WMDE


WMDE, virtual channel 36, is an independent television station owned by WRNN-TV Associates and licensed to Dover, Delaware, United States, though its transmitter is located north of Wye Mills, Maryland, southwest of Dover. The station's location near the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay allows it, along with additional cable and satellite coverage, to also air their programming in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. markets across the Bay, though officially it is classified in the smaller Salisbury/Dover market.
Unlike most WRNN-TV Associates stations, WMDE does not operate a studio or an advertising sales office locally in Dover/Salisbury; instead, the station relies on master control and most of its operations controlled by WRNN-TV's studios in Rye Brook, New York.

History

WMDE signed on May 24, 2013. The station was originally owned by Western Pacific Broadcast LLC. WRNN-TV Associates agreed to acquire the station for $11.5 million on April 25, 2018; the sale was completed on July 11, 2018.

Legal controversy

WMDE was originally an Atlantic City allocation, licensed in Seaford, Delaware. However, Western Pacific Broadcast petitioned to move it to Dover. That move was protested and then held up due to an appeal by another company that wanted to move its Wyoming and Nevada allocations to the Philadelphia and New York City markets, respectively. The move of WMDE was deemed to be a more legitimate move, but its owner still had to wait pending the other station moves. This shuffling of stations was primarily sparked by the new allocations deriving from the digital TV changes in 2011.

Programming

WMDE airs infomercials, as well as programming from Doctor TV, Newsmax TV, Biz TV and Shop LC.

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
ChannelVideoAspectPSIP Short NameProgramming
36.1720pWMDE.1Main WMDE programming
36.2720pCourtTVCourt TV
36.3480iDABLDabl
36.4480iCircleCircle
36.5480iArirangArirangTV
36.6480iJTVJewelry TV
36.7480iShopHQShopHQ
36.8480iWMDE.8QVC
36.9480iWMDE.9QVC2