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WMDT
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WMDT | |
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| Salisbury, Maryland | |
| Branding | WMDT 47 CW 3 (on DT2) |
| Slogan | Delmarva's Choice Delmarva's CW 3 (on DT2) |
| Channels | Analog: 47 (UHF) Digital: 53 (UHF) |
| Translators | 27 WEVD-LP Dover, Delaware |
| Affiliations | ABC The CW via The CW Plus (on DT2) |
| Owner | Delmarva Broadcast Service |
| Founded | April of 1980 |
| Call letters meaning | Maryland - Delaware Television |
| Former affiliations | NBC The WB via The WB 100+ (cable-only "WBD-TV", 2000-2006) |
| Transmitter Power | 2,190 kW / 304 m (analog) 250 kW / 292 m (digital) |
| Website | wmdt.com |
WMDT is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Delmarva Peninsula. Licensed to Salisbury, the station broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 47 and a digital signal on UHF channel 53. WMDT's transmitter is located west of the Maryland - Delaware state line in rural Wicomico County near Spring Grove. It is the second tallest structure in the state of Maryland. The station is owned by the Delmarva Broadcast Service and has studios located at Downtown Plaza in Salisbury.
The station operates a low-powered repeater in Dover, Delaware: WEVD-LP channel 27. That station's transmitter is located northeast of the city and SR 1.
WMDT also operates the area's CW affiliate on its DT2 digital subchannel. That station is part of The CW Plus and is known on-air as "CW 3". WMDT-DT2 is also offered on Comcast cable channel 3 which is where it gets the branding from.
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WMDT initiated broadcast operations in the Salisbury market in April of 1980. It was a primary ABC affiliate with secondary NBC affiliation. The station was the brainchild of the late Jean Paul Audet, a television pioneer who spent some of his early years in the Albuquerque, New Mexico and Charleston, South Carolina markets.
In its early years of operation, WMDT won AP and UPI awards for its then innovative ENG efforts. The station's news department, from its inception, was committed to using electronic news gathering rather than 16 mm film (which was still in use on the Delmarva Peninsula in 1980).
In more recent years, WMDT became an ABC affiliate carring that network's programming as well as a mix of syndicated programs, local news, and information.
In July of 2003, WMDT's transmitter tower experienced a fire after a severe storm causing extensive damage to the transmitter. The analog UHF channel 47 signal was unavailable for many weeks although its cable channel, digital signal, and cable-only WB station were unaffected.
In October of 2003, former anchor Kelley Rouse and Chief Photographer Freddie Mitchell went to Iraq with personnel from the Dover Airforce Base to bring back airmen.
In 2004, WMDT won the top "Service to Children" award for small market stations from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Education Foundation. The station also has a "Teachers Who Make A Difference" program and a "Summer Reading Challenge" among other community-service activities.
WMDT has twice filed a petition seeking a waiver of the FCC's network nonduplication and syndicated program exclusivity rules. The petition involved the carriage of two stations: WMAR-TV [1] (filed in 1999) and WTTG [2] (filed in 2000). The petitions were filed by Comcast, the cable provider in the area that WMDT is located on (within a 35-mile radius of its studios). WMAR and WTTG carried programming that WMDT held exclusive programming rights for, either by syndication or by network distribution, within its market catchment area.
In both cases, the FCC ruled in favor of WMDT in that: the stations in question (WMAR and WTTG) failed to meet the criteria set by the FCC for "distant stations" with "significant" level of over-the-air viewership. The effect of the ruling resulted in that when WMAR and / or WTTG broadcast programming which WMDT has exclusive rights to (specifically in the communities of: Salisbury, Delmar, Fuitland, Hebron, unincorporated areas of Wicomico County, and unincorporated areas of Sussex County, Delaware), Comcast would have to black out those channels while the programs were being shown. [3]
In 2000, WMDT launched a cable-only WB affiliate. It was part of The WB 100+ as a result of the Salisbury market having a DMA rank of 148. The station had the fictional call letters "WBD-TV", was known on-air as "WB 3", and was only available on Comcast cable channel 3. WBD frequently aired cross-promotions for WMDT's main channel and its evening news programs.
On January 24, 2006, the WB and UPN networks announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW, the letters representing the first initial of its corporate parents: CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner.
UPN was offered via WBOC's DT2 digital subchannel and on Comcast cable channel 5.
It was announced on March 28, 2006, that WBD would become an affiliate of The CW via The CW Plus (a similar operation to The WB 100+) and WMDT would create a new second digital subchannel for WBD to be broadcasted over-the-air to serve non-cable viewers.
WBOC announced on May 9, 2006, that its UPN channel would become a FOX affiliate beginning on August 21, 2006.
On September 18, 2006, The CW debuted on WBD (now known officially as WMDT-DT2). The station began to be known on-air as "CW 3".
WMDT carries the full line-up of ABC network programs and a number of popular syndicated programs including: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Judge Judy, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. For many years, WMDT was the only station in the market that broadcasted Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune before moving to WBOC's DT2 subchannel.
Many well-known television personalities have worked at WMDT early on in their careers. Among these are: Bonnie Bernstein of ESPN, Mike Tobin, and Gregg Jarrett of FOX News Channel.
The station began broadcasting its present WMDT News at Noon newscast on September 4, 2006. WMDT's first noon news, "Midday Live", began broadcasting on July 26th, 1982. Kelly Rouse was its first host.
When WBD became WMDT-DT2, the station began to simulcast the Noon newscast on that station. It also began to produce a daily 10 PM newscast which competes with one that airs at that time (although weeknights only) on WBOC's DT2 digital suchannel.
Unlike most ABC affiliates, WMDT does not air a weeknight 5 PM newscast. It also does not operate a sports department. The station airs a public affiars program called Good Things Delmarva on Sundays at 7 AM.
Anchors
- Katherine Amenta - weekday mornings at 5, and weekdays at Noon
- Stacy Sakai - weeknights at 6, 10 (on WMDT-DT2), and 11 PM (also education reporter)
- Danya Bacchus - weekends (also reporter three days a week)
Meteorologists
- Justin Drabick - Chief seen weeknights
- TBD - Morning and noon meteorologist
- Kira Kanitra - weekends (also weekday reporter)
Reporters
- Keira Benson
- Nadia Singh
- Jacob Verdis
- Mola Lenghi
Administration
- Sarah Truitt -
- Station Website
- WMDT Wireless
- WMDT-DT2 "CW 3" Website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WMDT
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WEVD-LP
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WRAV 8 (AV/Ind) - W14CM 14 / W63DC 63 (TBN) - WBOC 16 (CBS) (FOX on DT2) - WCPB 28 (PBS/MPT) - Local cable television channels Out of market stations serving the area |
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| See also: CBS, CW, Fox, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Maryland |
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WPVI 6 (Philadelphia)- WEVD-LP 271 (Dover) |
| See also: CBS, The CW, FOX, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Delaware |
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| See also: ABC, CBS, Fox, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Maryland |