WUDT-CA
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| WUDT-CA | |
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| Detroit, Michigan | |
| City of license | Detroit |
| Branding | Univision Detroit |
| Channels | Analog: 23 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | Univision |
| Owner | Equity Media Holdings (EBC Detroit, Inc.) |
| Founded | January 4, 1989 |
| Call letters’ meaning | W Univision DeTroit |
| Former callsigns | W05BN (1989-1995) WBXD-LP (1995-2002) WBXD-CA (2002-2004) |
| Former affiliations | The Box (1989-2000) MTV2 (2000-2004) |
| Transmitter Power | 50 kW Analog |
| Class | Class A Television Station (-CA) Digital Low-Power TV Station (-LD) |
| Facility ID | 70421 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | 42° 19' 45.00" N LAT 83° 02' 25.00" W LON (Site in Canadian Border Zone) |
| Website | www.wudt23.com |
WUDT-CA, in Detroit, Michigan, is a low-power affiliate of the Univision Spanish-language television network. It operates as a Class-A station on channel 23, owned and operated by Equity Media Holdings Corporation, and goes by the nickname of "Univision Detroit". WUDT-CA is also the first Spanish-language television station to take to the air in the state of Michigan since the early 1980s (K66BV, now W66BV, Detroit's TBN network translator), as well as one of only three Univision network stations, alongside KUNS-TV in Seattle, Washington and Univision O&O WQHS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio in or near Canadian bordering markets.
With Univision's return to over-the-air broadcast television in Detroit, this would make Detroit and Windsor the only market in the United States or Canada with terrestrial stations in Spanish and French -- the French station is Radio-Canada affiliate CBEFT on channel 54, which rebroadcasts Toronto's CBLFT.
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[edit] Technical & Service Information
The station's master control is remotely originated, via satellite from Equity's headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas; Equity maintains a local news and advertising sales office at 5600 King Street in Troy.
On March 28, 2007, Comcast added WUDT to its Detroit lineup on channel 65, replacing the network's national East Coast feed, which had been carried since the 1980s when Comcast in the Detroit area was known as Barden Cablevision, and when Univision was known as Spanish International Network (SIN).[1] However, it is still not available on WOW! Detroit, Bright House Livonia or Cogeco Windsor; WOW offers the national feed instead, however, Bright House does not have the station or the network on any of its lineups in Livonia, Farmington, Novi or Redford.[2] Cogeco Windsor doesn't carry the network or the station due to restrictions set by the CRTC.
The station operates with an Effective Radiated Power of only 50 kilowatts with a directional antenna, covering the immediate Detroit and Windsor areas, plus some select communities in southern portions of Oakland and Macomb counties and only a few communities in Wayne and Essex counties.
It has also been realized that because the broadcast comes via satellite from Little Rock, the capabilities of the station's equipment are limited. As a result, often during bad weather the station will lose its signal beam to the network and to headquarters leaving viewers with a black screen. Also, in some cases when the signal is lost, the station displays a "No signal" message on the upper left part of the screen -- an error inherent with satellite equipment.
[edit] History
The station took to the air on January 4, 1989, as low-power W05BN on channel 5. It then became WBXD-LP on September 1, 1995, and would later be acquired by Viacom in 2000, with the MTV2 music television network affiliation -- all of the properties have since gone to the new CBS Corporation after CBS and Viacom went their own separate ways, Viacom did keep MTV2. CBS is responsible for Detroit's only duopoly, CW affiliate WKBD 50 and CBS UHF flagship WWJ-TV 62. CBS also owns radio stations WWJ-AM 950, WXYT 1270 AM with simulcasts on WXYT-FM 97.1, WVMV 98.7 FM, WYCD 99.5 FM, and WOMC 104.3 FM.
On January 30, 2001, the station moved to channel 35 and then to channel 23 on July 12, 2001. Then on June 27, 2002, the station began operating at Class-A status.
Viacom later sold WBXD-CA to Equity Broadcasting, who then proceeded to rename the station WUDT-CA. The station went from MTV2 to Univision in a matter of hours. This move occurred on November 18, 2004. Again as mentioned, Viacom and CBS split very late in 2005. Viacom kept MTV2, but all the broadcast assets went to CBS Corporation. In 2007, Equity Broadcasting was renamed Equity Media Holdings Corporation.
[edit] News
From about 2005 until June 2008, the station presented a nightly newscast, produced and anchored in Denver, Colorado, with stories produced in the Detroit area originating from the station's offices in Troy. On June 6, 2008, Equity discontinued local newscasts at its six Univision affiliates, including WUDT. [3]
[edit] Digital television
The station applied for a license to operate digitally on VHF channel 8, putting it between the analog signals of WXYZ-TV on channel 7 and CBET on channel 9, which could cause some interference. This may also cause interference with Cleveland's WJW in the southeastern areas of Essex County, which has its analog signal on channel 8 as well. The application was filed and a construction permit was granted on October 10, 2007 and it expires on October 11, 2010.[4]
[edit] Trivia
- WUDT is the largest of Equity's three television stations in Michigan. Equity also owns and operates Retro Jams affiliate WUHQ-LP in Grand Rapids and dual-Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WMQF in Marquette.
- Equity would also acquire another former MTV2 station, WBWX-CA, now WUMN-CA channel 13 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Also a Univision affiliate.
- Equity's presence can also be felt on Detroit's ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV, starting in 2008. The Retro Television Network, which Equity owns, would be shown on a digital subchannel (DT 41.4). The agreement between Equity and The E.W. Scripps Company was made official on September 21, 2007.[5]
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- WXYZ-TV
- WUHQ-LP
- WMQF
- WUMN-CA
- Univision
- Retro Television Network
- The E.W. Scripps Company
- Equity Media Holdings Corporation
[edit] External links
- Univision - WUDT 23 Detroit
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WUDT
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WUDT-CA
- FCCinfo.com information on WUDT-CA
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