WWAZ-TV
Encyclopedia
WWAZ-TV is a television station
in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
, broadcasting locally on channel 68 as an affiliate of FamilyNet
. Founded October 2, 1989, the station is owned by Pappas Telecasting, and shares transmitter facilities with WWRS (Channel 52) which are located north of Iron Ridge
in Dodge County
. However as noted below, the station is currently silent
and not transmitting due to financial problems within Pappas.
provisions with local cable systems and the national satellite services because of affiliation uncertainties; for instance, the station was not carried on Fond du Lac's local Charter Communications
system. Currently from Iron Ridge, the station's coverage area has ranged from most of the northern part of the eleven-county Milwaukee market area, to the eastern portion of the Madison market area, along with the southern portions of the Green Bay market area. However as the station's transmitter was located west of the Kettle Moraine
range that bisects the station's coverage area, communities in Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties were unable to receive the station without an outdoor antenna at the minimum.
However, this changed in mid-2007, when Pappas filed a must-carry provision with Time Warner Cable
's Northeastern Wisconsin system, and the channel was subsequently added in Green Bay
and the Fox Cities
as of June 26, 2007, replacing Milwaukee
CW
affiliate WVTV
, which had aired on the system since the mid-1980s during that station's phase of becoming a superstation
with intrastate coverage across Wisconsin.
contained the sentence WWAZ-TV informed Time Warner Cable that it has ceased broadcast operations until further notice.
Also in August 2007, FamilyNet was added to all Charter systems in eastern Wisconsin and the Madison
area on a digital family tier
. The Charter signal is the FamilyNet national feed via satellite, but since WWAZ carried the network feed raw without local interruption (and sometimes even without the hourly station identification
due to malfunctions), there was no difference in the national and local channels.
The station changed their call letters in late 2004 from WMMF in anticipation for a change in affiliation to the Spanish language
Azteca America
network, which never happened; Pappas ended up dropping almost all affiliations with the network at the start of July 2007 during a conflict with the network, replacing Azteca America with their own new Spanish-language service, TuVision
.
It is unknown at present if Pappas still has plans to offer any Spanish-language programming on this channel, or the future of the station as Pappas Telecasting filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 10, 2008; however the WWAZ license, operations and facilities were not covered under the filing. However, due to the financial problems of Pappas, the station has been silent since January 2008, and in an FCC filing, the station requested a move to Channel 5 after WFRV ended their analog service and vacated the channel in March 2009 (retaining their digital channel 39), but are unable to complete the new transmitter and tower until 2010 at the earliest.
On January 15, 2008, WWAZ-TV filed a request with the FCC
to cease broadcasting in analog before the end of the DTV transition and to become a digital-only station, broadcasting on channel 44. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-08-101A1.pdf The request was approved in late July 2008 http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6582204.html?industryid=47171. The station broadcast for a short time before permanently ending their analog service within two weeks.
to broadcast the station, with the signal directed towards the west and north to avoid interference with the stations mentioned below. The channel 5 construction permit
was accepted by the FCC on October 16, 2009.
The petition to move was contested by Weigel Broadcasting
, WLFM-LP
(Channel 6) of Chicago
(a station using the analog channel 6 audio overlap quirk on 87.7 FM
to broadcast a smooth jazz
radio station
with video imagery), and Grand Valley State University
of Allendale, Michigan
, near Grand Rapids
, which has their Kalamazoo
PBS
member station WGVK
already based on Channel 5. Weigel objected mainly on concerns of abandonment by WWAZ of serving Fond du Lac and the surrounding area to become a full-time Milwaukee station (creating a competitor to Weigel's two full-power and two low-power stations in the area), while the latter objecters were concerned with interference by the more southern signal within Chicago and across Lake Michigan
.
