WGBA-TV
kW | |
HAAT | 369 m (1,211 ft) |
---|---|
Transmitter coordinates | 44°21′30″N 87°58′48.4″W / 44.35833°N 87.980111°W |
Translator(s) | WLWK-CD 22 (UHF) Sturgeon Bay |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WGBA-TV (channel 26) is a
WGBA-TV operates a
History
Early years
WLRE, which stood for station co-founder Lyle R. Evans, sought to be operational as early as December 1977. It delayed so that it could put its transmission tower on Scray's Hill near De Pere, the location of other Green Bay market transmitter towers.[2] Ultimately the location was approved, but it meant ground was not broken on the studio and antenna location until June 1980. The station signed on the air on December 31, 1980, broadcasting an analog signal on UHF channel 26. It was the Green Bay market's second independent station, after the short-lived KFIZ-TV (channel 34) in Fond du Lac from 1968 to 1972. It was also the first new commercial station to sign-on in Green Bay itself since WFRV-TV (channel 5) signed on in May 1955. On November 12, 1982, WLRE was able to power up a new transmitter and had plans for further antenna power boosts.[3]
In early 1983, coinciding with the purchase of a licensing deal of approximately 1,000 movies and other syndicated programs,
In the wake of a bankruptcy, Green Bay's original
NBC affiliation
In 1994,
The purchase also included the LMA with WACY. Although Journal wanted to buy WACY outright, this had been unlikely since Green Bay has only seven full-power stations (not enough to legally permit a duopoly). However, in September 2010, WLUK owner
Since being acquired by Journal, WGBA and WTMJ have become close sister stations, eventually synchronizing their news imaging and sharing news and sports resources (WTMJ had previously paired with WFRV-TV, an NBC affiliate until the early 1980s, to provide Green Bay coverage and video). This became more evident in 2008, when WGBA outsourced sports and weekend weather reports to WTMJ, and had simulcast that station's morning and noon newscasts for a short time.
Summer 2013 Time Warner Cable carriage dispute
After several extensions of the original June 30, 2013, expired agreement, and the invocation of the
A
By August 15, WGBA and WACY's channel slots on Time Warner Cable were replaced with a simulcast of
Journal and Time Warner Cable came to an agreement for carriage on September 20, 2013, to last at least through the 2016 Summer Olympics, returning WGBA and WACY to their lineups as of 7 p.m. that evening. However, Journal conceded that the analog and cable-ready positions were less important than carriage in the high definition tier, so while WGBA's high definition signal remained on channel 1007, the standard definition signal moved to channel 13, WACY's former SD slot, with WACY shifting to channel 83 with high definition coverage coming at the start of the year.[19] However, MeTV subchannel 26.2 remained removed from Time Warner systems, though southern portions of the Green Bay market already receive MeTV Milwaukee flagship WBME-CD (channel 41) on the basic lifeline tier.[20]
Sale to the E. W. Scripps Company
On July 30, 2014, the E. W. Scripps Company announced that it would acquire Journal Communications in an all-stock transaction. The combined firm would retain their broadcast properties, including WTMJ-TV and its radio siblings, with the print assets being spun off as Journal Media Group.[21] The deal was approved by the FCC on December 12, 2014,[22] with shareholders of the two companies approving it on March 11, 2015;[23] the merger/spin-off between Journal and Scripps formally closed on April 1.
Scripps and Time Warner Cable announced a new multi-year carriage agreement on February 1, 2016, that includes WGBA and WACY, well ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics and averting any carriage issues for the Games.[24] This also returned all the subchannels of WGBA to Time Warner systems in the area on channels 990 and 991, which occurred on April 4, 2016.
Programming
Packers partnership
On March 2, 2012, the Green Bay Packers and Journal announced that WTMJ would be retained as the Official Packers Station in the Milwaukee market after the expiration of the previous agreement, and that WGBA would become the official station for the team in the Green Bay market beginning in August 2012, replacing former partner WFRV-TV.
