| Callsign: | WNMU |
| Branding: | WNMU-TV PBS |
| Digital: | 8 (VHF) |
| Virtual: | 13 |
| Affiliations: | 13.1: PBS 13.2: PBS Kids 13.3: WNMU-TV Plus (PBS West) 13.4: Michigan Learning Channel 13.7: Audio |
| Country: | United States |
| Location: | Marquette, Michigan |
| Callsign Meaning: | Northern Michigan University |
| Former Callsigns: | WNPB (1972–1975) WNMU-TV (1975–?)[1] |
| Former Channel Numbers: | Analog: 13 (VHF, 1972–2009) Digital: 33 (UHF, until 2009) 13 (VHF, 2009–2020) |
| Owner: | Northern Michigan University |
| Licensee: | Board of Control, Northern Michigan University |
| Sister Stations: | WNMU-FM |
| Erp: | 15.5 kW |
| Haat: | 3230NaN0 |
| Facility Id: | 4318 |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
WNMU (channel 13) is a PBS member television station licensed to Marquette, Michigan, United States, serving the Central and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is owned by Northern Michigan University alongside NPR member WNMU-FM (90.1). Both outlets share studios at the Edgar L. Harden Learning Resource Center on the university's campus in Marquette; the television station's transmitter is located in Ely Township southwest of Ishpeming.
WNMU first went on the air in 1972, under call sign WNPB. The call signs of WNPB and what had been WNMR-FM were changed to WNMU in December 1975, two weeks apart.
WNMU serves all communities in the UP, over the air on channel 13 in the central UP, and on cable regionwide, including portions of northern Wisconsin not served by PBS Wisconsin stations WPNE-TV or WLEF-TV.
It is also seen on Charter Spectrum cable in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, instead of WCMU-TV, which the rest of the market receives via transmitters throughout the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. In most of the Eastern UP, cable or satellite are required to receive any PBS service; when the digital conversion took place in 2009, the Eastern UP lost terrestrial PBS service when WCMU satellite WCML in Alpena lowered its transmitter power for its digital broadcasts. Neither WCMU nor WNMU currently have plans to expand into the Eastern UP to fill the void left by the departure of WCML from the Eastern UP airwaves.
WNMU was part of the Shaw line-up on its Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, system until 2002, when it was replaced with Detroit's WTVS.
The transmitter for WNMU-TV is located just outside Ishpeming in Ely Township. The antenna is 1000feet tall.
The future of WNMU radio and TV was threatened in recent years, as budget cuts led to a proposed sale or closure of the stations. However, new funding was approved, keeping the station on the air.
WNMU produces a number of shows directly from their studios.
In 2012 a broadcast titled Mauvais Sort: Spellbound won a Good News Award for uplifting and excellent journalism.[2]
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Short name | Programming[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | WNMU-HD | Main WNMU programming / PBS | ||
| 13.2 | WNMU-KD | PBS Kids | ||
| 13.3 | 1080i | WNMU-PL | WNMU-TV Plus / PBS West | |
| 13.4 | 480i | WNMUMLC | Michigan Learning Channel | |
| 13.7 | 480i | FM-Test | Audio | |
WNMU discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 13, 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 relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 33 to VHF channel 13.[4]