The application was approved mainly due to ABC
asking for the FCC to allow them to move the main signal of Chicago's WLS-TV
from VHF digital channel 7, to digital channel 44, a move approved by the FCC in October 2009 and carried out at the beginning of 2010. Pappas also plans to address the abandonment concerns of the rural audience by filing construction permits for two low-power digital translator stations in areas formerly served by the WWAZ analog signal, the first on channel 15 from Ripon
which has reception in the city of Fond du Lac, and the second on channel 30, broadcasting from Columbus
within the northeast reaches of the Madison market.
If the station does move to Milwaukee, the station would likely have to affiliate with a new minor network; WBWT-LP
(Channel 38) is the Milwaukee area's Azteca America affiliate, while longtime religious broadcaster WVCY-TV
(Channel 30) airs FamilyNet programming in the market already, and America One
is associated with WMKE-CA
(Channel 7). However, Univision
, which has been a cable-only network in southeast Wisconsin since W46AR
in Milwaukee stopped carrying it in 1999, remains a possibility, though no Pappas-owned stations carry the network.
, an independent station
on Channel 34 and a sister station to KFIZ-AM
and WFON
FM, operated between 1968 and 1972.
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...
in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Fond du Lac is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The name is French for bottom of the lake, for it is located at the bottom of Lake Winnebago. The population was 42,203 at the 2000 census...
, broadcasting locally on channel 68 as an affiliate of FamilyNet
FamilyNet
FamilyNet is a broadcast television network owned by ComStar Media Fund and based in Atlanta, Georgia. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, and took the name FamilyNet in 1988 under the ownership of Jerry Falwell. The channel was acquired by InTouch Ministries in...
. Founded October 2, 1989, the station is owned by Pappas Telecasting, and shares transmitter facilities with WWRS (Channel 52) which are located north of Iron Ridge
Iron Ridge, Wisconsin
Iron Ridge is a village in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 998 at the 2000 census. The village was founded on a railroad line, named for the iron mined in the area...
in Dodge County
Dodge County, Wisconsin
Dodge County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2010, the population was 88,759. Its county seat is Juneau.-Geography:According to the U.S...
. However as noted below, the station is currently silent
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
and not transmitting due to financial problems within Pappas.
Station Coverage
Most of the station's audience before 2007 received the station over-the-air, as WWAZ and Pappas had previously not pursued any must-carryMust-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
provisions with local cable systems and the national satellite services because of affiliation uncertainties; for instance, the station was not carried on Fond du Lac's local Charter Communications
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...
system. Currently from Iron Ridge, the station's coverage area has ranged from most of the northern part of the eleven-county Milwaukee market area, to the eastern portion of the Madison market area, along with the southern portions of the Green Bay market area. However as the station's transmitter was located west of the Kettle Moraine
Kettle Moraine
Kettle Moraine is a large moraine in the state of Wisconsin stretching from Walworth County in the south to Kewaunee County in the north. It has also been referred to as the Kettle Range and, in geological texts, as the Kettle Interlobate Moraine....
range that bisects the station's coverage area, communities in Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties were unable to receive the station without an outdoor antenna at the minimum.
However, this changed in mid-2007, when Pappas filed a must-carry provision with Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
's Northeastern Wisconsin system, and the channel was subsequently added in Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
and the Fox Cities
Fox Cities
The Fox Cities of northeastern Wisconsin are the cities, towns and villages along the Fox River as it flows from Lake Winnebago northward into Green Bay. Together they form the core of the third largest metropolitan area of Wisconsin, with a population exceeding 360,000...
as of June 26, 2007, replacing Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
affiliate WVTV
WVTV
WVTV is a television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA and serves as Southeast Wisconsin's The CW Television Network affiliate. The station broadcasts from the Milwaukee Public Television tower on Milwaukee's northeast side with WMVS/WMVT, along with WCGV , WVTV's sister station...
, which had aired on the system since the mid-1980s during that station's phase of becoming a superstation
Superstation
Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
with intrastate coverage across Wisconsin.
