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| Channels | |
| Branding | WDHN |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | August 7, 1970 (54 years ago) (1970-08-07) |
Former call signs |
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Former channel number(s) | Analog: 18 (UHF, 1970–2009) |
Call sign meaning | Dothan |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 43846 |
| ERP | 1,000kW |
| HAAT | 190.4 m (625 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 31°14′25″N85°18′43″W / 31.24028°N 85.31194°W /31.24028; -85.31194 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WDHN (channel 18) is atelevision station inDothan, Alabama, United States, affiliated withABC and owned byNexstar Media Group. The station's studios and transmitter are located onAL 52 inWebb.
WDHN launched August 7, 1970, as the area's second television station and aired an analog signal on UHF channel 18.[2] It was owned by Dothan businessman Betts Slingluff, Jr. and a partnership of other local investors. Before that time, southeastern Alabama relied onWTVY to carry allthree major broadcast networks. WTVY was primarily aCBS affiliate, so conventional wisdom suggested that WDHN, as the second station in a small, two-station market, should have opted to affiliate with theNBC network rather than with ABC, because ABC was the smallest and weakest network and would not be anywhere near par with CBS and NBC in terms of ratings until later in the decade. However, geography played a decisive part in WDHN joining ABC. The Alabama side of the Dothanmedia market received a fairly strong signal fromWSFA-TV,Montgomery's NBC station. Further, at the time the station started up, no ABC affiliate provided even a grade Bsignal to the Wiregrass. The only nearby ABC programs then were onWJHG-TV inPanama City, Florida, on a part-time basis (that station would move to full-time ABC affiliation by 1972; currently it is an NBC affiliate).
In 1979, reflecting an era when small, locally owned stations were losing profitability, Slingluff's group sold WDHN to Hi Ho Television, which also ownedWVGA inValdosta, Georgia. In 1986, Hi Ho sold WDHN and WVGA toMorris Multimedia. In 2003, Nexstar purchased WDHN, along withKARK-TV inLittle Rock, Arkansas, from Morris.
As part of theDTV transition in 2009, WDHN turned off its analog transmitter and began broadcasting exclusively in digital.[3]
On January 27, 2016, it was announced that Nexstar would buyMedia General for $4.6 billion. WDHN, along with recently acquiredFox affiliateWZDX inHuntsville (which Nexstar would later sell in 2019 toTegna in order to acquireTribune Media, owner ofWHNT-TV), became a part of "Nexstar Media Group" and joined a cluster of stations Nexstar would own in Alabama includingWIAT inBirmingham andWKRG-TV inMobile, as well asWRBL inColumbus, Georgia, which covers much of east Alabama includingOpelika andAuburn. All three of these stations are CBS affiliates.
On June 15, 2016, Nexstar announced that it had entered into an affiliation agreement withKatz Broadcasting for the Escape (nowIon Mystery),Laff,Grit, andBounce TV networks (the last one of which is owned by Bounce Media LLC, whoseCOO Jonathan Katz is president/CEO of Katz Broadcasting), bringing one or more of the four networks to 81 stations owned and/or operated by Nexstar, including WDHN (Bounce TV and Grit are already available in the area on digital subchannels ofWDFX-TV).[4]
WDHN produces4+1⁄2 hours of news each weekday starting withWake Up Wiregrass at 5 a.m.,Daytime at 11 a.m., and then in the evening withWDHN News at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.Wake Up Wiregrass replacedTop of the Morning with Charlie Platt after its cancellation. The newscast airs weekday mornings from 5 to 7 a.m. (6 to 7 a.m. from relaunch until February 1, 2021).
Historically, WDHN has been a very distant second in the ratings behind WTVY. This is partly because for much of the analog era, WDHN only broadcast at 1.06 million watts, which was somewhat modest for a Big Four affiliate on the UHF band. It also had to deal with competition from WSFA, which was available on Wiregrass cable systems for decades. The signal disadvantage has been lessened somewhat in the digital era, as WDHN's digital signal operates at a full million watts, equivalent to five million watts in analog.
On December 19, 2017, WDHN unveiled a brand new set and began broadcasting local news in high definition.
On June 1, 2020, WDHN began producing an hour-long 9 p.m. newscast for Fox affiliate WDFX, replacing a prior arrangement where news was provided by WSFA out of Montgomery.
On February 1, 2021, WDHN expanded morning news to two hours.
On February 15, 2021, WDHN added an 11 a.m. hour-long newscast with Michael Rinker as anchor. Katrice Nolan would join him a few months later as co-anchor.
On September 18, 2021, WDHN launched weekend newscasts at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sundays.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WDHN-DT | ABC |
| 18.2 | 480i | Mystery | Ion Mystery | |
| 18.3 | Laff | Laff | ||
| 18.4 | Antenna | Antenna TV |
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