WMGM-TV
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HAAT | 126.5 m (415 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°7′28.3″N 74°45′54.5″W / 39.124528°N 74.765139°W |
Links | |
Public license information |
WMGM-TV (channel 40) is a
WMGM-TV is officially considered part of the Philadelphia
WMGM-TV was previously an affiliate of
History
The station first signed on the air on January 25, 1966, known as WCMC-TV (meaning
For many years, the station operated a low-powered repeater, WMGM-LP on
Until
Acquisition by LocusPoint Networks
On October 10, 2013, Access.1 Communications agreed to sell WMGM to
Loss of NBC affiliation
On April 16, 2014, ); both of those areas would go on to lose their secondary affiliates within the next few years.
In July 2014, WMGM-TV introduced the "Friends of 40 Summer Membership Club"[13] in which viewers contribute money in return for benefits such as station merchandise, discounts, and invitations to its outings; this form of fundraising is more commonly associated with public broadcasting. According to general manager J. Roger Powe III, "The membership club allows all the folks who have been loyal and supportive to keep engaged in a more intimate fashion;" while some of the money raised goes to the station's operations, much of it is used to pay for the club's benefits. As WMGM remained a commercial, for-profit station until December 31, 2014, contributions to the club were not tax-deductible, unlike with public broadcasting stations.[14]
In September 2014, it was reported that the WMGM-TV studio facilities had been put up for sale; at the time, a station spokesman stated that despite the action the station would remain in operation into 2015.[15] The following month, the FCC pushed back the spectrum auction to 2016.[16] On December 9, 2014, Access.1 made a statement on WMGM's website, indicating that it was planning to "continue and expand our news product on a new broadcast channel" in early to mid-2015, retaining and re-locating the station's staff, news operation, and sales department to a new, unspecified outlet and studio.[12] Local personality Pinky Kravitz (whose WOND radio show was aired on WMGM) disclosed that the station was seeking $3 million in funding for these planned changes.[12] Access.1, at the time, still retained ownership of WMGM-LP, a low-power analog rebroadcaster of WMGM-TV.
WMGM-TV aired its final night of newscasts and NBC programming on December 31, 2014; its final program under Access.1 was an hour-long documentary focusing on the station's history and staff entitled NewsCenter 40: The Stories Behind the Station. Following the end of its affiliation, WMGM began to carry programming from
Local programming returned August 1, 2016, under a brokered programming arrangement with Advantage Broadcasting, they sold time to SNJ Today to air a news program featuring former WMGM staff and talent.[19] As an independent station, WMGM-TV mostly aired infomercials during the day. SNJ Today newscasts were also carried on WACP, a new Atlantic City television station that signed on in 2012.
Sale to Univision
On June 26, 2017, LocusPoint Networks agreed to sell WMGM-TV to Univision Communications, through its Univision Local Media subsidiary, for $6 million.[20] The deal made WMGM-TV a sister station to WUVP-DT (channel 65) and WFPA-CD (channel 28). Univision took control of the station on November 14, 2017;[21] that day, WMGM-TV became an affiliate of the Justice Network (now True Crime Network).
Sale of WMGM-LP to Engle Broadcasting
On March 3, 2018, Access.1 Communications, which formerly owned the main WMGM-TV station but retained WMGM-LP and the
The FCC canceled the license for WMGM-LP on January 7, 2021.
Newscasts and local programming
At the end of its NBC affiliation, WMGM-TV broadcast 20 hours of locally produced newscasts each week. The station did not produce a midday newscast on weekdays or any morning or early evening newscasts on weekends. WMGM was the only remaining New Jersey-licensed commercial television station that maintained its own news department;
The station produced an entertainment program called Curtain Call with David Spatz (which won a 2007
Local newscasts returned to Southern New Jersey in the form of SNJ Today, which premiered in the summer of 2015. It currently airs every weeknight at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. on WACP (channel 4).[25] SNJ Today began to also air on WMGM beginning on August 1, airing at the same times as it does on WACP. WMGM and WACP simulcast the newscasts until the former announced its sale to Univision in 2017.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
40.1 | 480i | 16:9 |
Crime | True Crime Network |
40.2 | 4:3 |
GetTV | GetTV[27]
| |
40.3 | 720p | 16:9 | WUVP-DT | Univision (WUVP-DT) |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WMGM-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over
Coverage area
WMGM-TV primarily serves
, even though the station has no cable carriage in these areas.It is also available on
had carried the station in the Philadelphia market until 2011, because of signal issues.CATV
In coastal and some interior portions of Sussex County, Delaware, WMGM was carried on CATV systems during the 1970s and possibly the 1980s. At one time, WMGM-TV was carried on 56 cable systems in 244 municipalities across 10 counties (including parts of Monmouth County, in the New York City market).
References
- ^ LPN-Trinity Amendment No. 1 and Channel and Facilities Sharing Agreement
- ^ Amendment No. 1 to WMGM-WGTW CSA (executed 9-13-2017)
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WMGM-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Fire Silences Atlantic City Stations". All Access Music Group. May 4, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
- ^ Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved, November 7, 2013
- ^ "Lights out for local Jersey Shore TV station". Philly.com. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^ Lemongello, Steven (November 7, 2013). "Linwood-based NBC 40 WMGM to be sold". The Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
- ^ "Speculators betting big on FCC TV spectrum auctions". Current.org. February 26, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
- ^ "Viewers Voice Fear South New Jersey NBC Station Being Sold For its Spectrum". TVSpy.com. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
- ^ $6M Sale of WMGM Wildwood, NJ, Closes TVNewsCheck, Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ^ Malone, Michael (April 16, 2014). "MGM Losing NBC Affiliation in Philadelphia". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Shore's Channel 40 set to lose network affiliation". Philadelphia Inquirer. December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
- ^ "Friends of NBC 40 Membership Program". Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ^ Ianieri, Brian (July 24, 2014). "WMGM-TV introduces "Friends of 40" club as station's future in doubt". The Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
- ^ "WMGM-TV40 studio in Linwood for sale, owner says station will continue operating next year". Press of Atlantic City. September 4, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
- ^ "FCC Spectrum Auction Delayed Until 2016". PC Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ a b "Direct from Little Rock to Jersey Shore TVs". Philly.com. December 31, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^ "Interim Plans For Jersey Shore TV Station; Area Radio Fills In News Coverage". CBSPhilly.com. December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ^ Barlas, Thomas. "Former Miss New Jersey to anchor SNJ Today news broadcasts". Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
- ^ "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ "Consummation Notice". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^ "Application Search Details". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 6, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ "Suspension of Operations and Silent Authority of an Analog LPTV Station Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. April 16, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ "Basis for Silent Authority". Engle Broadcasting, LLC. April 16, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ "NBC40 News". www.facebook.com. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WMGM
- ^ WMGM-TV Subchannels from YouTube (November 27, 2017)
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
External links
- Official True Crime Network website
- WMGM-TV on Facebook(No longer actively maintained, but left online as an archive)
- WMGM-TV's channel on YouTube(No longer actively maintained, but left online as an archive)