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Wikipedia

WUCW

February 15, 2024

WUCW (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, serving the Twin Cities area as an affiliate of The CW. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios in the Pence Building on 8th Street and Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, and its transmitter is located at the Telefarm site in Shoreview.

WUCW
ATSC 3.0 station
CityMinneapolis, Minnesota
Channels
BrandingThe CW Twin Cities
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
September 22, 1982
(41 years ago) (1982-09-22)
Former call signs
  • KTMA-TV (1982–1992)
  • KLGT-TV (1992–1998)
  • KMWB (1998–2006)
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 23 (UHF, 1982–2009)
Call sign meaning
"Your CW"[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID36395
ERP
  • 1,000 kW
  • 580 kW (STA)
  • 790 kW (CP)
HAAT
  • 410 m (1,345 ft)
  • 436.2 m (1,431 ft)
  • (STA/CP)
Transmitter coordinates45°3′44″N 93°8′22″W / 45.06222°N 93.13944°W / 45.06222; -93.13944
Translator(s)See § Translators
Links
Public license information
  • Public file
  • LMS
Websitethecwtc.com

Channel 23 was established as KTMA in 1982, airing a mix of commercial and subscription television programming; three years later, it became a full-time independent station. During this period, it became famous for originating the cult cable television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, which began as a locally produced program. After going into bankruptcy in 1989, channel 23 was bought and repositioned as a family-oriented station, KLGT, which affiliated with The WB upon its 1995 launch. Sinclair purchased channel 23 in 1998 and changed the call letters to KMWB; it became WUCW upon the merger of The WB and UPN in 2006.

History edit

The subscription television years edit

 
The purchase of Grass Lake (above) as public land by Ramsey County set back the construction of channel 23 for nearly a decade.

On April 16, 1966, Viking Television, Inc., a company organized by South St. Paul attorney and judge Irving W. Beaudoin, filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to build a new television station on channel 23 in Minneapolis.[3] It was designated for hearing alongside a competing application from the Calvary Temple Evangelistic Association in late 1968;[4] the church pulled out of the proceedings,[5] and the Viking application was granted on November 24, 1969.[3]

Little progress was made toward the construction of the station, which took the call letters KTMA-TV. In 1972, Viking presented a proposal for a studio and transmitter complex in Shoreview.[6] However, residents feared the erection of a fourth mast in town after the collapse of a tower under construction killed seven workers the year before, and Ramsey County acquired the land for a park and nature center, creating a potential conflict of land uses.[7][8] The loss of the site would further set back construction.[9]

The prospect of subscription television had been thought of as early as the 1969 grant, when Viking held the local franchise to use the Phonevision system. However, a new generation of STV interests emerged in the mid-1970s.[5] Viking signed a contract with American Subscription Television (SelecTV)[9] and filed for subscription television authorization in October 1975.[3]

Viking was still mired in tower site problems in 1976, when a second group filed to propose a subscription television station in the Twin Cities: Buford Television of Tyler, Texas, which applied for channel 29, only for a second application from Faith Broadcasting Network to compete against it.[10] Meanwhile, Viking filed in March 1978 to sell the construction permit to Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation;[3] Metropolitan was in turn 20 percent owned by Universal Subscription Television, a subsidiary of Canadian media company CanWest Capital Corporation.[11] This application was dismissed on June 22, 1979.[3]

Viking had objected to Buford's channel 29 application when it was filed,[12] but in February 1980, Beaudoin sold 80 percent of the KTMA construction permit to Buford for $475,000 in construction costs, which in turn cleared the way for Faith Broadcasting Network to build channel 29.[13] However, tower siting woes continued to snarl channel 23's attempts to get on air. The FCC in the late 1960s had required that the VHF television stations give room to new UHF stations that wished to broadcast from Shoreview, and KMSP-TV's mast was supposed to accommodate channel 23 and channel 29. However, when KSTP-TV obtained permission for a 274-foot (84 m) height extension to its tower (which also held WCCO-TV), only the KMSP tower was left out because it could not be extended with the UHF stations on it. This prompted KMSP-TV to rescind the agreement, resulting in legal action.[14]

It was only the resolution of the tower site issue that got the ball rolling for KTMA. More than 16 years after the permit was granted, channel 23 began broadcasting on September 22, 1982.[15] In addition to advertiser-supported programs, KTMA carried Spectrum, the subscription service owned by Buford's Home Entertainment Network (HEN) division.[16] The new service quickly secured valuable programming when it struck a deal to televise Minnesota Twins baseball and Minnesota North Stars hockey home games: the entire North Stars home slate and 50 Twins home games, packaged as "Spectrum Sports"—available for $19.95 a month or $29.90 along with the Spectrum movie service.[15] The same year Buford launched KTMA, it sold a majority stake in HEN to United Cable.[17]

At its peak, in May 1983, the service attracted 27,000 Twin Cities subscribers, making it the most successful of United Cable's three STV operations.[18] Even then, United Cable was laying off 55 staff, cutting costs, and considering outsourcing its movie programming to Oak Industries (owners of ON TV).[18] That summer, United agreed to buy Buford's 80 percent ownership of KTMA for $7.5 million[17] while also writing down the Home Entertainment Network division and putting the three STV systems on the market.[19]

As a sports service, Spectrum in the Twin Cities never reached the intended subscriber figures, prompting profits to fall far short of expectations for the Twins. Further, a federal judge had ruled against the Twins and North Stars pooling their broadcast rights in the Spectrum deal after WCCO-TV sued on antitrust charges. (Sports telecasts continued while the case was being appealed; after Spectrum's demise, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found in the teams' favor.[20]) In August 1985, the Twins and North Stars opted not to renew their Spectrum rights deal, a decision that sounded the death knell for the service, already down to just 13,000 subscribers. The movie service ended September 29, 1985, while Spectrum Sports concluded with the final game of the Twins season on October 6.[21]

Independent KTMA edit

Jim (Mallon) got the job at KTMA. And it was all subterfuge. I mean, he brought me out there pretty much telling that the reason to have this job (is)... we have access to tools and we can do anything we want with them. That was the appeal to me – we could make a TV show and we could actually get it on the air.

