WISC-TV(channel 3) is atelevision stationinMadison, Wisconsin,United States, affiliated withCBSandMyNetworkTV.It is theflagshiptelevision property of locally basedMorgan Murphy Media,which has owned the station since its inception. WISC-TV's studios are located on Raymond Road in Madison, and its transmitter is located on South Pleasant View Road in Madison's Junction Ridge neighborhood.
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First air date | June 24, 1956 |
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Call signmeaning | Wisconsin |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 65143 |
| ERP | 46.9kW |
| HAAT | 469.2 m (1,539 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°3′21″N89°32′6″W/ 43.05583°N 89.53500°W |
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Public license information | |
| Website | www |
History
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WISC-TV first took to the airwaves on June 24, 1956, taking over Madison's CBS affiliation fromWKOW-TV(which retainedABCaffiliation). It was originally a sister station to WISC radio (1480 AM, nowWLMVat 1480 andWOZNat 1670 AM).[2]Both were owned by Morgan Murphy Stations, the broadcasting division of the Evening Telegram Company ofSuperior, Wisconsin.That company still owns channel 3 today, though it sold off its print interests in 2003 and moved its headquarters to Madison. It has since changed its trade name to Morgan Murphy Media.
Despite being the state's second largest market, Madison was a "doughnut" market as it was sandwiched between other markets where primary VHF signals were already assigned–Milwaukee(channels4,6,10,and12) to the east,Wausau–Rhinelander(channels7,9,and12) andGreen Bay(channels2,5,and11) to the north,Chicago(channels2,5,7,9,and11) to the southeast,Rockford(channel 13) to the south, andLa Crosse–Eau Claire(channels8and13) to the west. Having the market's only VHF signal gave channel 3 a distinct advantage—and market leadership—over UHF competitors WKOW andWMTV,a position that the station has enjoyed for much of its history, even after the advent of cable television put the competitors on equal footing. (WISC's former slogan, "Wisconsin's Leadership Station", played upon that advantage.)
WISC-TV has been affiliated with CBS since its launch, though it was also briefly affiliated with theNTA Film Networkduring the late 1950s.[3]In January 1995, WISC-TV began maintaining a secondary affiliation withUPN,carrying tape-delayed overnight airings of the network's prime time programming following CBS's late-night lineup; this arrangement ended in July 1999, when Media Properties Inc. signed onJanesville-licensed WHPN-TV (channel 57, nowIon TelevisionaffiliateWIFS) as Madison's first full-time UPN outlet. (WISC would resume its relationship with UPN in 2002 through its cable/digital subchannel, TVW; seebelow.)
In 1998, WISC-TV partnered withInternet Broadcasting Systemsto become the first TV station in the region, and one of the first in the country, to have a dedicatednews website,Channel 3000.[4]
WISC-TV commemorated its 50th anniversary in June 2006, which merited a congratulatory mention byDavid Lettermanon hisLate Showbroadcast of June 22, 2006 (its first program, he quipped, wasGood Morning,Cheddar).
AfterCBS' airing ofSuper Bowl LIII,WISC-TV debuted a new newscast set, dropped the "3" logo in use since 1990, and changed theirNews 3branding toNews 3 Now.
TVW (WISC-DT2)
edit
WISC-DT2,branded as"TVW",is theMyNetworkTV-affiliated seconddigital subchannelof WISC-TV.Over the air,it broadcasts in720phigh definition on channel 3.2.
History
editThe channel launched on January 1, 1996, asWiSC2,a primarily cable-only general entertainment sister channel of WISC-TV. It was not initially available onMarcus Cable(acquired byCharter Communicationsin January 1999) in the immediate Madison area, instead being carried on cable systems serving some of the city's outlying suburbs and via alow-power broadcast transmitter,a situation that severely limited its potential audience early on. The channel maintained a format modeled after general entertainmentindependent stations,running a mix ofsyndicatedsitcoms,drama series, talk shows andgame shows;children's programming (including some off-network cartoons); a limited schedule of local news and community affairs programs; regional sporting events (includingMilwaukee Bucksbasketball games carried by the team's then-originating broadcast affiliate,WVTV); and an early-morning simulcast of Bloomberg Information Television (renamedBloomberg Televisionin 1997).
