WNMU (TV)

WNMU
Marquette, Michigan
United States
Branding Public TV 13
Slogan Public TV for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Northern Wisconsin
Channels Digital: 13 (VHF)
(to move to 8 (VHF))
Virtual: 13 (PSIP)
Subchannels 13.1 PBS
13.2 PBS Kids
13.3 PBS Encore
Affiliations PBS
Owner Northern Michigan University
(Board of Control, Northern Michigan University)
First air date December 28, 1972 (1972-12-28)
Call letters' meaning Northern
Michigan
University
Sister station(s) WNMU-FM
Former callsigns WNPB
Former channel number(s) Analog:
13 (VHF, 1972–2009)
Digital:
33 (UHF, until 2009)
Transmitter power 15.4 kW
15.5 kW (CP)
Height 323.3 m (1,061 ft)
323 m (1,060 ft) (CP)
Facility ID 4318
Transmitter coordinates 46°21′10″N 87°51′15″W / 46.35278°N 87.85417°W / 46.35278; -87.85417 (WNMU)
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website wnmutv.nmu.edu

WNMU is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Marquette, Michigan, United States and serving the Central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on virtual and VHF channel 13 from a transmitter in Ely Township southwest of Ishpeming. Owned by Northern Michigan University, WNMU has studios in the Edgar L. Harden Learning Resource Center on NMU's campus in Marquette.

History

The station first went on the air in 1972. The station is owned and operated by Northern Michigan University. When the station first went on the air, its call letters were WNPB.

WNMU serves all communities in the UP, over the air on channel 13 in the central UP, and on cable regionwide, including portions of northern Wisconsin not served by Wisconsin Public Television stations WPNE-TV or WLEF-TV.

It is also seen on Charter cable in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, instead of WCMU-TV, which the rest of its market get via transmitters throughout the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. In most of the Eastern UP, cable or satellite are required to receive any PBS service; when the digital conversion took place in 2009, the Eastern UP lost terrestrial PBS service when WCMU satellite WCML in Alpena lowered its transmitter power for its digital broadcasts. Neither WCMU nor WNMU currently have plans to expand into the Eastern UP to fill the void left by the departure of WCML from the Eastern UP airwaves.

WNMU was part of the Shaw line-up on its Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, system until 2002, when it was replaced with Detroit's WTVS.

The transmitter for WNMU-TV is located just outside Ishpeming in Ely Township. The antenna is 1,000 feet (300 m) tall.

The future of WNMU radio and TV was threatened in recent years, as budget cuts led to a proposed sale or closure of the stations. However, new funding was approved, keeping the station on the air.

Shows

WNMU produces a number of shows directly from their studios.

  • High School Bowl, hosted by Jim Koski
  • Media Meet, a weekly public affairs program focused on issues important to residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula
  • Ask The..., a live call-in series hosted by a panel of experts where viewers may call and have their question discussed on air. There are several shows including Ask The Doctors, Ask The DNR, Ask The Lawyers, and more.
  • What's Up?, a brief community calendar interview program.
  • Public Eye News, a 15-minute news broadcast run by students at NMU.

In 2012 a broadcast titled Mauvais Sort: Spellbound won a Good News Award for uplifting and excellent journalism.[1]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[2]
13.11080i16:9WNMU-HDMain WNMU programming / PBS
13.2480i4:3WNMU-KDPBS Kids
13.31080i16:9WNMU-PLPBS Encore

Analog-to-digital conversion

WNMU discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 13, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 33 to VHF channel 13.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette (May 31, 2012). "U.P. Media Honored for Good News" (PDF) (Press release). Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for WNMU
  3. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
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