View source for WDIV-TV

{{short description|NBC affiliate in Detroit}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = WDIV-TV
| city                   =
| logo                   = WDIV-TV logo 2014.svg
| logo_size              = 125px
| image                  = Logo for WDIV-DT3.jpg
| image_size             = 125px
| branding               = {{ubl|Local 4|MeTV Detroit (DT3)}}
| digital                = 32 ([[UHF]])
| virtual                = 4
| translators            =
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''4.1:''' [[NBC]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner                  = [[Graham Media Group]]
| licensee               = Graham Media Group, Michigan, Inc.
| location               = [[Detroit, Michigan]]
| country                = United States
| founded                = October 23, 1946
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1947|3|4|p=y}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/541255/detail.html |title=WDIV Makes Television History! Travel Back In Time With Local 4 Firsts! - Inside WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit |access-date=June 21, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070805094251/http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/541255/detail.html |archive-date=August 5, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| last_airdate           =
| callsign_meaning       = "We're Detroit's Channel IV" ([[Roman numeral]] 4)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://home.earthlink.net/~nelsonbe/origins.call-list.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604153157/http://home.earthlink.net/~nelsonbe/origins.call-list.html|url-status=dead|title=Call Letter Origins: The List|archive-date=June 4, 2011}}</ref> or "Where Detroit Is Vital"
| sister_stations        =
| former_callsigns       = {{ubl|WWDT (1946–1947)|WWJ-TV (1947–1978)}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 4 ([[VHF]], 1947–2009)|'''Digital:''' 45 (UHF, 1999–2020)}}
| former_affiliations    = {{ubl|'''Both secondary:'''|[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1947–1948)|[[Paramount Television Network|Paramount]] (1953–1955)}}
| erp                    = 720 kW
| haat                   = {{convert|307.3|m|ft|1|abbr=on}}
| facility_id            = 53114
| coordinates            = {{Coord|42|28|58|N|83|12|19|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline, title}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                = {{URL|https://www.clickondetroit.com/}}
}}
'''WDIV-TV''' (channel 4) is a [[television station]] in [[Detroit, Michigan]], United States, affiliated with [[NBC]]. It serves as the [[Flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] broadcast property of the [[Graham Media Group]] subsidiary of [[Graham Holdings Company]]. WDIV-TV maintains studio facilities on West Lafayette Boulevard in Detroit, making it the only major television station in the market with offices and studios within the Detroit city limits. Detroit's other television stations are all based in the suburb of [[Southfield, Michigan|Southfield]]; WDIV's transmitter is, however, located on Greenfield Road in Southfield.
==History==
===Early history===
The station first signed on the air as WWDT on October 23, 1946, for one day of demonstrative programming;<ref>[http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/541255/detail.html WDIV Makes Television History! Travel Back In Time With Local 4 Firsts!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070805094251/http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/541255/detail.html |date=August 5, 2007 }} (2004). ''Clickondetroit.com''</ref> regular programming commenced on March 4, 1947. It was the first television station in Michigan and the tenth station to sign on in the United States overall. The station was originally owned by the Evening News Association, parent company of ''[[The Detroit News]]'', along with WWJ radio ([[WWJ (AM)|AM 950]] and FM 97.1, now [[WXYT-FM]]). On May 15, 1947, the television station changed its call letters to WWJ-TV to match its radio sisters. Channel 4 has always been an NBC affiliate owing to WWJ radio's longtime affiliation with the [[NBC Red Network]], but also aired some programs from the [[DuMont Television Network]] prior to [[WJBK-TV]] (channel 2)'s sign-on in October 1948.
Channel 4 had a number of broadcasting firsts in Michigan including the first telecast of [[Detroit Tigers]], [[Detroit Red Wings|Red Wings]] and [[Detroit Lions|Lions]] games as well as the state's first televised newscasts. The station's studios were originally located at 600 West Lafayette, across the street from the ''Detroit News'' building in downtown Detroit (and next door to its present studio location). In 1954, the station moved its {{convert|1004|ft|m|0|adj=on}} transmitter from the [[Penobscot Building]] in [[Downtown Detroit]] to the intersection of Greenfield and Lincoln roads in Southfield. Network programming was broadcast in [[color television|color]] starting in 1954. The station began broadcasting its newscasts and other locally produced programs in color in 1960, when it purchased new studio camera equipment.