Kevin Murphy, on joining KTMA in 1987[22]

 
"Team23: It's the best we can do." A December 1987 advertisement for KTMA's 23rd Annual New Year's Eve Extravaganza, with Kevin Murphy as "reporter"/emcee Bob (Bagadonuts).

KTMA, still on the market when Spectrum closed,[21] adopted a format of music videos programmed by local radio station KTWN. K-Twin Communications, owner of KTWN, made an $11 million offer to United Cable to purchase channel 23 outright. United rejected the bid and was reported to have accepted a $12 million offer from an Atlanta-based group.[23] In the end, KTMA-TV Acquisition Corporation, owned by general manager Donald H. O'Connor, bought the entirety of the station—including Beaudoin's stake—for $13.8 million.[24] O'Connor purchased another $2.5 million in equipment and changed KTMA to a more traditional general entertainment station, acquiring a number of older syndicated programs such as The Andy Griffith Show and Laurel and Hardy.[25] A late 1986 billboard campaign centered around Elvira's Movie Macabre ended prematurely after the station received a dozen complaints over the slogan "features that will scare you to death".[26] The majority of complaints over the billboard came from Farmington, where their city council also lodged a complaint to KTMA.[27] One programming tradition began on New Year's Eve 1986: TV23's 23rd Annual New Year's Eve Extravaganza, a live comedy special emceed by station stagehand Kevin Murphy as "Bob Bagadonuts"[22] culminating with a melon drop at midnight from the station's rooftop;[28] this special was revisited in 1987,[29] 1988[30] and 1989.[31]

Despite a major $1.2 million marketing campaign at the relaunch,[25] after the station was acquired, the station was only moderately successful at attracting viewers and revenue from commercial advertising. By February 1988, KTMA's ratings were still only half that of KITN-TV, which had become the Twin Cities area's other major UHF independent.[32] The first signs of financial trouble also occurred that year: KTMA had to temporarily stop carrying some programs in August because it needed to refinance to pay its syndicators in a timely fashion.[33] That same year, attempts were made at creating locally produced shows: to fill a hole in the Saturday night line-up, the station created Saturday Night at Ringside, a multi-hour block of professional wrestling programming hosted by Mick Karch,[34] and a late-night talk show, Sports Week with Stretch and Z, also was created.[35]

Late 1988 brought two debuts, one ambitious and one low-key. On December 14, 1988, O'Connor announced the formation of the Minnesota Independent Network, which would unite KTMA with KXLI channel 41 in St. Cloud and KXLT-TV channel 47 in Rochester; low-power TV stations owned by Red River TV in Bemidji (K26AC), Brainerd, and Grand Rapids; and several additional low-power stations to be leased or built at Alexandria, Donnelly/Herman, Park Rapids, and Austin.[36] The St. Cloud station was also slated under the proposal to move its tower northwest toward Sauk Centre and change to channel 19.[36] The Minnesota Independent Network would give KTMA and KXLI the regional circulation necessary to compete with other Twin Cities-market stations for viewers and programming rights.[36] Further, KTMA would become KMIN.[37]

The programming at KTMA was bottom-basin. Our prime-time headliner was Love, American Style paired with Hawaii Five-O, and we had the worst movie library imaginable.

Jim Mallon[38]

 
A standup comedian, inventor and prop comic, Joel Hodgson created the cult comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000 for KTMA in late 1988.

The other debut came with less bombast but cemented KTMA's place in popular culture. As production manager Jim Mallon sought to fill a gap in the Sunday night line-up, he talked to his contacts in the local comedy community and ended up meeting Joel Hodgson, who had a warehouse in the same building as office space Mallon was using at the time.[22] After a successful lunch meeting with Mallon to produce a new locally produced program for KTMA, Hodgson created Mystery Science Theater 3000 (also known under the abbreviated title MST3K), which began in November 1988.[39] The show quickly attracted the involvement of Kevin Murphy, who had been an associate of Mallon dating back to his horror film project Blood Hook,[22] performing multiple tasks from camera operator to show writer[40] to set builder.[41] Hodgson recruited local comedians Josh Weinstein and Trace Beaulieu as his co-stars; owing to the show's low budget, Weinstein and Beaulieu were only paid $25 per episode.[38] A phone line Mallon established specifically for MST3K viewers netted such a favorable response[40] that KTMA increased their show order from 13 episodes to 21.[42] Unlike all future iterations of the show, the jokes provided by Hodgson and company during the course of a movie were ad libbed with a production cycle of less than 24 hours.[38]

