News operation
WSYX presently broadcasts 38 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with six hours each weekday and four hours each on Saturdays and Sundays) on its main signal, as well as 25 1/2 hours on WSYX-DT3 for a total of 63 1/2 hours of locally produced newscasts; in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the highest local newscast output among the Columbus market's television stations, though WCMH-TV has the largest output airing on one channel.
Historically, WSYX had been third among Columbus's television news operations, with WBNS the longtime market leader and WCMH having NBC's strength in the 80s into the 2000s (and NBC ownership in-between) to keep up with WBNS. WSYX has begun to challenge WBNS as Sinclair's ownership has become steady, with WCMH ending up a low-priority station under several new ownerships, and WBNS's local ownership ending in 2019 when the Wolfe family sold off the WBNS stations to Tegna, itself troubled by cost-cutting and shareholder turbulence and forced corporate-wide news imaging that discounted WBNS's local legacy. While WCMH-TV generally carries a straight newscast (as is common among Nexstar stations) and WBNS-TV has been more lifestyle-oriented under Tegna ownership, WSYX has traditionally had more of a watchdog journalism style, long carrying the slogan "On YOUR Side". Since the sale of WBNS-TV to Tegna, WSYX has been in a neck-and-neck race with WCMH-TV as the market leader, dominating in the mornings while being more competitive in other timeslots.[13]
During the 1977–83 era, WTVN-TV often passed WCMH for second place behind WBNS, and during 1987–1992, WSYX and WBNS traded second place ratings, both behind then-number one WCMH. Over the years, the station has featured high-profile Columbus anchors including Tom Ryan (who moved from WBNS to WTVN in 1979), Pat Lalama, I. J. Hudson, Michelle Gailiun, Lou Forrest (known as Louis de la Foret on CNN Headline News), Deborah Countiss, Bob Hetherington, Charlene Brown, and Liz Claman (now an anchor on Fox Business Network) and Carol Costello (former CNN news anchor) were also one time anchor/reporters on WSYX.
Prior to Sinclair's acquisition of WSYX, channel 6 used the Action News branding for its newscasts. Following its acquisition, WSYX began to produce newscasts for new sister station WTTE and used the unified branding of News Center. This would be dropped in 2006, with the two stations now using their individual station branding for newscasts, though outside the branding it was established that they were sister stations and used the same on-air talent and reporters.
WSYX and WTTE did not participate in the wider implementation of Sinclair's now-defunct, controversial News Central format for its newscasts but did air The Point, a one-minute conservative political commentary, that was also controversial and a requirement of all Sinclair-owned stations with newscasts until the series was discontinued in December 2006. WSYX does provides weather forecasts to sister St. Louis ABC affiliate KDNL-TV for their Good Morning America cut-ins, as well as during the Sinclair-produced The National Desk to cover Midwestern areas. WSYX launched their newscasts in high definition on May 10, 2008, making them the last Columbus station to make the upgrade. The WTTE newscasts were included in the switch. In addition, this was the second Sinclair-owned station to launch local newscasts in HD.
WSYX was one of Sinclair's first stations it acquired with an established news department, with the company having only dabbled with local news at WPTT in Pittsburgh (now WPNT) and flagship station WBFF in Baltimore prior to buying River City Broadcasting, though it had just launched a 10 PM newscast for its other Pittsburgh broadcast property WPGH-TV around the time it took over WSYX. (Those newscasts are now produced by Cox Media Group-owned NBC affiliate WPXI in that market.) As a result, aside from the branding changes, WSYX's newscasts were largely left alone; this is in stark contrast to later acquisitions including WKRC-TV that lined up the newscasts with Sinclair's conservative Republican ideologies and to this day rarely carry Sinclair's must-run programming.
Live programming
Like most local stations during the "Golden Era" of television, WTVN-TV produced a wide range of live local news and entertainment programs. Earl Green, better known as Channel 6's news anchor and director in the 1970s, began his career at the station as a movie host; Gene Fullen and Sally Flowers also hosted shows during their careers. WTVN-TV also hosted various live bowling shows including Bowling for Dollars and Spare Time hosted by Gene Fullen and Sandy Hare from its in-studio bowling lanes at the Harmon Avenue studios. The bowling lanes were not relocated when WTVN-TV moved to its current studio facility at 1261 Dublin Road in 1977.
For a short time in 1988, WSYX-TV aired the first-ever locally produced 10 a.m. live morning talk-entertainment show in Columbus, appropriately called Good Morning Columbus. The half-hour show was hosted by Calvin Sneed, the station's "Six On Your Side" consumer reporter, and Dawn Meadows, formerly of WEWS-TV, Cleveland.
Sports
Through its affiliation with Fox and its Big Ten Conference rights, WSYX-DT3 airs select Ohio State Buckeyes football games, which are a huge ratings draw in Ohio in general and specifically Columbus, home of Ohio State University. The station notably aired the Buckeyes' national championship victory in 2002. WSYX airs pre-game and post-game shows throughout football season on both 6.1 and 6.3. Despite that, WBNS-TV is considered the official "home" station due to its longstanding relationship with Ohio State, and WBNS-TV instead of WSYX airs coach's shows for the Buckeyes.
Since Sinclair's 2019 purchase of the former Fox Sports Networks and subsequent conversion into Bally Sports, WSYX has actively promoted now-sister network Bally Sports Ohio as the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Columbus Crew SC, mentioning to viewers during its newscasts when their respective games air on Bally Sports Ohio.
