WKOW-TV
 
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Madison, Wisconsin United States |
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| City | Madison |
| Branding | WKOW 27 (general) 27 News (newscasts) MeTV 27.2 Madison (on DT2) |
| Slogan | We've Got You Covered |
| Channels |
Digital: 26 (UHF) Virtual: 27 () |
| Subchannels | 27.1 ABC 27.2 MeTV 27.3 Decades |
| Affiliations | ABC (1956-present) |
| Owner |
Quincy Media (WKOW Television, Inc.) |
| First air date | June 30, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | K(C)OW (for Wisconsin's dairy industry) |
| Sister station(s) |
La Crosse/Eau Claire: WXOW/WQOW Central WI: WAOW, WMOW, WYOW Rockford, IL: WREX |
| Former callsigns | WKOW-TV (1953–2009) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 27 (UHF, 1953–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
DT1: CBS (1953–1956) DT2: RTV (2008–2011) DT3: This TV (2009–2015) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW |
| Height | 455 m |
| Facility ID | 64545 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°3′20.5″N 89°32′6.3″W / 43.055694°N 89.535083°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | WKOW.com |
WKOW is the ABC-affiliated television station for Madison, Wisconsin. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 (PSIP virtual channel 27) from a transmitter in the city's Middleton Junction section; the station is also available on Charter Cable systems in the Madison market (SD channel 7 and HD channel 607). Owned and operated by Quincy Media, WKOW has studios on Tokay Boulevard on Madison's west side.
WKOW-TV (the suffix was dropped from the call sign in 2009) was launched on June 30, 1953 as Madison's first television station. The station was originally aligned with CBS and owned by the Monona Broadcasting Company, led by a group of local area businessmen along with WKOW radio (AM 1070, now WTSO). The WKOW call sign was an acknowledgment to Wisconsin's dairy industry, and featured a smiling bovine (or cow) alongside the emphasized "K-O-W" of the call sign.
WKOW-AM-TV shared studios on Tokay Boulevard on Madison's west side beginning in 1953. WKOW-TV remained with CBS until 1956, when CBS moved to the new WISC-TV. WKOW-TV subsequently joined ABC (who had been with WMTV on a secondary basis), while WKOW-AM remained with CBS Radio. From January to August 1958, WKOW was part of the short-lived, Wisconsin-oriented Badger Television Network, alongside Milwaukee's WISN-TV and Green Bay's WFRV-TV. In 1960, Monona Broadcasting sold the station to Midcontinent Broadcasting. Midcontinent Broadcasting sold both WKOW and WAOW in Wausau to Horizon Communications in September 1970.
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