WXOW-TV
Encyclopedia
WXOW is the ABC
-affiliated television station
for La Crosse, Wisconsin
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter at its studios on County Highway 25 in La Crescent, Minnesota
. Syndicated
programming on the station includes: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
, The Doctors
, Rachael Ray
, and The Dr. Oz Show
. WQOW in Eau Claire
is a semi-satellite of WXOW. It clears all of this channel's syndicated programming but airs separate newscasts, station identifications, and commercials. WXOW serves the southern half of the La Crosse/Eau Claire market
while WQOW serves the northern half. The two stations are counted as a single unit for ratings purposes. DirecTV
carries WXOW but not WQOW. As of September 2010 Dish Network offers both WXOW and WQOW to its customers in the La Crosse/Eau Claire market.
channel 5, and Charter
and Mediacom
channel 15) is the area's CW affiliate. On WXOW-DT3 as well as Charter and Mediacom digital channel 968 is This TV
; it is not offered on CenturyLink's digital systems.
in Madison
. Before then, ABC was relegated to off-hours clearances on CBS
affiliate WKBT
and NBC
affiliate WEAU-TV
. Depending on the location, western Wisconsin viewers could get the full ABC schedule on KMSP-TV
in the Twin Cities, KAUS-TV (now KAAL
) in Austin, Minnesota
or WKOW.
However, unlike the other stations in the La Crosse/Eau Claire market, it was unable to provide a decent signal to Eau Claire due to its transmitter being in Minnesota. In 1980, WXOW severed the electronic umbilical cord with WKOW and signed-on WQOW as a semi-satellite to improve its coverage in the northern part of the area. In 1980-1982 and 1990-1996, WXOW's newscasts were simulcasted on WQOW. From 1982-1990, this station provided all weather segments during WQOW's newscasts as that station did not have a weather department. WXOW still provides the weekend weather segments on WQOW. WXOW and WQOW began operating the cable-only
"WBCZ" affiliate of The WB in 1998. This was on channel 15 on most systems in La Crosse and Eau Claire. In September 2002, WXOW became the first La Crosse area television station to broadcast in digital on UHF channel 14. On September 7, 2011 WXOW began to air newscasts in high definition. The station also unveiled a new HD set and graphics and now newscasts are called News 19 Live At (time of Day) Expect Daybreak.
WXOW and WQOW replaced "WBCZ" with new digital broadcast subchannels WXOW 19.2 and WQOW 18.2 simulcasting The CW when the new network launched in the fall of 2006. WXOW began airing solely in digital, effective February 17, 2009, with the analog WXOW transmitter operating for sixty additional days broadcasting only local news and information about the digital transition. On June 11, 2009, WXOW moved from its initial digital channel assignment to channel 48 at a higher power.
WXOW and WQOW launched This TV
simulcasted on new digital third digital subchannels of the stations in February/March 2010.
News 19 Storm Vision Meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
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...
-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 La Crosse, Wisconsin
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...
. 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 48 from a transmitter at its studios on County Highway 25 in La Crescent, Minnesota
La Crescent, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,923 people, 1,940 households, and 1,367 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,634.4 people per square mile . There were 2,014 housing units at an average density of 668.6 per square mile...
. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on the station includes: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
, The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...
, Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray (TV series)
Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is a talk show starring Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006....
, and The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
. WQOW in 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,...
is a semi-satellite of WXOW. It clears all of this channel's syndicated programming but airs separate newscasts, station identifications, and commercials. WXOW serves the southern half of the La Crosse/Eau Claire market
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...
while WQOW serves the northern half. The two stations are counted as a single unit for ratings purposes. DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
carries WXOW but not WQOW. As of September 2010 Dish Network offers both WXOW and WQOW to its customers in the La Crosse/Eau Claire market.
