WMOW
Television station in Crandon, Wisconsin
title: "WMOW" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1998-establishments-in-wisconsin", "allen-media-group", "american-broadcasting-company-affiliates", "catchy-comedy-affiliates", "court-tv-affiliates", "metv-toons-affiliates", "television-channels-and-stations-established-in-1998", "television-stations-in-wausau,-wisconsin", "true-crime-network-affiliates"] description: "Television station in Crandon, Wisconsin" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMOW" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Television station in Crandon, Wisconsin ::
::data[format=table title="infobox television station"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| callsign | WMOW |
| above | Satellite of WAOW, Wausau, Wisconsin |
| logo | Wmow 2014.png |
| logo_size | 200px |
| branding | WMOW 4; News 9 WAOW |
| digital | 13 (VHF) |
| virtual | 4 |
| affiliations | |
| founded | December 4, 1998 |
| airdate | |
| location | Crandon, Wisconsin |
| country | United States |
| callsign_meaning | Metonga Lake WAOW |
| former_callsigns | WBIJ (2001–2010) |
| former_channel_numbers | |
| owner | Allen Media Group |
| licensee | Wausau TV License Company, LLC |
| former_affiliations | |
| erp | 3.2 kW |
| haat | 119 m |
| facility_id | 81503 |
| coordinates | |
| licensing_authority | FCC |
| website | |
| :: |
::callout[type=note] the television station in Crandon, Wisconsin ::
| callsign = WMOW | above = Satellite of WAOW, Wausau, Wisconsin | logo = Wmow 2014.png | logo_size = 200px | branding = WMOW 4; News 9 WAOW | digital = 13 (VHF) | virtual = 4 | affiliations = | founded = December 4, 1998 | airdate = | location = Crandon, Wisconsin | country = United States | callsign_meaning = Metonga Lake WAOW | former_callsigns = WBIJ (2001–2010) | former_channel_numbers = | owner = Allen Media Group | licensee = Wausau TV License Company, LLC | former_affiliations = | erp = 3.2 kW | haat = 119 m | facility_id = 81503 | coordinates = | licensing_authority = FCC | website =
WMOW (channel 4) is a television station licensed to Crandon, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is a full-time satellite of Wausau-licensed WAOW (channel 9) which is owned by Allen Media Group. WMOW's transmitter is located just east of downtown Crandon; its parent station maintains studios on Grand Avenue/US 51 in Wausau. Besides the transmitter, WMOW does not maintain any physical presence locally in Crandon.
History
Founded December 4, 1998, the station first signed-on February 9, 2001, as WBIJ. It was a FamilyNet affiliate owned by Dennis Selenka. The station aired an analog signal on VHF channel 4. Since WBIJ was granted its construction permit after the finalization of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) digital television allotment plan on April 21, 1997, it did not receive a companion digital channel.
After Dennis Selenka's death on September 30, 2008, Quincy Newspapers purchased WBIJ from his widow for $1.5 million on February 13, 2009. The company announced its intention to run WBIJ as a second satellite station of WAOW to serve the northeast portion of the Wausau market in a similar capacity that WYOW does for the extreme northern part of the market. In the meantime, WBIJ signed off on June 12 at the end of the digital transition for full-service stations as it did not yet have digital facilities ready.
Quincy brought the station back on-the-air as WMOW on June 4, 2010, as an affiliate of The CW. This station operates its digital signal on VHF channel 12 which was the former analog home of NBC affiliate WJFW-TV.
On June 19, 2011, WAOW (and in turn WMOW-DT2) became the market's second television outlet to upgrade local news to high definition level. Included in the change was a redesigned set and updated graphics scheme.
On January 7, 2021, Quincy Media announced that it had put itself up for sale. On February 1, Gray Television announced it would purchase Quincy's radio and TV properties for $925 million. As Gray already owns WSAW-TV in the Wausau/Rhinelander market, and both that station and WAOW rank among the market's top four stations, it agreed to sell WAOW in order to satisfy FCC requirements.
On April 29, Gray announced that WMOW and WAOW would be divested to Allen Media Group, a subsidiary of Los Angeles–based Entertainment Studios, in a $380 million deal that includes, among other Quincy-owned stations, WKOW/Madison, WXOW/La Crosse, and WQOW/Eau Claire. The deal closed in August 2021, and did not see Gray have any direct ownership or control of those stations. Gray, however, kept WYOW, which later turned into a full-power satellite of WSAW.
On June 1, 2025, amid financial woes and rising debt, Allen Media Group announced that it would explore "strategic options" for the company, such as a sale of its television stations (including WAOW/WMOW).
Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed: ::data[format=table title="Subchannels of WMOW{{Cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WMOW#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WMOW|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=June 3, 2025}}"]
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 720p | 16:9 | WMOW-CW | Catchy Comedy | ||||||
| WMOW-DT | ABC (WAOW) | ||||||||
| 480i | 4:3 | THIS-TV | MeTV Toons | ||||||
| 16:9 | Court TV | ||||||||
| True Crime Network | |||||||||
| :: |
References
References
- Selenka, Joanne L.. (February 4, 2009). "Application For Consent To Assign Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License Or To Transfer Control Of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License". [[Federal Communications Commission]].
- (February 13, 2009). "Quincy Takes WBIJ for $1.55 Million". TelevisionBroadcast.com.
- (June 4, 2010). "WMOW On The Air". [[WAOW.
- (October 10, 2011). "NewsTeam - WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, Sports".
- [https://www.northpine.com/blog/2021/01/07/tv-station-owner-quincy-media-up-for-sale/ "TV Station Owner Quincy Media Up for Sale,"] from Northpine.com, January 7, 2021
- Goldsmith, Jill. (February 1, 2021). "Gray Television Acquires Quincy Media For $925 Million In Cash". [[Penske Media Corporation]].
- [https://graytv.gcs-web.com/node/18526/pdf "Gray Television Closes Quincy Acquisition"], [[Gray Television]], August 2, 2021.
- [https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/04/29/2220067/0/en/Gray-Sells-Divestiture-Stations-From-Quincy-Media-Transaction-to-Allen-Media-for-380-Million.html "Gray Sells Divestiture Stations From Quincy Media Transaction to Allen Media for $380 Million,"] press release from GlobeNewswire, April 29, 2021
- [https://www.northpine.com/blog/2021/02/12/fcc-filing-provides-details-of-gray-tvs-plans-for-quincy-media-stations/ "FCC Filings Provide Details of Gray TV’s Plans for Quincy Media Stations,"] from Northpine.com; February 12, 2021
- Weprin, Alex. (June 1, 2025). "Byron Allen Puts His Local TV Stations Up for Sale". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
- Miller, Mark K.. (June 2, 2025). "Allen Media Group Retains Moelis To Sell Its TV Stations".
- "RabbitEars TV Query for WMOW".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::