WLAX

WLAX
Channels
BrandingFox 25/48
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
November 10, 1986
(37 years ago) (1986-11-10)
Former call signs
WWQI (CP, 1982–1985)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 25 (UHF, 1986–2009)
  • Digital: 17 (UHF, 2004–2020)
Call sign meaning
La Crosse, with "Crosse" represented as an X
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID2710
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT295 m (968 ft)
Transmitter coordinates43°48′16″N 91°22′19.8″W / 43.80444°N 91.372167°W / 43.80444; -91.372167
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wiproud.com
Satellite station
WEUX
CityChippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Channels
Programming
Affiliations
History
First air date
February 9, 1993
(31 years ago) (1993-02-09)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 48 (UHF, 1993–2009)
  • Digital: 49 (UHF, 2006–2019)
Call sign meaning
"Eau Claire Fox"
Technical information[2]
Facility ID2709
ERP600 kW
HAAT225.5 m (740 ft)
Transmitter coordinates44°57′24″N 91°40′4″W / 44.95667°N 91.66778°W / 44.95667; -91.66778 (WEUX)
Links
Public license information

WLAX (channel 25), licensed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, and WEUX (channel 48), licensed to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, are two television stations affiliated with Fox network for the La Crosse–Eau Claire market. The stations are owned by Nexstar Media Group. WLAX maintains studios at Interchange Place in La Crosse and a transmitter in La Crescent, Minnesota, while WEUX has offices on WIS 93 in Eau Claire and a transmitter southeast of Colfax.

WLAX in La Crosse went on the air in November 1986, after two sales of the permit, as the original independent station in the market. It joined Fox shortly afterward. Family Group Broadcasting, which put the station on the air, attempted to build the Eau Claire station as a satellite of WEUX, but fell into bankruptcy before it could do so. Aries Telecommunications of Green Bay bought WLAX and the then-unbuilt WEUX in 1991, with WEUX beginning broadcasting in 1993. Grant Broadcasting acquired the pair in 1996, and Nexstar acquired Grant's stations in 2014. The stations air a 9 p.m. local newscast produced by local NBC affiliate WEAU.

History

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A tan, shed-like building with a red Fox 25 W L A X - T V sign and a small tower with antennas adjacent to it, as seen from a nearby highway
The WLAX studios in La Crosse

Construction of WLAX

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Channel 25 had been assigned to La Crosse since 1966 and almost saw use in the late 1960s when two groups proposed to start a second station in the city after WKBT. Midcontinent Broadcasting Company was approved in December 1967 to build a satellite of its Madison station, WKOW-TV, in La Crosse.[3] WKOW and La Crosse radio station WKTY had both applied for channel 19, causing WKOW to shift its application to channel 25 before WKTY withdrew after the WKOW-TV grant, citing its inability to obtain network affiliation given that the WKOW station would provide La Crosse with its first full-time ABC service. WKOW then sought to move its station, WXOW-TV, back to channel 19.[4]

No party filed for channel 25 until 1980, when a group of local investors under the name Quarterview Inc. applied for channel 25.[5] While some of the same investors built local radio station WISQ (100.1 FM),[6] the permit was granted in 1982.[7] Quarterview did not build the station. It sold the permit in 1984 to TV-26 Inc., owner of WLRE-TV in Green Bay.[8] That station then filed for bankruptcy reorganization and was purchased, along with the channel 25 construction permit, by Family Group Broadcasting in 1985.[8]

Family Group handled the construction process. The call sign on the permit was changed from WWQI to WLAX; land was purchased at the La Crosse market antenna farm in La Crescent, Minnesota (though it ultimately used an existing tower[9]); and programming was purchased for the first independent station in the market.[8] After delays, WLAX signed on on November 10, 1986.[10]

Construction of WEUX

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The addition of a channel 48 station at Chippewa Falls had been planned since the mid-1980s. Pat Bushland of Bushland Radio Specialties, owner of radio station WCFW, was first to apply for the station in 1984.[11] Family Group Broadcasting then also filed for the channel in September 1986;[12] helped by its favorable comparative hearing status as not already owning a station in Chippewa Falls, it prevailed in a settlement with Bushland in 1987 and announced plans to build it as a satellite of WLAX.[13] Family Group struggled to find an antenna site. In 1988, the company switched to a proposed location near Colfax only to face rejection from the Federal Aviation Administration. Meanwhile, the company's finances were unraveling. In 1989, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Two attempts, one before and one after the bankruptcy, to sell the station group to Krypton Broadcasting fell through. In February 1990, Aries Telecommunications agreed to buy part of the company: WLAX, the WEUX construction permit, and WGBA-TV (the former WLRE-TV). However, the sale took most of the year to be completed after one of Family Group's creditors, television programming supplier MCA Television, objected to the repayment plan only to be overruled by a bankruptcy judge.[14][15]

After the deal was consummated in October 1991,[16] the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a key modification of the WEUX construction permit, allowing construction to finally proceed at a site near Lafayette.[17] The station finally began broadcasting on February 9, 1993, as a straight simulcast of WLAX. Previously, viewers in Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, and other locations in the market's northern portion had to rely on cable to watch Fox programming.[18] A new tower was built for WEUX at Colfax in 1995, housing a new transmitter facility broadcasting at the increased effective radiated power of 1.5 million watts.[19] Grant Broadcasting acquired WLAX/WEUX from Aries in 1996.[20]