History & current status
The station ceased broadcasting in January 2008. A slide on the station's slot on Time Warner CableTime Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
contained the sentence WWAZ-TV informed Time Warner Cable that it has ceased broadcast operations until further notice.
Also in August 2007, FamilyNet was added to all Charter systems in eastern Wisconsin and the Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
area on a digital family tier
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
. The Charter signal is the FamilyNet national feed via satellite, but since WWAZ carried the network feed raw without local interruption (and sometimes even without the hourly station identification
Station identification
Station identification is the practice of radio or television stations or networks identifying themselves on air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name...
due to malfunctions), there was no difference in the national and local channels.
The station changed their call letters in late 2004 from WMMF in anticipation for a change in affiliation to the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
Azteca America
Azteca América
Azteca América is a broadcast television network marketed toward Spanish-speaking families residing in the United States. As a rapidly-growing Spanish language network, Azteca América now reaches 89% of the Hispanic households in the U.S., operating in sixty-two markets nationwide. Wholly owned by...
network, which never happened; Pappas ended up dropping almost all affiliations with the network at the start of July 2007 during a conflict with the network, replacing Azteca America with their own new Spanish-language service, TuVision
TuVisión
TuVisión was an American Spanish-language broadcasting network, which is owned by Pappas Telecasting. TuVisión is a portmanteau of tu and televisión . During the latter part of 2007, Pappas hired Moelis & Company to develop long-term objectives to identify which television assets it should retain...
.
It is unknown at present if Pappas still has plans to offer any Spanish-language programming on this channel, or the future of the station as Pappas Telecasting filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 10, 2008; however the WWAZ license, operations and facilities were not covered under the filing. However, due to the financial problems of Pappas, the station has been silent since January 2008, and in an FCC filing, the station requested a move to Channel 5 after WFRV ended their analog service and vacated the channel in March 2009 (retaining their digital channel 39), but are unable to complete the new transmitter and tower until 2010 at the earliest.
On January 15, 2008, WWAZ-TV filed a request with the FCC
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...
to cease broadcasting in analog before the end of the DTV transition and to become a digital-only station, broadcasting on channel 44. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-08-101A1.pdf The request was approved in late July 2008 http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6582204.html?industryid=47171. The station broadcast for a short time before permanently ending their analog service within two weeks.
Proposed move to Milwaukee
In August 2009, the FCC conditionally approved the move to channel 5 after Pappas builds the facilities, which are tentatively approved for the traditional tower site on the northeast side of Milwaukee. According to FCC mapping, the station would lease space on the MPTV TowerMilwaukee Public Television
For information on Channels 10 and 36 individually, see WMVS and WMVTMilwaukee Public Television is the branding name for the alliance between two Milwaukee based Public Broadcasting Service public television affiliates: WMVS, Channel 10, and WMVT, Channel 36...
to broadcast the station, with the signal directed towards the west and north to avoid interference with the stations mentioned below. The channel 5 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...
was accepted by the FCC on October 16, 2009.
The petition to move was contested by Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting is an American locally based television broadcasting company. The company is based in downtown Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV , at the apt address of 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood.- History :The company was founded by Chicago...
, WLFM-LP
WLFM-LP
WLFM-LP is a local, low-power television station on channel 6 serving the Chicago area, licensed to Rochelle, Illinois even though its signal doesn't reach its city of license. It was previously affiliated with MTV Tr3s before being used to transmit a smooth jazz radio format, taking advantage of...
(Channel 6) of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
(a station using the analog channel 6 audio overlap quirk on 87.7 FM
87.7 FM
-In North America:*87.75 MHz, a frequency-modulated audio subcarrier used by all NTSC-M analog channel 6 television stations**For a listing of channel 6 television stations that promote their audio feeds as their primary signal, advertising as being on 87.7 FM, see :Category:Channel 6 radio...
to broadcast a smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
with video imagery), and Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University is a public liberal arts university located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1960, and its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids...
of Allendale, Michigan
Allendale, Michigan
Allendale is an unincorporated community in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also a census-designated place for statistical purposes. The population was 17,579 at the 2010 census...
