WFDC-DT (channel 14) is a
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 to
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
and
UniMás
UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is ...
networks to the
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
area.
Owned and operated
In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
by
TelevisaUnivision, the station maintains studios on
Constitution Avenue near the
Capitol Building, and a transmitter in the
Tenleytown
Tenleytown is a historic neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, D.C.
History
In 1790, locals began calling the neighborhood "Tennally's Town" after area tavern owner John Tennally. Over time, the spelling has evolved and by the 19th century th ...
section of Washington's
northwest quadrant.
History
Prior history of channel 14 in Washington
Channel 14 first signed on as WOOK-TV on March 5, 1963 as the first television station in the country aimed at the
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
demographic. WOOK's claim to fame was their teen-oriented dance show called ''
Teenarama'', which featured big-name acts such as
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
and
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
. In 1968, the station changed its call letters to WFAN-TV to match its co-owned radio station at
100.3 FM
The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on FM broadcasting, FM frequency 100.3 MHz:
Argentina
* Trip in Rosario, Santa Fe
* Pueblo Esther in Pueblo Esther, Santa Fe
Australia
* 2MCR in Campbelltown, New South Wales
* ABC ...
. From 1968 to 1972, channel 14 was the sister station to
WMET-TV
WMET-TV was a television station operating on channel 24 in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1967 to 1972. It was owned by the United Broadcasting Company and served as a semi-satellite of its WOOK-TV/WFAN-TV in Washington, D.C., with some locally orig ...
(channel 24) in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. Both stations were owned by United Broadcasting. On February 12, 1972, WFAN-TV went dark after accumulating financial difficulties and due to license hearings affecting its sister stations.
Channel 14 was back on the air in 1976 in the form of translator W14AA, relaying
Central Virginia Educational Television Corporation's
WNVT
WNVT, virtual channel 23.3 (ultra high frequency, UHF digital terrestrial television, digital channel 22), is a World Channel-network affiliate, affiliated television station city of license, licensed to Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, Unite ...
from
Annandale, Virginia.
CVETC attempted to have the full-powered channel 14 allocation moved to Fairfax, but this request caused controversy among
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
elected officials and other interested applicants who argued that the city was under-served by local television. CVETC accepted the allocation of channel 56 to Fairfax as a compromise, and upon the sign-on of
WNVC NVC is an abbreviation for:
* National Visa Center, a center that is part of the U.S. Department of State that holds immigrant visa petitions till they can be processed and then arranges for a visa interview for the beneficiaries of the petition.
* ...
in June 1981 W14AA was no longer necessary.
CVETC received special approval to broadcast
Congressional
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
hearings in the interim; later in the year, the station was sold to Los Cerezos Television Co., who converted it to an affiliate of the
Spanish International Network
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
(Univision's predecessor). This station moved to channel 48 in 1989 and is today
WMDO-CD
WMDO-CD (channel 47) is a low-power, Class A television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with LATV. It is owned by Entravision Communications alongside Silver Spring, Maryland–licensed NTD America affiliate WJAL (channel 68).
History ...
.
WFDC station history
In 1985, the channel 14 allocation was awarded to Theodore M. White's Urban Broadcasting Corporation. The plan was to enter the market of general independent stations, dominated by
WTTG (channel 5) and
WDCA (channel 20) and soon to be joined by
WFTY (channel 50);
Milton Grant, who founded WDCA, consulted White on programming acquisition. Although the station claimed to the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' it was aiming to start operations in the spring of 1986, legal wrangling continued among competing applicants delayed sign-on.
It was a further seven years before WTMW signed on April 3, 1993 as a Home Shopping Network (
HSN
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 ...
) affiliate.
Barry Diller's Silver King Broadcasting, predecessor to HSN's broadcasting arm,
USA Broadcasting
USA Broadcasting was an United States of America, American television broadcasting company owned by the veteran entertainment industry executive Barry Diller. This company was the over-the-air broadcasting arm of USA Networks. Before founding US ...
, had taken a 45% stake in the station in 1989 in order to keep it afloat.
Urban Broadcasting filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
less than two years later, on July 3, 1995.
As part of WTMW's plan to emerge from bankruptcy, it agreed to begin broadcasting HSN's secondary network
America's Store
America's Store was a US shopping television network. It was the spin-off channel to the Home Shopping Network (HSN). On April 3, 2007, America's Store ceased broadcasting permanently.
America's Store (AS) began in 1988 as the Home Shopping ...
in 1997. A further dispute arose over this agreement. WTMW was originally licensed with an
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...
of 2,880
kilowatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s. While testing its signal before sign-on, it was discovered that WTMW caused interference to local
land mobile
Mobile radio or mobiles refer to wireless communications systems and devices which are based on radio frequencies(using commonly UHF or VHF frequencies), and where the path of communications is movable on either end. There are a variety of view ...
radio operations, and the filters required to reduce out-of-band transmissions necessitated a permanent reduction in power to 2,541 kW. However, the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) granted WTMW authorization to sign on with 1,440 kW, half of the original power. There were further issues with the transmitting equipment due to failed
klystrons; bankruptcy proceedings revealed WTMW broadcast for a "substantial amount of time" at just 360 kW, or one-eighth of the original power. HSN's agreement with WTMW required it to broadcast at its full authorized power to receive compensation from the network; over HSN's objections that Urban Broadcasting was not capable of remedying the transmitter issues, the court found that it was and allowed the agreement to stand. After emerging from bankruptcy, WTMW claimed that its interpretation of the contract set the power requirement at 1,271 kW (i.e., half of 2,541), and not 1,440 kW, which triggered another lawsuit with HSN over which was correct.