Modern history

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Both stations discontinued analog broadcasts on February 17, 2009. While the national digital TV transition was delayed to June, all of the major commercial stations in La Crosse and Eau Claire converted on the original airdate.[21]

From March 2011 to January 2012, WLAX in La Crosse and WQOW in Eau Claire provided temporary transmission of WEAU after its tower at Fairchild collapsed in an ice storm.[22]

On November 6, 2013, Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced that it would purchase the Grant stations, including WLAX/WEUX, for $87.5 million.[23] The sale was completed on December 1, 2014.[24][25]

Newscasts

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In 1995, WLAX/WEUX began carrying two-minute newsbreaks before 6 and 10 p.m.[26] and a monthly community affairs program, Impact.[27]

Beginning August 28, 2006, WLAX/WEUX began airing a 30-minute nightly 9 p.m. newscast, produced by WEAU at its studios.[28]

Technical information

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WLAX and WEUX broadcast two shared channels (Fox and Antenna TV) as well as two unique diginets each from Scripps Networks. In 2016, when Nexstar reached a group deal for carriage of the then-Katz Broadcasting diginets,[29] separate offerings were launched from each transmitter.[30]

WLAX subchannels

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Subchannels of WLAX[31]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
25.1 720p 16:9 WLAX-HD Main WLAX programming / Fox
25.2 480i WLAXANT Antenna TV
25.3 Laff Laff
25.4 Grit Grit

WEUX subchannels

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Subchannels of WEUX[32]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
48.1 720p 16:9 WEUX-HD Main WEUX programming / Fox
48.2 480i WEUXANT Antenna TV
48.3 Escape Ion Mystery
48.4 Bounce Bounce TV

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WLAX". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WEUX". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "Madison Firm Gets OK For TV Station Here". The La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, Wisconsin. December 15, 1967. p. 17. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Court Appeal Likely In WKTY's TV Bid". The La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, Wisconsin. March 25, 1968. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Television station sought by group". The La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, Wisconsin. May 8, 1980. p. 27. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Rainey, Doug (March 14, 1981). "About Business: FM facility on way; TV station next goal". The La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, Wisconsin. p. 7. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Rainey, Doug (July 3, 1982). "Pabst may be working to block takeover". The La Crosse Tribune. p. 6. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c Flor, Elizabeth (April 9, 1986). "Fall sign-on slated for TV station". The La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, Wisconsin. p. 1, 6. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Henry, Ryan (May 27, 2008). "TV station gets green light for new tower". The La Crosse Tribune. p. B-1. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "New La Crosse TV station is on the air". The La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, Wisconsin. November 11, 1986. p. 13. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Stetzer, Rod (November 15, 1984). "Bushland applies for Chippewa Falls television station". Chippewa Herald-Telegram. Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. p. 1A. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Matthews, John (February 18, 1987). "Florida company wants to put TV station in Chippewa Falls". Chippewa Herald-Telegram. Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. p. 1A. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Settlement reached for TV station license". Leader-Telegram. Eau Claire, Wisconsin. March 24, 1987. p. 3A. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Stetzer, Rod (November 30, 1990). "FCC considers Chippewa TV station". Leader-Telegram. Eau Claire, Wisconsin. p. 4D. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Stetzer, Rod (July 5, 1991). "Antenna for independent TV station approved: But picture still isn't clear concerning when, or if, WEUX-TV will sign on". Leader-Telegram. p. 1B. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Gerds, Warren (October 19, 1991). "Channel 26 is bought; Finco is replaced at 5". Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. D-2. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Stetzer, Rod (March 13, 1992). "FCC grants permit to WEUX owners". Leader-Telegram. p. 1A. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Stetzer, Rod (February 9, 1993). "New TV station finally on the air". Leader-Telegram. Eau Claire, Wisconsin. p. 1A, 2A. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "WEUX building new tower". Leader-Telegram. August 18, 1995. p. 1B. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Stetzer, Rod (October 10, 1995). "Fox affiliates may be sold to Florida-based company". Leader-Telegram. Eau Claire, Wisconsin. p. 1B. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Today you may be tuned out: Most area stations converting to digital". The Winona Daily News. February 17, 2009. p. A3. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "WEAU 13 was on the air on 18.3 & 25.2, Charter Cable 6 and in HD on 606". WEAU.com. March 25, 2011. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  23. ^ Malone, Michael (November 6, 2013). "Nexstar to Acquire Seven Grant Stations For $87.5 Million". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
  24. ^ "Consummation Notice (WLAX)". Consolidated Database System. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  25. ^ "Consummation Notice (WEUX)". Consolidated Database System. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  26. ^ "Fox affiliate plans local newscasts". Leader-Telegram. September 19, 1995. p. 4B. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Stetzer, Rod (February 15, 1995). "Locally produced show makes debut tonight on Fox TV". Leader-Telegram. p. 1B. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Fox 25/48 announce newscast anchors". The La Crosse Tribune. August 25, 2006. p. B-7. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Lafayette, Jon (June 16, 2016). "Bounce TV, Grit, Escape, Laff Multicast Deal Covers 81 Stations, 54 Markets". Broadcasting and Cable. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  30. ^ "FOX 25/48 Announces Four New Channels". wiproud.com. August 26, 2016. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  31. ^ "RabbitEars query for WLAX". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  32. ^ "RabbitEars query for WEUX". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
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