About WILX TV

The station debuted on March 15, 1959, and was owned by Jackson Telecasters, who also operated WJCO radio (AM 1510, now WJKN). Lansing Broadcasting controlled part of Jackson Telecasters, as well as WILS-AM 1320, from which channel 10 received calls.

WILX shared the analog VHF channel 10 frequency with WMSB, a Michigan State University instructional station. WKAR-TV was the initial station, airing on UHF channel 60. It had trouble attracting viewers, however, because television sets were not required to include UHF tuning until 1964. Viewers had to acquire a pricey converter to view WKAR, and even with one, the picture was blurry. MSU decided to share channel 10 with WILX in order to enhance its audience. As a result, WMSB was based on MSU's East Lansing campus, but WILX was licensed to Onondaga and had studios in Jackson, the market's second biggest city. In Onondaga, though, both stations shared the same tower and transmitter.

WILX broadcasted for 70% of the broadcast day, including all of prime time. If there was breaking news, a sporting event, or a special on NBC during WMSB's time, the station would frequently surrender its time to WILX. This arrangement was maintained until 1972, when WKAR switched to UHF channel 23.