The Florida Times-Union reports Jacksonville, FL, CBS and FOX affiliate WTEV-WAWS is asking the FCC to change its call letters.
In a July 30 filing, station owners, Cox Media Group, asked the FCC to change WAWS to WFOX and WTEV to WJAX.
“These call letter changes are natural fits for our TV stations. It symbolizes our commitment to our local communities and showcases the rebirth of our two great stations,” [station GM Jim] Zerwekh said in an email Tuesday.
AdvertisementAn FCC official in Washington, D.C. said call letter change requests are not unusual both for television and radio stations and the agency receives dozens of requests and grants changes every month.
Zerwekh said the change from WTEV to WJAX was aimed directly at clearly identifying with the local market.
“Changing the call letters to WJAX-TV better identifies the strengths and ties of CBS 47 to the Jacksonville market. WJAX-TV is the home of America’s number one TV network, the TV home of the Jacksonville Jaguars all season long and of course, Action News Jax,” Zerwekh said.
As far as the change from WAWS to WFOX, Zerwekh said that links to the Fox network affiliation for the station.
“Changing the call letters to WFOX-TV better represents FOX 30 with the FOX TV network. FOX 30 has historically and continues to be one of the top 10 performing FOX TV affiliates in the country,” Zerwekh said.