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WLMT (channel 30) 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's s ...
in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, United States, affiliated with
The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
and
MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...
. It is owned by
Tegna Inc. Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publ ...
alongside ABC affiliate
WATN-TV WATN-TV (channel 24) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside dual The CW, CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate WLMT (channel 30). The two statio ...
(channel 24). The two stations share studios at the Shelby Oaks Corporate Park on Shelby Oaks Drive in northeast Memphis; WLMT's transmitter is located in the Brunswick section of unincorporated northeast Shelby County. Channel 30 began broadcasting as WMKW-TV on April 18, 1983. Owned by a consortium of TVX Broadcast Group and local investors including Kemmons Wilson, it was the second
independent station An independent station is a broadcast station, usually a television station, not affiliated with a larger broadcast television network, network. As such, it only broadcasts broadcast syndication, syndicated programs it has purchased; brokered pr ...
in the market behind channel 24, then WPTY-TV. It was the original Memphis affiliate of Fox from 1986 to 1990. However, after TVX sold the station to MT Communications (who changed its call sign to WLMT) in 1989, it lost the Fox affiliation to the higher-rated WPTY-TV in 1990. MT Communications also purchased a TV station in Jackson and renamed it WMTU; it simulcast most of channel 30's programming, though in later years this was limited to local newscasts. Clear Channel Communications, the then-owner of WPTY-TV, began leasing channel 30 in 1993, leading to a merger of operations. In 1995, the station became an affiliate of UPN and added a local 9 p.m. newscast in conjunction with WPTY-TV's switch to ABC; the local newscast has been competitive in the market, sometimes beating channel 24's own late news. The station became an affiliate of
The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
in 2006; it was already airing programming from its predecessors, UPN and
The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...
. It was acquired by Newport Television in 2007, Nexstar Broadcasting Group in 2012, and Tegna in 2019.


History

The first attempt to build channel 30 in Memphis was made by Memphis Telecasters, Inc., which applied for the channel in March 1966. A construction permit for WMTU-TV was awarded in June to the firm, which consisted half of Memphians and half of doctors from
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
, and
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, who were operating WCTU-TV in Charlotte. This article renders WMTU and WCTU as "WMTV" and "WCTV". Memphis Telecasters never built the channel and assigned the still-active construction permit in 1975 to the
Christian Broadcasting Network The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American Christian media production and distribution organization. Founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson, it produces the long-running TV series ''The 700 Club'', co-produces the ongoing ''Superbook (198 ...
. CBN proposed to air family-friendly and religious programs. The station was still not built by 1977, and CBN intended to sell the permit to Evans Broadcasting Corporation, whose holdings included another channel 30: KDNL-TV in St. Louis.


WMKW-TV: The TVX years

As the WMTU-TV permit vanished, interest began again when Memphis 30, Inc., applied for the channel in February 1979. Among the members of this ownership group were Kemmons Wilson, the founder of
Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...
, and George S. Flinn Jr. Memphis 30 merged with another applicant, TV 30, Inc., and a third minority owner, Television Corporation Stations Inc. (TVX, later renamed the TVX Broadcast Group), to form Memphis Area Telecasters, which won the construction permit in 1981. The next year, TVX became the 51-percent owner of the station, which adopted the call letters WMKW-TV (Memphis/Kemmons Wilson). The antenna was mounted on the tower of WKNO, while studios were set up in an industrial park. After several days of delays due to bad weather impeding completion, WMKW-TV began broadcasting on April 18, 1983. Competing with existing independent WPTY-TV (channel 24), the new station offered
Metro Conference The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members di ...
basketball, as well as children's programs, movies, and classic sitcoms and dramas. The new station found itself running behind WPTY-TV in the ratings. WMKW-TV became a charter affiliate of Fox at the network's launch on October 9, 1986, as part of a group agreement involving all eight TVX-owned stations. That year, it also obtained rights to a major sports attraction in the market, Memphis State University men's basketball, with all home and away games being shown live. The Memphis State telecasts raised the station's profile in the market. While channel 30 was making headway, TVX's financial picture changed significantly after its 1986 acquisition of five large-market independents from
Taft Broadcasting Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the Taft family, family of William Howard Taft, the 27th President ...
. The Taft stations purchase left TVX highly leveraged and highly vulnerable. TVX's bankers,
Salomon Brothers Salomon Brothers, Inc., was an American multinational bulge bracket investment bank headquartered in New York City. It was one of the five List of investment banks, largest investment banking enterprises in the United States and a very profitabl ...
, provided the financing for the acquisition and in return held more than 60 percent of the company. The company was to pay Salomon Brothers $200 million on January 1, 1988, and missed the first payment deadline, having been unable to lure investors to its
junk bond In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit eve ...
s even before Black Monday. TVX initially announced it would sell some stations, including possibly WMKW-TV, and though it backed off the plan months later after announcing a refinancing plan, it began selling off smaller-market properties to help finance its debt. An initial deal was reached with
Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...
in December 1988—the same month that the station doubled its
effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...
—a deal that fell apart a month later.


