View source for WFTC

{{Short description|Television station in Minneapolis}}
{{redirect-distinguish|KITN-TV|ITN}}
{{For|Working Families Tax Credit|Working tax credit}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station dual
| logo = WFTC 2017 Logo.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| branding = Fox 9 Plus
| translators = ''see {{section link||Translators}}''
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''[[KMSP-TV|9.1/26.1]]:''' [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]|'''9.2/26.2:''' [[MyNetworkTV]]|''for others, see {{section link||KMSP-TV/WFTC subchannels}}''}}
| country = US
| owner = [[Fox Television Stations, LLC]]
| sister_stations = KMSP-TV
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.fox9.com/}}
| name1 = WFTC
| name2 = KFTC
| city1 = [[Minneapolis]]–[[Saint Paul, Minnesota]]
| city2 = [[Bemidji, Minnesota]]
| virtual1 = 9.2
| virtual2 = 26
| digital1 = 29 ([[UHF]])
| digital2 = 26 (UHF)
| former_callsigns1 = {{ubl|WFBT (1982–1984)|KITN-TV (1984–1994)}}
| callsign_meaning1 = "We're Fox Twin Cities"
| callsign_meaning2 = "Fox Twin Cities"
| former_channel_numbers1 = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 29 (UHF, 1982–2009)|'''Digital:''' 21 (UHF, 2001–2009)|'''Virtual:''' 29 (2001–2014)}}
| former_channel_numbers2 = {{ubl|'''Analog:'''|26 (UHF, 1999–2009)}}
| facility_id1 = 11913
| facility_id2 = 83714
| airdate1 = {{start date and age|1982|10|11|p=y|br=yes}}
| erp1 = 1,000 [[kW]]
| erp2 = 4.5 kW
| haat1 = {{convert|389|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| haat2 = {{convert|156|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| coordinates1 = {{Coord|45|3|30|N|93|7|28|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| coordinates2 = {{Coord|47|33|21|N|94|48|5|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KFTC}}
| former_affiliations1 = {{ubl|[[Independent station|Independent]] (1982–1988)|Fox (1988–2002)|[[UPN]] (2002–2006)}}
| former_affiliations2 = {{ubl|Fox (1999–2002)|UPN (2002–2006)}}
| airdate2 = {{start date and age|1999|6|20|p=y|br=yes}}
}}

'''WFTC''' (channel 9.2) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Minneapolis]], Minnesota, United States, broadcasting the [[MyNetworkTV]] programming service to the [[Twin Cities]] area. It is [[owned and operated]] by [[Fox Television Stations]] alongside [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] outlet [[KMSP-TV]] (channel 9). The two stations share studios on Viking Drive in [[Eden Prairie]]; WFTC's [[KMSP Tower|transmitter]] is located in [[Shoreview, Minnesota]].

WFTC rebroadcasts its signal on full-power [[satellite station]] KFTC (channel 26) in [[Bemidji]] (with transmitter near Lake Bemidji State Park) and several [[low-power broadcasting#Television|low-power]] [[broadcast relay station#Broadcast translators|repeaters]] across Minnesota, including the [[Mankato]] market (via K23MF-D in nearby [[St. James, Minnesota|St. James]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=K23MF-D|title=RabbitEars.Info|website=www.rabbitears.info}}</ref> through the local [[municipal]]-operated Cooperative TV (CTV) network of translators<ref>[http://scea.cms.coopwebbuilder2.com/content/cooperative-tv-ctv The Webpage of '''Cooperative TV (CTV)''']</ref><ref>[http://scea.cms.coopwebbuilder2.com/sites/scea/files/PDF/CTV%20CHANNELS%202019.pdf CTV Channel Listing via the '''Cooperative TV (CTV)''' Website]</ref>), as that area does not have a MyNetworkTV affiliate of its own.<ref>{{cite web|title=MyNetworkTV Affiliate List|url=http://www.mynetworktv.com/stations/all|website=MyNetworkTV.com|access-date=July 16, 2019}}</ref>

