WMGM-TV
| Company type | Television broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | January 25, 1966 in Wildwood, New Jersey, United States |
| Headquarters | Vineland, New Jersey , United States |
Area served | Southeastern New Jersey, including Atlantic City; Philadelphia TV market (via subchannel) |
| Products | Television broadcasting |
| Owner | TelevisaUnivision |
WMGM-TV (channel 40) is a television broadcaster licensed to Wildwood, New Jersey and is affiliated with the True Crime Network. It is owned by TelevisaUnivision and operates in conjunction with Univision-owned station WUVP-DT (channel 65) located in Vineland, as well as Philadelphia-based Class A UniMás affiliate WFPA-CD (channel 28). All three stations share production facilities in Vineland, while WMGM-TV’s transmission tower is situated in Swainton, New Jersey.
Although it falls within the Philadelphia TV market, WMGM-TV primarily targets viewers in southeastern New Jersey, including the Atlantic City area. Its content is simultaneously broadcast on WUVP’s third digital subchannel (65.3), transmitted from Roxborough near Philadelphia, thereby broadening its over-the-air availability throughout the Philadelphia region.
Formerly an NBC affiliate, WMGM-TV stood out as the only major network station headquartered in New Jersey, overlapping coverage zones with Philadelphia’s NBC-owned outlets WCAU, KYW-TV, and New York’s flagship WNBC. The affiliation with NBC concluded on December 31, 2014. Since that time, the station has aired various digital multicast networks and functioned as an independent outlet. Following its acquisition by Univision, WMGM-TV has featured programming from Justice Network (now True Crime Network), GetTV, and content from Univision via WUVP-DT.
History
The station commenced operations on January 25, 1966, under the call sign WCMC-TV—named after Cape May County—and was owned by Jersey Cape Broadcasting alongside WCMC radio stations (1230 AM and 100.7 FM, now WZXL). At launch, it lacked a direct NBC feed, so engineers manually switched to Philadelphia’s KYW-TV for network shows. Early locally produced programs were broadcast in black and white despite NBC’s transition to color broadcasting. Ownership changed hands in 1977 when South Jersey Radio acquired the station; its call letters were updated to WAAT in 1981 and later to WMGM-TV in 1984 to reflect its association with co-owned WMGM radio (103.7 FM). Under South Jersey Radio’s management, WMGM secured a dedicated NBC feed. After the passing of owner Howard Green in 2002, the stations were sold to Access.1 Communications.
WMGM operated a low-power repeater station, WMGM-LP on VHF channel 7, which served Atlantic City until a fire in 2006 damaged the transmitter building that also housed WMGM radio and other broadcasters’ transmitters. While WMGM radio resumed transmissions using backup facilities, WMGM-LP and several AM stations remained off-air temporarily, causing disruptions to NBC’s over-the-air reception in Atlantic City until service was restored.
Prior to WCAU becoming an NBC owned-and-operated station in 1995, many viewers within New Jersey’s segment of the Philadelphia market depended on WMGM-TV for full NBC programming. This reliance was partly due to KYW-TV preempting numerous daytime NBC programs following its switch to CBS ownership amid the 1994 network affiliation realignments. Notably, WMGM was among the few affiliates that did not carry the Sunday edition of The Today Show.
Acquisition by LocusPoint Networks
On October 10, 2013, Access.1 Communications agreed to transfer ownership of WMGM to LocusPoint Networks for $6 million; this acquisition marked LocusPoint’s second station within the Philadelphia market alongside WPHA-CD. Despite the sale agreement, Access.1 continued managing WMGM operations after the transaction. The deal raised concerns that LocusPoint might prioritize auctioning off the station’s valuable spectrum during the FCC’s 2015 incentive auction rather than maintaining broadcast services; LocusPoint identifies itself as an "early stage wireless communications company." Spectrum assets near major metropolitan areas such as Philadelphia are highly sought after at auction, placing WMGM’s future broadcasting status in question. In response to these concerns, LocusPoint co-founder Bill deKay affirmed their commitment to keep WMGM operating as an NBC affiliate. The sale was completed on January 28, 2014. Ultimately, WMGM was not sold during the spectrum auction.
Termination of NBC Affiliation
On April 16, 2014, Broadcasting & Cable announced that WMGM-TV would discontinue its NBC affiliation by the end of that year, marking the conclusion of a two-year contract renewal. Former general manager Ron Smith attributed this development to NBCUniversal and its parent company Comcast prioritizing their owned-and-operated station WCAU, which he believed would directly compete with WMGM’s market presence. This shift coincided with the termination of Access.1's management agreement with LocusPoint Networks. Comparable losses of network partnerships also occurred in Philadelphia and other markets such as Washington, D.C., and Salt Lake City.