MT Communications ownership

In March 1989, TVX announced it would sell WMKW-TV to MT Communications, owned by Michael Thompson, for $7 million—a purchase price lower than executives had hoped the station would fetch. MT Communications also owned two other Fox affiliates in Tennessee: WCAY-TV in
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, which like WMKW-TV had been built by TVX, and WETO-TV in Greeneville. On October 4, 1989, MT Communications changed the call letters of its stations to designations incorporating the letters MT, Thompson's initials, with WMKW-TV becoming WLMT. MT Communications also acquired WJWT, a struggling Fox affiliate in Jackson, and converted it to a
semi-satellite A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or trans ...
of WLMT with local advertising that December; it became WMTU in January 1990. MT's ownership of the station would see it lose its two principal programming draws to WPTY-TV. Rights to Memphis State basketball were put up for bid in 1989, with WMKW-TV competing against WPTY-TV and syndicator Creative Sports. WMKW-TV almost changed its call letters to WMSU—which had become available as a result of call letter changes elsewhere—but held off because the university feared it would impact their decision. The rights went to WPTY-TV, which paid the university three times more per game than WMKW-TV had in its previous contract. The next year, the Fox affiliation came up for renewal, and WPTY-TV intensively lobbied the Fox network; it had stronger ratings than channel 30, drawing a 7.4 percent share of total-day ratings to WLMT's 4.1. On WLMT, some Fox shows had less than half the audience they did in other cities. Fox chose to move its affiliation to channel 24 effective July 1, 1990. However, WMTU continued to hold the Fox affiliation in the Jackson market, breaking away from channel 30 to air the network's programs. This continued until March 1992, when the local operation in Jackson was closed: local commercials no longer aired on WMTU, and five jobs were eliminated. Memphis was one of four markets, all in the South, where Fox moved its affiliation during 1990; of the other three, two (
Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...
, and Nashville) involved ex-TVX stations, with the Nashville station losing its Fox affiliation also owned by MT.


Max Media ownership and Clear Channel LMA

In December 1991, MT Communications moved to sell three of its four stations—WMTU, WLMT, and WEMT—to former Virginia lieutenant governor Dick Davis. Max Media—a Virginia company founded by three former officers of TVX—then would manage the stations for Davis. Morrie Beitch, who had been general manager of WMKW-TV under TVX from 1987 to 1989 and had stayed with the company after it sold channel 30, returned to lead the station, telling ''
The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...
'', "I worked for VX executiveJohn Trinder for years and I jumped at the chance to go to work for him in this city again." Max Media's involvement with WLMT–WMTU operations was comparatively brief, as in August 1993, the two stations were leased to WPTY-TV owner
Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...
, which also purchased their physical assets. Five WLMT employees, including general manager Beitch, were laid off, as all three stations now shared a general manager. The deal was seen to give the unprofitable WLMT the resources it needed to adequately promote itself. (Clear Channel would move to acquire WLMT and WMTU in 1999, when duopolies were legalized.) Even though WPTY had renewed its rights to Memphis State basketball in 1992, University of Memphis basketball moved to WLMT by 1994. With two new networks starting in 1995, both— UPN and
The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...
—wooed WLMT as an affiliate. Clear Channel affiliated WLMT and another station it managed in
Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
, with UPN. The station's operations were consolidated in the same building with WPTY-TV in 1995 when that station moved to new studios as part of its affiliation switch to ABC and startup of a news department. The WB never scored a full-time affiliate in Memphis in its eleven-year history; the then-superstation feed of Chicago station
WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister station, sister to the company ...
served as the de facto Memphis home of WB programming until 1999, when WPTY-TV took on a secondary affiliation with the network and began airing its prime time programs in late night slots, and it moved to a slightly earlier time slot at WLMT in 2003. However, UPN's programming lineup, targeted at Black audiences, resonated in Memphis, where they represented about 40 percent of TV households; in 2004, WLMT was one of the highest-rated UPN affiliates in the United States, and the station was fourth in revenue, ahead of one major network affiliate. WMTU in Jackson, while remaining a UPN affiliate, was slowly split off of WLMT in 2001 when the station changed its call sign to WJKT. WJKT began simulcasting WLMT's Memphis newscast in 2003. WLMT debuted an in-studio wrestling program from Memphis Wrestling in 2003, two years after
WMC-TV WMC-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Media alongside low-power broadcasting#Television, low-power Telemundo affiliate WTME-LD (channel 14). The two stations s ...
canceled its long-running wrestling show.


