WMYS-LD
 | |
| South Bend, Indiana United States | |
|---|---|
| Branding | My Michiana |
| Slogan | South Bend's MyNetworkTV |
| Channels |
Digital: 39 (UHF) Virtual: 69 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels |
69.1 MyNetworkTV 69.2 Telemundo 69.3 Decades |
| Affiliations | MyNetworkTV (2006–present) |
| Owner |
Weigel Broadcasting (Weigel Broadcasting Company) |
| First air date | December 2, 1987 |
| Call letters' meaning | W MYNetworkTV South Bend |
| Sister station(s) | WBND-LD, WCWW-LD |
| Former callsigns |
W12BK (1987) W69BT (1987–1999) WMWB-LP (1999–2002) WRDY-LP (2002–2004) WAAT-LP (2004–2006) WCWW-LP (March 2006) WMYT-LP (March–April 2006) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 12 (VHF, 1987) 69 (UHF, 1987–2010) Digital: 23 (UHF, 2007–2012) |
| Former affiliations |
WCIU-TV/Univision translator (1987–1995) WBND-LP/ABC translator (1995) The WB (1995–2002) Independent (2002–2006) |
| Transmitter power | 15 kW |
| Height | 71431 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°36′54.9″N 86°11′6.6″W / 41.615250°N 86.185167°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | MyMichianaTV.com |
WMYS-LD, virtual channel 69 (UHF digital channel 39), is a low-powered MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station located in South Bend, Indiana, United States. The station is owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting, and is sister to ABC affiliate WBND-LD (channel 57) and CW affiliate WCWW-LD (channel 25). All three stations share studios located near the Indiana Toll Road on Generations Drive in northeastern South Bend; WMYS's transmitter is located just off the St. Joseph Valley Parkway in the southern portion of South Bend.
The station can also be seen on Comcast Xfinity channel 269 and AT&T U-verse channel 69.
History
The station first signed on the air on December 2, 1987 as W12BK, broadcasting on VHF channel 12; later that month, it moved to UHF channel 69 and accordingly changed its calls to W69BT. It originally operated as a translator of Chicago sister station WCIU-TV (WMYS currently carries Cubs and White Sox games that are carried on WCIU through its broadcast partner WGN-TV, as well as WCIU's morning news/lifestyle program You & Me This Morning). On October 18, 1995, W58BT (channel 58, now WBND-LD on channel 57) became the South Bend market's new ABC affiliate, after full-power WSJV (channel 28) ended its affiliation with that network to join Fox.[1] Due to W58BT's low-power signal which could not reach the entire market, Weigel converted W69BT into a translator of W58BT to reach areas that could not receive an adequate signal.
However, within a couple of months, channel 69 became an affiliate of The WB; it later changed its callsign to WMWB-LP (standing for "Michiana's WB") in 1999. Channel 69 lost the WB affiliation in 2002, when the network moved to sister station WRDY-LP (channel 25, now CW affiliate WCWW-LD), which also adopted the WMWB-LP callsign previously held by channel 69, which then adopted channel 25's former WRDY-LP call letters. It later changed its calls three more times: first to WAAT-LP in 2004, then briefly to WCWW-LP in March 2006.
That month, Weigel reached an affiliation deal to affiliate channel 69 with MyNetworkTV, a network launched as a partnership between Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television; in accordance to the new affiliation, it changed its calls to WMYT-LP before modifying it to WMYS-LP in April 2006. WMYS affiliated with MyNetworkTV when it launched on September 5, 2006. Until 2011 when Me-TV launched on WBND-LD2, the station carried classic television series and retro commercials associated with Me-TV's stations in Chicago, though without the branding due to its network affiliation and a sizeable amount of recent first-run programming within the station's schedule. Currently it carries a sizable amount of current-day programming, though it retains The Andy Griffith Show.
In early August 2008, Weigel Broadcasting agreed to sell all three of its South Bend stations, including WMYS, to Schurz Communications, the longtime owner of the local CBS affiliate WSBT-TV, for undisclosed terms.[2] However, in the absence of action by the Federal Communications Commission, the deal was called off in August 2009.[3]
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WMYS-SD | Main WMYS-LD programming / MyNetworkTV |
| 69.2 | 480i | TMDO | Simulcast of WYTU-LD / Telemundo | |
| 69.3 | DECADES | Decades |
In January 2008, the station began to be carried on digital cable channel 269 on Comcast's South Bend system.
Analog-to-digital conversion
On September 14, 2007, WMYS and its sister stations began low-power digital broadcasts. On November 30, 2010, WMYS turned off its analog signal on channel 69 because of a power supply failure, although the station remained available on its digital companion signal and on digital cable.[5][6] The station had a construction permit obtained by the FCC to move its analog signal to UHF channel 34, since channel 69 is an out-of-core allotment for post-digital transition television broadcasting and low-power television stations are currently under no obligation to cease analog broadcasts. On April 16, 2012, the FCC granted a construction permit for WMYS-LD to move its digital frequency from channel 23 to channel 34 (its former proposed analog allotment and formerly occupied by the analog signal of WNIT).[7][8] On August 19, WMYS-LD swapped digital frequencies with WBND-LD, with WMYS taking WBND's proposed channel 39 allotment and WBND taking the channel 34 allotment.
Programming
Syndicated programming featured on the station includes Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Rules of Engagement, Everybody Loves Raymond, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and That '70s Show.
References
- ↑ "Rocky Start for New South Bend ABC Affiliate". Times-Union. October 19, 1995. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ↑ WSBT Purchases Three Low-Power Stations, Broadcasting & Cable, August 4, 2008
- ↑ Malone, Michael; John Eggerton (August 24, 2009). "WSBT South Bend Deal Fizzles Absent FCC Action". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
- ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for WMYS
- ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1410918&Service=TX&Form_id=910&Facility_id=71426
- ↑ http://www.facebook.com/ABC57/posts/170509106303149
- ↑ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101488936&formid=346&fac_num=71426
- ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1488936.pdf