22, 2006, News Corporation announced the launch of MyNetworkTV, a new "sixth" broadcast network operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television that was created to compete against The CW, as well as to give UPN- and WB-affiliated stations that were not named as charter CW affiliates another option besides converting into independent stations. On March 28 of that year, then-owner Media General announced that WB affiliate WJWB (channel 17) would become the market's charter affiliate of The CW (it would later change its call letters to WCWJ). On July 12, Clear Channel confirmed that WAWS would become the Jacksonville area affiliate of MyNetworkTV, which it would carry on a new second digital subchannel. However, until the new second digital subchannel launched, WAWS carried MyNetworkTV programming on its main channel weeknights from 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. in the interim. MyNetworkTV programming moved to WAWS-DT2 once the subchannel signed on in January 2007, airing in the recommended 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. time slot, with programming from the Variety Television Network (MeTV since 2011) airing at all other times. Newport Television ownership On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel entered into an agreement to sell its television stations to Newport Television, a newly formed television station group controlled by private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. Since WTEV was also included in the deal, this would have violated FCC rules preventing a single company from holding common ownership of two of the four highest-rated stations in a single market as Clear Channel had bought WTEV when it was a UPN affiliate that had lower ratings which placed it outside of the commission's total-day ratings criteria for duopolies (by this point, WTEV surpassed WJXT and WCWJ in the total-day viewership). As a result, the FCC granted Newport Television a temporary waiver to acquire WAWS and WTEV, provided that Newport sell one of the two stations within six months of the sale's consummation. After the group deal closed on March 14, 2008, Newport had originally planned to sell off WAWS to another company while keeping WTEV. On May 21, 2008, High Plains Broadcasting agreed to purchase the license assets of WTEV and six other stations from Newport Television due to ownership conflicts in the affected markets (including Jacksonville). However, since this particular transaction was conducted as a sale in name only, Newport continued to operate the stations under a shared services agreement