Digital programming
On WXOW-DT2 (CenturyLinkCenturyLink
CenturyLink, Inc. is a United States telecommunications firm, headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana. The company, founded as Central Telephone & Electronics Corporation in 1968, later changed its name to Century Telephone Enterprises, Inc. in 1971, and then was called CenturyTel, Inc. from 1999 to 2010...
channel 5, and 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...
and Mediacom
Mediacom
Mediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
channel 15) is the area's CW affiliate. On WXOW-DT3 as well as Charter and Mediacom digital channel 968 is This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
; it is not offered on CenturyLink's digital systems.
| Subchannel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 19.1 | main WXOW programming/ABC HD |
| 19.2 | WXOW-DT2 "La Crosse-Eau Claire CW" |
| 19.3 | WXOW-DT3 This TV |
History
WXOW signed on-the-air March 7, 1970 as a semi-satellite of WKOW-TVWKOW-TV
WKOW is the ABC-affiliated television station for Madison, Wisconsin. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 from a transmitter in the city's Middleton Junction section; the station is also available on Charter Cable systems in the Madison market...
in 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....
. Before then, ABC was relegated to off-hours clearances on 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 WKBT
WKBT
WKBT-DT is a television station owned and operated by Morgan Murphy Media and serving West Central Wisconsin, including La Crosse and Eau Claire. The station is primarily affiliated with CBS and airs programming from MyNetworkTV on its digital subchannel.-History:WKBT launched on August 8, 1954...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WEAU-TV
WEAU-TV
WEAU-TV is the NBC affiliate for much of western Wisconsin, including Eau Claire and La Crosse. WEAU is licensed to Eau Claire and its transmitter is located in Fairchild, Wisconsin. WEAU is currently broadcasting from a tower near the station's studio in Eau Claire due to a collapse of its main...
. Depending on the location, western Wisconsin viewers could get the full ABC schedule on KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
in the Twin Cities, KAUS-TV (now KAAL
KAAL
KAAL is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Driftless Area of Southeastern Minnesota and North-Central Iowa. Licensed to Austin, Minnesota, the station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter southeast of Grand Meadow, Minnesota in Eastern Mower...
) in Austin, Minnesota
Austin, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,314 people, 9,897 households, and 6,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,168.2 people per square mile . There were 10,261 housing units at an average density of 954.3 per square mile...
or WKOW.
However, unlike the other stations in the La Crosse/Eau Claire market, it was unable to provide a decent signal to Eau Claire due to its transmitter being in Minnesota. In 1980, WXOW severed the electronic umbilical cord with WKOW and signed-on WQOW as a semi-satellite to improve its coverage in the northern part of the area. In 1980-1982 and 1990-1996, WXOW's newscasts were simulcasted on WQOW. From 1982-1990, this station provided all weather segments during WQOW's newscasts as that station did not have a weather department. WXOW still provides the weekend weather segments on WQOW. WXOW and WQOW began operating the cable-only
The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
"WBCZ" affiliate of The WB in 1998. This was on channel 15 on most systems in La Crosse and Eau Claire. In September 2002, WXOW became the first La Crosse area television station to broadcast in digital on UHF channel 14. On September 7, 2011 WXOW began to air newscasts in high definition. The station also unveiled a new HD set and graphics and now newscasts are called News 19 Live At (time of Day) Expect Daybreak.
WXOW and WQOW replaced "WBCZ" with new digital broadcast subchannels WXOW 19.2 and WQOW 18.2 simulcasting The CW when the new network launched in the fall of 2006. WXOW began airing solely in digital, effective February 17, 2009, with the analog WXOW transmitter operating for sixty additional days broadcasting only local news and information about the digital transition. On June 11, 2009, WXOW moved from its initial digital channel assignment to channel 48 at a higher power.
WXOW and WQOW launched This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
simulcasted on new digital third digital subchannels of the stations in February/March 2010.
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Amy DuPont - weekday mornings
- Dave Solie - weeknights at 5
- Scott Hackworth - weeknights at 6 and 10
- Heather Armstrong - weeknights at 6 and 10
- Lindsey Hayes - weekends and weekday reporter
News 19 Storm Vision Meteorologists
- Dan Breeden - Chief seen weeknights
- Nick Grunseth (Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
) - weekday mornings - Alex Kirchner - weekends
Sports
- Scott Emerich - Director seen weeknights at 6 and 10
- Dustin Luecke - Weekend Sports Anchor/Sports Reporter
Reporters
- Stacy Brogan - multimedia journalist
- Katie Coughenour - multimedia journalist
- Pete Zervakis - multimedia journalist