WLUC-TV
Encyclopedia
WLUC-TV is the NBC
-affiliated television station
for Michigan
's Central Upper Peninsula
licensed to Marquette
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 35 (PSIP virtual channel
6.1) from a transmitter on South Helen Lake Road southeast of Republic
in rural Marquette County
. The station can also be seen on Charter
channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 785. Owned by Barrington Broadcasting
, WLUC has studios on US 41
/M-28
in Negaunee
. Syndicated
programming on the station includes Friends
, Dr. Phil
, Ellen
, and Judge Judy
among others.
and Charter channel 11 is the area's Fox
affiliate. Known on-air as Fox UP, it also airs America One
as a secondary affiliate. Syndicated programming on the station includes Two and a Half Men
, Family Guy
, My Name Is Earl
, and The Andy Griffith Show
in addition to others. There is a high definition feed on WLUC-DT2 on Charter digital channel 706.
, Iron Mountain
, L'Anse
, Pewabic, and White Pine
.
affiliate. WDMJ was owned by the Daily Mining Journal
along with WDMJ
-AM 1320. Its studios were on the top floor of the Mining Journal building on Washington Street in Downtown Marquette. The station quickly outgrew its facilities. In 1959, the station moved into its current studios in Negaunee. In 1964, it was sold to Post Corporation, owners of WLUK-TV
in Green Bay, Wisconsin
, who changed the calls to WLUC to match its moniker at the time "Lucky 6". Some locals would say it actually meant "With Luck You C TV"). WLUC first aired network programs in color in 1963, and with the purchase of color video tape equipment, it began broadcasting all locally produced programs in color in 1969.
The station added the -TV suffix in 1979. It moved its transmitter to southeast of Republic in 1980 and dismantled the original one near its current studios in Negaunee. WLUC has been affected several times by television shakeups in Green Bay since rival station WJMN-TV
in Escanaba
is a semi-satellite of Green Bay-based WFRV-TV
. For example, it dropped NBC programming in 1969 when WJMN signed-on. When the CBS Corporation
bought WFRV in 1992 and switched it from ABC
, WLUC became a primary ABC station with secondary NBC affiliation. It became solely NBC in 1995 when WLUK and WGBA-TV exchanged affiliations. As a result, it is one of the few stations in the country to have been with all of the big three
networks. WLUC also carried some Fox programs in the early-1990s before WLUK switched to the network.
WLUC-DT2 signed-on at some point in late-2005 (under Raycom Media
ownership) carrying The Tube Music Network. After that network shut down October 1, 2007 due to a lack of advertising, NBC Weather Plus
was added. Later, Weather Plus was dropped in favor of Universal Sports
. Throughout its association with those three services, WLUC-DT2 was carried on Charter digital channel 306. In late-2005 following Raycom's purchase of The Liberty Corporation, the company announced WLUC would be sold along with fellow NBC station WPBN-TV
and full-time satellite WTOM-TV serving the Northern Lower
and Eastern Upper Peninsula. The sale was necessary to help meet Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) restrictions on station ownership. On March 27, 2006, Raycom sold twelve of its stations (including WLUC) to Barrington Broadcasting of Barrington, Illinois
. The FCC approved the deal in June 2006 and the purchase closed August 11. WLUC joined WPBN/WTOM, Saginaw's WEYI-TV
, and Toledo, Ohio
's WNWO-TV
as part of Barrington's family of stations in and around Michigan.
Like many other Barrington-owned stations (including WTOM), WLUC operates a rather low-powered (83 kW) UHF signal which has a much smaller coverage footprint than its former analog station. Its over-the-air digital signal covers less than half of the designated market
area (DMA). Therefore, WLUC relies on cable as well as satellite carriers DirecTV
and Dish Network
to distribute programming to the entire area. After the analog television shutdown on June 12, 2009, WLUC remained on its current pre-transition channel number (35) using PSIP to display its virtual channel as 6.
In July of that year, WLUC announced it would begin carrying Fox on its second digital subchannel starting August 17. It replaced Universal Sports which became relegated to late-night hours while programming from America One was added in a secondary nature. The subchannel replaced WZMQ (formerly WMQF) as the area's Fox affiliate after it temporarily suspended programming due to previous owner Equity Media Holdings declaring Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. WZMQ is now back on-the-air after being sold to new owners, switching to This TV
, and moving MyNetworkTV
to a new second digital subchannel
.
