WKDH

WKDH was an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Houston, Mississippi, United States, serving northeastern Mississippi and northwestern Alabama. It broadcast a high definition digital signal on virtual and UHF channel 45 from a transmitter near 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)
Sister stationsWLOV-TV, WTVA
History
First air dateJune 18, 2001 (2001-06-18)
Last air dateAugust 31, 2012 (2012-08-31)
Former channel number(s)Analog:
45 (UHF; 2001–2007)
Former affiliationsABC (2001–2012, now on WTVA-DT2)
Technical information
Facility ID83310
ERP537 kW
HAAT491 m (1,611 ft)
Transmitter coordinates33°47′39.3″N 89°5′16″W

WKDH was owned by Southern Broadcasting, but was operated by the Spain family, owners of NBC affiliate WTVA (channel 9) through a local marketing agreement (LMA). This made WKDH a sister station to WTVA and Fox affiliate WLOV-TV (channel 27). The three stations shared studios in Saltillo, Mississippi.

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 Archived 2015-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, WTVA, August 7, 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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