WMSN-TV

WMSN-TV is a full-power commercial television station serving the Madison, Wisconsin, market. It broadcasts on virtual channel 47 and is affiliated with the Fox network, using the consumer-facing identity Fox 47. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and operates from studios on Big Sky Drive on Madison's west side; its transmission facilities are located on South Pleasant View Road in the Junction Ridge area. WMSN began broadcasting on June 8, 1986, as the first new commercial television station to launch in the Madison market since WISC-TV began operations three decades earlier. It initially operated as an independent station, but joined Fox on October 9, 1986, becoming one of the network's charter affiliates. The affiliation gave WMSN a national network identity while allowing it to build a local presence around entertainment programming, syndicated shows, sports, and later locally branded news. The station's most prominent sports role developed after Fox acquired rights to National Football Conference games in 1994. WMSN became Madison's primary local outlet for Green Bay Packers games carried by Fox, making the broadcasts a major part of its seasonal audience and routinely among the market's highest-rated programs during football season. WMSN has historically relied on outside partners for local news production rather than maintaining a fully separate newsroom. In 1999, it entered a news-sharing arrangement with ABC affiliate WKOW, launching Fox 47 News at 9, described at the time as Madison's first nightly prime-time newscast. The agreement ended at the beginning of 2012. WMSN then entered a production arrangement with CBS affiliate WISC-TV, which supplied much of the reporting and production operation while WMSN retained its own station branding and principal anchors. The newscast later expanded to a full hour in February 2016. The WISC arrangement also distinguished WMSN from Sinclair's directly produced local-news operations. In 2018, Sinclair directed its stations to air a corporate message criticizing alleged bias and inaccurate reporting by national media outlets. WMSN did not broadcast the segment because its newscast was produced under the WISC agreement, and the station explained that distinction through its social-media channels. Beginning in 2021, WMSN added the second evening hour of Sinclair's The National News Desk and also carried the program's three-hour morning block. Beyond its main Fox service, WMSN has used digital multicast channels to distribute various specialty networks. Its second subchannel carried TheCoolTV from 2010 until 2012, GetTV from 2014 until 2015, and then Sinclair-owned Comet. Its third subchannel carried The Country Network, later known as ZUUS Country, before changing to Grit in 2014 and Sinclair-owned Charge! in 2017. A fourth subchannel launched in 2017 with TBD. These changes reflect the station's role as both a local broadcast outlet and a platform for nationally distributed multicast networks. WMSN completed the federally mandated shutdown of its analog UHF signal on June 12, 2009. Its digital transmission initially used physical VHF channel 11 while retaining virtual channel 47, then moved to physical channel 49 in November 2010 and to channel 18 in October 2019. The station remains an active Fox affiliate and a Sinclair-owned broadcast property serving Madison and nearby areas.

