WOSH-TV
| Company type | Television station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | November 26, 1952 (license obtained) |
| Defunct | March 23, 1954 |
| Headquarters | Oshkosh , United States |
Area served | Northeast Wisconsin |
| Products | Television broadcasting |
WOSH-TV (channel 48) was a television station located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. It holds the distinction of being Wisconsin's inaugural ultra high frequency (UHF) television broadcaster and was the third television station in the state overall, following NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee (established 1947) and CBS (currently ABC) affiliate WBAY-TV in Green Bay (launched March 1953).
History
The station obtained its broadcasting license on November 26, 1952, soon after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ended a three-year moratorium on issuing new television licenses. WOSH-TV commenced transmissions at 4 p.m. on July 1, 1953, starting with an initial power output of 100 watts and plans to boost this to 1 kilowatt. Sharing its call sign with its sister AM radio outlet, WOSH, the TV station operated from the same transmission tower. On December 26, 1953, it became affiliated with the ABC network.
At the beginning of 1954, WOSH-TV faced significant challenges due to the limited adoption of UHF tuners among viewers—most television sets at that time were equipped only for very high frequency (VHF) reception—and because UHF signals had a shorter range compared to VHF broadcasts. The announcement of new VHF stations, including WMBV-TV (channel 11, now known as WLUK-TV) and WFRV-TV (channel 5), further diminished consumer motivation to purchase UHF-capable televisions. These obstacles contributed to WOSH-TV halting its broadcasts on March 23, 1954, citing a lack of advertising revenue and inherent operational difficulties associated with UHF technology. Subsequently, the market began concentrating transmission facilities near Green Bay, particularly around Scray Hill in the Town of Glenmore, favoring centralized reception over maintaining multiple towers along the Fox River and Lake Winnebago.
Another UHF broadcaster in northeast Wisconsin, WNAM-TV, declared in November 1954 its intention to merge with WFRV-TV before initiating operations. The region did not see a return of UHF television until 1968 when KFIZ-TV launched in Fond du Lac; however, that station ceased operations in 1972.