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TV station set to launch Fox affiliate - Breaking News - MassLive.com

SPRINGFIELD - Fresh on the heels of his purchase of WGGB-TV abc40, John G. Gormally Jr. said today he plans to launch a local Fox Broadcasting affiliate here by the end of the year.

Under the agreement, Gormally Broadcasting will broadcast Fox programming on Channel 55, over the airwaves and on Comcast and Charter cable television systems, Gormally said late today.

A spokesman for Fox could not be reached today.

Gormally also said he laid off "a handful" of staffers at abc40 today and Thursday, though he declined to say how many or from what departments.

"It will have no impact on what people see on-air," he said. The station now employs more than 100 people, he said.

The new Fox channel will also have a local newscast at 10 p.m., with some of the same journalists who now report for abc40's 11 p.m. newscast reporting for the Fox newscast as well.

Gormally announced the deal with Fox late today, saying "WGGB has signed an agreement with the Fox network to launch a Fox affiliate for the Springfield, Mass., DMA (designated market area)," which covers 265,000 households in Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties.

As the television industry transitions to the digital format by 2009, local stations have multiple digital channels available to them. Abc40 has digital channel 55 available, Gormally said.

The new affiliate is expected to go on-air by the end of the year, with "15-foot round satellite dishes being installed as we speak," at abc40's Liberty Street offices, to receive Fox programming, he said.

He said the affiliation with Fox will require a "significant investment" in equipment and satellite gear, though he declined to say how much.

The 10 o'clock local newscast will go on-air "on or before Feb. 1," he said.

There will probably be a different anchor team for the local Fox news broadcast, he said.

The two broadcasts, at 10 and 11 p.m., are likely to appeal to different audiences, he said.

"I think it's an issue of convenience for viewers. As society changes, I think viewing habits are changing. I find more people are going to bed earlier, including myself with a 1-year-old. It's more convenient for me to watch, in many cases, a 10 o'clock newscast," Gormally said.

Fox appeals to a younger demographic, Gormally said, which will appeal to some advertisers. Gormally said the arrangement with Fox is "a partnership. Fox wants to be in all these markets. Springfield is one of the few markets where they do not have a station.

"There are less than three (markets) in the country" where Fox does not have an affiliate, he added.

Fox will sell the majority of the advertising time, while Gormally Broadcasting will get a smaller number of spots to sell, he said.

The staffing reduction at abc40 "was a one-time event. The company was overstaffed for a station of this size, and some difficult decisions had to be made," Gormally said. "I am focused on moving the organization forward with the team now in place."

He said he's also changed the local news format to a more casual, less "heavily scripted format, which I think is cumbersome for viewers to watch. I think viewers will be seeing a lot more interaction between our anchors and more discussion."