In July 2014, WMGM-TV introduced the "Friends of 40 Summer Membership Club," a fundraising campaign offering supporters exclusive merchandise and invitations to special events. General manager J. Roger Powe III stated that the initiative aimed to deepen audience interaction; nevertheless, since the station remained commercial until December 31, 2014, donations were not eligible for tax deductions.
By September 2014, the station placed its studio property on the market but intended to maintain broadcasting activities into 2015. The Federal Communications Commission postponed the spectrum auction until 2016 in October. On December 9, Access.1 declared intentions to "continue and expand" its news programming on a new channel slated for early to mid-2015, retaining existing personnel and relocating operations accordingly. Local media figure Pinky Kravitz disclosed that the station sought $3 million in funding to facilitate this transition. Access.1 continued to own WMGM-LP, a low-power analog repeater.
WMGM-TV aired its final NBC shows and newscasts on December 31, 2014; the concluding broadcast was a documentary titled NewsCenter 40: The Stories Behind the Station, chronicling its history. After losing NBC affiliation, WMGM shifted to content from Soul of the South, targeting the African-American demographic while exploring local production partnerships with WOND radio. These steps served as temporary measures pending a potential sale during the upcoming 2016 spectrum auction. On January 1, 2016, following financial difficulties faced by Soul of the South, WMGM switched to religious programming provided by Sonlife Broadcasting Network before soon adopting an independent station status.
Local content resumed on August 1, 2016, through a brokered programming arrangement with Advantage Broadcasting, which sold airtime to SNJ Today for producing news programs featuring former WMGM personnel. As an independent station, WMGM-TV mainly broadcast infomercials during daytime hours. Additionally, SNJ Today newscasts were carried by WACP, Atlantic City’s newer television outlet launched in 2012.
Acquisition by Univision
On June 26, 2017, LocusPoint Networks reached an agreement to sell WMGM-TV to Univision Communications through its subsidiary Univision Local Media for $6 million. This transaction made WMGM-TV a sister station to WUVP-DT (channel 65) and WFPA-CD (channel 28). Univision took operational control on November 14, 2017; coinciding with this change, WMGM-TV affiliated with the Justice Network (now known as True Crime Network).
Sale of WMGM-LP to Engle Broadcasting
On March 3, 2018, Access.1 Communications divested its low-power station WMGM-LP along with the construction permit for WMGM-LD to Engle Broadcasting, LLC based in Cedar Brook, New Jersey. Engle Broadcasting requested and received silent special temporary authority (STA) for WMGM-LP until October 16, 2018. The FCC formally canceled the license for WMGM-LP on January 7, 2021.
Newscasts and local programming
By the conclusion of its affiliation with NBC, WMGM-TV broadcasted a total of 20 hours per week of news content produced locally, not including midday weekday segments or morning and early evening newscasts on weekends. It stood as the final commercial station licensed in New Jersey to maintain its own dedicated news team; following Fox Television Stations' acquisition, WWOR-TV in Secaucus discontinued its news department in July 2013.
The station was responsible for creating the Emmy-recognized entertainment series Curtain Call with David Spatz, which showcased interviews with performers from Atlantic City. Additionally, WMGM aired two public affairs shows: WMGM Presents Pinky and Forum 40. Before 2011, weekday morning news was not part of WMGM’s lineup, but on March 28, 2011, it introduced the one-hour program Today in South Jersey.
Southern New Jersey saw the return of local newscasts with the debut of SNJ Today during summer 2015 on WACP (channel 4), airing on weeknights at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. Starting August 1, SNJ Today was also broadcast on WMGM at these same times until the station was sold to Univision in 2017.
Subchannels
<section begin=subs />
| License | Channel | Resolution | Aspect ratio | Identifier | Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMGM-TV | 40.1 | 480i | 16:9 | Crime | True Crime Network |
| 40.2 | 4:3 | get | Get | ||
| 40.3 | 720p | 16:9 | WUVP-DT | Univision (WUVP-DT) | |
| 40.4 | 480i | 16:9 | NVSN | Nuestra Visión | |
| WGTW-TV | 48.1 | 720p | 16:9 | TBN HD | Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) |
| 48.2 | 480i | Merit | Merit TV | ||
| 48.3 | 480i | Inspire | TBN Inspire | ||
| 48.4 | 480i | ONTV4U | OnTV4U (infomercials) |
<section end=subs />
Analog-to-digital conversion
In compliance with the federal digital transition deadline, WMGM-TV discontinued its analog transmission on UHF channel 40 as of June 12, 2009. The station’s digital broadcast remained on its original pre-transition UHF channel 36 while utilizing virtual channel number 40.
Coverage area
The primary audience for WMGM-TV includes Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties within New Jersey. Its digital signal extends to portions of southern Ocean, southern Burlington, eastern Camden, Gloucester counties, as well as coastal areas of Delaware.
External links
- Official website for True Crime Network
- Facebook archive: nbc40news
- YouTube archive: nbc40wmgm