WMJF-CD: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Class A Ion Television affiliate in Towson, Maryland}}

| digital = 23 ([[Ultra high frequency|UHF]])

| affiliations = '''39.1:''' [[Ion Television]]<br>'''39.2:''' [[True Crime Network]]<br>'''39.3:''' [[Quest (American TV network)|Quest]]<br>'''39.4:''' [[Laff (TV network)|Laff]]<br>'''39.5:''' [[Defy TV]]<br>'''39.6:''' [[Heroes & Icons]]<br>'''39.7:''' [[TrueReal]]

| location = [[Towson, Maryland|Towson]]/[[Baltimore, Maryland]]

| callsign_meaning = [[Michigan J. Frog|'''M'''ichigan '''J'''. '''F'''rog]] (from its days as a WB affiliate)

| owner = HME Equity Fund II, [[Limited liability company|LLC]]

| former_affiliations = '''Analog/DT1:'''<br>[[The WB]] (1995–1998)<br>[[Network One|N1]] (secondary, 1995–1997)<br>[[America One]] (1998–2004)<br>[[independent station (North America)|Independent]] (2004–2018)<br>[[MTV2]] (secondary, 2004–2011)<br>[[Classic Arts Showcase|CAS]] (secondary, 2011–2018)<br>[[Grit (TV network)|Grit]](2018–2020 and January–June 2021; now on DT4)<br>[[MeTV]] (2020–January 2021)<br>'''DT4:'''<br>Ion Television (until June 2021; now on DT1)<br>Grit(2021-2022)

| former_callsigns = W61BT (1995–1996)<br>WMJF-LP (1996–2014)

| former_channel_numbers = '''Analog:'''<br>61 (UHF, 1995–2001)<br>16 (UHF, 2001–2014)<br>'''Digital:'''<br>39 (UHF, 2014–2020)

| coordinates = {{nowrap|{{coord|39|24|10.4|N|76|36|10.9|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline, title}}}}

| licensing_authority = [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]

'''WMJF-CD''', [[virtual channel]]39 ([[ultra high frequency|UHF]] [[digital terrestrial television|digital]] channel 23), is a [[low-power broadcasting|low-powered]], [[Class A television service|Class A]] [[Ion Television]]-[[Network affiliate|affiliated station]] serving [[Baltimore|Baltimore, Maryland]], United States that is [[city of license|licensed]] to [[Towson, Maryland|Towson]]. The station is owned by HME Equity Fund II, [[Limited liability company|LLC]]. WMJF-CD's transmitter is located on [[Maryland Route 45]] near the [[Towson Town Center]] mall.

[[Towson University]] (then Towson State University) applied for a [[construction permit]] on channel 61 in 1988 as a [[student television station]]. After eight extensions of the permit into 1994, Towson applied to reduce the station's [[effective radiated power]] by a factor of ten to just 521 watts. Station '''W61BT''' then applied for its license January 30, 1995.<ref>{{cite web |title=DWMJF-LP Facility Data |url=https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&appid=206017&facid=67462 |website=FCCData}}</ref>

W61BT was the Baltimore market's charter affiliate for [[The WB]], which launched the same month. At the time "Towson State Television" was largely invisible to local viewers, as its coverage radius was about {{convert|3|mi|km|0|spell=in}} from the university and it did not have [[must-carry]] rights on cable as a low-powered station. Station management took the chance on joining The WB after no full-powered station in the city was willing to join the network, and expressed optimism that the network affiliation for the new station would lead to cable carriage and provide a unique learning opportunity for students.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McKerrow |first1=Steve |title=Two networks debut this week in Baltimore area |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-01-15-1995015150-story.html |work=Baltimore Sun |date=15January 1995}}</ref> By the fall, when the network was also available from WBDC (channel 50, now [[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[WDCW]]) in [[Washington, D.C.]], this had not materialized and ''[[Baltimore Sun]]'' sports media critic Milton Kent called on local cable providers to carry that station instead.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kent |first1=Milton |title=Credit Olbermann for viewpoint |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-09-05-1995248064-story.html |work=Baltimore Sun |date=5September 1995}}</ref> The station changed its callsign to '''WMJF-LP''' in February 1996, reflecting its network's mascot, [[Michigan J. Frog]]. The WB signed a deal to move to [[UPN]] affiliate [[WNUV]] (channel 54) in July 1997, effective the following January, and a network spokesman referred to Baltimore as one of the network's "five biggest holes" in coverage.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kaltenbach |first1=Chris |title=WNUV pulls plug on UPN, switches to WB in Jan. |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1997-07-15-1997196065-story.html |work=Baltimore Sun |date=15July 1997}}</ref>

