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WMGM-TV (channel 40) is a
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
licensed to
Wildwood, New Jersey Wildwood is a city in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area and is a popular summer resort destination along the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's year-rou ...
, United States, affiliated with the
True Crime Network True Crime Network (formerly Justice Network) is an American digital multicast television network that is operated by True Crime Network, LLC, a limited liability company, which is owned by Tegna Inc. The network specializes in true crime, in ...
. It is owned by
TelevisaUnivision TelevisaUnivision (formerly known as Univision Communications) is a Mexican-American mass media, media company headquartered in New York and Mexico City, which owns the American Spanish language broadcast network Univision. 45% of the company is ...
alongside
Vineland, New Jersey Vineland is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 60,780. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 61,156 ...
–licensed
Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
WUVP-DT WUVP-DT (channel 65) is a television station licensed to Vineland, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Univision network to the Philadelphia area. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision alongside Wildwood, Ne ...
(channel 65) and
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
-based low-power, Class A
UniMás UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is ...
outlet
WFPA-CD WFPA-CD (channel 28) is a low-power, Class A television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language UniMás network. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision alongside Vineland, New Jersey–lic ...
(channel 28). The stations share studios on North Delsea Drive in Vineland, while WMGM-TV's transmitter is located along
Avalon Boulevard Avalon Boulevard is a north-south street in Los Angeles County. Geography Avalon Boulevard is formed after San Pedro Street intersects with Jefferson Boulevard east of Exposition Park. It passes through Southern Los Angeles County through cities ...
in Swainton. WMGM-TV is officially considered part of the Philadelphia
television market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
but primarily serves southeastern New Jersey, including
Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
. In addition to its own digital signal, WMGM-TV is
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
on WUVP's third
digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
(65.3) from a transmitter in the
Roxborough Roxborough may refer to: Places * Roxborough, Manchester, Jamaica * Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, a neighborhood * Roxborough, Trinidad and Tobago, Tobago Island, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago * Roxborough Castle, Ireland * Roxborou ...
section of Philadelphia; this makes WMGM-TV available
over the air Over the Air was an annual mobile technology-focused overnight hack day event held in London from 2008 to 2016. The two-day event would include practical and educational talks and a hacking competition. Sponsors of the event have included the B ...
throughout the entire Philadelphia market for the first time in the station's history. WMGM-TV was previously an affiliate of
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
, and was the only major network affiliate located within New Jersey. As such, the station's coverage area overlapped with the network's owned-and-operated station in Philadelphia,
WCAU WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jerse ...
(channel 10) as well as Philadelphia's previous NBC affiliate,
KYW-TV KYW-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WPSG (channel 57 ...
(channel 3, now a
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
owned-and-operated station) and the network's
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
flagship
WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...
(channel 4). WMGM-TV's affiliation with NBC ended on
December 31 It is known by a collection of names including: Saint Sylvester's Day, New Year's Eve or Old Years Day/Night, as the following day is New Year's Day. It is the last day of the year; the following day is January 1, the first day of the following ...
, 2014. The station aired various digital multicast networks, and operated as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
, for periods after the loss of NBC. Since its acquisition by Univision, the station has carried the multicast services Justice Network (now True Crime Network) and
GetTV getTV is an American digital multicast television network owned by the Sony Pictures Television Networks subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television. Originally formatted as a movie-oriented service, the network has since transitioned into a genera ...
, as well as Univision via WUVP-DT.


