's properties under Westinghouse) retaining the company's broadcasting assets, including UPN.<ref>{{Cite news |last=[[Phil Rosenthal]] |date=September 16, 2005 |title=Moonves ready to play hardball in Viacom split |work=Chicago Tribune |publisher=Tribune Publishing |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-09-16/business/0509160202_1_leslie-moonves-cbs-and-upn-radio-division-infinity-broadcasting |access-date=July 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Alex Weprin |date=December 4, 2019 |title=Bob Bakish's Memo to ViacomCBS Staff: Merger "A Historic Moment" |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bob-bakishs-memo-viacomcbs-staff-merger-a-historic-moment-1259584 |access-date=January 21, 2020 |publisher=Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group |periodical=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> CBS—which would reintegrate with the successor Viacom entity to form [[Paramount Global|ViacomCBS]] (renamed Paramount Global in 2022), incorporated upon completion of the re-merger on December 4, 2019—still owns the stations that it acquired either through the station swap with NBC or through its merger with Westinghouse, except for KUTV, which was sold to the [[Four Points Media Group]] in 2007 (the Four Points stations – with the exception of CW affiliate [[WLWC]] (channel 28) in [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]] – are now owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Price Colman |date=September 8, 2011 |title=Sinclair Buys Four Points Media For $200M |work=TVNewsCheck |publisher=NewsCheck Media |url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/53840/sinclair-buys-four-points-media-for-200m |access-date=June 23, 2012}}</ref>

On November 3, 2010, ABC sold WJRT and WTVG back to SJL Broadcasting, now owned by the principal owners of [[Lilly Broadcasting]], for $30&nbsp;million.<ref name="Lilly">{{Cite news |last=Melissa Grego |date=November 3, 2010 |title=EXCLUSIVE: Disney to Sell Two Stations |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=NewBay Media |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/exclusive-disney-sell-two-stations/42597}}</ref> On July 24, 2014, Gray Television purchased both stations for $128 million.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ariana Romero |date=July 24, 2014 |title=Gray TV Buys WJRT-TV and WTVG-TV for $128 Million |work=Broadcasting & Cable |publisher=NewBay Media |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/gray-tv-buys-wjrt-tv-and-wtvg-tv-128-million/132675 |access-date=October 30, 2014}}</ref> On October 3, 2011, McGraw-Hill sold its television stations to the E. W. Scripps Company for $212&nbsp;million, adding four ABC affiliates to the six Scripps already owned.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Joanne Ostrow |date=October 4, 2011 |title=E.W. Scripps buys KMGH-Channel 7 in Denver, other ABC affiliates |work=[[Denver Post]] |publisher=[[MediaNews Group]] |url=http://www.denverpost.com/television/ci_19034059 |access-date=June 23, 2012}}</ref> On July 29, 2013, Allbritton Communications sold its seven ABC-affiliated stations to the Sinclair Broadcast Group for $985&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Thomas Heath |last2=Debbi Wilgoren |date=July 29, 2013 |title=Allbritton to sell 7 TV stations, including WJLA, to Sinclair for $985&nbsp;million |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/allbritton-to-sell-stations-to-sinclair-broadcast-group/2013/07/29/0ee746f2-f858-11e2-afc1-c850c6ee5af8_story.html |access-date=December 23, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 29, 2013 |title=Sinclair Buying Allbritton Stations For $985M |url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/69268/sinclair-buying-allbritton-stations-for-985m |access-date=December 23, 2015 |website=TVNewsCheck |publisher=NewsCheck Media}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[1989 South Florida television affiliation switch]]
* [[1994 in American television]]
* [[2006 United States broadcast television realignment]]
* [[2001 Vancouver TV realignment]]
* [[2007 Canada broadcast TV realignment]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{notelist-lg}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
<!--Let's ensure the external links here go to more info on the affiliation switches.-->
* [http://www.bostonradio.org/essays/1994-tv-affiliation-mess Essay on cause of WBZ-WHDH affiliation switch, including a chart of changes]

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