Larry McCarren, who had been the sports director at WFRV until the Packers contract ended in March 2012, along with budget cuts at that station, went over to Journal in July 2012; however he was only able to do short Packer analysis segments through the 2012 season on-air for WTMJ and WGBA, along with blogging on WTMJ's site, due to a one-year non-compete clause (which included these segments by contractual force originating outside the Green Bay market in Milwaukee), but continued his duties as color commentator over Journal's Packers Radio Network. With the expiration of the clause, McCarren assumed sports director duties for WGBA on April 1, 2013.[27][28] Packers Live, a program that resembles his former Locker Room program, with Packer player guests and "chalk talk" play analysis in front of a live audience, also began airing on the station beginning with the 2013 NFL season. He retired as WGBA sports director in April 2015 to fully focus on his television and radio network duties for the Packers and Scripps (as of the fall 2018 purchase of Scripps' Milwaukee radio stations by Good Karma Brands, his radio duties are now with that group).
News operation
WGBA-TV broadcasts 24+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 4+1⁄2 hours each weekday and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). In addition to its main studios, the station operates a Fox Cities Bureau in Downtown Appleton on West College Avenue. WGBA operates its own weather radar from the North Road studios.
In early 1996, shortly after WGBA picked up the NBC affiliation, then-owner Aries Telecommunications announced plans to start a full-fledged news department for the station. On July 19, 1996, during the start of NBC's coverage of the
WGBA's newscasts have consistently rated fourth in the market, behind WBAY, WLUK and WFRV. Ratings were unable to improve after the Journal purchase, even with the ties to WTMJ's news department, which had issues in itself in the Milwaukee market. The
On July 14, 2008, due to low ratings and inconsistent viewership, WGBA discontinued its weekday morning and noon newscasts, while laying off some of its staff. In place of those shows, the station began simulcasting WTMJ's morning and midday newscasts Live at Daybreak (now known as TMJ4 News Today) and Live at Noon, interspersed with local weather cut-ins presented by a meteorologist from WGBA's Green Bay studios (again, recorded in advance since WTMJ was already live in its own market), but with no regard to coverage of Fox Valley and Green Bay news.
On April 7, 2009, WTMJ became the first station in Milwaukee to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in
In mid-August 2009, the weekday morning weather block was canceled entirely and replaced by the now-canceled syndicated lifestyle talk show Better, which moved to the 5 a.m. hour followed by encore broadcasts of the previous night's 10 p.m. newscast and Early Today before Today.[34] On January 10, 2011, WGBA restored a weekday morning newscast to its schedule under the slightly revised title of NBC 26 News Today from a new secondary set exclusively used for the program.[35] In August 2012, the Valley news bureau, which had been in operation since July 1996, was shut down.
On April 7, 2012, WGBA upgraded its local newscasts to
In October 2014, the station added Wisconsin Tonight, a pre-prime time newsmagazine to nights without Packers team programming which features news rundowns, feature segments and various NBC affiliate service reports, along with some shared content from WTMJ, which also carried their own edition of Wisconsin Tonight; this averted a situation where Inside Edition, which was moved to an earlier timeslot, might only air up to two of their five programs a week on the station in the fall and early winter. That show moved to WBAY in the fall of 2015. Starting with the 2016 Summer Olympics, the station launched Scripps' national programs The List and Right This Minute in the 4 p.m. timeslot. In June 2017, Wisconsin Tonight was retitled The Now Wisconsin, in line with Scripps' branding for their feature-heavy local newscast format which WTMJ also took up; the Wisconsin Tonight title remained in use for a Saturday night advertorial program, presumably to prevent trademark dilution where another state station can claim the title for their program; it has intermittently aired since September 2017.
On June 15, 2020, WGBA began producing a 9 p.m. newscast for WACY entitled My News at 9, the first time WLUK-TV's 9 p.m. news has had competition; the latter half hour is filled with a same-night replay of NBC26 Tonight, the station's local version of Scripps' national program The Now (it is unknown if WGBA's Packers Television Network programming will repeat in the fall in that timeslot).
