WTSJ-LP

WTSJ-LP
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
United States
Branding Azteca Milwaukee
Slogan Contigo
Channels Analog: 38 (UHF)
Digital: 38 (UHF)
Affiliations
Owner DTV America
(DTV America Corporation)
First air date December 12, 2006 (2006-12-12)
Former callsigns WBWT-LP (2006–2015)
Former affiliations MundoFox/MundoMax (2012–2016)
Escape (2016, on DT3)
Transmitter power 25 kW (analog)
13.4 kW (digital)
Height 198 m
Class LPTV
Facility ID 56213
Transmitter coordinates 43°05′46″N 87°54′15″W / 43.09611°N 87.90417°W / 43.09611; -87.90417
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS

WTSJ-LP, UHF channel 38, is a Azteca-affiliated digital television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The station is owned by DTV America Corporation. The station's studio facilities are located at 1136 South 108th Street in West Allis, and its transmitter is located at the Milwaukee Public Television tower on North Humboldt Boulevard in Milwaukee's Estabrook Park neighborhood.

History

Early license establishment

What is now WTSJ-LP has its origins in a construction permit for a low-power television station on channel 55 in Ludington, Michigan, which the Federal Communications Commission granted to Richard L. Bourassa on May 31, 1995[1] and issued the call sign W55CG.[2] Bourassa sold the station to MS Communications on November 16, 2000.[3] A month later, MS filed for a license to cover the permit, which was granted on February 16, 2001;[4] on May 24, the company obtained a construction permit to move the station to channel 53 in Milwaukee[5] as W53CC.[2] The channel 53 permit was subsequently replaced with one for operation on channel 38 (as W38DT[6]) on April 14, 2004.[7] MS Communications had plans to establish wireless cable networks, but never broadcast anything other than test patterns on its stations.[8]

Bustos era with Azteca

Bustos Media purchased the station from MS Communications for $1,350,000 on June 9, 2006.[9][10] The previous day, MS shut down the W55CG facility in Ludington in preparation for the completion of the sale.[11] Bustos changed the call letters to WBWT-LP on August 30, 2006,[2] built the channel 38 facility in Milwaukee, began airing a test pattern in September 2006,[12] and officially signed WBWT on the air on December 12. The station originally served as an affiliate of Azteca América and also initially carried a video simulcast of the morning program from sister radio station WDDW (104.7 FM). It expected to add additional local programming to serve Milwaukee's Hispanic community.[13] Time Warner Cable began carrying the station throughout its service area in October 2009 on digital cable channel 807.[14]

Bustos filed for a construction permit with the FCC to build digital transmitter facilities on UHF channel 31 in 2010. In September 2010, Bustos transferred most of its licenses to Adelante Media Group as part of a settlement with its lenders.[15]

Switch to MundoFox

On July 25, 2012, Adalante announced that it had signed an affiliation agreement to switch its Azteca America affiliates to upstart Spanish-language network MundoFox, which officially launched on August 13.[16] However, WBWT-LP switched to the network two weeks earlier on August 1 during its non-advertised soft launch period. Azteca's national feed was eventually picked up by Time Warner and Charter.

Adalante sold WBWT-LP, along with KBTU-LP in Salt Lake City, to DTV America Corporation for $425,000 on July 16, 2015.[17][18] On October 20, DTV America changed the station's call letters to WTSJ-LP.[2]

DTV America era; going digital and additional networks

Around the time of the sale to DTV America, the station launched their digital signal on channel 38 via a flash cut. In addition to MundoMax on 38.1, WTSJ-LP resumed their affiliation with Azteca on 38.2, with both signals transmitting in 720p. With the move of WTSJ-LP to digital operations, it was the last station in the Milwaukee market to end analog operations. Despite ending analog operations, the station continues to utilize LP calls for the time being. Slowly, DTV America began to establish their common template of having multiple subchannel networks on one signal seen in other markets.

In December 2015, Azteca was replaced with Buzzr and the feed converted to 480p.

On May 5, 2016, the station launched a third subchannel for the Katz Broadcasting network Escape, which mainly targets women with true crime content; this is in lieu of WTMJ-TV, which through their parent company E. W. Scripps agreed to carry the network in 2015, but was unable due to lack of space for new subchannels. In June 2016 the station added QVC's "Plus" feed on Channel 38.4, duplicating the same signal found on WIWN-DT5 in the market.

In late October 2016, WTSJ again resumed carrying Azteca on their main channel, its third affiliation round with the network, as the moribund MundoMax network began to wind down operations; in addition a fifth subchannel carrying the The Country Network was added, returning that network to Milwaukee after a year-long absence after WCGV-TV dropped it from their second subchannel for Comet, along with the AccuWeather Channel on an oddly-mapped seventh subchannel (the sixth is currently unmapped). Escape was also unexpectedly pulled from the station, leaving that subchannel running with paid programming temporarily.

References

  1. ↑ "Application Search Details (1)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Application Search Details (2)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Application Search Details (3)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Application Search Details (4)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  6. ↑ McDonald, J.R. (February 24, 2005). "Comprehensive Technical Exhibit" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Application Search Details (5)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  8. ↑ Morlino, Robert (February 24, 2005). "Two hundred channels and nothing on – literally". Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  9. ↑ "APPLICATION FOR TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF A CORPORATE LICENSEE OR PERMITTEE, OR FOR ASSIGNMENT OF LICENSE OR PERMIT OF TV OR FM TRANSLATOR STATION OR LOW POWER TELEVISION STATION". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. March 20, 2006. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2006. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. June 9, 2006. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Bustos testing low-power Spanish-language TV station" (Business Journal of Milwaukee)
  13. ↑ Bustos premieres Milwaukee Azteca America TV station, Milwaukee Business Journal, December 12, 2006.
  14. ↑ http://www.timewarnercable.com/MediaLibrary/4/141/images/documents/Lineup_MilwaukeeMetro_090409.pdf
  15. ↑ "NAP CLOSES ON BUSTOS, LAUNCHES ADELANTE". Radio Ink. September 27. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ↑ Company press release (25 July 2012). "Adelante Media Group Will Partner With MundoFox In Three Markets". Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  17. ↑ "APPLICATION FOR TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF A CORPORATE LICENSEE OR PERMITTEE, OR FOR ASSIGNMENT OF LICENSE OR PERMIT OF TV OR FM TRANSLATOR STATION OR LOW POWER TELEVISION STATION". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. March 26, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. July 17, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.

External links

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