View source for WMKE-CD

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{short description|Class A TV station in Milwaukee}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = WMKE-CD
| city                   =
| logo                   =
| branding               =
| digital                = 36 ([[UHF]])
| virtual                = 21
| subchannels            =
| translators            =
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''21.1:''' [[Jewelry Television]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner                  = CNZ Communications
| licensee               = Milwaukee Media, [[LLC]]
| location               = [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]
| country                = United States
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1985|11|p=y}}
| last_airdate           =
| callsign_meaning       = The [[city of license]] of Milwaukee, and [[General Mitchell International Airport]]'s [[IATA airport code]]
| sister_stations        =
| former_callsigns       = {{ubl|W08BY (1985–1994)|WMKE-LP (1994–2001)|WMKE-CA (2001–2015)}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 8 ([[VHF]], 1985–2000), 7 (VHF, 2000–2014)|'''Digital:''' 21 (UHF, 2015–2020)}}
| former_affiliations    = {{ubl|[[MuchMusic]] (1985–1990)|[[The Box (American TV channel)|The Box]] (1990–2001)|[[MTV2]] (2001–2006)|[[America One]] (2006–2012)|Gem Shopping Network (2012–2014)|[[Soul of the South]] (2015–2016)|[[Rev'n]] (2016–2018)|[[Quest (American TV network)|Quest]] (2018–2019)|[[NewsNet]] (2021–2022)|[[Court TV]] (2020–2022)}}
| erp                    = 15 [[Watt|kW]]
| haat                   = {{convert|126.4|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id            = 35091
| class                  = [[Class A television service|CD]]
| coordinates            = {{coord|43|5|46.2|N|87|54|15|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=WMKE}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                =
}}
'''WMKE-CD''' (channel 21) is a [[low-power broadcasting#Television|low-power]], [[Class A television station]] in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], United States.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=print_station&facility_id=35091 | title=Wmke-Cd Milwaukee, Wi }}</ref> Owned by CNZ Communications, it has studios on West Stratton Drive in suburban [[New Berlin, Wisconsin|New Berlin]] and a transmitter at the [[Milwaukee PBS]] tower on Milwaukee's northeast side.
==History==
The station first signed on the air as W08BY in November 1985, broadcasting on VHF channel 8 under the ownership of [[Dothan, Alabama]]–based broadcaster [[Charles Woods (Alabama)|Charles Woods]]. It offered a mix of locally produced programming, [[public domain]] movies and television series, and [[music video]]s, with the rest of its broadcast day filled by programming from the Canadian music video channel [[MuchMusic]]. Woods sold the station to KM Communications in 1990; the same year MuchMusic programming was dropped, and replaced with the viewer request music network [[The Box (American TV channel)|The Box]]. After The Box was acquired by [[Viacom (1952–2005)|Viacom]] in 2001, the station became an [[MTV2]] affiliate with some programming in [[Korean language|Korean]] (the owners of KM Communications were [[Korean American]]s). In August 2000, WMKE moved to VHF channel 7 to allow for [[PBS]] [[network affiliate#Member stations|member station]] [[WMVS]] (channel 10) to operate its digital signal on channel 8.
As an analog station, the station's transmitter was located atop the [[Hilton Milwaukee City Center]] in downtown Milwaukee (which was previously used by [[WVTV]], channel 18, and [[WDJT-TV]], channel 58, before both stations moved their transmitter facilities to Milwaukee's northeast side). The station's signal was directed north from that site to prevent interference with the former main digital signal of [[WLS-TV]] in [[Chicago]] (which broadcasts on [[virtual channel]] 7 and used that allocation until 2012 to carry the station inner-city after a move of the main signal to digital channel 44), and was localized to within [[Milwaukee County]].
In 2006, WMKE-CA dropped MTV2 as well as its Korean programming and became an affiliate of [[America One]] (the network had previously been affiliated with WMLW-CA—channel 41, now [[WBME-CD]]—and its forerunner low-power station W65BT had previously carried the network until 2002). In October 2012, WMKE-CA affiliated with the [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]-based Gem Shopping Network. Throughout all of this, the only pay TV carriage obtained by the station was over [[AT&T U-Verse]] on their channel 7 throughout southeastern Wisconsin (since removed upon the affiliation with OnTV4U). [[Time Warner Cable]] and [[Charter Communications|Charter]] have never carried the station on their systems.
The station had a [[construction permit]] to operate a low-power digital signal on UHF channel 20. This permit expired on May 21, 2012, with KM Communications later re-filing to construct a digital transmitter facility on UHF channel 21.
