WDHN
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| Dothan, Alabama | |
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| Branding | WDHN (general) WDHN News |
| Slogan | Dothan First |
| Channels | Digital: 21 (UHF) Virtual: 18 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 18.1 ABC |
| Owner | Nexstar Broadcasting Group (Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| First air date | August 7, 1970 |
| Call letters' meaning | DotHaN |
| Former callsigns | WDHN-TV (1970-1998) |
| Former channel number(s) | 18 (UHF analog, 1970-2009) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW |
| Height | 190.4 m |
| Facility ID | 43846 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 31°14′25.9″N 85°18′41.4″W / 31.240528°N 85.3115°W |
| Website | www.dothanfirst.com |
WDHN is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southeastern Alabama's Wiregrass Region. Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group and licensed to Dothan, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 21 from a transmitter at its studios on AL 52 in Webb. The station can also be seen on Comcast, Knology, and Time Warner channel 8. A high definition feed is available on Comcast digital channel 431 and Knology digital channel 502. Syndicated programming on WDHN includes: Entertainment Tonight, Swift Justice with Nancy Grace, Dr. Phil, and The Insider.
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[edit] History
WDHN-TV launched August 7, 1970 as the area's second television station and aired an analog signal on UHF channel 18. Original ownership consisted of a group of investors headed by Dothan businessman Betts Slingluff, Jr. Although conventional wisdom suggested that it should have signed-on as an NBC affiliate, much of the market receives a fairly strong signal from WSFA-TV in Montgomery. Further, at the time of the station's start, the only nearby ABC programs were on WJHG in Panama City, Florida on a part-time basis. WDHN thus opted to join ABC.
In 1979, Slingluff's group sold WDHN to Hi Ho Television, which also owned WVGA in Valdosta, Georgia. In 1986, Hi Ho sold WDHN and WVGA to Morris Multimedia. It dropped the -TV suffix in 1998. In 2003, Nexstar purchased WDHN along with KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas from Morris.
The station still broadcasts from its original tower, a tiny (by modern television standards) 500 foot (152 m) structure behind its studios. Its analog signal only operated at 1.07 million watts, one of the weakest signals in the country for a full-powered network affiliate. As a result, WDHN's coverage area was only half that of CBS affiliate WTVY.
WDHN remained on its pre-transition channel number (21) after turning-off its analog signal. [1] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display its virtual channel as 18. Although the current digital signal operates at a full million watts (equivalent to five million watts for an analog transmitter), it has little reach outside the greater Dothan area because it also operates from the short tower. By comparison, WTVY's signal covers parts of three states from a tower nearly four times as tall, nearly 2,000 feet.
[edit] Newscasts
According to Nielsen ratings, WDHN has long been a very distant second in the market to long-dominant WTVY. WDHN's news department is quite small compared to other big three network stations, even considering that it is in the 172nd market. Unlike most ABC affiliates, it does not air a midday show during the week or weekend newscasts. There is an hour and a half weekday morning show starting at 5:30.
[edit] Newscast titles
- NewsWatch 18
- News 18 (early 1990s-2006)
- WDHN News 18 (2006-2009)
- WDHN News (2009-current)
[edit] News team
- Ken Curtis - Director of News Operations occasionally seen on-air and Beyond the Headlines host
- Kevin Presley - Assistant News Director and weeknight news anchor
- Amanda Hall - weeknight news anchor
- Bud Ford - weeknight weather anchor
- Josh Rultenberg - Promotions and Sports Director seen weeknights at 6 and 10
- Jamiese Price - news reporter
- Megan Hunter - news reporter
- Mike Gamble - Beyond the Headlines host
- Charlie Platt - Top of the Morning host
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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