WMTV
A white number "15" within a red circle with a silver rim, and to its left, a yellow-rimmed oval cut off by the circle appears, blue filling the rest of the space.
A two-lined image, with "MADISON" in capital letters rendered in black atop the CW network logo below it in orange
Channels
Branding
  • WMTV 15; 15 News
  • Madison CW (DT2)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
July 19, 1953 (70 years ago) (1953-07-19)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 33 (UHF, 1953–1961), 15 (UHF, 1961–2009)
  • Both secondary:
  • DuMont (1953–1955)
  • ABC (1953–1956)
Call sign meaning
"Watch Madison Television"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID6870
ERP155 kW
HAAT414.8 m (1,361 ft)
Transmitter coordinates43°3′3″N 89°29′13″W / 43.05083°N 89.48694°W / 43.05083; -89.48694
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wmtv15news.com

WMTV (channel 15) is a television station in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. The station is owned by Gray Television and maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Forward Drive in the Greentree neighborhood on Madison's southwest side.

WMTV was the second television station to air in Madison, beginning in July 1953 just days after WKOW, and has been its NBC affiliate since signing on the air. Founded by a company controlled by the Bartell Group, it was sold to the Wisconsin Valley Television Company (later Forward Communications Corporation) in 1963. The station was successful and competitive in news ratings under Forward, even if it faced economic disadvantages due to being an ultra high frequency (UHF) station. After a succession of owners in the late 1980s and 1990s, Gray acquired WMTV in 2002.

History

Early years on channel 33

After the Federal Communications Commission lifted its four-year freeze on new television station grants and opened the ultra high frequency (UHF) band for television use, applications were received to start new stations in Madison. The first came from the Bartell Group, owned by Madison radio announcer Gerry Bartell and owner of Milwaukee station WOKY, for channel 33, one of two UHF channels allocated for commercial use in the city.[2] Another application for channel 33 was made by Earl W. Fessler, owner of Madison FM radio outlet WMFM.[3] In late December, Fessler and Bartell combined their applications, becoming the unopposed bid for channel 33 as the Bartell Television Corporation and being granted a construction permit on January 23, 1953.[4][5]

WMTV signed on the air with a test pattern on July 8, 1953,[6] and began normal operation 11 days later with a dedication program.[7] This made it the second station on air in Madison, as WKOW-TV (channel 27) began broadcasting on July 8.[8] It was an affiliate of NBC, ABC, and DuMont.[9] The WMTV facility along the Beltline contained a main studio complete with revolving stage, claimed to be the only one east of California, as well as a permanently installed kitchen for cooking shows.[10] ABC programs moved to WKOW-TV in September 1956 when WISC-TV began as a CBS affiliate on channel 3.[11]

In March 1956, it was announced that the Badger Broadcasting Company, owner of radio station WIBA and a joint venture of The Capital Times and Wisconsin State Journal newspapers, could soon own WMTV, with Gerry Bartell staying as the station's general manager.[12] Bartell proposed to sell the newspapers a two-thirds interest in the station.[13] However, the parties were unable to reach final agreement on matters related to the sale, and the proposed transaction was abandoned in August.[14] With WMTV as Bartell's only television property, Wometco Enterprises filed in 1957 to buy WMTV for $350,000.[15][16]

Move to channel 15; Forward ownership

A modern two-story building with WMTV and Madison CW's logos, along with the station's transmitter behind the building along a freeway.
WMTV's transmitter, studio, and broadcast center along the Madison Beltline.

Wometco owned the station less than a year before Forward Television, a subsidiary of Lee Enterprises of Mason City, Iowa, acquired WMTV in 1958; the Forward name came from the Wisconsin state motto.[17][18] During Forward Television's ownership, the station applied to move from channel 33 to channel 15. The move took effect on October 25, 1961, after weather and antenna fabrication delays.[19]

Lee accepted an offer from Wisconsin Valley Television Corporation to acquire WMTV in December 1962. Wisconsin Valley was a consortium of newspaper interests that owned WSAU radio and television in Wausau.[20] The FCC only narrowly approved the transaction on a 4–3 vote in May 1963, in large part because the firm was being investigated for its relationship with efforts to start an educational television station in Wausau on the only other VHF channel in that city so as to prevent it from going into commercial use; a condition was attached that allowed the FCC to order the sale of WMTV to another group at no profit to Wisconsin Valley were it to find that the firm abused its processes.[21] That September, the FCC voted 5–0 to allow the sale to stand after Midcontinent Broadcasting, owner of WKOW-TV, asked it to reconsider its earlier ruling.[22]