Although subject to blackout restrictions, WLUC-DT2 was scheduled to carry twelve Green Bay Packer and eight Detroit Lions
football games during the 2009 season. In addition to the Fox subchannel from WLUC, the network is available in the Upper Peninsula over-the-air from WLUK in Menominee County
and via a low powered digital translator of that station in Escanaba. WLUK is carried by Charter in the West and Central Upper Peninsula along with WLUC-DT2 except in Gogebic County
which is covered by KQDS-TV
from Duluth, Minnesota
. The Eastern Upper Peninsula is covered by WWUP-DT 10.2 (a standard definition digital simulcast of WFQX-TV
in Cadillac
).
, Finland Calling ("Suomi kutsuu" in Finnish). The station started the show on March 27, 1962 at the suggestion of a local travel agent who sought to boost travel to Scandinavia
n countries. Since its beginning, the show has been hosted by Carl Pellonpaa, then a newsman at the station. Pellonpaa has since retired but still hosts the show. Early editions of the show were produced live and featured books, photographs, and Finnish music. Camera operators had to learn a few words of Finnish just to be able to follow the show.
The one-hour weekly Sunday morning program regularly features Finnish visitors to the region including two Presidents of Finland
, the Prime Minister
, a number of Ambassador
s, Consul Generals of Finland, members of the country's Parliament, numerous entertainers, choirs, teachers, and students among others. Pellonpaa has hosted 22 tours to Finland and dozens of dances featuring Finnish music. In 1988, he was awarded the Order of the White Rose from then President Mauno Koivisto
for hosting the program and for the number of tourists that the program inspired to visit Finland.
WLUC used the same multicolored "6" logo for many years from as early as the early-1990s until September 2008. From about 1989 until 1992, a similar metallic-looking "6" was used with a rainbow
slash underneath. The rainbow, while used with on-air promos and the news open, was never used on mic flags during this time. From the time WLUC went on-the-air in 1956, network logos were always separate from the channel logo. That changed in 1992 when the ABC ball was lodged inside the "6".
When the station switched to primary NBC in 1995, it simply replaced the ABC logo with the letters "NBC" rather than place the network's peacock
alongside the "6" as many NBC affiliates do. The logo design, however, became somewhat dated at that point and as the years went on. From this point until abandoning the rainbow "6", one may have accidentally thought WLUC was an ABC affiliate. On September 8, 2008, it phased out its "multicolored" 6 logo and went with the letters "TV 6" inside an oval tilted to the right. It also changed its longtime slogan from "Someplace Special" (used since 1992) to "Upper Michigan's Source".
which has only been airing newscasts since early-2004 (an earlier attempt was abandoned due to low ratings and budget costs). Unlike most other semi-satellites, CBS affiliate WJMN does not offer coverage of its home territory because the station does not maintain news bureaus in the state of Michigan. However, there are brief Upper Peninsula-specific news and weather updates produced at WFRV's facilities in Green Bay.
After WLUC-DT2 initially added Fox, it offered a nationally syndicated newscast weeknights at 6:30. The program was produced for America One by the Independent News Network
from studios on Tremont Avenue in Davenport, Iowa
. This was eventually dropped in favor syndicated programming as the subchannel developed more. Starting September 8, 2009, WLUC-DT2 began airing a local weeknight prime time broadcast (known as Your Fox UP News in Primetime) from a new secondary set. New segments such as viewer feedback, daily polls, and other features were introduced. There is no regular sports segment seen in the show although a quick update can be given on teams with local and regional interest. The broadcast competes with one airing at the same time on CW affiliate WBKP
(produced by WBUP).
Unlike most NBC affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
, WLUC does not air a full two-hour weekday morning show, midday news, or broadcast weeknights at 5:30. In addition to its main studios, the station operates bureaus in Escanaba
(on Ludington Street), Iron Mountain
(on South Stephenson Avenue/US 2
/US 141
), and Houghton
(on Sheldon Avenue/US 41
). The Iron Mountain Bureau also serves Kingsford
while the Houghton Bureau also serves Hancock
. Although there is no weekend morning show, WLUC repeats the previous night's late news on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
WLUC does not broadcast its news in High Definition at this time due to the high cost of purchasing new studio cameras and and upgrading the equipment necessary for HD.
True View 6 Meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
Other on-air Contributors
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...
-affiliated television station
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 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"....
