please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article possibly contains original research . please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . statements consisting only of original research should be removed . march 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this article s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out of date information . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . march 2013 this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message woho redirects here . for the am radio station formerly known as woho see wtod am wxsp cd grand rapids kalamazoo battle creek michigan united states city grand rapids michigan branding wxsp the x general 24 hour news 8 newscasts slogan watching out for you channels digital 15 uhf virtual 15 psip subchannels 15.1 mynetworktv 15.2 cozi tv 15.3 escape translators mynetworktv nbc abc both alternates owner media general sale to nexstar broadcasting group pending wood television llc first air date july 23 1986 call letters meaning wxsp xtreme and sports for local sports coverage other stations wo city of license initialized sister station s wood tv wotv former callsigns w29ad 1986 1988 w15am 1988 1995 wowd lp 1995 2000 wxsp lp 2000 wxsp ca 2000 2010 former channel number s analog 29 uhf 1986 1988 15 uhf 1988 2010 translator 27 wolp ca 41 wolp ld former affiliations world harvest television 1986 1995 local weather 1995 1999 upn 1999 2006 transmitter power 15 kw height 124 m class class a facility id 36851 transmitter coordinates 43 1 1 n 85 44 25 w 43.01694 n 85.74028 w 43.01694 ; 85.74028 coordinates 43 1 1 n 85 44 25 w 43.01694 n 85.74028 w 43.01694 ; 85.74028 wxsp cd uhf digital channel 15 is a mynetworktv affiliated television station located in grand rapids michigan united states . the class a low power station is owned by media general and is a sister station to nbc affiliate wood tv channel 8 and battle creek based abc affiliate wotv channel 41 . all three stations share studios located on college avenue southeast in the heritage hill section of grand rapids wxsp s transmitter is located in walker along i 96 . overnights wxsp cd airs a live feed of wood tv s doppler weather radar known as storm track live along with noaa weather radio broadcast audio . the station may sometimes air nbc or abc programming whenever wood tv and wotv preempt such shows for breaking news local specials or the annual north american international auto show charity preview . however some of the preempted abc programs are available on wzzm tv channel 13 . part of wxsp s call letters comes from the word sports ; incidentally the station is known for its coverage of local sports in both the grand rapids and detroit areas . it also carries the university of michigan wolverines and michigan state spartans basketball and football teams . these broadcasts give the station more viewership than any other programming on wxsp . contents 1 repeaters 2 history 3 digital television 3.1 digital channels 4 programming 5 newscasts 6 references 7 external links repeaters edit call letters channel city of license transmitter location wobc cd 14 battle creek behind family altar chapel on 6 mile road woms cd 29 muskegon egelston township s wolf lake section woho cd 33 holland in zeeland along i 196 wokz cd 50 kalamazoo at 1560 wnwn s studios on m 43 west main street in westwood section of city history edit the station signed on the air on july 23 1986 as w29ad broadcasting on uhf channel 29 . it moved to uhf channel 15 and acquired the w15am calls on january 12 1988 . in the station s early days it was a translator for world harvest television from whme tv in south bend indiana which is owned by lesea broadcasting . the station eventually switched to lin tv s local weather station lws format with the call sign wowd lp variation on wood tv . wowd and its low power network of repeaters aired 24 hour weather information direct from wood tv s weather center . this was in an early pre digital format comparable to the now defunct nbc weather plus . the weather programming aired from the mid 1990s until it switched to a general entertainment programming format a few years later . it featured graphic displays of various current conditions and forecasts as well as periodic forecast segments from wood tv s meteorologists . short commercial breaks would feature local television spots as well as lws s station identification . a format change took place when it became a upn affiliate on august 31 1999 prompting the move of lws to the early morning hours and the adoption of new calls wxsp lp . the call sign wxsp ca was acquired after it became a class a station which meets stricter requirements than most low powered television stations . on january 24 2006 the warner bros. unit of time warner and cbs corporation announced that the two companies would shut down the wb and upn and combine the networks respective programming to create a new fifth network called the cw . 1 2 on february 22 2006 news corporation announced the launch of a new sixth network called mynetworktv which would be operated by fox television stations and its syndication division twentieth television . mynetworktv was created to compete against another upstart network that would launch at the same time that september the cw an amalgamated network that was originally consisted primarily of upn and the wb s higher rated programs as well as to give upn and wb stations that were not mentioned as becoming cw affiliates another option besides converting to independent stations . 