WDIV-TV
FCC | |
Facility ID | 53114 |
---|---|
ERP | 720 kW |
HAAT | 307.3 m (1,008.2 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°28′58″N 83°12′19″W / 42.48278°N 83.20528°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WDIV-TV (channel 4) is a
History
Early history
The station first signed on the air as WWDT on October 23, 1946, for one day of demonstrative programming;
Channel 4 had a number of broadcasting firsts in Michigan including the first telecast of Detroit Tigers, Red Wings and Lions games as well as the state's first televised newscasts. The station's studios were originally located at 600 West Lafayette, across the street from the Detroit News building in downtown Detroit (and next door to its present studio location). In 1954, the station moved its 1,004-foot (306 m) transmitter from the Penobscot Building in Downtown Detroit to the intersection of Greenfield and Lincoln roads in Southfield. Network programming was broadcast in color starting in 1954. The station began broadcasting its newscasts and other locally produced programs in color in 1960, when it purchased new studio camera equipment.
Over the years, the Evening News Association acquired several other broadcasting outlets, such as KTVY (now KFOR-TV) in Oklahoma City, KOLD-TV in Tucson, Arizona, and WALA-TV in Mobile, Alabama. Eventually, the Evening News Association created Universal Communications Corporation as a holding company for its broadcasting interests, with WWJ-AM-FM-TV as the flagship stations.
Trade to The Washington Post Company
In 1969, the
Ultimately, the FCC never imposed any limitations on ownership of television stations and newspapers in the same market and the exchange of stations between the Evening News Association (eventually subsumed by the
In 1982, WDIV moved out of its facility (which had been built in 1936 for WWJ radio and expanded in 1948 and today is known as the Walker-Roehrig Building) adjacent to the headquarters of the Detroit News and moved one block to its current broadcast facility at West Lafayette Boulevard. The building has also housed the headquarters of Graham Media Group since 1997; the "Local" branding now used by most of the group's stations began at WDIV alongside its acquiring of flagship status in 2000. The station later became available outside the Detroit market when it was selected for inclusion on many Canadian cable providers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. WDIV's signal has been uplinked on C-band satellite since at least 1988. In 2004, the station bolstered local programming by securing broadcast rights to several Detroit Pistons basketball games (Fox Sports Detroit—now called Bally Sports Detroit—became the Pistons' sole broadcaster in 2008) as well as returning as the host television station for the North American International Auto Show. The station airs the auto show's charity preview, America's Thanksgiving Parade (both in high definition), the Ford Fireworks on the Detroit International Riverfront, and the charity event "The Hob-Nobble Gobble" which is held the night before the Thanksgiving parade.
On April 15, 2005, former WDIV employee John Owens was shot in the station's lobby by Epifanio Rivas, Jr., a man with a history of harassing WDIV employees. Rivas was charged with attempted murder, while Owens remained in the hospital in critical but stable condition. On November 21, 2006,
On the evening of April 14, 2011, a suitcase containing a suspected
Upon re-entering the studio, anchor
Programming
WDIV-TV is one of the few television stations in the United States to have aired Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! from the beginning of their respective syndication runs in 1983 and 1984.[8] Because of this, the programs did not air on CBC owned-and-operated station CBET-DT in Windsor during the years the Canadian network carried the game shows; they were removed from the CBC schedule in 2012.[9]
Programming preemptions
In the 1970s and 1980s, WDIV preempted one to two hours of NBC's daytime programming every day. The station also refused to air Late Night with David Letterman and its successor, Late Night with Conan O'Brien at 12:35 a.m. for many years, and initially did not clear the Letterman-era program at all.[10] Instead, until 1999, the station opted to rebroadcast The Jenny Jones Show in that timeslot, along with off-network syndicated programs such as Barney Miller.[8]
During the 1978–79 season, it aired This Morning, a locally based talk show hosted by Cathie Mann, in place of the game shows
From its debut until September 9, 2022, WDIV has also delayed the
The station did not carry NBC's late night rerun of the fourth hour of Today until 2019, preferring to carry an encore of the 11 p.m. newscast, paid programming, and a second run of Inside Edition. Along with all other Post-Newsweek stations, WDIV refused to air any of NBC's televised poker programming, including Poker After Dark, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and Face the Ace.
From 1999 to 2002, WDIV did not clear the soap opera affiliate).
NBC programming is still occasionally preempted for special events, including the annual Ford Fireworks and America's Thanksgiving Parade (whose coverage, incidentally, preempts the live
Local programs and personalities
WDIV was the launching pad for several locally produced shows that went national. The station broadcast the talk show Sonya (hosted by Dr. Sonya Freidman) live at 4 pm. It was so popular that the station under the banner of Post-Newsweek Stations, syndicated it on a delayed basis to USA Network (which is now co-owned with NBC under NBCUniversal). WDIV also produced the afternoon variety show The Tony Orlando Show at 4 pm. However, the station's management canceled the program after one year to run the syndicated daytime talk show The Jenny Jones Show.
