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{{short description|ABC affiliate in Harrisburg, Illinois}} {{Short description|TV station in Harrisburg, Illinois}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox television station {{Infobox television station
| callsign = WSIL-TV | callsign = WSIL-TV
| city = Harrisburg, Illinois | city = Harrisburg, Illinois
| logo = WSIL-TV Logo.png | logo = WSIL-TV Logo.png
| branding = WSIL-TV 3; ''News 3 WSIL'' | branding = WSIL-TV 3; ''News 3 WSIL''
| logo_alt = In a white box trimmed in black from top: a black box with the word "NEWS" in a wide sans serif; a red box with a white italicized bold sans serif 3, with the ABC logo protruding from the lower right; and a black box with the letters "W S I L" in a matching sans serif.
| digital = 34 (])
| digital = 34 (])
| virtual = 3
| virtual = 3
| subchannels =
| translators = K10KM-D 10 ] | translators = K10KM-D 10 ]
| affiliations = '''3.1:''' ]<br />''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}'' | affiliations = {{ubl|'''3.1:''' ]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| country = United States
| network =
| airdate = {{start date and age|1953|12|6|p=y}}
| country = United States
| location = {{ubl|]–]–]|]|]}}
| founded =
| callsign_meaning = Southern Illinois
| airdate = {{start date and age|1953|12|1|p=y}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 22 (UHF, 1953–1959); 3 (], 1959–2009)}}
| last_airdate =
| owner = ]
| location = {{nowrap|]/]/]/<br/>]/<br/>]}}
| licensee = Harrisburg TV License Company, ]
| callsign_meaning = Southern Illinois
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|] (1953–1954)|] (1954–1959)}}
| former_callsigns =
| erp = 1,000 ]
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:'''|22 (UHF, 1953–1959)|3 (], 1959–2009)}}
| haat = {{convert|291|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| owner = ]
| facility_id = 73999
| licensee = Harrisburg TV License Company, ]
| coordinates = {{coord|37|36|50|N|88|52|20|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| sister_stations =
| licensing_authority = ]
| former_affiliations =
| website = {{URL|http://www.wsiltv.com/}}
| erp = 1,000 ]
| embed_header = Satellite station
| haat = {{convert|291|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| embedded = {{Infobox television station
| facility_id = 73999
| coordinates = {{nowrap|{{coord|37|36|50|N|88|52|20|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}}}
| licensing_authority = ]
| website = {{URL|http://www.wsiltv.com/}}
| embed_header = Satellite station
| embedded = {{Infobox television station
| child = yes | child = yes
| callsign = KPOB-TV | callsign = KPOB-TV
| logo_alt = From top: a black box with the letters "K P O B" in a wide sans serif; a red box with a silver italicized bold sans serif 15, with the ABC logo in the lower right.
| city =
| logo = Kpob 2010.png | logo = Kpob 2010.png
| logo_size = 100px | logo_size = 100px
| branding = KPOB-TV 15; ''News 3'' | branding = KPOB-TV 15
| digital = 15 (UHF) | digital = 15 (UHF)
| virtual = 15 | virtual = 15
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''15.1:''' ABC|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| subchannels =
| translators =
| affiliations = '''15.1:''' ABC<br />''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''
| network =
| country = United States
| founded =
| airdate = {{start date and age|1961|9|1|p=y}} | airdate = {{start date and age|1961|9|1|p=y}}
| last_airdate =
| location = ] | location = ]
| callsign_meaning = Poplar Bluff | callsign_meaning = Poplar Bluff
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 15 (UHF, 1961–2009)|'''Digital:''' 18 (UHF, until 2009)}}
| former_callsigns =
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:'''|15 (UHF, 1967–2009)|'''Digital:'''|18 (UHF, until 2009)}}
| owner = Allen Media Broadcasting
| licensee = Harrisburg TV License Company, ]
| sister_stations =
| former_affiliations =
| erp = 34.5 kW | erp = 34.5 kW
| haat = {{convert|184|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} | haat = {{convert|184|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 73998 | facility_id = 73998
| coordinates = {{nowrap|{{coord|36|48|4|N|90|27|6|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KPOB-TV}}}} | coordinates = {{coord|36|48|4|N|90|27|6|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KPOB-TV}}
| licensing_authority = FCC | licensing_authority = FCC
}} }}
}} }}
'''WSIL-TV''' (channel 3) is a ] licensed to ], United States, serving as the ] affiliate for ], Southeast ], the ] area of ], and ]. Owned by ], the station maintains studios on Country Aire Drive (]) in ] and a transmitter near ]. '''WSIL-TV''' (channel 3) is a ] licensed to ], United States, serving as the ] affiliate for ], Southeast ], the ] area of ], and ]. Owned by ], the station maintains studios on Country Aire Drive (near the ]–Wolf Creek Road interchange) in ] and a transmitter near ]. It is rebroadcast on '''KPOB-TV''' (channel 15) in ], covering the ] and northeastern ], and ] '''K10KM-D''' (channel 10) in ].


WSIL-TV was the first television station in southern Illinois, debuting on ] (UHF) channel 22 on December 6, 1953. It soon affiliated with ABC and ] before moving to channel 3 in 1959 and becoming a sole ABC affiliate. KPOB-TV went on the air in 1961; aside from a brief period in the 1980s, it has simulcast WSIL with separate ] for the better part of its history. The station has focused its news coverage almost exclusively on Southern Illinois since the 1980s, since its coverage area is not as large as those of the other major stations in the market. It has traditionally fallen behind its two rivals in the market in news ratings and resources, though less so than in decades past. After having two ownership groups almost all of its first 65 years on air, it was sold first to ] in 2018 and to Allen in 2021.
'''KPOB-TV''' (channel 15) in ], operates as a full-time ] of WSIL-TV; this station's transmitter is located along ]/] in Poplar Bluff. KPOB-TV covers areas of southeastern Missouri and northeastern ] that receive a marginal to non-existent ] signal from WSIL-TV, although there is significant overlap between the two stations' ] otherwise. KPOB-TV is a straight ] of WSIL-TV; on-air references to KPOB-TV are limited to ] (FCC)-mandated hourly ]s during newscasts and other programming. Aside from the transmitter, KPOB-TV does not maintain any physical presence locally in Poplar Bluff.

WSIL-TV can also be seen on a digital ], '''K10KM-D''' (channel 10), in ].