3 4 cbs affiliate wwmt channel 3 announced on april 4 that it would affiliate with the cw on a new second digital subchannel . wxsp became available as a mynetworktv affiliate partly because the then wb affiliate wzpx tv channel 43 was also an i independent television now ion television owned and operated station and ran wb programming on a 22 hour delay prime time shows ran at 6 p.m. the night after the original broadcast and the kids wb saturday block aired at 5 a.m. on sunday mornings . as a result southwestern michigan is one of the largest markets in which the cw was only available via digital subchannel cable and on an entirely new station . it was reported that wxsp was in discussions to join the cw but due to the station s heavy reliance upon professional sports during primetime and the network s concerns over pre empted programming the two sides could not come to an agreement . for the final two weeks of upn s existence fox affiliate wxmi channel 17 aired wwe smackdown until wwmt dt2 s launch . wxsp joined mynetworktv on september 5 while wwmt dt2 signed on with the cw on september 18 . on july 21 2010 wxsp flash cut from analog to a digital signal . the call letters were changed to wxsp cd on august 30 . in late october 2010 lin tv discontinued the simulcast of wxsp on wotv dt2 replacing it with a new digital subchannel network thecooltv which it discontinued on july 15 2013 . on july 1 2013 lin tv ended the simulcast of wxsp on wood dt2 replacing that signal with bounce tv . on march 21 2014 it was announced that media general would acquire lin . 5 the deal closed on december 19 bringing wxsp along with wood and wotv under common ownership with cbs affiliate wlns tv in lansing . on january 27 2016 media general announced that it had entered into a definite agreement to be acquired by nexstar broadcasting group . the combined company will be known as nexstar media group and own 171 stations including wood wotv and wxsp serving an estimated 39 % of households . 6 7 digital television edit digital channels edit the station s digital channel is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 8 15.1 720p 16 9 wxsp cd main wxsp cd programming mynetworktv 15.2 480i cozi tv cozi tv 15.3 4 3 escape programming edit syndicated programming on this station includes tmz on tv family feud the people s court and community . newscasts edit over the years the nightly primetime slot at 10 p.m. has been very competitive among the market s television stations . fox affiliate wxmi was the first outlet to launch a local newscast in the time period on january 11 1999 . it would not be until october 21 2007 when wood tv sought to offer an alternative to wxmi s popular broadcast which by this point had expanded to one hour every night . wxsp debuted the area s second news broadcast at 10 p.m. which can be seen every night for 30 minutes as opposed to a full hour . the broadcast carries the same 24 hour news 8 branding and graphics package resembling shows seen on wood tv . seeking to offer yet another choice for early late evening newscasts wwmt debuted its own nightly 10 p.m. newscast on its cw affiliated second digital subchannel on september 18 2008 . on october 5 2009 wood tv upgraded its newscasts to 16 9 widescreen enhanced definition . although not truly high definition broadcasts match the ratio of widescreen television sets . wxsp s 24 hour news 8 at 10 was not included in the switch because the station s digital signal was only available in standard definition . a further transition to full high definition newscasts on wood tv occurred on october 22 2011 . however like the last change wxsp s broadcasts remained in pillarboxed 4 3 standard definition . during weather forecast segments the station uses wood tv s doppler weather radar known on air as storm track live that is based on top of the oakwood manor apartments next to the television studios . references edit gilmore girls meet smackdown ; cw network to combine wb upn in cbs warner venture beginning in september cnnmoney.com january 24 2006 . upn and wb to combine forming new tv network the new york times january 24 2006 . news corp. to launch new mini network for upn stations . usa today . february 22 2006 . retrieved january 21 2013 . news corp. unveils mynetworktv broadcasting & cable february 22 2006 . sruthi ramakrishnan 21 march 2014 . media general to buy lin media for 1.6 billion . reuters . retrieved 21 march 2014 . nexstar media general it s a done deal . tvnewscheck . retrieved 27 january 2016 . nexstar clinches deal to acquire media general . the new york times . retrieved 27 january 2016 . rabbitears tv query for wxsp cd external links edit wood tv wotv query the fcc s tv station database for wxsp cd query the fcc s tv station database for wolp cd query the fcc s tv station database for wobc cd query the fcc s tv station database for woms cd query the fcc s tv station database for woho cd query the fcc s tv station database for wokz cd v t e broadcast television in west michigan including grand rapids kalamazoo and battle creek reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television local stations grand rapids wood 8 .1 nbc .2 bounce tv .3 laff wzzm 13 .1