WFQX-TV
Encyclopedia
WFQX-TV is the Fox
-affiliated television station
for the northern Lower
and eastern Upper
Peninsulas of Michigan
. Licensed to Cadillac
, it broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter at studios on 130th Avenue/Dighton Road in Tustin
on Grove Hill. As with other network affiliates in this vast rural area, the station operates a full-time satellite, WFUP. Licensed to Vanderbilt
, which broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 45 from a transmitter on Hudson Lookout in southeastern Charlevoix County
. Unlike other network affiliates in Northern Michigan
, the WFQX and WFUP combination is not known on-air as "Fox 32&45". The stations are simply referred to as Fox 32. Aside from legal identification, there is no on-air mention that WFUP exists.
While the station is owned by Cadillac Telecasting Company, it is operated under a shared services
agreement (SSA) by Heritage Broadcasting Group, which also owns CBS
affiliate WWTV
and full time satellite WWUP-TV. WFQX/WFUP broadcasts 24 hours each day, although overnights are filled with home shopping and other paid programming. It also airs a large number of infomercials and religious paid programs such as Believer's Voice of Victory, Walking By Faith, and The 700 Club
. Syndicated programming includes: TMZ on TV
, Seinfeld
, The Office, and Access Hollywood
.
. The original call letters referred to founder Gary Knapp, a former DJ
and television personality. Despite its limited reach, WGKI was available on local cable systems. Prior to WGKI, Northern Michigan received Fox programming on cable from WKBD
in Detroit
.
In the station's early years, the channel was extremely low-budget. This was evident in the station's use of 1970s-era electronic graphics for the first few years of broadcasting. Due to the growing popularity of the Fox network and shows such as The Simpsons
and Married With Children, the station quickly grew. The on-screen graphics were modernized and it started to use higher-quality video equipment.
In the early-1990s, WGKI launched several repeaters in the Eastern Upper Peninsula unreached by the station's analog signal. By the mid-1990s, the station moved into permanent studios southeast of Cadillac along US 131
. On January 11, 1993, the station launched WGKU-TV in Vanderbilt as a full-time satellite of WGKI reaching the Gaylord
and Petoskey
areas.
When WJBK in Detroit switched its affiliation to Fox in 1994, WGKI started using that station's resources. The move also disallowed rival WKBD from distributing Detroit Red Wings
and Tigers
games to WGKI. Knapp made a station promo explaining the situation between the three stations. When the Fox affiliation switch in Detroit was made, WGKI replaced WKBD on cable systems in Mid-Michigan
and the Eastern Upper Peninsula. This was done so viewers without a local Fox station would maintain access to the network's programming. As a consequence, WGKI also expanded into parts of the Flint
, Lansing
, Grand Rapids
, and Detroit markets
via cable carriage. As a result, some cable viewers (especially in Bay City
, Saginaw
, and Michigan's thumb
area) found out that most of WGKI's programming, especially those from Fox, were being blacked out by request of the local affiliate. Soon after, many systems outside Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula dropped WGKI and/or brought back WKBD.
On January 15, 1995, WGKI became a secondary affiliate of UPN
. It aired the network's shows outside of prime time. WGKI continued to air UPN programming until 2006, when UPN merged with The WB to form The CW, at which point WGKI ended its affiliation.
In 1999, the channel increased its ERP
from 219 kW to 774 kW, significantly increasing its coverage area. In 2000, Knapp retired and sold his stations to Rockfleet Broadcasting
for $
12 million. Part of the deal called for both channels to change call letters. WGKI became WFQX-TV and WGKU became WFVX. The latter station later switched to WFUP. (The previous calls were moved to a former low-powered sister station
in Bangor, Maine
.)
On February 10, 2007, WFQX upgraded its digital signal on UHF channel 47 (from a transmitter shared with WGTU east of Kalkaska
) to begin airing all Fox programming in high definition for over-the-air viewers. (Prior to then, the station offered a low-power digital and HDTV signal near its studios southeast of Cadillac.) WFQX is available on Charter
digital channel 783. On May 10, Rockfleet Broadcasting announced its intentions to sell WFQX/WFUP to Cadillac Telecasting. The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) approved the sale in late October. After this approval, the new owner entered into its SSA with Heritage Broadcasting Group.