The new ownership of the station invested in equipment, including an upgraded transmitter facility which increased the effective radiated power to 950,000 watts in 1965.[23][a] Wisconsin Valley renamed itself Forward Communications Corporation at the start of 1967 in the wake of acquiring its first broadcast property outside the state of Wisconsin, KVTV in Sioux City, Iowa.[25][b] Despite an improved product and Forward's ability to pull WMTV out of its status as a "financial loser", the Madison station continued to be something of an uphill struggle for Forward because of the configuration of the market, with WISC-TV as the only very high frequency (VHF) station against two commercial UHF outlets.[28]

Forward was sold in late 1984 to Wesray Capital Corporation, which retained the Forward name for its media holdings.[29] However, the new financially-focused Forward, as with many private equity firms of the era, cut what it felt were unnecessary expenses. Prior to the sale, WMTV competed with WISC for the lead in local news ratings, finding stronger viewership outside the Madison Beltline in Dane County itself.[30][31] However, the station was hit by cutbacks in the newsroom, as well as in the production of non-news local programming,[32] and declining news ratings.[33] The departures of sports director Jack Eich, who was fired, and Paula Dilworth, who was passed over for a promotion and bolted for Las Vegas, made headlines and put general manager Leslie Leonard in the news.[34][35]

Since 1988

Wesray sold its TV stations to Adams Communications in 1988,[36] but the deal left Adams highly leveraged and ill-prepared to confront declines in the value of broadcast properties, prompting it to default on $283 million of debt in 1991;[37] that same year, WMTV debuted its first morning newscast, Wisconsin Today.[38] Brissette Broadcasting was formed the next year when Paul Brissette, who had been the vice president of Adams Communications's television stations division, bought out the business for $257 million.[39] Four years later, in a $270 million merger, Brissette was folded into Benedek Broadcasting after the company was unable to expand by adding stations.[40] By that time, WMTV had slumped to third in local news ratings;[41] later in 1996, it rebranded as NBC 15.[42] The retirement of longtime weatherman Elmer Childress in 1997 also paved the way for the station to take a more aggressive approach to weather coverage, including adding its own Doppler weather radar.[43]

Financial problems developed at Benedek at the start of the new millennium. The early 2000s recession reduced ad sales and caused the company to be unable to pay interest on a set of bonds issued in 1996, prompting a filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[44] Most of the Benedek stations, including WMTV, were sold to Gray Television in 2002.[45] The station discontinued analog broadcasting on February 17, 2009.[46]

In 2016, Gray built new studios for WMTV adjacent to the original facility. The new building features twice the square footage as the old studios, which were demolished for parking.[47][48][49] That same year, a new affiliation agreement between The CW and Gray resulted in the network affiliation in Madison moving to a subchannel of WMTV from WBUW.[50] In late 2023, the station rebranded from NBC 15 to WMTV 15.[51]

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WMTV[52]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
15.1 1080i 16:9 WMTVNBC NBC
15.2 720p WMTV-CW The CW
15.3 480i OUTLAW Outlaw
15.4 MeTV MeTV
15.5 STARTTV Start TV
15.6 WX WeatherNation TV

Notes

  1. ^ Promoted as one million watts, but it was not.[24]
  2. ^ The Forward Television name was retained under Wisconsin Valley when WMTV was acquired. In 1963, Bartell Road, on which WMTV's studios were located, was renamed Forward Drive.[26][27]