In July 2014, the station was taken dark for financial reasons, likely due to fines from the FCC resulting from the station's lack of updates to both its [[public file]] and [[E/I|educational and informational programming]] reporting file, the latter of which had not had the public file components updated for {{frac|3|1|2}} years; this resulted in a total fine of $20,000, with an appeal of the amount for financial purposes denied as the FCC determined that WMKE-CA and Chicago sister station [[WOCK-CD]] were under the same ownership and had the financial ability to pay the fine.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Memorandum Opinion and Order in the matter of: KM LPTV of Milwaukee, LLC|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=May 28, 2014|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=45842|access-date=July 9, 2014}}</ref>
On July 30, 2014, the sale of WMKE-CA was announced for $2.5 million to [[LocusPoint Networks]], which is known for purchasing television stations as part of the FCC's upcoming spectrum incentive auction.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/78090/locuspoint-buys-lps-in-milwaukee-erie|title=LocusPoint Buys LPs In Milwaukee, Erie|date=July 30, 2014|publisher=TVNewsCheck|access-date=July 30, 2014}}</ref> In January 2015, the station returned to the air on its digital channel 21 allocation from the traditional Milwaukee tower farm. It now holds the new calls WMKE-CD, as an affiliate of the [[Soul of the South Network]]. The station's digital signal is now unrestricted and fully covers the core Milwaukee metro area, including the [[Washington County, Wisconsin|Washington County]], [[Waukesha County]] and [[Ozaukee County]] suburbs. The station at first utilized virtual channel technology to remain on channel 7, but due to multiple issues with the system, eventually decided to use their physical digital channel 21 to identify their channel instead.
Due to Soul of the South's various financial and technical issues which eventually resulted in it ending operations, WMKE eventually picked up [[Luken Communications]]' automotive-focused [[Rev'n]] network in January 2016. On April 13, 2017, the [[FCC]] announced the results of the 2016 [[Spectrum reallocation#Broadcast incentive auction|spectrum auction]]; WMKE-CD did not sell any spectrum. Shortly thereafter, LocusPoint announced the sale of WMKE-CD to the Milwaukee Media subsidiary of CNZ Communications, which already owned [[WIWN]] (channel 68) in the market (the station was sold in 2024).
On February 24, 2018, the [[paid programming]] schedule of [[OnTV4U]] formerly seen on WIWN-DT3 was moved onto WMKE-CD after the launch of [[Quest (American TV network)|Quest]] on that signal.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Hey #Milwaukee we now have Quest programming available for you on channel 68.3!!!!|publisher=WIWN Facebook|url=https://www.facebook.com/WIWNTV/photos/a.269951386816669.1073741828.268034323675042/357530948058712/?type=3&theater|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref> Quest also began simulcasting on channel 21.1, displacing Rev'n. Six additional subchannels were also added to WMKE, with some repeating WIWN's channel lineup and allowing more entertainment subchannels to air on that full-power signal. At the beginning of 2020, it switched to carrying [[Court TV]], repeating programming seen on [[WTMJ-TV|WTMJ-DT5]]; after Court TV found cable coverage in the market through WTMJ sister station [[WPXE-TV|WPXE-DT3]], WMKE's primary affiliation switched to [[Jewelry Television]] (itself also repeating on WPXE's sixth subchannel as of March 27, 2023).
==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WMKE-CD<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WMKE#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WMKE|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|access-date=June 27, 2024|archive-date=June 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627235419/https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WMKE#station}}</ref>
! [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! Short name
! Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.1
| [[720p]] || rowspan=1| [[16:9]] || JTV HD || [[Jewelry Television]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.2
| rowspan=8| [[480i]] || rowspan=8| [[4:3]] || HSN2 || [[HSN|HSN2]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.3
| Majestd || {{ubl|Majestad TV|([[Spanish language|Spanish]] [[Religious broadcasting|religious]])}}
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.4
| SHOP_LC || [[Shop LC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.5
| SHOP HQ || [[ShopHQ]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.6
| QVC 2 || [[QVC2]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.7
| LATV || [[LATV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.8
| QVC OTA || [[QVC]]
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080827161216/http://milwaukee-horror-hosts.com/MilwTV.html History of Milwaukee television]
{{Milwaukee TV}}
{{Other Wisconsin Stations}}
[[Category:Television stations in Milwaukee|MKE-CD]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1985]]
[[Category:1985 establishments in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Low-power television stations in Wisconsin|MKE-CD]]
[[Category:LATV affiliates]]