WDAY-TV
Encyclopedia
WDAY-TV, digital channel 21 (virtual channel 6), is the ABC
affiliate television station for Fargo, North Dakota
. The station serves the southern half of the Fargo-Grand Forks television market, with WDAZ-TV
in Grand Forks
serving the northern half. The two stations are counted as a single unit for Nielsen ratings
purposes. WDAY broadcasts from a 1000 feet (304.8 m) tower located near Amenia, North Dakota
. WDAY is offered on cable channel 6 in most areas.
The station is owned by Forum Communications
of Fargo, which also owns WDAY Radio and The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead
.
Fargo CW, a CW
affiliate is carried on a digital subchannel
of WDAY (channel 6.2 PSIP) and WDAZ (channel 8.2 PSIP). Fargo CW is offered on CableOne cable channel 8 in the Fargo
-Moorhead
area. It can be seen on Midcontinent
cable channel 14 in Fargo
, Moorhead
, and most other areas. It can be seen on Midcontinent
cable channel 7 in the Grand Forks
area.
affiliate, but shared ABC programming with KXJB-TV
until KXGO-TV (channel 11, later KTHI-TV and now KVLY-TV
) signed on in 1959. It swapped affiliations with KTHI and became an ABC affiliate in 1983, a year after former sister station KSFY-TV
switched from NBC to ABC.
Unlike rivals KXJB and KVLY, WDAY-TV is all but unviewable in the northern part of the market, including Grand Forks. It must conform its signal to protect CBC Television
's Winnipeg
station, CBWT
, which signed on a year after WDAY-TV. To solve this problem, it signed on semi-satellite WDAZ-TV
in 1967. WDAZ-TV identifies as a station in its own right, producing its own newscasts and airing its own commercials. However, it rebroadcasts most of WDAY-TV's syndicated programming, and the two stations often share news stories. WDAZ serves the northern part of the Fargo-Grand Forks market, while WDAY-TV serves the southern portion.
In 1998, WDAY-TV launched a cable
channel carrying The WB 100+
and The WB
programming. The channel became "Fargo CW", and became available over the air as a digital subchannel
of WDAY-TV. Fargo CW also carries programming from The CW Plus
. In 2007, WDAY began broadcasting in high-definition
.
WDAY-TV is one of the few stations in the country that still signs off at night. It goes off the air after the 1:06 am rebroadcast of WDAY News at 10 and does not air World News Now
. NBA Countdown is frequently declined by the station to air additional paid programming on Sunday mornings.
Its daytime schedule includes the long-running sitcom Coach
.
WDAY-TV is one of the western most stations in the country whose callsign begins with W. Most stations west of the Mississippi begin with K, however WDAY radio licensed its call letters before the U.S. government moved the K-W boundary in 1923 from the state borders between 102 and 104 degrees West longitude (including the North Dakota-Montana
border) to the Mississippi River.
WDAY will broadcast in digital format only, effective June 12, 2009.
The station also broadcasts some North Dakota State University
football and basketball games as well as WDAZ-produced University of North Dakota
hockey games.
Meteorologists (Weather)
Sports
Other
WDAY 6
Fargo Television-
distant network schedule to the area over cable exclusively. When The CW launched in September 2006 WBFG switched over to the distant The CW Plus
schedule and eventually moved onto WDAY-DT2 to provide all viewers CW service in the area.
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American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate television station for Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
. The station serves the southern half of the Fargo-Grand Forks television market, with WDAZ-TV
WDAZ-TV
WDAZ-TV, channel 8, is an ABC affiliate located in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The station serves the northern half of the Fargo-Grand Forks television market. The station also has significant viewership in southern Manitoba, Canada including Winnipeg and Steinbach as it is carried on cable. WDAZ is...
in Grand Forks
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...
serving the northern half. The two stations are counted as a single unit for Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
purposes. WDAY broadcasts from a 1000 feet (304.8 m) tower located near Amenia, North Dakota
Amenia, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 89 people, 35 households, and 26 families residing in the city. The population density was 62.7 people per square mile . There were 35 housing units at an average density of 24.7 per square mile...
. WDAY is offered on cable channel 6 in most areas.
The station is owned by Forum Communications
Forum Communications
Forum Communications Company is a media firm based in Fargo, North Dakota. The company prints a number of newspapers in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, including The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead....
of Fargo, which also owns WDAY Radio and The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, previously titled the Fargo Forum, is a daily newspaper printed in Fargo, North Dakota and owned by Forum Communications. The Forum, as it is commonly known, is the primary daily paper for southeast North Dakota, and also much of northwest Minnesota. Its average daily...
.
Fargo CW, a CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
affiliate is carried on a digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
of WDAY (channel 6.2 PSIP) and WDAZ (channel 8.2 PSIP). Fargo CW is offered on CableOne cable channel 8 in the Fargo
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
-Moorhead
Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 38,065 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Clay County....
area. It can be seen on Midcontinent
Midcontinent Communications
Midcontinent Communications is a regional cable provider, providing a triple play service of cable television, cable modem Internet service, and cable telephone service for both North Dakota and South Dakota, along with several communities in western Minnesota...
cable channel 14 in Fargo
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
, Moorhead
Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 38,065 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Clay County....
, and most other areas. It can be seen on Midcontinent
Midcontinent Communications
Midcontinent Communications is a regional cable provider, providing a triple play service of cable television, cable modem Internet service, and cable telephone service for both North Dakota and South Dakota, along with several communities in western Minnesota...
cable channel 7 in the Grand Forks
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...
area.
