WNDU-TV

WNDU-TV is a commercial television station serving South Bend, Indiana, and nearby communities in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan. Broadcasting on virtual channel 16, the station is affiliated with NBC and is a prominent local source of news, weather, sports, network programming, and community information. Its studios are located on the University of Notre Dame campus along State Road 933 on South Bend’s north side, while its transmitter is situated on the city’s south side near the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds. The station began broadcasting on July 15, 1955, as a project of the University of Notre Dame president Theodore Hesburgh. It was established through Michiana Telecasting Corporation, a university subsidiary, and initially operated on UHF channel 46. WNDU-TV inherited its call letters from WNDU radio, which was also owned by Notre Dame at the time. Although university-owned, the station was operated as a commercial broadcaster rather than as a nonprofit public television service. In September 1957, it moved to UHF channel 16 in a highly publicized channel reassignment. WNDU-TV quickly became the South Bend market’s NBC affiliate, taking the affiliation from WSJV. Its early schedule combined NBC programming with locally produced shows, including Romper Room, local Notre Dame football coverage, and other community-oriented productions. From 1967 through 1986, the station produced Beyond Our Control, a locally made sketch-comedy program connected with its Junior Achievement activities. WNDU also carried Sesame Street for several years before the arrival of PBS member station WNIT in 1974. Notre Dame’s ownership gave the station an unusually close relationship with the university. WNDU-TV has long covered Notre Dame athletics and continues to carry NBC’s broadcasts of Notre Dame home football games. The station produces Countdown to Kickoff before those games and has also aired university-produced programs such as Inside Notre Dame Football and Inside Notre Dame Basketball. Its location and institutional connection also support production facilities for the nationally syndicated agricultural programs AgDay and U.S. Farm Report; WNDU airs AgDay locally and supplies weather information used by the programs. The station expanded its physical and news operations over time. Its current studio complex at State Road 933 and Dorr Road opened in 1982. WNDU operated a news-gathering helicopter from the 1980s until 2006 and has maintained dedicated news, weather, and sports departments. It broadcasts an extensive local-news schedule, including weekday, weekend, and specialty newscasts. A 4 p.m. newscast was added in 2018, and the station began airing local news in high definition in 2010. In 2005, Notre Dame agreed to sell WNDU-TV to Gray Television for $85 million in cash. The transaction closed in March 2006, with the university directing the proceeds into its endowment. The sale ended Notre Dame’s direct ownership of the station but did not end WNDU’s NBC affiliation or its strong coverage of university athletics. Gray later retained WNDU while restructuring its South Bend-market holdings during acquisitions involving Schurz Communications and Quincy Media. In 2016, Gray completed the acquisition of Schurz Communications and exchanged WSBT-TV with Sinclair Broadcast Group for WLUC-TV, allowing Gray to continue operating WNDU as its principal South Bend station. Gray acquired Quincy Media in 2021, bringing WSJV into the same corporate portfolio under a regulatory waiver. WNDU-TV also operates digital multicast services in addition to its main NBC channel. It was the first South Bend-market television station to launch a digital signal, beginning digital broadcasting in December 1998. Its second digital subchannel later carried Antenna TV and, for a period in 2025, Chicago Sports Network programming. Following CHSN’s departure from the station’s over-the-air service in June 2025, the affected subchannels carried interim programming information while their future schedules were being arranged. WNDU remains an active local broadcast brand focused on regional journalism, severe-weather coverage, Notre Dame sports, network television, and syndicated programming.