It had been announced with the switch to digital broadcasting (then scheduled for February 17, 2009), WFUP would shut down. However, that channel had an application to perform a flash-cut
to digital-only broadcasting on June 12. At one point, the station operated a digital signal on UHF channel 59 from its tower on Hudson Lookout. WFQX had an FCC-issued construction permit
to air a digital signal on UHF channel 32 using the previous analog channel 33 equipment but based from the WWTV tower at its studios. That spot is the highest point in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
On August 4, 2009, WFQX switched its longtime moniker "Fox 33" to "Fox 32" while adding a logo matching Fox O&O stations. The station made the channel move with its PSIP also being adjusted to match the new signal. WFUP's digital signal remained the same. The previous allotment is now used for WPBN-TV
's digital broadcasts.
WFQX/WFUP are affiliates of the Detroit Lions Television Network
which airs pre-season games and the weekly syndicated show The Ford Lions Report during the regular season. Also, because it is outside of the Detroit Lions
' blackout area, it airs all regular season NFL on Fox
Lions games. WFQX and PBS
affiliate WCMU-TV
has been the only stations in the Northern Michigan market that offered analog translator stations. There had been one on channel 31 in Alpena
but this was shut down with WFUP serving the area.
In November 2009, WBKB-TV
added a new digital subchannel
featuring primary Fox and secondary MyNetworkTV programming. At one point, WFQX operated a repeater on channel 40 in Traverse City. That signal was shut down with the addition of one on channel 54. This to has since been shut off. Two translators that served the eastern Upper Peninsula were replaced with digital signals on new digital subchannels of WWTV and WWUP.
in State College, Pennsylvania
, which pre-taped weather segments and fed them to WFQX via satellite. As a result, WFQX was criticized for being too late when severe weather was an issue or choosing not to cover an event. At some point in time, the news title changed to Fox 33 News at 10 and weekend broadcasts ended.
On January 8, 2007, WFQX began to air a simulcast of the weekday morning show of WJBK, Detroit's Fox owned-and-operated
station. Branded as Michigan's Fox News Morning and running from 6:00 am to 8:00 am, it featured local weather cut-ins from AccuWeather
, and was established as part of a cooperation between the two stations to provide advertising opportunities in Detroit to businesses of Northern Michigan. On February 5, WQFX also began simulcasting the second half of WJBK's 10: pm news.
After the sale of the channel to Cadillac Telecasting, the station's news department was shut down. On October 31, WWTV began producing the weeknight 10:00 pm newscast and the WJBK simulcast at 10:30 pm was dropped. On January 7, 2008, when CBS began requiring affiliates to carry The Early Show
in its entirety, the third hour of WWTV's Michigan This Morning, which had been running from 7:00 am to 8:00 am, was moved to WFQX/WFUP and expanded to two hours. That evening on WFQX, WWTV launched the area's first 7 o'clock news.
(Weekday Mornings 7 to 9)
Fox 32 News at 7 and 10
(Weeknights 7 to 7:30 and 10 to 10:30)
Reporters'
WFQX features additional news personnel from WWTV. See that article
for a complete listing.
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for the northern Lower
Lower Peninsula of Michigan
The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is the southern of the two major landmasses of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. Geographically, the Lower Peninsula has a recognizable shape that many people...
and eastern Upper
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...
Peninsulas of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Licensed to Cadillac
Cadillac, Michigan
Cadillac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Wexford County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,000. The city is situated at the junction of US 131, M-55 and M-115...
, it broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter at studios on 130th Avenue/Dighton Road in Tustin
Tustin, Michigan
Tustin is a village in Osceola County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 237. The village is within Burdell Township.-Geography:...
on Grove Hill. As with other network affiliates in this vast rural area, the station operates a full-time satellite, WFUP. Licensed to Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt, Michigan
Vanderbilt is a village in Otsego County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 587 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land.-Demographics:...