History

The station first signed on the air on January 25, 1966, known as WCMC-TV (meaning
Cape May County Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are fiv ...
). It was owned by Jersey Cape Broadcasting, along with the WCMC radio stations ( 1230 AM and 100.7 FM, now
WZXL WZXL (100.7 FM, "100.7 ZXL") is a radio station also known as "South Jersey's Rock Station", playing classic rock. WZXL is licensed to Wildwood, New Jersey. Operating with 38,000 watts, WZXL serves the greater South Jersey area including Atlanti ...
). The station initially could not get a direct network feed from NBC, forcing station engineers to switch to and from the signal of
KYW-TV KYW-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WPSG (channel 57 ...
(channel 3) in Philadelphia for network programming. During the station's early years, even when NBC went to full-time color programming, the station still broadcast its local programming in black and white. WCMC-TV was sold to South Jersey Radio in 1977, and changed its call letters first to WAAT on April 27, 1981, and then to the current WMGM-TV on April 12, 1984, to match co-owned WMGM radio (103.7 FM). Under South Jersey Radio, channel 40 was able to obtain its own NBC affiliate feed. Upon the death of owner Howard Green in 2002, the stations were eventually sold to Access.1 Communications. For many years, the station operated a low-powered repeater, WMGM-LP on VHF channel 7, to serve Atlantic City itself. On July 3, 2006, WMGM-LP fell silent when a fire struck its transmitter building. The building also housed the transmitters for Atlantic City's WMGM radio as well as Pleasantville's
WOND WOND (1400 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pleasantville, New Jersey, and serving the Atlantic City radio market. It is owned by Longport Media and broadcasts a news/talk radio format. The radio studios and offices are located of ...
(1400 AM) and WTKU-FM (98.3). While WMGM radio began broadcasting from
WPUR WPUR (107.3 FM) is a country music formatted radio station in Atlantic City, New Jersey. WPUR is more commonly known as "Cat Country 107.3". Its transmitter is located in Atlantic City, while studios are in Northfield, New Jersey. History 107.3 ...
(107.3 FM)'s auxiliary facilities atop the
Trump Taj Mahal The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (formerly Trump Taj Mahal) is a casino and hotel on the List of boardwalks in the United States#Atlantic City, Boardwalk, owned by Hard Rock Cafe, Hard Rock International, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. ...
casino, the AM stations and WMGM-LP remained dark, leaving many Atlantic City residents without clear reception of NBC programs over-the-air. However, the on-air signals were eventually brought back. Until
WCAU WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jerse ...
became an NBC owned-and-operated station in September 1995, people in much of the New Jersey side of the Philadelphia market could watch the entire NBC schedule on WMGM-TV, as KYW-TV (which later became a CBS owned-and-operated station as a result of a 1994 affiliation deal involving
two 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
other Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
Westinghouse-owned stations) pre-empted many of NBC's daytime programs as well as other shows. WMGM was one of the few affiliates not to carry the Sunday edition of ''
The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...
''.


Acquisition by LocusPoint Networks

On October 10, 2013, Access.1 Communications agreed to sell WMGM to
LocusPoint Networks LocusPoint Networks LLC was an owner of television stations in the United States. The company is 99% owned by The Blackstone Group. After selling off most of their in 2017 and 2018 in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) spectrum auction a ...
for $6 million; WMGM would be LocusPoint's second station in the Philadelphia market, as the company was also in the process of acquiring
WPHA-CD WPHA-CD, UHF ( UHF digital channel 24), is a low-powered, Class A television station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its transmitter is located in the Roxborough, Philadelphia antenna farm. The station is owned by D.T.V. ...
. As part of the deal, Access.1 would continue to manage WMGM. However, the deal was met with public controversy, over concerns that LocusPoint was only buying WMGM so it could auction off the station's license and
spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...
during the FCC's 2015 spectrum incentive auction. Indeed, the company does not describe itself as a broadcaster, but as an "early stage wireless communications company". Stations in close proximity to major markets (in WMGM's case,
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
) have been considered potentially valuable at auction, leaving the fate of WMGM in jeopardy. In response to the concerns (which also included viewers establishing a ''Save NBC 40'' website), LocusPoint co-founder Bill deKay stated that they planned to continue operating the station as an NBC affiliate. The sale was completed on January 28, 2014. (WMGM was ultimately not sold in the auction.)