==History==
===Early history===
The station signed on air in October 1982 as WFBT (for "Family Bible Television"). Channel 29 originally maintained a schedule offering [[rerun]]s of classic family-oriented series and [[Christianity|Christian]]-based [[religious programming]]. The station was started by a group led by Danny Koker, a gospel musician and father of Danny Koker II, star of [[History (American TV channel)|History]]'s ''[[Counting Cars]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://obits.reviewjournal.com/obituaries/lvrj/obituary.aspx?n=danny-koker&pid=142269857|title=Danny Koker Obituary|newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=2008}}</ref> It first operated from studio facilities located on Aspen Lane North in [[Brooklyn Park, Minnesota]]. On May 6, 1984, the station was sold to the [[Beverly Hills Hotel]] Corporation, headed by prominent arbitrageur [[Ivan Boesky]], who changed its call letters to KITN-TV (which although it actually stood for "Independent Twenty-Nine", colloquially meant "[[Kitten]]" as in, "The KITN That Roars!"). At that time, it transitioned into the market's second mainstream [[independent station]] (and first on the [[UHF]] dial), airing syndicated programs such as ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'', ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]''. It also acquired broadcast rights to the [[NHL]]'s [[Minnesota North Stars]], as well as [[University of Minnesota]] [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|college football]] games. In 1985, BHHC sold the station to [[Nationwide Communications]], the broadcasting subsidiary of [[Columbus, Ohio]]–based [[Nationwide Insurance]].

===As a Fox affiliate, then becoming a UPN station===
In 1988, [[KMSP-TV]] ended its affiliation with [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]], disappointed with the network's weak programming offerings that were bogging down the station's otherwise successful general entertainment lineup. Fox then shifted its affiliation to KITN, which adopted the moniker "Fox 29". The station again changed its [[Call signs in the United States|call sign]] to WFTC on October 1, 1994 (for "We're Fox Twin Cities"), with the additional change using the "W" first-letter identifier over the "K", allowed for by its [[transmitter]] location on the eastern side of the [[Mississippi River]]. The station later relocated its operations to a new studio located on Broadway Street Northeast in Minneapolis. 

Until 1998, it served as the ''de facto'' Fox affiliate for almost all of Minnesota; the state's other two markets, [[Duluth]] and [[Rochester, Minnesota|Rochester]], did not have Fox affiliates of their own until [[KXLT-TV]] in Rochester joined the network in 1998, and [[KQDS-TV]] debuted in Duluth one year later. Most areas in western Minnesota received Fox programming from [[Fargo, North Dakota]]'s [[KVRR]] or [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota]]'s [[KTTW]].

As part of its liquidation of its broadcasting interests, Nationwide Communications sold the station to Clear Channel Communications (now [[iHeartMedia]]) in 1993 (it was the last remaining television station under Nationwide's ownership, the company having sold its other three stations, all of which were affiliated with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], to [[Young Broadcasting]] the year before). In 2001, Clear Channel traded the station to Fox Television Stations for KMOL-TV (now [[WOAI-TV]]) in [[San Antonio]] and [[KTVX]] in [[Salt Lake City]]. Both stations were acquired by Fox through its purchase of [[Chris-Craft Industries]]' broadcast properties, which included then-[[UPN]] affiliate KMSP-TV. WFTC became the third station in the area to be owned-and-operated by a major network, but since KMSP had higher ratings and a stronger signal than WFTC, Fox switched the affiliations of the two stations on September 8, 2002: Fox programming returned to KMSP, while WFTC affiliated with UPN.

