WPXT

CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate in Portland, Maine

WPXT (channel 51) is a television station in Portland, Maine, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Poland Spring–licensed ABC affiliate WMTW (channel 8). The two stations share studios on Ledgeview Drive in Westbrook; WPXT's transmitter is located in West Baldwin, Maine.

The station signed on September 14, 1986, as Maine's first independent station and the first new commercial station to launch in the Portland market in 32 years. After a few weeks as an independent, it became a charter affiliate with Fox on October 9. In 1996, the station's original owner, Bride Communications, entered bankruptcy and WPXT was sold to Pegasus Broadcasting. On October 7, 2001, WPXT switched to The WB; the deal, which also included WDBD in Jackson, Mississippi, came after renewal negotiations between Fox and Pegasus broke down. A Fox spokesman said that the two stations "were not honoring the terms and conditions of the affiliate agreement," an assertion denied by WPXT staff. The WB had previously aired in off hours on sister UPN affiliate WPME (channel 35). The affiliation change left Maine with no over the air Fox affiliate until April 2003, when Portland's Pax TV affiliate WMPX TV (now WPFO) switched to the network and WFVX LP signed on as the first over the air Fox affiliate for the Bangor area. In the interim, Fox's prime time and children's programming was only available on cable via WFXT (which was owned by the network at the time) for those living on the New Hampshire side of the market and via Foxnet for those living in Maine; WCKD LP (which was initially expected to serve as the network's replacement Bangor affiliate) carried the network's sports programming during that time. Pegasus declared bankruptcy in June 2004 over a dispute with DirecTV (then co owned with Fox by News Corporation) over marketing of the direct broadcast satellite service in rural areas. The Pegasus station group was sold in August 2006 to private investment firm CP Media, LLC of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, for $55.5 million. Eventually, CP Media formed a new broadcast company, New Age Media. As a WB affiliate, WPXT was originally branded on air as "Maine's WB 51", but in 2004, changed to "Maine's WB" to reflect its status as the only over the air WB affiliate in the state. Although Bangor and Presque Isle also had affiliates, they were only provided on cable through The WB 100+ (a similar operation to Foxnet). On January 24, 2006, Time Warner and CBS Corporation announced that they would merge the broadcast operations of The WB and UPN to form The CW Television Network. On March 9, it was announced WPXT would become Portland's CW affiliate. Later on May 1, it was made public sister station WPME would affiliate with MyNetworkTV. With the new affiliation, WPXT's branding became "The CW Portland". In 2007, WPXT changed its on air branding to reflect its call letters rather than a city. WPXT ceased analog transmission August 12, 2008, more than seven months prior to the original Federal Communications Commission (FCC) digital switchover deadline of February 17, 2009, due to transmitter failure. On May 2, 2011, WPXT signed on a new second digital subchannel to become the area's MeTV affiliate. On November 7, 2016, Escape (now Ion Mystery) was added to subchannel 51.3. New Age Media announced in March 2012 that it would sell WPXT to Tyche Broadcasting for $75,000. The deal was contingent on WPME's concurrent sale from MPS Media to Triumph Broadcasting. On November 9, 2012, WPXT filed a non consummation notice to the FCC, meaning the transaction is nulled and void. On February 13, 2013, New Age Media filed to sell WPXT to Ironwood Communications for $1,525,000; the deal was concurrent with a planned sale of WPME to Cottonwood Communications. The FCC granted its approval of the sale on April 2. The sale was consummated on May 20. On March 22, 2018, MyNetworkTV, Escape and Laff programming was moved to WPXT's respective third, fourth and fifth subchannels; the three networks had been carried by WPME, which was concurrently sold to Ion Media Networks to become WIPL, an Ion Television owned and operated station. Hearst Television announced its acquisition of WPXT on July 30, 2018; the $3,350,000 purchase created a duopoly with ABC affiliate WMTW (channel 8). The sale was approved on September 12 and was completed on September 21, 2018; concurrently, WPXT changed its branding to "Maine's CW." The ownership change also resulted in a streamlining of subchannels between WMTW and WPXT the next month. With Hearst's preference for its main station in the market to carry the MeTV affiliation, MeTV and H&I exchanged places, with MeTV moving to WMTW DT2 and H&I going to WPXT DT2, and Laff going from WPXT DT2 to WMTW DT3, with Escape going to WPXT DT3 (and the likely non renewal of the Katz Broadcasting network agreement; Hearst only tends to carry Bounce TV from that provider). The syndicated programming formerly on WPXT DT3's "WPME" service was removed, and MyNetworkTV programming now airs in place of H&I's prime time, an arrangement similar to the setup for the third subchannel of sister station KCCI in Des Moines, Iowa.

Beginning in 1992, WPXT operated a news department and produced its own local newscasts. For a time, the station's nightly prime time news at 10 was simulcasted on sister station WPME. WPXT even produced a weeknight broadcast at 7 on that station at one point but the show was eventually canceled due to poor ratings and inconsistent viewership. It made national headlines a week before the 2000 Presidential election when reporter Erin Fehlau (now at ABC affiliate WMUR TV) revealed Republican candidate George W. Bush had been convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol 24 years earlier.