Over the years, the Evening News Association acquired several other broadcasting outlets, such as KTVY (now [[KFOR-TV]]) in [[Oklahoma City]], [[KOLD-TV]] in [[Tucson, Arizona]], and [[WALA-TV]] in [[Mobile, Alabama]]. Eventually, the Evening News Association created Universal Communications Corporation as a holding company for its broadcasting interests, with WWJ-AM-FM-TV as the [[Flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] stations.
===Trade to The Washington Post Company===
In 1969, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) began to impose restrictions on the [[concentration of media ownership|common ownership of print and broadcast media in the same market]]. The combination of the ''Detroit News'' and WWJ-AM-FM-TV was given [[grandfather clause|grandfathered protection]] from the new regulations, but by the mid-to-late 1970s, the Evening News Association was under pressure to break up its Detroit cluster voluntarily. Fearing that an FCC-forced divestiture was imminent, the Evening News Association agreed to trade WWJ-TV to the Washington Post Company in return for that company's flagship station, WTOP-TV (later WDVM-TV and now [[WUSA (TV)|WUSA]]).<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Two more crossowners go thataway |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1977/BC-1977-12-12.pdf#page=19 |magazine=Broadcasting |date=December 12, 1977 |pages=19–21 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> On July 22, 1978, due to an FCC regulation in place at the time that forbade TV and radio stations in the same market but with different ownership groups from sharing the same call signs, channel 4 changed its call letters to the present WDIV-TV,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=WDIV advertisment |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1978/1978-07-17-BC.pdf#page=23 |magazine=Broadcasting |date=July 17, 1978 |pages=23–25 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> for "Detroit's IV" (representing the [[Roman numeral]] for 4). Additionally, in a series of promotional announcements with news anchor Dwayne X. Riley, the new call letters were said to represent the phrase, "Where Detroit Is Vital". The WWJ-TV call sign was later adopted for use by the former WGPR-TV (channel 62) after its 1995 purchase by [[CBS]], which had acquired WWJ radio in 1989 (CBS sold off its radio unit in 2017); the current [[WWJ-TV]] is a separate entity and not related to WDIV.
Ultimately, the FCC never imposed any limitations on ownership of television stations and newspapers in the same market and the exchange of stations between the Evening News Association (eventually subsumed by the [[Gannett Company]] in 1985 and later known as [[Tegna Inc.|Tegna]] following the split of the Gannett Company in 2015) and The Washington Post Company (which was renamed [[Graham Holdings Company]] following the sale of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' in 2013) became somewhat unusual in television broadcasting.
In 1982, WDIV moved out of its facility (which had been built in 1936 for WWJ radio and expanded in 1948 and today is known as the Walker-Roehrig Building) adjacent to the headquarters of the ''Detroit News'' and moved one block to its current broadcast facility at West Lafayette Boulevard. The building has also housed the headquarters of Graham Media Group since 1997; the "Local" branding now used by most of the group's stations began at WDIV alongside its acquiring of flagship status in 2000. The station later became available outside the Detroit market when it was selected for inclusion on many Canadian cable providers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. WDIV's signal has been uplinked on [[C band (IEEE)|C-band]] satellite since at least 1988. In 2004, the station bolstered local programming by securing broadcast rights to several [[Detroit Pistons]] basketball games (Fox Sports Detroit—now called [[FanDuel Sports Network Detroit]]—became the Pistons' sole broadcaster in 2008) as well as returning as the host television station for the [[North American International Auto Show]]. The station airs the auto show's charity preview, [[America's Thanksgiving Parade]] (both in [[high-definition television|high definition]]), the [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] Fireworks on the [[Detroit International Riverfront]], and the charity event "The Hob-Nobble Gobble" which is held the Friday before the week of [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]].