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WMTV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "File Application for UHF Channel Here". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. July 24, 1952. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Two More Ask TV Licenses In Madison". The Capital Times. August 22, 1952. pp. 1, 2. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Merge 2 Bids for TV Channel 33". The Capital Times. December 29, 1952. pp. 1, 2. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "FCC Grants WMFM Television Channel 33". Wisconsin State Journal. January 24, 1953. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Station WMTV Begins Testing at 5 P.M. Today". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. July 8, 1953. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "WMTV Dedication Program Telecast Tonight at 7 P. M." Wisconsin State Journal. July 19, 1953. p. 5:4. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "WKOW-TV Starts Telecasting". Wisconsin State Journal. July 9, 1953. p. 2:1. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "WMTV to Carry Shows of 3 Major Networks". Wisconsin State Journal. April 9, 1953. p. 2:5. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "WMTV Creates New Landmark". Wisconsin State Journal. July 12, 1953. p. 2:5. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "WKOW-TV Joins ABC Network". Wisconsin State Journal. September 8, 1956. p. 11. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Badger Broadcast Co. May Purchase Interest In WMTV". The Capital Times. March 7, 1956. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Madison TV Co. File Papers of Incorporation". Wisconsin State Journal. May 9, 1956. p. 2:4. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Plan to Buy WMTV Is Discontinued". The Capital Times. August 21, 1956. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Miami Group Buys WMTV: FCC Approval of Sale Expected". Wisconsin State Journal. May 29, 1957. pp. 1, 2. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "WMTV Price Is $350,000". The Capital Times. June 29, 1957. p. 5. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Pact Subject to FCC Consent: Group Agrees to Purchase WMTV". The Capital Times. March 5, 1958. pp. 1, 4. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Purchase of WMTV Approved". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. April 3, 1958. p. 1, 4. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "WMTV Starts on Channel 15". Wisconsin State Journal. October 26, 1961. p. 2:5. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Valley Corp. Buys Madison TV Station". The Daily Tribune. December 13, 1962. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "WMTV's Sale by Lee Group Is Approved". Wisconsin State Journal. May 16, 1963. p. 16. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Richard Dudley Is TV Firm Officer; Replaces Late George T. Frechette". The Daily Tribune. September 30, 1963. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "WMTV Boosts Output Power". The Capital Times. September 11, 1965. p. 3. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "WMTV" (PDF). Television Factbook. 1967. p. 790-b. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  25. ^ "TV Corporation Has New Name". Wausau Daily Herald. Wausau, Wisconsin. January 9, 1967. p. 7. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "An Ordinance, Ordinance No. 1533". Wisconsin State Journal. September 3, 1963. p. 2:5. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Legal Notice". Wisconsin State Journal. October 13, 1965. p. 2:3. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Holsendolph, Ernest (January 1, 1979). "UHF's Broadcasting Struggles". The New York Times. pp. 29, 30. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  29. ^ Berger, Tom (January 3, 1985). "New Forward owner expanding: Wesray must sell WSAW or Marshfield paper". Wausau Daily Herald. Wausau, Wisconsin. p. 3. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ Carr, Debra (December 26, 1980). "Nielsen Company surveys market: WMTV news ranked top in Dane County". The Capital Times. p. 79. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ Carr, Debra (January 16, 1984). "Local TV news shows vie for lead in ratings". The Capital Times. p. 35. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ Egerton, Brooks (December 20, 1986). "Tight budgets, low ratings ax local TV programming". The Capital Times. p. 16. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ Egerton, Brooks (October 16, 1987). "Hanson takes Vegas job". The Capital Times. p. 35. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ Egerton, Brooks (August 26, 1985). "WMTV's Paula Dilworth takes Vegas job". The Capital Times. pp. 21, 23. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ Egerton, Brooks (September 7, 1985). "In swirl of changing faces: 15's Leonard takes the heat". The Capital Times. p. 7. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ Storch, Charles (October 16, 1987). "Adams agrees to buy 5 Wesray TV stations". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. 3:4. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ Riddle, Jennifer (June 12, 1991). "Ch. 15 owner defaults on $283 million". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 6B. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ Wendling, Patrice (August 29, 1991). "WISC-TV ratings coup impressive". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. pp. 1D, 8D. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ^ "Brissette forms BBC; acquires eight TV's" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 2, 1992. p. 41. ProQuest 1014738693. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  40. ^ Rathbun, Elizabeth (January 1, 1996). "Park's place in TV, newspapers" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. p. 29. ProQuest 225351487. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  41. ^ Alesia, Tom (April 4, 1996). "Madison gives top ratings to 'ER,' WISC news". The Capital Times. p. Rhythm 6. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ^ Alesia, Tom (September 5, 1996). "Olympics help NBC 15 win the gold in TV ratings". The Capital Times. p. Rhythm 8. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ^ Becker, Dave (June 12, 1998). "Waging weather wars". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 1D, 4D. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ^ McClellan, Steve; Trigoboff, Dan (April 1, 2002). "Benedek couldn't hang on". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  45. ^ Richgels, Jeff (April 3, 2002). "Channel 15 gets new owner; staff called happy with deal". The Capital Times. pp. 1A, 5A. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  46. ^ Rickert, Chris (February 15, 2009). "Channel 15 to turn off analog Monday". Wisconsin State Journal. p. D3. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  47. ^ "NBC15 breaks ground for new building". NBC15. February 10, 2016. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  48. ^ Malewski, Todd D. (November 17, 2015). "Channel 15 stands to nearly double its square footage in new building". The Capital Times. Archived from the original on December 21, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  49. ^ "Workflow Efficiency Key At Gray's New WMTV". TVNewsCheck. August 3, 2017. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  50. ^ Kuperberg, Jonathan (December 15, 2015). "Gray TV, The CW Ink Affiliate Agreement Extension, Add 4 New Stations". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  51. ^ Ellis, Jon (December 29, 2023). "Weekly Log: Two Twin Cities Radio Veterans Pass (Updated)". Northpine.
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External links

Broadcast television in southern Wisconsin, including Madison and Janesville
Major television network affiliates and independent stations in the state of Wisconsin
Gray Television
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