WMSN-TV
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| Madison, Wisconsin | |
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| Branding | Fox 47 (general) Fox 47 News |
| Channels | Digital: 49 (UHF) Virtual: 47 (PSIP) |
| Affiliations | 47.1 Fox 47.2 TheCoolTV 47.3 The Country Network |
| Owner | Sinclair Broadcast Group (WMSN Licensee, LLC) |
| First air date | June 8, 1986 |
| Call letters' meaning | MadiSoN |
| Sister station(s) | WVTV, WCGV-TV |
| Former channel number(s) | 47 (UHF analog, 1986-2009) 11 (VHF digital) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (June-October 1986) |
| Transmitter power | 310 kW |
| Height | 469 m |
| Class | DT |
| Facility ID | 10221 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°3′21″N 89°32′6″W / 43.05583°N 89.535°W |
| Website | fox47.com |
WMSN-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station licensed to Madison, Wisconsin and serving Madison and Southern Wisconsin's Eastern Ridges and Lowlands. The station broadcasts a high definition signal on UHF channel 49 (or virtual channel 47.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in Madison's Middleton Junction section. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, WMSN's main studios are located on Big Sky Drive on Madison's west side. Programming on WMSN includes the full Fox lineup, along with syndicated programs including Seinfeld, Two and a Half Men, Judge Judy, and The People's Court.
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[edit] Digital programming
Programming on WMSN-TV and its subchannels are broadcast in the following manner:
| Channels (virtual/physical) | Charter Cable | Name | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.1/49.1 | 8 (SD)/617 (HD) | WMSN | 720p | 16:9 | main WMSN programming/Fox (HD) |
| 47.2/49.2 | 968 | WMSN-DT2 | 480i | 4:3 | TheCoolTV (SD) |
| 47.3/49.3 | 969 | WMSN-DT3 | 480i | 4:3 | The Country Network (SD) |
[edit] Station History
WMSN-TV commenced broadcasting on June 8, 1986, airing on analog UHF channel 47; the station was the first new commercial station to launch in the Madison market in thirty years. One of WMSN's earlier programs was Big Sky Theater, a Saturday night presentation of classic movies (mostly westerns) from the drive-in era. (The program's name was an acknowledgement to the Big Sky Drive-In Theater, which was located near the present day WMSN studios.)
After a few months as an Independent, the station joined Fox as a charter affiliate on October 9. Its owner Sinclair and the network recently finalized a six-year affiliation contract extension for the company's nineteen Fox affiliates including WMSN; the affiliation contract now expires in March 2012.
WMSN-TV continued analog broadcasts until the full DTV transition took place on June 12, 2009; it was the last full-power station in Madison to transmit regular analog television broadcasts and maintain its signal after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urged one commercial analog signal to remain in the market until the full transition. (The other commercial stations converted to digital the week of February 17 while public station WHA-TV converted on April 5.) Due in part to interference concerns with fellow Fox affiliate WLUK-TV (which transmits on VHF channel 11 from Green Bay) WMSN filed a construction permit to move its digital signal to UHF channel 49, a change was made November 5, 2010 and resulted in Madison being the only all-UHF market in Wisconsin. It also made ABC affiliate WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina the only Sinclair-owned station on the VHF dial.
After completing switch in physical digital channels, WMSN added The Country Network on its third digital subchannel; TheCoolTV was added to subchannel 47.2 in September 2010. Both services were not initially carried by Charter Cable, though both were eventually picked up through carriage agreements.
[edit] Newscasts
In 1999, ABC affiliate WKOW (then owned by the Shockley Communications Corporation) entered into a news share agreement with WMSN. This resulted in Madsion's first nightly prime time newscast to debut known as Fox 47 News at 9. The broadcast ran for 35 minutes on weeknights and a half-hour on weekends. The show had no WKOW branding and originated from a secondary set at the big three outlet's studios on Tokay Boulevard in Madison. The music package and graphics theme used on the newscast could be seen on other Sinclair-owned stations that operate news departments.
Although it featured additional personnel from WKOW in the broadcasts, WMSN maintained a separate weeknight anchor team that normally did not appear on the ABC affiliate except to fill-in when needed. In September 2003, the station began to have competition to its prime time show. Then-WB affiliate WBUW started offering a 35 minute newscast on weeknights produced by NBC affiliate WMTV through a similar outsourcing arrangement. Compared with Fox 47 News at 9, WBUW's show aired in a more flashy fast-paced format (stories were rarely more than one or two minutes in length) with an emphasis on entertainment and lifestyle features.
In January 2004, CBS affiliate WISC-TV launched a five minute news update weeknights at 9 featuring local and national headlines plus a brief weather presentation on its secondary service, "UPN 14". The program was expanded to a thirty minute format and seven nights a week in September 2005 becoming a credible third option for prime time local news in the market. Despite WBUW's credible efforts to attract a younger audience geared towards The WB, its newscast never gained ratings ground and maintain enough viewership against WMSN and "UPN 14". As a result, the effort was canceled in December 2005. On October 26, 2010, WKOW became the third station in Madison to upgrade newscasts to high definition. The nightly Fox 47 News at 9 broadcast, however, was still in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition as the secondary set at WKOW's facility did not have the proper HD cameras or equipment. In addition, WMSN lacked a high definition-capable master control at its separate studios on Big Sky Drive in order to transmit the newscast in HD.
In January 2012 after the news share agreement with WKOW expired, WMSN entered into another outsourcing agreement with WISC (owned by Morgan Murphy Media), and WISC ended their 9pm show on TVW in order to facilitate the WMSN newscast. Its nightly prime time broadcast, still known as Fox 47 News at 9, now originates from the CBS outlet's facilities on Raymond Road in Madison's South West Side section. The primary set is modified to feature separate duratans indicating the Fox show. The production can currently be seen Sunday through Friday nights for 35 minutes while the Saturday edition remains a half-hour in length. WMSN continues the use of its own Sinclair corporate graphics and news music package for the broadcast. Fox 47 News at 9 maintains a separate weeknight anchor team although the personalities can fill-in on WISC when needed. Although not initially airing in high definition, WMSN will upgrade its WISC-produced newscast to HD at some point in Summer 2012.
[edit] News team
+ denotes personnel normally not seen on WISC
Anchors
- + Michelle Carolla - Sunday through Friday news
- Maria Guerrero - Saturday news and reporter
- + Karin Swanson (CBM Seal of Approval) - weeknight meteorologist
- + Kevin Lewis - Sunday through Thursday Sports
- Bob Lesh - weekend meteorologist
- Matt Queen - Friday through Saturday sports and sports reporter
Reporters
- Emily Kumlien - sports and fill-in sports anchor
- Jason Nevins - "Fit Club" segment producer
- Margo Spann - Rock County Bureau
- Jessica Arp - politics
- David Douglas
- Marc Lovicott
- Theo Keith
- Andy Choi
[edit] External links
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