National attention on the Internet
In 2012, two segments from WGBA's morning newscasts gained notice on the Internet. In January of that year, a video showing meteorologist Brian Niznansky falling victim to an on-air prank went viral in which Niznansky was tricked into saying, "I love lamp," a line from the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. By October 2012, the video was viewed nearly two million times on YouTube. The prank was featured on several news sites, including on the front page of MSN at one point.
In September 2012, on the day following the controversial
Notable current on-air staff
- Larry McCarren – former sports director; remains as Packers Live host
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
WGBA-TV | WLWK-CD | ||||
26.1 | 22.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WGBA-HD | Main WGBA-TV programming / NBC |
26.2 | 22.2 | 480i | Defy | Defy TV | |
26.3 | 22.3 | GRIT | Grit | ||
26.4 | 22.4 | ION | Ion Television | ||
26.5 | 22.5 | HSN | HSN | ||
26.6 | 22.6 | QVC | QVC | ||
26.7 | 22.7 | QVC2 | QVC2
|
WGBA launched a new second
On May 18, 2015, Scripps and
In late April 2019, WGBA was revealed as launching a fourth digital subchannel for Katz's relaunch of Court TV on May 8, 2019.[43] At the end of October 2021, the station picked up Ion Television (formerly a WBAY subchannel since 2015), which had come under common Scripps ownership in January 2021. In December 2021, a minor switch of subchannels occurred, with WGBA-DT3 becoming the new home of Grit, and WACY-DT2 taking Laff.
The station ended its MeTV affiliation on October 1, 2022, due to corporate mandates involving Scripps preferring their networks be carried on their stations, with
Analog-to-digital conversion
WGBA-TV shut down its analog signal, over
One week after the transition, Journal chose to suffix all of their owned television stations with the "-TV" suffix as part of the FCC's one-time allowance during the transition to allow stations to suffix either "-TV" or "-DT" to their call signs if not previously included on their permanent digital channel; this included WGBA, which became WGBA-TV in FCC correspondence and on-air station identifications upon that day.
On July 1, 2019, WGBA's digital signal moved from channel 41 to channel 14 as part of the FCC spectrum repack.
Translator
City of license | Callsign | Channel | ERP | HAAT
|
Facility ID | Transmitter coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sturgeon Bay | WLWK-CD | 19 (UHF, VC 22) | 4.1 kW | 195.8 m (642.4 ft) | 2711 | 44°54′13.7″N 87°22′08.2″W / 44.903806°N 87.368944°W |
In addition to its main signal, WGBA operates a
WLWK-CD (channel 22) in
Former translators
Before it became an NBC affiliate, WGBA was rebroadcast in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on W02AM (channel 2) in
. The last translator was encrypted and part of the now-defunct over-the-air cable system in the area.WGBA-TV formerly operated analog translator W31BK in Menominee, Michigan.
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WGBA-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Opening of Fifth Green Bay TV Station Delayed". The Post-Crescent. January 22, 1978. p. C-12. Retrieved May 26, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "New Transmitter part of WLRE push into Valley". The Post-Crescent. November 20, 1982. p. B-4. Retrieved May 26, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "7PM PRIME REVIEWS (Advertisement)". The Post-Crescent. April 26, 1983. B-6. Retrieved May 26, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "FCCInfo Results". www.fccinfo.com. Cavell, Mertz & Associates, Inc. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ "Clipped from Green Bay Press-Gazette". Green Bay Press-Gazette. August 27, 1995. p. 37.
- ^ Jessell, Harry A.; Arthur Greenwald (September 21, 2010). "LIN Seeks OK for Dayton, Green Bay Duops". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media.
- ^ Eggerton, John (April 12, 2011). "FCC Grants Sale of ACME Stations, Denies Time Warner Cable Petitions". Multichannel News. NewBay Media.
- ^ Jessell, Harry A. (May 4, 2012). "Journal hopes to buy WACY for $2M". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
- ^ Eggerton, John (September 4, 2012). "FCC Okays Journal Request for Green Bay Duopoly Waiver". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ^ Kirchen, Rich (October 23, 2012). "Journal closes acquisition of WACY-TV in Fox Valley". Milwaukee Business Journal. American City Business Journals.
