WMDN

For the radio station in Midland, Michigan, that previously used this call sign, seeWMPX (AM).

WMDN

Meridian, Mississippi United States
Channels	Digital:24 (UHF) Virtual:24
Branding	CBS 24
Programming
Affiliations	24.1:CBS for others, see§ Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Big Horn Television (BRTV LicenseLLC)
Operator	Coastal Television Broadcasting Company LLC viaLMA
Sister stations	WGBC
History
First air date	June 10, 1968(1968-06-10)(original incarnation) March 23, 1972(1972-03-23)(second incarnation) February 2, 1994(1994-02-02)(current incarnation)
Last air date	October 13, 1970(1970-10-13)(original incarnation) 1991(1991)(second incarnation)
Former call signs	WHTV (1968–1970, 1972–1986) WTZH (1986–1991)
Former channel number(s)	Analog:24 (UHF, 1968–1970, 1972–1991, 1994–2009) Digital:26 (UHF, 2001–2009)
Former affiliations	CBS (1968–1970) ABC(secondary, 1968–1970 and 1972–1980) Dark(1970–1972, 1991–1994) NBC(1972–1980, as satellite ofWTVA) NBC (secondary, 1980–1982) Fox(NFLgames, 1994–1997)
Call signmeaning	Meridian
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	73255
ERP	616 kW
HAAT	182.1 m (597 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	32°19′40″N88°41′31″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.twinstates.news

WMDN(channel 24) is atelevision stationinMeridian, Mississippi,United States, affiliated withCBS.It is owned by Big Horn Television, which maintains alocal marketing agreement(LMA) with Coastal Television Broadcasting CompanyLLC,owner of dualFoxandNBCaffiliateWGBC(channel 30), for the provision of certain services. The two stations share studios and transmitter facilities on Crestview Circle, inunincorporatedLauderdale County,south of Meridian. Together, WMDN and WGBC are known as "The Meridian Family of Stations".

History

The station started operations on channel 24 on June 10, 1968, under the call sign WHTV. It was originally owned by the Delta Communications Corporation,which was presided over by local businessmen Weyman Walker, and James Britton. WHTV aired programs from CBS andABCin a secondary manner.Like many UHF start-ups in a previouslyVHFmarket,this channel could not gain a significant foothold in ratings or local advertising, especially against the establishedWTOK-TV,a CBS primary affiliate, and had to godarkon October 13, 1970.

On March 23, 1972,Frank K. Spainbought WHTV and made it a full-timesatelliteof his WTWV (nowWTVA) inTupelo,which was affiliated withNBC.It also rebroadcast some ABC programs carried by WTWV/WTVA such ascollege football.Television listings during this time instructed viewers to consult WTWV's listings for WHTV's program schedule. This changed on April 1, 1980, when Spain opted to convert WHTV into a stand-alone station, making it the primary CBS affiliate for Meridian after WTOK changed its affiliation to ABC. WHTV continued to air NBC programsThe Today ShowandThe Tonight Showin the early 1980s; however, the rest of the network's programming was not seen for about two years by area residents except those who could receive, whether over the air or by cable, eitherJackson'sWLBTorHattiesburg'sWDAM.In 1982, NBC returned to the market on WLBM (now WGBC) as asemi-satelliteof WLBT. Meanwhile, in 1986, WHTV changed call letters to WTZH.

The station had to leave the air for a second time because of financial troubles in 1991, leaving eastern Mississippi and portions of westernAlabamawithout a locally-based CBS affiliate. During the gap, Hattiesburg'sWHLTand occasionallySelma, Alabama'sWAKAwere carried by Comcast to provide CBS programming to cable subscribers. Others may have received Jackson'sWJTVover the air. Finally, the Spain family returned channel 24 to the air as WMDN on February 2, 1994, in time for theWinter OlympicsinLillehammer,Norway. Fromthat yearuntil1997,the station airedNational Football Leaguegames fromFox(which had actually acquired these games fromCBS).

In 1995, WMDN entered into alocal marketing agreement(LMA) with WGBC. In January 2008,Austin, Texasbusinessman Wade Threadgill purchased the station and its LMA with WGBC, ending 36 years of Spain family, and Mississippi-based, ownership. On January 5, 2009, Fox moved its affiliation from WTOK to WGBC as the primary affiliation in full HD. Both Fox and NBC programming were then offered in HD on WGBC. This move provided WMDN and WGBC the full complement of three of the Big Four network affiliates.

In 2014, WMDN switched its AccuWeather service on the digital subchannel to entertainment programmingBounce TVon 24.2, and adding NBC-ownedCozi TVon 24.3.

WMDN's license was planned to be spun off to Lance Media,which would have entered into ashared servicesagreement (SSA) with WGBC (whichStandard Mediawould have acquired outright as part of its purchase of most of the Waypoint Media stations). However, with the collapse of the Waypoint-Standard Media deal in early January 2021, the sale to Lance Media also fell apart.

In July 2021, Waypoint announced that it would sell nine of its television stations, including WGBC, toCumming, Georgia—based Coastal Television for $36.9 million. WMDN would be sold to Big Horn Television for $2.55 million and operated by Coastal under a LMA. The sale was completed on January 4, 2022.

News operation

In 1994, local newscasts on weeknights at 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. were added to the schedules of WMDN and WGBC. From 1991 until 1994, WGBC aired news during the week under the brandingWGBC News 30.Those broadcasts ended after local businessman Alex Shields bought majority control of the station. With the introduction of a news department, WMDN simulcasted all of its shows on WGBC as a result of the LMA. Therefore, the newscasts were branded as24/30 News.The title changed toWMDN Newswhen the broadcasts were dropped from WGBC's lineup. WMDN also aired an hour-long weekday morning show at 6:00 a.m. for a short time. Despite winning the award for the state's best newscast two years in a row, management decided to cease the production of local news on June 30, 2005. In 2008, under new ownership, the stations began producing and airing five-minute local news, community affairs and weather cut-ins during CBS and NBC morning programming. On September 25, 2017, local newscasts returned to WMDN when the station commissioned theIndependent News NetworkinLittle Rock, Arkansas,to produce partly-centralized 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. newscasts on both WMDN and sister station WGBC's DT2 subchannel, collectively namedTwin States News.Waypoint Media purchased the Independent News Network's centralized news operation in June 2019 and renamed it toNews Hub;News Hub was purchased by Coastal Television in July 2021.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WMDN

Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
24.1	1080i	16:9	WMDN-HD	Main WMDN programming /CBS
24.2	480i		Bounce	Bounce TV
24.3			Metv	MeTV
24.4			Grit	Grit
24.5			Laff	Laff
24.6			Mystery	Ion Mystery
24.7			Defy	Ion Plus
24.8			Newsy	Scripps News

Analog-to-digital conversion

WMDN shut down its analog signal, broadcast overUHFchannel 24, on June 12, 2009, the official date when full-power television stations in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcastsunder federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 26 to channel 24 for post-transition operations.

External links

• Official website