WKBT-DT

WKBT-DT, virtual and VHF digital channel 8, is a dual CBS/MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, serving Western Wisconsin including the Chippewa Valley. The station is owned by Morgan Murphy Media. WKBT-DT's studios are located on South 6th Street in downtown La Crosse, and its transmitter is located on Silver Creek Road in Galesville, Wisconsin.

WKBT-DT
La Crosse/Eau Claire, Wisconsin
United States
CityLa Crosse, Wisconsin
ChannelsDigital: 8 (VHF)
Virtual: 8 (PSIP)
BrandingNews 8 Now
SloganOur Community. Your Station.
Programming
Affiliations8.1: CBS
8.2: MyNetworkTV
8.3: Ion Television
8.4: Dabl
8.5: QVC
8.6: HSN
Ownership
OwnerMorgan Murphy Media
(QueenB Television, LLC)
Sister stationsMadison: WISC-TV/TVW
History
First air dateAugust 8, 1954 (1954-08-08)
Former channel number(s)Analog:
8 (VHF, 1954–2009)
Digital:
41 (UHF, 2003–2009)
Former affiliationsSecondary:
ABC (1954–1970)
DuMont (1954–1955)
NBC (1954–1958)
DT2: UPN (2006)
Call sign meaningFormer TV sibling of WKBH Radio, which shared ownership with a music store that sold Kimball pianos (the store's slogan: Kimball Brings Happiness)
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID74424
ERP25.7 kW
HAAT464.9 m (1,525 ft)
Transmitter coordinates44°5′28″N 91°20′17″W
Links
Public license informationProfile
LMS
Websitewww.news8000.com

History

WKBT signed-on August 8, 1954 as a sister station to WKBH radio (AM 1410, now WIZM). In the call sign, the "T" for "television" replaced the "H" to differentiate the stations. It originally carried programming from all four major networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, and DuMont) but has always been a primary CBS affiliate. It lost DuMont after that network shut down in 1956 and lost NBC in 1958 after La Crosse and Eau Claire were collapsed into a single market. WKBT then shared ABC with NBC affiliate WEAU-TV (channel 13, based in Eau Claire) until WXOW (channel 19) signed-on from La Crosse in 1970.[1]

On April 16, 1965, during the worst of the famous 1965 flood, the downtown La Crosse building that housed both WKBT and WKBH burned to the ground; WKBT would rebuild its current building on the same site. WKBT was sold to Harold F. Gross, a businessman from Lansing, Michigan in 1970, who owned WJIM-AM-FM-TV in that city. Gross Telecasting sold both stations to Backe Communications in 1984, following a licensing dispute involving WJIM-TV (which changed its call letters to WLNS-TV). Backe sold both stations to Young Broadcasting in 1986. In March 2000, Young sold WKBT to current owner Morgan Murphy Media (ironically, the founding original owner of WEAU-TV from 1953 to 1962).

Throughout its history, WKBT's news operation has tended to favor their news coverage on their home city of La Crosse, Winona, Minnesota, and the Coulee Region, with a secondary emphasis on Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley, ceding to WEAU's geographical strength overall in Eau Claire. However, WKBT's weather coverage is balanced equally to cover the entire market.

In the summer of 2011, WKBT became the first station in the market to air newscasts in 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen. In October 2012, WKBT was in the national spotlight when morning news anchor Jennifer Livingston addressed a viewer who criticized her about her weight and issued an on-air commentary about bullying and being a role model.[2][3]

WKBT's transmitter, in Galesville, is located about 30 miles (48 km) north of the channel 8 studios in order to provide a clear signal to the entire market. If put up next to Chicago's Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower), the WKBT transmitter would surpass the upper roof and fall just about 100 feet (30 m) short of the highest antenna on top.

On January 30, 2006, WKBT signed-on a new second digital subchannel to serve as the market's UPN affiliate. Class A station KQEG-CA had previously dropped its affiliation with the network at the end of the previous week.[4][5] As a result of UPN and The WB merging in September 2006, ABC affiliate WXOW (and its semi-satellite WQOW) gained The CW affiliation on digital subchannels. This was a result of their association with The WB through a cable-only station ("WBCZ" on channel 15) through The WB 100+. Meanwhile, WKBT-DT2 joined the other new broadcast network, MyNetworkTV.

Digital channels

On March 28, 2003, WKBT signed on its digital signal on UHF channel 41.[6] The station has been digital-only since February 17, 2009.

WKBT added digital subchannel 8.2 in January 2006, a channel originally affiliated with UPN before joining MyNetworkTV the following September; it launched with only a weekend's notice after KQEG-CD's UPN disaffiliation in the wake of the announcement of the UPN/WB merger into The CW.[7] The station would add a second subchannel, affiliated with Ion Television in January 2017; a third subchannel, affiliated with Dabl, signed on in September 2019.

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP short name Programming [8]
8.11080i16:9WKBT-HDMain WKBT-DT programming / CBS
8.2720pWKBT-DTWKBT-DT2 / MyNetworkTV
8.3480iIONIon Television
8.4Dabl
8.54:3QVC
8.6HSN

Programming

Syndicated programming on WKBT includes Entertainment Tonight, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Dr. Oz Show among others.

gollark: Well, the square around my name lights up when I talk, so no.
gollark: Yes. My microphone might be apioform.
gollark: BEE, that bot is down too?
gollark: y!play https://radio-ic.osmarks.net/128k.ogg
gollark: y!play https://radio-ic.osmarks.net/128k.ogg

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-01-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Jennifer Livingston responds to viewer letter about her weight". 2 October 2012.
  3. https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/10/overweight-tv-anchor-jennifer-livingston-responds-to-bully/
  4. Tribune, STEVE CAHALAN / La Crosse. "Local stations to compete for CW".
  5. "FindArticles.com - CBSi". findarticles.com.
  6. "LaCrosse / Wausau, WI - HDTV - AVS Forum - Home Theater Discussions And Reviews". www.avsforum.com.
  7. http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/article_0b5326c6-5c9a-5f06-8f04-3f5914934aa3.html
  8. "RabbitEars.Info". rabbitears.info.
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