WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) — The recent purchase of one Wausau television station by another Wausau television station has viewers angry and confused. As of July 1st, Gray Television purchased WXFS Fox 55 from Davis Television. Since the purchase, many viewers can’t get Fox 55 on their televisions anymore unless they subscribe to cable or satellite. Viewers as close as Weston, Mosinee and Merrill are complaining about the lack of a television signal.
The reason for the lack of signal coverage is tied to a federal government regulation. It’s complicated, but here’s the short answer. Gray Television purchased the assets of WFXS-Fox 55 but did not buy the high-power transmitting license, because the Federal Communications Commission prohibits one company from owning multiple high-powered major network television stations in the same market. This means Gray Television cannot have high power on both channels 7 and 55. They will have to run 55 as a low-power television station. That means the 685 kilowatt transmitter is now dialed back to transmitting only 15 kilowatts.
Gray Television’s management at WSAW-TV’s studios were not available for comment Wednesday, but their outgoing phone message confirms what viewers don’t want to hear. “WZAW is a low-power television station. Some television homes will currently not be able to receive WZAW over the air. WZAW is, however, available through Direct TV, Dish Network, and many cable providers including Charter.”
The phone message also says Gray Television is “actively working with other cable companies to help them receive WZAW’s signal.” It also hints of improvements to their over-the-air signal in the near future. “We also are working on plans to expand WZAW’s over-the-air coverage through a complete rebuild of the station over the next 90 days.”
With the FCC restrictions against using a high-power transmitter, Gray Television will likely put multiple low power transmitters in several strategic locations to ensure adequate coverage for the market. When that happens, over-the-air viewers will have to reprogram their televisions to receive the channel that covers their area.
Several of the callers to us here at WSAU radio were concerned about the upcoming football season, since Fox 55 carries most of the Packers games. We at WSAU don’t know the answers, since WSAU radio is owned by Midwest Communications, a different company than Gray Television. For now, Fox viewers will have to subscribe to cable or satellite, or hope Gray Television completes their 90-day upgrade plan in time, and that the upgrade covers where they live before the NFL season kicks off.