's Central Upper Peninsula
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...
licensed to Marquette
Marquette, Michigan
Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 35 (PSIP virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
6.1) from a transmitter on South Helen Lake Road southeast of Republic
Republic, Michigan
Republic is an unincorporated community in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also a census-designated place for statistical purposes, covering a narrow, roughly crescent-shaped area along several miles of M-95...
in rural Marquette County
Marquette County, Michigan
-National protected areas:* Hiawatha National Forest * Huron National Wildlife Refuge* Ottawa National Forest -University:Northern Michigan University is a four-year university, established in 1899, located in Marquette, Michigan, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula...
. The station can also be seen 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 6 and in high definition on digital channel 785. Owned 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...
, WLUC has studios on US 41
U.S. Route 41 in Michigan
US Highway 41 is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state via the Interstate Bridge between Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee,...
/M-28
M-28 (Michigan highway)
M-28 is an east–west state trunkline highway that almost completely traverses the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan, from Wakefield to near Sault Ste. Marie in Bruce Township...
in Negaunee
Negaunee, Michigan
Negaunee is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,576 at the 2000 census. The city is located at the southwest corner of Negaunee Township. The city is home to the Michigan Iron Industry Museum...
. 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...
programming on the station includes Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, Ellen
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, and Judge Judy
Judge Judy
Judge Judy is an American court show featuring former family court judge Judith Sheindlin arbitrating over small claims cases in small claims court...
among others.
Digital programming
On WLUC-DT2WLUC-DT2
WLUC-DT2 is the Fox-affiliated television station for Michigan's Central Upper Peninsula. It is a second digital subchannel of NBC affiliate WLUC-TV owned by Barrington Broadcasting...
and Charter channel 11 is the area's 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...
affiliate. Known on-air as Fox UP, it also airs America One
America One
America One is an over-the-air television network in the United States. The network serves over 170 LPTV, Class A, Full Power, Cable and Satellite affiliate stations...
as a secondary affiliate. Syndicated programming on the station includes Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
, and The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
in addition to others. There is a high definition feed on WLUC-DT2 on Charter digital channel 706.
| Channels (virtual/physical) | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1/35.1 | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
main WLUC programming/NBC (HD) |
| 6.2/35.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | WLUC-DT2 "Fox UP" (SD) |
Translators
WLUC is seen on two translators in order to extend its primary signal. W07DB channel 7 is used for areas of Marquette that get a poor reception from the station's main transmitter. It used to operate a network of translators serving CalumetCalumet, Michigan
Calumet is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the Calumet Downtown Historic District, listed on the National...
, Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain, Michigan
Iron Mountain is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,154. It is the county seat of Dickinson County, in the state's Upper Peninsula....
, L'Anse
L'Anse, Michigan
L'Anse is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Baraga County. The population was 2,107 at the 2000 census. The village is located within L'Anse Township....
, Pewabic, and White Pine
White Pine, Michigan
White Pine is an unincorporated census-designated place in Ontonagon County the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, its population was 474....
.
| Call letters | Channel | City of license |
|---|---|---|
| W07DB | 7 | Marquette |
| W14CE | 14 | Escanaba Escanaba, Michigan Escanaba is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the banana belt on the state's Upper Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,140, making it the third-largest city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie... |
History
It signed-on with the calls WDMJ-TV on April 28, 1956 as the Upper Peninsula's first television station. The channel carried programming from all three networks offered at that time but was a primary CBSCBS
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...
affiliate. WDMJ was owned by the Daily Mining Journal
The Mining Journal
The Mining Journal is the predominant daily newspaper of Marquette, Michigan and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.Like most market-dominant daily papers, the MJ is a seven-day morning paper. The Mining Journal is distributed over a wide area, in part because Marquette is the largest city for a...
along with WDMJ
WDMJ
WDMJ and WIAN , The Talk of Marquette, are a pair of radio stations broadcasting a news-talk format.- Sources :**-External links:...
-AM 1320. Its studios were on the top floor of the Mining Journal building on Washington Street in Downtown Marquette. The station quickly outgrew its facilities. In 1959, the station moved into its current studios in Negaunee. In 1964, it was sold to Post Corporation, owners of WLUK-TV
WLUK-TV
WLUK-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Fox River Valley area and Northeastern Wisconsin. Licensed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, the station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter on Scray's Hill in Ledgeview; the station also broadcasts in...
in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
, who changed the calls to WLUC to match its moniker at the time "Lucky 6". Some locals would say it actually meant "With Luck You C TV"). WLUC first aired network programs in color in 1963, and with the purchase of color video tape equipment, it began broadcasting all locally produced programs in color in 1969.