, which broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 45 from a transmitter on Hudson Lookout in southeastern Charlevoix County
Charlevoix County, Michigan
-Airports:*Beaver Island is served by two airlines:**Welke Airport**Beaver Island Airport-Ferry service:*Beaver Island Boat Company maintains a regular auto ferry from Charlevoix:*The Ironton Ferry at Ironton, Michigan crosses the south arm of Lake Charlevoix...
. Unlike other network affiliates in Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan , is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan...
, the WFQX and WFUP combination is not known on-air as "Fox 32&45". The stations are simply referred to as Fox 32. Aside from legal identification, there is no on-air mention that WFUP exists.
While the station is owned by Cadillac Telecasting Company, it is operated under a shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
agreement (SSA) by Heritage Broadcasting Group, which also owns CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WWTV
WWTV
WWTV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the northern Lower and eastern Upper Peninsulas of Michigan. Licensed to Cadillac, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter at its studios on 130th Avenue, northeast of Tustin, in Osceola County. At 1,631...
and full time satellite WWUP-TV. WFQX/WFUP broadcasts 24 hours each day, although overnights are filled with home shopping and other paid programming. It also airs a large number of infomercials and religious paid programs such as Believer's Voice of Victory, Walking By Faith, and The 700 Club
The 700 Club
The 700 Club is the flagship news talk show of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States and Canada. In production since 1966, it is currently hosted by Pat Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, Kristi Watts, and Gordon P. Robertson, two of whom will host on any...
. Syndicated programming includes: TMZ on TV
TMZ on TV
TMZ on TV, or simply TMZ and TMZTV, is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007. The program is generally aired on Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates, though a majority of the stations that carry the series are Fox affiliates...
, Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, The Office, and Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and...
.
History
The station first signed on the air as WGKI on UHF channel 33 on October 6, 1989. Its transmitter was just north of the current location in northern Osceola CountyOsceola County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,197 people, 8,861 households, and 6,415 families residing in the county. The population density was 41 people per square mile . There were 12,853 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile...
. The original call letters referred to founder Gary Knapp, a former DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and television personality. Despite its limited reach, WGKI was available on local cable systems. Prior to WGKI, Northern Michigan received Fox programming on cable from WKBD
WKBD
WKBD-TV, virtual channel 50 , is an owned and operated station of the CW Television Network, based in Detroit, Michigan. The station is owned and operated by the CBS Corporation, and is one-half of a duopoly with sister station WWJ-TV . Its studios and transmitters are located at 11 mile and...
in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
.
In the station's early years, the channel was extremely low-budget. This was evident in the station's use of 1970s-era electronic graphics for the first few years of broadcasting. Due to the growing popularity of the Fox network and shows such as The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and Married With Children, the station quickly grew. The on-screen graphics were modernized and it started to use higher-quality video equipment.
In the early-1990s, WGKI launched several repeaters in the Eastern Upper Peninsula unreached by the station's analog signal. By the mid-1990s, the station moved into permanent studios southeast of Cadillac along US 131
U.S. Route 131
US Highway 131 is a north–south United States Highway, of which all but 0.67 miles of its 266.82 miles are within the state of Michigan. The highway starts in rural Indiana south of the state line as a state road connection to the Indiana Toll Road...
. On January 11, 1993, the station launched WGKU-TV in Vanderbilt as a full-time satellite of WGKI reaching the Gaylord
Gaylord, Michigan
Gaylord is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,681. It is the county seat of Otsego County. The city is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord; it is by far the smallest settlement serving as the location of an active Roman...
and Petoskey
Petoskey, Michigan
Petoskey is a city and coastal resort community in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,080. It is the county seat of Emmet County....
areas.
When WJBK in Detroit switched its affiliation to Fox in 1994, WGKI started using that station's resources. The move also disallowed rival WKBD from distributing Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
and Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
games to WGKI. Knapp made a station promo explaining the situation between the three stations. When the Fox affiliation switch in Detroit was made, WGKI replaced WKBD on cable systems in Mid-Michigan
Central Michigan
Central Michigan, often called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Southern Michigan can be considered as a subregion of Central Michigan. As its name implies, it is the central area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and...
and the Eastern Upper Peninsula. This was done so viewers without a local Fox station would maintain access to the network's programming. As a consequence, WGKI also expanded into parts of the Flint
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
, Lansing
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
, Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
, and Detroit markets
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
via cable carriage. As a result, some cable viewers (especially in Bay City
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
, Saginaw
Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...