Loss of NBC affiliation

On April 16, 2014, ''
Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcast ...
'' reported that WMGM-TV would lose its NBC affiliation at the end of 2014, at the conclusion of a two-year extension of the station's most recent affiliation contract (which expired at the end of 2012). The station's former general manager, Ron Smith, claimed that the move was a result of
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primari ...
and its parent company
Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
wanting to protect WCAU. Smith argued that the loss of the NBC affiliation would make it difficult for WMGM to continue operating. The loss of NBC also coincided with the end of Access.1's management agreement with LocusPoint Networks. In addition to the Philadelphia region, NBC also had two affiliates in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
(
WHAG-TV WDVM-TV (channel 25) is an independent television station licensed to Hagerstown, Maryland, United States, serving the Washington, D.C. television market. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station WDCW (chann ...
served
western Maryland upright=1.2, An enlargeable map of Maryland's 23 counties and one independent city Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland Panhandle, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washington, Allegany, and Garret ...
, which was also served via network-owned
WRC-TV WRC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Class A television se ...
) and
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
( KENV served northeastern
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, which was also served via
KSL-TV KSL-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Bonneville International, the for-profit broadcasting arm of the Church of Jesus Chr ...
); both of those areas would go on to lose their secondary affiliates within the next few years. In July 2014, WMGM-TV introduced the "Friends of 40 Summer Membership Club" in which viewers contribute money in return for benefits such as station merchandise, discounts, and invitations to its outings; this form of fundraising is more commonly associated with
public broadcasting Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
. According to general manager J. Roger Powe III, "The membership club allows all the folks who have been loyal and supportive to keep engaged in a more intimate fashion;" while some of the money raised goes to the station's operations, much of it is used to pay for the club's benefits. As WMGM remained a commercial, for-profit station until December 31, 2014, contributions to the club were not tax-deductible, unlike with public broadcasting stations. In September 2014, it was reported that the WMGM-TV studio facilities had been put up for sale; at the time, a station spokesman stated that despite the action the station would remain in operation into 2015. The following month, the FCC pushed back the spectrum auction to 2016. On December 9, 2014, Access.1 made a statement on WMGM's website, indicating that it was planning to "continue and expand our news product on a new broadcast channel" in early to mid-2015, retaining and re-locating the station's staff, news operation, and sales department to a new, unspecified outlet and studio. Local personality
Pinky Kravitz Seymour "Pinky" Kravitz (July 11, 1927 – October 31, 2015) was an Atlantic City, New Jersey based American radio broadcaster and print journalist. He was known simply as "Pinky," and he reportedly refused to answer to his given name. Kravitz was ...
(whose WOND radio show was aired on WMGM) disclosed that the station was seeking $3 million in funding for these planned changes. Access.1, at the time, still retained ownership of WMGM-LP, a low-power analog rebroadcaster of WMGM-TV. WMGM-TV aired its final night of newscasts and NBC programming on December 31, 2014; its final program under Access.1 was an hour-long documentary focusing on the station's history and staff entitled ''NewsCenter 40: The Stories Behind the Station''. Following the end of its affiliation, WMGM began to carry programming from
Soul of the South Soul of the South Television (sometimes referred to as SSN TV) is an African-American-focused regional broadcast network owned by SSN Media Group, LP. It primarily broadcasts in the Southern United States and secondarily in other high African-Ame ...
—a network focusing primarily on the
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
community. The station was also reported to be in preliminary talks with the owners of WOND to produce local programming. WMGM-TV's new programming was reported to be an interim measure, assuming that LocusPoint did manage to sell the station during the 2016 spectrum incentive auction. On January 1, 2016, due to Soul of the South winding down their operations because of financial struggles, the station switched to programming from the religious
Sonlife Broadcasting Network Jimmy Lee Swaggart (; born March 15, 1935) is an American Pentecostal televangelist, gospel music recording artist, pianist, and Christian author. His television ministry, which began in 1971, and was originally known as the “Camp Meeting Ho ...
but within a few months WMGM dropped Sonlife and began broadcasting as an
independent station An independent station is an independent radio or terrestrial television station which is independent in some way from broadcast networks. The definition of "independence" varies from country to country, reflecting governmental regulations, market ...
. Local programming returned August 1, 2016, under a
brokered programming Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot comm ...
arrangement with ''Advantage Broadcasting'', they sold time to SNJ Today to air a news program featuring former WMGM staff and talent. As an independent station, WMGM-TV mostly aired
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
s during the day. ''SNJ Today'' newscasts were also carried on
WACP WACP (channel 4) is a religious television station licensed to Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States, serving southern New Jersey and the Philadelphia television market as an owned-and-operated station of Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). ...
, a new Atlantic City television station that signed on in 2012.


Sale to Univision

On June 26, 2017, LocusPoint Networks agreed to sell WMGM-TV to Univision Communications, through its Univision Local Media subsidiary, for $6 million. The deal made WMGM-TV a sister station to
WUVP-DT WUVP-DT (channel 65) is a television station licensed to Vineland, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Univision network to the Philadelphia area. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision alongside Wildwood, Ne ...
(channel 65) and
WFPA-CD WFPA-CD (channel 28) is a low-power, Class A television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language UniMás network. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision alongside Vineland, New Jersey–lic ...
(channel 28). Univision took control of the station on November 14, 2017; that day, WMGM-TV became an affiliate of the Justice Network (now True Crime Network).


Sale of WMGM-LP to Engle Broadcasting

On March 3, 2018, Access.1 Communications, which formerly owned the main WMGM-TV station but retained WMGM-LP and the
construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
for WMGM-LD, sold the low-power station to Engle Broadcasting, LLC of
Cedar Brook, New Jersey Winslow Township is a township in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 39,907, an increase of 408 (+1.0%) from the 2010 census count of 39,499, which in turn reflect ...
. On April 16, 2018, Engle Broadcasting filed an application with the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) requesting the consent for Silent STA on WMGM-LP which was granted until October 16, 2018. The FCC canceled the license for WMGM-LP on January 7, 2021.