==History== ==History==
===Construction on channel 22===
WSIL signed-on for the first time December 1, 1953, as the first television station to sign on in southern Illinois and the Illinois–Kentucky–Missouri tri-state area.<ref name=towersoverky>{{Cite book|last=Nash|first=Francis M.|date=1995|title=Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State|url=|isbn=9781879688933}}</ref> It originally broadcast an analog signal on UHF channel 22, but moved to ] channel 3 in March 1959 as did numerous stations originally assigned to UHF allocations before the ] (FCC) mandated that television-set manufacturers include UHF tuning capability in their products in 1964. The original UHF transmitter had been built in Harrisburg before ], Harrisburg, and Cape Girardeau had been collapsed into one large ]. The station moved its facilities from Harrisburg to Carterville in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://southof64.cdale.biz/tri-c/464-2/|title=Southern Illinois' First Television Station » South of 64|website=southof64.cdale.biz|language=en-US|access-date=September 12, 2018}}</ref>
When the ] (FCC) lifted its four-year freeze on new television station allocations in 1952, channel 22 in the then-new ] (UHF) band was assigned to Harrisburg.<ref name="Dail520415">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-about-town-and-countr/128708367/|date=April 15, 1952|pages=1, |first=Timotheus|last=T.|title=About Town And Country: WEBQ Has Made Application for New TV Channel|newspaper=The Daily Register|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723074302/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-about-town-and-countr/128708367/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> The Turner-Farrar Association, whose partners owned movie theaters in Southern Illinois, applied for the channel on June 23, 1952, and received a ] on March 11, 1953.<ref name="hc">{{Cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/e5104e5d-ccfe-6927-0ac4-c5889187ea38|title=FCC History Cards for WSIL-TV|publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="Sout520809">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-harrisburg-group-see/128304819/|date=August 9, 1952|page=1|title=Harrisburg Group Seeks TV Station|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723074235/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-harrisburg-group-see/128304819/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat -->


In May 1960, the Turner–Farrar Association applied to the FCC to build ] (UHF) channel 15 in Poplar Bluff to serve southeast Missouri.<ref name="Week600609">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/weekly-citizen-democrat-fcc-asked-for-pe/126436825/|date=June 9, 1960|page=1|title=FCC Asked For Permit To Build TV Station Here|newspaper=Weekly Citizen Democrat|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref><!-- Thu --> The transmitter was completed in August 1961 and began broadcasting programs on September 1 of that year.<ref name="Dail610808">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-test-pattern-for/126436835/|date=August 8, 1961|page=3|title=Test Pattern For KPOB-TV Started Today|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref><!-- Tue --> KPOB-TV was off the air on several occasions in its first 15 years: for over a month in June and July 1962 (due to lack of network signal), from September 1966 to October 1967, and for more than a month in 1974 for construction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/e221fa34-fc0c-bb16-9424-b354cbe6523e|title=FCC History Cards for KPOB-TV|publisher=]}}</ref> The last of these outages, from April 1976 to January 1977, was for financial reasons. During this time, WSIL attempted to sell KPOB-TV to the Hernreich Group, which would have switched it to rebroadcasting ] in ], but negotiations proved unfruitful.<ref name="Dail760414">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-kpob-goes-off-th/126436876/|date=April 14, 1976|page=1|title=Kpob Goes Off the Air|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref><!-- Wed --><ref name="Dail760716">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-arkansas-firm-ne/126436882/|date=July 16, 1976|page=1|title=Arkansas Firm Negotiating To Purchase Local Station|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref><!-- Fri --><ref name="Dail761223">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-kpob-announces-i/126436927/|date=December 23, 1976|page=1|first=Roger|last=Lopata|title=KPOB Announces It Will Resume Broadcasts|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref><!-- Thu --> In the early 1980s, KPOB briefly broadcast some local programming of its own.<ref name="Dail820920">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-kpob-begins-loca/126472108/|date=September 20, 1982|page=6|first=John R.|last=Stanard|title=KPOB Begins Local Programming|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref><!-- Mon --><ref name="Dail830314">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-wsil-manager-end/126472035/|date=March 14, 1983|page=8|first=Robin|last=Divine|title=WSIL Manager Ends KPOB Local Originations|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref><!-- Mon --> With the permit in hand, Turner-Farrar began construction on the station's studio facility in what was known as the Lockwood building on Poplar Street in Harrisburg, absorbing a former billiards hall in the process.<ref name="Dail530429">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-local-tv-likely-ready/128304846/|date=April 29, 1953|page=1|title=Local TV Likely Ready By November: Equipment is Ordered by Turner-Farrar|newspaper=The Daily Register|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723074238/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-local-tv-likely-ready/128304846/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> A {{convert|550|ft|m|adj=on}} tower was erected on the site for the transmission facility.<ref name="Dail531014">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-november-set-for-open/128304929/|date=October 14, 1953|page=1|title=November Set For Opening of Station WSIL-TV: Reconstruct Former Lockwood Building for Complete Studio|newspaper=The Daily Register|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723074233/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-november-set-for-open/128304929/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> The station began broadcasting a test pattern on December 3, 1953. Two days later, an open house was held at the studios,<ref name="Dail531204">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-wsil-tv-to-hold-open/128305030/|date=December 4, 1953|page=Special 1|title=WSIL-TV To Hold Open House Saturday: Station About Ready to Begin TV Programs|newspaper=The Daily Register|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723074730/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-wsil-tv-to-hold-open/128305030/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> and regular programming from Southern Illinois's first TV station began on December 6.<ref name="Dail531207">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-station-wsiltv-on-ai/128708969/|date=December 7, 1953|page=1|title=Station WSIL-TV On Air with First Formal Telecast|newspaper=The Daily Register|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723074729/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-station-wsiltv-on-ai/128708969/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon -->


The station had no network affiliation in its early months, but it added ABC in March 1954,<ref name="Dail540319">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-wsil-tv-signs-abc-agr/128708927/|date=March 19, 1954|page=1|title=WSIL-TV Signs ABC Agreement|newspaper=The Daily Register|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723074757/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-wsil-tv-signs-abc-agr/128708927/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> followed by ] in December 1955.<ref name="Dail551201">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-wsil-affiliates-with/128708880/|date=December 1, 1955|page=1|title=WSIL Affiliates With NBC; Will Telecast Programs|newspaper=The Daily Register|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723074730/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-wsil-affiliates-with/128708880/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu -->
WSIL was the first station in the market to broadcast a digital signal at a full 1 ] of power (equivalent to 5 megawatts in analog) on October 22, 2002. It was also the first to air a mobile digital signal.


