WKBT
Encyclopedia
WKBT-DT is a television station
owned and operated by Morgan Murphy Media and serving West Central Wisconsin
, including La Crosse
(its city of license
) and Eau Claire
. The station is primarily affiliated with CBS
and airs programming from MyNetworkTV
on its digital subchannel
.
. (The "T," for "television," replaced the "H" in the call sign
to differentiate the stations.) WKBT carried dual affiliation with CBS
and ABC
, a set-up that continued until 1970, when WKBT became solely a CBS affiliate. WKBT also briefly had secondary affiliations with DuMont (until 1956) and NBC (until 1958).
On April 16th, 1965, during the worst of the famous 1965 flood, the downtown La Crosse
building that housed both WKBT and WKBH fell victim to fire; WKBT then rebuilt its current building on the same site.
In the 1970s, WKBT was sold to Harold F. Gross, a businessman from Lansing, Michigan
who owned WJIM-AM
-FM
-TV in that city. WKBT and WJIM-TV were sold in the mid-1980s to Unicom Inc, a unit of Forstmann Little
, d.b.a. Backe Communications, following a licensing dispute involving WJIM-TV (which changed its call letters to WLNS-TV
). Unicom's ownership of the station was short-lived as in 1986 it sold WLNS and WKBT to Young Broadcasting
.
In March 2000, Young sold WKBT to Morgan Murphy Stations, whose QueenB Television subsidiary (now Morgan Murphy Media) became the licensee for the station.
WKBT-DT went on the air with digital broadcasting on channel 41 (UHF) on March 28, 2003.
WKBT-DT launched digital subchannel 8.2, UPN La Crosse/Eau Claire, on Monday January 30, 2006. (Rival station KQEG-CA
had dropped its affiliation with UPN
at the end of the previous week.)
Beginning September 5, 2006, with the demise of UPN, WKBT-DT2 subchannel 8.2 became an affiliate of the new MyNetworkTV
.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, February 17, 2009, WKBT-TV discontinued analog broadcasting on channel 8 (VHF), and the digital WKBT-DT signal was transitioned from channel 41 (UHF) to channel 8 (VHF), completing the station's digital broadcast transition.
In the summer of 2011, WKBT became the first station in the La Crosse/Eau Claire DMA
to air newscasts in high definition.
La Crosse/Eau Claire is slowly being developed. It carries syndicated shows such as The Simpsons
, Dr. Phil
, and programming with local interest, such as Racing Rewind (a show about weekly races at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway), and a few one-time airings of local events. There is a newscast called My News at Nine shown weekdays at 9 pm. In 2009 WKBT stopped making My NewsChannel 8 at Nine and reaires the 5 pm news.
On the early snowy morning February 25, 2007, the channel aired a 2 hour 30 minute live newscast, to keep people informed of a snowfall that brought over 28 inches of snow to the area.
, about 30 miles north of the actual station in order to provide their signal to the entire market - it also serves as the CBS affiliate for the Chippewa Valley
.
If put up next to Chicago's Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower), the WKBT transmitter would surpass the upper roof and fall just about 100 feet short of the highest antenna on top.
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...
owned and operated by Morgan Murphy Media and serving West Central Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, including La Crosse
La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The city lies alongside the Mississippi River.The 2011 Census Bureau estimates the city had a population of 52,485...
(its city of license
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
) and Eau Claire
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Eau Claire is a city located in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 65,883 as of the 2010 census, making it the largest municipality in the northwestern portion of the state, and the 9th largest in the state overall. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County,...
. The station is primarily affiliated with 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...
and airs programming from MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
on its 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...
.
History
WKBT launched on August 8, 1954 as sister station to WKBH, a radio station known today as as WIZMWIZM (AM)
WIZM is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, the station serves the La Crosse area. The station is currently owned by Family Radio, Inc. and features programing from CBS Radio, Premiere Radio Networks and Westwood One.- Programming...
. (The "T," for "television," replaced the "H" in the call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
to differentiate the stations.) WKBT carried dual affiliation with 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...
and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, a set-up that continued until 1970, when WKBT became solely a CBS affiliate. WKBT also briefly had secondary affiliations with DuMont (until 1956) and NBC (until 1958).
On April 16th, 1965, during the worst of the famous 1965 flood, the downtown La Crosse
La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The city lies alongside the Mississippi River.The 2011 Census Bureau estimates the city had a population of 52,485...
building that housed both WKBT and WKBH fell victim to fire; WKBT then rebuilt its current building on the same site.
In the 1970s, WKBT was sold to Harold F. Gross, a businessman from Lansing, Michigan
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...
who owned WJIM-AM
WJIM (AM)
WJIM is a radio station licensed to Lansing, Michigan broadcasting a news-talk format. WJIM began broadcasting in 1934 on 1210 kHz with 250 watts daytime and 100 watts at night, under the ownership of Gross Telecasting...
-FM
WJIM-FM
WJIM-FM is a radio station in Lansing, Michigan, broadcasting a Top 40 format.The station has had the WJIM-FM calls continuously since it signed on in 1960. For over three decades, WJIM-FM broadcast an easy listening/beautiful music format, which evolved during the early 1990s into a soft adult...