On April 15, 2005, former WDIV employee John Owens was shot in the station's lobby by Epifanio Rivas, Jr., a man with a history of harassing WDIV employees. Rivas was charged with attempted murder, while Owens remained in the hospital in critical but stable condition. On November 21, 2006, [[Wayne County, Michigan|Wayne County]] Circuit Court Judge James Callahan sentenced Rivas to 16 to 32 years in prison for the shooting; he was also sentenced to two years for a felony firearm conviction. In December 2008, WDIV began streaming its newscasts online as part of a redesign of the station's website. On June 21, 2010, The 52nd Annual Target Fireworks were produced and aired entirely in high definition. On August 6, 2010, WDIV-TV and [[WXYZ-TV]] (channel 7) became the first stations in Detroit to offer [[Mobile DTV]] feeds.
On the evening of April 14, 2011, a suitcase containing a suspected [[improvised explosive device]] was left in the WDIV studio lobby after the person who planted the device was denied entry by the station's security guard, prompting the Detroit Police Bomb Squad to evacuate the studio as well as the [[Doubletree Hotel]] across the street. That night's 11 p.m. newscast was broadcast from the corner of Lafayette and Howard streets; the evacuation resulted in master control operations being inaccessible, preventing the broadcast or editing of news stories, and the broadcast of commercials. The station's [[virtual channel]] temporarily reverted to 45.1 (the station's physical digital channel), with HD content downconverted to [[720p]]. The device was detonated minutes later, with police giving the all-clear at 11:15&nbsp;p.m. for the news crew to re-enter the studio.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/police-at-wdiv-tv-because-of-bomb-scare| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110416110216/http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/police-at-wdiv-tv-because-of-bomb-scare| archive-date = April 16, 2011| title = Detroit bomb squad gives all-clear after bomb scare at WDIV-TV}}</ref>
Upon re-entering the studio, anchor [[Devin Scillian]] explained that WDIV has a policy of not immediately reporting [[bomb threat]]s unless there is a true threat of an explosion or loss of life. However, because staff was barred access into the studio for the 11 p.m. newscast, an explanation as to why they were on the street, broadcasting from the station's mobile truck instead of the studio, needed to be given. The news was first reported by the Twitter and Facebook accounts of WDIV's news staff; WJBK, WXYZ-TV and [[WMYD]] (channel 20) reported on the situation while during the lockout, before the WDIV mobile truck could return to the studios from its assignments. A sweater and some empty [[soda cans]] were later found in the briefcase which was left by a homeless man that had followed a WDIV employee in for warmth and coffee; the man was brought to [[Detroit Receiving Hospital]] for observation the next day. The [[Detroit Police Department]] and Post-Newsweek's management said that no charges would be filed, calling it "just a big misunderstanding".
==Programming==
WDIV-TV is one of the few television stations in the United States to have aired ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' and ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' from the beginning of their respective syndication runs in 1983 and 1984.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/542343/detail.html |title=Channel 4 Schedule: 1988-89 Season - Inside WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit |access-date=July 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708230616/http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/542343/detail.html |archive-date=July 8, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> Because of this, the programs did not air on [[CBC Television|CBC]] [[owned-and-operated station]] [[CBET-DT]] in Windsor during the years the Canadian network carried the game shows; they were removed from the CBC schedule in 2012.<ref name="CBCCancellation">{{cite web|url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/91994-cbc-axes-jeopardy-wheel-of-fortune|title=CBC axes Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune|work=[[The Chronicle Herald]]|date=May 2, 2012|access-date=May 26, 2012}}</ref>
===Programming preemptions===
In the 1970s and 1980s, WDIV preempted one to two hours of NBC's daytime programming every day. The station also refused to air ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'' and its successor, ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]'' at 12:35&nbsp;a.m. for many years, and initially did not clear the Letterman-era program at all.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/542348/detail.html |title=Channel 4 Schedule: 1983-84 Season - Inside WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit |access-date=July 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708224658/http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/542348/detail.html |archive-date=July 8, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> Instead, until 1999, the station opted to rebroadcast ''[[The Jenny Jones Show]]'' in that timeslot, along with off-network syndicated programs such as ''[[Barney Miller]]''.<ref name="auto1"/>