===Move to channel 3; construction of KPOB===
On January 3, 2018, WSIL and KPOB began airing ] on their .2 subchannels.
Soon after starting WSIL-TV on channel 22, Turner-Farrar petitioned for the FCC to assign a channel in the more widely available VHF band. In its first attempt, denied in July 1956, the company attempted to have channel 13 relocated to Harrisburg from ].<ref name="Sout560720">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-tv-channel-change-de/128305079/|date=July 20, 1956|page=3|title=TV Channel Change Denied|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723074730/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-tv-channel-change-de/128305079/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> The next month, Turner-Farrar applied to have channel 22 changed to channel 3.<ref>{{Cite news|id={{ProQuest|1401221743}}|page=76|work=Broadcasting|title=These Want Changes|date=August 13, 1956}}</ref> This proposal, along with the addition of educational channel 8 to ], was approved by the FCC in March 1958;<ref>{{cite news|page=9|date=March 24, 1958|title=FCC Refuses to Deintermix Champaign-Urbana, Ill., Area|work=Broadcasting|id={{ProQuest|1401225867}} }}</ref> in doing so, the commission rejected a competing proposal to allocate channel 3 to Carbondale.<ref name="Dail580322">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-fcc-allocates-channel/128305104/|date=March 22, 1958|page=1|title=FCC Allocates Channel 3 to Station WSIL-TV|newspaper=The Daily Register|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723074733/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-fcc-allocates-channel/128305104/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> Construction of the channel 3 facility was completed in early March 1959,<ref name="Dail590302">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-wsil-showing-test-pat/128305270/|date=March 2, 1959|page=1|title=WSIL Showing Test Pattern on Channel 3|newspaper=The Daily Register|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723075736/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-wsil-showing-test-pat/128305270/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --> and on March 4, WSIL-TV signed on channel 3 from a new transmitter in Creal Springs, greatly increasing its coverage area;<ref name="Sout590305">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-channel-3-adds-vhf-c/128305278/|date=March 5, 1959|page=15|title=Channel 3 Adds VHF Channel For Area Viewers|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080232/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-channel-3-adds-vhf-c/128305278/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> the original tower at Harrisburg remained in place and was utilized for communications purposes.<ref name="Eldo650628">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/eldorado-daily-journal-turner-farrar-wi/83084901/|date=June 28, 1965|page=30|title=Turner-Farrar, With Theatres and TV, Strives To Keep Pace With Viewing Entertainment Tastes|newspaper=Eldorado Daily Journal|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080237/https://www.newspapers.com/article/eldorado-daily-journal-turner-farrar-wi/83084901/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --> Coinciding with the move to VHF, WSIL-TV became ABC's 87th primary affiliate.<ref>{{cite news|page=38|title=WSIL-TV Joins ABC-TV Network|work=Broadcasting|id={{ProQuest|1401229741}} |date=September 15, 1958}}</ref>


In May 1960, the Turner–Farrar Association applied to the FCC to build UHF channel 15 in Poplar Bluff to serve southeast Missouri.<ref name="Week600609">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/weekly-citizen-democrat-fcc-asked-for-pe/126436825/|date=June 9, 1960|page=1|title=FCC Asked For Permit To Build TV Station Here|newspaper=Weekly Citizen Democrat|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080241/https://www.newspapers.com/article/weekly-citizen-democrat-fcc-asked-for-pe/126436825/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> The transmitter was completed in August 1961 and began broadcasting programs on September 1 of that year.<ref name="Dail610808">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-test-pattern-for/126436835/|date=August 8, 1961|page=3|title=Test Pattern For KPOB-TV Started Today|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080232/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-test-pattern-for/126436835/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> KPOB-TV was off the air on several occasions in its first 15 years: for over a month in June and July 1962 (due to lack of network signal), from September 1966 to October 1967, and for more than a month in 1974 for construction.<ref name="hc-15">{{Cite web|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=85317&.pdf|title=FCC History Cards for KPOB-TV|publisher=]}}</ref> The last of these outages, from April 1976 to January 1977, was for financial reasons. During this time, WSIL attempted to sell KPOB-TV to the Hernreich Group, which would have switched it to rebroadcasting ] in ], but negotiations proved unfruitful.<ref name="Dail760414">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-kpob-goes-off-th/126436876/|date=April 14, 1976|page=1|title=Kpob Goes Off the Air|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080238/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-kpob-goes-off-th/126436876/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --><ref name="Dail760716">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-arkansas-firm-ne/126436882/|date=July 16, 1976|page=1|title=Arkansas Firm Negotiating To Purchase Local Station|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080734/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-arkansas-firm-ne/126436882/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --><ref name="Dail761223">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-kpob-announces-i/126436927/|date=December 23, 1976|page=1|first=Roger|last=Lopata|title=KPOB Announces It Will Resume Broadcasts|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080807/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-kpob-announces-i/126436927/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> In the early 1980s, KPOB briefly broadcast some local programming of its own.<ref name="Dail820920">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-kpob-begins-loca/126472108/|date=September 20, 1982|page=6|first=John R.|last=Stanard|title=KPOB Begins Local Programming|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023|archive-date=June 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615224014/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-kpob-begins-loca/126472108/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --><ref name="Dail830314">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-wsil-manager-end/126472035/|date=March 14, 1983|page=8|first=Robin|last=Divine|title=WSIL Manager Ends KPOB Local Originations|newspaper=Daily American Republic|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 15, 2023|archive-date=June 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616005324/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-american-republic-wsil-manager-end/126472035/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon -->
On October 31, 2018, it was announced that ] would acquire WSIL and KPOB for $24.5 million.<ref name="wsiltoquincy">{{cite web|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/224678/quincy-buys-second-station-week/|title=Quincy Buys Second Station This Week|work=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheckMedia LLC|date=October 31, 2018|access-date=October 31, 2018}}</ref><ref name="wsilgreenlight">{{Cite web |url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1795174.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=December 21, 2018 |archive-date=December 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221233027/https://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1795174.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1795174&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=73999|title=Application For Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=]|access-date=November 1, 2018}}</ref> WSIL would be Quincy's fourth station in its home state of Illinois. The sale was approved by the FCC on December 20.<ref name="wsilgreenlight"/> The sale was completed on January 15, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsiltv.com/story/39796647/quincy-media-now-owns-wsil-tv|title=Quincy Media now owns WSIL-TV|publisher=WSIL-TV|date=January 15, 2019|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1798824&Service=DT&Form_id=905&Facility_id=73999|title=Consummation Notice|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=January 16, 2019|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref>


