WHAG-TV Becomes WDVM-TV

[Peter Parker]

It looks likeNexstar owned former NBC affiliate (now independent) WHAG TVi n Hagerstown, MD will become WDVM TV this weekend.

Ever since they lost the network affiliation the station has been trying to establish a regional identity in the District and suburban Virginia and Maryland. however the sattion still covers West Virginia and parts of Pennsylvania

Those in the DC are may recall that these call letters were last used by what is now known as WUSA in the district.

 

[navychop]

We watch WHAG at our RV in WV. Sorry to see it change call letters. And who knows what programming they'll move to.

I hope they keep or up their power level. And stay 25.1-25.3

 

[navychop]

Why would they change a well known call sign?

 

[Justin Hill]

Why would they change a well known call sign?

They did it quite a lot in the 1990s, when a lot of stations affiliated with PAX TV, UPN and The WB.

They did it again in 2006, to reflect the realignment of many former WB and UPN affiliates, when The WB and UPN became The CW, and when FOX introduced MyNetworkTV.

Some former WB and UPN affiliates became The CW, while other former WB and UPN affiliates became MyNetworkTV.

 

[SamCdbs]

As to the call letter change, the idea is pretty simple. WHAG's business model was to be a local station for that, pretty unpopulated, part of the world, with local news and NBC. The problem is in a topography like that "everybody" has cable/dish and which you get monster micro-local ratings, you are still a speck in the DC DMA. Then NBC pulled the plug.

So you use your "must carry" powers to get on every system in the huge DC market. Even the ratings for netlet H&I across all of DC is better than a couple of counties in the mountains. And you do targeted newscasts for the suburbs and beyond the suburbs which are ignored by the DC stations.

Just look at the calls' meanings and you get it. WHAG (Haggerstown), but WDVM (WV, DC, VA, MD). Makes sense.

Really there are several of these "not quite a market" one or two supplemental stations. All in places where "everybody" has cable/dish in order to get "all" four major networks. It is a dying business plan. WTAP, WYMT, WHIZ, several more.