As MST3K grew, the Minnesota Independent Network collapsed. At the start of July 1989, O'Connor told a St. Cloud radio station that KTMA and the owner of KXLI and KXLT (which had gone silent awaiting the network's launch) had "bigger fish to fry" and blamed the complexity of the arrangement for scuttling the plan.[43] The nature of his remarks was explained at the end of the month, when the station filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with O'Connor noting that KTMA had been undercapitalized from the moment he had purchased it.[44] Presaging the fate of MST3K in the years to come, KTMA ended production of the show after the June 1, 1989, season finale; the second issue of the show's fan club newsletter included a direct appeal to KTMA to reconsider.[45] Hodgson and Mallon purchased MST3K's intellectual property under the production company Best Brains, Inc.,[40] along with a new studio in Eden Prairie.[46] The Comedy Channel—recently established as an extension of HBO by Time Inc.—picked up the program as part of a $50 million launch campaign.[47] MST3K ran on the network, later renamed Comedy Central, for seven years before moving to the Sci-Fi Channel for its final three seasons from 1997 to 1999.[38]

Despite the failure of MIN to emerge, KTMA showed up in St. Cloud and Rochester anyway when new owners of KXLI and KXLT opted to simulcast channel 23 after returning to the air in 1990.[48] The station, however, remained in bankruptcy for more than two years. Even during bankruptcy, the station moved from its original studios on Kennedy Street to a facility on Como Avenue as 1989 ended.[49] It was not until the fall of 1991 that two groups emerged seeking to buy the station out of Chapter 11, at the same time that the court-appointed trustee fired O'Connor in a cost-cutting effort. The successful bidder, Lakeland Group Television, was headed by Linda Rios Brook, who had been fired from her position as general manager of KARE—reportedly dismissed over her conservative religious beliefs—and planned to reposition the station with Christian programs.[35]

Seeing the "Sonlight" edit

After plans to use the KSON call letters[50] fell through, the station relaunched as KLGT, a family- and Christian-oriented independent, in March 1992.[51]

After the new format achieved low ratings, Rios Brook changed tack in late 1993. The dove that had formed part of the logo was dropped, and the format was shifted.[52] KLGT picked up a package of 14 Twins games previously aired by KITN in 1994; they had been jettisoned by channel 29 due to increasing commitments to Fox network programming.[53] Later that year, channel 23 added games from the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.[54] The sports expansion was the first in a series of moves that boosted channel 23's visibility. On January 11, 1995, KLGT became a launch affiliate of The WB; it simultaneously debuted a unique news experiment, News of Your Choice, in partnership with WCCO-TV. (A trial run had taken place the previous August.) That station produced a second 10 p.m. newscast featuring an alternate mix of stories for channel 23 and encouraged viewers to switch between the two programs;[55] the program was dropped at the end of the year in response to a collapse in ratings for WCCO's newscasts.[56]

KMWB and WUCW edit

 
Since 2018, WUCW's studios have been located in the Pence Automobile Company Building.

In late 1997, Sinclair Broadcast Group entered into a deal to purchase KLGT for $52.5 million—a far cry from the $3.3 million[51] spent to acquire it six years prior.[57] The call letters were changed in November 1998 to KMWB, reflecting the state and network affiliation.[58] The Timberwolves continued on channel 23 and KARE until they consolidated their over-the-air broadcasts with WFTC in 2001.[59]

In 2006, The WB and UPN merged to create The CW. The UPN affiliate in the Twin Cities market, WFTC, was owned by Fox Television Stations; none of its UPN affiliates were chosen for the network's launch, and it set up MyNetworkTV for them and other stations that would not join The CW. On May 2, 2006, Sinclair Broadcast Group signed an affiliation agreement with The CW for the company's eight WB affiliates, including KMWB, to join the network.[60] In preparation for the affiliation switch, KMWB changed its call sign to WUCW, planning to market itself as "Your CW".[1]

In January 2018, WUCW moved out of its longtime Como Avenue studios, which had been built for Twin Cities Public Television in 1960, and moved to the 7th floor of the Pence Building at 800 Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. The studios were then sold to the Minnesota State Fair.[61] That building is directly located across the street diagonally from the studios of Bally Sports North, in an annex of the State Theatre.

WUCW served as the over-the-air home of Minnesota United FC in 2021 and 2022.[a] In the first season, the station was scheduled to air 19 matches, all simulcasts from Bally Sports North.[63]

In order to accommodate scheduling conflicts on Bally Sports North, WUCW aired five Minnesota Timberwolves games in April and May 2021 under the branding "Bally Sports Extra on The CW Twin Cities".[64] In April 2022, WUCW aired two Minnesota Twins games and a Minnesota Wild game.[65]

Technical information edit

Subchannels edit

The station's ATSC 1.0 channels are carried on the multiplexed signals of other Twin Cities television stations:

Subchannels provided by WUCW (ATSC 1.0)[66]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming ATSC 1.0 host
23.1 1080i 16:9 The CW The CW KSTP-TV
23.2 480i Comet Comet WFTC
23.3 Charge! Charge! WCCO-TV
23.4 TBD TBD
23.5 Rewind Rewind TV KARE
23.6 Antenna Antenna TV WFTC

On August 16, 2023, WUCW became the ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) host station for the Twin Cities.[67]

Subchannels of WUCW (ATSC 3.0)[68]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
4.1 1080p 16:9 WCCO CBS (WCCO-TV)  
5.1 KSTP ABC (KSTP-TV)
9.1 KMSP Fox (KMSP-TV)
11.1 KARE NBC (KARE)  
23.1 WUCW The CW
  Subchannel broadcast with digital rights management

Analog-to-digital conversion edit

WUCW (as with most Sinclair-owned television stations) shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 23, on February 17, 2009, the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 22.[69][70][71]

Translators edit

The broadcast signal of WUCW is also extended by way of six digital translators, owned by local translator associations, in central and southern Minnesota:[72]

