WMEU-CA - History

History

The station began broadcasting on October 28, 1987 as W54AP on UHF channel 54. In the late 1990s, it began serving as an affiliate of the Eternal Word Television Network. In 2004, the station moved to channel 48 and changed its callsign to W48DD. On January 1, 2005, the station's callsign was changed again to WFBT-CA and adopted a ethnic programming format called "FBT" and changed its callsign to WFBT-CA; the FBT format originated on WWME-CA (channel 23), which previously held the WFBT call letters, after that station expanded its slate of classic television shows that it had begun airing several months earlier (including many series that previously aired on WCIU-TV) into a 24-hour format called "Me-TV".

On March 1, 2008, channel 48 switched its programming to an extension of WWME's Me-TV format as "MeToo", accordingly changing its callsign to WMEU-CA; the station's ethnic programming returned to WCIU as a service called "FBT" on digital subchannel 26.6 (FBT was dropped on December 1, 2010 and was replaced by a temporary simulcast of WCIU-TV). On September 14, 2009, WMEU's MeToo schedule was adjusted to feature only dramatic programs and films to streamline the schedules of both Me-TV stations, while the Me-TV schedule on WWME switched its programming to mainly feature comedic series. WMEU also carried Big East Conference basketball games supplied by ESPN Plus, which allows it to carry some DePaul Blue Demons game telecasts (most of those games were have since moved to WCIU-TV's "The U Too" subchannel on 26.2).

On September 22, 2010, WMEU-CA changed its call letters to WCUU-CA, only to revert back to the prior WMEU-CA calls on November 5. On January 5, 2011, WCIU launched a general entertainment service called "The U Too" on digital subchannel 26.2, replacing the simulcast of WWME, which moved to WCIU digital subchannel 26.3 on December 15, 2010. In addition, PSIP channel 48.1 was temporarily discontinued while 23.1 reverted to being the virtual channel number for WWME-CA (23.2 was discontinued at that time, but has since returned as an affiliate of Bounce TV).

On December 15, 2010, WMEU added comedy programming, coinciding with Me-TV's expansion as a nationally-distributed television network (WWME became the flagship station of the national Me-TV service, as well as an owned-and-operated station of the network). As a result, both WWME and WMEU once again maintained identical formats, albeit with different programming as the national Me-TV network seen on WWME focuses on series from the 1950s to the 1970s while WMEU/MeToo continues to offer series from the 1980s to the 2000s on its schedule, in addition to programs from decades prior to that. The WMEU/MeToo simulcast on WCIU's signal moved to that station's 26.4 subchannel with the format change. In addition, This TV moved to WCIU subchannel 26.5.

On April 24, 2012, WMEU-CA filed an application to switch its Class A status from its analog allotment to its digital frequency. On April 30, its digital signal's callsign became WMEU-CD, while the analog channel's calls became WMEU-LP.