WLUK-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WLUK-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan = Your Station for Balanced News and Severe Weather Coverage
station_branding = Fox 11
analog = 11 (VHF)
digital = 51 (UHF)
other_chs = W40AN Escanaba MI
affiliations = Fox
network =
founded =
airdate = 1954 [The "Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook" says September 11, while the "Television and Cable Factbook" says August 9.]
location = Green Bay, Wisconsin
callsign_meaning = LUcKy Eleven (1st Slogan)
former_callsigns = WMBV-TV (1954-1959)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = LIN TV Corporation
licensee = LIN of Wisconsin, LLC
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = NBC (1954-1959)
ABC (1959-1983)
NBC (1983-1995)
effective_radiated_power = 316 kW (analog)
500 kW (digital)
17kW (post-transition)
HAAT = 384 m (analog)
365 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 4150
coordinates = coord|44|24|32|N|87|59|30.9|W|type:landmark_scale:2000 (analog)
coord|44|20|0.5|N|87|58|55.4|W|type:landmark_scale:2000 (digital)
homepage = [http://www.myfoxnewisconsin.com/myfox/ www.myfoxnewisconsin.com]

WLUK, channel 11 is a Fox Network affiliate in Green Bay, Wisconsin, serving Northeastern Wisconsin and, through translator and cable coverage, parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. WLUK is owned by LIN TV Corporation, and has its main transmitter located on Scray's Hill in neighboring De Pere, Wisconsin.

WLUK runs a general entertainment schedule consisting of Fox Network entertainment and sports programming, syndicated shows and reruns. The station is news-intensive, running about 30 hours of news programming per week, highlighted by the local morning show "Good Day Wisconsin" and the market's only prime-time (9PM) newscast.

History

WLUK signed on the air on September 11, 1954, as WMBV-TV, an NBC affiliate licensed to Marinette. The station was owned by William Walker and largely constructed from the assets of a failed NBC affiliate in Oshkosh, WOSH-TV Channel 48. By 1959 it changed its city of license to Green Bay and its call sign to the current WLUK (for its then on-air slogan, "Lucky 11"). It also switched affiliations with WFRV-TV, resulting in WLUK becoming an ABC affiliate.

In 1960 the station was sold to Morgan Murphy Stations. Five years later, in 1965, WLUK was sold to Post Corporation, a small media chain (not affiliated with Post-Newsweek) whose properties included the nearby "Appleton Post-Crescent". In 1966, WLUK built a new studio and office building at 787 Highland Avenue (now known as Lombardi Avenue). The station dropped its nightly newscast in 1967 and did not return to regular newscasts until 1971, though it ran occasional documentaries and sports programs to fulfill FCC public-service regulations, as well as a weekly commentary by the editor of the "Post-Crescent", John Torinus. WLUK did do some local entertainment programming, including a Saturday night polka show and a daily children's cartoon show using the franchised Bozo the Clown character.

In 1983, WLUK reclaimed the NBC affiliation when WFRV switched to ABC. In 1984, Gillett Broadcasting bought WLUK, selling it in 1987 to Burhnam Broadcasting in order to become owner of the KKR stations.

In 1994, Burnham Broadcasting sold all of its stations--WLUK, KHON-TV in Honolulu, WVUE in New Orleans and WALA-TV in Mobile, Alabama--to SF Broadcasting, who in turn announced that the four stations would become Fox affiliates. (Savoy Communications and Fox shared ownership in SF Broadcasting. Originally Fox would have voting stock but this was changed prior to the stations' sale becoming final.) WLUK became a Fox affiliate in August 1995, swapping affiliations with WGBA-TV. WLUK also expanded its local news; in its first year under Fox, local news ran from 6-8 a.m., 5-6:30 p.m., and 9-10:30 p.m. Because of Fox's 1994 purchase of National Football Conference television rights, the switch made WLUK the unofficial "home" station of the Green Bay Packers, a major ratings draw. Over the last decade, Packer football games have routinely drawn an 80 percent share of the audience, far and away the highest-rated programs in the market.

SF sold WLUK along with the other three Fox affiliates in 1997 to Silver King/USA Broadcasting. Emmis Communications purchased the station along with WVUE, KHON, and WALA in 1998. LIN Broadcasting bought WLUK early in 2006 as Emmis put all of its stations up for sale.