, and Michigan's thumb
The Thumb
The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten; thus the Thumb is the area that looks like the thumb of the mitten. The Thumb is generally considered to be in the Mid-Michigan area of the state, located east of Flint/Tri-Cities...
area) found out that most of WGKI's programming, especially those from Fox, were being blacked out by request of the local affiliate. Soon after, many systems outside Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula dropped WGKI and/or brought back WKBD.
On January 15, 1995, WGKI became a secondary affiliate of UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
. It aired the network's shows outside of prime time. WGKI continued to air UPN programming until 2006, when UPN merged with The WB to form The CW, at which point WGKI ended its affiliation.
In 1999, the channel increased its ERP
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
from 219 kW to 774 kW, significantly increasing its coverage area. In 2000, Knapp retired and sold his stations to Rockfleet Broadcasting
Rockfleet Broadcasting
Rockfleet Broadcasting is a broadcasting company based in New York City. The company has three stations in its family.A fourth station is no longer under Rockfleet ownership. On May 10, 2007, it was announced that Rockfleet Broadcasting was planning to sell Fox affiliate WFQX-TV to Cadillac...
for $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
12 million. Part of the deal called for both channels to change call letters. WGKI became WFQX-TV and WGKU became WFVX. The latter station later switched to WFUP. (The previous calls were moved to a former low-powered sister station
WFVX-LP
WFVX-LP is the primary Fox and secondary MyNetworkTV television station for Central and Eastern Maine licensed to Bangor. It broadcasts a low-powered analog signal on UHF channel 22 from a transmitter on Black Cap Mountain along the Penobscot and Hancock County line. The station can also be seen on...
in Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
.)
On February 10, 2007, WFQX upgraded its digital signal on UHF channel 47 (from a transmitter shared with WGTU east of Kalkaska
Kalkaska, Michigan
Kalkaska is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 2,226. It is the county seat of Kalkaska County.-Geography:...
) to begin airing all Fox programming in high definition for over-the-air viewers. (Prior to then, the station offered a low-power digital and HDTV signal near its studios southeast of Cadillac.) WFQX is available on Charter
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
digital channel 783. On May 10, Rockfleet Broadcasting announced its intentions to sell WFQX/WFUP to Cadillac Telecasting. The Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) approved the sale in late October. After this approval, the new owner entered into its SSA with Heritage Broadcasting Group.
It had been announced with the switch to digital broadcasting (then scheduled for February 17, 2009), WFUP would shut down. However, that channel had an application to perform a flash-cut
Flash-cut
A flash-cut, also called flash-cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period.Some telephone area codes were split immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dialing period. An example is telephone area code 213, which was split into 213 and 714 all at...
to digital-only broadcasting on June 12. At one point, the station operated a digital signal on UHF channel 59 from its tower on Hudson Lookout. WFQX had an FCC-issued construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
to air a digital signal on UHF channel 32 using the previous analog channel 33 equipment but based from the WWTV tower at its studios. That spot is the highest point in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
On August 4, 2009, WFQX switched its longtime moniker "Fox 33" to "Fox 32" while adding a logo matching Fox O&O stations. The station made the channel move with its PSIP also being adjusted to match the new signal. WFUP's digital signal remained the same. The previous allotment is now used for WPBN-TV
WPBN-TV
WPBN-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Northern Lower and Eastern Upper Peninsulas of Michigan that is licensed to Traverse City. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 47 from a transmitter east of Kalkaska...
's digital broadcasts.