WDIV later signed
Meteorologist Chuck Gaidica hosted the Michigan Lottery's game shows and his own show. Sports director Bernie Smilovitz also hosted a couple of shows including The Chuck and Bernie Show in which featured then Detroit Pistons coach Chuck Daly, and The Sparky and Bernie Show with Detroit Tigers manager Sparky Anderson. Smilovitz also hosted Bernie's Bloopers/Weekend at Bernie's bloopers specials.
Sports
WDIV was the over-the-air television flagship station of the Detroit Tigers, a relationship that lasted twenty seasons, from 1975 to 1994, and previously from 1947 to 1952. During the majority of WDIV's second tenure as the Tigers' broadcast outlet, Hall of Famers George Kell and Al Kaline served as play-by-play announcer and color analyst, respectively, on the telecasts. Bernie Smiltovitz hosted the station's pregame show, Tigers 'XX ('84, '85, etc.) during most of WDIV's time as the TV home of the Tigers. As a result of the station's carriage of Tigers games (which usually ranged between 40 and 50 telecasts per season, the majority of them on weekends), WDIV preempted or rescheduled any affected NBC programming that was displaced. The station also carried any Tigers games when they were featured nationally as part of NBC's MLB coverage from its 1947 sign-on until 1989; this included World Series victories in 1968 and 1984.
WDIV and WDWB/WMYD shared the over-the-air broadcast rights to the Detroit Pistons, from
The station has also carried the NFL's Detroit Lions, but not as an "official station" partner where it broadcast pre-season and team programming. From 1970 to 1997, via NBC's broadcast contract with the American Football Conference, home interconference contests were aired on channel 4 (which included the Thanksgiving games in some years). Since 2006, Lions games are shown on the station as part of NBC's Sunday Night Football package.
Additionally, through NBC's broadcast contract with the NHL, Detroit Red Wings games were carried until the deal's end in 2021, including the team's winning run through the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals as well as the team's appearance in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, though it often had to compete with CBC Television's CBET-DT across the river in Windsor, which also carries NHL playoff coverage.
Since 2023, the station has carried select Michigan Wolverines football games through NBC's broadcast contract with the Big Ten Conference.
News operation
WDIV-TV presently broadcasts 36+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with six hours each weekday, three hours on Saturdays and 3+1⁄2 hours on Sundays). The station uses a Eurocopter A350 helicopter for newsgathering, which is also shared with WJBK and WXYZ-TV through a Local News Service agreement with those stations' respective owners Fox Television Stations and the E. W. Scripps Company. This helicopter features a completely digital HD video system and is quite noticeable from the ground with its large front camera pod and distinctive red paint (hence the callsign "Red Bird"). WDIV also purchases services from Metro Traffic, which provides traffic reporting from its analog SD video platform, aloft on a Bell 206 airframe. This helicopter is blue and white with a smaller camera pod. Both helicopters are operated by HeliInc, which provides aircraft services to broadcasters in many markets.
WDIV's news department operates a fleet of 14 newsgathering vehicles, including 11 standard news ENG (
On January 8, 2007, the station added a half-hour late afternoon newscast at 4 pm. In the spring of 2007, WDIV received an
In August 2013, WDIV dropped its noon newscast and converted it into an online-only broadcast to attract viewers who are at work during that timeslot. Viewer demand resulted in the station relaunching the noon newscast on the television station on January 13, 2014.[14]
In August 2014, WDIV unveiled a new studio, designed in-house and constructed by the Livonia, Michigan-based company EWI Worldwide.[15]
On November 11, 2016, Carmen Harlan retired after 38 years at the station to spend more time with her grandchildren.[16]
On September 12, 2022, WDIV expanded its noon newscast to a full hour full-time.