WNDU-TV signed on July 15, 1955, as a commercial television project of the University of Notre Dame. Theodore Hesburgh, then the university’s president, supported the station’s creation through Michiana Telecasting Corporation, a Notre Dame subsidiary. The station initially broadcast on UHF channel 46 and adopted the WNDU call letters associated with the university’s radio stations. On September 29, 1957, it moved to channel 16, the position it continues to identify with through its virtual channel. From the beginning, WNDU-TV operated as a commercial station rather than a public broadcaster. It soon assumed the NBC affiliation from WSJV and developed a schedule combining network entertainment and news with local productions. Early programming included Romper Room and local coverage of Notre Dame football. The station carried Sesame Street from 1970 until the 1974 launch of PBS member station WNIT. Its locally produced sketch-comedy series Beyond Our Control ran from 1967 to 1986 as part of the station’s participation in Junior Achievement. The station’s relationship with Notre Dame shaped its identity and programming. WNDU covered university events and athletics, including Notre Dame football, and later became the local outlet for NBC’s broadcasts of Notre Dame home games. It also produced Countdown to Kickoff and carried other Notre Dame-related programming. The station’s facilities eventually became home to production operations for AgDay and U.S. Farm Report, two nationally syndicated agricultural programs. WNDU’s weather department contributes forecasts used by those programs, reinforcing the station’s role in an agricultural broadcasting niche. A major studio complex at State Road 933 and Dorr Road opened in 1982. During the following decades, WNDU expanded its local journalism operation, including substantial news, weather, and sports departments. It used a helicopter for news gathering from the 1980s through 2006. The station’s alumni include anchors and reporters such as Mike Collins, Maureen McFadden, Terry McFadden, Mark Peterson, Tom Rinaldi, Hannah Storm, and Anne Thompson, although current personnel are not specified here. WNDU’s ownership changed in the mid-2000s. Notre Dame announced the sale of the station to Gray Television on November 24, 2005, for $85 million in cash. The transaction closed on March 5, 2006, after the Federal Communications Commission granted Gray a waiver related to its simultaneous ownership of WNDU-TV and The Goshen News. Notre Dame placed the sale proceeds into an endowment. Gray’s purchase ended the station’s direct university ownership, but WNDU kept its NBC affiliation and continued its extensive Notre Dame sports coverage. The station remained central to Gray’s strategy in the South Bend market. When Gray announced its 2015 purchase of Schurz Communications, owner of CBS affiliate WSBT-TV, Gray arranged to exchange WSBT-TV with Sinclair Broadcast Group for WLUC-TV in Marquette, Michigan. The FCC approved the transaction in February 2016, and the deal closed shortly afterward. Gray subsequently acquired Quincy Media in 2021. Because Quincy owned WSJV, Gray sought and received a regulatory waiver allowing it to operate both WSJV and WNDU-TV in the market. WNDU developed its digital service early, launching a digital signal in December 1998 on channel 42. Its second digital subchannel initially served as a standard-definition simulcast with some local substitutions, then became an Antenna TV affiliate in July 2013. In October 2024, the station announced that Chicago Sports Network would use its second and fourth subchannels. That arrangement ended in June 2025 after CHSN discontinued its over-the-air service through WNDU, leaving interim notices and later replacement programming information on the affected channels. The station’s news operation expanded significantly over time. WNDU began a Saturday morning newscast in 1994, added high-definition local news in April 2010, and launched a 4 p.m. newscast in September 2018. Its schedule also includes weekend newscasts and specialized coverage of severe weather and Notre Dame sports. As an NBC affiliate, WNDU has occasionally preempted or shifted network programming to accommodate local priorities. During Notre Dame’s ownership, it declined to air certain NBC programs because of concerns about their content, including God, the Devil and Bob and the American version of Coupling. In 2009, it carried President Barack Obama’s Notre Dame commencement address in full instead of the first portion of a Stanley Cup playoff broadcast. WNDU-TV remains an active Gray Media station and an established regional television brand.

• 2025

  Chicago Sports Network service ends on WNDU subchannels

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  CHSN leaves WNDU’s multicast channels in June after ending its over-the-air service there.

• 2021

  Quincy Media acquisition completed

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Gray completes its acquisition of Quincy Media, adding WSJV to its South Bend-area station holdings.

• 2018

  4 p.m. newscast launches

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WNDU-TV adds a 4 p.m. local newscast to its schedule.

• 2013

  Antenna TV added to a digital subchannel

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station’s second digital subchannel becomes affiliated with Antenna TV.

• 2010

  Local news switches to HD

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WNDU-TV begins broadcasting local newscasts in high definition.

• 2006

  Gray Television ownership begins

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Gray completes its purchase of WNDU-TV from the University of Notre Dame on March 5.

• 1998

  Digital broadcasting begins

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WNDU-TV starts digital transmissions on channel 42, becoming the first South Bend-market station to do so.

