TV Technical Profile: WEDS-LD
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- Channel:
- 26
- Programming:
- [29.1] Infomercials to
be: Story Television
[29.2] beIn Sports
Xtra Espaņol
[29.3] beIn Sports
Xtra
[29.4] Jewelry TV
[29.5] Magnificent Movies Network
- Transmitter
Location:
- [map]
[street
view] South of County Road 32 in Baldwin County, off Old Pierce
Road.
- Power (ERP):
- 15 kW
- Height Above
Average Terrain (HAAT):
- 295 feet
- Antenna:
- Omnidirectional
- Other
Information:
-
- [FCC]
[FCCdata]
[RabbitEars.info]
- [Wikipedia]
[Image]
A picture of the transmitter site, behind Magnolia Oaks Ranch, in
rural Baldwin County.
[Image] A screenshot of the
station, airing a "Test Signal" slate on all subchannels as of
August 21 2021.
- Owned By:
- DTV America
- History:
- This station dates back to
a construction permit for a new digital low power station in Fort
Walton Beach, Florida, on channel 29. Owned by MIK, LLC, the
station struggled to get on the air and didn't file a license to cover
until March of 2014. Originally W29DS-D, the call sign changed
to the present WEDS-LD in March 2013. It originally transmitted
from a site off Mayflower Road in Fort Walton Beach; a year later the
company filed a Silent STA request citing that they needed to purchase
permanent equipment. It's unclear if the station was really even on
the air at all prior to this.
In the spring of 2015, MIK, LLC sold dozens of their stations and/or
construction permits to DTV America for $156,000. This station
was part of the deal. DTV America filed a resumption of operations
shortly after the license became theirs, but filed to go silent again
in February 2016, citing loss of the tower site. Later that same
year, the station filed several construction permits, followed by
requests to go silent, followed by resumption of operations,
culminating with a resumption in August 2016 with the transmitter now
located in rural Baldwin County, off US-90 near Fire Tower Road.
This facility included a highly directional antenna aimed towards both
Mobile and Pensacola, and a boosted power of 6 kW.
It's unclear if this facility ever actually went on the air. It
continued to file regular silent/resumption of operation updates with
the FCC up through 2018.
After yet another update to the transmitter site and power levels, to
the ones currently listed, the station was finally reported
on air in early March 2020. After a short period of nothing but
color bars, it began airing Azteca America on the main channel, and
infomercials on two other subchannels. Retro TV showed up on a
fourth subchannel, and in November 2020 a fifth subchannel was added,
called MMN or Magnificent Movies Network.
Starting in the third week of August 2021, the station abruptly
dropped all programming, replacing each subchannel with a still
picture with the words "Test Signal". That only lasted a short
time before programming resumed. In 2022, the two infomercial
channels were replaced with feeds of beIn Sports Xtra, in Spanish and
English.
In June 2022 the station changed antenna models, although this did not
affect any other technical parameters or coverage areas. The
station dropped the Classic Retro TV/infomercials channel for Jewelry
TV at some point in the summer of 2022.
Azteca America shut down operations on 31 December 2022, with some of
its programming going to Estrella TV. Some sources indicate this
channel will be replaced with Weigel Broadcast's Story Television at
some point.