===New ownership in the 1980s===
On January 7, 2021, less than two years after acquiring WSIL, Quincy Media announced that it had put itself up for sale.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kwwl.com/2021/01/07/quincy-media-inc-considering-sale-of-company/|title = Quincy Media, Inc. Considering sale of company}}</ref> A few weeks later, ] announced its intent to purchase Quincy for $925 million. As Gray already owns the market's ] and both that and WSIL rank among the top four in ratings in the Paducah–Cape Girardeau–Harrisburg market, it intended to keep KFVS and sell WSIL (and KPOB) in order to satisfy FCC requirements.<ref name="graybuysquincy">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/02/gray-television-quincy-media-for-925-million-in-cash-1234684531/|title=Gray Television Acquires Quincy Media For $925 Million In Cash|first=Jill|last=Goldsmith|work=]|publisher=]|date=February 1, 2021|access-date=February 1, 2021}}</ref> On April 29, 2021, it was announced that Allen Media Broadcasting would acquire WSIL, KPOB and the remaining Quincy stations not being acquired by Gray Television for $380 million.<ref name="quincytoallen">{{cite news |url = https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/byron-allen-allen-media-tv-stations-gray-1234963299/ |title = Byron Allen's Allen Media Will Buy 7 Stations From Gray TV for $380 Million |work = ] |date = 29 April 2021 |access-date = 30 April 2021 }}</ref> The sale was completed on August 2.<ref name="graycomplete">{{cite press release|url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/08/02/2273228/0/en/Gray-Television-Closes-Quincy-Acquisition.html|title=Gray Television Closes Quincy Acquisition|first=Hilton|last=Howell Jr.|work=]|publisher=]|date=August 2, 2021|access-date=August 2, 2021}}</ref>
Turner-Farrar continued in the television business until 1980, when it announced it would sell WSIL-TV and KPOB in what amounted to a partial trade. As part of the transaction, O. L. Turner acquired radio stations ] and ] in Harrisburg from Macauley "Mackie" Nicholes, the radio voice of ], who became one of several stockholders in the new ownership of the television stations.<ref name="Sout801205">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-saluki-basketball-po/128305337/|date=December 5, 1980|page=3|first=Ed|last=Bean|title=Saluki basketball possible: Sale of WSIL-TV could bring changes|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080735/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-saluki-basketball-po/128305337/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> FCC approval was granted in May 1981, allowing the $3 million TV station transaction and $700,000 radio station sale to go forward.<ref name="Sout810503">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-fcc-grants-approval/128305522/|date=May 3, 1981|page=3|title=FCC grants approval to sale of WSIL-TV|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080735/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-fcc-grants-approval/128305522/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun -->


Nicholes, along with cable television system operator John Kirby, faced a monumental task in trying to improve WSIL-TV. A feature in '']'' noted that under Turner-Farrar's stewardship, channel 3 had equipment dating back to the 1950s and operated on a very low budget, resulting in an on-air look that was primitive even by small-market standards. For example, the station was not above "illustrat a flood by showing its audience a hand-drawn picture of a lake in the corner of the screen, rather than sending a film crew to the scene". When Nicholes and Kirby took over, they inherited a station with only had 30 total employees, including only five news staffers; its principal competitors in the region—NBC affiliate ] in ], and ] affiliate ] in ]—each had more than 20 people in their news departments and employed over 90 people total. WSIL's newscasts attracted just five percent of the audience compared to 38 and 42 percent for the other stations, respectively. Further, channel 3's {{convert|807|ft|m|adj=on}} tower in Creal Springs was dwarfed by the {{convert|2000|ft|m|adj=on}} structures of its rivals, significantly limiting WSIL's reach. While it covered most of the Illinois portion of the market very well, the Kentucky and Missouri portions only got a grade B signal, and it could not be seen at all in much of the Tennessee portion. However, FCC-imposed restrictions on the channel 3 allotment denied the new owners any hope of increasing WSIL's over-the-air footprint to a size comparable to those of KFVS and WPSD. When WSIL moved to channel 3 in 1959, it was short-spaced to ] in ], also on channel 3. WSIL had to conform its signal to protect WCIA; according to ''The Southern Illinoisan'', the FCC was "unlikely to ever remove that restriction" in the foreseeable future. With this in mind, Nicholes decided to focus channel 3's news department almost exclusively on Southern Illinois. While he realized the signal limitations would consign WSIL to third place in the market, he was determined to make the station "a respectable No. 3".<ref name="Sout810531">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-channel-3-gets-ready/128305365/|date=May 31, 1981|page=32|first=Ed|last=Bean|title=Channel 3 gets ready to do battle|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080736/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-channel-3-gets-ready/128305365/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun -->
==Programming==
For many years, WSIL did not air the weeknight broadcasts of ], broadcasting instead a ] featuring ] and '']'' shorts in the 5:30 to 6:30 time slot. It was not until sometime in the late-1970s it became the last ABC affiliate in the United States to abandon the practice of preempting the network news. However, in ABC's earlier years, quite a number of local stations did not carry the newscasts because their ratings trailed competitors ] and ] by a large margin. This changed when ABC initiated the ''World News Tonight'' format in 1978, finally establishing the network as a significant news operation.


