WKOW-TV
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WKOW-TV | |
|---|---|
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| Madison, Wisconsin | |
| Branding | WKOW 27 (general) 27 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | We've Got You Covered |
| Channels |
Digital: 26 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | ABC (27.1) Retro Television Network (27.2) This TV (27.3) |
| Owner | Quincy Newspapers, Inc. (WKOW Television, Inc.) |
| First air date | June 30, 1953 |
| Call letters’ meaning | K(C)OW (for Wisconsin's dairy industry) |
| Sister station(s) | WAOW - Wausau; WQOW - Eau Claire; WYOW - Eagle River; WXOW - La Crosse |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 27 (1953-2009) |
| Former affiliations | CBS (6/30/1953-6/24/1956) |
| Transmitter Power | 800 kW |
| Height | 455 m |
| Facility ID | 64545 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | 43°3′20.5″N 89°32′6.3″W / 43.055694°N 89.535083°W |
| Website | wkowtv.com |
WKOW-TV (digital channel 26 or virtual channel 27) is an ABC affiliate in Madison, Wisconsin. The station is owned by Quincy Newspapers. Its transmitter is located in Madison.
Contents |
[edit] History
Established on June 30, 1953; WKOW first signed on the air as the local CBS affiliate and the first television station in Madison. Originally, the station tried to use K-O-W and cows as a way to promote the station, using a smiling bovine along with the station logo. When WISC-TV came on the air on June 24, 1956, it took the CBS television affiliate from WKOW. Then, WKOW took the ABC affiliate from WMTV, and WKOW has remained with ABC ever since.
In January 1958, WKOW-TV became an affiliate of the short-lived local Badger Television Network, a three-station television network in Wisconsin. The other two stations were WISN-TV (Milwaukee channel 12), and WFRV-TV (Green Bay channel 5). The Badger Network was launched in January 1958 and ceased operations on August 8 of that year.[1]
In 1974, Terry Shockley took over control of the Wisconsin Television Network, which has grown to include WAOW - Wausau and WXOW - La Crosse in addition to WKOW. Shockley later signed on WQOW - Eau Claire as a satellite of WXOW. In 1986, Shockley sold the television stations to Sharad Tak, whose Tak Communications would later purchase KITV in Honolulu, Hawaii and WGRZ-TV in Buffalo, New York. In the wake of the 1986 group deal, Shockley formed a new company, Shockley Communications Corporation, as a holding company for the radio stations which Shockley retained. Tak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1991, and later went into receivership. As part of Tak Communications' bankruptcy sale, Shockley repurchased the four Wisconsin stations in 1995. Two years later, Shockley Communications launched WYOW - Eagle River as a satellite of WAOW. In June 2001, current owner Quincy Newspapers purchased most of the Shockley stations, including WKOW and its Wisconsin sister stations.
When the station first started broadcasting television in the 1950s, WKOW's sister radio station WKOW AM 1070 was already on the air. The original studios for both TV and radio were constructed on the Tokay Boulevard site, not long after the first WKOW station was constructed. When WKOW switched its television affiliation to ABC during the 1950s, WKOW AM 1070 radio kept the CBS affiliation. In the 1970s, WKOW was sold away from radio, in accordance with the FCC's "one to market" policy of that era; and WKOW AM 1070 frequency became WTSO AM 1070, and is now affiliated with Fox Sports. WTSO remained in the Tokay Boulevard building through the 1980s, later adding an FM sister station on 104.1 (now WZEE) which had previously been a stand-alone. Now, both WTSO and WZEE are a part of Clear Channel Communications and are unrelated to WKOW-TV in any way except for WKOW-TV providing weather forecasts for Clear Channel's Madison radio operations.
On October 29, 1998, WKOW became the smallest American TV station to start high-definition broadcasts with its digital channel.
[edit] Digital television
At 1PM on February 17, 2009, WKOW-TV discontinued analog broadcasting and moved full-time over-the-air broadcasts to its digital channel, WKOW-DT channel 26.[2] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers continue to display WKOW-DT's virtual channels in the following manner:
| Subchannel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 27.1 | WKOW-TV/ABC |
| 27.2 | Retro Television Network (RTN) |
| 27.3 | This TV |
[edit] Current On-air Personalities
Wake Up Wisconsin
- Roland Beres, Anchor / Positively Wisconsin Reporter
- Barbara Vaughan, Anchor
- Brian Olson, Storm Track Meteorologist / AMS Seal of Approval / NWA Seal of Approval
Weeknights
- Greg Jeschke, Anchor (5:00, 6:00, 6:30 & 10:00) / It's Your Money Reporter
- Diana Henry, Anchor (5:00, 6:00 & 10:00) / Someone You Should Know Reporter
- Bob Lindmeier, Storm Track Chief Meteorologist (5:00, 6:00, 6:30 & 10:00) / Weather Central Vice President / AMS Seal of Approval
- Jake Zimmermann, Sports Director (6:00, 6:30 & 10:00)
Weekends
- Carl Agnelly, Anchor (Sat 6:00 & 10:00, Sun 5:30 & 10:00) / Good to be Green Reporter
- Kelly Curran, Storm Track Meteorologist (Sat 6:00 & 10:00, Sun 5:30 & 10:00) / Reporter
- Brian Custar, Sports Anchor (Sat 6:00 & 10:00, Sun 5:30 & 10:00) / Sports Reporter
Reporters
- Tony Galli / Investigative Reporter
- Kim Sveum / Parenting Project Reporter
- Dan Cassuto / Consumer Reporter
- Teresa Mackin
- Brian Rodriguez
- Jeff Angileri
- Bill Osmulski / Rock County Reporter
- Matt Zahn (Sports Reporter)
FOX 47 News @ 9 (airs on WMSN-TV; produced by WKOW)
- Julie Lund, Anchor
- Laurie Mercurio, Chief Meteorologist / AMS Seal of Approval
- Matt Zahn, Sports Anchor
- Jeff Angileri, Reporter
[edit] Notable former on-air personalities
- Tom Skilling (Meteorologist; now at WGN-TV in Chicago, IL)
- Steven Levitan (currently a television writer/producer, known for such series as Just Shoot Me and Back to You)
[edit] References
- ^ Golembiewski, Dick (2008). Milwaukee Television History: The Analog Years. Marquette University Press. pp. 213-270. ISBN 0-87462-055-4.
- ^ "WKOW-TV ends its analog signal, becomes WKOW-DT", from wkowtv.com, February 17, 2009. The link includes a 4-minute video of its analog shutdown.
[edit] External links
- WKOW-TV main site
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WKOW
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WKOW-TV
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