I've been meaning to ask this for awhile, and I apologize if this has already been discussed in the past. I just returned from a short trip the shore and it struck me ... what is the point of WMGM Channel 40? How did that ever happen in the first place that south Jersey got their own NBC station, when there's already an NBC station in the same market? I'm not questioning the point of having a station of their own down there with local news (WFMZ in Allentown has their own news and does great in the ratings, but they're not affiliated with any network). So how did that come about down at the shore? Does it have anything to do with Salisbury, Maryland having just a CBS and ABC and no NBC? I remember back in the analogue days, playing around with a rabbit ears down in Cape May, I could pick up the Salisbury, Maryland affiliates pretty well, but nothing from Philadelphia. Not sure if in these digital days if you can still pick up the signals from Salisbury. Or is it something totally unrelated? Just was curious as to how NBC wound up on WMGM and the history.
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WMGM
- Thread starter Interstate 78
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This has been discussed elsewhere, but it boils down to the fact the distance of Wildwood to Philadelphia was far enough, that Philly stations were not receivable in Cape May Co.
This permitted ownership of WMGM to run an NBC affiliate with a Wildwood COL down there. At that time the station launched, KYW was an NBC affiliate, and there was no NBC owned station in Philadelphia that would otherwise just set up a repeater station to claim the area directly. It continues to have NBC affiliation primarily due to tradition.
While it's true Salisbury has no NBC network signal, and Salisbury stations might reach Wildwood to make it a full set in Wildwood and along the DE beaches, I think it's merely coincidental, and the overlap (regions where it's just Salisbury and WMGM stations) isn't that large.
However, WMGM's old website used to mention cable carriage down in DE, MD, but I'm not sure if it that was true or very outdated.
http://web.archive.org/web/19970401213133/wmgmtv.com/tv40-2.html
"-TV is carried by cable companies throughout the Southern New Jersey Region, as well as eastern Delaware and Maryland"
Even at the time of the website, of the late 90's and early 2000, I saw no listing of WMGM in DE or MD on cable. WMGM certainly had no way of delivering a clean quality signal to cable systems, nor was there any likely interest of the channel in those states, but maybe one small operator carried it for a short time.
This permitted ownership of WMGM to run an NBC affiliate with a Wildwood COL down there. At that time the station launched, KYW was an NBC affiliate, and there was no NBC owned station in Philadelphia that would otherwise just set up a repeater station to claim the area directly. It continues to have NBC affiliation primarily due to tradition.
While it's true Salisbury has no NBC network signal, and Salisbury stations might reach Wildwood to make it a full set in Wildwood and along the DE beaches, I think it's merely coincidental, and the overlap (regions where it's just Salisbury and WMGM stations) isn't that large.
However, WMGM's old website used to mention cable carriage down in DE, MD, but I'm not sure if it that was true or very outdated.
http://web.archive.org/web/19970401213133/wmgmtv.com/tv40-2.html
"-TV is carried by cable companies throughout the Southern New Jersey Region, as well as eastern Delaware and Maryland"
Even at the time of the website, of the late 90's and early 2000, I saw no listing of WMGM in DE or MD on cable. WMGM certainly had no way of delivering a clean quality signal to cable systems, nor was there any likely interest of the channel in those states, but maybe one small operator carried it for a short time.
O
oasisrulz
Guest
What I find odd is Direct TV and Dish Network carry it in the Philly market, here in South Philly my buddie has Dish and WMGM is available, Comcast does not carry it and I dont know if Verizon does...
The satellites carry it in Philly market because they haven't configured a "South Jersey" market for obvious reasons. They also carry WFMZ throughout South Jersey when its signal doesn't even come close, and there's next to no (if any) WFMZ carriage on SJ cable.
The reason? Both station's signals cover a large area of what the Philadelphia DMA, which is what the Satellite markets are based on, not on local signals available in a zip code, so must-carry options apply.
The reason? Both station's signals cover a large area of what the Philadelphia DMA, which is what the Satellite markets are based on, not on local signals available in a zip code, so must-carry options apply.
WMGM TV used to be WCMC TV. Two pictures of the WCMC AM FM TV building in Wildwood and the FM/TV tower in back of the building are on the radio-history.com site. I took the pictures around 1974. The AM towers were a mile away near the swamps. FM is on 100.7 and AM is 1230 to narrow down where the two pictures are located on the site. It used to be fun to watch the local commercials in the summer while vacationing down the shore in the early 70s. Bill Wotring had an unusual nasal voice and we used to make jokes about auctioneer tone of voice. (although he did not talk real fast) They used to have a tv commercial for Neils Steak and Oyster house where it was just murmurings and giggles on audio for a minute and at the end it would tell you it was Neils Restaurant. Another commercial was for NJ Warehouse Sales where if you bought something you then get something free. (it was always.....And you get such and such if you buy such and such) In the afternoons they would run King and Odie cartoons. I heard they moved the tv tower near the bay outside of Avalon when they switched to the WMGM calls (and increased power) but the swamp type setting did not anchor the tower and it fell. I am going by memory so if this not 100 percent correct then feel free to add any details.
WMGM certainly had no way of delivering a clean quality signal to cable systems, nor was there any likely interest of the channel in those states, but maybe one small operator carried it for a short time
Actually, we did. Ch 40 was a pioneer in the use of fiber optics, and was a trial for Verizon's FIOS Project as long as 15 years ago. The composite video/audio was distributed from the Linwood studios to cable systems' head ends, and the Swainton Xmtr via fiber optics, not a STL or over the air capture. Distance was not an issue.
Actually, we did. Ch 40 was a pioneer in the use of fiber optics, and was a trial for Verizon's FIOS Project as long as 15 years ago. The composite video/audio was distributed from the Linwood studios to cable systems' head ends, and the Swainton Xmtr via fiber optics, not a STL or over the air capture. Distance was not an issue.
stevations said:
Such memories of this station when it was WCMC TV
1. It signed on around 12:25 in the afternoon and ran a 5 minute newscast with a slide "South Jersey report." The newscast was one that the radio station ran, recorded by the "chief engineer" who was one of the owners.
It wasn't on the air in the morning for the today show.
2. All the commercials were slides with audio. No film was ever used in recording local commercials
3. Whenever KYW would pre-empt NBC programming since their NBC signal was coming from KYW, they would run old travelogues.
4. On Sundays, they signed on just for the NBC News and prime time lineup, except in the fall when they would sign on for the late afternoon NBC AFC Football game.
What went on on the radio side I think has been discussed on the New Jersey Radio Board. But certainly the TV improved vastly when Bill Wotring sold it.
Mark said:
The NBC station at the time, KYW-TV, put the signal as far as it could. I don't think the former analog TV signals ever made it down to Cape May County well. I remember as a child, down the shore, all the Philly broadcast stations came through on cable. It was basically the Philly broadcast channels and that was it. "Cable" channels came later.
Bill_W said:
Back in the day, my parents and I would stay at the Armada Inn in Wildwood Crest every
summer. The cable in the hotel carried the three New York independents(WNEW/5, now
Fox-owned WNYW; WOR/9, now MyTV affil WWOR, and WPIX/ 11, now the CW affil), as well
as the Philly locals and WCMC. There was also a local cable channel that carried a message
board with FM Music on it as well.
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