WHIM-TV, virtual channel 16 (UHF digital channel 31), is a Ion Television-affiliated television station licensed to Marquette, Michigan, United States and serving the Central and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Locally owned by the Marquette Broadcasting System, it is sister to four radio stations: WHIM (1330 AM), WHIM-FM (98.1 FM), WHDY (101.2 FM), and WYMQ-FM (106.5 FM). All five outlets share studios on Commerce Drive in Marquette (shared with the advertising sales offices of Ion Plus owned-and-operated station WUMP-TV); where WHIM's transmitter is also located.
History[]
On February 11, 1953, WHIM-TV channel 16 in Marquette signed-on as the Upper Peninsula's first television station. WHIM was owned by the Marquette Broadcasting System, who owned WHIM radio, and offered programming from ABC and DuMont.
WHIM-TV has been affected by multiple shakeups in the Upper Peninsula market. It dropped DuMont a year after signing-on in 1954, and dropped ABC in 1983, becoming an independent station airing some scrambled ONTV programming. ONTV rovided movies, sports, and live events to viewers through a paid subscription and required a decoder to receive ONTV programs.
In 1998, WHIM became a charter affiliate of the PAX network, later known as I and now known as Ion Television.
Programming[]
Syndicated programming on WHIM-TV includes Family Feud and AgDay.
WHIM-DT2 carries programming from Ion Media's Qubo network, except for Qubo's paid-programming which WHIM replaces with a late-night block called "Late-Night Retro Toon Theater" featuring programming sourced from WildBrain, Nelvana and Seagrounds Television Partners.
News operation[]
WHIM's NewsCenter newscasts have routinely ranked as the highest-rated local newscasts in the Upper Peninsula based on Nielsen market share.
The small market nature of WHIM tends to result in a high employee turnover rate with most personalities staying at the station for only a year or two before moving on to a larger market.