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| Programming | |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | Marquee Broadcasting, Inc. |
| WGDV-LD | |
| History | |
First air date | April 11, 1980 (1980-04-11) |
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| NBC (secondary, 1980–1992) | |
Call sign meaning | Maryland / Delaware Television[a] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 16455 |
| ERP | 246 kW |
| HAAT | 307 m (1,007 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 38°30′6.4″N75°44′7.4″W / 38.501778°N 75.735389°W /38.501778; -75.735389 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WMDT (channel 47) is atelevision station inSalisbury, Maryland, United States, affiliated withABC andThe CW Plus. It is theflagship television property of locally basedMarquee Broadcasting and has studios on the Downtown Plaza along West Main Street in Salisbury; WMDT's transmitter is located inWicomico County northeast ofMardela Springs.
WMDT was the second commercial station to serve theDelmarva Peninsula, signing on in April 1980. It struggled financially and was placed in court-appointedreceivership less than 18 months after beginning broadcasting. From 1982 to 2013, it was owned by the Brechner family. Marquee Broadcasting acquired WMDT in 2013 as its first TV station property. In local news ratings, WMDT has long been a second-place station toWBOC-TV.
In early 1978, the MDV Television Company petitioned theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) to insert a second commercial television channel at Salisbury, then served only by primaryCBS affiliateWBOC-TV (channel 16) and aMaryland Public Television repeater. MDV head Robert Hennessy said thatDelmarva was inadequately served by thePhiladelphia andBaltimore stations and that WBOC-TV's local news coverage was also inadequate.[3] The commission assigned the channel in July 1978, allowing potential owners to apply for aconstruction permit to build and operate the station.[4]
MDV Television received the permit in May 1979. Local authorities inWicomico County were initially reluctant to allow the construction of a transmitting tower, as some nearby locals feared its construction would affect their health or property values,[5][6] but approved construction of the tower in June.[7] The station announced it had obtained ABC affiliation in July; among its stockholders were William Sheehan and Walter Pfister, former president and director of special news events, respectively, at ABC.[8] WMDT set up in studio facilities that once housed aRite Aid drug store and restaurant on Salisbury's Downtown Plaza.[9][10] Shortly before launch, it picked up a secondary affiliation withNBC; at launch, it only aired one NBC program,Saturday Night Live.[1][11]
WMDT began broadcasting on April 11, 1980; two months passed before the station aired local news programming.[12] The station struggled in its early years from technical problems, low ratings against WBOC-TV (the only station on Delmarva for 26 years[12]), and persistent rumors of financial trouble. In March 1981, MDV announced an infusion of new cash into the business.[13] President J. Paul Audet, who had previously been involved in the startup of TV stations in New Mexico and South Carolina,[8] noted that the station was three months late in getting on air, leaving it undercapitalized. In June, areceiver was appointed on a petition from theFirst National Bank of Maryland, which it owed $3 million plus interest.[12]
In 1982, a court approved the sale of WMDT to Mid-Florida Television, which owned a partial stake inWFTV inOrlando, Florida.[14][15] The station's law firm, which said it was owed money, objected to the purchase.[16] The sale was finalized in July.[17]
WMDT launched a bureau inDover, Delaware, as well as translator W27AJ there, in 1987.[18] The next year, the station debutedNewswatch 27, a newscast specifically for Dover andKent County, produced from a studio in the city and only aired on the translator; the long-term goal was to have television ratings agencies assign Kent County into the Salisbury media market, thereby making it larger and increasing revenues.[19] The Dover translator remained with WMDT, later under the call sign WEVD-LP, until later ownerMarquee Broadcasting swapped it for three low-power stations owned by Lowcountry 34 Media in 2020.[20]
WMDT launched a cable-only affiliate ofThe WB as part ofThe WB 100+ Station Group in May 2000.[21] This service affiliated withThe CW in 2006, when The WB andUPN merged,[22] and was broadcast as a subchannel of WMDT by 2008.[23] Upon the launch of The CW, it began airing local midday and 10 p.m. newscasts on that channel.[22]
Brechner Management Company announced the sale of WMDT to Marquee Broadcasting on August 8, 2013.[24][25] It was the first broadcast property for the company, owned byBrookeville residents Patricia and Brian Lane, who had sought to buy a TV station for five years.[26]
WMDT's transmitter is located inWicomico County northeast ofMardela Springs.[2] Its signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.1 | 720p | 16:9 | ABC | ABC |
| 47.2 | CW | The CW Plus | ||
| 47.3 | 480i | MeTV | MeTV | |
| 47.4 | Ion | Ion Television |
WMDT ended regular programming on its analog signal on September 22, 2008.[23] This enabled work to conclude on relocating WMDT's digital signal from its pre-transition channel 53 to channel 47.[23][32] WMDT relocated its signal from channel 47 to channel 29 on March 13, 2020, as a result of the2016 United States wireless spectrum auction.[33]
Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Maryland | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS | ||
| Spanish | ||
| Other | ||
| ATSC 3.0 | ||
| ||
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofDelaware | ||
|---|---|---|
Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Delaware | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Independent | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| PBS | ||
| Religious | ||
| Spanish | ||
| Other | ||
| ATSC 3.0 | ||
