WMLK

**WMLK** (channel 22) is a television station licensed to Racine, Wisconsin, serving the Milwaukee market. The station has been independent since 2014. It is owned by Price Media Group and is duopoly to ABC affiliate WMKE (channel 7). The station's studios are located on West St. Paul Avenue in Milwaukee, while its transmitter is located on Herr Road in Sullivan, Wisconsin.

## History

### First incarnation as independent

On January 3, 1979, WMLK signed on the air, with its first broadcast being the national anthem of the United States. This sequence was followed by a live program hosted by original station owner Johnny D. Corinthian, who explained what the station's program would consist of, and took calls from viewers with questions about the station. Channel 22's first "official" program was an episode of The Lucy Show. The station broadcast for eleven hours a day, from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. In mid-1979, as part of a new programming lineup, including the launch of the iconic "22's Got It" campaign, the station began signing on at 10 a.m., airing a movie in that slot.

On December 14, 1979, Corinthian Telecasting sold WMLK to Price Family Broadcasting, in exchange for KFAY, another independent station in Fayetteville, Arkansas (now the market's NBC affiliate). Price's ownership started off rocky, as CEO Kevin Brendt died shortly after the station was acquired, but channel 22 began recovering in the early 1980's.

Throughout the 1980's, WMLK's success continued. By 1983, the station had most of the top-rated programs in the Milwaukee market, and, in 1984, became the city's number one station, a shift that shocked the industry. In late 1984, the station launched a news department, producing *Channel 22 NewsCenter*, which aired every weeknight at 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Though these newscasts were profitable enough for the station to continue them, they could not beat WUAK's broadcasts, and got pushed back to number two in 1986. Channel 22 began signing on at 6:30 a.m. in 1988, starting off their broadcast day with a morning edition of *NewsCenter*. Most of the station's early morning shows were syndicated cartoons and religious programming. *Channel 22 NewsCenter Sunrise* was cancelled in 1987, and was replaced by *The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show*.

In 1992, new management fired evening news anchor team John Silverman and Marie Turner, saying they were "too old" for the station, which rebranded to "22 4 U" to appeal to younger viewers. The newscast's viewers were rapidly declining, so Price made the decision to disband the entire news department and replaced all news shows with paid programs. In 1993, the station's revamped after-school cartoon block began catching steam, and channel 22 was successful again.

### The WB affiliation

On May 17, 1994, station management announced that 15 years of independence would be coming to an end the following year, as the station planned to affiliate with an upcoming network, The WB. The switch occurred at midnight on January 11, 1995, when the station rebranded to WB 22 Milwaukee, but the first WB show to air on the station was *The Wayans Bros.* at 7 p.m. that evening.

On October 1, 1995, the station relaunched newscasts, which were produced by Milwaukee's ABC affiliate, WMKE. *Eyewitness News 7 at Nine on WB 22 Milwaukee*, was a half-hour newscast which aired weeknights on channel 22 following The WB's primetime programming. In August of 1996, the title was shortened to simply *Eyewitness News 7 at Nine*, and was expanded to an hour. The newscasts also launched a custom graphics package, designed by TVbD, and theme, Milwaukee Style by 615 Music. On October 1, 1998, exactly three years after launching, *Eyewitness News 7 at Nine* was cancelled. The following evening, October 2, the newscast was rebranded to *WB 22 News at Nine*, and featured new talent hired by WMLK. The graphics and music continued to be used, as well as two former WMKE reporters who were hired by WB 22.

In 2002, Price Media Group announced it was considering selling WMLK. Nexstar Broadcasting Group placed an offer on the station, as did Weigel Broadcasting. However, on October 31, 2002, the company declined both offers, ultimately deciding to keep the station. The branding was shortened to WB 22 in 2003, at which point the station began broadcasting 24/7 (channel 22 had been signing off for two hours on early Monday mornings for many years until then). The new programming slot was filled with infomercials.

In 2004, the station significantly expanded its news operation. On May 8, 2004, the station launched a half-hour weekend newscast, anchored by reporter Jeanine Brycki. Later in September 2004, a four hour long morning newscast, *WB 22 at Daybreak*, launched on the station. At the same time, *Live with Regis and Kelly* was picked up by WMLK to air immediately following *Daybreak* at 9 a.m. In 2006, *Live* moved to WMKE.

### Switch to The CW

On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced they would be merging their networks, UPN and The WB, to create a new network, The CW. On September 1, 2006, WMLK temporarily reverted to their former branding, "Channel 22". Newscasts remained *WB 22 News*. On September 18, 2006, the station officially affiliated with The CW. Newscasts were rebranded to *CW 22 News*, and a new graphics package based on Hearst Television's group package launched, accompanying a new theme, High Velocity by 615 Music (replacing Milwaukee Style V.3).

### Return to independence

On November 4, 2013, Price Media Group announced that all three of its CW affiliates, WMLK included, would be losing their affiliations effective January 1, 2014. The decision was made due to a decline in ratings after their stations picked up the network. All three of the stations became independent on that day. A national newscast, *The Nation Tonight*, debuted in the 8 p.m. slot that night, accompanying *Law & Order: Criminal Intent* at 7. *The Nation Tonight* featured reports from the personnel of the three former CW affiliates (or, in the case of Montgomery, Alabama's WALT, the personnel of news partner and CBS affiliate WIBC), and was anchored by WMLK's own David White. The newscast was a failure and ended in May 2014.

On August 10, 2016, in a surprise move, WMLK announced that it had gotten the rights to air *Wheel of Fortune* and *Jeopardy!*, winning a bidding war with WMKE. That station is an ABC O&O, a group known to air both shows, so it was a shock to many to see WMLK pick them up. Just over a month later, on September 12, 2016, the shows debuted on the station, airing *Jeopardy!* at 6 p.m. following *Wheel* at 6:30 p.m., respectively. This was accompanied by the launch of a 5 p.m. newscast.

## News/station presentation

### Newscast titles

* Channel 22 NewsCenter (1984-1992)
* 22 News 4 U (1992)
* Eyewitness News 7 on WB 22 (1995-1998)
* WB 22 News (1998-2006)
* Channel 22 News (2006; 2014-present)
* CW 22 News (2006-2014)

### News themes

* Milwaukee Style - 615 Music (1984-2006)
* High Velocity - 615 Music (2006-2019)
* Image News - Gari Media Group (2019-present)

### Voiceover artists

* Charlie Van Dyke (1984-2019)
* Rick Still (2019-present)

## Programming

As of August 2022, syndicated programming seen on WMLK includes the aforementioned *Wheel of Fortune* and *Jeopardy!*, as well as *Rachael Ray*, *Lauren Lake's Paternity Court*, and *Impractical Jokers*, among others, and beginning of September, WMLK moved to *Live with Kelly and Ryan* (now *Kelly and Mark*), and WMKE debuted a 9:00 a.m. morning newscast.

## Technical information

### Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

 22.2
 22.3
 22.4

### Analog-to-digital conversion

WMLK discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 22, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 14, using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 22.