WADL (TV)

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WADL
city =
station_
station_slogan = 5,000,000 Watt POWERHOUSE -The Most Powerful Station in Michigan
station_branding = WADL
analog = 38 (UHF)
digital = 39 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = Independent
Jewelry TV
The Word Network
founded = September 25, 1985 Broadcasting since 1986)
location = Detroit, Michigan / Windsor, Ontario
callsign_meaning = WADL
ADELL Broadcasting
former_callsigns =
owner = Adell Broadcasting
licensee = Adell Broadcasting Corporation
former_affiliations = CBS (Alternate, 1992-1994)
Fox Kids (1998-2002)
FoxBox (2002-2003)
HSN*
HSN Spree/America's Store*
Shop at Home*
Network One*
all of these networks had been seen on the station during the 1990s and 2000s.
network =
founded =
airdate = May 20, 1989
location = Mount Clemens/Detroit, Michigan
callsign_meaning = ADelL Broadcasting
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Adell Broadcasting Corporation
licensee =
sister_stations =
effective_radiated_power = 5000 kW (analog)
1000 kW (digital)
HAAT = 192 m (analog)
170 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 455
coordinates = coord|42|33|12.2|N|82|53|14.6|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=WADL
homepage = [http://www.wadldetroit.com/ www.wadldetroit.com]

WADL is a full-power, commercially licensed broadcast television station in the Midwestern United States. As an independent television station licensed to the town of Mount Clemens, Michigan, the station serves the entire Detroit metropolitan area. The station also serves most of the Windsor, Ontario area.

Technical information

WADL broadcasts on UHF channel 38, operating with an Effective radiated power of 5,000,000 watts and its digital signal on channel 39, also on the UHF dial, operates with an ERP of 1,000 kilowatts -- all as authorized by the Federal Communications Commission. WADL's transmitter which is directionally aligned, is in the vicinity of its studios and offices on Adell Drive near the area of 15 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue. The transmitter is directional.

The station's signal reaches across Genesee, Lapeer, Linvingston, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties in Michigan, and Essex, and Lambton counties in Ontario Canada.

On cable,WADL can be seen on Comcast Detroit channel 4 and Bright House Networks Livonia channel 19. It is not seen on Cogeco Windsor. It is however available on Cogeco Cable in some rural areas of Southwestern Ontario. This is from previous cable companies in the rural Southwestern Ontario areas that were purchased by Cogeco around 2000, and the station has simply remained on their lineups.

History

WADL began operation in 1989, after having filed for a broadcasting license on September 25, 1985. Its original programming blocks were filled with mostly Home Shopping Network programs, religious shows and other paid programming, classic B&W movies and hourly blocks of the syndicated music video show Hit Video USA. In 1990, it began running several hours of syndicated shows. In addition programs and rebroadcast of newscasts from the cross-town WJBK which was the CBS affiliate at the time and owned by SCI-TV.

WADL is considered "The 5 Million Watt Powerhouse" because it has one of the strongest signals in the area. In 1992, it became closely associated with WJBK and was often referred to as "Detroit's Alternate CBS Station". Up until roughly 1996, the station had also rebroadcasted the 6:00 pm newscast from WJBK when it was the CBS affiliate for Detroit, seen at a later time -- typically at 8:00 pm on the same night. WADL has since stopped this practice shortly after WJBK switched to Fox.

In 1994, WJBK would defect to Fox after that network struck a deal with its then-owner New World Communications. When it did, WADL was the top choice to become the new CBS station. However, Adell made unreasonable demands of CBS that caused the deal to quickly breakdown and talks to abruptly discontinue. With the impending loss of a CBS affiliate in a Top 10 television market, CBS even considered purchasing WXYZ-TV, E.W. Scripps' longtime ABC affiliate, but E.W. Scripps declined, and kept the ABC affiliation for WXYZ-TV. As a result of losing WJBK and with WXYZ and WADL being unreceptive to a CBS affiliation, CBS was sent to make a deal with WGPR-TV (now WWJ-TV). They would eventually purchase that station in 1995.

Growth stalls

For some reason, the station never grew through the years. Eventually, Home Shopping Network programs disappeared in favor of more infomercials and more religious shows. A vast majority within the broadcast range of the station have never heard of it or ironically mistake the station's call letters for a radio station, a rather serious sign of overwhelming problems with an already negligible ratings and viewership demographic in existence -- this according to Nielsen Media Research. What kept the station on the air was the fact that it spent no money on any syndicated shows or newscasts. Any entertainment shows on the station were straight barter and most programming airing on the station came from businesses and organizations that paid to be on the station.

