WMDT

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WMDT
city =
station_
station_slogan = Delmarva's Choice for More News in Less Time
station_branding = WMDT 47
Delmarva's CW 3 (on DT2)
analog =
digital = 47 (UHF)
other_chs = WEVD-LP 27 (UHF) Dover, DE
affiliations = ABC
The CW (on DT2)
network =
founded =
airdate = April 11, 1980
location = Salisbury, Maryland
callsign_meaning = Maryland / Delaware Television
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Brechner Management Company
licensee = Delmarva Broadcast Service, LLC
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = NBC (1980-1992)
secondary
effective_radiated_power = 2,190 kW (analog)
250 kW (digital)
HAAT = 304 m (analog)
292 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 16455
coordinates = coord|38|30|7|N|75|44|7.6|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.wmdt.com/ www.wmdt.com]

WMDT, channel 47, is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Delmarva Peninsula, licensed to Salisbury. Its transmitter is located in rural Wicomico County near Spring Grove. The tower is the second tallest structure in the state of Maryland. Owned by Brechner Management Company, the station has studios 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 S.R. 1. WMDT also operates the area's CW affiliate on its second digital subchannel. That station is part of The CW Plus and is known on-air as "Delmarva's CW 3". WMDT-DT2 is also offered on Comcast cable channel 3 which is where it gets the branding from.

History

WMDT initiated broadcast operations in the Salisbury market on April 11, 1980. It was a primary ABC station with secondary NBC affiliation. It 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.

In more recent years, WMDT became a sole ABC affiliate carring that network's programming as well as a mix of syndicated programs, local news, and information. In July 2003, WMDT's transmitter tower experienced a fire after a severe storm caused 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 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.

Programming rights

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 (filed in 1999) and WTTG (filed in 2000). The petitions were filed by Comcast, the cable provider in the area that WMDT is located on (within a 35-mile / 56-km 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.

Today, WMDT carries the full line-up of ABC network programming and a number of popular syndicated shows including: "Ellen", "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". Both shows moved to WBOC's second subchannel.

Analog to Digital Transition

As of October 1, 2008, WMDT successfully made the transition from analog broadcasting to digital. [] http://wmdt.com/DTV/index.htm WMDT 47 and Delmarva’s CW3’s digital signal is up and running.] Retrieved October 2, 2008] WMDT is now broadcasting a full-power digital only signal.

WMDT-DT2 "Delmarva's CW 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" and was known on-air briefly as "WB 14" as it replaced WPHL-TV's slot on cable channel 14. Several months after its launch, it was relocated to channel 3 and renamed "WB 3". For some time, it was only available on Comcast as well as Mediacom (on channel 14 then 2). WBD frequently aired cross-promotions for WMDT's main channel and its evening news programs.

On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent 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 second digital subchannel and on Comcast cable channel 5. It was announced on March 28, 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, that its UPN subchannel would become a Fox affiliate beginning on August 21. On September 18, The CW debuted on WBD (now known officially as having the WMDT-DT2 calls). The station began to be known on-air as "Delmarva's CW 3".

News operation

WMDT's news department, from its inception, used electronic news gathering instead of the commonly used 16 mm film (which was still in use on the Delmarva Peninsula in 1980). The station began broadcasting its first weekday Noon news, known as "Midday Live", on July 26, 1982. When WBD became WMDT-DT2, it began to simulcast WMDT's Noon newscast. It also began to air a nightly 10 o'clock news.

It competes with one that airs at that time on WBOC's second digital suchannel. The 5 A.M. hour of WMDT's weekday morning show is simulcast on WMDT-DT2. Some well-known television personalities started their careers at WMDT. Among these are: Bonnie Bernstein (of ESPN), Mike Tobin, and Gregg Jarrett of the Fox News Channel. WMDT does not operate a sports department. It airs a pre-recorded public affairs program, "Good Things Delmarva", on Sunday mornings.

Current Personalities

News Team

* [http://www.wmdt.com/bios/bios.asp?id=50 Katherine Amenta] - Weeknights 6pm and 11pm
* [http://www.wmdt.com/bios/bios.asp?id=68 Elaina Athans] - Reporter
* [http://www.wmdt.com/bios/bios.asp?id=46 Kiera Benson] - Reporter
* [http://www.wmdt.com/bios/bios.asp?id=70 Terrence Lee] - Reporter
* [http://www.wmdt.com/bios/bios.asp?id=63 Mola Lenghi] - Good Morning Delmarva/Noon
* [http://www.wmdt.com/bios/bios.asp?id=72 Innae Park] - Reporter/Producer
* [http://www.wmdt.com/bios/bios.asp?id=60 Stacy Sakai] - Weeknights 6pm, 10pm, and 11pm
* [http://www.wmdt.com/bios/bios.asp?id=65 Amber Watson] - Weekends 6pm and 11pm/Reporter

Weather Team

* [http://www.wmdt.com/bios/bios.asp?id=34 Justin Drabick (AMS)] - Chief Meteorologist 6pm, 10pm, and 11pm
* [http://www.wmdt.com/bios/bios.asp?id=67 Marc Adamo] - Good Morning Delmarva/Noon
*Tami Payne - Fill-in Meteorologist(retired from WMDT in 2005 but frequently fills in on Weekends)
*Stephanie Allison-New Weekend Meteorologist(Bio on site up soon)

External links

* [http://www.wmdt.com/ WMDT channel 47]
* [http://www.wmdt.com/PDA/ WMDT wireless]
* [http://yourcwtv.com/partners/salisbury/ WMDT-DT2 "Delmarva's CW 3"]
*TVQ|WMDT
*TVQ|WEVD-LP
*BIA|WMDT|TV|TV

References