WMSN-TV was established by Channel 47 LP, an investor group led by Ronald J. Koeppler, and began broadcasting on June 8, 1986. Its launch was significant in Madison because it was the first new commercial station in the market since WISC-TV had signed on roughly thirty years earlier. The station initially operated independently and carried a mixture of syndicated and locally selected programming. One early local presentation was Big Sky Theater, a Saturday-night package of classic films, especially westerns. The title referenced the nearby Big Sky Drive-In Theater, whose former surroundings also gave the station's studio location its name. WMSN joined Fox on October 9, 1986, after a short independent period. The affiliation made it one of Fox's charter affiliates and supplied a continuing schedule of network entertainment, sports, and special programming. The station's sports importance increased in 1994, when Fox began carrying games from the National Football Conference. Because the Green Bay Packers are the dominant professional football team in Wisconsin, Fox's Packers telecasts became a core part of WMSN's identity and a major source of seasonal viewership. On April 1, 1996, Channel 47 LP filed to sell the station to Sullivan Broadcasting for $26.5 million. Sullivan had acquired the former Act III Broadcasting stations and later sold its station group to Sinclair Broadcast Group in a transaction completed approximately two years later. WMSN consequently became part of Sinclair's national television-station portfolio. Local news was developed through a series of outsourcing and sharing arrangements. In 1999, WMSN reached an agreement with ABC affiliate WKOW to produce Fox 47 News at 9. The program was Madison's first nightly prime-time newscast and was initially thirty-five minutes on weeknights and thirty minutes on weekends. It originated from a secondary set at WKOW's Madison facility and used WMSN branding rather than WKOW's on-air identity, although WKOW personnel contributed to the reporting operation. WMSN maintained separate weeknight anchors, with limited appearances by those anchors on WKOW. The WKOW agreement ended on January 1, 2012. WMSN immediately entered a new arrangement with WISC-TV, Madison's Morgan Murphy Media-owned CBS affiliate. WISC discontinued the 9 p.m. newscast it had produced for its TVW subchannel, while continuing to provide production resources for Fox 47 News at 9. The WMSN program originated from WISC's Raymond Road studios, used WISC news staff apart from the principal WMSN anchors, and employed a presentation designed to distinguish it from WISC's own newscasts. In February 2016, the program expanded to a full hour. It remained the market's only prime-time newscast for a period before another station launched a competing 9 p.m. service on a CW-affiliated subchannel in 2016. Sinclair's ownership affected the station's broader programming. In 2018, Sinclair required its television stations to carry a corporate statement criticizing alleged bias and inaccurate reporting by national media organizations. WMSN did not receive or air the segment because its local news was produced by WISC under the news-sharing arrangement; the station disclosed that circumstance through its social-media accounts. In 2021, WMSN began carrying the second evening hour of Sinclair's The National News Desk and later also carried the program's three-hour morning block. The station expanded its digital broadcasting operations over time. In September 2010, it launched a second digital subchannel with TheCoolTV, which ended in September 2012 after Sinclair's carriage agreement with that network expired. The second channel returned in July 2014 with GetTV and changed again on October 31, 2015, when it became an outlet for Sinclair-owned Comet. A third subchannel initially carried The Country Network, later called ZUUS Country. It changed to Grit in 2014 and then to Sinclair-owned Charge! on June 1, 2017. On the same date, WMSN activated a fourth subchannel carrying TBD. WMSN ended analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, as part of the United States transition to digital television. Its digital signal first used physical VHF channel 11 while retaining virtual channel 47. The station subsequently moved to physical channel 49 in November 2010 and to physical channel 18 in October 2019. It remains an active Fox affiliate serving Madison and the surrounding region under Sinclair ownership.

• 2021

  The National News Desk expands on WMSN

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMSN begins carrying the second evening hour and morning block of Sinclair's national news program.

• 2019

  Digital signal moves to channel 18

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMSN relocates its physical digital transmission channel to 18 while retaining virtual channel 47.

• 2017

  Charge! and TBD added

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Charge! replaces Grit on the third subchannel and TBD launches on a fourth subchannel.

• 2012

  WISC assumes news production

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMSN ends its WKOW agreement and begins a news-production partnership with WISC-TV.

• 2010

  Digital multicast service begins

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station adds TheCoolTV on subchannel 47.2 and later uses physical channel 49 for its digital transmission.

• 2009

  Analog transmission ends

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMSN shuts down its analog signal on June 12 as part of the United States digital television transition.

• 1999

  Fox 47 News at 9 launches

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  A news-sharing agreement with WKOW creates Madison's first nightly prime-time newscast.

• 1998

  WMSN enters Sinclair ownership

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Sullivan later sells its station group to Sinclair Broadcast Group.

• 1996

  Sale to Sullivan Broadcasting filed

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Channel 47 LP files to sell WMSN to Sullivan Broadcasting for $26.5 million.

• 1994

  Packers coverage becomes central to the station

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Fox's NFC package makes WMSN a principal Madison outlet for Green Bay Packers games.

