WRDW-TV

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Coordinates: 33°24′37″N 81°50′36″W / 33.41028°N 81.84333°W / 33.41028; -81.84333
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

WRDW-TV
CP)[1]
HAAT
  • 485 m (1,591 ft)
  • 483.6 m (1,587 ft) (CP)[1]
Transmitter coordinates33°24′37″N 81°50′36″W / 33.41028°N 81.84333°W / 33.41028; -81.84333
Translator(s)W20EW-D, W33ER-D, W35DV-D
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wrdw.com

WRDW-TV (channel 12) is a

CW+ affiliate WAGT-CD (channel 26) and low-power Telemundo affiliate WGAT-LD (channel 28). The three stations share studios at The Village at Riverwatch development in Augusta;[4] WRDW-TV's transmitter is located in Beech Island, South Carolina
.

History

WRDW-TV commenced operations in February 1954; it is the second-oldest television station in Augusta.

CBS Radio Network. However, it shared ABC with then-primary NBC affiliate WJBF
(channel 6).

In 1956, Radio Augusta was sold to the

Augusta Chronicle.[7][8]

On September 1, 1967, WJBF switched its primary affiliation to ABC, and began splitting NBC with WRDW-TV.[9] This was very unusual for a two-station market, especially one as small as Augusta. However, WJBF's namesake owner, J. B. Fuqua, wanted to get that station in line with two ABC affiliates he had just purchased, WTVW in Evansville, Indiana, and KTHI-TV (now KVLY-TV) in Fargo, North Dakota.

When WATU (channel 26, later WAGT) appeared as the market's third station in late 1968, NBC allowed WRDW-TV and WJBF to keep their secondary NBC affiliations because of WATU's painfully weak signal. This situation mostly shut WATU out of access to network programming, thereby forcing it to go dark in 1970. Channel 12 continued to split NBC with WJBF until WATU resumed broadcasting in 1974 with a primary NBC affiliation. WATU's return forced channel 12 to drop NBC programming for good, per a 1971 FCC order that required VHF stations in markets with three or more commercial outlets to affiliate with only one network.

In 1960, the Morrises exited Augusta broadcasting, with channel 12 being sold to what would eventually become

WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio, to Television Station Partners, a group composed of Ziff Davis's broadcast executives, in 1983.[13]
Television Station Partners sold off all of its stations in early January 1996, with WRDW going to Gray Communications Systems (now Gray Television).

Ever since CBS began broadcasting the

flagship station of the annual golf tournament played at Augusta National Golf Club
.

On July 12, 2018, WRDW broke ground on a new building to replace its facility in

putting green.[16]

Programming

Unlike most Gray-owned CBS stations, WRDW-TV does not carry the entire CBS schedule; the station does not carry the entirety of CBS' weekday overnight lineup—it carries the

CBS Morning News
; as a result, the latter program does not air in the Augusta market.

News operation

Until Gray Television purchased WRDW, the station had been a solid runner-up to longtime leader WJBF. In the mid-1990s, WRDW began a steady ratings growth to overcome WJBF in several newscasts. The two stations remain the market's fiercest competitors with WAGT and WFXG trailing far behind the two leaders.

WRDW has been recognized numerous times for its journalism, particularly in the areas of investigative, documentary, and breaking news. Over the past 16 years, WRDW has received 15 Regional Murrow Awards, 2 National Murrow Awards, a National Sigma Delta Chi Award, and dozens of honors from the Georgia Associated Press and Georgia Association of Broadcasters.

On January 24, 2011, WRDW launched local newscasts in high definition with the midday newscast. It is the first station in the area to do so.

enhanced definition widescreen
graphics that debuted just 4 months before, but fully animated.

WRDW-TV had the longest-running news anchor team in the market with Richard Rogers and Laurie Ott seen weeknights at 6 and 11. The two were together on-air from the mid-1990s until September 2007 when Laurie Ott left to pursue other career opportunities. For much of the last 25 years, WRDW did not offer a newscast weeknights at 5:30, opting instead to carry Inside Edition. Starting in September 2017, WRDW launched a nationally focused 5:30 p.m. newscast; while Inside Edition moved to WAGT weeknights at 6.