WFQX/WFUP are affiliates of the Detroit Lions Television Network
Detroit Lions Television Network
The Detroit Lions Television Network is a network of six television stations in Michigan that broadcast the NFL's Detroit Lions preseason games as well as its weekly regular season pregame show The Ford Lions Report. As of 2011, WXYZ-TV in Detroit is the flagship station...
which airs pre-season games and the weekly syndicated show The Ford Lions Report during the regular season. Also, because it is outside of the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
' blackout area, it airs all regular season NFL on Fox
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
Lions games. WFQX and PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
affiliate WCMU-TV
WCMU-TV
WCMU-TV, channel 14 is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station for much of the northern portion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, with a coverage area spanning three television markets and small portions of several others. The network is based at Central Michigan...
has been the only stations in the Northern Michigan market that offered analog translator stations. There had been one on channel 31 in Alpena
Alpena, Michigan
Alpena is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Alpena County. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is located in the city. The population was 10,483 at the 2010 census...
but this was shut down with WFUP serving the area.
In November 2009, WBKB-TV
WBKB-TV
WBKB-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Alpena area of Michigan's Northern Lower Peninsula. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter south of Hubbard Lake near M-72 in Alcona County. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 10 and...
added a new digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
featuring primary Fox and secondary MyNetworkTV programming. At one point, WFQX operated a repeater on channel 40 in Traverse City. That signal was shut down with the addition of one on channel 54. This to has since been shut off. Two translators that served the eastern Upper Peninsula were replaced with digital signals on new digital subchannels of WWTV and WWUP.
News operation
As WGKI, the station simulcasted WKBD's hour long prime time newscast at 10 o'clock. In June 2000, WFQX launched a news department of its own and began producing a nightly 10 o'clock broadcast. Known as Northern Michigan's Fox News at 10, this was plagued from the start by a lack of basic resources such as reporters and engineering upkeep. The station initially had its own weather department, but later began outsourcing weather duties to AccuWeatherAccuWeather
AccuWeather is an American media company that provides for-profit weather forecasting services worldwide.AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Penn State graduate student working on degrees in meteorology. His first customer was a gas company in Pennsylvania. While running the...
in State College, Pennsylvania
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...
, which pre-taped weather segments and fed them to WFQX via satellite. As a result, WFQX was criticized for being too late when severe weather was an issue or choosing not to cover an event. At some point in time, the news title changed to Fox 33 News at 10 and weekend broadcasts ended.
On January 8, 2007, WFQX began to air a simulcast of the weekday morning show of WJBK, Detroit's Fox owned-and-operated
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
station. Branded as Michigan's Fox News Morning and running from 6:00 am to 8:00 am, it featured local weather cut-ins from AccuWeather
AccuWeather
AccuWeather is an American media company that provides for-profit weather forecasting services worldwide.AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Penn State graduate student working on degrees in meteorology. His first customer was a gas company in Pennsylvania. While running the...
, and was established as part of a cooperation between the two stations to provide advertising opportunities in Detroit to businesses of Northern Michigan. On February 5, WQFX also began simulcasting the second half of WJBK's 10: pm news.
After the sale of the channel to Cadillac Telecasting, the station's news department was shut down. On October 31, WWTV began producing the weeknight 10:00 pm newscast and the WJBK simulcast at 10:30 pm was dropped. On January 7, 2008, when CBS began requiring affiliates to carry The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
in its entirety, the third hour of WWTV's Michigan This Morning, which had been running from 7:00 am to 8:00 am, was moved to WFQX/WFUP and expanded to two hours. That evening on WFQX, WWTV launched the area's first 7 o'clock news.
News team
Michigan This Morning on Fox 32(Weekday Mornings 7 to 9)
- Anchors:
- Robyn Haines
- Scott Michael Trager
- Weather:
- Michael Stevens
- Reporters:
- Corey Adkins
Fox 32 News at 7 and 10
(Weeknights 7 to 7:30 and 10 to 10:30)
- Anchors:
- Crystal Oko
- Kevin Essebaggers (7:00 only)
- Phil Buehler (10:00 only)
- Weather:
- Tom O'Hare
- Sports:
- Aaron Mills
Reporters'
- Alex Jokich
- Chivon Kloepfer
- Christina Vecchioni
- Jennifer Profitt
- Michael Kasiborski
- Ryan Raiche
WFQX features additional news personnel from WWTV. See that article
WWTV
WWTV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the northern Lower and eastern Upper Peninsulas of Michigan. Licensed to Cadillac, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter at its studios on 130th Avenue, northeast of Tustin, in Osceola County. At 1,631...
for a complete listing.