WCMU-TV

WCMU-TV (channel 14) is a PBS member television station in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States, owned by Central Michigan University. The station's studios are located at the Public Broadcast Center on the CMU campus on East Campus Drive in Mount Pleasant, and its transmitter is located 3 mi west of Barryton, Michigan.

WCMU-TV operates three satellite stations: WCMW (channel 21) in Manistee (with transmitter northeast of Ludington), WCMV (channel 27) in Cadillac (with transmitter east of Kalkaska), and WCML (channel 6) in Alpena (with transmitter north of Atlanta, Michigan). Collectively branded as WCMU Public Media, the four stations cover an area spanning three television markets and small portions of several others.

Although Mount Pleasant is part of the Flint–Saginaw–Bay City market, WCMU Public Media's viewership is primarily located in the Traverse City/Cadillac and Alpena markets; it is the PBS member for both. Its footprint also extends into parts of the Lansing and Grand Rapids–Kalamazoo–Battle Creek markets.

Satellite stations

WCMU-TV was previously relayed on W46AD in Traverse City and W69AV in Leland; however, the transmitters ceased operations before their licenses were canceled by the FCC on September 7, 2011.

History

WCMU came to the air on March 29, 1967.[3]

In January 2010, WCMU-TV began airing 24 hours a day, and launched an HD feed.[4]

Acquisition of WFUM

On October 27, 2009, it was announced that the CMU Board of Trustees approved a proposal for CMU to acquire Flint, Michigan's PBS member station, WFUM (later WCMZ-TV), from the University of Michigan–Flint for a maximum of $1 million.[5] The sale was approved by the FCC, allowing the network's presence to expand further south, not only including Flint, but also Ann Arbor and into Metro Detroit. The network provided at least secondary over-the-air coverage from far Northern Emmet County to northern Monroe County. While WFUM was folded into the CMU Public Television network, CMU vowed to include Flint-area events and issues in its programming, as well as produce new programming that would originate from the region. CMU believed the acquisition of WFUM will increase its viewership from 2.2 million to 8 million.[6] CMU originally hinted that the takeover of WFUM would begin in late November,[7] but WCMU took over operations of WFUM on January 15, 2010.[8] The FCC approved the sale of WFUM in March and CMU officially took over in May at which point the call letters were changed to WCMZ-TV.

On February 8, 2017, Central Michigan University announced it will sell WCMZ-TV in the FCC spectrum auction for $14 million, claiming its viewers are already able to watch PBS on other nearby affiliates, namely Delta College's WDCQ-TV.[9] It signed off on April 23, 2018.[10]

WCML transmitter fire

On February 28, 2024, a fire broke out at the WCML transmitter building in Montmorency Township, knocking out over-the-air PBS service to northeast Michigan, along with radio sister WCML-FM (91.7). The transmitter building was a total loss, and both stations would be off the air for several months as a complete rebuild of the site will be required. Cable carriage and streaming of both stations were not impacted by the outage.[11] By March 9, WCMU updated their website, and the exact cause of the fire was unable to be determined.

On July 30, 2024, WCML TV and FM both returned to the air at 50% power, with an estimated coverage percentage at around 70% of the normal full power coverage area. WCMU Public Media anticipates a permanent full power restoration of both signals will not occur until sometime in 2025.[12]

callsign	WCMU-TV
branding	WCMU Public Media
digital	26 (UHF)
virtual	14
affiliations	PBS
airdate	March 29, 1967
location	Mount Pleasant, Michigan
country	United States
callsign meaning	Central Michigan University
former channel numbers	Analog: 14 (UHF, 1967–2009)
owner	Central Michigan University
sister stations	WCMU-FM, WUCX-FM
former affiliations	NET (1967–1970)
erp	450 kW
haat	298 m
facility id	9908
coordinates	43.75142°N, -85.21283°W
licensing authority	FCC
website	http://www.wcmu.org/

Satellite stations

History

Acquisition of WFUM

WCML transmitter fire

Technical information

Subchannels

External links

References