WISC-TV
WISC-TV (digital channel 50 or PSIP virtual channel 3) is the CBS affiliate television station for Madison, Wisconsin. The station is the flagship of Madison-based Morgan Murphy Media, and has been affiliated with CBS since its launch on June 24, 1956. The station airs regular local and CBS programming on digital channel 3.1 and also operates TVW, a MyNetworkTV affiliate, on digital channel 3.2 (which is also carried on local cable TV and DIRECTV in the Madison market). WISC-TV first took to the airwaves on June 24, 1956, taking over Madison's CBS affiliation from WKOW-TV (which retained ABC affiliation). During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. Despite being the state's second largest market, Madison was a "doughnut" where there could only be one VHF license due to being sandwiched between Milwaukee to the east, Wausau and Green Bay to the north, Chicago and Rockford to the south, and La Crosse/Eau Claire to the west. Having the market's only VHF signal gave channel 3 a distinct advantage over its UHF competitors, WKOW and WMTV. Until cable arrived in Madison in the 1980s, WISC was the only local station that provided a clear signal
Wisconsin
Wisconsin /wɪsˈkɒnsɨn/ is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee. As of 2010, the state's 72 counties have a total of 5,686,986 residents. The word Wisconsin originates from the name given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian speaking American Indian groups living in the region at the time of European contact. French explorer Jacques Marquette was the first European to reach the Wisconsin River and record its name, arriving in 1673 and calling the river Meskousing in his journal. This spelling was later corrupted to Ouisconsin by other French explorers, and over time this version became the French name for both the Wisconsin River and the surrounding lands. English speakers anglicized the spelling to its modern form when they began to arrive in greater numbers during the early 19th Century. The current spelling was made official by the legislature of Wisconsin Territory in 1845. Throughout