WZCK was originally known as W08CK, and broadcast a low-power analog television signal on channel 8. The station was owned by the Science of Identity Foundation, a new religious movement with Hindu roots, and broadcast music, some religious programming, and a station ID from a transmitter atop the Tenney Building near the Wisconsin State Capitol and a signal only strong enough to cover the central Madison Isthmus and the UW campus. Though it was off the air for most of the 2010s, W08CK was for a time the only station in Madison to broadcast on the VHF band (CBS affiliate WISC-TV left analog channel 3 for digital channel 50 in the 2009 digital TV transition; Fox affiliate WMSN-TV (channel 47) would relocate its physical digital signal from 11 to 49 earlier in the 2010s).
By 2016, W08CK would be acquired by DTV America, an owner/operator of LPTV stations throughout the U.S. With the silent station rechristened WZCK-LD, DTV America moved the allocation to channel 36, now transmitting from the WKOW tower on Madison's west side. On November 16, 2016, WZCK began digital broadcasting. In August 2022 the COZI affiliation in the Madison market transitioned to a sub-channel of Ion affiliate WIFS.
