WWTD-LD (channel 49) is a low-power television station in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The station is owned by DC Broadcasting, Inc. (which itself is owned by Christopher Blair of

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

), and is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

to WRZB-LD.

History

The station was granted its initial construction permit in 1990. At the time, it was owned by Robert E. Kelly of

Annandale, Virginia Annandale () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia.Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, with the call sign W63BP. The station never made it to air; the permit, initially scheduled to expire in January 1991, was extended multiple times through 1995. At that point, the FCC denied a further request for extension, the permit expired, and the station was deleted from the FCC database. The construction permit was again applied for and granted in 2001, and W63BP signed on October 31. Immediately, the station applied to move to channel 49 from the

WRC-TV WRC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Washington, D.C., serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Class A television service, Class A Telemundo outlet W ...

tower in northwest Washington; the

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

was granted in February 2004. In 2005, Kelly sold both W63BP and dormant W61BY (now WRZB-LD) to DC Broadcasting, Inc. for $10. Channel 49 went back on the air in 2006. It was the

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...

of the WUFO TV Network, which was on the air for nine months during 2007–2008. The network was funded and programmed by Mike Gravino. The WUFO TV Network aired an eclectic mix of "alternative knowledge" programming, including information about UFOs,

crop circle A crop circle, crop formation, or corn circle is a pattern created by flattening a crop, usually a cereal. The term was first coined in the early 1980s. Crop circles have been described as all falling "within the range of the sort of thing ...

s, alternative history, new science, alternative religion, environmental and social activism, human potential and sci-fi, until August 10, 2008, when the network stopped over-the-air broadcasts. WWTD-LP was then leased to Allbritton Communications Company, who turned it into an analog relay of local ABC affiliate

WJLA-TV WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also sister ...

in late October 2008. However, that lease and the ABC transmissions ended on February 9, 2009. After WJLA's lease on WWTD expired, WWTD went dark. Before the digital transition, WWTD-LP was granted a construction permit for a corresponding digital signal on channel 38. The station was later displaced by

WMAR-TV WMAR-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios and offices are located on York Road ( Maryland Route 45) in Towson north o ...

to channel 14, as any low-power station must move if a full-power station wants its channel allocation. WWTD-LP flash-cut to digital as WWTD-LD on July 19, 2011, in order to reuse its existing antenna and

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

. The station added two channels from

Luken Communications Get After It Media LLC, formerly known as Luken Communications and Reach High Media Group, is a privately owned American broadcast holding company, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, U ...

beginning February 1, 2015:

Retro TV Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series f ...

on channel 49.4 and

Rev'n Rev’n is an American vehicle-oriented digital broadcast television network A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operati ...

on 49.5.

Subchannels

References

{{Washington TV WTD-LD Television channels and stations established in 1990 1990 establishments in Washington, D.C.