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WDVM-TV

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For the television station in Washington, D.C., that used this callsign from 1978 to 1986, seeWUSA (TV).

WDVM-TV
CityHagerstown, Maryland
Channels
BrandingDC News Now
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WDCW
History
First air date
January 3, 1970
(54 years ago)(1970-01-03)
Former call signs
WHAG-TV (1970–2017)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:25 (UHF, 1970–2009)
  • Digital:55 (UHF, 2001–2009), 26 (UHF, 2009–2019)
Call signmeaning
West Virginia,District of Columbia,Virginia,Maryland
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID25045
ERP
HAAT
  • 376.9 m (1,237 ft)
  • 449 m (1,473 ft) (CP)[2][3]
Transmitter coordinates
Translator(s)WDCW-DT 25.1 (15.7 UHF)Washington, D.C.
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.dcnewsnow

WDVM-TV(channel 25) is anindependent television stationlicensed toHagerstown, Maryland,United States, serving theWashington, D.C.,television market.It is owned byNexstar Media GroupalongsideCWowned-and-operated stationWDCW(channel 50). The two stations share studios on Wisconsin Avenue in theGlover Parksection of Washington; WDVM-TV's transmitter is located on Fairview Mountain, west ofClear Spring, Maryland.

History[edit]

The station signed on the air as WHAG-TV on January 3, 1970. It was originally owned by Warren Adler along with WHAG radio inHalfway(AM 1410and FM 96.7, nowWDLD). WHAG-TV's original analog transmitter was to be on top of the Hagerstown Motor Inn (now the Alexander House) but was rejected due to structural incompatibility. A site on Fairview Mountain would become the location of the analog signal on UHF channel 25. The station was anNBCaffiliate; network anchorsChet HuntleyandDavid Brinkleywelcomed the station to the network duringtheir newscastthat night.[4]

Adler Communications sold WHAG-TV to Sheldon and Samuel Magazine of Washington, D.C., in 1973. The Magazine brothers then sold it to local aviation pioneer Richard Henson in 1977. Henson then sold the station to Great Trails Broadcasting in 1981. Great Trails then exited broadcasting and sold WHAG along with 2 of its stations—WFFT-TVinFort Wayne, Indiana,andKSVIinBillings, Montana,to Quorum Broadcasting in 1998 for $65 million.[4][5]

On September 8, 2003,Nexstar Broadcasting Groupannounced that it would acquire Quorum Broadcasting and its stations (including WHAG-TV) for $230 million.[6][7]The sale was completed onDecember 31,2003.[8]

Loss of NBC affiliation[edit]

Former logo as WHAG-TV

NBC confirmed toThe Herald-Mailthat it was declining to renew its affiliation with WHAG on February 19, 2016; the station ceased broadcasting network programming on July 1. A factor in this decision was perceived competition withnetwork-ownedWRC-TV,and the network taking a 'one in each market' approach to affiliates for ratings purposes. Since 2014, NBC revoked affiliations from several affiliates, including WHAG-TV,WMGM-TV(whose broadcast area was served by network-ownedWCAU), andKENV-DT(whose broadcast area was served byKSL-TV), that functioned as secondary NBC stations serving outlying areas of their larger markets.[9]In addition to expanding local news, WHAG-TV also added programs fromHeroes & Iconsat the time.[10]The last NBC program to air on WHAG wasLast Call with Carson Daly.

As WDVM-TV[edit]

Former logo as WDVM-TV

On July 1, 2017, the station rebranded itself and adopted the call sign WDVM-TV. The change came after the station expanded its coverage area by 1.2 million households, with news director Mark Kraham stating that "we wanted to make it clear that we're not just a Hagerstown station".[11]The callsign had previously been used in the market by what is nowWUSAfrom 1978 to 1986.

On December 3, 2018, Nexstar announced it would acquire the assets ofChicago-basedTribune Media—which has owned Washington-basedCWaffiliateWDCW(channel 50) since 1999—for $6.4 billion in cash and debt.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]The sale was approved by theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) on September 16 and was completed on September 19, 2019, forming a nominal duopoly with WDCW.[22]

On July 1, 2019, all Heroes & Icons programming was dropped in favor of additional syndicated programming.[23]Nexstar began repositioning WDVM-TV as a news-intensive independent station focused on the Washington market, first combining the operations of their two stations by bringing WDCW and WDVM-TV under the same management in February 2020.[24]Later in the year, WDVM-TV added rebroadcasts of syndicated programming seen on WDCW, while that station added a standard-definition simulcast to allow over-the-air coverage of WDVM-TV to the entire market along with expanded cable and satellite carriage. In December 2023, Nexstar applied to the FCC to move WDVM-TV's transmitter site to a tower at Blue Mountain nearFront Royal, Virginia,along with a power increase to 1,000 kW; the move was to substantially increase over-the-air coverage of Washington and suburban northern Virginia while still covering the Hagerstown area.[2][3]

After the FCC requested several rounds of reports and technical changes to minimize the population in rural Maryland and Pennsylvania that would lose what the commission considers adequate local broadcast television coverage (within theLongley-Ricenoise-limited contour of five full-power orClass Astations), the relocation was approved on February 12, 2024. The relocation has yet to occur, as the presence ofDaystar'sWDDN-LDand WDWA-LD on channel 23 in Washington andBurke, Virginia,respectively, present another technical obstacle.