In 1998, the channel—which was concurrently renamed theTelevision Wisconsin Network (TVW),named after the Murphy-owned licensee of WISC-TV, Television Wisconsin, Inc.—became the Madison-area affiliate ofThe WB;this made it one of only two local cable-only WB affiliates, alongsideWT05inToledo, Ohio(now operating as a CW affiliate on a subchannel of local ABC affiliateWTVG), that operated independently from the small-marketWB 100+ Station Grouplaunched by the network that September. Dating to the network's January 1995 launch, The WB had only been available locally on Marcus Cable and other local cable systems through thesuperstation feedof Chicago affiliate WGN-TV (relaunched asNewsNationin February 2021, and which dropped WB programming nationally in October 1999) and via Milwaukee affiliate WVTV (then available throughout Wisconsin as a regionalsuperstation), which began to gradually let existing carriage agreements with cable providers outside of the Milwaukee DMA lapse after it affiliated with the network in May 1997. The affiliation was critical in getting Marcus/Charter to finally add TVW to its Madison-area lineup. TVW carried the full WB schedule (although it aired the network's Sunday night lineup on a one-hour delay), along with a mix of syndicated programs,Wisconsin Badgerssports, and locally produced programs produced by Channel 3 and Charter.
In September 2000, WISC—upon launching itsdigitalsignal on UHF channel 50—began providing a simulcast of TVW on digital subchannel 3.2, making it among the first permanent digital subchannels in modern American digital broadcast television and allowing over-the-air reception of the channel to the then-few area residents that had a digital-capableHDTVset. To reflect its channel position on Charter's Madison-area systems, TVW—which was retained as its official identification—began branding as "WB14" in September 2001. On August 26, 2002, WISC-DT2—which, accordingly, adopted "UPN14" as its branding—became the market's UPN affiliate as part of an affiliation swap with WHPN—which concurrently changed its calls to WBUW—that was tied to the April 2 sale of the latter toACME Communications(a station group founded by WB co-founder and former network presidentJamie Kellner),[5]thus allowing area viewers who neither had a cable or satellite subscription nor an HDTV set (and therefore, lacked access to TVW's broadcast and cable feeds) to watch WB network programs for the first time.
On March 8, 2006, Morgan Murphy Media confirmed that WISC-DT2 would become the Madison-area charter affiliate of MyNetworkTV, developed as a joint venture between then-News CorporationsubsidiariesFox Television Stationsand20th Television(the former is now owned byFox Corporation;the latter has since been integrated intoDisney Media Distributionas a result ofDisney's2019 acquisitionof most of21st Century Fox's assets) and announced on February 22 to primarily serve as a network option for UPN and WB stations that were not chosen to affiliate withThe CW(co-founded by their then-respective parents,CBS CorporationandTime Warner,to replace both networks).[6][7][8]WISC-DT2—which changed its on-air branding to "My Madison TV" on August 7—officially joined MyNetworkTV upon its launch on September 5; however, it continued to air UPN prime time programming on a tape-delayed basis (from midnight to 2 a.m.) until that network ceased broadcasting on September 15. (WBUW switched to The CW when that network debuted on September 18, the day after The WB ceased operations.)
