WQOW

WQOW is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Chippewa Valley of Western Wisconsin. Licensed to Eau Claire, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 15 (or virtual channel 18.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter at the studios of rival NBC outlet WEAU on South Hastings Way in Altoona. Owned by Quincy Newspapers, WQOW has facilities on Friedeck Road in Eau Claire (with a WIS 93 postal address) south of I-94.

Although operated as a separate station in its own right, WQOW is actually considered a semi-satellite of WXOW in La Crosse. It clears all network and syndicated programming as provided through its parent but airs separate newscasts, legal on-air identifications, and commercial inserts. WXOW serves the southern half of the La Crosse/Eau Claire market while WQOW serves the northern portion. The two stations are counted as a single unit for ratings purposes.

Digital programming

History

WQOW signed-on for the first time on September 22, 1980. For its first decade on-the-air, WXOW had been hampered by an inadequate signal in the northern half of the market. Unlike the area's other stations, WXOW's transmitter is located alongside its studios in La Crescent, Minnesota. As a result, viewers in Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley could only watch the station on cable.