WLAX

WLAX/WEUX

WLAX: La Crosse, Wisconsin WEUX: Chippewa Falls/ Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Branding	FOX 25/48
Slogan	So Huge, So Bold, So FOX 25/48
Channels	Digital: WLAX: 17 (UHF) WEUX: 49 (UHF)
Subchannels	WLAX: 25.1 FOX (HD) 25.2 Me-TV (SD) WEUX: 48.1 FOX (HD) 48.2 Me-TV (SD)
Owner	Grant Broadcasting System II (WLAX: GM La Crosse Licensing, LLC) (WEUX: GM Chippewa Falls Licensing, LLC)
First air date	WLAX: November 10, 1986 WEUX: February 8, 1993
Call letters' meaning	WLAX: LA Crosse (X refers to "Crosse") WEUX: We're EaU Claire's FoX
Former channel number(s)	WLAX: 25 (UHF analog, 1986-2009) WEUX: 48 (UHF analog, 1993-2009)
Transmitter power	WLAX: 852.0 kW WEUX: 1,000 kW
Height	WLAX: 297.3 m WEUX: 223.1 m
Class	DT
Facility ID	WLAX: 2710 WEUX: 2709
Transmitter coordinates	WLAX: 43°48′15.2″N 091°22′20.6″W WEUX: 44°57′24.1″N 091°40′03.0″W
Website	fox2548.com

WLAX is the FOX-affiliated television station for Western Wisconsin licensed to La Crosse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 17 (or virtual channel 25.1 via PSIP) from its transmitter site, located approx. 2.7 miles WSW of La Crescent, Minnesota, also being just west of the studios of ABC affiliate WXOW. The station can also be seen on Charter and CenturyLink channel 3. There is a high definition feed offered on CenturyLink digital channel 306 and Charter digital channel 605. Owned by Grant Broadcasting System II, it has studios located at 1305 Interchange Place in La Crosse, just to the southeast of the intersection of I-90/US 53/WIS 35 and just north of the Rose Street junction (hence the station's street address name).

WEUX in Chippewa Falls serves as a full-time, 1 Megawatt sister to WLAX in the Chippewa Valley. This station broadcasts a high definition (HD) digital signal on UHF channel 49 (or virtual channel 48.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter site located approx. 3.2 miles southeast of Colfax (3.9 miles north of WIS 29) and approx. 0.8 mile west of the Dunn and Chippewa County line. The station maintains an advertising sales office at WIS 93 at 3403 St. Hwy. 93/Suite #3, in Eau Claire between I-94 and US 53.

Syndicated programming on both WLAX-DT & WEUX-DT includes The Office, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, and Judge Judy, among others.

DIGITAL PROGRAMMING

On March 25th, 2011, WLAX-DT2 dropped its SD version of its HD signal in order to start a standard definition simulcast of the local NBC affiliate WEAU-TV. The big three outlet was put on WLAX-DT's second digital subchannel after WEAU-DT's broadcast tower in Fairchild collapsed during a winter storm on March 22, 2011. Although WEAU-DT was able to resume its own over-the-air transmissions back on July 22, 2011, the simulcasting on WLAX-DT2 & WQOW-DT3 would continue until WEAU-DT would complete their fallen tower's rebuild and re-commissioning of their new UHF transmitter, which occurred on the 5th of January 2012. On the 12th of January, at approx. 1:30 PM, WEAU-DT dropped their signal off 18.3 and 25.2. At that time, WLAX-DT and WEUX-DT launched Me-TV on its second digital subchannel replacing the WEAU-DT signal on WLAX-DT's subchannel and WEUX-DT's standard definition simulcast of its main feed. This new service is currently available over the air and will be available on local digital cable providers within the near future.

Channels	Name	Video	Aspect	Programming
25.1 48.1	WLAX-HD WEUX-HD	720p	16:9	main WLAX/WEUX programming (HD)
25.2 48.2	WLAX-DT2 WEUX-DT2	480i	4:3	Me-TV (SD)

HISTORY

The WLAX/WEUX main studios.