Notes edit

  1. ^ All Major League Soccer local television rights agreements ended after 2022 to make way for MLS's 10-year deal with Apple.[62]

References edit

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  62. ^ Stejskal, Sam (June 14, 2022). "MLS agrees to 10-year broadcast deal with Apple worth $2.5 billion: Sources". The Athletic. from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022. Apple TV matches will not be shown on local television networks...
  63. ^ Greder, Andy (April 14, 2021). "Loons opening season in Seattle feels 'like poetic justice'". St. Paul Pioneer Press. from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  64. ^ "Bally Sports North: Tripleheader plans, channel assignments for spring sports". Fox Sports. March 27, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  65. ^ "Wolves, Wild games Tuesday night push Twins to the CW Twin Cities". April 18, 2022.
  66. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WUCW". RabbitEars. from the original on May 29, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  67. ^ "Details Released of Aug. 16 NextGen TV Launch in Minneapolis (Updated)". Northpine. July 25, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  68. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WUCW". RabbitEars. from the original on May 29, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  69. ^ . WCCO-TV. Associated Press. February 6, 2009. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009.
  70. ^ "Local TV station goes digital-only". Minnesota Public Radio. February 18, 2009. from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  71. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  72. ^ "Minnesota TV Translators and Satellite Stations". Northpine. from the original on May 29, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.

