WHDF

WHDF is a television station serving northern Alabama and adjoining portions of southern Middle Tennessee and northeastern Mississippi. The station is licensed to Florence, Alabama, but its present operating identity is closely tied to the larger Huntsville television market. It broadcasts on virtual channel 15 and operates as an affiliate of The CW, using the branding The Valley's CW. WHDF is owned by Nexstar Media Group and operates alongside CBS affiliate WHNT-TV; both stations share studios on Holmes Avenue Northwest in downtown Huntsville. WHDF's primary transmitter is located southeast of Minor Hill, Tennessee, while its CW programming is also simulcast in high definition on WHNT-TV's second digital subchannel, 19.2, from a transmitter on Monte Sano Mountain. The station began broadcasting on October 28, 1957, as WOWL-TV. It was established by TV Muscle Shoals, Inc., associated with Richard "Dick" Biddle, and initially served the Florence and Muscle Shoals area. For more than four decades, WOWL-TV was primarily an NBC affiliate. Its local programming helped it retain an audience in northwest Alabama even though competing NBC signals from Huntsville and Tupelo reached parts of its service area. The station's local newscasts were particularly important in the Shoals region, where they provided coverage focused on Florence, Sheffield, Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, and surrounding communities. By the 1980s and 1990s, larger Huntsville stations expanded their own news coverage into northwest Alabama. This reduced WOWL-TV's local-news advantage and made it increasingly difficult for the station to remain viable as a primarily Shoals-focused NBC outlet. During the transition to new ownership in the late 1990s, the station moved away from NBC programming. Its call letters changed from WOWL-TV to WHDF on July 19, 1999, and its transmitter and tower were relocated to Giles County, Tennessee. The relocation was designed to expand the station's coverage across northern Alabama while keeping the licensed community of Florence within applicable broadcast regulations. WHDF subsequently became a UPN affiliate, while WAFF became the sole NBC affiliate serving north Alabama. When UPN and The WB were replaced by The CW in 2006, WHDF received the northern Alabama CW affiliation. It adopted The Valley's CW branding at midnight on July 27, 2006. This change gave the station a continuing role in the market as a general-entertainment network outlet rather than as a traditional full-service local-news station. During the early 2000s, Viacom held a minority stake of 17.5 percent. Lockwood Broadcast Group acquired WHDF in 2004 and later developed a centralized operating model. A remote hub facility completed in 2007 supplied content-delivery and back-office functions, allowing the station to operate with a small local staff. Lockwood agreed to sell WHDF to Nexstar Media Group in 2018 for $2.25 million. Nexstar began operating the station under a time brokerage arrangement while the transaction proceeded, and the sale closed on November 9, 2018. The acquisition created a relationship with Nexstar-owned Fox affiliate WZDX. Nexstar's subsequent acquisition of Tribune Media brought WHNT-TV into its Huntsville-area portfolio. To comply with broadcast ownership requirements, Nexstar divested WZDX to Tegna, while retaining WHDF because the station did not rank among the market's top four stations in total-day audience share. The Tribune transaction and related restructuring were completed in 2019, leaving WHDF paired with WHNT-TV under Nexstar ownership. WHDF also completed the nationwide analog-to-digital transition in 2009, ending analog transmission on channel 15 while retaining virtual channel 15 through its digital service.

WHDF began operation on October 28, 1957, as WOWL-TV, a Florence station established by TV Muscle Shoals, Inc., under the association of Richard "Dick" Biddle. Its original service area centered on northwest Alabama, including the communities around Florence and Muscle Shoals. The station initially carried NBC programming and also aired selected CBS programs, including the soap opera As the World Turns. Although NBC signals from Huntsville and Tupelo reached portions of its coverage area, WOWL-TV maintained a local audience by producing newscasts directed specifically at the Shoals region. The station's local-news distinction weakened over time. During the 1980s and 1990s, Huntsville stations expanded their own news bureaus and reporting operations into northwest Alabama. The resulting duplication made it difficult for WOWL-TV to continue as a narrowly focused local NBC outlet. In the late 1990s, the station was sold to outside interests, and its programming strategy changed. NBC affiliation ended in favor of UPN, making WAFF the remaining NBC outlet serving north Alabama. The call letters changed to WHDF on July 19, 1999. Around the same period, the station's transmitter and tower moved to Giles County, Tennessee. The higher and more centrally useful transmission site expanded coverage while remaining sufficiently close to Florence to satisfy federal licensing requirements. WHDF operated with changing ownership and investment arrangements during the early 2000s. Viacom held a 17.5 percent interest, while Lockwood Broadcast Group acquired the station in 2004. Lockwood developed a centralized technical and administrative structure rather than maintaining a large fully local operation. A hub facility completed in 2007 provided remote content delivery and back-office services for WHDF. Census business information from 2010 indicated that the station's Florence and Huntsville facilities together employed fewer than ten local employees. The next major programming change followed the 2006 consolidation of UPN and The WB into The CW. WHDF, then the UPN affiliate, was awarded the northern Alabama CW affiliation earlier that year. It began operating under The Valley's CW brand at midnight on July 27, 2006. The change repositioned the station as a network entertainment outlet serving the broader Huntsville market. Its former competitor, the area's WB outlet, adopted the WAMY-TV identity and joined MyNetworkTV. WHDF ended analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, during the federally mandated digital television transition. Its digital transmission continued using physical UHF channel 14 and virtual channel 15. The station's signal was later supplemented by an HD simulcast on WHNT-TV's second digital subchannel, 19.2, transmitted from Monte Sano Mountain. In July 2018, Lockwood agreed to sell WHDF to Nexstar Media Group for $2.25 million. Nexstar assumed operational control through a time brokerage arrangement while the transaction was pending, and the sale was completed on November 9, 2018. This initially connected WHDF with Nexstar's Fox affiliate WZDX. Nexstar then announced an agreement to acquire Tribune Media, whose portfolio included CBS affiliate WHNT-TV. Because Nexstar would otherwise have held an ownership combination requiring restructuring in the Huntsville market, it agreed in March 2019 to divest WZDX to Tegna. WHDF was retained because it did not rank among the market's top four stations in total-day audience share and therefore was not disqualified under the applicable in-market ownership rules. The related transactions closed on September 19, 2019. WHDF consequently remained a Nexstar-owned CW station operating alongside WHNT-TV, with shared Huntsville facilities and a Florence license.