In 1981, for the first fall season under the new owners, the station revamped its evening lineup; it ceased the practice of tape-delaying '']''.<ref name="Hard810730">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hardin-county-independent-channel-3-to-b/128710731/|date=July 30, 1981|page=8|title=Channel 3 to Begin Era Under New Ownership|newspaper=Hardin County Independent|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080736/https://www.newspapers.com/article/hardin-county-independent-channel-3-to-b/128710731/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> The station moved its cartoon program, ''Uncle Briggs and the Funny Company'', from early evenings to early mornings;{{r|Hard810730}} the show, which traced its origins back to the station's first day on air in 1953 as a hosted Western movie with a local "Cactus Pete", was canceled in April 1982 as part of an effort to professionalize the station.<ref name="Sout820425">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-uncle-briggs-axed/128305317/|date=April 25, 1982|page=2|first=H. B.|last=Koplowitz|title=Uncle Briggs axed|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723081247/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-uncle-briggs-axed/128305317/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> Uncle Briggs, real name ], continued with WEBQ radio until his death in 1988.<ref name="Sout880214">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-uncle-briggs-dead-at/128710924/|date=February 14, 1988|page=25|first=Nancy|last=Weil|title=Uncle Briggs dead at age 38|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723081247/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-uncle-briggs-dead-at/128710924/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun -->
The station was one of the ABC affiliates that refused to air '']'' during its first season in 1993–1994. Station Manager Steve Wheeler appeared on '']'' to explain his decision. During the interview with ], Wheeler announced that if the program was successful, WSIL would reconsider. During this first season, ] affiliate ] aired the program during the assigned network slot Tuesdays nights at 9 ].<ref>http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=781790 Vanderbilt Television News Archive</ref>


Nicholes sold his stake in WSIL-TV to Kirby in December 1982.<ref name="Sout821205">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-nicholes-sells-wsil/128305653/|date=December 5, 1982|page=3|title=Nicholes sells WSIL share|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723081244/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-nicholes-sells-wsil/128305653/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> Months later, Kirby agreed to sell the station to Mel Wheeler, Inc., a Texas-based radio station owner, for $6.6 million.<ref name="Sout830406">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-wsil-tv-sold-again/128305428/|date=April 6, 1983|page=3|title=WSIL-TV sold again; now to Texas|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723081242/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-wsil-tv-sold-again/128305428/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> The transmitter facility was revamped in 1984, including a {{convert|210|ft|m|adj=on}} height extension to the tower.<ref name="Sout841030">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-tower-power/128710538/|date=October 30, 1984|page=8|title=Tower power|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723081242/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-tower-power/128710538/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> The station also relocated from its increasingly outmoded and cramped Harrisburg studio. In 1983, Wheeler had purchased a tract of land in ], a site which would be more centrally located to ] and Carbondale for news coverage and advertising sales, but did not make the move; however, serious consideration to leaving Harrisburg for Crainville recurred in 1987.<ref name="Sout880117">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-wsil-eyes-crainville/128305442/|date=January 17, 1988|page=9|first=Dave|last=DeWitte|title=WSIL eyes Crainville site|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723081250/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-wsil-eyes-crainville/128305442/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> Construction began on the new facility in September 1988.<ref name="Sout880907">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-tv-station-breaks-gr/128305633/|date=September 7, 1988|page=9|first=Pete|last=Rosenbery|title=TV station breaks ground for new site|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723083249/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-tv-station-breaks-gr/128305633/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed -->
===News operation===
WSIL's newscasts are known as ''News 3 WSIL''.


Under Mel Wheeler, Inc., WSIL-TV became a family affair. Steve Wheeler, Mel's son, became the operations manager and general manager by 1986;<ref name="Sout860822">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-siu-coach-changes-ch/128710515/|date=August 22, 1986|page=24|first=Scott|last=Monserud|title=SIU coach changes channels|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723083252/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-siu-coach-changes-ch/128710515/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> his wife, Bonnie, served as the news director.<ref name="Sout831005">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-harrisburg-tv-statio/128710450/|date=October 5, 1983|page=WM1|first=Debbie|last=Denman|title=Harrisburg TV station outlines season's plans|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723093248/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-harrisburg-tv-statio/128710450/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --><ref name="Sout840910">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-profile-bonnie-whee/128710525/|date=September 10, 1984|page=8|title=Profile: Bonnie Wheeler|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723083332/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-profile-bonnie-whee/128710525/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --> Under Wheeler, WSIL-TV continued to focus its news department exclusively on Southern Illinois news; ratings improved but remained far behind the competition.<ref name="Sout880131">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-news-wars-local-sta/126476816/|date=January 31, 1988|pages=Television 1, |first=Betsey|last=Guzior|title=News wars: Local stations battling for news audience|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723083248/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-news-wars-local-sta/126476816/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sun --> Despite equipment improvements—such as the launch of a digital signal in 2002,{{r|Sout090611}} a refresh of the news set and imaging in 2004,{{r|Sout040117}} and the introduction of high-definition local news in 2010<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/wsiltv-launches-hd-newscast|title=WSIL-TV Launches HD Newscast|last=TVTechnology|website=TVTechnology|date=October 7, 2010|language=en-us|access-date=December 28, 2019|archive-date=December 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228092144/https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/wsiltv-launches-hd-newscast|url-status=live}}</ref>—as well as the launch of a morning newscast in 2004,<ref name="Sout040117">{{Cite news|url=http://thesouthern.com/business/wsil-tv-makeover-expected-to-surprise-viewers/article_dbae94a3-3115-5d57-94ad-1b564d31757e.html|title=WSIL-TV makeover expected to surprise viewers|first=John D.|last=Homan|work=The Southern Illinoisan|date=January 17, 2004|access-date=October 2, 2018|language=en|archive-date=September 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911081709/https://thesouthern.com/business/wsil-tv-makeover-expected-to-surprise-viewers/article_dbae94a3-3115-5d57-94ad-1b564d31757e.html|url-status=live}}</ref> WSIL continued to remain off the pace of KFVS and WPSD; it was third in revenue (using 2013 data) and ratings (as of 2014).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/market-eye-family-style-heartland-dma-135473|first=Michael|last=Malone|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=November 10, 2014|title=Market Eye: Family Style in Heartland DMA|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=June 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609075257/https://www.nexttv.com/news/market-eye-family-style-heartland-dma-135473|url-status=live}}</ref>
On January 18, 2004, the news operation underwent a major renovation, including the set, logo and on-air graphics. Some personnel changes were also made.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://thesouthern.com/business/wsil-tv-makeover-expected-to-surprise-viewers/article_dbae94a3-3115-5d57-94ad-1b564d31757e.html|title=WSIL-TV MAKEOVER EXPECTED TO SURPRISE VIEWERS|last=2004]|first=JOHN D. HOMAN THE SOUTHERN [Sat Jan 17|work=The Southern|access-date=October 2, 2018|language=en}}</ref>


