WDEF-TV

WDEF-TV, virtual channel 12 (VHF digital channel 8), is a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. The station is owned by Morris Multimedia. WDEF-TV's studios are located on Broad Street in Chattanooga, and its transmitter is located in nearby Signal Mountain. On cable, the station is available on Comcast Xfinity channels 13 and 433, and on EPB Fiber Optics channels 12 and 312 in the Chattanooga area. Although parts of the Chattanooga market are in the Central Time Zone, all schedules are listed in Eastern Time.

WDEF-TV
Chattanooga, Tennessee
United States
ChannelsDigital: 8 (VHF)
Virtual: 12 (PSIP)
BrandingNews 12 Now
SloganLocal, Quick and to the Point
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerMorris Multimedia
(WDEF-TV, Inc.)
History
First air date
April 25, 1954 (1954-04-25)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 12 (VHF, 1954–2009)
  • Digital:
  • 47 (UHF, 2001–2009)
  • 12 (VHF, 2009–2020)
  • All secondary:
  • DuMont (1954–1955)
  • NBC (1954–1956)
  • ABC (1954–1958)
  • NTA (1956–1961)
  • UPN (2004–2006)
  • DT2:
  • Tuff TV (2009–2011)
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID54385
ERP26 kW
HAAT300 m (984 ft) (STA)
384 m (1,260 ft) (CP)
Transmitter coordinates35°8′5″N 85°19′24″W (STA)
35°8′6″N 85°19′25″W (CP)
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewdef.com

History

The station signed on the air on April 25, 1954, carrying programming from all four networks, though it has always been a primary CBS affiliate. It was owned by Joe Engel, who owned the Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball team as well as WDEF radio (1370 AM, now WXCT) and WDEF-FM (92.3). It took the CBS affiliation from WROM-TV (now WTVC, (hannel 9). It lost NBC to WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV) in 1956, and lost ABC to WTVC (the former WROM) in 1958. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.[1]

WDEF logo used from 2005, when the station was owned by Media General, until November 2015, when the station re-branded as "News 12 Now."

Roy H. Park bought the WDEF stations in 1963.[2] His media interests eventually became known as Park Communications, which was bought by Media General in 1997. In 2006, Media General sold the station to Morris Multimedia.[3]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[4]
12.11080i16:9WDEF-DTMain WDEF-TV programming / CBS
12.2480iBounceBounce TV
12.3EscapeCourt TV Mystery
12.4GritGrit
12.5BlankQuest (soon)

Analog-to-digital conversion

WDEF-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 12, on February 17, 2009, the original target date in which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 47 to VHF channel 12 for post-transition operations. Immediately before the shutdown, anchor Joe Legge gave a brief retrospective of the station's history as well as the farewell message for all analog viewers. The message ended with images of the past newscasts.[5][6][7][8]

Programming

Syndicated programming on WDEF includes Judge Judy and The Andy Griffith Show.

In its early years, WDEF was locally oriented, offering a mix of children's shows, talk and variety programs, including Point of View, one of the longest–running local public affairs programs in the United States.[9]

WDEF has been the local home of Tennessee Titans (based in Nashville) games since 1998 (when the team was still called the Oilers). This comes with its CBS affiliation, as CBS carries all National Football League games played in the afternoon that feature a road team from the American Football Conference, which the Titans play in.

News operation

On April 4, 2009 beginning with the station's 11 p.m. newscast, WDEF-TV became the first station in the Chattanooga market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.

References
  1. "Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films". Boxoffice: 13. November 10, 1956.
  2. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/63-OCR/1963-11-04-BC-OCR-Page-0067.pdf
  3. "Media General Completes Sale of WDEF-TV in Chattanooga to Morris Multimedia". Media General. October 13, 2006. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
  4. RabbitEars TV Query for WDEF
  5. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  6. http://wdef.com/news/pick_a_date_congress_sends_mixed_message_to_tv_stations_viewers/02/2009
  7. "List of TV stations to end analog on Tuesday" From Google (February 13, 2009)
  8. WDEF News 12 Goes All Digital: See What You Missed Overnight, Joe Legge, WDEF-TV, February 18, 2009
  9. "About Us". WDEF. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
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