As a MyNetworkTV affiliate, along with syndicated programs, WISC-DT2 airedcollege sportsfrom theMid-AmericanandSoutheasternconferences (viaESPN Plus), occasional Badgers hockey broadcasts (viaWisconsin Public Television,which also aired statewide over Charter's "Xtra" service on channel 87 outside of the Madison market) and high school sports (under the "PrepMania" banner) as well as local programs including the music seriesUrban Theaterand the sports panel discussion programSidelines(which also aired in the Milwaukee and Green Bay markets onTime Warner Cable Sports 32/Spectrum Sports). On July 1, 2009, WISC-DT2 reverted to the former "TVW" brand, accompanied by new blue/white/black circular logo; the rebranding was meant to emphasize a connection to Madison and Wisconsin in the channel's programming.[9]In February 2019, TVW acquired the rights to selected syndicated programs and most of the locally produced programming—including the Saturday nighthorror movieshowcaseBordello of HorrorandTalk Wisconsin(previously titledTalk of the Townbefore the showrelocated)—that had been displaced from WIFS after it converted into anIon Plusaffiliate with little advanced notice to its viewers on February 1.[10][11][12][13]
Programming
editUnlike most CBS affiliates, WISC is one of a handful of CBS affiliates to airpaid programmingon weekdays, providing an hour-long block of infomercials at 9 a.m. to compensate for the lack of available syndicated programming or a local newscast to fill that hour. WISC was home toESPN Plusbroadcasts of Wisconsin Badger sports before the syndicator's relationship with theBig Ten Conferenceended in 2007. WISC also serves as an affiliate of theChicago Bearspre-season television network.
WISC-DT2 is also designated by WISC to carry CBS network programs that the station must preempt to accommodate extendedbreaking newsorsevere weathercoverage or special event programming on its main channel, and airstape-delayedrebroadcasts of WISC's regularly scheduled weekday newscasts (usually) immediately after their initial telecast on channel 3.1 as well as hourly weather updates presented by the station's "First Warn Weather" team.
In2024,WISC-TV will air 10 Milwaukee Bucks games as part of an agreement withWeigel BroadcastingandBally Sports Wisconsin.These games originate from Weigel's Milwaukee CBS affiliateWDJT-TVand independent stationWMLW-TVand utilize Bally Sports commentators and production personnel. Three games will air on the station's main CBS channel, with the remaining games on WISC-DT2.[14]
News operation
editWISC presently broadcasts35+1⁄2hours of local newscasts each week (with three hours each weekday and2+1⁄2hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). In addition to its normal morning, noon, 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, WISC airsNews 3 Now Live at Four,a one-hour newscast which is largely devoted to non-headline news and features that focus on the community and the people of Madison, Dane County, and south-central Wisconsin.Live at Fouroriginally aired at 5 p.m., but moved to 4 p.m. in October 2015 to expand to one hour.
In January 2004, WISC-TV began producingUPN14 News at Ninefor TVW, a five-minute news update featuring local and national headlines as well as a brief weather segment. In September 2005, the program expanded into a half-hour broadcast (asNews 3 at 9 on UPN14,subsequently revised to account for TVW/WISC-DT2's later branding changes);News 3 at 9ended its seven-year run on December 31, 2011, after WISC entered into a news share arrangement withFoxaffiliateWMSN-TV(channel 47) to assume production responsibilities for that station's 9 p.m. newscast (which had been produced by WKOW since its premiere in 1999) effective January 1, 2012.[15]
On October 26, 2008, WISC-TV began producing all its newscasts in totalhigh-definition video,becoming the first commercial TV station in Wisconsin to do so.[16]The station had produced occasional news features in HD since the beginning of 2008. In April 2011, WISC began offering free on demand segments of their newscasts on theRokudigital video player.[17]
Notable former on-air staff
edit- Roger Grimsby;long-time anchor onWABC-TVEyewitness Newsin New York (deceased)
- Martin Kilcoyne(Sports); sportscaster withKTVIinSt. Louis
- Matt Lepay(Sports); play-by-play radio announcer for theWisconsin Badgersfootball and men's basketball teams; part-time play-by-play TV announcer for theMilwaukee Brewers
- Curt Menefee(Sports); studio host ofFox NFL Sunday
- Alanna Rizzo(Sports); sports reporter withSportsNet LAinLos Angeles;[18]formerly with theMLB Network
Technical information
editSubchannels
editThe station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WISC | CBS |
| 3.2 | 720p | TVW | MyNetworkTV | |
| 3.3 | 480i | DABL | Dabl | |
| 3.4 | QVC | QVC | ||
| 3.5 | HSN | HSN | ||
| 3.6 | SCRIPPS | Scripps News |
Analog-to-digital transition; spectrum reallocation
editWISC-TV shut down its analog signal, overVHFchannel 3, at 12:30 p.m. on February 17, 2009, the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were totransition from analog to digital broadcastsunder federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transitionUHFchannel 50,[20]usingvirtual channel3.