The station added the -TV suffix in 1979. It moved its transmitter to southeast of Republic in 1980 and dismantled the original one near its current studios in Negaunee. WLUC has been affected several times by television shakeups in Green Bay since rival station WJMN-TV
WJMN-TV
WJMN-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Michigan's Central Upper Peninsula licensed to Escanaba. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter in unincorporated Northern Delta County south of the Alger County line. The station can also be seen on...
in Escanaba
Escanaba, Michigan
Escanaba is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the banana belt on the state's Upper Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,140, making it the third-largest city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie...
is a semi-satellite of Green Bay-based WFRV-TV
WFRV-TV
WFRV-TV is a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and serving Green Bay, the Fox Valley, and Northeastern Wisconsin. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter north of the Brown County town of Morrison...
. For example, it dropped NBC programming in 1969 when WJMN signed-on. When the CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
bought WFRV in 1992 and switched it from 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...
, WLUC became a primary ABC station with secondary NBC affiliation. It became solely NBC in 1995 when WLUK and WGBA-TV exchanged affiliations. As a result, it is one of the few stations in the country to have been with all of the big three
Big Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...
networks. WLUC also carried some Fox programs in the early-1990s before WLUK switched to the network.
WLUC-DT2 signed-on at some point in late-2005 (under Raycom Media
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
ownership) carrying The Tube Music Network. After that network shut down October 1, 2007 due to a lack of advertising, NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus was a 24-hour, commercially sponsored, weather-oriented broadcast/cable television network jointly owned by NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC network. It debuted on November 15, 2004 and shut down on December 31, 2008...
was added. Later, Weather Plus was dropped in favor of Universal Sports
Universal Sports
Universal Sports is an American television network that airs various sports, primarily those contested in the Olympic Games, including swimming, gymnastics, cycling, track and field, figure skating, skiing, bobsledding and triathlon.-Programming:...
. Throughout its association with those three services, WLUC-DT2 was carried on Charter digital channel 306. In late-2005 following Raycom's purchase of The Liberty Corporation, the company announced WLUC would be sold along with fellow NBC station 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 serving 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 Peninsula. The sale was necessary to help meet 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) restrictions on station ownership. On March 27, 2006, Raycom sold twelve of its stations (including WLUC) to Barrington Broadcasting of Barrington, Illinois
Barrington, Illinois
Barrington is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois and Lake County, Illinois. The population was 10,327 at the 2010 census. Located approximately northwest of Chicago, the area features wetlands, forest preserves, parks and horse trails in a country-suburban setting...
. The FCC approved the deal in June 2006 and the purchase closed August 11. WLUC joined WPBN/WTOM, Saginaw's WEYI-TV
WEYI-TV
WEYI-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Flint/Tri-Cities market that is licensed to Saginaw. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 30 from a 193 kilowatt, high transmitter at its studios on West Willard Road in Vienna Township along the Genesee and...
, and Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
's WNWO-TV
WNWO-TV
WNWO-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station in Northwest Ohio that is licensed to Toledo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 49 from a transmitter northeast of Oregon. Owned by Barrington Broadcasting, the station has studios on South Byrne Road...
as part of Barrington's family of stations in and around Michigan.
Like many other Barrington-owned stations (including WTOM), WLUC operates a rather low-powered (83 kW) UHF signal which has a much smaller coverage footprint than its former analog station. Its over-the-air digital signal covers less than half of the designated market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
area (DMA). Therefore, WLUC relies on cable as well as satellite carriers DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
to distribute programming to the entire area. After the analog television shutdown on June 12, 2009, WLUC remained on its current pre-transition channel number (35) using PSIP to display its virtual channel as 6.
In July of that year, WLUC announced it would begin carrying Fox on its second digital subchannel starting August 17. It replaced Universal Sports which became relegated to late-night hours while programming from America One was added in a secondary nature. The subchannel replaced WZMQ (formerly WMQF) as the area's Fox affiliate after it temporarily suspended programming due to previous owner Equity Media Holdings declaring Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. WZMQ is now back on-the-air after being sold to new owners, switching to This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
, and moving MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
to a new second digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
.