The station was one of 57 ABC affiliates that refused to air '']'' during its first season in 1993–1994; the show aired in the market on ] affiliate ].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83433912/fox-station-to-air-nypd/|title=Fox station to air 'NYPD'|page=3A|work=The Southern Illinoisan|first=Lucinda|last=Morgan|date=September 23, 1993|accessdate=August 14, 2021|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814184617/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83433912/fox-station-to-air-nypd/|url-status=live}}</ref> Steve Wheeler appeared on '']'' to explain his decision; he announced during the interview that if the program was successful, WSIL would reconsider.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=542756&page=1|work=ABC News|date=March 1, 2005|title='NYPD Blue' Tested Limits of Network TV|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=April 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423042615/https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=542756&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref> Citing his feeling that the show's content had been toned down since its pilot episode, Wheeler approved the program for air on WSIL-TV beginning in September 1994.<ref name="Sout940924">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-channel-3-picking-up/128710265/|date=September 24, 1994|page=3|title=Channel 3 picking up 'NYPD Blue'|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723083253/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-channel-3-picking-up/128710265/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat -->
On October 6, 2010, WSIL became the first station in the market to offer news in high definition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/wsiltv-launches-hd-newscast|title=WSIL-TV Launches HD Newscast|last=TVTechnology|website=TvTechnology|date=October 7, 2010|language=en-us|access-date=2019-12-28}}</ref>


====Notable current on-air staff==== ===Quincy and Allen ownership===
On October 31, 2018, ] announced that it would acquire WSIL-TV and KPOB-TV for $24.5 million.<ref name="wsiltoquincy">{{cite news|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/224678/quincy-buys-second-station-week/|title=Quincy Buys Second Station This Week|work=TVNewsCheck|date=October 31, 2018|access-date=October 31, 2018|archive-date=October 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031150135/https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/224678/quincy-buys-second-station-week/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="wsilgreenlight">{{Cite web |url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1795174.pdf |title=Consent to Assignment |website=Federal Communications Commission |access-date=December 21, 2018 |archive-date=December 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221233027/https://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1795174.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The sale was approved by the FCC on December 20<ref name="wsilgreenlight"/> and completed on January 15, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsiltv.com/story/39796647/quincy-media-now-owns-wsil-tv|title=Quincy Media now owns WSIL-TV|publisher=WSIL-TV|date=January 15, 2019|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=January 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116080929/http://www.wsiltv.com/story/39796647/quincy-media-now-owns-wsil-tv|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ] – freelance meteorologist

Two years later, on February 1, 2021, ] announced the purchase of Quincy Media for $925 million. As Gray already owned KFVS-TV, also within the top four stations in ratings in the Paducah–Cape Girardeau–Harrisburg market, it opted to keep that station and sell WSIL–KPOB in order to satisfy FCC requirements.<ref name="graybuysquincy">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/02/gray-television-quincy-media-for-925-million-in-cash-1234684531/|title=Gray Television Acquires Quincy Media For $925 Million In Cash|first=Jill|last=Goldsmith|work=]|publisher=]|date=February 1, 2021|access-date=February 1, 2021|archive-date=February 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201150624/https://deadline.com/2021/02/gray-television-quincy-media-for-925-million-in-cash-1234684531/|url-status=live}}</ref> On April 29, 2021, it was announced that Allen Media Broadcasting would acquire WSIL, KPOB, and the remaining Quincy stations not being acquired by Gray Television for $380 million.<ref name="quincytoallen">{{cite news |url = https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/byron-allen-allen-media-tv-stations-gray-1234963299/ |title = Byron Allen's Allen Media Will Buy 7 Stations From Gray TV for $380 Million |work = ] |date = April 29, 2021 |access-date = April 30, 2021 |archive-date = April 29, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210429230719/https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/byron-allen-allen-media-tv-stations-gray-1234963299/ |url-status = live }}</ref> The sale was completed on August 2.<ref name="graycomplete">{{cite press release|url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/08/02/2273228/0/en/Gray-Television-Closes-Quincy-Acquisition.html|title=Gray Television Closes Quincy Acquisition|first=Hilton Jr.|last=Howell|work=]|publisher=]|date=August 2, 2021|access-date=August 2, 2021}}</ref>


====Notable former on-air staff==== ====Notable former on-air staff====
* ] – reporter * ] – meteorologist
* ] – children's show host
* ] – meteorologist; Weather Warrior


==Technical information== ==Technical information==

===Subchannels=== ===Subchannels===
The stations' digital signals are ]: The stations' signals are ]:
{| class="wikitable" {| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WSIL-TV<ref></ref> and KPOB-TV<ref></ref> |+Subchannels of WSIL-TV<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WSIL#station|website=]|title=TV Query for WSIL-TV|access-date=July 8, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714225802/http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WSIL#station|url-status=live}}</ref> and KPOB-TV<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KPOB#station|website=]|title=TV Query for KPOB|access-date=July 8, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714145609/http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KPOB#station|url-status=live}}</ref>
! scope="col" colspan="2"|] ! scope="col" colspan="2"|]
! scope="col" rowspan="2"|] ! scope="col" rowspan="2"|]
Line 114: Line 96:
! scope="col" rowspan="2"|Programming ! scope="col" rowspan="2"|Programming
|- |-
! scope="col" | <small>'''WSIL-TV'''</small>||<small>'''KPOB-TV'''</small>||<small>'''WSIL-TV'''</small>||<small>'''KPOB-TV'''</small> ! scope="col" | {{small|WSIL-TV}}||{{small|KPOB-TV}}||{{small|WSIL-TV}}||{{small|KPOB-TV}}
|- |-
! scope="row"| 3.1 || 15.1 ! scope="row"| 3.1 || 15.1
| ] || | ] || WSILABC ||KPOB-TV || Main programming / ] | ] || rowspan=5|] || WSILABC || rowspan=4|KPOB-TV || Main programming / ]
|- |-
! scope="row"| 3.2 || 15.2 ! scope="row"| 3.2 || 15.2
| rowspan=4|] || ] || HandI || KPOB-TV || ] | rowspan=4|] || HandI || ]
|- |-
! scope="row"| 3.3 || 15.3 ! scope="row"| 3.3 || 15.3
| rowspan=3|16:9 || colspan=2|Crime || ] | Crime || ]
|- |-
! scope="row"| 3.4 || 15.4 ! scope="row"| 3.4 || 15.4
| colspan=2|CourtTV || ] | CourtTV || ]
|- |-
! scope="row"| 3.5 || 15.5 ! scope="row"| 3.5 || 15.5
| colspan=2|Ion || ] | style="text-align: center;" colspan=2|Ion || ]
|} |}


