MILWAUKEE—Low power TV (LPTV) station operator Roseland Broadcasting has changed the call sign and the operating channel number of its two Wisconsin stations in Milwaukee and near Madison in advance of the November election.
As a result of the change, viewers in Milwaukee will find the call sign of station WPVS has been changed to WWMW and it now broadcasts on Channel 16. Viewers in the Verona area of Madison will find a new station WMWI also on channel 16. Roseland plans to move WMWI into Madison later this year.
In addition, Roseland announced that a new political channel, PurpleTV, will launch on its Milwaukee station in June.
"We wanted both of our Wisconsin stations to be broadcasting on the same channel number before the Republican Convention in July,” Roseland Broadcasting's CEO Matthew Davidge explained. “A new client, PurpleTV, will launch an informational channel on politics in June on both stations."
Roseland already broadcasts political programming; OANN (One America Network) appears on its channel line-up on TV station KXBK in Bismarck N.D. and KXXW in Tyler Texas.
Roseland Broadcasting said that it believes that TV broadcasting is a valuable complement to online and in-person political activities and reaches viewers that other communications mediums cannot. The company also noted that over the air (OTA) television viewing remains high in Wisconsin at around 25%, especially among older viewers, despite the splintering of media consumption channels.
"We are not all 'lean forward and tap' users… there are still many' lean back and watch' viewers," Davidge added.
PurpleTV.com will announce its launch plans separately.
