WDHN
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2017) |
kW | |
HAAT | 190.4 m (625 ft) |
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Transmitter coordinates | 31°14′25″N 85°18′43″W / 31.24028°N 85.31194°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WDHN (channel 18) is a television station in Dothan, Alabama, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios and transmitter are located on AL 52 in Webb.
History
WDHN launched August 7, 1970, as the area's second television station and aired an analog signal on UHF channel 18. It was owned by Dothan businessman Betts Slingluff, Jr. and a partnership of other local investors. Before that time, southeastern Alabama relied on
In 1979, reflecting an era when small, locally owned stations were losing profitability, Slingluff's group sold WDHN to Hi Ho Television, which also owned WVGA in Valdosta, Georgia. In 1986, Hi Ho sold WDHN and WVGA to Morris Multimedia. In 2003, Nexstar purchased WDHN, along with KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas, from Morris.
As part of the DTV transition in 2009, WDHN turned off its analog transmitter and began broadcasting exclusively in digital.[2]
On January 27, 2016, it was announced that Nexstar would buy Media General for $4.6 billion. WDHN, along with recently acquired Fox affiliate WZDX in Huntsville (which Nexstar would later sell in 2019 to Tegna in order to acquire Tribune Media, owner of WHNT-TV), became a part of "Nexstar Media Group" and joined a cluster of stations Nexstar would own in Alabama including WIAT in Birmingham and WKRG-TV in Mobile, as well as WRBL in Columbus, Georgia, which covers much of east Alabama including Opelika and Auburn. All three of these stations are CBS affiliates.
On June 15, 2016, Nexstar announced that it had entered into an affiliation agreement with
News operation
WDHN produces 4+1⁄2 hours of news each weekday starting with Wake Up Wiregrass at 5 a.m., Daytime at 11 a.m., and then in the evening with WDHN News at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. Wake Up Wiregrass replaced Top of the Morning with Charlie Platt after its cancellation. The newscast airs weekday mornings from 5 to 7 a.m. (6 to 7 a.m. from relaunch until February 1, 2021).
Historically, WDHN has been a very distant second in the ratings behind WTVY. This is partly because for much of the analog era, WDHN only broadcast at 1.06 million watts, which was somewhat modest for a Big Four affiliate on the UHF band. It also had to deal with competition from WSFA, which was available on Wiregrass cable systems for decades. The signal disadvantage has been lessened somewhat in the digital era, as WDHN's digital signal operates at a full million watts, equivalent to five million watts in analog.
On December 19, 2017, WDHN unveiled a brand new set and began broadcasting local news in high definition.
On June 1, 2020, WDHN began producing an hour-long 9 p.m. newscast for Fox affiliate WDFX, replacing a prior arrangement where news was provided by WSFA out of Montgomery..
On February 1, 2021, WDHN expanded morning news to two hours.
On February 15, 2021, WDHN added an 11 a.m. hour-long newscast with Michael Rinker as anchor. Katrice Nolan would join him a few months later as co-anchor.
On September 18, 2021, WDHN launched weekend newscasts at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sundays.
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
18.1 | 720p | 16:9 |
WDHN-DT | Main WDHN programming / ABC |
18.2 | 480i | Mystery | Ion Mystery | |
18.3 | Laff | Laff | ||
18.4 | Antenna | Antenna TV |
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WDHN". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "DTV TRANSITION STATUS REPORT". Federal Communications Commission. February 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ^ "Bounce TV, Grit, Escape, Laff Multicast Deal Covers 81 Stations, 54 Markets". Broadcasting & Cable. June 15, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WDHN". www.rabbitears.info. Retrieved July 22, 2021.