WMOW

WMOW
(satellite of WAOW-DT2
Wausau, Wisconsin)


Crandon, Wisconsin
United States
Branding Central Wisconsin CW
Newsline 9 (news)
WMOW 4/Newsline 9
(general/news; DT2)
Slogan TV Now (general)
Your Trusted Resource
Channels Digital: 12 (VHF)
Virtual: 4 (PSIP)
Subchannels (see article)
Affiliations The CW
(via The CW Plus)
Owner Quincy Media
(WAOW-WYOW License, LLC)
Founded December 4, 1998
Call letters' meaning sister to Madison's WKOW
Sister station(s) WKOW, WXOW/WQOW,
KTTC, KXLT-TV, WREX
Former callsigns WBIJ (2001–2010)
Former channel number(s) 4 (VHF analog, 2001–2009)
Former affiliations FamilyNet (2001–2009)
Dark (2009–2010)
Transmitter power 3.2 kW
Height 119 m
Class DT
Facility ID 81503
Transmitter coordinates 45°34′23.4″N 88°52′58.7″W / 45.573167°N 88.882972°W / 45.573167; -88.882972

WMOW is the CW-affiliated television station for North-Central Wisconsin's Northern Highland that is licensed to Crandon. It broadcasts a 720p high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 (or virtual channel 4.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter just east of downtown. Owned by Quincy Media, the station can also be seen on Charter channel 8 and in HD on digital channel 610. Besides the transmitter, WMOW does not maintain any physical presence locally in Crandon.

Digital channels

Channel Video Aspect PSIP short name Programming [1]
4.1 720p 16:9 WMOW-CW Main WMOW programming / The CW
4.2 WMOW-DT Simulcast of WAOW
4.3 480i 4:3 Decades Decades

Overview

Although considered a separate station in its own right, it technically operates as a full-time satellite of ABC affiliate WAOW in Wausau. However, in an unusual arrangement, the big three network is actually seen on a second digital subchannel of WMOW. Therefore, this actually makes the main channel a straight satellite of CW affiliate WAOW-DT2 (through the CW Plus national service).

Master control and all internal operations of WMOW originate from WAOW's studios on Grand Avenue/U.S. 51 in Wausau. On the main channel, it airs a thirty-minute prime time newscast on weeknights known as Newsline 9 at 9 on The CW which is produced by WAOW.

History

Founded December 4, 1998, the station first signed-on February 9, 2001 as WBIJ. It was a FamilyNet affiliate owned by Dennis Selenka. The station aired an analog signal on VHF channel 4. Since WBIJ was granted its construction permit after the finalization of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) digital television allotment plan on April 21, 1997, it did not receive a companion digital channel.

After Dennis Selenka's death on September 30, 2008,[2] Quincy purchased WBIJ from his widow for $1.5 million on February 13, 2009. The company announced its intention to run WBIJ as a second satellite station of WAOW to serve the northeast portion of the Wausau market in a similar capacity that WYOW does for the extreme northern part of the market.[3] In the meantime, WBIJ signed-off on June 12 at the end of the digital transition for full-service stations as it did not yet have digital facilities ready.

Quincy brought the station back on-the-air as WMOW on June 4, 2010.[4] This station operates its digital signal on VHF channel 12 which was the former analog home of NBC affiliate WJFW-TV. ABC network programming on WMOW-DT2, as provided through WAOW, can also be seen on Charter channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 609. This TV on WMOW-DT3 is also offered on Charter digital channel 966.

Syndicated programming on WMOW-DT2 (via WAOW) includes Entertainment Tonight, The Dr. Oz Show, The Nate Berkus Show, and Rachael Ray among others. On June 19, 2011, WAOW (and in turn WMOW-DT2) became the market's second television outlet to upgrade local news to high definition level. Included in the change was a redesigned set and updated graphics scheme. [5]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.