WDCN-LD

Last updated

WDCN-LD
ATSC 3.0 station
City Fairfax, Virginia
Channels
Programming
Affiliations6.1: The Country Network
Ownership
OwnerSignal Above LLC
OperatorCosta Mesa Boston
History
Founded1996;28 years ago (1996)
Former call signs
  • W42BE (1996–2007)
  • W06CJ (2007–2008)
  • WDCN-LP (2008–2021)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 42 (UHF, 1996–2007), 6 (VHF, 2007–2021)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 20450
Class LD
ERP 3 kW
HAAT 189.9 m (623 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 38°52′28.2″N77°13′23.6″W / 38.874500°N 77.223222°W / 38.874500; -77.223222
Links
Public license information
Radio station information
Frequency 87.7 MHz
BrandingDC 87.7FM
Programming
Format Spanish contemporary hits
Links
Webcast Listen Live
Website www.dc877fm.com

WDCN-LD (channel 6), branded on air as DC 87.7FM, is a low-power television station licensed to Fairfax, Virginia, United States, serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Owned by Signal Above LLC, WDCN-LD markets itself as a conventional FM radio station, broadcasting Spanish contemporary hits.

Contents

WDCN-LD has its studios on Old Gallows Road in Tysons. The transmitter is on Lee Highway (US 29) near Interstate 495 (The Capital Beltway) in Merrifield. [2]

History

Channel 6

In the analog television era, stations on television channel 6 broadcast an FM audio signal at 87.75 MHz which is receivable by ordinary FM radios. These stations, colloquially known as "Franken-FMs", took advantage of this fact and a loophole in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations that only require a television station to broadcast some kind of video content, not that the video and audio content are related. [3]

Low-powered analog stations were exempt from the 2009 digital television transition, allowing WDCN-LP to continue operating as a Franken-FM. However, the later set a 2021 deadline for all low-powered stations to cease operating in analog. Several Franken-FMs proposed experimentally embedding an FM carrier at 87.7 MHz inside an ATSC 3.0 signal, which tests later showed to be technically feasible; the FCC initially allowed this under special temporary authority grants, provided the stations broadcast at least one accompanying television service, and the FM and television signals had similar coverage. [4] On July 20, 2023, an FCC "Report and Order" included this station as one of 13 "FM6" stations allowed to continue to operate an FM radio broadcast, as a "ancillary or supplementary" service. [5]

Switch to digital

WDCN-LP signed off on July 13, 2021, the day on which the FCC ended all analog television operation nationwide. [6] It restarted operations on October 5, 2021, carrying The Country Network and the embedded FM signal. [7]

WDCN-LP previously simulcast on co-owned WOWZ-LP, another low-power channel 6 station, licensed to Salisbury, Maryland, and serving the Ocean City–Salisbury area. That station has since switched to a simulcast of WVES. [8]

Sports programming

From 2010 through 2012, WDCN-LP was the home for Spanish-language broadcasts of D.C. United soccer games. WDCN-LP carried all of the team's games, including those not broadcast on television. [9]

Since the 2019 NFL season, WDCN-LD is the flagship Spanish-language radio station of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. [10]

WDCN-LD and co-owned WFAX (1220 AM) broadcast Washington Nationals games in Spanish for the 2024 season. [11]

Subchannel

Subchannel of WDCN-LD (ATSC 3.0) [12]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
6.1 1080p 16:9 WDCN The Country Network

Related Research Articles

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WNYZ-LD is a low-power television station in New York City, owned by K Media. It broadcasts on VHF channel 6, commonly known as an "FM6 operation" because the audio portion of the signal lies at 87.75 MHz, receivable by analog FM radios, tuned to the 87.75 frequency. Throughout its existence, the station has operated closer to a radio station than a television station. WNYZ-LD broadcasts video, usually silent films, which are repeated throughout the day to fulfill the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirement that video be broadcast on the licensed frequency. The station airs this programming without commercials, while viewers hear the audio of WWRU out of Jersey City, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTCL-LD</span> Low-power Telemundo affiliate in Cleveland

WTCL-LD is a low-power television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with Telemundo. It is owned by Gray Television alongside two full-power sister stations: Shaker Heights–licensed CBS affiliate WOIO and Lorain–licensed CW affiliate WUAB ; WTCL-LD also functions as an ultra high frequency (UHF) repeater for WOIO and WUAB. All three stations share studios at Reserve Square in downtown Cleveland; WTCL-LD's transmitter is located in suburban Parma. WTCL-LD's visibility is extended to the southern part of the Cleveland market via Canton–licensed WOHZ-CD, which has a transmitter located northeast of Canton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRME-LD</span> Television and radio station in Chicago

WRME-LD is a low-power television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, affiliated with Jewelry Television. The station's audio channel, transmitting at 87.75 MHz, lies within the FM band; as a result, WRME-LD's audio channel operates as a radio station at 87.7 FM. Owned by Venture Technologies Group and operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Weigel Broadcasting, the station airs a soft adult contemporary/oldies format via the 87.75 MHz audio channel under the brand 87.7 MeTV FM, a brand extension of Weigel's MeTV television network. The WRME-LD studios are co-located with Weigel's headquarters in Chicago's Greektown neighborhood, while the transmitter resides atop the John Hancock Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTLE-LD</span> Telemundo affiliate in Odessa, Texas