External links edit

  • Official website

February 15, 2024
wucw, channel, television, station, licensed, minneapolis, minnesota, united, states, serving, twin, cities, area, affiliate, owned, sinclair, broadcast, group, station, maintains, studios, pence, building, street, hennepin, avenue, downtown, minneapolis, tran. WUCW channel 23 is a television station licensed to Minneapolis Minnesota United States serving the Twin Cities area as an affiliate of The CW Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group the station maintains studios in the Pence Building on 8th Street and Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis and its transmitter is located at the Telefarm site in Shoreview WUCWATSC 3 0 stationMinneapolis Saint Paul MinnesotaUnited StatesCityMinneapolis MinnesotaChannelsDigital 22 UHF Virtual 23BrandingThe CW Twin CitiesProgrammingAffiliations23 1 The CWfor others see SubchannelsOwnershipOwnerSinclair Broadcast Group KLGT Licensee LLC HistoryFirst air dateSeptember 22 1982 41 years ago 1982 09 22 Former call signsKTMA TV 1982 1992 KLGT TV 1992 1998 KMWB 1998 2006 Former channel number s Analog 23 UHF 1982 2009 Former affiliationsIndependent 1982 1995 Spectrum 1982 1985 The WB 1995 2006 Call sign meaning Your CW 1 Technical information 2 Licensing authorityFCCFacility ID36395ERP1 000 kW580 kW STA 790 kW CP HAAT410 m 1 345 ft 436 2 m 1 431 ft STA CP Transmitter coordinates45 3 44 N 93 8 22 W 45 06222 N 93 13944 W 45 06222 93 13944Translator s See TranslatorsLinksPublic license informationPublic fileLMSWebsitethecwtc wbr comChannel 23 was established as KTMA in 1982 airing a mix of commercial and subscription television programming three years later it became a full time independent station During this period it became famous for originating the cult cable television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 which began as a locally produced program After going into bankruptcy in 1989 channel 23 was bought and repositioned as a family oriented station KLGT which affiliated with The WB upon its 1995 launch Sinclair purchased channel 23 in 1998 and changed the call letters to KMWB it became WUCW upon the merger of The WB and UPN in 2006 Contents 1 History 1 1 The subscription television years 1 2 Independent KTMA 1 3 Seeing the Sonlight 1 4 KMWB and WUCW 2 Technical information 2 1 Subchannels 2 2 Analog to digital conversion 2 3 Translators 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksHistory editThe subscription television years edit nbsp The purchase of Grass Lake above as public land by Ramsey County set back the construction of channel 23 for nearly a decade On April 16 1966 Viking Television Inc a company organized by South St Paul attorney and judge Irving W Beaudoin filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission FCC to build a new television station on channel 23 in Minneapolis 3 It was designated for hearing alongside a competing application from the Calvary Temple Evangelistic Association in late 1968 4 the church pulled out of the proceedings 5 and the Viking application was granted on November 24 1969 3 Little progress was made toward the construction of the station which took the call letters KTMA TV In 1972 Viking presented a proposal for a studio and transmitter complex in Shoreview 6 However residents feared the erection of a fourth mast in town after the collapse of a tower under construction killed seven workers the year before and Ramsey County acquired the land for a park and nature center creating a potential conflict of land uses 7 8 The loss of the site would further set back construction 9 The prospect of subscription television had been thought of as early as the 1969 grant when Viking held the local franchise to use the Phonevision system However a new generation of STV interests emerged in the mid 1970s 5 Viking signed a contract with American Subscription Television SelecTV 9 and filed for subscription television authorization in October 1975 3 Viking was still mired in tower site problems in 1976 when a second group filed to propose a subscription television station in the Twin Cities Buford Television of Tyler Texas which applied for channel 29 only for a second application from Faith Broadcasting Network to compete against it 10 Meanwhile Viking filed in March 1978 to sell the construction permit to Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation 3 Metropolitan was in turn 20 percent owned by Universal Subscription Television a subsidiary of Canadian media company CanWest Capital Corporation 11 This application was dismissed on June 22 1979 3 Viking had objected to Buford s channel 29 application when it was filed 12 but in February 1980 Beaudoin sold 80 percent of the KTMA construction permit to Buford for 475 000 in construction costs which in turn cleared the way for Faith Broadcasting Network to build channel 29 13 However tower siting woes continued to snarl channel 23 s attempts to get on air The FCC in the late 1960s had required that the VHF television stations give room to new UHF stations that wished to broadcast from Shoreview and KMSP TV s mast was supposed to accommodate channel 23 and channel 29 However when KSTP TV obtained permission for a 274 foot 84 m height extension to its tower which also held WCCO TV only the KMSP tower was left out because it could not be extended with the UHF stations on it This prompted KMSP TV to rescind the agreement resulting in legal action 14 It was only the resolution of the tower site issue that got the ball rolling for KTMA More than 16 years after the permit was granted channel 23 began broadcasting on September 22 1982 15 In addition to advertiser supported programs KTMA carried Spectrum the subscription service owned by Buford s Home Entertainment Network HEN division 16 The new service quickly secured valuable programming when it struck a deal to televise Minnesota Twins baseball and Minnesota North Stars hockey home games the entire North Stars home slate and 50 Twins home games packaged as Spectrum Sports available for 19 95 a month or 29 90 along with the Spectrum movie service 15 The same year Buford launched KTMA it sold a majority stake in HEN to United Cable 17 At its peak in May 1983 the service attracted 27 000 Twin Cities subscribers making it the most successful of United Cable s three STV operations 18 Even then United Cable was laying off 55 staff cutting costs and considering outsourcing its movie programming to Oak Industries owners of ON TV 18 That summer United agreed to buy Buford s 80 percent ownership of KTMA for 7 5 million 17 while also writing down the Home Entertainment Network division and putting the three STV systems on the market 19 As a sports service Spectrum in the Twin Cities never reached the intended subscriber figures prompting profits to fall far short of expectations for the Twins Further a federal judge had ruled against the Twins and North Stars pooling their broadcast rights in the Spectrum deal after WCCO TV sued on antitrust charges Sports telecasts continued while the case was being appealed after Spectrum s demise the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found in the teams favor 20 In August 1985 the Twins and North Stars opted not to renew their Spectrum rights deal a decision that sounded the death knell for the service already down to just 13 000 subscribers The movie service ended September 29 1985 while Spectrum Sports concluded with the final game of the Twins season on October 6 21 Independent KTMA edit Jim Mallon got the job at KTMA And it was all subterfuge I mean he brought me out there pretty much telling that the reason to have this job is we have access to tools and we can do anything we want with them That was the appeal