WZCK-LD

WZCK-LD (channel 8) is a low-power television station in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, as an affiliate of Salem News Channel. The station is owned and operated by DTV America Corporation. WZCK also carries a slate of digital networks on its sub-channels.

WZCK-LD

Madison, Wisconsin United States
Channels	Digital: 24 (UHF) Virtual: 8
Programming
Affiliations	8.1: Salem News Channel for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	HC2 Holdings (DTV America Corporation)
Sister stations	Madison: W23BW-D Milwaukee: WTSJ-LD
History
Founded	January 30, 1987
First air date	June 9, 1992
Former call signs	W08CK (1987–2016) WZCK-LP (2016)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 8 (VHF, 1992–2016) Digital: 36 (UHF, 2016–2020)
Former affiliations	Independent (1992–2016) Bounce TV (2016–2019) Cozi TV (2019–2022) OnTV4U (2022–2024)
Call sign meaning	Disambiguation of former translator callsign, "Z" in place of "8"
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	26603
Class	LD
ERP	36 W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS

History

WZCK was originally known as W08CK, and broadcast a low-power analog television signal on channel 8. The station was owned by the Science of Identity Foundation, a new religious movement with Hindu roots, and broadcast music, some religious programming, and a station ID from a transmitter atop the Tenney Building near the Wisconsin State Capitol and a signal only strong enough to cover the central Madison Isthmus and the UW campus. Though it was off the air for most of the 2010s, W08CK was for a time the only station in Madison to broadcast on the VHF band (CBS affiliate WISC-TV left analog channel 3 for digital channel 50 in the 2009 digital TV transition; Fox affiliate WMSN-TV (channel 47) would relocate its physical digital signal from 11 to 49 earlier in the 2010s).

By 2016, W08CK would be acquired by DTV America, an owner/operator of LPTV stations throughout the U.S. With the silent station rechristened WZCK-LD, DTV America proceed to construct a digital signal on physical channel 36 at the WKOW studio/transmitter link tower on the west side of Madison. On November 16, 2016, WZCK began digital broadcasting. In August 2022 the COZI affiliation in the Madison market transitioned to a sub-channel of Ion affiliate WIFS, leaving WZCK carrying the OnTV4u infomercial network, a move DTV America has historically used on WZCK between affiliation agreements. OnTV4u is also carried on sister channel W23BW.

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel	Video	Aspect	Short name	Programming
8.1	480i	16:9	WZCK-LD	Salem News Channel
8.2		4:3		Get
8.3				SonLife
8.4		16:9		MotorSport 1 (rendered on-air as MTRSPT 1)
8.5		4:3		Shop LC
8.6		16:9		Defy
8.7				BeIN Sports Xtra

See also

• List of television stations in Wisconsin

External links

• Facility details for Facility ID 26603 (WZCK-LD) in the FCC Licensing and Management System