CW affiliation

In 2006, UPN and The WB were shut down and replaced with
The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
, with which WLMT affiliated. (WJKT in Jackson instead rejoined Fox.) WPTY-TV and WLMT were included in the sale of Clear Channel's television station portfolio to Newport Television, controlled by Providence Equity Partners, for $1.2 billion on April 20, 2007 (equivalent to $ in ). The sale was made so Clear Channel could refocus around its radio, outdoor advertising and live event units. The sale received FCC approval on December 1, 2007; after settlement of a lawsuit filed by Clear Channel owners Thomas H. Lee Partners and
Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...
against Providence to force the deal's completion, consummation took place on March 14, 2008. In 2009, an agreement was signed to air programs supplied by
MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...
. As part of a liquidation of Newport Television's assets, Nexstar Broadcasting Group purchased WPTY-TV and WATN-TV in a 12-station deal worth $285.5 million (equivalent to $ in ) on July 19, 2012. Nearly immediately, Nexstar announced that it would move the stations from their aging five-story building in midtown Memphis into a former MCI call center in the Shelby Oaks Corporate Park on the city's northeast side. The relocation, in addition to providing more up-to-date facilities for the stations, was done because the impending replacement of the adjacent Poplar Viaduct would create vibrations and noise making the building unsuitable for television production. WPTY-TV became WATN-TV after moving into the new studios. In 2019, Nexstar acquired
Tribune Media Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...
, owner of Memphis CBS affiliate WREG-TV. Nexstar opted to retain WREG-TV (as well as WJKT in Jackson) and sold WATN-TV and WLMT to
Tegna Inc. Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publ ...


Newscasts

WPTY-TV established a news department on December 1, 1995, coinciding with its affiliation switch to ABC. As part of the rollout of news, WLMT debuted a 9 p.m. newscast, ''News Watch 30''. The newscast was anchored by Robb Harleston and Ken Houston—the first time two Black men had co-anchored a newscast in Memphis. The program was aimed at Black audiences and sought to provide more in-depth coverage of minority communities in the area. Houston became the lone anchor when WPTY-TV opted not to renew Harleston's contract in January 1997. The news focus fit well with the Black-oriented programs on UPN's lineup. This drew considerable viewership to WLMT's newscast, even against Fox affiliate WHBQ-TV's 9 p.m. news hour; in November 1997, it only barely trailed WHBQ and had better ratings than the 10 p.m. news on WPTY-TV. WLMT's news has mostly been affected by changes at channel 24, long the fourth-rated news outlet in Memphis. The news product was overhauled in 2003 under the brand ''Eyewitness News'' and with new news talent. Even despite the move to a more general-market product, which included 45 minutes of news and an expanded 15-minute sportscast, WLMT's 9 p.m. news continued to beat WPTY's 10 p.m. broadcast and approach WHBQ in the ratings. By the major relaunch of channel 24 in 2013, the station was airing a 7 a.m. hour of WATN-TV's morning newscast.


Technical information


Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:


Analog-to-digital conversion

WPTY-TV and WLMT began digital broadcasting on May 1, 2002. WLMT ended regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 30, on February 17, 2009; it was the only Memphis station to transition earlier than the delayed June 12 shutoff date. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 31, using
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 as digits on a receiver's ...
30.


Notes


References


External links

*
MeTVMemphis.com
- MeTV Memphis official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Wlmt 1983 establishments in Tennessee The CW affiliates Get (TV network) affiliates MeTV affiliates Rewind TV affiliates Start TV affiliates Tegna Inc. Television channels and stations established in 1983 LMT TVX Broadcast Group