WDEM-CD,

virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...

17 (

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

channel 24), is a low-powered, Class A

Estrella TV Estrella TV () is an American Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by the Estrella Media subsidiary of HPS Investment Partners, LLC. The network primarily features programs, the vast majority of which are produced by the network ...

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, United States. It ceased broadcasting in May 2011 and resumed sometime before August 1, 2013. The station is owned by the HC2 Station Group.

History

The station was founded on January 8, 1986 as W17AI, a Columbus translator signal for owner Wendell A. Triplett's primary television holding, WWAT-TV in Chillicothe. This arrangement, intended to increase the station's reach into the larger Columbus market, was discontinued in 1992, when WWAT (rebranded as WWHO) was added to many Columbus cable lineups. Following its disassociation from the former WWAT, W17AI became a full-time affiliate of the

Home Shopping Network HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flor ...

. In 1998, the station changed its call letters to WDEM-LP and became an affiliate of America's Store, reverting to HSN programming following the discontinuation of America's Store.Digital TV Market Listing for WDEM-CD
/ref> On December 17, 2008, channel 17 was upgraded from low-power status to Class A; accordingly, its callsign was changed to WDEM-CA to reflect this. In February 2009, WDEM, under the new management of David P. Chesnet, dropped its HSN affiliation and repositioned itself as a station focusing on arts, culture, entertainment and lifestyles of the Columbus area. This new format, unique in the market, featured a mix of locally produced programming, older films and classic TV shows. On July 8, 2009, the station's calls changed to WDEM-CD, with the -CD designation standing for "Class A digital television station". Around this time, WDEM converted to digital, with NBC's

Universal Sports Universal Sports was an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network. It was owned as a joint venture between InterMedia Partners (which owned a controlling 92% interest) and NBCUniversal (which owned the remaining 8%). ...

on DT1, local Spanish programming on DT2 and WDEM's local content moved to DT3. In spring of 2010, DT2 became affiliated with

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

. Also around this time, WDEM started producing local programming starting with a 30-minute special covering The Arnold Sports Festival held annually in downtown Columbus; the special was seen as a local insert on

. In July 2010,

Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...

picked up WDEM's Telemundo subchannel on channel 803; also,

WOW! WideOpenWest (doing business as WOW!) is the sixth largest cable operator in the United States with their network passing 3,248,600 homes and businesses. The company offers landline telephone, cable television, and broadband Internet services ...

picked up Telemundo on channel 102 and Universal Sports on channel 103. Neither system carried 17.3, which was discontinued with Universal Sports's move to cable-only distribution as of January 1, 2012. On May 1, 2011, WDEM's

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

was taken off the air due to a technical fault, whose details are unknown; the transmitter was off the air until July 2011, but resumed operations thereafter. On August 1, 2013, WDEM started broadcasting Telemundo on the air, now on 17.1. On February 2, 2017, WDEM began to carry the

Justice Network True Crime Network (formerly Justice Network) is an American digital multicast television network that is operated by True Crime Network, LLC, a limited liability company, which is owned by Tegna Inc. The network specializes in true crime, inv ...

on its second digital subchannel. On April 3, 2019,

HC2 Holdings INNOVATE Corp. (formerly known as HC2 Holdings, Inc. and Primus Telecommunications Group, Inc.) is an American public financial services company founded in 1994. History Beginning (1994–1997) Primus commenced operations in 1994 intent on bei ...

, owner of

Azteca América Azteca América (, sometimes shortened to Azteca) is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by INNOVATE Corp., which acquired the network from the Azteca International Corporation subsidiary of TV Azteca. Headquartered ...

, closed on its acquisition of WDEM from Minority Brands, Inc. for $866,000. On April 19, 2019, WDEM began broadcasting on physical channel 24 with

on DT1. It is no longer a

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

WQMC-LD WQMC-LD, virtual channel 23 and UHF digital terrestrial television, digital channel 15, branded on-air as GTN, is a Low-power broadcasting#Television, low-powered Independent station (North America), independent television station city of licens ...

and no longer simulcasts its programming. Unlike the former physical channel 17, the new channel does not have a directional antenna and is able to reach the entire city of Columbus.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is

multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...

Analog-to-digital conversion

WDEM shut down its analog signal, over

channel 17, on February 17, 2009, and "

flash-cut A flash cut, also called a flash cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period. In the United States, some telephone area codes were split or overlaid immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dia ...

" its digital signal into operation UHF channel 17.

References

External links

Minority Brands, Inc. Website
* {{Other Ohio Stations True Crime Network affiliates Bounce TV affiliates Television channels and stations established in 1986 DEM-CD Low-power television stations in the United States HC2 Holdings