WRSP-TV

WRSP-TV (channel 55) in Springfield, Illinois, and WCCU (channel 27) in Urbana, Illinois, collectively branded Fox Illinois, are television stations serving as the Fox network affiliates for Central Illinois. They are owned by GOCOM Media, LLC, sharing common ownership with Decatur-licensed CW affiliate WBUI (channel 23). GOCOM maintains joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Rincon Broadcasting Group, owner of Springfield-licensed ABC affiliate WICS, channel 20 (and its semi-satellite, Champaign-licensed WICD, channel 15), for the provision of certain services. WRSP's transmitter is located west of Mechanicsburg, in unincorporatedSangamon County; the station shares studio facilities with WBUI and WICS on East Cook Street in Springfield's Eastside. However, WBUI also operates an advertising sales office on South Main Street/US 51 in downtown Decatur.

WCCU operates as a semi-satellite of WRSP for the eastern portion of the Central Illinois market, including Danville. As such, it clears all network and syndicated programming from its parent but airs separate local commercial inserts and legal identifications. WCCU's transmitter is located northeast of Homer, along the Vermilion–Champaign county line; it shares studio facilities with WICD on South Country Fair Drive in downtown Champaign.

What is now WRSP signed on June 1, 1979, as WBHW, a religiousindependent (the call letters stood for "We Believe His Word"). It aired an analog signal on UHF channel 55 and was built by the Windmill Broadcasting Company, which had received the construction permit in September 1978.^[3] It was the first new commercial station in the market (not counting satellite stations) since WCIA launched back in 1953. On November 24, 1982, it was sold to new owners who changed the call letters to WRSP-TV and turned it into the area's first general entertainment independent.

In the winter of 1985, WRSP announced it would join the upstart Fox network the following year. As part of the agreement, on February 19, 1986, it added full-time satellite WCCU in Urbana, with an analog signal on UHF channel 27. Both stations began transmitting digital signals in mid-2000 with programming from Fox in high definition. It eventually introduced a new website based on the "My Fox" owned-and-operated station platform licensed from News Corporation Interactive.

On June 20, 2007, GOCOM Media announced its intent to purchase WBUI from ACME Communications. The sale was approved on September 14 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which allowed GOCOM to buy WBUI under a "failed station" waiver to its duopoly rules. The Central Illinois market already had one duopoly, Nexstar Broadcasting Group's WCIA and WCFN, and under normal conditions there wouldn't have been enough unique station owners to allow a second duopoly.

However, ACME claimed it was losing money on WBUI and could not find a buyer that did not require a duopoly waiver. The sale to GOCOM Media officially closed on October 25, 2007. At that point, WBUI consolidated its operations from its original studios at North Parkway Court in Decatur into WRSP's facilities in Springfield. In mid-2010, WRSP's web site was taken over by Broadcast Interactive Media.

On December 31, 2012, Sinclair closed on the purchase of the non-license assets of GOCOM's three television stations, WRSP/WCCU and sister station WBUI for approximately $25.6 million. Sinclair is providing sales and other non-programming services to the stations pursuant to shared services and joint sales agreements. Both WRSP/WCCU and WBUI were initially operated from separate facilities from WICS/WICD.

However, WCCU quickly moved its advertising sales operation from its location on South Neil Street/US 45 in Champaign into WICD's studios. Eventually, WRSP and WBUI also moved from their offices on Old Rochester Road in Springfield and were consolidated into WICS' facility.

On July 28, 2021, the FCC issued a Forfeiture Order stemming from a lawsuit against WRSP/WCCU/WBUI owner GOCOM Media. The lawsuit, filed by AT&T, alleged that GOCOM failed to negotiate for retransmission consent in good faith for the stations. Owners of other Sinclair-managed stations, such as Deerfield Media, were also named in the lawsuit. GOCOM was ordered to pay a fine of $1,536,684.^[4]

2006年9月11日、WRSP/WCCU（当時は別々に運営されていた）はWICS/WICDとニュース共有協定を締結した。その結果、ABC系列の2局が共同制作するゴールデンタイムのニュース番組が、Fox系列局で毎晩放送されるようになった。Fox Illinoisでは「NewsChannel at 9」として知られるこの番組は、WICSのスプリングフィールド・スタジオにある改造されたセットから放送され、Foxブランドの番組であることを示す独特のデュラトランスが使用された。当初から、「NewsChannel at 9 」は、当時UPN系列局だったWCFN（WCIA制作）で既に同じ時間帯に放送されていたニュース番組と競合していた。

WRSP/WCCUの番組とは異なり、WCFNの放送はWCIAのシャンペーンの施設から発信されていたが、特にスプリングフィールドの視聴者を対象としていた。WRSP/WCCUのニュース番組はWICDの記者の寄稿を含む市場全体の報道を特徴としていたが、WRSPとWCCUには平日の夜の天気予報の別コーナーがあった。^{[ 5 ]} WCFNのプライムタイムの放送は最終的に2009年9月28日にWCIAによって打ち切られた。2013年10月7日、平日版のNewsChannel at 9は1時間に拡大された。

WRSP/WCCUでの取り組みは、2014年1月20日にWICSがFOX系列局向けに平日の朝2時間の番組制作を開始したことでさらに拡大した。グッド・デイ・イリノイとして知られるこの番組は、午前7時から9時まで放送され、三大ネットワークで放送されている全国的な朝番組に代わる地域密着型の番組となっている。また、 MyNetworkTV系列局WCIX（WCIA制作）で同時刻に放送されている別の2時間ローカルニュース番組とも競合している。

2015 年 3 月 13 日、シンクレアは WICD が平日に市場の東部地域 (シャンペーン/アーバナ/ダンビル) に焦点を当てた個別のニュース番組の提供を中止すると発表した。この変更は 4 月 3 日に WICD 制作の最後のニュース番組が放送された後に発効した。その代わりに、WICD のスタジオにある縮小された支局を通じて東部地域からの内容を含む市場全体の報道を提供する WICS (すべての時間帯) からの同時放送のニュース番組が放送される。2015 年 4 月 7 日、この大幅な削減にもかかわらず、WICD は WCCU でシャンペーンを拠点とする 60 分のプライムタイムのニュース番組 (平日の夜 9 時) をFox Champaign News at Nineというタイトルで開始した。

WRSPで放送されていた既存の1時間番組のWICS制作ニュース番組は、WCCUでも同時放送されていたが、スプリングフィールドに焦点を移し、「Fox News at Nine」として知られるようになった。そのため、WICDはもはやシャンペーンに特化したローカルニュースを制作していない。^{[ 6 ] [ 7 ]}

• 公式サイト
• WBUI「CW 23」
• WICS「ABCニュースチャンネル20」