• 1982

  Current studio facility opens

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WNDU-TV opens its studio complex at State Road 933 and Dorr Road.

• 1967

  Beyond Our Control begins

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station launches the locally produced Junior Achievement sketch-comedy program Beyond Our Control.

• 1957

  Station moves to channel 16

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WNDU-TV relocates to UHF channel 16 on September 29, establishing the channel identity associated with the station today.

• 1955

  WNDU-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station signs on July 15 as a University of Notre Dame commercial television project on UHF channel 46.

A leading local broadcast station for the South Bend–Michiana region, combining NBC network content with strong regional news, weather, agriculture, and Notre Dame sports coverage.

• Local television news

  WNDU Local News

  WNDU’s local-news operation covers South Bend, Michiana communities, regional politics, public safety, education, business, and community events. The station airs an extensive weekday and weekend schedule, including morning, midday, evening, late, and specialty newscasts. Its local news has been presented in high definition since 2010.

• Weather broadcasting · 1955

  WNDU Weather

  The station’s weather department provides daily forecasts, severe-weather alerts, and regional conditions for northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan. Its forecasting operation also supports the agricultural programs AgDay and U.S. Farm Report produced from WNDU’s facilities.

• Sports broadcasting · 1955

  WNDU Sports

  WNDU’s sports operation emphasizes Notre Dame athletics and other regional sports. As the local NBC affiliate, it carries NBC’s broadcasts of Notre Dame home football games and produces Countdown to Kickoff before those broadcasts. The station also airs selected Notre Dame review and interview programming.

• Syndicated agricultural television

  AgDay

  AgDay is a nationally syndicated agricultural news program whose production facilities are housed at WNDU-TV. The station broadcasts the program locally and supplies weather information through its forecasting department.

• Digital television · 1998

  Digital multicast services

  WNDU-TV operates additional digital subchannels alongside its main NBC service. The multicast capacity has carried services including an earlier standard-definition simulcast, Antenna TV, and temporary or partner network programming such as Chicago Sports Network.

• 2024

  WNDU adds Chicago Sports Network to multicast distributionStrategy

  Background

  WNDU sought to use its digital multicast capacity to carry a regional sports network serving Chicago professional teams.

  Action taken

  The station announced that Chicago Sports Network would affiliate with its second and fourth digital subchannels.

  Aftermath

  CHSN’s over-the-air service on the WNDU subchannels ended in June 2025, after which the affected channels displayed interim programming notices.

  Source

• 2021

  Gray acquires Quincy MediaM&A

  Background

  Quincy Media owned WSJV, another South Bend-market television station, creating an ownership overlap with WNDU-TV.

  Action taken

  Gray announced and completed the acquisition of Quincy Media for $925 million in cash and obtained a failing-station waiver to operate WSJV alongside WNDU-TV.

  Aftermath

  WNDU remained Gray’s primary NBC affiliate in the market while WSJV joined the company’s wider station portfolio.

  Cash transaction value. $925 million (Announced February 1, 2021; completed August 2, 2021)

  Source

• 2015

  Gray restructures South Bend-market station holdingsM&A

  Background

  Gray Television’s planned acquisition of Schurz Communications would have placed WNDU-TV and WSBT-TV under common ownership in the same market.

  Action taken

  Gray arranged to exchange WSBT-TV with Sinclair Broadcast Group for WLUC-TV, allowing it to retain WNDU-TV while pursuing approval of the broader Schurz transaction.

  Aftermath

  The FCC approved the transaction in February 2016, and the exchange was completed shortly afterward.

  Source

• 2005

  Notre Dame approves sale to Gray TelevisionM&A

  Background

  The University of Notre Dame decided to divest its commercial television station after five decades of ownership.

  Action taken

  Notre Dame agreed to sell WNDU-TV to Gray Television for $85 million in cash, with closing occurring in March 2006.

  Aftermath

  The sale proceeds were placed into a university endowment. WNDU retained its NBC affiliation and continued its Notre Dame sports coverage under Gray ownership.

  Cash purchase price. $85 million (Announced November 24, 2005; transaction closed March 5, 2006)

  Source

1. 1WNDU-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WNDU-TV official websitewndu.com