After a brief stint as an [[America One]] affiliate, WMJF became an [[independent station (North America)|independent station]] and also carried [[MTV2]] in 2004. WMJF was also a [[CNN]] student bureau, one of only two in the country.

WMJF was a 90% student run organization, operated under faculty advisers Dr. John MacKerron and Dr. David Reiss, and an executive board of five elected and appointed positions that they deemed necessary to help operate the station.

Towson University sold WMJF-LP to [[LocusPoint Networks]] in December 2012.<ref name=tvbr-saletolocuspoint>{{cite news|last=Seyler|first=Dave|title=LocusPoint again demonstrates it's a Class A Act|url=http://rbr.com/locuspoint-again-demonstrates-its-a-class-a-act/|access-date=December 16, 2012|newspaper=Television Business Report|date=December 13, 2012}}</ref> The deal closed on August 8, 2013. LocusPoint then sold WMJF-CD to HME Equity Fund II on April 8, 2018. Towson University continued to operate the station until 2019. Programming and operations are handled remotely via satellite feed.

==Digital television==

===Digital channels===

! [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]

! [[Display resolution|Video]]

! [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]

! [[Program and System Information Protocol#What PSIP does|PSIP Short Name]]

! Programming<ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WMJF#station RabbitEars TV Query for WMJF]</ref>

|-

| 39.1 || [[720p]] || rowspan=7|[[16:9]] || WMJF-CD || [[Ion Television]]

| 39.2 || rowspan=6|[[480i]] || TruCrim || [[True Crime Network]]

| 39.3 || Quest || [[Quest (American TV network)|Quest]]

| 39.4 || Grit || [[Laff (TV network)|Laff]]

| 39.5 || Buzzr || [[Defy TV]]

|-

| 39.6 || ShopLC || [[Heroes & Icons]]

|-

| 39.7 || || [[TrueReal]]

As a part of the [[Spectrum reallocation#Repacking|repacking]] process following the [[Incentive auction|2016–2017 FCC incentive auction]], WMJF-CD relocated to UHF channel 23 in summer 2020, using [[Program and System Information Protocol|PSIP]] to display its [[virtual channel]] number as 39.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nab.org/repacking/clearinghouse.asp|title=Searchable Clearinghouse {{!}} National Association of Broadcasters|website=www.nab.org|language=en|access-date=2018-05-28}}</ref>

==Programming==

As of 2021, WMJF-CD carries the entire Ion Television schedule. The station no longer broadcasts local student programming.

===WMJFNow===

WMJFNow was launched in August 2006, after a beta run the previous spring. The program is run using [[Google]] Video. WMJFNow is the creation of webmaster and station president, Christopher Taydus with help from many station members including Josh Eisenberg, Joe Achard and Diego Torres. It was created to help find a new audience for the station. Taydus was quoted as saying, "I have a friend who goes to Northeastern who has been watching our sitcom ''Film School''. We've even had guys from other countries watching."<ref name="techbrief">{{cite web|url=http://www.thetowerlight.com/media/storage/paper957/news/2006/11/16/Technology/Technology.Briefs-2463210.shtml?norewrite200612131158&sourcedomain=www.thetowerlight.com|title=Technology Briefs|date=November 16, 2006|publisher=The Towerlight|access-date=2006-12-13}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> When asked about the numbers that some shows were receiving, Josh Eisenberg said, "In the college television market those are incredible numbers to be receiving. It used to be just a five-mile radius, and now anyone can see it."<ref name="techbrief" />

*[http://www.wmjf.tv/ WMJF website (no longer actively maintained, but left online as an archive)]

[[Category:Ion Television affiliates]]

[[Category:Grit (TV network) affiliates]]

[[Category:TrueReal affiliates]]