WAUO

WAUO, Virtual channel 40, is a television station in Aurora, Illinois that broadcasts programming from the Freemax network to the Chicago metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by Space Coast Media and its broadcasting facilities are in the Chicago Loop district, with WAUO's transmitter facilities atop the Willis Tower.
==History==
Applications for the channel began as early as 1982, when four firms applied construction permits to build television stations on Aurora channel 40. The bids of these four firms merged in a settlement agreement under which Washington, Illinois-based Buford Broadcasting was granted the construction permit on August 6, 1985.
WAUO began broadcasting on April 20, 1986, as an independent station, and its subscription offering, Warner Cable, bowed on May 1. Several months later, Buford Broadcasting filed for bankruptcy, blaming the station's technical expenses for their downfall.
===Stratus ownership ===
In December 1986, Stratus Communications bought WAUO for $11 million. The station continued its independent status but shifted towards a "family-friendly" environment, airing cartoons in the mornings, family-oriented programming in the afternoons, and movies in the evenings. By the beginning of 1990, this structure was phased out and WAUO returned to general programming. On that same year, WAUO introduced its first and long-running branding campaign, "Chicago's Wow! Television". The campaign focused on the city's people and Chicago's cultural heritage as well as WAUO's local programming efforts.
===WAUO Two===
On New Year's Day 1995, Stratus launched "WAUO Two", a local cable channel that featured news, weather and sports content and public affairs, sports-talk and entertainment news programs. By 2003, the network slowly evolved to a syndication service, relying on recent and older acquired programming. WAUO Two ceased broadcasting on December 31, 2009.
==="Entertaining Chicago" era (2002-2019)===
In 2002, WAUO began broadcasting on UHF Digital channel 40, which led the station to adopt a new identity. As part of an increased schedule of Chicago Cubs and White Sox games, WAUO updated its prime-time lineup with first-run syndicated programs and moved the acquired programming to late nights and early mornings. When Stratus Communications rebranded as Stratus Broadcasting in 2006 under a new CEO, WAUO shifted its programming once again: newscasts in the early mornings, syndicated programming in the daytime and afternoons, and acquired entertainment programming in the evenings. This structure would continue to be used throughout the late 2000's and 2010s.
===W3 Chicago===
On February 4, 2019, Stratus Broadcasting announced that it would merge with Studio Networks (the forerunner of GloboRB) bringing Stratus' properties under Studio's ownership. Studio already owned two TV stations in the Chicago market (WNVU and WTLM), leading Stratus to sell off WAUO. Space Coast Radio, a Melbourne, Florida-based radio company that owned two stations in its hometown at the time, entered into a shared services agreement with Stratus until the merger was finalized.
Two months later on April 15, Studio Networks, in partnership with WarnerMedia, announced the launch of a secondary television network called "W3 Network" that would complement Freemont. WAUO was selected as the Chicago affiliate and began broadcasting the network when it launched on June 1. The change also saw the discontinuation of the "wave 40" emblem.
===Freemax era===
Freemax Chicago July 2021.png|WAUO's first logo as "Freemax 40" used from July 26 to November 2, 2021
Freemax 40 Chicago WAUO.png|Second "Freemax 40" logo used from 2021 to 2022
W3 Network rebranded as "Freemax" on July 26, 2021, around the same time Space Coast Radio, now Space Coast Media was in the process of acquiring a 50% share of the network. When the transaction was completed on October 29, the network revamped its identity with the launch of a new logo, on-air graphics, and a diverse on-air voice personalities on November 2. On September 15, 2022, GloboRB sold 30% of its 50% share to Space Coast Media, giving the latter full control of the network, and making WAUO and its similarly affiliated sister stations owned-and-operated by Space Coast. 
On the evening of December 18, 2022, WAUO introduced a new logo, which is the combination of its 2016-2019 logo with the "Freemax" wordmark underneath. This also brought back the "wave 40" emblem after a 3-year absence.
Category:Chicago
Category:Illinois
Category:Television channels and stations established in 1986
Category:Freemax O&O stations
Category:Channel 40
Category:Former independent stations
Category:Space Coast Media