WLAX-TV signed-on November 10th of 1986 with an analog signal on UHF channel 25. It started immediately as an Independent, but later on, affiliated itself with the FOX Network. This allowed them to supplement their already-airing syndicated programming. However, since the station's transmitter was located in Minnesota, it provided an inadequate over-the-air signal to the northern part of the market (the same problem that long plagued WXOW-TV).

To close this coverage gap, full-time satellite WEUX-TV was launched on February 8th, 1993 with an analog signal on UHF channel 48. The two stations began to be co-branded together. WLAX-TV/WEUX-TV were then acquired by their current owner, Grant Broadcasting, on May 15, 1996. On April 29, 2004, WLAX-TV became available on DISH Network's Locals-Into-Locals package. DirecTV would follow suit and do the same on May 24th, 2005.

On December 9, 2004, WLAX-DT signed-on with a standard definition digital signal on UHF channel 17. WEUX-DT followed on February 1, 2006 with a digital signal on UHF channel 49 in standard definition. WLAX-DT added high definition capabilities on January 28, 2008 while also launching the second digital subchannel by offering the same programming in standard definition. As part of the DTV transition on February 17, 2009, both outlets discontinued analog transmissions. WEUX-DT would not upgrade its digital signal to high definition until September 10, 2009 and just as WLAX-DT did, added the second subchannel to allow continued standard definition service reception.

NEWCASTS

News open.

On August 28, 2006, after entering into a news-share agreement with WEAU-DT (owned by Gray Television), WLAX-DT/WEUX-DT began airing a weeknight prime time newscast produced by the NBC affiliate, WEAU-DT. Known as Fox News at 9, the thirty minute broadcast expanded to weekends on January 20, 2007. For a time, MyNetworkTV affiliate WKBT-DT2 also aired a prime time newscast at 9 but it was only a weeknight scheduling. That show was dropped in 2009 and now, WKBT-DT2 currently airs a repeat of its parent station's weeknight 6 o'clock broadcast in the 9 p.m. slot. WLAX-DT/WEUX-DT uses most of WEAU-DT's on-air team except for having a separate weeknight meteorologist and weeknight sports anchor (although the two can contribute and/or fill-in on that station).

Fox News at 9 originates from a secondary set at WEAU-DT's facility on South Hastings Way/US 53 Business in Altoona (postal address says Eau Claire) and is fed to the WLAX-DT/WEUX-DT studios via a fiber-optic link. It features the news, music and graphics package licensed from News Corporation Digital Media that is modified from original use on Fox owned-and-operated stations. The broadcast is also simulcast on WEAU-DT2 (a 24-local weather channel), and can also be seen on Charter digital channel 247. This additional carriage allows the newscast to still air even if FOX programming delays or prevents the show from airing on WLAX-DT/WEUX-DT at its regularly scheduled time of 9PM. During weather forecast segments, WLAX-DT/WEUX-DT features WEAU-DT's Doppler weather radar (known as "SkyWarn 13") that is located at the WEAU-DT studio facility in Altoona.

NEWS TEAM

+ normally not seen on WEAU

• Sarah Stokes - weeknight news anchor
• Amelia Cerling - weekend news anchor and reporter three nights a week
• + Andrew McCawley - weeknight meteorologist
• Matt Hoffman - weekend meteorologist and news reporter
• + Jenn Chapman - weeknight sports anchor and sports photojournalist
• Justus Cleveland - weekend sports anchor
• Andrew Fefer - Assistant News Director and weeknight reporter (also fill-in news anchor)
• Chris Baylor - weeknight reporter and weekend producer
• Jenny You - multimedia journalist and producer
• Alyssa Fenske - news reporter

External Links

• WLAX/WEUX "FOX 25/48" (can be entered into web-enabled wireless device for mobile access)
• WEAU
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WLAX
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WEUX