News operation[edit]

Right from the start (January 3, 1970), WHAG began offering local newscasts withThe Valley Newswhich aired weeknights at 6, 7, and 11 p.m. The original anchors were Bob Witt with news, Glenn Presgraves with sports, and Bill Wolfinger forecasting the weather. Wolfinger also did a Saturday night horror movie show where he would be in costume similar to Lon Chaney. The news department expanded in 1972 to include weekend evening broadcasts at 11 that totaled six hours of local news per week. By the year 2000, news content increased to over 22 hours of broadcasts per week. In 1997, WHAG added a microwave truck allowing the transmitting of live breaking news from the viewing area.[4]On February 12, 2010, the station switched its on-air and news brandings from "NBC 25" andNBC 25 Newsto "WHAG" andWHAG News,respectively.

Outside of a few senior staffers, the station's news department mainly acted as a "farm team"operation that features new journalists and behind the scenes staff who have graduated from their schools looking for experience at a small-market television station and serve as"one man band"personnel that shoot, write, and edit their own stories, and eventually move on to further opportunities in larger markets. The station operates a bureau on East Patrick Street (MD 144) inFrederick.

On August 30, 2010, WHAG added a half hour to its weekday noon and 5 p.m. newscasts. Until this point unlike most NBC affiliates in theEastern Time Zone,the station had not aired a broadcast weeknights at 5:30. It still does not offer a full two-hour weekday morning newscast. There is now a half hour broadcast on Monday-Saturday nights at 7. On weekends, an hour-long morning show at 6 a.m. as well as a half hour Sunday morning broadcast at 9 p.m. were added. In addition, aNorthern VirginiaBureau coveringChantilly,Leesburg,Berryville,andWinchesterwas opened. Although not a full news department, this is now the second local news operation established in those areas afterTV3 Winchesterlaunched on March 5, 2007. All of the preceding changes required the expansion of WHAG's personnel.[25][26]On October 21, 2013, WHAG began broadcasting its local newscasts inhigh definition.

Nexstar undertook a major expansion of WDVM-TV's news operation that launched on July 1, 2016, the same day the station lost its NBC affiliation. While it broadcasts standard newscasts at 5:30 a.m., 6 a.m., noon, 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m., the 7 a.m., 7 p.m., and 11 p.m. hours are also set aside for Maryland- (I-270News) and Northern Virginia-specific (Nova News) coverage. WDVM-TV also simulcasts Nexstar-ownedWOWK-TV'sTonight Liveat 5:30 p.m.[27][28][29]

On July 11, 2022, Nexstar moved WDVM-TV's primary studios from Hagerstown to Washington and rebranded newscasts asDC News Now,along with changing many of the on-air personality and anchor lineups. The former studios in Hagerstown are now used as a bureau, alongside the existing Frederick and Chantilly bureaus. On July 25, another newscast expansion occurred, with the morning newscast expanding to four hours, the 5 p.m. newscast expanding to an hour (which also resulted in the move of the WOWK-producedTonight Liveto 11:30 p.m.), and the addition of a new 9 p.m. newscast. WDVM-TV's 10 p.m. newscast moved to WDCW and the 11 p.m. newscast was replaced by a half-hour sports program.[30]

Subchannels[edit]

The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WDVM-TV[31]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
25.1 1080i 16:9 WDVM-DT Main WDVM-TV programming
25.2 480i ION Mys Ion Mystery
25.3 Rewind Rewind TV
25.4 HSN HSN

WHAG's broadcasts became digital-only, effective June 12, 2009.[32][33]

As part of the spectrum repacking process following the FCC'sincentive auction,WDVM changed from channel 26 to 23 on August 2, 2019. However, its virtual channel number remains 25.[34]

The effective reach of WDVM-TV's signal is the valley stretching from Hagerstown toMartinsburg, West Virginia,and Winchester, Virginia, far from the core of the Washington market. Its main channel only is simulcast in 480i widescreen standard definition (virtual channel 25.1) on the Washington-based signal of WDCW in order to cover the rest of the market.[35]

Cable and satellite carriage[edit]

Recently,[when?][36]it has been added to theDish Networklineup of local offerings and is available to subscribers that currently receive the Washington, D.C. market locals. WDVM-TV had also been seen on Dish as the default NBC affiliate for theSalisburytelevision market, as that market did not have an NBC affiliate of its own until June 2014, whenWRDE-LDin nearbyRehoboth Beach, Delaware,switched its affiliation to NBC. It is also viewed inwidescreenstandard definition onVerizon FiOSin Montgomery County, Maryland.

