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:''Not to be confused with WTVO or WTOV.'' WOTV, virtual channel 41 (UHF digital channel 20), is an ABC-affiliated television station located in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. The station is owned by Media General, and is a sister station to NBC affiliate WOOD-TV (channel 8) and Class A MyNetworkTV affiliate WXSP-CD (channel 15). All three stations share studios on College Avenue Southeast in the Heritage Hill section of Grand Rapids, WOTV's transmitter is located on South Norris Road in Orangeville Township. It is known on air as WOTV 4, since it is carried on channel 4 on Charter Communications and Comcast. Syndicated programming on WOTV includes ''Steve Harvey'', ''Rules of Engagement'', ''The Queen Latifah Show'' and ''The Wendy Williams Show''. On early weekend mornings, the station simulcasts WOOD-DT3, which is a feed of WOOD-TV's weather radar (known as the "Storm Team 8 Live Doppler Network") with audio from NOAA Weather Radio station KIG63; since July 15, 2013, it is now carried full-time on WOTV-DT2. The Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo market is one of a few instances where there are two affiliates of the same network (this situation exists in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida where WFTS-TV and WWSB both air ABC programming in the same market). ABC programming is also seen on WZZM (channel 13), which is based out of Grand Rapids. Although WZZM clears all network programming and operates a full news department, its digital signal cannot reach the southern portions of the market (Battle Creek and Kalamazoo). This is because the transmitter is located northwest of Grand Rapids in Grant, farther north than the area's other network stations. While WOTV once focused primarily on the southern portion of the market, in recent years it has billed itself as a full-market ABC affiliate, including Grand Rapids. In some cases, commonly from late spring through early fall, the signal from WOTV can be received in parts of southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. This can cause interference in these areas with the signal from Chicago's WGN-TV, as WOTV broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 20 and WGN-TV broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 19. ==History== The station signed on the air on July 24, 1971 as WUHQ-TV (standing for "UHF HeadQuarters"). It was owned by Channel 41, Inc. a group of 19 investors from Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. WUHQ signed on because the southern portion of the market did not receive an adequate signal from WZZM. Originally licensed on VHF channel 9, that station swapped channels with WWTV in Cadillac and moved to channel 13 just before signing on in 1962. As a result, its transmitter is farther north than the other Southwestern Michigan stations in order to protect WTVG in Toledo, Ohio. Before WUHQ signed on, viewers in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek watched ABC from either WSJV in Elkhart/South Bend, Indiana, WXYZ-TV in Detroit, or during the summer months with tropospheric propagation across Lake Michigan, WLS-TV in Chicago and WITI in Milwaukee (then that city's ABC affiliate). In its early days, the station could not get ABC to provide a direct network feed. This forced channel 41 to switch to and from WZZM's signal during the times when ABC network programming was being shown. This practice, however, was less than satisfactory as WZZM often pre-empted network shows in favor of locally originated or other programming (such as Billy Graham crusades). In cases where WUHQ had advance notice of such changes, the station was able to procure filmed copies of the pre-empted network programming for broadcast. However, WZZM sometimes pre-empted a program with no advance notice such as for breaking local news or severe weather coverage. When this happened, WUHQ had simulcast WSJV, usually with less than satisfactory results. At times, atmospheric conditions were not suitable enough to simulcast WSJV, forcing WUHQ to substitute a film or other non-network programming. WZZM's owners, Northstar Television, planned to buy WUHQ in 1991 and turn it into a satellite. This would have created a strong combined signal with about 40% overlap. Northstar received Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval to do this, but the deal fell through when the company was unable to come up with the funds necessary to close the transaction. Instead, WUHQ's owner entered into a local marketing agreement (LMA) with LIN Broadcasting, owner of WOTV in Grand Rapids. The deal closed on November 11, 1991. Shortly after, channel 8 regained its heritage WOOD-TV calls and moved the WOTV calls to channel 41. The previous WUHQ call letters are currently used on a low-powered Daystar affiliate in Grand Rapids. In 1996, WOTV boosted its transmitter power to five million watts, making it the most powerful television station in West Michigan. It now had at least Grade B coverage throughout the entire market. AT&T bought WOOD-TV and the LMA with WOTV in 1994, when LIN spun off its television division as LIN TV. However, LIN continued to operate both stations. LIN TV reacquired WOOD-TV from AT&T in 1999 and bought WOTV outright in 2002. By December 2006, all operations of the station were consolidated into WOOD-TV's facilities in Grand Rapids. Reporter Gerry Barnaby, who joined WOTV in 1993, left the station at end of the year. WOTV's studios on West Dickman Road (M-96) in Battle Creek were donated to a city entity, Battle Creek Unlimited, and were later demolished in February, 2014.〔http://archive.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20140220/NEWS01/302200008/Fort-Custer-HQ-razed〕 The equipment went to the Calhoun County Vocational Educational Center. Both WOTV and WZZM have had a unique history of having one ABC affiliate pre-empt network programming during Labor Day weekend for the ''Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon'' while another aired the pre-empted ABC programming. In recent years, WOTV has aired the ''MDA Telethon'' while WZZM has aired ABC programming preempted by the telethon. It was the other way around in previous years however. Bill Steffen was also the only current news personality to appear on the telethon on both stations having been employed by WZZM and WOOD-TV. Starting in 2013, however, both WZZM and WOTV aired the ''MDA Show of Strength'' at the same time as the program switched from a syndication format to a network telecast on ABC. On May 18, 2007, LIN TV announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives that could have resulted in the sale of the company. The last logo that the station used displayed both digits for channel 41, its defunct analog signal, but highlighted the numeral four in positive space and displayed the numeral one immediately adjacent in negative space (similar to the hidden numeral "11" in the former Big Ten Conference logo). In March 2012, WOTV launched a new logo, website, and daytime lineup under the brand ''WOTV 4 Women''.〔(A TV Station Just '4' Women ), ''Broadcasting & Cable'', June 3, 2013.〕 With the launch, the station began to shift its focus towards the female demographic—its website was redesigned to feature more lifestyle-oriented content, and its daytime lineup began featuring more female and lifestyle-oriented programming (such as ''Dr. Oz'', ''Swift Justice with Jackie Glass'', ''The Nate Berkus Show'', ''Better'', and ''The Wendy Williams Show''); the format change was one of the first such instances in which a broadcast television station attempted to target a more specific demographic (in this case, based on gender). On March 21, 2014, it was announced that Media General would acquire LIN. The deal closed on December 19, making WOTV, along with WOOD and WXSP, siblings to CBS affiliate WLNS-TV and ABC affiliate WLAJ-TV in Lansing. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「WOTV」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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