Accordingly in 1959 , Plains Television signed - on WCHU in Champaign as a low - powered satellite of WICS .
At the time , UHF signals were not strong enough to cover large amounts of territory .
In 1959 , Plains Television signed - on WCHU in Champaign as a low - powered satellite of WICS .
At the time , UHF signals were not strong enough to cover large amounts of territory .