- ^ Kirchen, Rich (June 28, 2013). "Time Warner Cable, Channel 4 owner agree to extension". The Business Journal (Milwaukee). American City Business Journals. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ^ Dudek, Duane (July 25, 2013). "Conspiracy theories, frustration multiply as Time Warner pulls WTMJ-TV". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Journal Communications. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
- ^ Dudek, Duane (July 10, 2013). "Stalemate in Journal Broadcast negotiations with Time Warner". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Journal Communications. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
- ^ Dudek, Duane (August 10, 2013). "Packers ratings strong despite blackout of WTMJ on Time Warner". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Journal Communications. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
- ^ Reynolds, Mike (August 9, 2013). "TWC Customers File Lawsuit over Retrans Disconnect with Milwaukee Station; Plaintiffs Seek Class-Action Status over Disconnect with Journal Broadcast's WTMJ". Multichannel News. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
- ^ "JBG Answers". Retrieved August 15, 2013.
- OnMilwaukee.com. LIFTdigital Solutions. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
- ^ "Journal Broadcast Group and Time Warner Cable Reach Agreement" (Press release). Journal Communications. September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
- ^ "TWC Conversations: Q: Why are WGBA-D2 (Me TV), WTMJ-D2 (Storm Team), WTMJ-D3 (Live Well) no longer available? A: We have agreed with Journal to carry the channels that we believe deliver the most value to our customers". Time Warner Cable. September 21, 2013. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
- ^ Glauber, Bill (July 30, 2014). "Journal, Scripps deal announced". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Journal Communications. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ^ "Scripps-Journal Merger Gets FCC OK". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. December 12, 2014.
- ^ Cornell, Joe (March 16, 2015). "Journal Communications, Scripps Spin/Merger set for April 1". Forbes. Forbes LLC.
- ^ McAdams, Deborah (February 1, 2016). "Retrans Quietly Accomplished: E.W. Scripps, Time Warner Cable". TVTechnology. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- ^ Wolfley, Bob (March 2, 2012). "Packers and Journal Broadcast Group announce partnership deal". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
- ^ Radcliffe, JD (September 16, 2022). "Don't worry, (some of) you will be able to watch the Packers on your regular TV channels for 'Thursday Night Football' in November". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ "Larry McCarren returns to TV". Your Midwest Media.
- ^ Kirchen, Rich (March 18, 2013). "McCarren will return to anchoring sports on Green Bay TV". The Business Journal (Milwaukee). Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- YouTube
- Gannett Company. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
- TVSpy. Guggenheim Partners, Mediabistro Holdings.
- ^ Gerds, Warren (July 15, 2008). "Channel 26 cuts newscasts, positions". Green Bay Press Gazette. Gannett Company. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
- Journal Communications. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
- ^ Gerds, Warren (August 17, 2009). "Warren Gerds column: WGBA shuffles morning schedule". Green Bay Press Gazette. Gannett Company. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
- ^ Gerds, Warren (February 8, 2011). "WGBA, Channel 26 in Green Bay, resumes morning newscasts". Green Bay Press Gazette. Gannett Company. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WGBA
- ^ Where to Watch Me-TV: WGBA
- ^ Lafayette, Jon (September 7, 2011). "Me-TV Signs With Stations in New Markets; New affiliates bring coverage to 60% of U.S." Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ "Channel 4 owner sues 'The Cool TV' for $257k". The Business Journal. September 2, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ "Channel 4 dropping 'The Cool TV' for lifestyle network". The Business Journal. September 12, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ Cuprisin, Tim (September 13, 2011). "Get ready for another round of Charlie Sheen". OnMilwaukee.com. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ Lafayette, Jon (May 18, 2015). "Scripps Stations to Launch Grit and Escape Networks; Expanded distribution for LAFF comedy channel". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- ^ Ellis, Jon (April 25, 2019). "Northpine.com". Northpine. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ CDBS Print
- ^ "WLRE 1981 UHF Booklet Offer". The Post-Crescent. May 21, 1981. p. 30. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ "Call Sign Changes" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved December 15, 2012.