KNIN, WEVV Becoming Fox Affiliates

By Andrew Gauthier 

Fox is welcoming two new affiliates: Journal Broadcast Group’s KNIN in Boise and Communications Corporation of America’s WEVV in Evansville, IN.

Currently a CW-affiliate, KNIN will transfer to Fox once its CW agreement expires this summer, replacing KTRV as the market’s Fox-affiliate.

WEVV, which was a Fox-affiliate in the late 80s and 90s, is currently a CBS-affiliate and has been airing MyNetworkTV programming on a digital subchannel. Beginning in July, WEVV’s .2 channel will be a Fox-MyNetworkTV hybrid.

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The new affiliation agreements come at a time when the relationship between Fox and its affiliates is especially tense. In an effort to capitalize on the carriage deals that stations have struck with cable and satellite operators, Fox has recently drawn a hard line on what it expects its affiliates to pay per subscriber.

In February, Mike Hopkins, Fox’s president of affiliate sales and marketing, told Broadcasting & Cable that the company would consider new local partners if its current affiliates did not go along with demands for increased payments. The signing of KNIN and WEVV may essentially be a warning shot.

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