• 1986

  WMSN-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station launches on June 8 using analog UHF channel 47, becoming Madison's first new commercial television station in about three decades.

• 1986

  Fox affiliation begins

  [1]WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMSN joins Fox on October 9 after a short period as an independent station.

A locally branded Fox affiliate combining network entertainment and sports, Madison-area news supplied through production partnerships, and a portfolio of digital multicast services.

• Primary broadcast service · 1986

  Fox 47

  WMSN's principal over-the-air service, carrying Fox network programming, syndicated entertainment, locally branded material, advertising, and selected sports. The service broadcasts under virtual channel 47 and is particularly identified with Fox's Green Bay Packers coverage in the Madison market.

• Local television news · 1999

  Fox 47 News at 9

  WMSN's prime-time local newscast. It began in 1999 through a production agreement with WKOW and has been produced through a WISC-TV partnership since 2012. The program expanded to a full hour in 2016 and uses WMSN branding while drawing on the partner station's facilities and reporting resources.

• National news programming · 2021

  The National News Desk

  Sinclair-distributed national news programming carried by WMSN, including the second evening hour and a three-hour morning block. It supplements rather than replaces the station's locally branded Fox 47 news service.

• Multicast television · 2010

  Digital multicast channels

  WMSN's secondary broadcast channels have carried specialty networks including TheCoolTV, GetTV, Comet, The Country Network or ZUUS Country, Grit, Charge!, and TBD. The lineup has changed as network carriage agreements and Sinclair's portfolio have evolved.

• 2021

  Add The National News DeskProduct launch

  Background

  Sinclair was distributing a standardized national news service across participating stations.

  Action taken

  WMSN added the program's second evening hour and later its three-hour morning block.

  Aftermath

  The national service broadened WMSN's news schedule alongside its locally branded prime-time newscast.

  Source

• 2017

  Expand the digital multicast lineupProduct launch

  Background

  WMSN had been using secondary channels for specialty networks and Sinclair was expanding distribution of its own multicast services.

  Action taken

  Charge! replaced Grit on subchannel 47.3 and TBD launched on subchannel 47.4.

  Aftermath

  The changes increased the station's portfolio of specialized over-the-air programming.

  Source

• 2012

  Change local-news production partnerStrategy

  Background

  The WKOW news-sharing agreement ended after nearly thirteen years; WMSN's general manager described the change as a business decision.

  Action taken

  WMSN began outsourcing production of Fox 47 News at 9 to WISC-TV.

  Aftermath

  The new arrangement made Fox 47 News at 9 the remaining prime-time newscast in the Madison market for a period and continued through the later expansion to one hour.

  Source

• 1999

  Launch Fox 47 News at 9Product launch

  Background

  WMSN sought a regular local news presence without establishing a fully separate newsroom.

  Action taken

  It entered a news-sharing agreement with WKOW to produce a nightly prime-time newscast.

  Aftermath

  The program became a long-running part of WMSN's schedule and was later produced through WISC-TV.

  Source

• 1996

  Sell WMSN to Sullivan BroadcastingM&A

  Background

  The station was owned by Channel 47 LP, an investor group led by Ronald J. Koeppler.

  Action taken

  Channel 47 LP filed to sell WMSN-TV to Sullivan Broadcasting for $26.5 million.

  Aftermath

  Sullivan later sold its station portfolio to Sinclair Broadcast Group, bringing WMSN into Sinclair ownership.

  Reported transaction value. $26.5 million (1996 filing)

  Source

• 1986

  Join Fox as a charter affiliateOther

  Background

  WMSN operated independently for several months after launching in June 1986, while Fox was building its national affiliate network.

  Action taken

  The station affiliated with Fox on October 9, 1986.

  Aftermath

  The Fox relationship became the station's enduring market identity and later supplied high-profile NFC and Packers programming.

  Source

1. 1WMSN-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WMSN-TV official websitefox47.com