WMDT

WMDT is an affiliate of ABC, with a cable WB channel branded "WBD3" or "WBDelmarva," serving the Delmarva Peninsula with its main studio located in Downtown Salisbury, Maryland, United States. The station is also broadcast over the air in Dover, Delaware by a low power translator, WEVD-LP on channel 27.

Station History

WMDT initiated broadcast operations in the Salisbury market in 1980, as a primary ABC affiliate, with a secondary affiliation for NBC programming. In more recent years it has exclusively carried ABC network programming, as well as a mix of syndicated programs and local news and information.

In July 2003, WMDT-TV's tower experienced a fire after a severe storm, causing extensive damage to its transmitter. The UHF channel 47 signal was unavailable for many weeks, though its cable channel, digital signal, and WB station were unaffected. The station's tower is the second tallest structure in Maryland.

In 2004, WMDT won the top award for small market stations for Service to Children, from the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation. The station also has a Teachers Who Make A Difference program, and a Summer Reading Challenge, among other community-service activities.

Programming rights

WMDT has twice filed a petition seeking a waiver of the FCC's network nonduplication and syndicated program exclusivity rules. The petition involved the carriage of two stations, WTTG (filed in 2000) and WMAR Comcast, a cable provider in the area which WMDT covers, within a 35 mile radius of the station. Both stations carried programming that WMDT held exclusive programming rights for, either by syndication or by network distrubution, within its market catchment area. In both cases the FCC ruled in favor of WMDT, in that the stations in question failed to meet the cretiera set by the FCC for "distant stations" with "significant" level of over-the-air viewership. The effct of the ruling is that when either station broadcasts programming which WMDT also has exclusive rights to, specifically in the communities of Salisbury, Delmar, Fuitland, Hebron and unincorporated areas of Wicomico County, Maryland, and Delmar and unincorporated areas of Sussex County, Delaware, that the cable provider would have to blackout those channels while the program is being shown [http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=a6faf7bba2c1c7cb47fb0d7b9bb55170&rgn=div6&view=text&node=47:4.0.1.1.4.6&idno=47" target="_blank" >^* .

WBD3 / WBDelmarva

In 2000, WMDT launched WBD3 "WBDelmarva," which is available on both Comcast and Mediacom cable networks. The station is essentially a straight satellite feed, though frequent cross-promotions for WMDT's ABC channel are used, primarily for its evening news programs.

It was announced on March 28, 2006 that WBD would be an affiliate of The CW Television Network effective September of that year as well as create a digital channel to be broadcast over-the-air.

Programming

WMDT carries the full line-up of ABC network programs, and a number of popular syndicated programs including Ellen, Judge Judy and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. For many years, WMDT was the only station in the market that broadcast Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.

Personalities

Many well-known television personalities have worked at WMDT early on in their careers. Among these are Bonnie Bernstein of CBS Sports, Mike Seidel of The Weather Channel, and Gregg Jarrett of The Fox News Channel.

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