WADL also had the image of being a "hand-me-down" station to those that "have" heard of the station, airing shows that the rest of the Detroit market stations either don't have room for, or don't want. In more basic terms, the station was subjected to pick up a few barter "leftover" programs from the other Detroit area stations while the competition took in better programs -- almost similar to a NBA or NFL draft.

Picking children and NBC shows

On August 31, 1998, WADL would pick up Fox Kids (later FoxBox and now today's 4KidsTV) on the weekdays and weekends, with programs such as Jumanji. The programming was inherited from cross-town UPN affiliate WKBD. As Fox Kids ended its weekday airings on FOX in 2002, WADL continued running the revamped Fox Box until the fall of 2003, when Fox's 4Kids TV Saturday Morning lineup moved to another cross-town station, then WB affiliate WDWB (now MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYD). During this time, WADL was the only other station besides WKBD and WMYD to continuously air children's programming (until October 2007). The station aired three cartoons produced by DiC Entertainment, all designed to meet federal E/I requirements:

* Archie's Weird Mysteries - Thursdays & Fridays at 7:00 AM
* Inspector Gadget's Field Trip - Tuesdays at 7:30 AM and Wednesdays at 7:00 AM
* Sabrina's Secret Life - Mondays & Tuesdays at 7:00 AM

WADL at one point also broadcast the NBC daytime soap opera "Passions" though not a mainstream or top-rated soap with a limited run, it featured Rhonda Ross (daughter of Detroit Legend and entertainment icons, Diana Ross and Berry Gordy from Detroit) from its premiere in 1999 until 2002, when downtown station WDIV added Passions to its schedule.

Breakthrough

By 2007, WADL had begun to acquire popular syndicated shows, such as "The Nanny", "Mad About You", "The Jeffersons" and "Good Times", though keeping many infomercials and religious programs as well, but eliminated the few animated shows it had left.

WADL has had significant struggles with acquiring prime network programming and breaking away from its identity as a "infomercial" station. It has, through a very slow process, refined the image of the station. At present the direction of programming has more to do with a community focus. This is apparently a road that other networks have not taken. The jury is still out as to whether or not a community's support will impact on Nielsen ratings, but the community at large appears to respond to the station.

President Lewis Gibbs made Detroit history by becoming the only African American president of a station in a top ten market.

Through the years the independent station has continued to upgrade and grow in programming which ultimately has dramatically increased their loyal viewer base again this makes the station a community outlet as opposed to a national network.

The station has shown growth in the metropolitan Detroit marketplace. At the inception the primary focus was for the station to be the true voice of Detroit's urban community at large. Through the years WADL has continued to make marked strides towards the fulfillment of that goal. WADL has made history by being the first and only television station in Michigan to have a weekly feature with the Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick.

In the fall of 2008, WADL is relaunching as "Detroit's Urban Station" in order to appeal to the African-American community and picking up new syndicated programming, including "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", "Pimp My Ride", "Cribs", "American Chopper", "Reno 911", "The Montel Williams Show", "The Daily Buzz" (which WKBD replaced with "Judge Judy"), "In the Heat of the Night", "Chappelle's Show", "D Party", "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids", "Sanford and Son", and others. "Magnum P.I." will also be making its debut. [cite web|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6579263.html?rssid=193|work=Broadcasting and Cable|title=‘Detroit’s Urban Station’ to Debut Chopper, Cribs|date=2008-07-16]

WADL and The Word Network were founded by Frank and his son Kevin Adell.

References

External links

*TVQ|WADL
*BIA|WADL|TV|TV
* [http://fccinfo.com/CMDProFacLookup.php?PHPSESSID=23b5b9b86280adc56638f024a91241f1&sCurrentService=TV&calls=WADL&tabSearchType=Call+Sign+Search WADL-TV and WADL-DT information at fccinfo.com]
* [http://tv.yahoo.com/tvpdb?d=tvs&id=166030990&channels=us_WADL&lineup=us_DMA505&.intl=us WADL-TV schedule from Yahoo.com]
* [http://research.backchannelmedia.com/station/show/WADL WADL TV Lineup and Demographic Data]
* [http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6491020.html "Broadcasting & Cable" article from October 2007 on WADL's revamp]