WMDE (channel 36) is a television station licensed to Dover, Delaware, United States. Owned by WRNN-TV Associates, the station maintains a transmitter in the unincorporated community of Wye Mills in Talbot County, Maryland, 41 miles (66 km) southwest of Dover. Despite its physical location well east of the center of the market and across the Chesapeake Bay, the station is assigned by Nielsen to the Washington, D.C., television market. With the repeal of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s Main Studio Rule in 2019, WMDE is fully automated out of WRNN-TV's studios in Rye Brook, New York, with no local presence whatsoever.
 | |
| City | Dover, Delaware |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | WMDE 36 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
| Founded | May 4, 2011 |
First air date | May 24, 2013 |
| |
Call sign meaning | Washington (D.C.), Maryland, and Delaware |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 189357 |
| ERP | 10 kW |
| HAAT | 145 m (476 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 38°57′17.3″N 76°5′34.8″W / 38.954806°N 76.093000°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
Outside of a morning rebroadcast of the Japanese network Fuji TV's News Catch program, the station's schedule on its main channel is made up of home shopping programming from Shop LC, which also airs on the main channel of all of WRNN's stations.
History
editWMDE signed on May 24, 2013. The station was originally owned by Western Pacific Broadcast LLC.[2]
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). Because WMDE is a full-powered station covered by must-carry regulations, it is thus carried on every cable and satellite provider in the Washington market, with the exception of Cox Communications' systems in Fairfax County, Virginia. Cox filed a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission seeking to avoid carriage and prevailed in 2015. Although the FCC's ruling called Nielsen's market modification decision "inexplicable", must-carry rules otherwise defer to Nielsen with respect to market assignment.[3]
WRNN-TV Associates agreed to acquire the station for $11.5 million on April 25, 2018;[4] the sale was completed on July 11, 2018.[5]
Subchannels
editThe station's signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WMDE.1 | Shop LC |
| 36.2 | The365 | The365 | ||
| 36.3 | 480i | Hrtland | Heartland | |
| 36.4 | 4:3 | Retro | Retro TV | |
| 36.5 | 16:9 | The365 | The365 | |
| 36.6 | WMDE.6 | Outlaw | ||
| 36.7 | Arirang | Arirang TV | ||
| 36.8 | ShopLC | Shop LC | ||
| 36.9 | BINGE | Binge TV |
References
edit- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WMDE". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "FCC Ownership Report Search Results - Facility ID 189358". FCC.gov. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "In the Matter of CoxComm, LLC for Modification of the Market of WMDE, Dover, Delaware" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. October 13, 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
- ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for WMDE". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved April 11, 2023.