WLAJ

WLAJ is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Central Lower Peninsula of Michigan that is licensed to Lansing. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 25 (or virtual channel 53.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter on Baseline Road near Rives Township's Berryville section, along the Jackson and Ingham County line. Owned by Shield Media, the station is operated through joint sales and shared services agreements by Media General as a sister outlet to CBS affiliate WLNS-TV. The two stations share studios on East Saginaw Street/BL I-69/M-43 in Lansing's Eastside section (along U.S. 127). Syndicated programming on WLAJ includes Family Feud, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Maury, and The Wendy Williams Show, among others.

History

WLAJ began broadcasting on October 13, 1990, operating from a converted appliance store. The station was originally owned by Joel Ferguson, the founding owner of the market's first independent station, WFSL-TV (now Fox affiliate WSYM-TV). Ferguson had used the proceeds from the sale of WFSL to launch WLAJ. Before 1990, Lansing had been one of the biggest markets in the United States without a full-time ABC affiliate, even though it had been large enough to support three full network affiliates since at least the 1960s. WJRT-TV in Flint served as the default station for the area from its 1958 sign-on until WLAJ debuted, and WFSL had briefly carried a few ABC programs as well. Other parts of the market received ABC from WUHQ-TV (now WOTV) in Battle Creek and WXYZ-TV in Detroit. As a condition to the station receiving an ABC affiliation, its transmitter had to be located so that there was minimum overlap between the WJRT and WLAJ signals.