The analog channel 3 continued to serve as a "nightlight",broadcasting a loop of digital transition information and instructions in addition to any local news programming and emergency information, until signing off for good the final week of March 2009.
On April 13, 2017, the results of theFederal Communications Commission(FCC)'s 2016spectrum auctionwere announced, with Morgan Murphy successfully selling the UHF spectrum for WISC for just under $50 million. WISC would move their spectrum from UHF channel 50 to VHF, taking the former digital channel 11 position held by WMSN-TV before a return to UHF in November 2010.[21][22]
References
edit- ^"Facility Technical Data for WISC-TV".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^FCC History Cards for WISC-TV.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films".Boxoffice:13. November 10, 1956. Archived fromthe originalon June 14, 2009.
- ^Williams, Katherine (July 17, 1998)."WISC Goes for Lead in Web Site Race, TV Station Unveils 'Channel 3000'".The Capital Times.p. 1C.ProQuest395130570– via ProQuest.
- ^"Janesville TV station to be sold".Milwaukee Business Journal.American City Business Journals.April 2, 2002.
- ^"UPN 14 To Become My Network TV This Fall".WISC-TV.Morgan Murphy Stations. March 8, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon March 22, 2006.
- ^"News Corp. to launch new mini-network for UPN stations".USA Today.Gannett Company.February 22, 2006.RetrievedJanuary 21,2013.
- ^Eggerton, John (February 22, 2006)."News Corp. Unveils MyNetworkTV".Broadcasting & Cable.Reed Business Information.
- ^"My Madison TV Is Now TVW".WISC-TV.Morgan Murphy Stations. Archived fromthe originalon December 10, 2014.RetrievedJuly 10,2009.
- ^"ION Affiliation Moves in Madison".Northpine.February 4, 2019.
- ^"TVW".WISC-TV.Morgan Murphy Media.RetrievedMay 21,2019.
- ^Source: Krista Hatcher Uelmen on FacebookArchivedOctober 28, 2021, at theWayback Machine(posted February 1, 2019, and accessed February 4, 2019)
- ^"Bordello of Horror is on the move and landing on Madison's TVW at midnight starting on Saturday February 9th! Hope to see you all there!".Bordello of Horror.February 1, 2019.RetrievedFebruary 4,2019– via Facebook.
- ^Langrehr, Jaymes (February 8, 2024)."WISC-TV, Television Wisconsin to air 10 Bucks games for free over-the-air".Channel 3000.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
- ^Newman, Judy (January 5, 2012)."WISC-TV now providing news services for Fox 47".Wisconsin State Journal.RetrievedJanuary 6,2012.
- ^"WISC-TV To Air Newscasts In HD".WISC-TV.October 20, 2008.
- ^"WISC Debuts Local News Channel on Roku Digital Video Player".mediabistro.RetrievedApril 15,2011.
- ^"Dodgers reportedly add Hershiser, Rizzo to TV team".truebluela.December 8, 2013.
- ^"RabbitEars TV Query for WISC-TV".
- ^"DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on August 29, 2013.RetrievedMarch 24,2012.
- ^"FCC Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction Auction 1001 Winning Bids"(PDF).April 13, 2017.RetrievedApril 14,2017.
- ^"Spectrum Auction Channel Changes in the Upper Midwest".Upper Midwest Broadcasting, Northpine. April 13, 2017.RetrievedApril 14,2017.