WMKG-CD
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WMKG-CD, virtual and
UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
channel 31, is a low-powered
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to
Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expa ...
, United States. Its studios are located on Airline Road in
Norton Shores, Michigan Norton Shores is a city in Muskegon County, Michigan, Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,994 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Overview Norton Shores is located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Muske ...
near the junction of
I-96 Interstate 96 (I-96) is an east–west Interstate Highway that runs for approximately entirely within the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The western terminus is at an interchange with US Highway 31 (US 31) and Bus ...
and
US 31 U.S. Route 31 or U.S. Highway 31 (US 31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US 90/ US 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Its ...
. The station is owned by WMKG-TV, LLC.


History

WMKG-CD was founded by Bud Kelley and his family in 1989 as W40AK. It first went on the air on
April 1 Events Pre-1600 * 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held. * 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. *1081 – Alexios I Kom ...
, 1990, originally broadcasting on channel 40. The call letters were changed to WMKG-LP in 1995. It moved to channel 38 in 2004. In September 2006,
Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
cable dropped the station from its analog channel lineup to allocate more bandwidth for
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
services

Currently, the station is available on
digital cable Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previou ...
and broadcasting on 49, but displayed channel 38 through PSIP until that system malfunctioned; it currently uses channel 49 for display of its channels. The station held the LP calls until October 2009, when it acquired
Class A television service The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television (LPTV) stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" (analog) or "-CD" (digital), although very many analog -C ...
status to become WMKG-CA. Despite the station's low-power status, its location near
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
assures amplification of their signal across the lake into the
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
market within the Port Washington and Sheboygan areas (Milwaukee itself is served by low-power station
WTSJ-LD WTSJ-LD, virtual channel 38 (UHF digital channel 26), is a low-power Azteca America- owned-and-operated television station licensed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings. WTSJ-LD's transmitter is located at ...
on Channel 38). The station was issued its license for digital operation on October 10, 2014, at which point it changed its call sign to WMKG-CD. The station has had several minor network affiliations throughout its history, and currently affiliates with The Family Channel; this is a duplicative affiliation within the Grand Rapids market, as
WLLA WLLA (channel 64) is a religious independent television station licensed to Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, serving West Michigan. Owned by Christian Faith Broadcast, Inc., it is a sister station to WGGN-TV in Sandusky, Ohio. WLLA's studios ...
(channel 64) also carries that network over their main subchannel. According to an MLive.com article dated December 25, 2016, "Channel 49.1 -- channel 397 on cable -- broadcasts family-oriented shows and Muskegon programs including churches and square dancing. Channel 49.2 broadcasts religious music. Channel 49.3 shows movies. Channel 49.4 has a western theme."


Original programming

The station has produced original programming from the start. Programs include "Dial A Bargain", a show where a viewer calls in for gift certificates, and "Muskegon Today", a local program dealing with issues involving the city. Other programs include "Table Talk", "The Doorstop Nation", and "TV BINGO" For most of its history, the station also had a local newscast airing at 5:30 PM. However, it is no longer on the air.


Station sale after a decade

In October 2007, Kelley Enterprises put the station up for sale, including the license and equipment, citing that the owner is retiring and has plans to move south. As of 2008, the station's license is still in Kelley's name, per FCC records. Late 2009 the station was sold to BAG LLC of New York and the sale was approved by the FCC., but BAG LCC of New York failed to show up to the closing. In 2009 the station was placed back on the market. In December 2016, the station was for sale on
Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, Gig worker, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark ...
; the owner was quoted by MLive.com as saying "It's past my retirement time." Kelley was finally successful in selling the station in June 2017, when he sold it to Steve Kanzer, the principal of VRVC, LLC, a virtual
venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
fund and a western Michigan native residing in Florida with a summer lakeside home in Norton Shores. Kanzer plans to update the station's operations to digital standards, along with using its post-spectrum move to channel 31 to its advantage, rebranding it in connection with
U.S. Highway 31 U.S. Route 31 or U.S. Highway 31 (US 31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US 90/ US 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Its ...
, which runs up the Lake Michigan shoreline, including an older style "31" highway shield as its new logo.


Digital channels

The station's digital signal is
multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:


References


External links


Official websiteOfficial website
* {{Other Michigan Stations MKG-CD Muskegon County, Michigan Television channels and stations established in 1990 Low-power television stations in the United States 1990 establishments in Michigan