 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | TV-30 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | Religiousindependent |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | VCY America, Inc. |
| WVCY-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | January 11, 1983 (42 years ago) (1983-01-11) |
Former channel number(s) | |
| FamilyNet (until 2009) | |
Call sign meaning | Wisconsin Voice of Christian Youth |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 72342 |
| ERP | 1,000kW |
| HAAT | 316 m (1,037 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°5′26″N87°53′50″W / 43.09056°N 87.89722°W /43.09056; -87.89722 |
| Translator(s) | W26EE-DWittenberg |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WVCY-TV (channel 30) is areligiousindependent television station inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, owned by locally basedVCY America, Inc. The station's studios are located on West Vliet Street in Milwaukee. Through achannel sharing agreement withFoxowned-and-operated stationWITI (channel 6), WVCY-TV transmits using WITI's spectrum from an antenna on East Capitol Drive (just north ofWIS 190) inShorewood.
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The station first signed on the air on January 11, 1983; it has operated as a religious station since its sign-on.
On May 23, 1994, Fox signed anaffiliation deal withNew World Communications to shift the network affiliations of the company's stations in 12 markets to Fox starting in the fall of 1994.[4] Locally, the deal included WITI, which would switch fromCBS to Fox in December 1994. With only months to find an affiliate, CBS approached WVCY's owners to purchase the station and make it anowned-and-operated station of that network. Offers to affiliate with the network had already been turned down byNBC affiliateWTMJ-TV (channel 4),ABC affiliateWISN-TV (channel 12, which had been affiliated with CBS from 1961 to 1977),WVTV (channel 18; which had earlier been a CBS owned-and-operated station in the 1950s),WCGV-TV (channel 24) and WJJA (channel 49, nowWMLW-TV).
The board of VCY America, along with station founder and VCY America chairmanVic Eliason, decided to reject the offer and retain ownership of the station. Eliason cited a number of factors. He claimed CBS' $10 million offer was "unreasonably low". He added that on a more fundamental level, he believed selling to a commercial operator, let alone a commercial network, "would be an act of consummate irresponsibility and a betrayal of trust for all our faithful supporters who believe in Christian family values", especially given that channel 30 billed itself as "an alternative to the swill that passes as network television".[5] Even if CBS had purchased the station, the situation would have been immediately complicated as WVCY-TV then transmitted from WCGV's tower under anon-compete clause that precluded WVCY's operation as a commercial station in exchange for transmitting from the site, and would have required an immediate transmitter move or pay-out to WCGV's owners to nullify the clause.[6]
Ultimately, CBS aligned itself with then low-profile independentWDJT-TV (channel 58), which had also initially declined an offer to affiliate with CBS, just days before WITI switched to Fox.
Although WVCY is licensed as a commercial station,[7] it operates on a noncommercial basis. Rather than accept advertising, VCY America asks for viewer support through donations via the station, purchases through its religious bookstore inWauwatosa and associated online store, and fundraising appeals on VCY America Radio. Unlike other religious television stations, it does not carrycontemporary Christian music programming (to the point of dropping any program that uses it for theme music), orsigns and wonderstelevangelists (such asBenny Hinn). The station is unique for carrying a top-of-the-hour textweather forecast as part of itsstation identification, a practice long discontinued by most commercial television stations.
The station aired programming from FamilyNet (forerunner to the current dayCowboy Channel) from before the network's 2009 purchase by a company owned by televangelistRobert A. Schuller and subsequent 2013 conversion into a secular classic television and rural living service by theRural Media Group, reflecting that network's previously religious roots; FamilyNet shows and films airing on WVCY show the network's pre-2008 logo, suggesting they were recorded before then and retained in the station's tape archive for later use. VCY America's radio network has also discontinued programs or affiliations in the past that have changed to more "mainstream" religious views or have financial appeals that go beyond the conservative views of VCY. WVCY-TV also carries a disclaimer onCBN News broadcasts stating that CBN's views are not those of VCY America. A limited amount of programming from theChristian Television Network also airs on the station.
WVCY also carries some government hearings and presidential speeches, along with simulcasts of state political debates and theState of the State address produced by the state'spublic television organizations, and is the last commercial station in the state to continue to program weekday afternoon children's programming, a block that includes a rotation of series includingDavey and Goliath,Becky's Barn andSunshine Factory.
BesidesWisconsin Public Television's stations during school recesses and vacations, WVCY was the final commercial station in the state until the start of 2010 tosign off the air on a nightly basis.[8]
| License | Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WITI | 6.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WITI-DT | Fox |
| 6.2 | 480i | ANT-TV | Antenna TV | ||
| 6.3 | HSN | HSN | |||
| 6.4 | FOX WX | Fox Weather | |||
| WVCY-TV | 30.1 | 720p | WVCY-TV | Religious independent |
WVCY-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 30, on February 17, 2009, the original date on which full-power television stations in the United States were totransition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcasts on its pre-transition UHF channel 22,[10][11] using virtual channel 30. For fifteen years after, the station continued to broadcast instandard definition format, meaning current-day programming filmed in widescreen high-definition was carried in a reducedletterboxed format.
On April 13, 2017, the results of theFCC's 2016spectrum auction were announced, with VCY America successfully selling the UHF spectrum for WVCY for $76.3 million. WVCY did not leave the air, arranging to share a channel with thenTribune Broadcasting-ownedWITI (now aFox-owned station), with the existing WVCY schedule retained under their existing numbering and identification as channel 30.1 and being associated under the WVCY calls.[12][13][14] Along with three other stations in the market, WVCY transitioned to their new arrangement on January 8, 2018. The proceeds from the spectrum sale have since been used to expand VCY's radio presence nationwide, with several station acquisitions in major markets, includingNew York, theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex,Phoenix, andAlbuquerque.
On September 25, 2024, the station began to broadcast in high definition for the first time and continues to carry no additional digital subchannels.[15]
WVCY-TV operates onetranslator in northern Wisconsin:
| City of license | Callsign | Channel | ERP | HAAT | Facility ID | Transmitter coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wittenberg | W26EE-D | 26 | 15 kW | 155 m (509 ft) | 189397 | 44°57′53.9″N89°00′18.4″W / 44.964972°N 89.005111°W /44.964972; -89.005111 (W26EE-D) |
WVCY formerly had a sister station in theGreen Bay market,Suring-licensed WSCO (channel 14), which VCY America owned from 1993 to 1997. That year, VCY sold WSCO to Paxson Communications (the forerunner toIon Media Networks) in order to concentrate on its Milwaukee operations[16] (that station is nowWCWF, which serves as Green Bay'sCW affiliate).
In 1980, VCY was granted aconstruction permit to operate a station on UHF channel 43 inTomah under the callsign WVCX-TV,[17] which would serve theLa Crosse–Eau Claire market. However, that construction permit expired in 1985.
In 2008, VCY acquired W04CW (channel 4) inTigerton–Marion, an area located between Green Bay andWausau well outside of the Milwaukee market, which is used as a repeater of WVCY's programming. On July 18, 2012, VCY America was granted a digital broadcast license for W26EE-D (UHF 26 /virtual 30) inWittenberg, Wisconsin.[18] W04CW's license was returned for cancellation on February 5, 2019.[2]