This much is certain about the future of WMGM-TV NBC40, South Jersey's only locally based television station.

As of the end of the month, you will no longer be able to watch network or local South Jersey news programming on the channel.

Comcast's NBCUniversal  decided they were no longer interested in having a South Jersey network affiliate competing with NBC-10 in Philadelphia, and, after 50 years,  TV-40's network affiliation will end at the end of this month.

In 2013, Access One sold the station to the the California-based LocusPoint Network, a company that bought the station with the speculative plan of selling it at an FCC bandwidth auction in 2016.

Access 1's contract with LocusPoint to continue operating the station also ends December 31st.

What is not clear is what will happen to the popular TV-40 local news operation anchored by Michelle Dawn Mooney,  weatherman Dan Skeldon and sports guy Pete Thompson.

The 60 employees of the station based in Linwood have been hoping a benefactor would step in with the money to continue and expand the South Jersey news operation on a new broadcast channel.

Tuesday, Station Manager Roger Powe released a statement and appeared on the station's nightly newscasts to update viewers on those plans.

Here is some of Powe's statement.

"(As) you may or may not know, over the past year, there have been many changes here at WMGM-TV NBC40.

In 2013, NBC decided that they no longer wanted to have a separate affiliate in South Jersey. Effective January 1, WMGM-TV will no longer be an NBC affiliate. Additionally, the station was sold last year. In the meantime, Access Communications has been continuing to manage the station and will do so until December 31 of this year.

Here is the good news - while Access 1will not be operating the WMGM-TV channel, the company has taken steps to continue and expand our news product on a new broadcast channel. This plan calls for our new company to be comprised of our current news, sales, management and administration teams and would expand to nine counties in southern New Jersey, filling a much needed void for news, weather and sports coverage in South Jersey.

If all goes as planned, we hope to once again be serving the area with a bigger and better newscast in the spring or summer of 2015, so stay tuned."

 

 

 

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