to me we could make a TV show and we could actually get it on the air Kevin Murphy on joining KTMA in 1987 22 nbsp Team23 It s the best we can do A December 1987 advertisement for KTMA s 23rd Annual New Year s Eve Extravaganza with Kevin Murphy as reporter emcee Bob Bagadonuts KTMA still on the market when Spectrum closed 21 adopted a format of music videos programmed by local radio station KTWN K Twin Communications owner of KTWN made an 11 million offer to United Cable to purchase channel 23 outright United rejected the bid and was reported to have accepted a 12 million offer from an Atlanta based group 23 In the end KTMA TV Acquisition Corporation owned by general manager Donald H O Connor bought the entirety of the station including Beaudoin s stake for 13 8 million 24 O Connor purchased another 2 5 million in equipment and changed KTMA to a more traditional general entertainment station acquiring a number of older syndicated programs such as The Andy Griffith Show and Laurel and Hardy 25 A late 1986 billboard campaign centered around Elvira s Movie Macabre ended prematurely after the station received a dozen complaints over the slogan features that will scare you to death 26 The majority of complaints over the billboard came from Farmington where their city council also lodged a complaint to KTMA 27 One programming tradition began on New Year s Eve 1986 TV23 s 23rd Annual New Year s Eve Extravaganza a live comedy special emceed by station stagehand Kevin Murphy as Bob Bagadonuts 22 culminating with a melon drop at midnight from the station s rooftop 28 this special was revisited in 1987 29 1988 30 and 1989 31 Despite a major 1 2 million marketing campaign at the relaunch 25 after the station was acquired the station was only moderately successful at attracting viewers and revenue from commercial advertising By February 1988 KTMA s ratings were still only half that of KITN TV which had become the Twin Cities area s other major UHF independent 32 The first signs of financial trouble also occurred that year KTMA had to temporarily stop carrying some programs in August because it needed to refinance to pay its syndicators in a timely fashion 33 That same year attempts were made at creating locally produced shows to fill a hole in the Saturday night line up the station created Saturday Night at Ringside a multi hour block of professional wrestling programming hosted by Mick Karch 34 and a late night talk show Sports Week with Stretch and Z also was created 35 Late 1988 brought two debuts one ambitious and one low key On December 14 1988 O Connor announced the formation of the Minnesota Independent Network which would unite KTMA with KXLI channel 41 in St Cloud and KXLT TV channel 47 in Rochester low power TV stations owned by Red River TV in Bemidji K26AC Brainerd and Grand Rapids and several additional low power stations to be leased or built at Alexandria Donnelly Herman Park Rapids and Austin 36 The St Cloud station was also slated under the proposal to move its tower northwest toward Sauk Centre and change to channel 19 36 The Minnesota Independent Network would give KTMA and KXLI the regional circulation necessary to compete with other Twin Cities market stations for viewers and programming rights 36 Further KTMA would become KMIN 37 The programming at KTMA was bottom basin Our prime time headliner was Love American Style paired with Hawaii Five O and we had the worst movie library imaginable Jim Mallon 38 nbsp A standup comedian inventor and prop comic Joel Hodgson created the cult comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000 for KTMA in late 1988 The other debut came with less bombast but cemented KTMA s place in popular culture As production manager Jim Mallon sought to fill a gap in the Sunday night line up he talked to his contacts in the local comedy community and ended up meeting Joel Hodgson who had a warehouse in the same building as office space Mallon was using at the time 22 After a successful lunch meeting with Mallon to produce a new locally produced program for KTMA Hodgson created Mystery Science Theater 3000 also known under the abbreviated title MST3K which began in November 1988 39 The show quickly attracted the involvement of Kevin Murphy who had been an associate of Mallon dating back to his horror film project Blood Hook 22 performing multiple tasks from camera operator to show writer 40 to set builder 41 Hodgson recruited local comedians Josh Weinstein and Trace Beaulieu as his co stars owing to the show s low budget Weinstein and Beaulieu were only paid 25 per episode 38 A phone line Mallon established specifically for MST3K viewers netted such a favorable response 40 that KTMA increased their show order from 13 episodes to 21 42 Unlike all future iterations of the show the jokes provided by Hodgson and company during the course of a movie were ad libbed with a production cycle of less than 24 hours 38 As MST3K grew the Minnesota Independent Network collapsed At the start of July 1989 O Connor told a St Cloud radio station that KTMA and the owner of KXLI and KXLT which had gone silent awaiting the network s launch had bigger fish to fry and blamed the complexity of the arrangement for scuttling the plan 43 The nature of his remarks was explained at the end of the month when the station filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with O Connor noting that KTMA had been undercapitalized from the moment he had purchased it 44 Presaging the fate of MST3K in the years to come KTMA ended production of the show after the June 1 1989 season finale the second issue of the show s fan club newsletter included a direct appeal to KTMA to reconsider 45 Hodgson and Mallon purchased MST3K s intellectual property under the production company Best Brains Inc 40 along with a new studio in Eden Prairie 46 The Comedy Channel recently established as an extension of HBO by Time Inc picked up the program as part of a 50 million launch campaign 47 MST3K ran on the network later renamed Comedy Central for seven years before moving to the Sci Fi Channel for its final three seasons from 1997 to 1999 38 Despite the failure of MIN to emerge KTMA showed up in St Cloud and Rochester anyway when new owners of KXLI and KXLT opted to simulcast channel 23 after returning to the air in 1990 48 The station however remained in bankruptcy for more than two years Even during bankruptcy the station moved from its original studios on Kennedy Street to a facility on Como Avenue as 1989 ended 49 It was not until the fall of 1991 that two groups emerged seeking to buy the station out of Chapter 11 at the same time that the court appointed trustee fired O Connor in a cost cutting effort The successful bidder Lakeland Group Television was headed by Linda Rios Brook who had been fired from her position as general manager of KARE reportedly dismissed over her conservative religious beliefs and planned to reposition the station with Christian programs 35 Seeing the Sonlight edit After plans to use the KSON call letters 50 fell through the station relaunched as KLGT a family and Christian oriented independent in March 1992 51 After the new format achieved low ratings Rios Brook changed tack in late 1993 The dove that had formed part of the logo was dropped and the format was shifted 52 KLGT picked up a package of 14 Twins games previously aired by KITN in 1994 they had been jettisoned by channel 29 due to increasing commitments to Fox network programming 53 Later that year channel 23 added games from the NBA s Minnesota Timberwolves 54 The sports expansion was the first in a series of moves that boosted channel 23 s visibility On January 11 1995 KLGT became a launch affiliate of The WB it simultaneously debuted a unique news experiment News of