From March 2016 to September 2017, all of WRDW's newscasts with the exception of the midday newscast were simulcast by WAGT; the station also produced exclusive 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. newscasts for WAGT, broadcast from a separate news set with different anchors.

WAGT's 5:30 p.m. newscast was scrapped in September 2017 for a 30-minute 4 p.m. newscast. In addition, the 6 p.m. is no longer simulcasted on WAGT and all newscasts outside the 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. are branded News 12. While WAGT's 7 p.m. newscast continues to maintain different anchors and set, the 4 p.m. utilizes a virtual set and is anchored by WRDW's Richard Rogers. Periodically, WRDW will use the main set and main anchors for the WAGT newscasts in the event that WAGT's 7 p.m. anchor Kelly Wiley is out.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is

multiplexed
:

Subchannels of WRDW-TV[18]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
12.1 1080i
16:9
 WRDW-DT CBS
12.2 WAGTNBC NBC (WAGT-CD)
12.3 480i MyNet MyNetworkTV
12.4 Circle
The365
12.5 TruCrim True Crime Network
12.6 Defy Defy TV
12.7 COZI Cozi TV
  Simulcast of subchannels of another station

In 2004, WRDW-DT2 signed on as a UPN affiliate, replacing WBEK-CA (now sister station WAGT-CD) as the market's affiliate. WRDW-DT2 later became a MyNetworkTV affiliate when that network launched on September 5, 2006.

WRDW-TV previously carried weather information on 12.3. In January 2011, it was replaced with The Country Network, which in turn was replaced with Antenna TV in late May 2013.

By spring 2017, WRDW-DT2 upgraded its over-the-air digital signal into 1080i high definition; thus offering over-the-air access to the high definition feed for MyNetworkTV for the first time in the Augusta market.[19]

On May 1, 2019, WRDW added a simulcast of WAGT on DT2, thus moving MyNetworkTV to DT3 and dropping Antenna TV.

Analog-to-digital conversion

WRDW-TV turned off its analog signal, 12, on June 12, 2009. The station then changed its pre-transition

UHF
channel 31 to VHF channel 12.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Channel Substitution/Community of License Change". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  2. ^ "Report & Order", Media Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, May 5, 2021, Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WRDW-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^ LeBlanc, Sarah. "WRDW planning move to Augusta". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  5. Broadcasting - Telecasting, February 8, 1954, pg. 52. [1][permanent dead link
    ]
  6. ^ "Seven TVs win FCC approval; Augusta gets its first grants." Broadcasting - Telecasting, September 21, 1953, pg. 48. [2][permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "WRDW-AM-TV sold Friday to newspaper for $1 Million."[permanent dead link] Broadcasting - Telecasting, December 5, 1955, pg. 7.
  8. ^ "WRDW-AM-TV purchase goes up for FCC approval." Broadcasting - Telecasting, January 2, 1956, pg. 58.
  9. ^ "WJBF (TV) goes primary ABC."[permanent dead link] Broadcasting, August 14, 1967, pg. 52.
  10. ^ "Changing Hands." Broadcasting, February 8, 1960, pg. 77. [3][permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Brown gets 2d station." Broadcasting, February 17, 1969, pg. 10 [4][permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "In Brief." Broadcasting, July 4, 1977, pg. 21. [5][permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Ziff spins off four TV's to Pompador." Broadcasting, July 26, 1982, pp. 31-27. Accessed February 8, 2020. [6][7]
  14. ^ "Gray Breaks Ground on New Station in Georgia". Broadcasting & Cable. July 12, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  15. ^ "Gray Television Inc. breaks ground for new WRDW, WAGT station along Riverwatch Parkway in Augusta". The Augusta Chronicle. July 12, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  16. ^ "Gray Aims For A Hole In One In Augusta". TVNewsCheck.com. August 9, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  17. ^ "Augusta TV station begins local HD broadcasting". The Augusta Chronicle. January 25, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  18. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WRDW". RabbitEars.info.
  19. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WRDW-TV

External links

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