===Switch to MyNetworkTV===
[[File:WFTC Minneapolis.jpg|thumb|right|Logo used as ''My29'' from 2006 until 2017]]
On January 24, 2006, [[CBS Corporation]] and [[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]] announced that UPN and [[The WB]] would shut down and be replaced by a new network that would carry programs from both networks, The CW.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Seid |first=Jessica |date=2006-01-24 |title='Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown' |url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/cbs_warner |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=money.cnn.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/business/media/24cnd-network.html?bl|title=UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 24, 2006|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Despite affiliating with most of CBS Corporation's UPN stations and [[Tribune Broadcasting]]'s WB stations, Fox's UPN affiliates were not included in the new network. Although The CW did not sign its Twin Cities' affiliate until May 2006 (when KMWB-TV, which changed its calls to WUCW by the network's launch in September, was announced as the network's local affiliate-through an affiliation deal by its parent, [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]]), WFTC joined other Fox-owned UPN stations in scrubbing all UPN branding the following day, becoming branded as simply "WFTC 29". It also stopped promoting UPN programming outside of network hours. On February 22, less than a month after the announcement of The CW, Fox announced that it would (in conjunction with its syndication division [[Twentieth Television]]) launch a new network called [[MyNetworkTV]], with WFTC and the other Fox-owned UPN stations (plus included in this deal is [[KDFI|a Fox-owned independent station in Dallas-Fort Worth]]) as the nuclei.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/102922-News_Corp_Unveils_My_Network_TV.php|title=News Corp. Unveils My Network TV|magazine=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=February 22, 2006}}</ref> On June 2, 2006, WFTC officially changed its branding to "My29", following its impending switch to the newly launched Fox-owned network.

Although MyNetworkTV announced its launch date to be September 5, UPN continued to broadcast on stations across the country until September 15, 2006. While some UPN affiliates that switched to MyNetworkTV aired the final two weeks of UPN's programming outside its regular prime time slot, the Fox-owned stations (including WFTC) dropped the network entirely on August 31, 2006. On September 9, 2006, WFTC began carrying the [[4Kids TV]] lineup for the first time since 2002, when the station was a Fox affiliate airing what was then [[Fox Kids]]. The station continues to air the ''[[Weekend Marketplace]]'' [[infomercial]] block on Saturday mornings while sister station KMSP aired ''[[Xploration Station]]'' which started in the fall of 2014.

On August 11, 2017, WFTC rebranded as "Fox 9+", as a brand extension of KMSP-TV, and debuted a half-hour 7 p.m. newscast.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/uncategorized/article/fox-rebrands-wftc-adds-7-p-m-newscast/|title=Fox Rebrands WFTC, Adds 7 P.M. Newscast|first=Mark K.|last=Miller|website=TVNewsCheck|date=August 28, 2017|accessdate=July 15, 2024}}</ref>

==Programming==
===Sports programming===
Upon the team's founding in 1989, the station acquired the broadcast rights to the [[Minnesota Timberwolves]], carrying a select number of games along with [[KSTP-TV]] (channel 5) as well as NBC affiliate [[KARE (TV)|KARE]] (channel 11). The team's relationship with the station would end after the [[1993–94 NBA season|1993–94 season]], when the team's over-the-air broadcasts moved to KLGT-TV (channel 23, now [[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[WUCW]]). With the Fox network [[Fox NFL|gaining rights]] to [[NFL]] games ([[National Football Conference|NFC]] games, and with it, [[Minnesota Vikings]] games) in the [[1994 NFL season|1994 season]], channel 29 succeeded [[WCCO-TV]] as the unofficial home station of the team. It would hold this role until the end of the [[2001 NFL season|2001 season]] (since [[2002 NFL season|2002]], most games are broadcast on KMSP-TV).

In fall 2023, WFTC became the official media outlet for the [[University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)|University of St. Thomas]] [[St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies|Tommies]] athletics teams. The station broadcasts select home competitions for the football, men's and women's basketball, and men's and women's hockey teams.<ref>{{cite news |title=St. Thomas athletics signs first-of-its-kind TV deal with Fox 9+ |url=https://www.startribune.com/st-thomas-athletics-signs-tv-deal-with-fox-9-plus/600304375/ |newspaper=[[StarTribune]]|access-date=October 23, 2023 |date=September 13, 2023}}</ref> The [[Western Collegiate Hockey Association]] also reached an agreement with WFTC to carry a package of regular season games and the conference championship series; these games are simulcast with [[Big Ten Network#Streaming platforms|Big Ten Plus]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-05 |title=FOX9+ to televise WCHA games in 2023-24 |url=https://wcha.com/news/2023/10/5/general-fox9-to-televise-wcha-games-in-2023-24.aspx |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=wcha.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-26 |title=FOX9+ to Televise WCHA Games in 2024-25 |url=https://wcha.com/news/2024/9/19/hockey-fox9-to-televise-wcha-games-in-2024-25.aspx |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=wcha.com |language=en}}</ref>

