WXOW
kW | |
| HAAT | 348 m (1,142 ft) |
|---|---|
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°48′23″N 91°22′3″W / 43.80639°N 91.36750°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WXOW (channel 19) is a television station in La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Allen Media Group. The station's studios and transmitter are located on County Highway 25 in La Crescent, Minnesota.
History
WXOW signed on on March 7, 1970, as a semi-satellite of
For its first decade on the air, WXOW's UHF signal was marginal at best in Eau Claire, primarily because its transmitter was located in Minnesota. As a result,
WXOW and WQOW began operating a
After
WXOW began airing solely in digital effective February 17, 2009, with the analog transmitter operating for 60 additional days broadcasting as part of a "
In January 2021, Gray Television announced its intent to purchase Quincy Media for $925 million.[10] As Gray already owns the market's WEAU, it planned to keep that station and sell both WXOW and WQOW in order to satisfy FCC requirements.[11] On April 29, Gray announced that WXOW and WQOW would be divested to Allen Media Broadcasting.[12] The sale was completed on August 2;[13] on that day, WEAU assumed the CW and MeTV affiliations from WXOW/WQOW.[14][15]
Programming
WXOW is a part of the Green Bay Packers and WIAA sports networks; the former allows the station to carry Packers preseason games and official team programming, and to brand itself as "Your Official Packers Station" for the La Crosse market.
Newscasts
With the launch of WQOW, WXOW began to simulcast its newscasts on that station. In 1982, WQOW established a separate news operation with local newscasts focusing on Eau Claire and the surrounding areas. Since it did not operate an in-house weather department of its own, all segments originated from WXOW's studios in a tape-delayed arrangement. The effort was canceled in March 1990 as a cost-cutting measure and, as a result, WQOW once again began simulcasting WXOW's newscasts.
In October 1996, WQOW relaunched its local news operation for a second time, which remains to this day. Although this incarnation of news production includes a separate weather department from WXOW, meteorologists from that station can fill-in on WQOW. In September 2011, WXOW became the second television station in the market to perform an upgrade to high definition newscast production. Included in the change was a new studio and updated graphics package. The news department at WQOW was upgraded to HD level at the same time.
Subchannels
The station's signal is
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.1 | 720p | 16:9 |
WXOW-HD | ABC |
| 19.2 | Catchy | Catchy Comedy | ||
| 19.3 | 480i | 4:3 |
thisTV | This TV |
| 19.4 | 16:9 | CourtTV | Court TV | |
| 19.5 | Crime | True Crime Network | ||
| 19.6 | Grio | TheGrio |
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WXOW". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Program Information for WXOW at TitanTV.com
- ^ Program Information for WQOW at TitanTV.com
- ^ Chippewa.com
- ^ Wxow.com
- ^ Tomahjournal.com
- ^ AVSforum.com
- ^ AVSforum.com
- ^ "getimportletter_exh.cgi". June 6, 2013.
- ^ "Quincy Media, Inc. Considering sale of company". January 7, 2021.
- ^ Goldsmith, Jill (February 1, 2021). "Gray Television Acquires Quincy Media For $925 Million In Cash". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ "Gray Sells Divestiture Stations From Quincy Media Transaction to Allen Media for $380 Million," press release from GlobeNewswire, April 29, 2021
- ^ "Gray Television Closes Quincy Acquisition". Gray Television. August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ^ "WEAU 13 News is offering new channels starting August 2; rescan required". August 2, 2021.
- ^ "Gray Takes over CW, MeTV Affiliations in Several Markets – Upper Midwest Broadcasting". August 2, 2021.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WXOW
- Madison group buys WXOW-TV (1995)