WKDH

WKDH, virtual and UHF digital channel 45, was an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Houston, Mississippi, United States, which served northeastern Mississippi and northwestern Alabama. WKDH was owned by Southern Broadcasting, which was headed by Walter D. Spain whose father, Frank K. Spain, owned NBC affiliate WTVA (channel 9). As such, the station was operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with WTVA; the Spain family also operated West Point-licensed Fox affiliate WLOV-TV (channel 27) under a separate LMA with owner Lingard Broadcasting. The three stations shared studios on Beech Springs Road (County Road 681) in Saltillo; WKDH's transmitter was located in Woodland, Mississippi.

WKDH
Houston/Tupelo/Columbus/West Point, Mississippi
United States
CityHouston, Mississippi
ChannelsDigital: 45 (UHF)
Virtual: 45 (PSIP)
BrandingWKDH ABC 45
Programming
AffiliationsDefunct
Ownership
OwnerSouthern Broadcasting
OperatorWTVA, Inc.
(via LMA)
WLOV-TV, WTVA
History
FoundedJuly 12, 1998
First air date
June 18, 2001 (2001-06-18)
Last air date
August 31, 2012 (2012-08-31)
(11 years, 74 days)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
45 (UHF, 2001–2007)
ABC (2001–2012)
Technical information
Facility ID83310
ERP537 kW
HAAT491 m (1,611 ft)
Transmitter coordinates33°47′39.3″N 89°5′16″W

History

The station signed on June 18, 2001 as the fourth commercial station in the market. WKDH was an ABC affiliate from the start, and was its second affiliate in the market; WLOV-TV carried ABC programming from 1983 (as WVSB-TV) until switching to Fox in October 1995. In the six years that the market had no ABC affiliate, cable systems in the area piped in WPTY-TV from Memphis, Tennessee (which became an ABC affiliate in December 1995 and formerly served as the default Fox affiliate for the area) or WCFT-TV from Tuscaloosa, Alabama (which became a semi-satellite of Birmingham ABC affiliate WBMA-LP in September 1996).

On January 26, 2007 at 5 a.m., WKDH "flash-cut" its analog signal to digital on UHF channel 45, becoming the first station in the market to make the transition.

The station did not offer much local content, serving largely as a "pass-through" for ABC programming. It did produce a public affairs show, Community Edition, hosted by Stan Allen.

WKDH ceased broadcasting at 11:59 p.m. on August 31, 2012 after more than 11 years on the air;[1] this is due to the Spain family's decision not to renew its LMA with Southern Broadcasting. The ABC affiliation for the Columbus–Tupelo–West Point market moved to the second digital subchannel of WTVA;[2] before this announcement, Comcast had planned to import an out-of-market ABC affiliate.[3] Though a sale of the station was explored, the only buyer found pulled out of the deal,[4] and on January 31, 2013, Southern Broadcasting surrendered the WKDH license to the Federal Communications Commission, which canceled it on February 7.[5]

References
  1. "WKDH to end broadcasting". WTVA. August 7, 2012. Archived from the original on August 13, 2012.
  2. "ABC Getting New Outlet In Columbus-Tupelo". TVNewsCheck. August 28, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  3. "Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal: "ABC affiliate to go off air", August 9, 2012". Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  4. Harding, Kevin R. (September 27, 2012). "Re: WKDH-DT…" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  5. Harding, Kevin R. (February 7, 2013). "In Re: BLCDT-20070205ADK WKDH(TV)…" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
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