 | |
| |
|---|---|
| City | Stuart, Florida |
| Channels | |
| Branding | South Florida's 9 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WPTV-TV,WFLX | |
| History | |
| Founded | May 25, 2000 |
First air date | June 1, 2001 (23 years ago) (2001-06-01) |
Former channel number(s) | Digital: 59 (UHF, 2001–2009), 42 (UHF, 2009–2019) |
Call sign meaning | High Definition Television |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 83929 |
| ERP | 943.1kW |
| HAAT | 440 m (1,444 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 26°34′30.7″N80°14′31.1″W / 26.575194°N 80.241972°W /26.575194; -80.241972 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | WHDT page on WPTV website |
WHDT (channel 9) is anindependent television station licensed toStuart, Florida, United States, serving theWest Palm Beach area. It is owned by theE. W. Scripps Company alongsideNBC affiliateWPTV-TV (channel 5); Scripps also provides certain services toFox affiliateWFLX (channel 29) under ashared services agreement (SSA) withGray Media. The stations share studios on South Australian Avenue in downtown West Palm Beach (mailing address says Banyan Boulevard, also known as 1st Street); WHDT's transmitter is located nearWellington west ofUS 441/SR 7.
While the present facility dates to 2002, WHDT dates to 1997, originally as alow-power station. It was founded by Günter Marksteiner and was early to convert to high-definition program origination and broadcasting, including being the first digital-only television station authorized formust-carry. Early programming consisted of a mix ofDeutsche Welle output and classic reruns before cycling through a mix of programming services. Scripps bought WHDT from Marksteiner in 2018; the station featuresFlorida Panthers hockey telecasts and somesyndicated programs.
While today a full-service station with a full-market signal, WHDT has its roots in a group of low-power stations founded by Günter Marksteiner. It began broadcasting as a low-power station on channel 55 in late 1997. Half of its broadcast day was devoted to European news programs, such as fromDeutsche Welle, and the rest to classic reruns, though it was also the local affiliate of theFlorida Marlins andMiami Heat television networks.[4]The WB offered an affiliation to WHDT-LP in 1999, when it droppedSuperstation WGN as a national affiliate and left a gap needing filling in theWest Palm Beach market, but Marksteiner believed that the network's young audience did not fit his older existing viewer base.[5] By 1999, MIG Group, Marksteiner's broadcasting company, owned low-power stations in West Palm Beach, Miami,Naples, andStuart, Florida, as well as inBoston and in New Hampshire. The Florida stations originated programming from studios on the 12th floor of the Centurion Tower in West Palm Beach.[4]
Marksteiner was an early adopter of high-definition programming. On January 1, 2000, WHDT was slated to begin broadcasting in high-definition, at a time when no West Palm Beach station was broadcasting a digital signal; Marksteiner envisioned the stations serving as the core of a pay-per-view high definition movie service for home theater users.[6] But the station was off the air by October 2000 in continued preparation for its digital broadcasting activities. This triggered a critical legislative battle. WHDT lobbied formust-carry access to West Palm Beach–market cable systems, a first for a digital-only station.[7] In the meantime, despite building out high-definition production studios, the station continued to broadcast an analog signal in the West Palm Beach area.[8] In January 2001, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that the station could provide primary over-the-air service using only a digital signal.[9] Later, WHDT fought satellite providerDish Network, which balked at the station's demand to be carried in high-definition at a time when other local channels were provided by satellite carriers in analog.[10]
The full-power WHDT made a quiet debut in the few households equipped to receive digital television signals on May 2, 2002.[11] Its signal reached an area fromPort St. Lucie toHobe Sound.[12] By 2005, it was airing two local programs: the short film seriesScreening Room andSouth Florida Fishing Report.[13]
WHDT cycled through program services, including theRetro Television Network,WeatherNation TV,[14] andThe Auto Channel.[15]
On December 3, 2018, it was announced that WHDT would be sold to theE. W. Scripps Company for $25 million.[1] The sale was completed on April 4, 2019.[2]
WHDT's primary channel switched on July 7, 2021, from theCourt TV diginet to a new program service from Scripps known as Florida 24, consisting of statewide news and information from the Scripps stations across the state; some syndicated programs; and rebroadcasts of selected WPTV newscasts.[16] In 2024, WHDT became part of theFlorida Panthers television network afterScripps Sports obtained telecast rights to the NHL team.[17]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WHDT | Independent |
| 9.2 | 480i | CourtTV | Court TV | |
| 9.3 | Scripps | Grit | ||
| 9.4 | HSN | HSN | ||
| 9.5 | QVC | QVC | ||
| 5.11 | 1080i | WPTV | NBC (WPTV-TV) |
As part of thedigital television transition, UHF channels 52-69 were removed from the broadcast spectrum. Consequently, WHDT moved its digital signal from channel 59 to channel 42 afterWXEL-TV shut off its analog signal on channel 42 on June 12, 2009. Because WXEL-TV continued to use its former analog channel number 42 as avirtual channel, WHDT was assigned 9 as its new virtual channel. WHDT moved to RF channel 34 in the repacked UHF TV band following conclusion of the spectrum incentive auction in early 2017.