WDEL (AM)
VSiN | |
Ownership | |
---|---|
Owner |
|
History | |
First air date | July 22, 1922[1] |
Former call signs | WHAV (1922-1926) |
Call sign meaning | Delaware |
Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 16458 |
Class | B |
Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°48′57.4″N 75°31′4.0″W / 39.815944°N 75.517778°W |
Repeater(s) | See § Simulcast |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | https://listen.streamon.fm/wdelam |
Website | wdel.com |
WDEL (1150
As of May 20, 2019, WDEL is owned by Forever Media. Previously, it had been owned for more than 80 years by Delmarva Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of Steinman Enterprises, a family-owned newspaper, broadcasting and mining company, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Programming and Sports
On weekdays, WDEL-AM-FM airs local talk and information shows from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. After 7 o'clock, it carries
WDEL-AM-FM carries Philadelphia Phillies baseball, Philadelphia Eagles football, plus other local and national sports. WDEL-AM-FM airs Wesley College football and numerous New Castle County high school football and basketball games. On weekends, WDEL-AM-FM also carries some sports programming from the VSiN Radio Network.
History
WDEL was first licensed in July 1922 to the Wilmington Electrical Specialty Company, and was initially issued the sequentially assigned call sign WHAV.[4] It made its debut broadcast on July 22 as one of the earliest broadcasting stations licensed in the United States, and the first in the state of Delaware.[5] In 1926 the call sign were changed to WDEL.[6] Founded by Willard S. Wilson, the station was originally only powered at 250 watts, but by the late 1940s, it had been granted an increase to its current power of 5,000 watts.[7]
During the
In 1949, WDEL signed on a TV station, Channel 7
In 1950, WDEL added an FM station, 93.7 WDEL-FM.[9] At first it simulcast the programming on the AM station. But by the late 1960s, it aired separate programming using the call sign WSTW.
With the demise of
In the mid-1980s, WDEL was the first Wilmington radio station to provide traffic reports. WDEL's "TrafficWatch on the 9s" remains on the air today.
In the mid-1990s, WDEL moved to a
.In 2006, WDEL's main competitor,
In 2015, Delmarva Broadcasting acquired 101.7 WJKS,
In early 2019, it was announced that Steinman Communications was selling all Delmarva Broadcasting stations to Forever Media. The deal closed on May 20, 2019.
Awards
WDEL has won several prestigious Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, including national awards in 2007 for Best Website and 2009 for Best Newscast. WDEL has also been named News Operation of the Year by the Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association numerous times.
In 2004, WDEL was awarded by the National Association of Broadcasters with its prestigious Crystal Award for public service.
In 2005, WDEL became one of the first radio stations in the nation to produce web-based news video for its website, WDEL.com.
In 2011, WDEL won a prestigious Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters for "Medium Market Station of the Year."
In 2014, WDEL's news department won the RTDNA national Edward R. Murrow Award for "Overall Excellence." WDEL also won RTDNA's national Murrow Award for "Best Newscast" that year. In 2016, WDEL again won the Murrow Award for "Overall Excellence."
Simulcast
One FM station simulcasts the programming of WDEL:
Call sign | Frequency | City of license | Facility ID | ERP W |
Height m (ft) |
Class | Transmitter coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WDEL-FM | 101.7 FM | Canton, New Jersey |
51136 | 3,300 | 91 m (299 ft) | A | 39°25′53.6″N 75°20′12.0″W / 39.431556°N 75.336667°W |
See also
References
- ^ "The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia".
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WDEL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WDEL
- ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, August 1, 1922, page 3.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1949 page 96
- ^ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, April 30, 1926, page 7.
- ^ "Radio Pioneer Willard Wilson and his film of Charles Lindbergh in Delaware". Hagley. March 17, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 106
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1952 page 103
External links
- Official website
- WDEL in the FCC AM station database
- WDEL in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for WDEL