During the 1978–79 season, it aired ''This Morning'', a locally based talk show hosted by Cathie Mann, in place of the game shows ''[[Card Sharks]]'' and ''[[All Star Secrets]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/542322/detail.html |title=Channel 4 Schedule: 1978-79 Season - Inside WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit |access-date=July 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708224643/http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/542322/detail.html |archive-date=July 8, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> while for many years, NBC's 12:30&nbsp;p.m. programming was preempted in favor of a newscast.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/542314/detail.html |title=Channel 4 Schedule: 1969-70 Season - About WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit |access-date=December 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210125117/http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/542314/detail.html |archive-date=December 10, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/542334/detail.html |title=Channel 4 Schedule: 1973-74 Season - About WDIV News Story - WDIV Detroit |access-date=December 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210125123/http://www.clickondetroit.com/station/542334/detail.html |archive-date=December 10, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the 1983–84 season, the newscast was expanded to an hour, preempting NBC's noon programming (most notably ''[[Super Password]]''). That season, WDIV also preempted the 1983 revival of ''[[Dream House (game show)|Dream House]]'' in favor of the much more popular syndicated game show ''[[Tic-Tac-Dough]]''.<ref name="auto"/>
From its debut until September 9, 2022, WDIV has also delayed the [[Today with Hoda & Jenna|fourth hour of ''Today'']] (which nationally airs at 10&nbsp;am), airing it generally at 11&nbsp;am, save for a period from 2013 to 2015 when it aired at 2&nbsp;p.m. after the launch their own local talk show ''Live in the D''. In its place, WDIV has aired ''[[The Ellen DeGeneres Show]]'', ''[[The Ricki Lake Show]]'' and ''Rachael Ray'' at 10&nbsp;am, with ''Live in the D'' airing in that timeslot.
The station did not carry NBC's late night [[rerun]] of the fourth hour of ''Today'' until 2019, preferring to carry an encore of the 11&nbsp;p.m. newscast, paid programming, and a second run of ''Inside Edition''. The ''Today'' encore was dropped sometime during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]], returning to the previous schedule. Along with all other Post-Newsweek stations, WDIV refused to air any of NBC's [[Poker on television|televised poker programming]], including ''[[Poker After Dark]]'', the ''[[National Heads-Up Poker Championship]]'' and ''[[Face the Ace]]''.
From 1999 to 2002, WDIV did not clear the soap opera ''[[Passions]]'' at 2&nbsp;p.m. Instead, it aired on WADL (channel 38) at noon on a day-behind basis, while WDIV aired daytime talk shows at 2&nbsp;p.m.; [[Houston]] sister station [[KPRC-TV]] did this as well until August 30, 2004, when it became the last NBC station to carry ''Passions'' at 2&nbsp;p.m. These two stations were the only NBC affiliate holdouts to the show; the issue was rendered moot when NBC canceled the soap opera in 2007. WDIV, KPRC-TV and [[Bonneville International]]–owned NBC affiliate [[KSL-TV]] in [[Salt Lake City]] also never carried ''[[Sunset Beach (TV series)|Sunset Beach]]''; the soap was seen, respectively, on [[WKBD]], [[KTXH]] and [[KUCW|KOOG]] (at the time, the former two were UPN affiliates and the latter was a [[The WB|WB]] affiliate).
NBC programming is still occasionally preempted for special events, including the annual Ford Fireworks and America's Thanksgiving Parade (whose coverage, incidentally, preempts the live [[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade]] broadcast on the station) and on occasion, infomercials. On most national holidays, local and syndicated programming is typically preempted, aside from sports and select NBC prime time programming such as movies or specials.
===Local programs and personalities===
WDIV was the launching pad for several locally produced shows that went national. The station broadcast the talk show ''Sonya'' (hosted by Dr. [[Sonya Friedman]]) live at 4&nbsp;p.m. It was so popular that the station under the banner of Post-Newsweek Stations, syndicated it on a delayed basis to [[USA Network]] (which is now co-owned with NBC under NBCUniversal). WDIV also produced the afternoon variety show ''The [[Tony Orlando]] Show'' at 4&nbsp;p.m. However, the station's management canceled the program after one year to run the syndicated daytime talk show ''The Jenny Jones Show''.
