WBME-CD

Early years[edit]

The station that is currently WBME-CD had existed in one way or another since the early 1980s on low-power translator stations: first on UHF channel 55 as W55AS, then by 1989, moving to channel 65 as W65BT. The station has been owned by Weigel Broadcasting since it signed on the air. Until the late 1990s, the station would air the Stock Market Observer business news block, which was produced by Chicago sister station WCIU-TV, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; in fact, the station launched as a full translator of WCIU, receiving that station via a microwave link between WCIU's transmitter on the Sears Tower and a receiver dish atop the First Wisconsin/Firstar Center, and was Weigel's first successful attempt since trying to acquire the channel 49 license in Racine in 1965 to establish a station in Milwaukee. At night, the station ran a mix of home shopping programs, infomercials, religious shows, Spanish programming from Univision (before the launch of W46AR in 1990) and low-cost programming, including plenty of public domain and low-cost films. The station was watched by few because of insufficient cable carriage and better television choices in the Milwaukee market, along with Weigel trying to establish WDJT's presence in the market, especially after acquiring the market's CBS affiliation from WITI (channel 6) in December 1994. A harbinger of the station's future happened that month, when some of WDJT's syndicated programming that would have aired during CBS timeslots moved over to W65BT after the switch to fulfill existing contracts for those programs.^[3]


In 1999, Weigel obtained construction permits for new channel positions in the wake of having to move its Milwaukee low-power operations (which included then-Univision station W46AR (channel 46; now Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LD, channel 63) to accommodate WDJT's digital signal on channel 46, along with the inauguration of Weigel's new Lincoln Park transmitter for WDJT and the low-power stations, which united the company's transmitter operations into one facility. Towards the end of September 2000, the programming from channel 65 moved to the new channel 41 under the callsign W41CI, with the station's on-air brand becoming "TV-41".


In its first year, the station improved its programming, airing Weigel/Bridge Information Systems' WebFN financial news service during the day, and entertainment programs at night. The America One network aired during the overnight and morning hours (also to fulfill educational programming requirements), along with local news updates produced by WDJT that aired throughout the day. Then in mid-November 2001, channel 41 would acquire low-power status, allowing it to have a lettered call sign, which would end up being WMLW-LP (the WMLW call letters were previously used from 1982 to August 1989 by Watertown radio station WJJO (94.1 FM), with the calls standing for "mellow" as part of that station's then-soft rock format).