WLUK-TV programming has been rebroadcast over a number of translators along the northern fringe of its viewing area. W40AN in Escanaba, Michigan, which replaced W72AJ, is the only one left in operation, viewable around the communities of Escanaba, Gladstone, Rapid River, and Bark River, Michigan. W75AE once served the Iron Mountain, Michigan area.

WLUK-TV is carried by Charter Communications on all its cable systems in Michigan's Upper Peninsula along with Marquette's own Fox channel WMQF-TV except in Gogebic County which is covered by KQDS-TV in Duluth, Minnesota, and Chippewa and Mackinac Counties, which are covered by translators of WFQX-TV in Cadillac, Michigan. WLUK-TV can also be seen on Charter Communications in the town of Ludington, MI, across Lake Michigan from the Green Bay area.

On May 18, 2007, LIN TV announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives that could result in the sale of the company. [http://www.lintv.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=298&Itemid=114]

On June 4, 2007, WLUK introduced a new website, based on the "MyFox" O&O look which has been licensed from Fox Television Stations Group's interactive division. The other LIN-owned Fox stations---WNAC, WVBT, WALA and WUPW---have also introduced new MyFox sites, followed by KASA a month and a half later.

One day later, on June 5, WLUK replaced WGBA as the official provider of weather updates for Midwest Communications radio stations in Green Bay/Fox Cities and Sheboygan. FOX 11 Severe Weather Lab updates can be heard on WIXX, WNCY, WNFL, WOZZ, WROE, WTAQ, WZBY, WBFM, WHBL, WXER, and WHBZ.

Internet availability

The station also provides some of its material over the Internet, as it has [http://youtube.com/user/wluk its own page] for viewing some of its content on YouTube. They also reiterate their slogan, "Your online media source for balanced news and severe weather coverage," General Manager Jay Zollar invites comments and criticism of the station's newscasts via email with a pre-taped message at the close of all of the station's newscasts.

Digital television

WLUK currently carries their digital signal over Channel 51. When television stations are required to cease analog transmission in February 2009, WLUK will broadcast their digital signal on Channel 11, their current VHF channel. WLUK does not currently air any subchannels on its digital signal.

Retransmission Controversies

Until April 2008, WLUK was the only station in the market to not allow its digital signal to be carried by any local cable system or satellite television provider, a stance which dates back to Emmis Communications' policies against unpaid compensation for DT signals with their stations. Station officials, including Vice President and General Manager Jay Zollar, vehemently and publicly defended their position on this matter, both in a [http://www.myfoxnewisconsin.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=3154896 policy statement on their website] and in direct e-mail responses to viewers. WLUK, and in turn LIN TV (which decided to continue following the Emmis policies for their acquired stations) maintained that cable operators require viewers to rent a digital cable terminal at a " [http://www.myfoxnewisconsin.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=3154896 significant additional charge] " to the subscriber from which WLUK receives no compensation, although HD signals on cable systems are also available directly into a television at no extra charge via QAM tuning.

On March 13, 2008, LIN Television and Dish Network [http://www.sys-con.com/read/518786.htm announced a deal] for high-definition retransmission, even though Dish Network had yet to launch local high definition channels in the Green Bay market. After [http://www.foxcitieshd.com/node/623 announcing] that Green Bay's local HD channels would be available in May 2008, Dish Network [http://www.foxcitieshd.com/node/664 surprised viewers] on April 16, 2008 by offering them early. WLUK also confirmed availability on Dish Network [http://www.myfoxnewisconsin.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=6323427 on their website] . WLUK HD is currently available on Dish Network channel 5163.

On June 9, 2008, LIN Television [http://www.foxcitiestv.com/node/866 announced a deal] with satellite operator DirecTV, which would include both analog and high-definition versions of WLUK, after holding out since the launch of HD channels by DirecTV in Green Bay on November 21, 2006.

On June 4, 2008, LIN and Charter Communications had been in retransmission negotiations that had not been going well, suggesting that the station would not be carried over Charter beginning on July 1. On June 11, 2008 however, Charter and LIN [http://www.foxcitiestv.com/node/879 had announced] that they had come to terms on a new agreement, and WLUK-DT will soon be carried on Charter systems in northeast Wisconsin [http://connect.charter.com/cas/Portal/content/SETs/2008/june/2500WLUKTV.aspx?u=null%40email.net&a=View&s=12482&b=812] .