-TV in that city. WKBT and WJIM-TV were sold in the mid-1980s to Unicom Inc, a unit of Forstmann Little
Forstmann Little & Company
Forstmann, Little & Company is a private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts . At its peak in the late 1990s, Forstmann Little was among the largest private equity firms globally...
, d.b.a. Backe Communications, following a licensing dispute involving WJIM-TV (which changed its call letters to WLNS-TV
WLNS-TV
WLNS-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central Michigan licensed to Lansing. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter on Van Atta Road in Meridian. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 6 and Broadstripe channel 13...
). Unicom's ownership of the station was short-lived as in 1986 it sold WLNS and WKBT to Young Broadcasting
Young Broadcasting
New Young Broadcasting Holding Co, Inc. is an owner of 14 television stations in 11 United States media markets. The company was formerly known as Young Broadcasting Inc. and was the outgrowth of the ad representation/invest firm Adam Young, Inc. which was founded in 1944 by Adam Young and is...
.
In March 2000, Young sold WKBT to Morgan Murphy Stations, whose QueenB Television subsidiary (now Morgan Murphy Media) became the licensee for the station.
WKBT-DT went on the air with digital broadcasting on channel 41 (UHF) on March 28, 2003.
WKBT-DT launched digital subchannel 8.2, UPN La Crosse/Eau Claire, on Monday January 30, 2006. (Rival station KQEG-CA
KQEG-CA
KQEG-CA, channel 23, is a Class A station licensed in La Crescent, Minnesota, with studios and offices in La Crosse, Wisconsin. WIBU-LP, channel 51, is a low power station located in Tomah, Wisconsin that simulcasts the programming of KQEG-CA...
had dropped its affiliation with 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...
at the end of the previous week.)
Beginning September 5, 2006, with the demise of UPN, WKBT-DT2 subchannel 8.2 became an affiliate of the new MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, February 17, 2009, WKBT-TV discontinued analog broadcasting on channel 8 (VHF), and the digital WKBT-DT signal was transitioned from channel 41 (UHF) to channel 8 (VHF), completing the station's digital broadcast transition.
In the summer of 2011, WKBT became the first station in the La Crosse/Eau Claire DMA
DMA
DMA can refer to:* DMA , a defunct dance music magazine* Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, USA* Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark since 1989...
to air newscasts in high definition.
Newscast titles
- Total News (1971-1974)
- TV-8 Action NewsAction NewsAction News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
(1974-1976) - Action 8 News (1976-1987)
- Newswatch 8 (1987-1994)
- Channel 8 News (1994-1995)
- NewsChannel 8 (1995-October 24, 2010)
- News 8 (October 25, 2010-present)
Station slogans
- 8 Country (1970s)
- Action 8 is Total News (1970s)
- Serving the Tri-State (1980s)
- Do you watch Newswatch? (1980s-1994)
- Take Me There, Make Me Care (1994-1998)
- Coverage You Can Count On (1998-2010)
- Our Community, Your Station (June 2009 in TV ads, 2010-present)
MyNetworkTV La Crosse/Eau Claire
MyNetworkTVMyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
La Crosse/Eau Claire is slowly being developed. It carries syndicated 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...
, Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, and programming with local interest, such as Racing Rewind (a show about weekly races at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway), and a few one-time airings of local events. There is a newscast called My News at Nine shown weekdays at 9 pm. In 2009 WKBT stopped making My NewsChannel 8 at Nine and reaires the 5 pm news.
On the early snowy morning February 25, 2007, the channel aired a 2 hour 30 minute live newscast, to keep people informed of a snowfall that brought over 28 inches of snow to the area.
Anchors
- Lou Hillman - Saturday evening anchor and weekday reporter
- Lisa Klein - 5 & 6 pm co-anchor
- Martha Koloski - Noon & 10 pm co-anchor
- Jennifer Livingston - "News 8 This Morning"
- Mark McPherson - 5 pm co-anchor and Sunday evening anchor
- Mike Thompson - 6 & 10 pm co-anchor
Weather
- Bill Graul - Meteorologist;"News 8 This Morning" and Noon
- Cory Malles - Chief Meteorologist; 5pm. 6pm & 10 pm
- Michelle Poedel- Weekend Meteorologist
Transmitter
WKBT's transmitter is located in Galesville, WisconsinGalesville, Wisconsin
Galesville is a city in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,481 at the 2010 census.Galesville is located where Beaver Creek flows into a wide area of the Mississippi River valley...
, about 30 miles north of the actual station in order to provide their signal to the entire market - it also serves as the CBS affiliate for the Chippewa Valley
Chippewa Valley
The Chippewa Valley was first inhabited by the Ojibwe Indians and settled by German and Scandinavian immigrants. The region also has a large Hmong community...
.
If put up next to Chicago's Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower), the WKBT transmitter would surpass the upper roof and fall just about 100 feet short of the highest antenna on top.