WDCQ-TV, virtual channel 19 (UHF digital channel 15), branded as Q-TV, is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Bad Axe, Michigan, United States and serving the Flint/Tri-Cities market. The station is owned by Delta College in University Center, an unincorporated community in Frankenlust Township in southwestern Bay County. Its transmitter is located in Quanicassee, in northwestern Tuscola County.
History[edit | edit source]
The station first signed on the air on October 12, 1964 as WUCM-TV channel 19, licensed to University Center; the "UCM" stood for University Center Michigan. The station was initially affiliated with National Educational Television (NET) until 1970, when the present-day PBS replaced NET. In 1986, WUCM established a satellite, WUCX-TV channel 35 in Bad Axe, to better cover Michigan's Thumb area. In 1997, when the station first adopted the "Q-TV" branding, both stations changed their calls, with WUCM becoming WDCQ-TV, and WUCX becoming WDCP-TV.
The analog channel 19 transmitter was located on a 496-foot (151 m) tower on the campus of Delta College, near the corner of 4-Mile and Delta Roads in Bay County. The analog channel 35 tower was located just south of Ubly.
The WUCX calls are still used today for Delta College's NPR member station, WUCX-FM 90.1, Q90.1. That station is owned by Central Michigan University, and jointly run by Delta College and CMU.
WDCQ is currently the third most-watched PBS station in Michigan, behind WTVS in Detroit and WGVU-TV in Grand Rapids. As of 2017, Thomas Bennett is the general manager of WDCQ and WUCX-FM.
| TV stations in Michigan | |
|---|---|
| CMU Public Television: | Other stations |
| WCMU, Mt. Pleasant | WTVS, Detroit |
| WCML, Alpena | WNMU, Marquette |
| WCMW, Manistee | WDCQ, Bad Axe |
| WCMV, Cadillac | WGVU/WGVK, Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo |
| WKAR, East Lansing | |
| TV stations in the Mid Michigan region, including Flint, Saginaw, Bay City and Midland |
|---|
| WNEM 5 (CBS) WJRT 12 (ABC) |
