WMOW

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WMOW
Satellite of WAOW, Wausau, Wisconsin
Wmow 2014.png
Crandon, Wisconsin
United States
ChannelsDigital: 13 (VHF)
Virtual: 4
BrandingWMOW 4/News 9 WAOW
(general/news)
Programming
Affiliations4.1 & 4.3: Decades
4.2: ABC
4.4: Court TV
4.5: Justice Network
Ownership
OwnerAllen Media Broadcasting
(Wausau TV License Company, LLC)
WAOW, WKOW, WQOW, WXOW
Cable: Bally Sports Wisconsin, Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Detroit
History
FoundedDecember 4, 1998
First air date
February 9, 2001 (20 years ago) (2001-02-09)
Former call signs
WBIJ (2001–2010)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
4 (VHF, 2001–2009)
Digital:
12 (VHF, 2010–2020)
Analog/DT1:
FamilyNet (2001–2009)
Dark (2009–2010)
The CW (2010–2021)
DT2:
ABC (2010–2021, now on 4.1)
Call sign meaning
Metonga Lake; "OW" refers to its sister station status with WAOW and Madison's WKOW[1]
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID81503
ERP3.2 kW
HAAT119 m (390 ft)
Transmitter coordinates45°34′23.4″N 88°52′58.7″W / 45.573167°N 88.882972°W / 45.573167; -88.882972
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewaow.com

WMOW, virtual channel 4 (VHF digital channel 13), is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Crandon, Wisconsin, United States. It is a full-time satellite of Wausau-licensed WAOW (channel 9) which is owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Los Angeles–based Entertainment Studios. WMOW's transmitter is located just east of downtown Crandon; its parent station maintains studios on Grand Avenue/US 51 in Wausau. Besides the transmitter, WMOW does not maintain any physical presence locally in Crandon.

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.

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]

Sale to Allen Media Group[]

On January 7, 2021, Quincy Media announced that it had put itself up for sale.[6] On February 1, Gray Television announced it would purchase Quincy's radio and TV properties for $925 million. As Gray already own's WSAW-TV in the Wausau/Rhinelander market, and both that station and WAOW rank among the market's top four stations, it agreed to sell WAOW in order to satisfy FCC requirements.[7]

On April 29, Gray announced that WMOW and WAOW would be divested to Allen Media Group, a subsidiary of Los Angeles–based Entertainment Studios, in a $380 million deal that includes, among other Quincy-owned stations, WKOW/Madison, WXOW/La Crosse, and WQOW/Eau Claire. The deal is expected to close during the third quarter of 2021, and will not see Gray have any direct ownership or control of those stations.[8] Gray, however, will keep WYOW, with plans to turn the Eagle River station into a full-power satellite of WSAW-TV.[9]

Digital channels[]

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP short name Programming[10]
4.1 720p 16:9 WMOW-CW Decades
4.2 WMOW-DT Simulcast of WAOW / ABC
4.3 480i 4:3 THIS-TV Decades
4.4 16:9 CourtTV Court TV
4.5 Justice True Crime Network

References[]

  1. ^ Call Letter Origins from Nelson.OldRadio.com (accessed 7/9/2020)
  2. ^ Selenka, Joanne L. (February 4, 2009). "Application For Consent To Assign Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License Or To Transfer Control Of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  3. ^ "Quincy Takes WBIJ for $1.55 Million". TelevisionBroadcast.com. February 13, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  4. ^ "WMOW On The Air". WAOW — Newsline 9. June 4, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  5. ^ http://www.waow.com/category/136204/newsteam, waow.com. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  6. ^ "TV Station Owner Quincy Media Up for Sale," from Northpine.com, 1/7/2021
  7. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (February 1, 2021). "Gray Television Acquires Quincy Media For $925 Million In Cash". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  8. ^ "Gray Sells Divestiture Stations From Quincy Media Transaction to Allen Media for $380 Million," press release from GlobeNewswire, 4/29/2021
  9. ^ "FCC Filings Provide Details of Gray TV’s Plans for Quincy Media Stations," from Northpine.com, 2/12/2021
  10. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WMOW

External links[]

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