WMDE

WMDE, virtual channel 36 (VHF digital channel 5), is an independent television station licensed to Dover, Delaware, United States. The station is owned by WRNN-TV Associates. WMDE's transmitter is located north of Wye Mills, Maryland, 41 miles (66 km) southwest of Dover. Despite its physical location well east of the city, the station is assigned by Nielsen to the Washington, D.C. television market.

WMDE
Dover, Delaware/
Salisbury/Baltimore, Maryland/
Washington, D.C.
United States
CityDover, Delaware
ChannelsDigital: 5 (VHF)
Virtual: 36 (PSIP)
BrandingWMDE 36
Programming
Affiliations36.1: Independent
36.2: Court TV
36.3: Dabl
36.4: Circle
36.5: ArirangTV
36.7: ShopHQ
36.8: Shop LC
Ownership
OwnerWRNN-TV Associates Limited Partnership
(RNN D.C. License Co., LLC)
History
First air date
May 24, 2013 (2013-05-24)
Call sign meaning
MarylanD/DElaware
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID189357
ERP10 kW
HAAT145 m (476 ft)
Transmitter coordinates38°57′17.3″N 76°5′34.8″W
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewww.wmdetv.com

Unlike most WRNN-TV Associates stations, WMDE does not operate a studio or an advertising sales office locally; instead, master control and internal operations are based at WRNN-TV's studios in Rye Brook, New York.

History

WMDE signed on May 24, 2013. The station was originally owned by Western Pacific Broadcast LLC.[1]

Shortly after sign-on, Nielsen granted WMDE's request to be assigned to the Washington market instead of Philadelphia (where Dover is located) or Baltimore (where Wye Mills is located). Must-carry rules defer to Nielsen's decision with respect to market assignment. WMDE is thus carried on every cable and satellite provider in the Washington market, with the exception of Cox Communications, which filed a complaint to the FCC seeking to block carriage and prevailed in 2015.[2]

WRNN-TV Associates agreed to acquire the station for $11.5 million on April 25, 2018;[3] the sale was completed on July 11, 2018.[4]

WMDE was originally an Atlantic City allocation, licensed in Seaford, Delaware. However, Western Pacific Broadcast petitioned to move it to Dover. That move was protested and then held up due to an appeal by another company that wanted to move its Wyoming and Nevada allocations to the Philadelphia and New York City markets, respectively (one of which was the station that became WJLP). The move of WMDE was deemed to be a more legitimate move, but its owner still had to wait pending the other station moves. This shuffling of stations was primarily sparked by the new allocations deriving from the digital TV changes in 2011.[5][6][7]

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[8]
36.1720p16:9WMDE.1Main WMDE programming
36.2CourtTVCourt TV
36.3480iDABLDabl
36.4CircleCircle
36.5ArirangArirangTV
36.6JTVJewelry TV
36.7ShopHQShopHQ
36.8ShopLCShop LC

References
  1. "FCC Ownership Report Search Results - Facility ID 189358". FCC.gov. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. "In the matter of CoxComm, LLC for modification of the market of WMDE, Dover, Delaware" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. 13 October 2015.
  3. "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. May 1, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  4. "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  5. McAdams, Deborah D. "WMDE-TV Wins Reassignment". TV Technology. NewBay Media.
  6. Dobo, Nichole. "Dover to get its first local TV station this summer". Delaware Online.
  7. "Federal Communications Commission DA 14-547 (Final Ruling)" (PDF). FCC.gov. Federal Communications Commission.
  8. "Digital TV Market Listing for WMDE". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
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