History
WDAY-TV went on the air for the first time in 1953 as the third television station in North Dakota, and the first in the eastern part of the state. It was originally an NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate, but shared ABC programming with KXJB-TV
KXJB-TV
KXJB-TV is a CBS affiliated television station in Fargo, North Dakota, USA, serving Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. It broadcasts on ATSC channel 38, which redirects to former NTSC channel 4 via PSIP. It is licensed to nearby Valley City...
until KXGO-TV (channel 11, later KTHI-TV and now KVLY-TV
KVLY-TV
KVLY-TV, is an NBC affiliated television station in Fargo, North Dakota, USA, serving Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. It broadcasts on ATSC channel 44, which redirects to former NTSC channel 11 via PSIP. In addition to its main studio in Fargo, it operates a satellite studio in...
) signed on in 1959. It swapped affiliations with KTHI and became an ABC affiliate in 1983, a year after former sister station KSFY-TV
KSFY-TV
KSFY-TV is the ABC television affiliate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It broadcasts on ATSC Channel 13 . Its transmitter is located near Rowena, South Dakota. KSFY is currently owned by Hoak Media Corporation of Dallas, Texas.-Station history:...
switched from NBC to ABC.
Unlike rivals KXJB and KVLY, WDAY-TV is all but unviewable in the northern part of the market, including Grand Forks. It must conform its signal to protect CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
's Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
station, CBWT
CBWT
CBWT is the CBC's television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the only CBC station in Manitoba, since Brandon's CKX-TV closed on October 2, 2009....
, which signed on a year after WDAY-TV. To solve this problem, it signed on semi-satellite WDAZ-TV
WDAZ-TV
WDAZ-TV, channel 8, is an ABC affiliate located in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The station serves the northern half of the Fargo-Grand Forks television market. The station also has significant viewership in southern Manitoba, Canada including Winnipeg and Steinbach as it is carried on cable. WDAZ is...
in 1967. WDAZ-TV identifies as a station in its own right, producing its own newscasts and airing its own commercials. However, it rebroadcasts most of WDAY-TV's syndicated programming, and the two stations often share news stories. WDAZ serves the northern part of the Fargo-Grand Forks market, while WDAY-TV serves the southern portion.
In 1998, WDAY-TV launched a cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
channel carrying The WB 100+
The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
and The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
programming. The channel became "Fargo CW", and became available over the air as a digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
of WDAY-TV. Fargo CW also carries programming from The CW Plus
The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
. In 2007, WDAY began broadcasting in high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
.
WDAY-TV is one of the few stations in the country that still signs off at night. It goes off the air after the 1:06 am rebroadcast of WDAY News at 10 and does not air World News Now
World News Now
World News Now is an American overnight news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company's television network. Its tone is often lighthearted, irreverent and humorous...
. NBA Countdown is frequently declined by the station to air additional paid programming on Sunday mornings.
Its daytime schedule includes the long-running sitcom Coach
Coach (TV series)
Coach is an American television sitcom that aired for nine seasons on ABC from 1989 to 1997. The series starred Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, head coach of the fictional Division I-A college football team, the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles...
.
WDAY-TV is one of the western most stations in the country whose callsign begins with W. Most stations west of the Mississippi begin with K, however WDAY radio licensed its call letters before the U.S. government moved the K-W boundary in 1923 from the state borders between 102 and 104 degrees West longitude (including the North Dakota-Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
border) to the Mississippi River.
WDAY will broadcast in digital format only, effective June 12, 2009.
News and sports
WDAY-TV produces local newscasts during Monday through Friday at 6:00am, 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 10:00pm, Saturdays at 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 10:00pm, and a Sunday newscast at 10:00pm. The morning newscast, First News, at 6:00am Monday through Fridays, is simulcast on WDAZ-TV. Unlike most ABC affiliates, WDAY does not air midday news during the week.The station also broadcasts some North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, more commonly known as North Dakota State University , is a public university in Fargo, North Dakota. NDSU has about 14,000 students and it is the largest university in North Dakota based on full time students and land size...
football and basketball games as well as WDAZ-produced University of North Dakota
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...
hockey games.
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Kerstin Kealy (Weekday Co-anchor of 6PM and 10PM Newscasts/Producer)
- Dana Mogck (Weekday Co-anchor of 6PM and 10PM Newscasts)
- TJ Nelson (Weekday Anchor of 5PM Newscasts / Producer)
- Chastity Walberg (First News Anchor/Producer)
- Travis Skonseng (Weekend Co-Anchor)
Meteorologists (Weather)
- John Wheeler (Chief Meteorologist - Weekday Evenings)
- Daryl Ritchison (Meteorologist - Weekday Mornings and Midday)
- Rob Kupec (Meteorologist - Weekends)
Sports
- Dom Izzo (Weekdays)
Other
- Kevin Wallevand (Feature Reporter)
WDAY 6
Fargo Television-
Newscast titles
- WDAY News
- WDAY NewsCenter 6 (1980s-1999)
- WDAY News (1999-2010)
- WDAY 6 News (2010-present)
Fargo CW
Fargo CW was a cable-only station with WB affiliation, and branded as "WBFG", a designation going back to its launch as a station transmitting the The WB 100+The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
distant network schedule to the area over cable exclusively. When The CW launched in September 2006 WBFG switched over to the distant The CW Plus
The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
schedule and eventually moved onto WDAY-DT2 to provide all viewers CW service in the area.
Translators
WDAY is broadcasted on the following translators (low-powered rebroadcasters):- K02DD Channel 2 Jamestown, NDJamestown, North DakotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 15,527 people, 6,505 households, and 3,798 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,246.7 per square mile . There were 6,970 housing units at an average density of 559.6 per square mile...
- K02MM Channel 2 Fergus Falls, MNFergus Falls, MinnesotaFergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,138 at the 2010 census.-Today:...
External links
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