MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- On Monday, January 8, our stations, and others in Milwaukee have made channel changes as part of the Federal Communications (FCC) spectrum action. If you are an over the air viewer, you will need to rescan your television set to receive the changes and will find channels at new locations. Here is the new over the air channel positions effective today:

58.1 – CBS 58

58.2 & 41.1 – MeTV

58.3 & 49.1 –WMLW

58.4 & 63.1 – Telemundo

49.2 -- Bounce

49.3 -- H&I

49.4 – Decades

63.2 -- THIS

For help with rescanning, please call our RESCAN HOTLINE at 414.203-6440 or 414.297.6081. If you are a legacy Time Warner Cable customer DECADES and THIS are currently unavailable. H&I can be found on CH. 998. 

WMLW Rescan with Kate v2 30sec from CBS 58 Milwaukee on Vimeo.

Why is WMLW moving to a new over-the-air channel?

Congress authorized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to auction off broadcast TV frequencies – or airwaves – to make more airwaves available for wireless services throughout the country. WMLW participated in the auction and must return its frequency to the FCC by January 23, 2018. WMLW will continue broadcasting by sharing the frequency of its sister station, WBME. This arrangement is known as “channel sharing.”

What about other stations in Milwaukee?  Will they be broadcasting on new channels?

In January, 2018, only four stations in Milwaukee will be moving to new over-the air channels. Those stations are WMLW, WCGV, WMVT and WVCY.  All other stations in Milwaukee will stay on their respective channels until September 2019 when they too, will move to newly assigned channels.

Will this channel change affect other Weigel stations I watch, like MeTV, H&I, Decades, Bounce and Telemundo?

Yes, it will. On January 8, Me-TV, Bounce and Telemundo will still be seen on their current channel positions: MeTV at 58.2 and 41.1; Bounce at Ch. 49.2 and Telemundo at Ch. 63.1. The others will receive new channel numbers that will appear when you execute the rescan. On that date, H&I will only be available on Ch. 49.3 and Decades will only be found on Ch. 49.4. Telemundo will be found on two channels, 58.4 and at its current position at Ch. 63.1.

How does it impact me and what do I need to do?

If you rely on an antenna to receive free, over-the-air TV, you will need to rescan your TV on or after January 8, 2018 to continue to see WMLW.  If you subscribe to a pay-TV service – such as cable or satellite – you do not need to do anything.

How will I know when to rescan?
WMLW will be airing daily PSAs and crawls to remind over-the-air viewers about the date of the channel change and the need to rescan.

How do I rescan my television? 

Rescanning is a simple process.  All you need is your TV remote and these general steps to guide you through the process.

Using your television's remote control, press the Menu or Settings option.
Note: a "Smart TV" may have a smart button that must be used to access the settings menu. It will generally have the manufacturer's logo on it.

Locate Channels or Tuner Set Up option.

Check the menu for an option of Antenna Type or Connection Type followed by either Antenna or Cable.

Make sure that the designated setting is Antenna

From the menu, choose Digital Channel Search (based on manufacturer, alternate choices may include Channel Scan, Channel Search or Autoprogram.)

Allow the TV to complete the search. During the search, you will see a bar listing how many channels have been found.

Once complete, confirm the menu prompt, then press an exit or quit option.

NOTE:  All TV manufacturers differ, so menu options, wording and other items may vary. The best way to complete the channel scan is to refer to the TV owner's manual. If that is unavailable

Will my TV stations get new numbers?
After you rescan your TV set, your local TV stations will still be found at their usual channel numbers.

If I need help rescanning, who do I call?
If you have difficulty, you can call our special hotline at 414.203.6440 during normal business hours (Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm) and we will be happy to walk you through the process and answer any questions.  You can also consult the owner's manual for your television for more detailed instructions on how to run a channel scan, or contact customer service for your TV or converter box manufacturer.

Will I need a new antenna?

You may need a new antenna if you have a UHF-only TV antenna since some local station may move from a UHF channel to a VHF channel. 

To receive DTV signals, your antenna needs to be able to receive both VHF channels (channels 2-13) and UHF channels (channels 14-51). Some antennas provide good reception of VHF or UHF channels but not both.  Many HDTV antennas are better at receiving UHF signals than VHF channels. For more information about antennas, visit www.antennaweb.org or www.antennasdirect.com.

What does a channel move entail?

For the stations that will be moving channels in January, 2018, changes will happen behind the scenes at these stations that will not be noticeable to viewers. The channel changes to be made by the remaining stations in Milwaukee in September, 2019, will require more lengthy preparation.  It could involve relocating the broadcast antenna to another position on the tower.  Some stations will need new, heavier antennas and may need to reinforce their current tower or build a new one that can hold the weight.  All these preparations will happen throughout the next year and a half to assure a smooth channel transition in September 2019.