The lawsuits over the affiliation contract were decided in HSN's favor, and on May 10, 1999, White removed America's Store programming due to non-payment and began broadcasting the Military Channel without warning. Irate viewers flooded local cable companies, who were not aware of the change themselves, with phone calls. The Military Channel, similar in programming but unrelated to
Discovery Communications
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chann ...
'
later cable channel of the same name, had broadcast to just one million cable homes since 1993, but underwent aggressive expansion through satellite carriage and
leased access to cable networks starting in 1998. When this did not deliver viewers, the network spent most of 1999 beset by financial trouble; WTMW was its only documented over-the-air affiliate. After several deals to rescue its operations fell through, the Military Channel went dark for good in July. WTMW left the network early on June 12. White said to the ''Post'' that the military programming was deeply unpopular, and "people seemed to want shopping back on our channel." Shopping returned by way of the cable-based Panda Shopping Network, which had been newly acquired by pay-per-view operator
TVN Entertainment Corporation
Vubiquity, Inc. is a Burbank, California-based provider of content monetization, distribution and processing technology used by entertainment and media companies. The company ensures its client's video content is properly formatted, licensed and t ...
.
WTMW became an affiliate of the
American Independent Network, which primarily broadcast reruns of old
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
s and
infomercial
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
s, on December 20 of the same year. Without the fixed income from its HSN affiliation, however, Urban Broadcasting filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy again in August 2000.
Concurrently in December, Univision Communications bought all of USA Broadcasting's over-the-air stations including its 45% stake in WTMW.
After two years with AIN, WTMW switched to the locally-based "Renaissance Network" around its launch on January 15, 2001, which provided the same general-entertainment format mixed with current affairs and politics programming with conservative viewpoints. This was short-lived, as Univision Communications purchased WTMW outright along with the rest of Urban Broadcasting's assets in an April 2001 bankruptcy auction.
Univision already had an established Washington affiliate,
Entravision Communications' WMDO-CA, so the rechristened WFDC instead became a charter affiliate of Univision's new secondary network
TeleFutura, now known as UniMás, on January 14, 2002.
This arrangement presented the obvious deficiency of Univision's primary network remaining on a low-powered station that was not subject to
must-carry rules. On
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
, 2006, Univision Communications entered into a 16-year
joint sales agreement
In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or time ...
(JSA) with Entravision, in which Entravision agreed to cede the market's Univision affiliation to WFDC in return for taking over its operation and advertising sales. WMDO-CA switched networks to TeleFutura on the same day. WMDO-CD and WFDC are to remain with their respective networks until the agreement's expiration on December 31, 2021, and the Univision affiliation automatically returns to WMDO-CD if the agreement expires or is terminated early.
On April 3, 2014,
Katz Broadcasting announced plans to multicast
Grit and Escape (now
Ion Mystery) on WFDC's DT3 and DT4 subchannels. The two networks began broadcasting on August 18, 2014. Escape was replaced by Katz's
Bounce TV
Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...
on September 30, 2017.
News operation
After switching from TeleFutura to Univision, the station continued its news department. It broadcast six hours of news on weekdays and two hours of news on the weekends. On September 30, 2012, ''Buenos Días DC'', the first Spanish morning news show in the Washington market, debuted. The show was produced by Silvana Quiroz, who is also the anchor sharing cameras with co-anchor Nestor Bravo. The morning news magazine ran from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. On April 19, 2014, a weekend newscast debuted at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. and ran through October 2015 and was similar to the weekday schedule. On March 1, 2014, the Univision Washington team was replaced. Anchor Mario Sol and Sports Anchor Oscar Burgos were laid-off. Maria Rosa Lucchini, the 6 p.m. anchor, was promoted to White House correspondent; months later, she resigned. Claudia Uceda, the 11 p.m. anchor, was switched to reporter, and months later, resigned to work as a freelancer for the Univision network.
Tsi-Tsi-Ki Félix replaced the entire team, leaving only Fanny Gutierrez, who at the time was on maternity leave, and months later, resigned from her duties. Edwin Pitti, who was hired as a reporter, was promoted to
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
correspondent.
In late December 2015, Entravision canceled the morning newscasts of all of its stations in the United States (including ''Buenos Días DC''). The last show aired December 7, 2015.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is
multiplexed:
In 2001, Entravision purchased
WJAL
WJAL, virtual channel 68 ( VHF digital channel 9), is an NTD America– affiliated television station serving the American capital city of Washington, D.C., that is licensed to Silver Spring, Maryland. Owned by Santa Monica, California–based ...
(channel 68) for the sole purpose of moving it from
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland,
United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...
to
Silver Spring to take over as a full-market UniMás affiliate, although they were unsuccessful. WJAL was eventually able to relocate to Silver Spring as a result of the 2016–17 television
spectrum reallocation, although it currently airs
NTD America instead.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WFDC shut down its analog signal, over
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 ...
channel 14, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States
transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcasts on its pre-transition UHF channel 15.
Through the use of
PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's
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 ...
as its former UHF analog channel 14.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wfdc-Dt
FDC-DT
Univision network affiliates
GetTV affiliates
Grit (TV network) affiliates
UniMás network affiliates
Television channels and stations established in 1993
FDC-DT
1993 establishments in Virginia
Arlington County, Virginia