Notable current on-air staff
- Devin Scillian – weeknights anchor
Notable former on-air staff
- Asa Aarons – consumer reporter (1990–1993, went to WNBC in New York City)
- Fort Worth)
- Jim Brandstatter – sports producer and reporter (1970s)[17]
- Doug Bruckner – reporter (now at Extra)
- Mort Crim – news anchor/radio reporter (1978–1997, now runs Mort Crim Communications and spokesperson for Majic Windows)
- Vince DeMentri – reporter (1993–1994, most recently at WPIX in New York City)
- Carol Duvall – television personality and noon anchor (1960s–1970s; left for HGTV, died in 2023)
- WWJ-AM, died in 2012)[18]
- Shon Gables – morning anchor (2000–2003, left WCBS-TV in New York City in April 2006; now with WFAA in Dallas–Fort Worth)
- Chris Hansen – investigative reporter/anchor (1988–1993, later at NBC News)[19]
- Fred Hickman – sports anchor (1984–1985, also worked at CNN and ESPN, died in 2022)
- Doug Hill – meteorologist (1980–1982, later at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., died in 2021)
- Davey Marlin-Jones – film critic (1978–1987, also worked at WUSA in Washington, D.C., died in 2004)
- NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, died in 2019)
- Rob Parker – sports anchor, also co-host of Sports Final Edition, now retired
- Anne Thompson – reporter (1986–1997; now at NBC News as correspondent for NBC Nightly News)
- Reynolds Wolf – meteorologist (1999–2002, joined CNN; currently on The Weather Channel)
- Van Earl Wright – sports anchor (1993–1996, was lead announcer of NBC's 2008 revival of American Gladiators)
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
4.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WDIV-HD | NBC |
4.2 | 480i | This TV | This TV | |
4.3 | Me TV | MeTV | ||
4.4 | COZI | Cozi TV | ||
20.2 | 480i | 16:9 | WMYD-AT | Antenna TV (WMYD-DT2) |
WDIV's second digital subchannel formally carried programming from NBC Weather Plus, which folded in November 2008. WDIV-TV also has a Mobile DTV feed of subchannel 4.1, labelled "Local 4", broadcasting at 1.83 Mbit/s.[21][22]
WDIV-DT2 is one of the few affiliates of This TV to have been affiliated with the network through most of its entire history, even as it was dropped in several other markets before Allen Media Group purchased the network in 2021.
On July 30, 2015, WDIV-TV became the market's affiliate for Weigel Broadcasting's MeTV network through their third subchannel. WDIV-DT3 is used as an overflow feed for network and syndicated programming if the latter is pre-empted by breaking news and severe weather coverage on 4.1.
On January 3, 2020, WDIV-TV activated a fourth subchannel, which broadcasts Cozi TV, a network owned by NBC's parent company NBCUniversal. This makes WDIV-TV the third station in the Detroit market to have been affiliated with Cozi TV, which was previously on WMYD and on WADL.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WDIV-TV signed on its digital high-definition signal on UHF 45 on March 1, 1999. The station shut down its analog signal over
using virtual channel 4.As part of the
In March 2017, the station announced that it would move its physical RF channel to UHF channel 32.
Out-of-market coverage
WDIV's over-the-air signal can be picked up as far away as Flint, Lapeer, and Adrian in Michigan, as well as Toledo, Ohio and even London, Ontario. WDIV is also one of only three American stations that mention Windsor and London as among their primary viewing areas, alongside WMYD and WJBK.
WDIV is carried on most cable providers in
CANCOM/Shaw's carriage of WDIV stretches outside of Canada with cable carriage in places as varied as far northern
Coverage on cable providers outside the Detroit–Windsor market may be subject to
See also
References
- ^ "WDIV Makes Television History! Travel Back In Time With Local 4 Firsts! - Inside WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit". Archived from the original on August 5, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
- ^ "Call Letter Origins: The List". Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WDIV-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ WDIV Makes Television History! Travel Back In Time With Local 4 Firsts! Archived August 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (2004). Clickondetroit.com
- ^ "Two more crossowners go thataway" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 12, 1977. pp. 19–21 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "WDIV advertisment" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 17, 1978. pp. 23–25 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Detroit bomb squad gives all-clear after bomb scare at WDIV-TV". Archived from the original on April 16, 2011.
- ^ a b "Channel 4 Schedule: 1988-89 Season - Inside WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit". Archived from the original on July 8, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2007.
- ^ "CBC axes Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune". The Chronicle Herald. May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
- ^ a b "Channel 4 Schedule: 1983-84 Season - Inside WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit". Archived from the original on July 8, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2007.
- ^ "Channel 4 Schedule: 1978-79 Season - Inside WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit". Archived from the original on July 8, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2007.
- ^ "Channel 4 Schedule: 1969-70 Season - About WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit". Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
- ^ "Channel 4 Schedule: 1973-74 Season - About WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit". Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
- TVSpy. January 13, 2014.
- ^ "WDIV Unveils Updated Look". TVSpy. September 5, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
- ^ Riley, Rochelle. "Carmen Harlan to retire from WDIV-TV after 38 years". Detroit Free Press.
- ^ "Jim Brandstatter Biography". Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ "Legendary Detroit weatherman Sonny Eliot dies". WDIV-TV. November 16, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Chris Hansen Biography". NBC News. July 11, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for WDIV". RabbitEars. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- ^ "Mobile DTV Service List". RabbitEars.
- ^ "Mobile DTV Signal Map from the National Association of Broadcasters". Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ "DTV Transition Status Report". Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Updated List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
- The Today Show. (May 2, 2007).