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History | |
First air date | July 19, 1953 |
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Call sign meaning | "Watch Madison Television" |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 6870 |
ERP | 155 kW |
HAAT | 414.8 m (1,361 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°3′3″N 89°29′13″W / 43.05083°N 89.48694°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WMTV (channel 15) is a television station in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. The station is owned by Gray Television and maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Forward Drive in the Greentree neighborhood on Madison's southwest side.
WMTV was the second television station to air in Madison, beginning in July 1953 just days after WKOW, and has been its NBC affiliate since signing on the air. Founded by a company controlled by the Bartell Group, it was sold to the Wisconsin Valley Television Company (later Forward Communications Corporation) in 1963. The station was successful and competitive in news ratings under Forward, even if it faced economic disadvantages due to being an ultra high frequency (UHF) station. After a succession of owners in the late 1980s and 1990s, Gray acquired WMTV in 2002.