WDIV later signed [[WOMC]] (104.3 FM) morning radio host [[Dick Purtan]] to perform live segments during a 4–5 p.m. comedy block called ''Purtan's People''. It was followed by WOMC's Tom Ryan with a monthly special that showed [[B-movie]]s with comedy skits (in which Ryan played a character known as ''Count Scary''). This was during the heyday of NBC's late-night success ''[[Second City Television]]'' and [[Joe Flaherty]]'s ''Count Floyd''. Eventually, ''Count Scary'' was dropped by WDIV and moved on to WKBD-TV (channel 50)'s ''Shocktoberfest''. One local program idea that almost cost the station was for a Detroit-based comedy-drama called ''Hamtramck'' which aired only once. It created a storm of controversy with the [[Hamtramck]]/[[Polish American]] community. The program's executive producer, Alan Frank, apologized to the community.
[[Meteorologist]] Chuck Gaidica hosted the [[Michigan Lottery]]'s game shows and his own show. Sports director Bernie Smilovitz also hosted a couple of shows including ''The Chuck and Bernie Show'' in which featured then Detroit Pistons coach [[Chuck Daly]], and ''The Sparky and Bernie Show'' with Detroit Tigers manager [[Sparky Anderson]]. Smilovitz also hosted ''Bernie's Bloopers/Weekend at Bernie's'' [[blooper]]s specials.
===Sports===
WDIV was the over-the-air television flagship station of the Detroit Tigers, a relationship that lasted twenty seasons, from [[1975 Detroit Tigers season|1975]] to [[1994 Detroit Tigers season|1994]], and previously from [[1947 Detroit Tigers season|1947]] to [[1952 Detroit Tigers season|1952]]. During the majority of WDIV's second tenure as the Tigers' broadcast outlet, [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Famers]] [[George Kell]] and [[Al Kaline]] served as play-by-play announcer and color analyst, respectively, on the telecasts. Bernie Smiltovitz hosted the station's pregame show, ''Tigers 'XX'' ([[1984 Detroit Tigers season|'84]], [[1985 Detroit Tigers season|'85]], etc.) during most of WDIV's time as the TV home of the Tigers. As a result of the station's carriage of Tigers games (which usually ranged between 40 and 50 telecasts per season, the majority of them on weekends), WDIV preempted or rescheduled any affected NBC programming that was displaced. The station also carried any Tigers games when they were featured nationally as part of [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC's MLB coverage]] from its 1947 sign-on until [[1989 Detroit Tigers season|1989]]; this included [[World Series]] victories in [[1968 World Series|1968]] and [[1984 World Series|1984]].
WDIV and WDWB/WMYD shared the over-the-air broadcast rights to the Detroit Pistons, from [[2004–05 Detroit Pistons season|2004]] to [[2007–08 Detroit Pistons season|2008]]. After the 2007–08 season, the Pistons' local telecasts became exclusive to Fox Sports Detroit. As the co-flagship of the Pistons' television network, WDIV was the local outlet that televised the "[[Pacers–Pistons brawl|Malice in the Palace]]" between the Pistons and the [[2004–05 Indiana Pacers season|Indiana Pacers]] on the night of November 19, 2004, which led to the most infamous brawl in NBA history near that game's conclusion; the station also aired any Pistons games via [[NBA on NBC|NBC's broadcast contract with the NBA]] from 1990 to 2002.
The station has also carried the NFL's Detroit Lions, but not as an "official station" partner where it broadcast pre-season and team programming. From [[1970 Detroit Lions season|1970]] to [[1997 Detroit Lions season|1997]], via NBC's broadcast contract with the [[American Football Conference]], home interconference contests were aired on channel 4 (which included the [[NFL on Thanksgiving Day|Thanksgiving games]] in some years). Since [[2006 Detroit Lions season|2006]], Lions games are shown on the station as part of NBC's ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]'' package.
Additionally, through [[NHL on NBC|NBC's broadcast contract with the NHL]], Detroit Red Wings games were carried until the deal's end in [[2020–21 Detroit Red Wings season|2021]], including the team's winning run through the [[2008 Stanley Cup Finals]] as well as the team's appearance in the [[2009 Stanley Cup Finals]], though it often had to compete with CBC Television's CBET-DT across the river in Windsor, which also carries NHL playoff coverage.