===Analog-to-digital conversion=== ===Analog-to-digital conversion===
Both stations shut down their analog signals, respectively on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States ] under federal mandate. The station's digital channel allocations post-transition are as follows:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref> WSIL-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 3, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States ] under federal mandate.<ref name="Sout090611">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-stations-ready-for-c/128710992/|date=June 11, 2009|pages=1A, |first=Codell|last=Rodriguez|title=Stations ready for conversion: After years of preparation, digital TV switch happens Friday|newspaper=Southern Illinoisan|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723083747/https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-stations-ready-for-c/128710992/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition ] channel 34, using ] 3.<ref name="Analog to Digital">{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2006 |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |access-date=August 29, 2021 |publisher=Federal Communications Commission}}</ref> As part of the ], WSIL kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of ]s from the ].<ref name="FCC Nightlight">{{cite web|url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-291375A1.pdf|title=UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=June 12, 2009|access-date=June 14, 2024}}</ref>

* WSIL-TV shut down its analog signal, over ] channel 3; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition ] channel 34. Through the use of ], digital television receivers display the station's ] as its former VHF analog channel 3.
* KPOB-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 15; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 18 to channel 15. KPOB-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 15, on June 12, 2009; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 18 to channel 15.{{r|Analog to Digital}}


==References== ==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wsil-Tv}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Wsil-Tv}}
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Latest revision as of 13:23, 9 December 2024

TV station in Harrisburg, Illinois

WSIL-TV
In a white box trimmed in black from top: a black box with the word "NEWS" in a wide sans serif; a red box with a white italicized bold sans serif 3, with the ABC logo protruding from the lower right; and a black box with the letters "W S I L" in a matching sans serif.
CityHarrisburg, Illinois
Channels
BrandingWSIL-TV 3; News 3 WSIL
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air dateDecember 6, 1953 (71 years ago) (1953-12-06)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 22 (UHF, 1953–1959); 3 (VHF, 1959–2009)
Former affiliations
Call sign meaningSouthern Illinois
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID73999
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT291 m (955 ft)
Transmitter coordinates37°36′50″N 88°52′20″W / 37.61389°N 88.87222°W / 37.61389; -88.87222
Translator(s)K10KM-D 10 Cape Girardeau, MO
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wsiltv.com
Satellite station
KPOB-TV
From top: a black box with the letters "K P O B" in a wide sans serif; a red box with a silver italicized bold sans serif 15, with the ABC logo in the lower right.
Channels
BrandingKPOB-TV 15
Programming
Affiliations
History
First air dateSeptember 1, 1961 (63 years ago) (1961-09-01)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 15 (UHF, 1961–2009)
  • Digital: 18 (UHF, until 2009)
Call sign meaningPoplar Bluff
Technical information
Facility ID73998
ERP34.5 kW
HAAT184 m (604 ft)
Transmitter coordinates36°48′4″N 90°27′6″W / 36.80111°N 90.45167°W / 36.80111; -90.45167 (KPOB-TV)
Links
Public license information

WSIL-TV (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Harrisburg, Illinois, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, the Purchase area of Western Kentucky, and Northwest Tennessee. Owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, the station maintains studios on Country Aire Drive (near the IL 13–Wolf Creek Road interchange) in Carterville and a transmitter near Creal Springs, Illinois. It is rebroadcast on KPOB-TV (channel 15) in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, covering the Missouri Bootheel and northeastern Arkansas, and translator K10KM-D (channel 10) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

WSIL-TV was the first television station in southern Illinois, debuting on ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 22 on December 6, 1953. It soon affiliated with ABC and NBC before moving to channel 3 in 1959 and becoming a sole ABC affiliate. KPOB-TV went on the air in 1961; aside from a brief period in the 1980s, it has simulcast WSIL with separate legal identifications for the better part of its history. The station has focused its news coverage almost exclusively on Southern Illinois since the 1980s, since its coverage area is not as large as those of the other major stations in the market. It has traditionally fallen behind its two rivals in the market in news ratings and resources, though less so than in decades past. After having two ownership groups almost all of its first 65 years on air, it was sold first to Quincy Media in 2018 and to Allen in 2021.

History

Construction on channel 22

When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lifted its four-year freeze on new television station allocations in 1952, channel 22 in the then-new ultra high frequency (UHF) band was assigned to Harrisburg. The Turner-Farrar Association, whose partners owned movie theaters in Southern Illinois, applied for the channel on June 23, 1952, and received a construction permit on March 11, 1953.

With the permit in hand, Turner-Farrar began construction on the station's studio facility in what was known as the Lockwood building on Poplar Street in Harrisburg, absorbing a former billiards hall in the process. A 550-foot (170 m) tower was erected on the site for the transmission facility. The station began broadcasting a test pattern on December 3, 1953. Two days later, an open house was held at the studios, and regular programming from Southern Illinois's first TV station began on December 6.

The station had no network affiliation in its early months, but it added ABC in March 1954, followed by NBC in December 1955.

Move to channel 3; construction of KPOB

Soon after starting WSIL-TV on channel 22, Turner-Farrar petitioned for the FCC to assign a channel in the more widely available VHF band. In its first attempt, denied in July 1956, the company attempted to have channel 13 relocated to Harrisburg from Bowling Green, Kentucky. The next month, Turner-Farrar applied to have channel 22 changed to channel 3. This proposal, along with the addition of educational channel 8 to Carbondale, was approved by the FCC in March 1958; in doing so, the commission rejected a competing proposal to allocate channel 3 to Carbondale. Construction of the channel 3 facility was completed in early March 1959, and on March 4, WSIL-TV signed on channel 3 from a new transmitter in Creal Springs, greatly increasing its coverage area; the original tower at Harrisburg remained in place and was utilized for communications purposes. Coinciding with the move to VHF, WSIL-TV became ABC's 87th primary affiliate.

