WNAC-TV
Fox/CW affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island
WNAC-TV (channel 64), branded Fox Providence, is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with Fox and The CW. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting and operated by Nexstar Media Group alongside CBS affiliate WPRI-TV (channel 12). The two stations share studios on Catamore Boulevard in East Providence, Rhode Island; WNAC-TV's transmitter is located on Homestead Avenue in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.
The license history of WNAC-TV stretches back to WNET (channel 16), the second TV station in Providence, which operated from 1954 to 1955 amid an unsuccessful multi-year fight to prevent channel 12 from going on the air. The station successfully appealed a 1969 action to delete its construction permit, but in that time it lost its call letters and its channel and was reassigned to channel 64. The permit was acquired by Subscription Television of America in 1978 and returned to air as WSTG in 1981. The new owners intended to broadcast part-time subscription television service but never did so; the station operated on a very limited basis while a buyer was sought.
Providence Television acquired WSTG in 1984 and relaunched it that September as the Providence market's first independent station. It struggled to attract viewers used to watching the independents from the adjacent Boston market and filed for bankruptcy reorganization in 1986. Sudbrink Broadcasting purchased it out of bankruptcy and affiliated it with the Fox network when it launched; the new owners raised channel 64's local profile by airing University of Rhode Island Rams men's basketball and benefited from the growth of Fox. Ratings and revenue improved under Sudbrink and the next three owners: Price Communications, Northstar Television Group, and Argyle Television.
“WNAC-TV” enters the record as fox/CW affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what WNAC-TV, affiliate and Providence can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“WNAC-TV” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, WNAC-TV, affiliate and Providence provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7953225. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1954, 1955, 1969 and 1978.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “WNAC-TV”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow WNAC-TV primary sources, WNAC-TV archive and WNAC-TV research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “WNAC-TV”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “WNAC-TV” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.