Your Choice in partnership with WCCO TV A trial run had taken place the previous August That station produced a second 10 p m newscast featuring an alternate mix of stories for channel 23 and encouraged viewers to switch between the two programs 55 the program was dropped at the end of the year in response to a collapse in ratings for WCCO s newscasts 56 KMWB and WUCW edit nbsp Since 2018 WUCW s studios have been located in the Pence Automobile Company Building In late 1997 Sinclair Broadcast Group entered into a deal to purchase KLGT for 52 5 million a far cry from the 3 3 million 51 spent to acquire it six years prior 57 The call letters were changed in November 1998 to KMWB reflecting the state and network affiliation 58 The Timberwolves continued on channel 23 and KARE until they consolidated their over the air broadcasts with WFTC in 2001 59 In 2006 The WB and UPN merged to create The CW The UPN affiliate in the Twin Cities market WFTC was owned by Fox Television Stations none of its UPN affiliates were chosen for the network s launch and it set up MyNetworkTV for them and other stations that would not join The CW On May 2 2006 Sinclair Broadcast Group signed an affiliation agreement with The CW for the company s eight WB affiliates including KMWB to join the network 60 In preparation for the affiliation switch KMWB changed its call sign to WUCW planning to market itself as Your CW 1 In January 2018 WUCW moved out of its longtime Como Avenue studios which had been built for Twin Cities Public Television in 1960 and moved to the 7th floor of the Pence Building at 800 Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis The studios were then sold to the Minnesota State Fair 61 That building is directly located across the street diagonally from the studios of Bally Sports North in an annex of the State Theatre WUCW served as the over the air home of Minnesota United FC in 2021 and 2022 a In the first season the station was scheduled to air 19 matches all simulcasts from Bally Sports North 63 In order to accommodate scheduling conflicts on Bally Sports North WUCW aired five Minnesota Timberwolves games in April and May 2021 under the branding Bally Sports Extra on The CW Twin Cities 64 In April 2022 WUCW aired two Minnesota Twins games and a Minnesota Wild game 65 Technical information editSubchannels edit The station s ATSC 1 0 channels are carried on the multiplexed signals of other Twin Cities television stations Subchannels provided by WUCW ATSC 1 0 66 Channel Res Aspect Short name Programming ATSC 1 0 host23 1 1080i 16 9 The CW The CW KSTP TV23 2 480i Comet Comet WFTC23 3 Charge Charge WCCO TV23 4 TBD TBD23 5 Rewind Rewind TV KARE23 6 Antenna Antenna TV WFTCOn August 16 2023 WUCW became the ATSC 3 0 NextGen TV host station for the Twin Cities 67 Subchannels of WUCW ATSC 3 0 68 Channel Res Aspect Short name Programming4 1 1080p 16 9 WCCO CBS WCCO TV nbsp 5 1 KSTP ABC KSTP TV 9 1 KMSP Fox KMSP TV 11 1 KARE NBC KARE nbsp 23 1 WUCW The CW Subchannel broadcast with digital rights management Analog to digital conversion edit WUCW as with most Sinclair owned television stations shut down its analog signal over UHF channel 23 on February 17 2009 the original target date on which full power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate which was later pushed back to June 12 2009 The station s digital signal remained on its pre transition UHF channel 22 69 70 71 Translators edit The broadcast signal of WUCW is also extended by way of six digital translators owned by local translator associations in central and southern Minnesota 72 Alexandria K26CL D Frost K23FY D Jackson K28OI D St James K34JX D Walker K35KH D main subchannel only Willmar K14LF DNotes edit All Major League Soccer local television rights agreements ended after 2022 to make way for MLS s 10 year deal with Apple 62 References edit a b Some celebs doing boffo biz in the afterlife Star Tribune June 30 2006 p E6 Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com Facility Technical Data for WUCW Licensing and Management System Federal Communications Commission a b c d e FCC History Cards for WUCW Public Notice The Minneapolis Star December 9 1968 p 33B Archived from the original on August 5 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com a b Viking Television Bid for Ch 23 Backed in FCC The Minneapolis Tribune October 4 1969 p 13 Archived from the original on August 5 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com Shoreview to hear TV tower station proposal The Minneapolis Star September 7 1972 p 7B Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com Letofsky Irv September 20 1972 Shoreview residents pledge antenna fight The Minneapolis Tribune p 4C Archived from the original on August 5 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com New television tower Ramsey nature area on collision course The Minneapolis Star February 27 1973 p 8B Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com a b Adams Jim February 11 1976 Subscription TV is a tantalizing unknown for three investors The Minneapolis Star p 20B Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved October 25 2020 via Newspapers com Thorkelson Willmar December 4 1976 Christian family TV sought for Cities The Minneapolis Star p 6A Archived from the original on August 5 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com Canadian investors out to establish pay TV network in United States PDF Broadcasting May 22 1978 p 32 ProQuest 1016906369 Archived PDF from the original on March 8 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via World Radio History Thorkelson Willmar July 20 1979 Faith needs money to move FCC to give television license The Minneapolis Star p 8A Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com In Brief PDF Broadcasting February 11 1980 p 36 ProQuest 962746244 Archived PDF from the original on March 8 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via World Radio History Vick Karl April 13 1981 Grounded 2 UHF stations can t get signals in the air The Minneapolis Star pp 1C 12C Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com a b Carman John September 24 1982 Subscription TV will carry Stars Twins home games Minneapolis Star and Tribune p 1D Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved October 17 2020 via Newspapers com Carman John September 15 1982 New pay TV station Spectrum nearly ready to roll Minneapolis Star and Tribune p 14B Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved October 17 2020 via Newspapers com a b Changing Hands PDF Broadcasting July 4 1983 p 77 ProQuest 1014709687 Archived PDF from the original on March 8 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via World Radio History a b Marcotty Josephine Mikkelsen Randall May 14 1983 Spectrum TV lays off 55 employees in Minneapolis Minneapolis Star and Tribune p 7D Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved October 17 2020 via Newspapers com Storch Charles August 27 1983 Spectrum TV up for sale Chicago Tribune p 6 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved October 17 2020 via Newspapers com Court rules in favor of teams in TV suit Minneapolis Star and Tribune December 13 1985 p 2D Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved October 17 2020 via Newspapers com a b Covert Colin August 15 1985 Spectrum to abandon pay TV service Minneapolis Star and Tribune pp 1A 17A Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved October 17 2020 via Newspapers com a b c d Plume Ken July 18 2007 Interview Kevin Murphy Fred Archived from the original on April 6 2019 Retrieved August 6 2021 Coleman Nick March 13 1986 Can three independent stations exist Minneapolis Star and Tribune pp 1C 8C Archived from the original on August 