Newscasts and local programming

At the end of its NBC affiliation, WMGM-TV broadcast 20 hours of locally produced newscasts each week. The station did not produce a midday newscast on weekdays or any morning or early evening newscasts on weekends. WMGM was the only remaining New Jersey-licensed commercial television station that maintained its own news department;
MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
station
WWOR-TV WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by Fox Te ...
upstate in
Secaucus Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Corp ...
, which created a
duopoly A duopoly (from Greek δύο, ''duo'' "two" and πωλεῖν, ''polein'' "to sell") is a type of oligopoly where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market. It is the most commonly studied form of oligopoly due to its simplicit ...
with
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
WNYW WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secaucus, New Jersey–licensed MyNetworkTV flagship W ...
in nearby
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
) in July 2013, its 10 p.m. newscast was replaced by the outsourced news program ''
Chasing New Jersey ''Chasing News with Bill Spadea'' (formerly ''Chasing New Jersey'' and ''Chasing News'') was a news and talk show program broadcast by WWOR-TV, a MyNetworkTV O&O based in Secaucus, New Jersey and serving New York City, and sister to Fox flagship ...
'' that month. The station produced an entertainment program called ''Curtain Call with David Spatz'' (which won a 2007
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for outstanding interview/discussion series); the program featured interviews with world-class artists performing in Atlantic City. WMGM also produced two public affairs programs: ''WMGM Presents Pinky'' (Saturday nights at 7:30), and ''Forum 40'' (Sunday mornings at 11:30). Prior to 2011, the station did not air local news programming on weekday mornings (instead running religious programming from 5 to 6 a.m. and a simulcast of the Don Williams radio talk show from WOND, from 6 to 7 a.m.). WMGM debuted its first weekday morning newscast on March 28, 2011, the hour-long ''Today in South Jersey''. Local newscasts returned to Southern New Jersey in the form of ''SNJ Today,'' which premiered in the summer of 2015. It currently airs every weeknight at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. on WACP (channel 4). ''SNJ Today'' began to also air on WMGM beginning on August 1, airing at the same times as it does on WACP.


Technical information


Subchannels

The station's digital signal is
multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:


Analog-to-digital conversion

WMGM-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 40, 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 remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 36. Through the use of
PSIP The Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) is the MPEG (a video and audio industry group) and privately defined program-specific information originally defined by General Instrument for the DigiCipher 2 system and later extended for the AT ...
, digital television receivers display the station's
virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...
as its former UHF analog channel 40.


Coverage area

WMGM-TV primarily serves
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, Cape May and
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
counties. Its digital over-the-air signal also penetrates parts of southern
Ocean County Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Burlington County, eastern Camden and
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
counties and coastal
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
, even though the station has no cable carriage in these areas. It is also available on
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
throughout
Salem County Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River and its eastern terminus is the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaware. Its cou ...
. In addition, WMGM is also on cable in
Vineland ''Vineland'' is a 1990 novel by Thomas Pynchon, a postmodern fiction set in California, United States in 1984, the year of Ronald Reagan's reelection.Knabb 2002 Through flashbacks by its characters, who have lived the sixties in their youth, th ...
and Turnersville which covers parts of eastern Camden and Gloucester counties such as Winslow Township and the Williamstown/ Monroe Township area. This is the only location where WMGM is carried out of its designated area. However, it is only viewable on
Comcast Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications company and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the com ...
digital channel 247.
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
and
Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...
had carried the station in the Philadelphia market until 2011, because of signal issues.


CATV

In coastal and some interior portions of
Sussex County, Delaware Sussex County is located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 237,378. The county seat is Georgetown. The first European settlement in the state of Delaware w ...
, WMGM was carried on CATV systems during the 1970s and possibly the 1980s. At one time, WMGM-TV was carried on 56 cable systems in 244 municipalities across 10 counties (including parts of Monmouth County, in the New York City market).


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* * * (No longer actively maintained, but left online as an archive) * (No longer actively maintained, but left online as an archive) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wmgm-Tv True Crime Network affiliates GetTV affiliates MGM-TV MGM-TV Linwood, New Jersey Wildwood, New Jersey Television channels and stations established in 1966 LocusPoint Networks 1966 establishments in New Jersey