Product Code Database
WDAZ-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Devils Lake, North Dakota, United States, serving the Grand Forks area as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by the Forum Communications Company, which also owns the Grand Forks Herald. WDAZ-TV's news bureau and advertising sales office are located on South Washington Street in Grand Forks, and its transmitter is located near Dahlen, North Dakota. Despite Devils Lake being WDAZ-TV's city of license, the station maintains no physical presence there.
Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, WDAZ-TV is considered a semi-satellite of sister station and company flagship WDAY-TV (channel 6) in Fargo, which operates two other semi-satellites: KBMY (channel 17) in Bismarck and KMCY (channel 14) in Minot, which itself is a semi-satellite of KBMY. As such, WDAZ-TV all network and syndicated programming as provided by WDAY-TV, and the two stations share a website. However, WDAZ-TV airs separate commercial inserts and legal identifications. Local newscasts, produced by WDAY-TV, are simulcast on both stations. WDAZ-TV serves the northern half of the Fargo–Grand Forks media market while WDAY-TV serves the southern portion. The two stations are counted as a single unit for Nielsen ratings purposes. Internal operations are based at WDAY-TV's studios on South 8th Street in Fargo.
WDAZ-TV is widely carried on cable television in the Canadian province of Manitoba (including Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, Steinbach and Winkler), and in Kenora, Ontario.
Originally an NBC affiliate, WDAZ switched to ABC along with sister station WDAY-TV on August 22, 1983. WDAZ continues to be carried on Canadian cable systems, while other North Dakota broadcasts were replaced with Detroit and/or Toledo, Ohio stations, and then Minneapolis station KARE. WDAZ even maintained a sales office in Winnipeg. In 1986, WDAZ was nearly dropped from cable in Winnipeg. The CBC as a "cultural conduit connecting our coasts"? That's so 1986! The View from Seven After the crisis, WDAZ and Prairie Public Television's KGFE set up a fixed microwave link to carry stronger signals into Winnipeg.
WDAY/WDAZ began operating cable-only The WB affiliate "WBFG" in 1998. WDAY/WDAZ replaced The CW Plus successor of "WBFG" with the Justice Network (which launched in early 2016) on new digital broadcast subchannels WDAY 6.2 and WDAZ 8.2 and WDAY'Z Xtra (which launched in 2013) on digital subchannel 6.3 in the Fargo area and 8.3 in the Grand Forks area. WDAZ-DT4 returned to the air in 2017 as an affiliate of Ion Television.
WDAY X (as WDAY Xtra) became available in HD in 2014, and in 2016, MyNetworkTV programming began airing in prime time, although on KBMY and KMCY only (in Bismarck and Minot respectively) RabbitEars TV Query for KBMY RabbitEars TV Query for KMCY but not on WDAY or WDAZ RabbitEars TV Query for WDAY RabbitEars TV Query for WDAZ (the most likely reason being that both of those stations broadcast to a viewing area that is currently being serviced by MyNetworkTV affiliate KRDK-TV from Valley City–Fargo).
WDAY's morning show First News has been broadcast on WDAZ since its inception, although the broadcast went statewide in April 2014 as it debuted on sister ABC affiliates KBMY in Bismarck and KMCY in Minot. WDAZ's weekend news was taken over by WDAY in 2011 and its 5 p.m. weekday newscast was taken over in July 2014. The decision to replace the 5 p.m. broadcast, which had been anchored by long-time personality Terry Dullum, was met with an immediate backlash from viewers, including those who circulated a petition on Change.org demanding that Forum restore the local 5 p.m. news to WDAZ. General manager Mari Ossenfort defended the cutbacks at WDAZ, believing that the stations were to focus more on producing "content" rather than "shows".
WDAZ is noted for being nationally honored with the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Continuing Coverage during the Red River Flood of 1997. WDAZ received two Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Awards in 2014.
On February 22, 2012, WDAZ began presenting its local newscasts in widescreen standard definition, while the morning and weekend newscasts originating from WDAY were presented in high definition. WDAZ began presenting its locally produced newscasts in high definition on October 15, 2013.