, near 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...
, which has their Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
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....
member station WGVK
WGVU-TV
WGVU-TV is the Public Broadcasting Service member public television station for West Michigan, broadcasting on channel 35 in Grand Rapids. It operates a full-time satellite, WGVK, channel 52 in Kalamazoo...
already based on Channel 5. Weigel objected mainly on concerns of abandonment by WWAZ of serving Fond du Lac and the surrounding area to become a full-time Milwaukee station (creating a competitor to Weigel's two full-power and two low-power stations in the area), while the latter objecters were concerned with interference by the more southern signal within Chicago and across Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
.
The application was approved mainly due to 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...
asking for the FCC to allow them to move the main signal of Chicago's WLS-TV
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
from VHF digital channel 7, to digital channel 44, a move approved by the FCC in October 2009 and carried out at the beginning of 2010. Pappas also plans to address the abandonment concerns of the rural audience by filing construction permits for two low-power digital translator stations in areas formerly served by the WWAZ analog signal, the first on channel 15 from Ripon
Ripon, Wisconsin
Ripon is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,828. The City of Ripon's official website claims the city's current population to be 7,701. The city is surrounded by the Town of Ripon....
which has reception in the city of Fond du Lac, and the second on channel 30, broadcasting from Columbus
Columbus, Wisconsin
Columbus is a city in Columbia and Dodge Counties in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 4,991 at the 2010 census. Columbus is located about northeast of Madison on the Crawfish River. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area...
within the northeast reaches of the Madison market.
If the station does move to Milwaukee, the station would likely have to affiliate with a new minor network; WBWT-LP
WBWT-LP
WBWT-LP is a television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Affiliated with the Spanish-language Azteca América network, the station is owned by Bustos Media, which also owns Traditional Mexican station WDDW ....
(Channel 38) is the Milwaukee area's Azteca America affiliate, while longtime religious broadcaster WVCY-TV
WVCY-TV
WVCY-TV is a conservative Christian television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It broadcasts digitally on Channel 22, but maps on a virtual channel via PSIP to their former analog channel position, Channel 30.-Sister Stations:...
(Channel 30) airs FamilyNet programming in the market already, and America One
America One
America One is an over-the-air television network in the United States. The network serves over 170 LPTV, Class A, Full Power, Cable and Satellite affiliate stations...
is associated with WMKE-CA
WMKE-CA
WMKE-CA is the America One affiliate for Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States. It is owned by KM Communications, and broadcasts on VHF channel 7. The station's studios are located at 3974 South 27th St...
(Channel 7). However, Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
, which has been a cable-only network in southeast Wisconsin since W46AR
WYTU-LP
WYTU-LD is a digital television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin branded as Telemundo Wisconsin. The station airs on digital channel 17 via a low power digital television signal, along with a full-power simulcast on full power sister station WBME-TV via digital subchannel 49.4, and both...
in Milwaukee stopped carrying it in 1999, remains a possibility, though no Pappas-owned stations carry the network.
Previous television stations in Fond du Lac
WWAZ is the second television station to be licensed to Fond du Lac. KFIZ-TVKFIZ-TV
KFIZ-TV Channel 34 was an independent television station that operated in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, from December 16, 1968 to November 19, 1972. It was a sister station to KFIZ and WFON FM, which are both still in existence....
, an independent station
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
on Channel 34 and a sister station to KFIZ-AM
KFIZ (AM)
KFIZ is a radio station licensed to serve Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, US. The station is owned by Randy Hopper's Mountain Dog Media and the license is held by RBH Enterprises, Inc. KFIZ features programming from Fox News Radio....
and WFON
WFON
WFON is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Contemporary format under the branding K107.1. Licensed to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USA, the station is currently owned by RBH Enterprises, Inc....
FM, operated between 1968 and 1972.