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WBVC (The CW Plus)
Encyclopedia
"WBVC" is the cable TV only CW-affiliated television station
for the Northern Lower
and Eastern Upper
Peninsulas of Michigan
. The call sign is fictional as it is a cable-only station. It is part of The CW Plus
, a special CW feed that broadcasts on cable and/or over-the-air on a digital signal. WBVC can be seen exclusively on Charter
channel 61. The station is operated by ABC
affiliate WGTU
and full-time satellite WGTQ that is owned by Tucker Broadcasting of Traverse City but operated through a shared services
agreement (SSA) by Barrington Broadcasting
(owner of NBC
affiliate WPBN-TV
and full-time satellite WTOM-TV).
Known on-air as Northern Michigan CW, it is operated out of WPBN's studios on M-72
west of Traverse City
. Like all affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
, the station airs the nationally syndicated
morning show The Daily Buzz
on weekday mornings from 6 to 9. Except for local commercials and station identifications, it broadcasts the national CW Plus feed and there is no website for the channel.
which was a similar operation to the current CW Plus service. WBVC was identified on-air as "Northern Michigan's WB 61" and the call sign was used in a fictional manner because it only aired on cable. WGTU provided promotional and advertising services for this station which was based at that channel's studios on East Front Street in Downtown Traverse City. On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN
announced that the networks would end broadcasting and merge.
The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of corporate parents CBS
(the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros.
unit of Time Warner
. UPN aired in a delayed arrangement on Fox
affiliates WFQX-TV/WFUP
. On July 25, a new logo for WBVC appeared on WGTU's website. At that time, there were no announcements posted about its future as a CW affiliate. However, that changed a few weeks before the new network started. The CW began broadcasting on September 18. On that date, WBVC became known on-air as "Northern Michigan CW" and WFQX dropped its secondary affiliation with UPN. After the station was added to a new second digital subchannel of WGTU, it began to use the WGTU-DT2 call sign in an official manner.
On September 19, 2007, there was an application filed to the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) by Max Media
to sell WGTU to Tucker Broadcasting for $10 million. After approval in April 2008, Tucker entered into a shared service agreement with Barrington Broadcasting that resulted in WPBN operating WGTU and the CW subchannel. According to the FCC filing, WPBN sells advertising time and provides other programming for WGTU. After that channel renovated its studios over the summer, the operations of WGTU and the CW subchannel moved to that location. A result of WGTU being in an operation agreement with WPBN is the ability to transmit a digital signal from both ABC and NBC at each of the digital transmitter locations in Cheboygan
, Kalkaska
, and Gatesville. It was at this point that the CW subchannel was dropped from WGTU's digital signal in favor of NBC from WPBN. It resumed using the fictitious WBVC call letters. Although on cable, the station has the infamous poor on-air quality that WGTU has suffered from over the years.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for the Northern Lower
Lower Peninsula of Michigan
The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is the southern of the two major landmasses of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. Geographically, the Lower Peninsula has a recognizable shape that many people...
and Eastern Upper
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...
Peninsulas of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. The call sign is fictional as it is a cable-only station. It is part of The CW Plus
The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
, a special CW feed that broadcasts on cable and/or over-the-air on a digital signal. WBVC can be seen exclusively on Charter
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
channel 61. The station is operated by ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate WGTU
WGTU
WGTU is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Northern Lower and Eastern Upper Peninsulas of Michigan that is licensed to Traverse City. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 29 from a transmitter east of Kalkaska. Like other network affiliates in this vast rural...
and full-time satellite WGTQ that is owned by Tucker Broadcasting of Traverse City but operated through a shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
agreement (SSA) by Barrington Broadcasting
Barrington Broadcasting
Barrington Broadcasting Company, LLC , headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois is an entity wholly focused on broadcast television. The company's assets mainly consist of television stations in middle and small sized markets...
(owner of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WPBN-TV
WPBN-TV
WPBN-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Northern Lower and Eastern Upper Peninsulas of Michigan that is licensed to Traverse City. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 47 from a transmitter east of Kalkaska...
and full-time satellite WTOM-TV).
Known on-air as Northern Michigan CW, it is operated out of WPBN's studios on M-72
M-72 (Michigan highway)
M-72 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan, running from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan across the northern part of the Lower Peninsula. The highway connects M-22 in Empire with US Highway 23 in Harrisville. It is one of only three Michigan state trunklines that cross the Lower...
west of Traverse City
Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse...
. Like all affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
, the station airs the nationally syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
morning show The Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz is a nationally syndicated breakfast television news and infotainment program. The show is produced by Fisher Communications and is owned and distributed by ACME Communications; it is broadcast every weekday morning from studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida...
on weekday mornings from 6 to 9. Except for local commercials and station identifications, it broadcasts the national CW Plus feed and there is no website for the channel.
History
The station began in 1998 as a WB affiliate. It was part of The WB 100+The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
which was a similar operation to the current CW Plus service. WBVC was identified on-air as "Northern Michigan's WB 61" and the call sign was used in a fictional manner because it only aired on cable. WGTU provided promotional and advertising services for this station which was based at that channel's studios on East Front Street in Downtown Traverse City. On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
announced that the networks would end broadcasting and merge.
The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of corporate parents CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
(the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
unit of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
. UPN aired in a delayed arrangement on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliates WFQX-TV/WFUP
WFQX-TV
WFQX-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for the northern Lower and eastern Upper Peninsulas of Michigan. Licensed to Cadillac, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter at studios on 130th Avenue/Dighton Road in Tustin on Grove Hill...
. On July 25, a new logo for WBVC appeared on WGTU's website. At that time, there were no announcements posted about its future as a CW affiliate. However, that changed a few weeks before the new network started. The CW began broadcasting on September 18. On that date, WBVC became known on-air as "Northern Michigan CW" and WFQX dropped its secondary affiliation with UPN. After the station was added to a new second digital subchannel of WGTU, it began to use the WGTU-DT2 call sign in an official manner.
On September 19, 2007, there was an application filed to the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) by Max Media
Max Media
Max Media is a company that owns radio and television stations throughout the United States. It is based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia.-History:Max Media was founded in 2001...
to sell WGTU to Tucker Broadcasting for $10 million. After approval in April 2008, Tucker entered into a shared service agreement with Barrington Broadcasting that resulted in WPBN operating WGTU and the CW subchannel. According to the FCC filing, WPBN sells advertising time and provides other programming for WGTU. After that channel renovated its studios over the summer, the operations of WGTU and the CW subchannel moved to that location. A result of WGTU being in an operation agreement with WPBN is the ability to transmit a digital signal from both ABC and NBC at each of the digital transmitter locations in Cheboygan
Cheboygan, Michigan
Cheboygan is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,295. It is the county seat of Cheboygan County....
, Kalkaska
Kalkaska, Michigan
Kalkaska is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 2,226. It is the county seat of Kalkaska County.-Geography:...
, and Gatesville. It was at this point that the CW subchannel was dropped from WGTU's digital signal in favor of NBC from WPBN. It resumed using the fictitious WBVC call letters. Although on cable, the station has the infamous poor on-air quality that WGTU has suffered from over the years.