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WFNA, virtual channel 55 (UHF digital channel 25), is a CW-affiliated television station serving Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida, United States that is licensed to Gulf Shores, Alabama. The station is owned by Media General, as part of a duopoly with CBS affiliate WKRG-TV (channel 5). WFNA's transmitter is located near Robertsdale. ==History== Prior to the station's sign-on, WFNA's call letters were originally planned to be WGMP (standing for "Gulf Shores, Mobile, Pensacola"). The station first signed on the air as WBPG on September 2, 2001; it replaced WFGX (channel 35) as the area's WB affiliate after the station reverted to independent status four days earlier on August 31. The station was originally owned by Pegasus Broadcasting. At the time, WFGX's signal primarily reached the Pensacola side of the market, but WBPG's signal could reach both the Florida and Alabama sides of the market. In 2003, Emmis Communications purchased the station, which created a duopoly with Fox affiliate WALA-TV (channel 10); WBPG's operations were subsequently merged with WALA at the latter station's facility on Satchel Paige Drive. LIN TV Corporation (now LIN Media) acquired WALA-TV on November 30, 2005; instead of acquiring WBPG directly along with it, the company instead began to operate the station under a local marketing agreement. Just over seven months later, on July 7, 2006, LIN purchased WBPG outright. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Time Warner announced the shutdown of both UPN and The WB effective that fall. In place of these two networks, a new "fifth" network – "The CW Television Network" (its name representing the first initials of parent companies CBS and Warner), jointly owned by both companies, would launch, with a lineup primarily featuring the most popular programs from both networks.〔('Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner venture beginning in September ), CNNMoney.com, January 24, 2006.〕〔(UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network ), ''The New York Times'', January 24, 2006.〕 WBPG joined The CW on September 18, 2006. With WALA having been relaunched using the myFox format, WBPG is now relaunched on a separate website on late August 2007. The station changed its call letters to WFNA in October 2009, as part of a larger rebranding campaign that took effect on December 18.〔 The rebranding de-emphasized the CW network branding in favor of the station's call letters – a practice similar to that of what Tribune Broadcasting's CW affiliates adopted starting in 2008. However, in September 2012, WFNA reverted to using CW branding and became known as "CW 55." On March 21, 2014, LIN Media entered into an agreement to merge with Media General in a $1.6 billion deal. Because Media General already owned CBS affiliate WKRG-TV (channel 5), the companies planned to either sell WALA or WKRG to comply with FCC ownership rules as well as planned changes to those rules regarding same-market television stations which would prohibit sharing agreements. In addition, WFNA would also either be retained by Media General to form a new duopoly with WKRG or remain part of the existing duopoly with WALA should the two stations be kept or sold off.〔(TV Station Mega Merger: Media General, LIN Set $1.6 Billion Deal ) from ''Variety'' (March 21, 2014)〕〔(Media General acquiring LIN Media for $1.6 billion ), ''Los Angeles Times'', March 21, 2014.〕〔(Media Gen/LIN To Sell/Swap In Five Markets ), ''TVNewsCheck'', March 21, 2014.〕 On August 20, 2014, it was announced that WALA will be sold to the Meredith Corporation, however WFNA was not included in the sale; as a result, WFNA will form a new duopoly with WKRG under Media General ownership, marking the first time since the FCC allowed legal television duopolies in August 1999 that a station has been involved in a sale transaction in which it was fully separated from its original duopoly partner to form another duopoly (a similar situation occurred in Phoenix, Arizona with KTVK and KASW upon their sales to Meredith in December 2013, which already owned KPHO-TV in that market, although KASW was retained by Meredith through a shared services agreement). The merger was completed on December 19.〔(Media General Completes Merger With LIN Media ), Press Release, Media General, Retrieved 19 December, 2014〕 Oddly, Meredith retained the domain for WFNA's website, and currently the station has no web presence separately or on WKRG's website, even for minimum FCC and Equal Opportunity Employer disclosures. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「WFNA (TV)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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