Since [[2023 Michigan Wolverines football team|2023]], the station has carried select [[Michigan Wolverines football]] games through [[College Football on NBC Sports|NBC's broadcast contract with the Big Ten Conference]].
===News operation===
[[Image:WDIV Local R News Remote Van.JPG|thumb|250px|right|WDIV-TV ''Local 4 News'' remote van.]]
WDIV-TV presently broadcasts {{frac|36|1|2}} hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with six hours each weekday, three hours on Saturdays and {{frac|3|1|2}} hours on Sundays). The station uses a [[Airbus Helicopters|Eurocopter A350]] helicopter for newsgathering, which is also shared with WJBK and WXYZ-TV through a [[Local News Service]] agreement with those stations' respective owners [[Fox Television Stations]] and the [[E. W. Scripps Company]]. This helicopter features a completely digital HD video system and is quite noticeable from the ground with its large front camera pod and distinctive red paint (hence the callsign "Red Bird"). WDIV also purchases services from Metro Traffic, which provides traffic reporting from its analog SD video platform, aloft on a Bell 206 airframe. This helicopter is blue and white with a smaller camera pod. Both helicopters are operated by HeliInc, which provides aircraft services to broadcasters in many markets.
WDIV's news department operates a fleet of 14 newsgathering vehicles, including 11 standard news ENG ([[electronic news-gathering]]) [[Ford E-Series|Ford E350]] vans with two-band digital microwave transmitters and video editing platforms. One of these trucks is a dual-purpose microwave truck and digital satellite uplink package. The station has one micro-ENG E150 van capable of rapid deployment short-range broadcasts and one additional satellite uplink vehicle with a much larger 1.8-meter antenna.
On January 8, 2007, the station added a half-hour late afternoon newscast at 4&nbsp;pm. In the spring of 2007, WDIV received an [[RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award]], one of the highest honors in broadcast journalism. "The China Syndrome", reported and produced by Devin Scillian, was named Best Documentary. On August 19, 2007, starting with the 11 p.m. newscast, WDIV became the second television station in Detroit to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.
In August 2013, WDIV dropped its noon newscast and converted it into an online-only broadcast to attract viewers who are at work during that timeslot. Viewer demand resulted in the station relaunching the noon newscast on the television station on January 13, 2014.<ref>[http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/wdiv-to-revive-noon-newscast-broadcast_b112862 "WDIV to Revive Noon News Broadcast"]. ''[[Mediabistro.com|TVSpy]]''. January 13, 2014.</ref>
In August 2014, WDIV unveiled a new studio, designed in-house and constructed by the [[Livonia, Michigan]]-based company EWI Worldwide.<ref name=tvspy-newset>{{cite news| title=WDIV Unveils Updated Look| url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/wdiv-unveils-updated-look_b128420| access-date=September 8, 2014| work=TVSpy| date=September 5, 2014}}</ref>
On November 11, 2016, Carmen Harlan retired after 38 years at the station to spend more time with her grandchildren.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/rochelle-riley/2016/09/22/carman-harlan-retiring-wdiv/90826480/| title=Carmen Harlan to retire from WDIV-TV after 38 years| first=Rochelle| last=Riley| newspaper=[[Detroit Free Press]]}}</ref>
On September 12, 2022, WDIV expanded its noon newscast to a full hour full-time.