WDAZ signs off briefly in the overnight hours; as a result, ABC's overnight news program, World News Now, is not broadcast. The station goes off the air at 3:37 a.m. and signs on again at 4 a.m. to broadcast America This Morning. WDAZ previously broadcast a weekly political talk show called Agenda, which was primarily on local and regional issues.
Starting on August 29, 2016, WDAY Xtra and the Justice Network aired WDAY Xtra News weekdays at 9 p.m.
WDAZ began airing a 4 p.m. weekday newscast on September 11, 2017, that originates from Fargo–based sister station WDAY-TV. It was the first afternoon newscast ever to air in the market.
On November 30, 2018, it was announced that WDAZ would merge its news department with that of WDAY-TV, resulting in the cancellation of WDAZ's separate 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, effective December 21. General manager Joshua Roher cited "changes to distribution of television, emerging technologies and economic factors in our area" as reasons for the consolidation, in a statement to the Grand Forks Herald. WDAZ's studio continued as WDAY-TV's Grand Forks news bureau and sales office.
| +Subchannels of WDAZ-TV ! scope = "col" | Channel ! scope = "col" | Res. ! scope = "col" | Aspect ! scope = "col" | Short name ! scope = "col" | Programming |
True Crime Network is carried on a digital subchannel of WDAY 6.2 in Fargo, WDAZ 8.2 in Devils Lake/Grand Forks, KBMY 17.2 in Bismarck and KMCY 14.2 in Minot. WDAY 6.2 and WDAZ 8.2 were previously Fargo CW (the successor to Fargo WB "WBFG") until that network's affiliation moved to KXJB-LD 30.2/28.2 in September 2016.
WDAZ and Prairie Public Television (through KGFE) are the only stations from this region that still air in Manitoba, after KVLY-TV (formerly KTHI) and KXJB-TV were replaced with other network affiliates in March 1986. This was due to a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision that allowed the Winnipeg cable companies to replace the CBS and NBC affiliates with Detroit stations (WJBK (later WWJ-TV) and WDIV-TV, respectively) because of complaints about poor reception, but denied them the ability to replace WDAZ with WXYZ-TV or KGFE/PPT with WTVS (although the latter station would later be added as a second PBS station to cable customers).http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/eng/notices/1999/..%5C..%5CDecisions%5C1986%5CDB86-184.htm Shaw Cable airs WDAZ on cable channel 7 and MTS TV airs WDAZ on cable channel 13. For several years in the 1980s, WDAZ was also fed in Saskatchewan as a replacement for KTHI on its Telecable (Saskatoon) (now Shaw Communications) and Cable Regina (now Access Communications) systems, before it (along with two Williston stations and PPT) were also replaced by Detroit stations in the aftermath of a similar CRTC decision in October 1984. CRTC Decision, Oct. 23, 1984
WDAZ can also be seen over the air in extreme southern Manitoba, and in southern parts of Winnipeg, with a rooftop antenna. WDAZ's over-the-air signal is spotty at best in Manitoba, as its transmitter is more than from Winnipeg.
Advertising from Winnipeg businesses sometimes air on the station, although this is sometimes ineffective due to simultaneous substitution. This practice requires Shaw and MTS to replace WDAZ's signal with that of a Winnipeg station (usually either CKY-DT, CKND-DT, or CHMI-DT) whenever the same program and episode airs at the same time. Because WDAZ is carried on cable in southern Manitoba, it has become somewhat of a regional superstation.
WDAZ is also available on cable or IPTV providers in the northeastern portion of the Minot–Bismarck market (in Rolette, Pierce and Wells counties), and in Red Lake, Minnesota, (Beltrami County), located in the northern edge of the television market. Cable or IPTV providers in Belcourt, Rolla, Rugby, Harvey, and Fessenden have carried WDAZ for decades rather than sister ABC affiliate KMCY in Minot.
|
|
