WDRL-TV

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WDRL-TV
Danville, Virginia
Branding	WDRL-TV
Channels	24 (UHF) analog, 41 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	Independent
Owner	Melvin Eleazer
Founded	August 18, 1994
Call letters meaning	Danville Roanoke Lynchburg
Former callsigns	WDRG
Former affiliations	WB, UPN
Website	www.wdrl-tv.com

WDRL-TV is an independent television station licensed to Danville, Virginia but located in Pelham, North Carolina, USA, which serves the Roanoke/Lynchburg market in Virginia.

The station broadcasts from a short tower in Pelham, NC, and its signal is directional toward Greensboro, North Carolina. It broadcasts on channel 24 analog and on channel 41 digital. The digital channel 41 (non-directional) currently operates from Smith Mountain, giving city grade coverage of Lynchburg and Roanoke and all of the south side of Virginia. Digital coverage also extends into the northern North Carolina counties of Caswell, Rockingham, Person, and Stokes. Currently WDRL-TV/DT is carried on 96% of the cable households within the Roanoke DMA (428,000 subs) & 15,000 cable subs outside the DMA; the signal is also carried on both Directv & Echostar (dish network)within the Roanoke DMA. WDRL is owned by Melvin Eleazer, who is also the General Manager.

[edit] History

WDRL signed on the air August 18, 1994 as WDRG, which stood for Danville-Roanoke-Greensboro, and held the WB affiliation for Greensboro. The channel 24 dial position was once occupied by WBTM-TV, which operated in the mid-to-late 1950s.

WDRG-TV became a WB affliated station in November 1994. In 1997 WDRL join the UPN Network and changed it call letter to WDRL-TV, which stood for "Danville, Roanoke, Lynchburg" the key cities of the DMA (market). WDRL-DT began broadcasting digital in 2001 at it Pelham, NC site. The Digital site was moved to Smith Mountian the highest point east of Poor Mountian in the center of the DMA (market)in May 2005. In Feburary 2009 WDRL-DT will switch channel from 41 to Channel 24 with higher transmitter ourput to 150Kw.

On March 31, 2005, the FCC ordered W54BT off the air to make way for cellular phones and the transmitter was retuned to broadcast on channel 24 with the same power level, but with directional antennas system which extends into the New River Valley with hight signal levels.

On May 1, 2006, it was announced that WDRL would become an independent station. WDRL is currently the regional free-to-air home of the Charlotte Bobcats NBA team, Baltimore Orioles baseball, and SEC, Big South, Mid-American, Big East, and CIAA collegiate sports, with other local sporting events (including high school basketball and football). WDRL also broadcasts some CBS Sports events on a seasonal basis only.

As of March 11, 2007, Jerry Falwell's Liberty University has agreed to purchase the struggling television station. If approved by the FCC and U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the station will initially continue to operate out its current studios with Eleazer serving as general manager. However, it will eventually be headquartered in Lynchburg, VA along with sister station WTLU. Falwell has stated that WDRL and WTLU will have independent programming schedules, and WDRL will be used mainly to promote the university. While nothing has been mentioned in regards to WDRL's current programming library, it is assumed that Liberty University will discontinue all of WDRL's existing programming, including sitcoms, non-LU sporting events, and local religious programming not originating from Liberty University or the Thomas Road Baptist Church.[1]

[edit] Former Logo

WDRL logo used while an affiliate of UPN.

[edit] External links

• WDRL Home
• RabbitEars.Info: Roanoke-Lynchburg Stations
• History of Danville's now-defunct WBTM-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WDRL-TV

Broadcast television in the Roanoke market  (Nielsen DMA #68)
WDRG 2 (IND) - WDBJ 7 (CBS) (My Network TV on DT2 "7Too") - W08CW 8 (PBS) - WSLS 10 (NBC) - WSET 13 (ABC) - WBRA 15 (PBS) - WTLU 19 (IND) - WWCW 21 (FOX) (The CW on DT2) - WDRL 24 (Ind) - WFXR 27 (FOX) - WPXR 38 (i) - WRKV 43 (IND) - W49AP 49 (TBN)