====Notable current on-air staff====
* [[Devin Scillian]] – weeknight anchor
====Notable former on-air staff====
<!--Please add only people who have their own Wikipedia articles.-->
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Asa Aarons]] – consumer reporter (1990–1993, went to [[WNBC]] in New York City)
* [[Asha Blake]] – weekend anchor/health reporter (1993–1996, went to [[NBC News]]; later at [[KWGN-TV]] in [[Denver]] and [[KTLA]] in Los Angeles, now with [[WFAA]] in [[Dallas]]–[[Fort Worth]])
* [[Jim Brandstatter]] – sports producer and reporter (1970s)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dsba1.org/staff/jim-brandstatter/ |title=Jim Brandstatter Biography |publisher=Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association |access-date=September 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929044819/http://dsba1.org/staff/jim-brandstatter/ |archive-date=September 29, 2013 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
* [[Doug Bruckner]] – reporter (now at ''[[Extra (American TV program)|Extra]]'')
* [[Mort Crim]] – news anchor/radio reporter (1978–1997, now runs Mort Crim Communications and spokesperson for Majic Windows)
* [[Vince DeMentri]] – reporter (1993–1994, most recently at [[WPIX]] in New York City)
* [[Carol Duvall]] – television personality and noon anchor (1960s–1970s; left for [[HGTV]], died in 2023)
* [[Sonny Eliot]] – weathercaster (1947–1980, later with [[WJBK-TV]] and [[WWJ-AM]], died in 2012)<ref>{{Cite web|date= November 16, 2012|title=Legendary Detroit weatherman Sonny Eliot dies|url=https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2012/11/16/legendary-detroit-weatherman-sonny-eliot-dies/|access-date=April 5, 2024|work=WDIV-TV|language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Shon Gables]] – morning anchor (2000–2003, left [[WCBS-TV]] in New York City in April 2006; now with WFAA in Dallas–Fort Worth)
* [[Chris Hansen]] – investigative reporter/anchor (1988–1993, later at [[NBC News]])<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3949042| title=Chris Hansen Biography| date=July 11, 2012| publisher=[[NBC News]]| access-date=September 26, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Fred Hickman]] – sports anchor (1984–1985, also worked at [[CNN]] and [[ESPN]], died in 2022)
* [[Doug Hill (meteorologist)|Doug Hill]] – meteorologist (1980–1982, later at [[WJLA-TV]] in Washington, D.C., died in 2021)
* [[Davey Marlin-Jones]] – film critic (1978–1987, also worked at [[WUSA (TV)|WUSA]] in Washington, D.C., died in 2004)
* [[Fred McLeod (sportscaster)|Fred McLeod]] – weekend sports anchor/host of ''Sports Final Edition'' on Sunday nights (1989–2006; later the TV play-by-play voice of the [[NBA]]'s [[Cleveland Cavaliers]], died in 2019)
* [[Rob Parker (sports journalist)|Rob Parker]] – sports anchor, also co-host of ''Sports Final Edition'', now retired
* [[Anne Thompson (TV journalist)|Anne Thompson]] – reporter (1986–1997; now at NBC News as correspondent for ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'')
* [[Reynolds Wolf]] – meteorologist (1999–2002, joined [[CNN]]; currently on [[The Weather Channel]])
* [[Van Earl Wright]] – sports anchor (1993–1996, was lead announcer of NBC's 2008 revival of ''[[American Gladiators (2008 TV series)|American Gladiators]]'')
{{div col end}}
==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WDIV-TV<ref name="rei">{{cite web| url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WDIV#station|title=Digital TV Market Listing for WDIV| website=[[RabbitEars]]| access-date=January 3, 2020}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 4.1
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=4|[[16:9]] || WDIV-HD || [[NBC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 4.2
| rowspan=3|[[480i]] || Cozi TV || [[Cozi TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 4.3
| MeTV || [[MeTV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 4.4
| COZI || [[Cozi TV]]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope = "row" | [[WMYD|20.2]]
| 480i || 16:9 || WMYD-AT || [[Antenna TV]] ([[WMYD]])
|}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}
WDIV's second [[digital subchannel]] formally carried programming from [[NBC Weather Plus]], which folded in November 2008. WDIV-TV also has a Mobile DTV feed of subchannel 4.1, labelled "Local 4", broadcasting at 1.83 Mbit/s.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=atscmph| title=Mobile DTV Service List| website=RabbitEars}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mdtvsignalmap.com/ |title=Mobile DTV Signal Map from the National Association of Broadcasters |access-date=September 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017031109/http://www.mdtvsignalmap.com/ |archive-date=October 17, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
WDIV-DT2 was one of the few affiliates of [[This TV]] to have been affiliated with the network through most of its entire history, even as it was dropped in several other markets before [[Allen Media Group]] purchased the network in 2021. The network shut down on May 31, 2024, without prior on-air notice or announcement from Allen Media Group. The feed has since been replaced by a simulcast of the network's fourth subchannel, Cozi TV.