KTLE-LD is a low-power television station licensed to Odessa, Texas, United States, affiliated with the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CBS affiliate KOSA-TV, MyNetworkTV affiliate KWWT, Big Spring–licensed CW+ affiliate KCWO-TV, and Midland-licensed low-power The365 affiliate KMDF-LD. The five stations share studios inside the Music City Mall on East 42nd Street in Odessa, with a secondary studio and news bureau in downtown Midland; KTLE-LD's transmitter is located on US 385 just north of downtown Odessa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDFM (FM)</span> Hot adult contemporary radio station in Defiance, Ohio

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KNIK-LD is a low-power television station in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, which is currently silent. The station was one of very few low-power television stations that operated predominantly as a radio station by way of the fact that many FM radio receivers can tune in a VHF channel 6 television audio carrier at 87.75 MHz. This technique is made more potent due to a formerly unforeseen interpretation of deregulatory language in FCC low-power television station regulations:

Sec. 73.653 Operation of TV aural and visual transmitters.

The aural and visual transmitters may be operated independently of each other or, if operated simultaneously, may be used with different and unrelated program material.

KZNO-LD is a low-power television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. Owned by the Venture Technologies Group, it transmits from Mount Harvard, a peak adjacent to Mount Wilson in Los Angeles County, as a Spanish-language religious radio station that can be received at 87.7 FM. Its ATSC 3.0 video feed broadcasts Jewelry Television on digital channel 12.1.

KLOA-LP, VHF analog channel 6, was a low-powered television station licensed to operate in Inyokern, California, United States. Because the allocation of channel 6 in NTSC fell approximately within the lower fringes of the FM broadcast band, KLOA-LP took advantage of the station's audio carrier, broadcasting on 87.75 MHz, and marketed itself as a radio station. It aired a Classic Country format under the moniker "87.7 Country Gold". According to the Federal Communications Commission, television stations must operate both the audio and video carriers; however, the carriers are not required to "accompany" each other, meaning that the audio and video can operate independently. This meant that KLOA-LP needed not broadcast any particular image, as long as they broadcast a video signal.

This is a list of low-power television stations (LPTV) in the United States, transmitting on VHF channel 6, which also operate as radio stations capable of being picked up by many standard FM receivers. These stations are colloquially known as "Franken FMs", a reference to Frankenstein's monster, because TV stations functioning as radio stations had not been envisioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC commonly refers to these stations as "FM6" operations. All of these FM transmissions are authorized for operation on a center frequency of 87.75 MHz.

KXKW-LD is a low-power television station in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with the 24/7 headline news service NewsNet. It is owned by Delta Media Corporation alongside dual MeTV/Telemundo affiliate KLWB and Class A Heroes & Icons affiliate KDCG-CD. The three stations share studios on Evangeline Thruway in Carencro; KXKW-LD's transmitter is located northeast of Lafayette.

KXDP-LD, virtual channel 18, is a low-power television station licensed to Denver, Colorado, United States. Owned by Mount Pleasant, South Carolina–based Syncom Media Group, it broadcasts a Regional Mexican radio format as "La Invasora 87.7".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KBKF-LD</span> Television station in California, United States

KBKF-LD is a low-power television station in San Jose, California, United States. Owned by Venture Technologies Group, it transmits from an antenna on Loma Prieta Peak.

WVOA-LD is a low-power television station licensed to Westvale, New York, United States, serving the Syracuse area. The station is owned by Metro TV, Inc., one of the numerous holding companies owned or co-owned by Craig Fox. WVOA-LD's transmitter is located on the WOLF radio tower on West Kirkpatrick Street northwest of downtown Syracuse.

KGHD-LD is a low-power television station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The station is owned by Obidia Porras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVES (FM)</span> Radio station in Chincoteague, Virginia

WVES is a broadcast radio station licensed to Chincoteague, Virginia, serving Chincoteague and Accomac in Virginia and Pocomoke City in Maryland. WVES is owned and operated by GSB Broadcasting.

WBPA-LD is a low-power television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with Rev'n. The station is owned by Venture Technologies Group.

K251BS is a translator radio station licensed to North Las Vegas, Nevada, and is owned through licensee Latino Hustle Group LLC. The station carries a genre hybridization and markets itself as "the only radio station that combines two of the more listened-to genres in Spanish—Regional Mexican and Reggaeton."

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WDCN-LD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ FCCdata.org/WDCN
  3. ↑ "Welcome to Mega Media Group, Inc. - Recent News". Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
  4. ↑ "'Franken FM' In San Jose Gets Six Month Lease On Life; Other LPTVs Could Follow". Insideradio.com.
  5. ↑ "Fifth Report and Order: In the Matter of Amendment of Parts 73 and 74 of the Commission's Rules to Establish Rules for Digital Low Power Television and Television Translator Stations" (FCC 23-58, MB Docket No. 03-185, Adopted: July 20, 2023, Released: July 20, 2023)
  6. ↑ WDCN-LP 87.7 Final Sign-Off
  7. ↑ "WDCN-LD Facility Data". FCCData.
  8. ↑ "Delmarva Country Station Rebrands... And Reverts After C&D - RadioInsight". October 26, 2017.
  9. ↑ "La Nueva 87.7 FM Returns as Official Spanish-Language Radio Partner". OurSports Central. March 5, 2012.
  10. ↑ Campbell, Colin (December 26, 2019). "Spanish radio announcers bring soccer-style energy to NFL". The Baltimore Sun – via AP.
  11. ↑ "DC Low Power FM Snags Play-By-Play For Washington Nationals". Insideradio.com. March 14, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Digital TV Listing for WDCN-LD". RabbitEars.Info.
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