One day after coming to an agreement with Charter, LIN [http://www.foxcitiestv.com/node/885 announced a retransmission deal] with Comcast on June 12, 2008, allowing that company's Manitowoc system to carry the digital signal.

AT&T, which announced a [http://www.foxcitiestv.com/node/895 Northeast Wisconsin launch] of its U-Verse television and Internet services for June 30, 2008, [http://www.foxcitiestv.com/node/895 intends to carry] all local channels in standard-definition and high definition, including WLUK-DT.

Early on the morning of October 3, 2008, the signal of WLUK and other LIN-owned stations nationwide were pulled from Time Warner Cable systems, after Time Warner and LIN TV failed to reach agreement on a new contract. Both sides said that negotations would continue, and that terms of the discussions would be confidential. In the interim, Time Warner Cable offices in the Green Bay-Appleton market provided antennas to customers who wished to view WLUK over-the-air. [ [http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081006/GPG0101/810060519/1978 "Talks continue in TV dispute"] , from "Green Bay Press-Gazette", October 6, 2008]

FOX11 News

Anchors

*Pete Petoniak - Good Day Wisconsin, 5a-9a
*Rachel Manek - Good Day Wisconsin, 5a-9a
*Amy Hanten - Living with Amy, 9a-10a
*Tom Milbourn - Weeknights, 5p and 9p
*Michelle Melby - Weeknights, 5p and 9p
*Angela Kelly - Weekends, Good Day Wisconsin
*Doug Higgins - Weekends, Good Day Wisconsin
*Mark Leland - Weekends, 5p and 9p
*Laura Smith - Weekends, 5p and 9p

Reporters

*Cara Artman
*Dr. Alan Cherkasky - Medical Breakthroughs
*Cameron Clark
*Becky DeVries
*Lou Hillman
*Robert Hornacek
*Scott Hurley
*Monica Landeros
*Angela Kelly
*Evan Perrault
*Alison Struve
*Lindsay Veremis

"Severe Weather Lab"

*Pete Petoniak - Good Day Wisconsin 5a-9a - Director of Meteorology
*Patrick Powell - 5PM & 9PM - Weeknights - Chief Meteorologist
*Doug Higgins - Weekends

"SportsCenter"

*Drew Smith - Sports Director (also a sideline reporter during NFL on Fox Packer home games)
*Tom Ristow
*Paige Pearson

Past Personalities

* Terri Barr (now works for WISC-TV in Madison, Wisconsin)
* John Chandik (retired)
* Jack Jones
* Glen Loyd (now spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection)
* John Maino (now works for WNFL
* Jason Pool (died at age 30 of brain cancer on August 31, 2001) [http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Pool_Jason_1718216.aspx] )
* Brad Spakowitz (now works for WBAY-TV)
* Marti Spittell-Ziegelbauer (now a consultant for Frank Magid & Associates in Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
* Heather Surat (now works for WAOW-TV in Wausau, Wisconsin)
* Ray Wheeler (retired)

Nationally known alumni

*Bill Weir - Good Morning America Weekend Edition host,
*Stanley Siegel - Station's news "host" in 1971-72, hosted local talk show in New York later in the decade.
*Kyra Phillips - Co-host of CNN's afternoon edition of CNN Newsroom.

News Themes

* "Hello News" by Gari Communications (1983 to 1985)
* "Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence" by Lalo Schifrin (1985 to 1990)
* "News Series 2000" and "News Series 2000 Plus" by Gari Communications (1990 to 1995)
* "Fox '95" by Stephen Arnold Music (1995 to 2001)
* "News Matrix" by Stephen Arnold Music (2001 to 2008)
* "Viral" by 360 Music (2008 to present)

External links

* [http://www.myfoxnewisconsin.com/myfox/ MyFox Northeast Wisconsin]
* [http://www.myfoxnewisconsin.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=3154896&version=6&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=5.1.1 WLUK FOX 11 and the HD Position]
* [http://www.foxcitiestv.com/wluk WLUK profile on FoxCitiesTV.com]
*TVQ|WLUK-TV
**TVQ|W40AN
*BIA|WLUK|TV|TV

References