WDHS
WDHS, virtual and VHF digital channel 8, was a television station licensed to Iron Mountain, Michigan, United States, which served the Central and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The station was owned by Withers Broadcasting Companies, along with WDTV in Weston–Clarksburg, West Virginia. WDHS' transmitter was located on East B Street in Iron Mountain.
| Iron Mountain/Marquette, Michigan United States | |
|---|---|
| City | Iron Mountain, Michigan |
| Channels | Digital: 8 (VHF) Virtual: 8 (PSIP) |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | Defunct |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Withers Broadcasting Companies (Estate of W. Russell Withers, Jr., Dana R. Withers, Executor) |
| Sister stations | WDTV |
| History | |
| First air date | 1986 |
| Last air date | November 19, 2015 (date of license cancellation) |
| Former call signs | WIIM-TV (1986–1992) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 8 (VHF, 1986–2009) Digital: 22 (UHF, until 2009) |
| Former affiliations | TBN (1990s) EWTN (2006) |
| Call sign meaning | Deliverance Healing Salvation (station formerly broadcast religious programming) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 15498 |
| ERP | 22 kW |
| HAAT | 171 m (561 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 45°49′10″N 88°2′35″W |
The station was dark for much of its history;[1] it came on the air only for a short period on an annual basis merely as a way to keep its Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license active. The WDHS license was canceled on November 19, 2015, months after an FCC policy change negated the "once per year broadcast" method of retaining a station license which had been exploited in the radio industry to "warehouse" prominent call letters in small markets, along with television broadcasters holding out for sales partners.[2][3]
When WDHS was on the air, it theoretically could serve parts of Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Marquette and Menominee counties in Michigan, and Florence, Forest, Langlade, Marinette, Oconto, Oneida and Vilas counties in Wisconsin. Most likely, it only broadcast at a low power to save electricity and fulfill the legal fiction of maintaining the license.
References
- "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 19, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- "Station Search Details (DDWDHS)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- Sashkin, Davina (22 July 2015). "Audio Overkill: New AM and FM Licenses Conditioned on Continuous Operation". CommLaw Blog. Retrieved 24 July 2015.