Disclosure: Jon Ellis was an employee of Gray Media Group at the time this item was posted. The statements and views expressed in this posting are his own and do not reflect those of Gray Media Group.
An Upper Peninsula station which had carried CBS until switching to My Network TV a few years ago is now carrying ABC.
A notice on the My UP Now website says the new channel lineup for WJMN-TV (Escanaba-Marquette) is now ABC on channel 3.1, CW on 3.2, and My Network TV on 3.3. The ABC and CW channels are simulcast from existing affiliate WBUP/10 (Ishpeming-Marquette).
The change follows the sale of WJMN-TV to Sullivans Landing LLC, which entered into a shared services agreement and a joint sales agreement with WBUP, owned by Morgan Murphy Media/Queen Bee’s Knees.
The two stations combined their newsrooms under the “My UP Now” name a few weeks ago. The combination allowed WBUP to add weekday morning news.
WJMN-TV was the UP’s CBS affiliate until January 2022, when it replaced CBS with the My Network TV primetime block while retaining its syndicated programming and local news. The CBS affiliation moved to Lilly Broadcasting’s WZMQ/19.2 (Marquette), which launched its own news department.
The WJMN/WBUP announcement does not mention the fate of the Ion Mystery, Laff, and Bounce subchannels that had also previously aired on WJMN-TV.
WBUP transmits on a VHF frequency from west of Marquette while WJMN-TV transmits on a UHF frequency (RF 32) from southeast of Marquette. WBUP is also relayed on WBKP/5 (Calumet).
The addition of WJMN-TV could expand the reach of ABC and CW programming to indoor antenna users who had trouble receiving WBUP’s VHF signal and viewers east of Marquette where WJMN-TV’s signal is stronger.
Besides WZMQ, the stations compete with Gray NBC/FOX affiliate WLUC/6.1-6.2 (Marquette).