On July 30, 2015, WDIV-TV became the market's affiliate for [[Weigel Broadcasting]]'s [[MeTV]] network through their third subchannel. WDIV-DT3 is used as an overflow feed for network and syndicated programming if the latter is pre-empted by [[breaking news]] and severe weather coverage on 4.1.
On January 3, 2020, WDIV-TV activated a fourth subchannel, which broadcasts [[Cozi TV]], a network owned by NBC's parent company [[NBCUniversal]]. This makes WDIV-TV the third station in the Detroit market to have been affiliated with Cozi TV, which was previously on WMYD and on [[WADL (TV)|WADL]].
===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WDIV-TV signed on its digital high-definition signal on UHF 45 on March 1, 1999. The station shut down its analog signal over [[VHF]] channel 4 on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition [[UHF]] channel 45,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="FCCForm387">{{cite web| url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101233717&formid=387&fac_num=53114| title=DTV Transition Status Report| publisher=Federal Communications Commission}}</ref> using virtual channel 4.
As part of the [[SAFER Act]],<ref name="FCC Nightlight">{{cite web| url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-291375A1.pdf| title=Updated List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program|publisher=Federal Communications Commission| date=June 12, 2009|access-date=June 4, 2012}}</ref> WDIV kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of [[public service announcement]]s from the [[National Association of Broadcasters]].
In March 2017, the station announced that it would move its physical RF channel to UHF channel 32.
==Out-of-market coverage==
WDIV's over-the-air signal can be picked up as far away as [[Flint, Michigan|Flint]], [[Lapeer, Michigan|Lapeer]], and [[Adrian, Michigan|Adrian]] in Michigan, as well as [[Toledo, Ohio]] and even [[London, Ontario]]. WDIV is also one of only three American stations that mention [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]] and London as among their primary viewing areas, alongside WMYD and WJBK.
WDIV is carried on most cable providers in [[Southeast Michigan]], [[Southwestern Ontario]] and [[Northwestern Ohio]]. It is also carried on several other Canadian cable providers including [[Rogers Cable]] in the capital city of [[Ottawa]] well away from the range of its signal. It is one of five Detroit area television stations seen in Canada on satellite provider [[Shaw Direct]] and was the original affiliate offered by CANCOM (now [[Shaw Broadcast Services]]) starting in September 1983. WDIV is also carried on some cable providers in the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan]] in communities such as [[Seney, Michigan|Seney]], [[Republic, Michigan|Republic]] and [[Grand Marais, Michigan|Grand Marais]].
CANCOM/Shaw's carriage of WDIV stretches outside of Canada with cable carriage in places as varied as far northern [[New York state]] ([[Alexandria Bay]]), all of [[Bermuda]], parts of Latin America and for a time in the early 1990s, some parts of Ireland (with a delay).<ref>[[Matt Lauer]], on NBC's ''[[The Today Show]]''. (May 2, 2007).</ref> In addition, WDIV is carried on some cable providers in Mexico, via Shaw Broadcast Services, such the [[Cablemás]] system in [[Ciudad Juárez]], which offers WDIV instead of fellow NBC affiliate [[KTSM-TV]] in nearby [[El Paso, Texas]]. From 1985 to circa 1998, WDIV was the NBC affiliate carried by [[Cable Atlantic]] (now Rogers Cable) in [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] including in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]] before the provider switched to the network's [[Boston]] affiliate [[WHDH (TV)|WHDH]] (which was affiliated with NBC from 1995 to 2017; it is now independent).
Coverage on cable providers outside the Detroit–Windsor market may be subject to [[syndication exclusivity]] and network [[blackout (broadcasting)|blackouts]] in the United States and [[simsubbing]] in Canada.
==See also==
* [[Media in Detroit]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.clickondetroit.com}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120619024517/http://detroit.thistv.com/ Official ''This TV Detroit'' website]
{{Detroit TV}}
{{NBC Michigan}}
{{Graham}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wdiv-Tv}}
[[Category:1947 establishments in Michigan]]
[[Category:Cozi TV affiliates]]
[[Category:Graham Media Group]]
[[Category:MeTV affiliates]]
[[Category:NBC affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1947]]
[[Category:Television stations in Detroit|DIV-TV]]