On February 26, 2020, WDVM-TV was added toDirecTV's lineup of local offerings and, like with rival Dish, is also available to subscribers that currently receive the Washington, D.C. market locals. It is seen on channel 25 and only in high definition.[37]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for WDVM-TV".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^abcd"Modification of a Licensed Facility for DTV Application".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.February 12, 2024.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  3. ^abcd"WDVM-TV Facility Data".FCCData.REC Networks.RetrievedDecember 1,2020.
  4. ^abcContact Us - Your4State– viaWayback Machine
  5. ^"Changing Hands"(PDF).Broadcasting & Cable.November 16, 1998. p. 65.
  6. ^"WHAG - Nexstar Broadcasting".
  7. ^Nexstar to acquire Quorum Broadcasting - Dallas Business Journal
  8. ^"Nexstar completes $230M buy of Quorum Broadcast".Dallas Business Journal.December 31, 2003.
  9. ^"Official: NBC affiliation ending with WHAG-TV".The Herald-Mail.February 19, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 19,2016.
  10. ^"WDVM-TV HAGERSTOWN, MD".rabbitears.info.
  11. ^Fogle, Hans (June 29, 2017)."WHAG to become WDVM".1340 WEPM.RetrievedJune 30,2017.
  12. ^"Acquisition of Tribune Media Company"(PDF).Nexstar Media Group.December 3, 2018.
  13. ^Miller, Mark K. (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar Buying Tribune Media For $6.4 Billion".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheck Media.
  14. ^White, Peter; Hayes, Dade (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar Confirms $4.1B Tribune Media Acquisition To Become Leading Local TV Station Owner".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Media Corporation.
  15. ^Smith, Gerry; Ahmed, Nabila; Newcomer, Eric (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar to buy WGN owner Tribune Media for $4.1 billion".Chicago Tribune.Tribune Publishing.Bloomberg News.
  16. ^Panchadar, Arjun; Rai, Sonam (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar to buy Tribune Media for $4.1 billion".Reuters.
  17. ^Lafayette, Jon (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar Announces Deal to Buy Tribune for $6.4B".Broadcasting & Cable.NewBay Media.
  18. ^Jacobson, Adam (December 3, 2018)."It's Official: Nexstar Takes Tribune In Billion-Dollar Stock Deal".Radio-Television Business Report.Streamline-RBR, Inc.
  19. ^Jessell, Harry A.; Miller, Mark K. (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar To Spin Off $1B In Stations".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheck Media.
  20. ^"Nexstar Media Group Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Tribune Media Company for $6.4 Billion in Accretive Transaction Creating the Nation's Largest Local Television Broadcaster and Local Media Company".Nexstar Media Group.December 3, 2018.RetrievedDecember 3,2018.
  21. ^"Nexstar Media Group Enters Into Definitive Agreement To Acquire Tribune Media Company".Tribune Media.December 3, 2018.RetrievedDecember 3,2018.
  22. ^"Nexstar Media Group, Inc. | Stations".
  23. ^"H&I | Where to Watch H&I".H&I.
  24. ^"Nexstar Media Group Promotes Andrew Wyatt to Manage All of its Broadcasting and Digital Operations in the Washington, D.C. Area".Nexstar Media Group.February 3, 2020.
  25. ^"WHAG to Expand Coverage and Newscasts on Monday".Your4state.RetrievedOctober 14,2012.
  26. ^"WHAG Schedule 2010"(PDF).Your4state.RetrievedOctober 14,2012.
  27. ^"Nexstar Buys 4 W.Va. TVs For $130M".TVNewsCheck.RetrievedFebruary 19,2016.
  28. ^Brown, Andrew (November 17, 2015)."WV Media Holdings selling 4 TV stations to Texas company".Charleston Gazette-Mail.RetrievedNovember 24,2015.
  29. ^"WHAG Announces $1M Local News Expansion".TVNewsCheck.RetrievedFebruary 19,2016.
  30. ^"DC News Now Names Anchor Line-up for Expanded Local News Operation Serving Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia"(PDF).LocalDVM.June 8, 2022.RetrievedJune 16,2022.
  31. ^"RabbitEars.Info".rabbitears.info.
  32. ^"Analog Service Termination Notiification".Federal Communications Commission.March 17, 2009.
  33. ^"DTV Transition Status Report".Federal Communications Commission.June 12, 2009.
  34. ^"WDVM Rescan Day".WDVM 25.Nexstar Media Group.July 17, 2019.RetrievedJuly 24,2019.
  35. ^"RabbitEars.Info".rabbitears.info.
  36. ^"How to Watch WDVM 25".WDVM-TV 25. January 9, 2020.
  37. ^How to Find WDVM in Your Viewing Area

External links[edit]

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