Although subject to blackout restrictions, WLUC-DT2 was scheduled to carry twelve Green Bay Packer and eight Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
football games during the 2009 season. In addition to the Fox subchannel from WLUC, the network is available in the Upper Peninsula over-the-air from WLUK in Menominee County
Menominee County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 25,326 people, 10,529 households, and 7,001 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile . There were 13,639 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
and via a low powered digital translator of that station in Escanaba. WLUK is carried by Charter in the West and Central Upper Peninsula along with WLUC-DT2 except in Gogebic County
Gogebic County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 17,370 people, 7,425 households, and 4,581 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile . There were 10,839 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...
which is covered by KQDS-TV
KQDS-TV
KQDS-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Twin Ports and Iron Range areas of Northeastern Minnesota that is licensed to Duluth. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 17 from a transmitter west of downtown in Hilltop Park. Owned by Red River Broadcasting, the...
from Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. The Eastern Upper Peninsula is covered by WWUP-DT 10.2 (a standard definition digital simulcast of WFQX-TV
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...
in Cadillac
Cadillac, Michigan
Cadillac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Wexford County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,000. The city is situated at the junction of US 131, M-55 and M-115...
).
Finland Calling
With 16% of the area's population of Finnish descent (down from about 25% in the 1960s), WLUC produces the only Finnish-language program in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Finland Calling ("Suomi kutsuu" in Finnish). The station started the show on March 27, 1962 at the suggestion of a local travel agent who sought to boost travel to Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n countries. Since its beginning, the show has been hosted by Carl Pellonpaa, then a newsman at the station. Pellonpaa has since retired but still hosts the show. Early editions of the show were produced live and featured books, photographs, and Finnish music. Camera operators had to learn a few words of Finnish just to be able to follow the show.
The one-hour weekly Sunday morning program regularly features Finnish visitors to the region including two Presidents of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Finland
The Prime Minister is the Head of Government of Finland. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, who is the Head of State. The current Prime Minister is Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party.-Overview:...
, a number of Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
s, Consul Generals of Finland, members of the country's Parliament, numerous entertainers, choirs, teachers, and students among others. Pellonpaa has hosted 22 tours to Finland and dozens of dances featuring Finnish music. In 1988, he was awarded the Order of the White Rose from then President Mauno Koivisto
Mauno Koivisto
Mauno Henrik Koivisto is a Finnish politician who served as the ninth President of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as Prime Minister 1968–1970 and 1979–1982...
for hosting the program and for the number of tourists that the program inspired to visit Finland.
Previous logo
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
slash underneath. The rainbow, while used with on-air promos and the news open, was never used on mic flags during this time. From the time WLUC went on-the-air in 1956, network logos were always separate from the channel logo. That changed in 1992 when the ABC ball was lodged inside the "6".
When the station switched to primary NBC in 1995, it simply replaced the ABC logo with the letters "NBC" rather than place the network's peacock
NBC logos
The National Broadcasting Company has used several corporate logos over its history, yet the peacock is its most well known.-Microphone logo :...
alongside the "6" as many NBC affiliates do. The logo design, however, became somewhat dated at that point and as the years went on. From this point until abandoning the rainbow "6", one may have accidentally thought WLUC was an ABC affiliate. On September 8, 2008, it phased out its "multicolored" 6 logo and went with the letters "TV 6" inside an oval tilted to the right. It also changed its longtime slogan from "Someplace Special" (used since 1992) to "Upper Michigan's Source".
News operation
For its entire existence, WLUC has held the number one spot in local Nielson ratings by a wide margin. It has a much larger news department compared with ABC affiliate WBUPWBUP
WBUP is the ABC-affiliated television station for Michigan's Central Upper Peninsula licensed to Ishpeming. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter in Humboldt Township. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 10 and in high definition on digital...
which has only been airing newscasts since early-2004 (an earlier attempt was abandoned due to low ratings and budget costs). Unlike most other semi-satellites, CBS affiliate WJMN does not offer coverage of its home territory because the station does not maintain news bureaus in the state of Michigan. However, there are brief Upper Peninsula-specific news and weather updates produced at WFRV's facilities in Green Bay.
