WTMJ-TV Overview and History
– Television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
– Affiliated with NBC
– Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company
– Studios located on Capitol Drive in Milwaukee
– Transmitter located approximately four miles north of downtown Milwaukee
– Granted first television station license in September 1931 as W9XD
– Changed call letters to WTMJ-TV and signed on the air on December 3, 1947
– First commercial television station in Wisconsin
– First station outside of the Eastern Time Zone affiliated with a major broadcast television network
– Initially carried programming from CBS, ABC, and the DuMont Television Network
WTMJ-TV Ownership
– Formerly owned by the Journal Company
– Journal Company obtained one of the first construction permits for a commercial television station
– Currently owned by the E. W. Scripps Company
– Sister station to Kenosha-licensed Ion Television station WPXE-TV
– Joint sales agreement with WPXE-TV from 2000 to 2005
WTMJ-TV Radio Connections
– Former sister station to WTMJ radio (620 AM) and WKTI (94.5 FM)
– Radio stations now owned by Good Karma Brands
– Shared operations with Scripps and WTMJ-TV, including weather forecasting and engineering staff
– Radio stations moved to a studio within the Third Street Market Hall in early 2022
– Long-term weather forecasting agreement between Scripps, WTMJ-TV, and the radio stations
WTMJ-TV Milestones
– First commercial television station to sign on in Wisconsin
– Fourth station to sign on in the Midwestern United States
– 15th station to launch in the United States
– Only 500 television sets in Milwaukee at the time of WTMJ-TV’s launch
– Access to Chicago television stations in southeastern Wisconsin before WTMJ-TV debuted
Miscellaneous
– Studios located on Capitol Drive in Milwaukee
– Transmitter located approximately four miles north of downtown MilwaukeeSources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTMJ-TV