In February 2025, WFTC aired matches from the [[Coachella Valley Invitational]] preseason tournament featuring [[Minnesota United FC]] of [[Major League Soccer]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 3, 2025|url=https://coachellavalleyinvitational.com/2025/02/03/fox-television-stations-and-gray-media-to-televise-mls-and-nwsl-matches-live-from-the-coachella-valley-invitational/|title=FOX TELEVISION STATIONS AND GRAY MEDIA TO TELEVISE MLS and NWSL MATCHES LIVE FROM THE COACHELLA VALLEY INVITATIONAL|website=Coachella Valley Invitational|access-date=February 3, 2025}}</ref> Later in 2025, WFTC announced an agreement with the [[St. Paul Saints]], the Triple-A affiliate of the [[Minnesota Twins]], to air 11 games.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 22, 2025|url=https://www.milb.com/st-paul/news/saints-return-to-fox-9-adding-10-dates-11-games-to-their-tv-schedule|title=Saints Return To FOX 9+ Adding 10 Dates, 11 Games To Their TV Schedule|website=St. Paul Saints|access-date=April 23, 2025}}</ref>

===News operation===
{{see|KMSP-TV#News operation}}
Clear Channel started a news department for the station shortly before selling the station to Fox. As a Fox affiliate, WFTC launched an hour-long prime time newscast at 9&nbsp;p.m. on April 23, 2001, where it faced competition from KMSP's established hour-long news program. After Fox assumed control of the station, the station's news department was integrated with that of KMSP, and its late newscast was moved to 10&nbsp;p.m. and shortened to 30 minutes. Though this move protected new sister station KMSP, WFTC now faced stiff competition from late evening newscasts on [[KARE (TV)|KARE]], KSTP-TV and WCCO-TV. Channel 29's 10 p.m. newscast was eventually canceled due to low ratings, airing its final edition on June 30, 2006; the timeslot was then replaced by syndicated programming. The 10 p.m. news program was then moved to KMSP as part of an expanded late news block. Some members of WFTC's on-air staff were retained by KMSP's news department.

In February 2022, WFTC began simulcasting programming from [[Fox Weather]]. This programming airs from 10 to 11 a.m. on weekdays, and from 8 to 10 a.m. on Saturdays.<ref>{{Cite web|title=FOX Weather expands to new streaming platforms, local FOX TV stations|date=February 8, 2022 |url=https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/fox-weather-expands-to-new-streaming-platforms-tv-stations|access-date=February 8, 2022|language=en}}</ref>

==Technical information==
{{#section:KMSP-TV|subchannels}}
===Analog-to-digital conversion===
On February 5, 2009, WFTC's Bemidji-based satellite station KFTC began broadcasting its signal in digital only. WFTC shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 29, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 21 to former UHF analog channel 29 for post-transition operations,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref> while KFTC (which did not receive a companion digital channel prior to the digital transition) flash-cut to digital on its former analog channel assignment of UHF channel 26.

===Translators===
{{#section:KMSP-TV|translators}}
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
*[http://northpine.com/broadcast/mn/tvtranslators.html NorthPine.com: Minnesota TV Translators and Satellite Stations]

==External links==
*[https://www.fox9.com/ FOX9.com] - KMSP-TV/WFTC-TV official website
* [http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=wftc RabbitEars.info website - WFTC]
* [http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=kftc RabbitEars.info website - KFTC]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6m9TWhWrSg WFTC video clip from September 11, 2001]

{{MSP TV}}
{{MNTV Minnesota}}
{{MNTV Wisconsin}}
{{Other Wisconsin Stations}}
{{Fox (company)}}
{{Major U.S. TV O-O Stations}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wftc}}
[[Category:1982 establishments in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Fox Television Stations]]
[[Category:Movies! affiliates]]
[[Category:MyNetworkTV affiliates]]
[[Category:Nationwide Communications]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1982]]
[[Category:Television stations in Minneapolis–Saint Paul]]