WFFT-TV (channel 55) is a television station in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Hillegas Road in Fort Wayne. History As an independent station The station signed on the air on December 21, 1977 as an independent station. Many shows on WFFT during its early days had not been seen in the market since their original airing on network television; among the classic series it aired were The Little Rascals, Superman, Batman, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Night Gallery, The Wild Wild West and McHale's Navy. For a time, the station carried ABC shows that were preempted by WPTA (channel 21), which usually included shows that were part of the ABC Late Night block. In January 1978, just one month after it signed on, the Midwestern United States suffered through a snowstorm known as the "Great Blizzard of 1978". Due to the severity of the storm, engineers were trapped at the station, and rather than sign off the air as they normally would, they got permission from management to simply continue transmitting. They filled the time with information about the weather situation (to the degree that they could given their limited resources), and public domain films and videos from the station's library. The appeal of 24-hour broadcasting was so popular, it later ended up staying on the air all night each Friday and Saturday on a regular basis during a time when the other Fort Wayne stations would sign-off for the night around 1:00 or 2:00 a.m.; it filled the overnight timeslot with a feature film showcase called Nite Owl Theatre, which began with the beginning refrain of "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" by Chicago as its theme music. In later years, Friday late nights featured classic horror movies such as: Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolfman, The Mole People and Invasion of the Body Snatchers hosted by a character called "The Shroud" on Nightmare Theatre (of which only one episode is currently known to exist). The station provided a much-needed alternative to viewers in the Fort Wayne area (particularly younger viewers) with its array of cartoons, movies, and old sitcoms. This was especially important for those who did not have cable and could not watch regional or national superstations such as WTTV from Indianapolis or WGN-TV from Chicago. At one time, WFFT was voted the