5 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com Changing Hands PDF Broadcasting August 25 1986 p 102 ProQuest 1014719305 Archived PDF from the original on March 8 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via World Radio History a b Fuller Jim October 6 1986 Ch 23 tries to create an audience from scratch Minneapolis Star and Tribune pp 1C 19C Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com Wascoe Jr Dan December 15 1986 Dancing raisins in commercial have feet of clay Star Tribune Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 9 2021 via Newspapers com Critics say Elvira signs offensive St Cloud Times Associated Press December 11 1986 p 2A Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 9 2021 via Newspapers com Holston Noel December 31 1986 Critic s Choice Star Tribune p 10C Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 9 2021 via Newspapers com Creedon Jerimiah December 31 1987 Today s TV Critic s choice Star Tribune p 19C Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com Holston Noel December 31 1989 Critic s Choice Star Tribune p 10E Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com Sunday Evening St Cloud Times Good Times December 31 1989 p 4F Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 10 2021 via Newspapers com Hughes John March 23 1988 KXLI switches format St Cloud Daily Times p 2C Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com Holston Noel August 11 1988 Where s Andy Star Tribune p 11E Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com Matheny Dave May 24 1990 Pro wrestling s good vs evil is a 300 million a year show Star Tribune pp 1E 10E Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com a b Holston Noel October 9 1991 2 groups seek to buy KTMA 23 out of Chapter 11 Star Tribune p 2B Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com a b c McAllister Bill December 15 1988 It s R I P TV Heaven St Cloud station goes off air to join new independent group St Cloud Daily Times pp 1 10 Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com Holston Noel March 25 1989 Slow progress Star Tribune p 9E Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com a b c d Raftery Brian April 22 2014 Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Definitive Oral History of a TV Masterpiece Wired Archived from the original on November 30 2015 Retrieved August 6 2021 Matheny Dave December 19 1988 TV supplies witty companions to help watch bad old movies Star Tribune p 1E 4E Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com a b c Adams Erik November 15 2018 MST3K Turkey Day and 30 years of taking over the world before pie is served The A V Club Archived from the original on November 15 2018 Retrieved November 15 2018 Dube Jonathan Perkins Will December 19 2011 Mystery Science Theater 3000 1998 Art of the Title Archived from the original on December 8 2015 Retrieved December 2 2015 Vorel Jim August 10 2015 The 25 Episode History of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Paste Archived from the original on December 4 2015 Retrieved December 1 2015 Plans for UHF TV network are put on hold Star Tribune Associated Press July 2 1989 p 2B Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com Channel 23 files for bankruptcy Star Tribune July 29 1989 p 5D Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com Sat o Love in Black Hole Prod Sched Yanked PDF MST 3000 Satellite News 1 2 2 3 1989 Archived PDF from the original on March 12 2017 Retrieved August 6 2021 via MST3KInfo com Johnson Cheryl Eskola Eric October 24 1989 Rough ride on Brooklyn Bridge knocks Spike out Star Tribune p 2B Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com Holston Noel November 15 1989 Cable channel to offer comedy 24 hours a day Star Tribune p 2E Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com Lowe Stephen October 30 1990 KXLI drops format plugs into KTMA St Cloud Daily Times pp 1A 6A Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com Johnson Cheryl Eskola Eric November 26 1989 U Raptor Center hunts Basinger for bird release Star Tribune p 2B Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 9 2021 via Newspapers com Holston Noel November 22 1991 Troubled KTMA will be reborn as Sonlight Christian station Star Tribune p 8E Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com a b Holston Noel March 3 1992 Channel 23 s new owners focus on family Star Tribune p 2B Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 5 2021 via Newspapers com This article consistently calls KLGT WLGT Merrill Ann November 7 1993 Rios Brook tinkering with formula to boost 23 s audience intends to stay family friendly St Paul Pioneer Press p 2H Zgoda Jerry December 18 1993 Football turnover Fox outbids CBS for NFL TV rights Star Tribune pp 1A 15A Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com Minnesota offers Davis interim coaching post St Paul Pioneer Press August 3 1994 p 3B WCCO TV to start News of Your Choice for channel surfers St Cloud Daily Times Associated Press January 7 1995 p 2A Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com WCCO cancels Choice St Cloud Daily Times Associated Press December 24 1995 p 3A Archived from the original on August 6 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com Changing Hands PDF Broadcasting amp Cable November 24 1997 ProQuest 1014772770 Archived PDF from the original on March 8 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 via World Radio History Holston Noel November 21 1998 Reflecting link to WB KLGT becomes KMWB Star Tribune p E8 Retrieved August 6 2021 via Newspapers com Wolves move to WFTC Channel 29 St Paul Pioneer Press July 4 2001 p 7D Eight Sinclair Stations Sign On With CW Broadcasting amp Cable May 2 2006 Archived from the original on August 10 2021 Retrieved August 6 2012 Just Sold Minnesota State Fair buys former CW studios Finance amp Commerce February 14 2018 ProQuest 2003257062 Archived from the original on June 8 2018 Retrieved August 5 2021 Stejskal Sam June 14 2022 MLS agrees to 10 year broadcast deal with Apple worth 2 5 billion Sources The Athletic Archived from the original on July 18 2022 Retrieved July 26 2022 Apple TV matches will not be shown on local television networks Greder Andy April 14 2021 Loons opening season in Seattle feels like poetic justice St Paul Pioneer Press Archived from the original on April 14 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 Bally Sports North Tripleheader plans channel assignments for spring sports Fox Sports March 27 2021 Retrieved September 20 2021 Wolves Wild games Tuesday night push Twins to the CW Twin Cities April 18 2022 RabbitEars TV Query for WUCW RabbitEars Archived from the original on May 29 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 Details Released of Aug 16 NextGen TV Launch in Minneapolis Updated Northpine July 25 2023 Retrieved August 16 2023 RabbitEars TV Query for WUCW RabbitEars Archived from the original on May 29 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 Some TV Stations Won t Delay Digital Switch WCCO TV Associated Press February 6 2009 Archived from the original on June 18 2009 Local TV station goes digital only Minnesota Public Radio February 18 2009 Archived from the original on October 9 2012 Retrieved August 6 2021 DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds PDF Archived from the original PDF on August 29 2013 Retrieved March 24 2012 Minnesota TV Translators and Satellite Stations Northpine Archived from the original on May 29 2021 Retrieved August 6 2021 External links editOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title WUCW amp oldid 1202436133, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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