In May 1960, the Turner–Farrar Association applied to the FCC to build UHF channel 15 in Poplar Bluff to serve southeast Missouri. The transmitter was completed in August 1961 and began broadcasting programs on September 1 of that year. KPOB-TV was off the air on several occasions in its first 15 years: for over a month in June and July 1962 (due to lack of network signal), from September 1966 to October 1967, and for more than a month in 1974 for construction. The last of these outages, from April 1976 to January 1977, was for financial reasons. During this time, WSIL attempted to sell KPOB-TV to the Hernreich Group, which would have switched it to rebroadcasting KAIT in Jonesboro, Arkansas, but negotiations proved unfruitful. In the early 1980s, KPOB briefly broadcast some local programming of its own.

New ownership in the 1980s

Turner-Farrar continued in the television business until 1980, when it announced it would sell WSIL-TV and KPOB in what amounted to a partial trade. As part of the transaction, O. L. Turner acquired radio stations WEBQ and WEBQ-FM in Harrisburg from Macauley "Mackie" Nicholes, the radio voice of Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball, who became one of several stockholders in the new ownership of the television stations. FCC approval was granted in May 1981, allowing the $3 million TV station transaction and $700,000 radio station sale to go forward.

Nicholes, along with cable television system operator John Kirby, faced a monumental task in trying to improve WSIL-TV. A feature in The Southern Illinoisan noted that under Turner-Farrar's stewardship, channel 3 had equipment dating back to the 1950s and operated on a very low budget, resulting in an on-air look that was primitive even by small-market standards. For example, the station was not above "illustrat a flood by showing its audience a hand-drawn picture of a lake in the corner of the screen, rather than sending a film crew to the scene". When Nicholes and Kirby took over, they inherited a station with only had 30 total employees, including only five news staffers; its principal competitors in the region—NBC affiliate WPSD-TV in Paducah, Kentucky, and CBS affiliate KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau, Missouri—each had more than 20 people in their news departments and employed over 90 people total. WSIL's newscasts attracted just five percent of the audience compared to 38 and 42 percent for the other stations, respectively. Further, channel 3's 807-foot (246 m) tower in Creal Springs was dwarfed by the 2,000-foot (610 m) structures of its rivals, significantly limiting WSIL's reach. While it covered most of the Illinois portion of the market very well, the Kentucky and Missouri portions only got a grade B signal, and it could not be seen at all in much of the Tennessee portion. However, FCC-imposed restrictions on the channel 3 allotment denied the new owners any hope of increasing WSIL's over-the-air footprint to a size comparable to those of KFVS and WPSD. When WSIL moved to channel 3 in 1959, it was short-spaced to WCIA in Champaign, also on channel 3. WSIL had to conform its signal to protect WCIA; according to The Southern Illinoisan, the FCC was "unlikely to ever remove that restriction" in the foreseeable future. With this in mind, Nicholes decided to focus channel 3's news department almost exclusively on Southern Illinois. While he realized the signal limitations would consign WSIL to third place in the market, he was determined to make the station "a respectable No. 3".

In 1981, for the first fall season under the new owners, the station revamped its evening lineup; it ceased the practice of tape-delaying World News Tonight. The station moved its cartoon program, Uncle Briggs and the Funny Company, from early evenings to early mornings; the show, which traced its origins back to the station's first day on air in 1953 as a hosted Western movie with a local "Cactus Pete", was canceled in April 1982 as part of an effort to professionalize the station. Uncle Briggs, real name Briggs Gordon, continued with WEBQ radio until his death in 1988.

Nicholes sold his stake in WSIL-TV to Kirby in December 1982. Months later, Kirby agreed to sell the station to Mel Wheeler, Inc., a Texas-based radio station owner, for $6.6 million. The transmitter facility was revamped in 1984, including a 210-foot (64 m) height extension to the tower. The station also relocated from its increasingly outmoded and cramped Harrisburg studio. In 1983, Wheeler had purchased a tract of land in Crainville, Illinois, a site which would be more centrally located to Marion and Carbondale for news coverage and advertising sales, but did not make the move; however, serious consideration to leaving Harrisburg for Crainville recurred in 1987. Construction began on the new facility in September 1988.

Under Mel Wheeler, Inc., WSIL-TV became a family affair. Steve Wheeler, Mel's son, became the operations manager and general manager by 1986; his wife, Bonnie, served as the news director. Under Wheeler, WSIL-TV continued to focus its news department exclusively on Southern Illinois news; ratings improved but remained far behind the competition. Despite equipment improvements—such as the launch of a digital signal in 2002, a refresh of the news set and imaging in 2004, and the introduction of high-definition local news in 2010—as well as the launch of a morning newscast in 2004, WSIL continued to remain off the pace of KFVS and WPSD; it was third in revenue (using 2013 data) and ratings (as of 2014).

The station was one of 57 ABC affiliates that refused to air NYPD Blue during its first season in 1993–1994; the show aired in the market on Fox affiliate KBSI. Steve Wheeler appeared on Good Morning America to explain his decision; he announced during the interview that if the program was successful, WSIL would reconsider. Citing his feeling that the show's content had been toned down since its pilot episode, Wheeler approved the program for air on WSIL-TV beginning in September 1994.

Quincy and Allen ownership

On October 31, 2018, Quincy Media announced that it would acquire WSIL-TV and KPOB-TV for $24.5 million. The sale was approved by the FCC on December 20 and completed on January 15, 2019.

Two years later, on February 1, 2021, Gray Television announced the purchase of Quincy Media for $925 million. As Gray already owned KFVS-TV, also within the top four stations in ratings in the Paducah–Cape Girardeau–Harrisburg market, it opted to keep that station and sell WSIL–KPOB in order to satisfy FCC requirements. On April 29, 2021, it was announced that Allen Media Broadcasting would acquire WSIL, KPOB, and the remaining Quincy stations not being acquired by Gray Television for $380 million. The sale was completed on August 2.

Notable former on-air staff

Technical information

Subchannels

The stations' signals are multiplexed:

Subchannels of WSIL-TV and KPOB-TV
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
WSIL-TV KPOB-TV WSIL-TV KPOB-TV
3.1 15.1 720p 16:9 WSILABC KPOB-TV Main programming / ABC
3.2 15.2 480i HandI Heroes & Icons
3.3 15.3 Crime True Crime Network
3.4 15.4 CourtTV Court TV
3.5 15.5 Ion Ion Television

Analog-to-digital conversion

WSIL-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 3, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 34, using virtual channel 3. As part of the SAFER Act, WSIL kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.

KPOB-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 15, on June 12, 2009; the station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 18 to channel 15.

References

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  2. "Facility Technical Data for KPOB-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
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