• 2019

  WHDF remains in Nexstar's Huntsville portfolio

  [1]WHDFen.wikipedia.org

  Nexstar completes the Tribune transaction and divests WZDX to Tegna, retaining WHDF alongside WHNT-TV.

• 2018

  Nexstar acquisition closes

  [1]WHDFen.wikipedia.org

  Nexstar completes its $2.25 million purchase of WHDF on November 9.

• 2009

  Analog transmission ends

  [1]WHDFen.wikipedia.org

  WHDF shuts down its analog channel 15 signal as part of the United States digital television transition and continues digitally on physical channel 14.

• 2007

  Remote operating hub is completed

  [1]WHDFen.wikipedia.org

  A Lockwood hub facility begins providing remote content-delivery and back-office support for WHDF.

• 2006

  WHDF adopts The Valley's CW identity

  [1]WHDFen.wikipedia.org

  WHDF receives the northern Alabama CW affiliation and launches its Valley's CW branding on July 27.

• 2004

  Lockwood Broadcast Group acquires the station

  [1]WHDFen.wikipedia.org

  Lockwood Broadcast Group becomes WHDF's owner and later centralizes several operating functions.

• 1999

  Station becomes WHDF

  [1]WHDFen.wikipedia.org

  The station changes its call letters from WOWL-TV to WHDF, shifts from NBC toward UPN, and relocates its transmitter to Giles County, Tennessee.

• 1957

  WOWL-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]WHDFen.wikipedia.org

  The station signs on October 28 as WOWL-TV, serving Florence and northwest Alabama with NBC programming.

A local-market CW television outlet serving northern Alabama, combining national network entertainment with broadcast distribution and market-focused commercial programming. Its licensed identity is Florence, while its facilities and ownership relationships place it within the Huntsville television market.

• CW network affiliation · 2006

  The Valley's CW

  WHDF's principal programming service is its CW network affiliation, launched in 2006 after the consolidation of UPN and The WB. The service provides nationally distributed entertainment programming to viewers in the Huntsville and northern Alabama market. WHDF uses The Valley's CW as its principal on-air identity, linking the network service to the station's regional audience and its historical coverage of the Tennessee Valley.

• Digital terrestrial television · 2009

  WHDF digital broadcast signal

  WHDF's over-the-air digital service uses virtual channel 15 and transmits from a site southeast of Minor Hill, Tennessee. The station's digital facility replaced its analog operation in 2009 and is designed to serve the broader northern Alabama television market rather than only the Florence urban area.

• HD broadcast simulcast

  WHNT-TV 19.2 simulcast

  WHDF is also carried in 720p high definition on WHNT-TV's second digital subchannel, virtual channel 19.2. The simulcast extends access to the WHDF service through WHNT-TV's Monte Sano Mountain transmission facility and complements WHDF's own digital signal.

• 2019

  Retention of WHDF during Nexstar's Tribune transactionM&A

  Background

  Nexstar's planned acquisition of Tribune Media created an ownership combination involving WHDF, WZDX, and Tribune-owned WHNT-TV in the Huntsville market.

  Action taken

  Nexstar arranged to sell WZDX to Tegna while retaining WHDF and adding WHNT-TV to its local station relationships.

  Aftermath

  The transactions closed on September 19, leaving WHDF as a Nexstar-owned CW station paired operationally with WHNT-TV.

  Announced value of the broader Nexstar-Tribune transaction. $6.4 billion in cash and debt (2018 acquisition announcement)

  Source

• 2018

  Nexstar purchases WHDFM&A

  Background

  Lockwood Broadcast Group decided to sell the station after operating it with centralized support functions.

  Action taken

  Nexstar agreed to acquire WHDF for $2.25 million and took over operations through a time brokerage agreement before the November 9 closing.

  Aftermath

  The transaction placed WHDF within Nexstar's Huntsville-area station group and initially created a relationship with WZDX.

  Purchase price. $2.25 million (2018 transaction announcement)

  Source

• 2006

  Launch of The Valley's CWProduct launch

  Background

  UPN and The WB were scheduled to cease operations and be replaced by The CW.

  Action taken

  WHDF was selected as the northern Alabama CW affiliate and began using The Valley's CW branding on July 27.

  Aftermath

  WHDF became a CW network outlet for the Huntsville-area market, while the former WB affiliate moved to MyNetworkTV under the WAMY-TV identity.

  Source

• 1999

  Shift from NBC to UPN and expand the transmitter footprintStrategy

  Background

  WOWL-TV faced growing competition from Huntsville and Tupelo NBC signals and from larger stations expanding news coverage into the Shoals.

  Action taken

  The station changed its call letters to WHDF, ended its NBC identity in favor of UPN, and moved its transmitter and tower to Giles County, Tennessee.

  Aftermath

  The change broadened the station's intended reach across northern Alabama and established the identity that preceded its later CW affiliation.

  Source

1. 1WHDFen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Valley's CW official websitethevalleyscw.tv