After WLUC-DT2 initially added Fox, it offered a nationally syndicated newscast weeknights at 6:30. The program was produced for America One by the Independent News Network
Independent News Network
For the consortium of non-profit investigative news organizations, see .The Independent News Network, also known as INN, is a television news service based in Davenport, Iowa. It syndicates "localized" news programs for television stations across the country with little budget for news...
from studios on Tremont Avenue in Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
. This was eventually dropped in favor syndicated programming as the subchannel developed more. Starting September 8, 2009, WLUC-DT2 began airing a local weeknight prime time broadcast (known as Your Fox UP News in Primetime) from a new secondary set. New segments such as viewer feedback, daily polls, and other features were introduced. There is no regular sports segment seen in the show although a quick update can be given on teams with local and regional interest. The broadcast competes with one airing at the same time on CW affiliate WBKP
WBKP
WBKP is the CW-affiliated television station for Michigan's Central Upper Peninsula licensed to Calumet. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 5 from a transmitter on Tolonen Hill in Atlantic Mine. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 2...
(produced by WBUP).
Unlike most NBC 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...
, WLUC does not air a full two-hour weekday morning show, midday news, or broadcast weeknights at 5:30. In addition to its main studios, the station operates bureaus in Escanaba
Escanaba, Michigan
Escanaba is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the banana belt on the state's Upper Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,140, making it the third-largest city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie...
(on Ludington Street), Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain, Michigan
Iron Mountain is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,154. It is the county seat of Dickinson County, in the state's Upper Peninsula....
(on South Stephenson Avenue/US 2
U.S. Route 2 in Michigan
US Highway 2 is a component of the United States Numbered Highway System that connects Everett, Washington, to the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan, with a separate segment that runs from Rouses Point, New York, to Houlton, Maine...
/US 141
U.S. Route 141
U.S. Route 141 is a north–south highway in the U.S. states of Michigan and Wisconsin. US 41 is its parent route. Its northern terminus, on US 41, is near Covington, Michigan; its southern terminus, with I-43 near Bellevue, Wisconsin; it remains in existence in Green Bay, Wisconsin as a...
), and Houghton
Houghton, Michigan
Houghton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,708. It is the county seat of Houghton County...
(on Sheldon Avenue/US 41
U.S. Route 41 in Michigan
US Highway 41 is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state via the Interstate Bridge between Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee,...
). The Iron Mountain Bureau also serves Kingsford
Kingsford, Michigan
Kingsford is a city in Dickinson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,549 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Iron Mountain, MI–WI Micropolitan Statistical Area....
while the Houghton Bureau also serves Hancock
Hancock, Michigan
Hancock is a city in Houghton County; the northernmost in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, or, depending on terminology, Copper Island. The population was 4,634 at the 2010 census...
. Although there is no weekend morning show, WLUC repeats the previous night's late news on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
WLUC does not broadcast its news in High Definition at this time due to the high cost of purchasing new studio cameras and and upgrading the equipment necessary for HD.
Station slogans
- "We Light Up Marquette" (1986–1992)
- "Someplace Special" (1992–2008)
- "Upper Michigan's Source" (2008–present)
News team
Anchors- Vicky Crystal - weekday mornings
- Steve Asplund - weeknights at 6
- Greg Trick - weeknights at 7 and 11
- David Fath - weeknights at 10 (FOXUP)
- Natalie Jovonovich - weekend nights at 11
- Carl Pellonpaa - Finland Calling host
- Buck LeVasseaur - Discovering host
True View 6 Meteorologists
- Karl Bohnak (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Seal of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights, Sunday night fill-in - Phil DeCastro - weekday mornings, Saturday night fill-in
- Wesley Williams - weekends, fill-in weeknights and mornings
Sports
- Mike Ludlum - weeknight anchor at 6, 7, and 11 (also Friday Night Fever host)
- Mike Bedard - weekend anchor and sports reporter
Reporters
- Nikki Davidson - full-time reporter
- Noël McLaren - full-time reporter, also fill-in anchor (weeknights 7 and 11, weekends at 11)
- Natalie Jovonovich - reporter during the week, fill-in anchor weeknights at 6
- Eric Kane - morning producer/reporter
- Nikki Junewicz - FOXUP reporter, fill-in anchor for FOXUP News at 10
- Aaron Martin - Iron Mountain/Kingsford Bureau reporter
- Yona Gavino - Escanaba Bureau reporter
- Ana Simovska - Houghton Bureau reporter
- Ryan Kilgren - videographer
Other on-air Contributors
- Mike Reling - "On the Town With the Fat Man" segment producer and heard on WUPT-FMWUPT (FM)WUPT is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits music format. Licensed to Gwinn, Michigan, USA, the station is currently owned by Radioactive, LLC.-History:...
100.3 - Rob Jamros - PresidentPresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and Chief Executive OfficerChief executive officerA chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
(also "The UPside" segment producer)