Product Code Database
WWME-CD (channel 23) is a low-power, Class A television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, which serves as the flagship station of multicast networks MeTV and Heroes & Icons. It is owned by locally based Weigel Broadcasting alongside fellow Weigel flagship properties and independent stations WCIU-TV (channel 26) and WMEU-CD (channel 48). The stations share studios on Halsted Street (between Washington Boulevard and Madison Street) in the Greektown neighborhood, while WWME-CD's transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower on South Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop.
Even though WWME-CD has a digital signal of its own, the low-power broadcasting radius does not reach the outer ring of Chicago proper or surrounding suburbs. Therefore, the station can also be seen through a widescreen standard definition simulcast on WCIU's third digital subchannel, with Heroes & Icons being carried on WCIU-DT4 in order to reach the entire media market. This signal is broadcast on channel 26.3 from the same Willis Tower transmitter site.
On December 31, 2005, Weigel rechristened channel 23 as WWME-CA, with MeTV becoming the station's full-time programming format and on-air branding. The station's former ethnic programming and WFBT call letters moved to W48DD (channel 48). On August 4, 2007, WWME introduced "Sí! MeTV" (the first two parts of the moniker were based on the phrase "see me", although "Sí" is the Spanish language word for "yes"), a weekend morning block which featured Spanish-dubbed versions of classic shows from the Universal Television library (such as , , Miami Vice, Quantum Leap and The Incredible Hulk). Some programs that aired during the block were available to the station only in Spanish, due to syndicated restrictions imposed on the original English-language versions; "Sí! MeTV" also offered a public affairs program targeted at Chicago's Latino population, which began at a later date. The block was discontinued on January 25, 2009.
On March 1, 2008, channel 48 – which adopted the WMEU-CA call letters at that time – was converted into an extension of WWME's MeTV format as MeToo. Initially, the two stations maintained similar programming schedules; however by that fall, one station focused mainly on sitcoms while the other largely focused on dramas, and vice versa. In addition to classic television series, WWME also broadcast sporting events from the Chicago Public Schools Public League.
On September 14, 2009, WWME's MeTV schedule shifted its programming to a sitcom-intensive format (running such shows as The Bernie Mac Show, All in the Family, The Three Stooges and Frasier), while the MeToo schedule on WMEU-CA was restructured to feature only off-network programs (such as Perry Mason, , and The Twilight Zone) and films to streamline the schedules of both MeTV outlets.
On December 15, 2010, WCIU moved its simulcast of WWME to digital subchannel 26.3 in preparation for the January 1 launch of "The U Too", a general entertainment programming service that replaced the WWME simulcast on digital channel 26.2. In concurrence with the launch of The U Too, PSIP channel 48.1 was deleted (to be later used by the digital signal of WMEU-CA), while 23.1 reverted to being the virtual channel number for WWME-CA (23.2 was also discontinued, but WWME restored that subchannel with the addition of Bounce TV upon the network's September 2011 launch as part of affiliation agreement with Weigel Broadcasting).
| + Subchannels of WWME-CD ! scope = "col" | Channel ! scope = "col" | Res. ! scope = "col" | Aspect ! scope = "col" | Short name ! scope = "col" | Programming |
WWME-CA replaced the simulcast of WCIU's main channel on its analog signal on January 10, 2011, in favor of carrying a simulcast of WCIU's "The U Too" subchannel (which was otherwise carried on digital subchannel 26.2). In September 2013, with the upgrade of "The U Too"'s programming to high definition (as shown on WMEU-CD channel 48.1), the WWME analog signal was shifted to a simulcast of WCIU's "MeToo" service on digital subchannel 26.4; the analog simulcast of MeToo ended on January 7, 2015, with the analog signal never broadcasting any programming as a result until March 2015, when the analog signal began carrying programming from Heroes & Icons. The future of UHF channel 23 is uncertain, as a spectrum incentive auction for U.S. broadcast television stations is currently scheduled for mid-2016. WWME-CA would have been required to shut down its analog transmitter on September 1, 2015 in any event, as the FCC's since-delayed digital transition for low-power stations did not affect Class A-licensed stations.
WWME-CA shut down its analog signal on January 7, 2015. No termination notification campaign was produced as was done in 2009, as it was assumed most viewers had made the transition years before to WWME's digital signal with the full-power analog transition.
|
|
