View source for WZDC-CD

{{Short description|Television station in Washington, D.C.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = WZDC-CD
| city                   =
| logo                   = Telemundo442018.svg
| logo_size              = 200px
| branding               = Telemundo 44
| digital                = 34 ([[UHF]]), shared with [[WRC-TV]]
| virtual                = 44
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''44.1:''' [[Telemundo]]|'''44.2:''' [[TeleXitos]]}}
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1994|4|p=y}}
| location               = [[Washington, D.C.]]
| country                = United States
| callsign_meaning       = [[ZGS Communications|ZGS]] District of Columbia (former owner)
| owner                  = [[Telemundo Station Group]]
| licensee               = NBC Telemundo License [[LLC]]
| operator               = 
| former_callsigns       = {{ubl|W64BW (1993–1995)|WZGS-LP (1995–2000)|WZDC-LP (2000–2008)|WZDC-CA (2008–2011)}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 64 (UHF, 1993–2007), 25 (UHF, 2007–2011)|'''Digital:''' 25 (UHF, 2011–2018), 48 (UHF, 2018–2019)}}
| sister_stations        = [[WRC-TV]]
| former_affiliations    = 
| erp                    = 1,000 [[kW]]
| haat                   = {{convert|244|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id            = 50347
| class                  = [[Class A television service|CD]]
| coordinates            = {{coord|38|56|24|N|77|4|53|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline, title}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                = {{URL|https://www.telemundowashingtondc.com/}} 
}}
'''WZDC-CD''' (channel 44) is a [[Class A television station]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], serving as the market's outlet for the Spanish-language network [[Telemundo]]. It is [[owned and operated]] by [[NBCUniversal]]'s [[Telemundo Station Group]] alongside [[NBC]] outlet [[WRC-TV]] (channel 4). WZDC-CD and WRC-TV share studios and transmitter facilities on Nebraska Avenue in the [[Tenleytown]] neighborhood of [[northwest Washington]].

Despite WZDC-CD legally holding a [[Low-power broadcasting#Television|low-power]] Class A license, it transmits using sister station WRC-TV's full-power spectrum. This ensures complete reception across the Washington, D.C., [[television market]]. WZDC-CD also hosts the [[master control]] for [[sister station]] [[WRTD-CD]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], along with its [[public file]] link on WZDC's website.

==History==
The station signed on as W64BW on UHF channel 64 in April 1994, as the Telemundo affiliate in the Washington market. On December 1, 1995, the call letters were changed to WZGS-LP, reflecting the station's ownership, [[ZGS Broadcasting]]. On June 27, 2000, the call letters were changed to WZDC-LP. On June 3, 2002, the station began producing [[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish-language]] local newscasts at 6 and 11 p.m. weeknights.

On April 10, 2007, WZDC-LP moved to channel 25, as channel 64 was to be removed from television broadcasting as a result of the [[2009 digital television transition]].

The station received [[Class A television service|class-A]] status in September 2008, changing callsigns to WZDC-CA to match. An application to build a new digital signal on channel 26 was dismissed in the same month.<ref>{{cite web|title=[D]WZDC-LD Facility Data|url=https://fccdata.org/?appid=1151870&facid=168694|website=fccdata.org}}</ref> WZDC eventually received permission to [[flash-cut]] to digital on channel 25 in March 2011, and became WZDC-CD in doing so that September.<ref>{{cite web|title=WZDC-CD Facility Data|url=https://fccdata.org/?facid=50347|website=FCCData}}</ref>

In the 2016–17 [[incentive auction]], WZDC-CD received $66,182,037 to leave the air, though it indicated that it would maintain over-the-air coverage by entering into a post-auction channel sharing agreement.<ref name="fcc-wzdcsale">{{cite web|title=FCC Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction Auction 1001 Winning Bids|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db0413/DA-17-314A2.pdf|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=April 17, 2017|date=April 4, 2017}}</ref>

On September 6, 2017, [[NBCUniversal]] internally announced that it would launch a Telemundo [[owned-and-operated station]] based out of [[WRC-TV]] (channel 4) in December; a Telemundo spokesperson stated that the sale of WZDC's spectrum "gave us the ability to take back the Telemundo affiliation for this market", without elaborating.<ref name="b&c-telemundodco&o">{{cite news|last1=Marszalek|first1=Diana|title=Telemundo Launching a Washington O&O in December|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/telemundo-launching-washington-oo-december/168520|access-date=September 12, 2017|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=September 11, 2017}}</ref><ref name="mm-telemundodco&o">{{cite news|title=Telemundo ends affiliate deal with ZGS to launch O&O in D.C.|url=https://www.mediamoves.com/2017/09/telemundo-ends-affiliate-deal-with-zgs-to-launch-oo-in-d-c.html|access-date=September 12, 2017|work=Media Moves|date=September 11, 2017}}</ref> Subsequently, on December 4, 2017, NBCUniversal's [[Telemundo Station Group]] announced its purchase of ZGS' 13 television stations, including WZDC-CD.<ref name="tvnc-saletotelemundo">{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=Mark K.|title=NBCU Adding ZGS Stations To Telemundo|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/109362/nbcu-adding-zgs-stations-to-telemundo|access-date=December 4, 2017|work=TVNewsCheck|date=December 4, 2017|language=en}}</ref> As a result of the common ownership, WZDC-CD then entered into a channel-sharing agreement with WRC-TV, under which it ended broadcasts over its own signal on channel 25 and moved to WRC-TV's signal on channel 48.<ref>{{cite web|title=Modification of a Licensed Facility for Digital Class A TV Station Application|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f91600de630016022a74ed71ec7&id=25076f91600de630016022a74ed71ec7&goBack=N#sect-attachments|website=FCC LMS}}</ref> NBCUniversal assumed the operations of WZDC on January 1, 2018, through a [[local marketing agreement]].<ref>[http://www.nbcuniversal.com/press-release/telemundo-station-group-announces-leadership-team-telemundo-station-washington-dc Telemundo Station Group announces leadership team for Telemundo station in Washington, D.C. - NBCUniversal]</ref>

The channel-sharing agreement with WRC-TV took effect on March 7, 2018, at which time WZDC shut off its own signal.<ref>{{cite web|title=Suspension of Operations of a Digital Class A Station|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f91619169b50161b9db595637d2&id=25076f91619169b50161b9db595637d2&goBack=N|website=FCC LMS}}</ref>

As the channel-share went into effect, WZDC's virtual channel number of 25 presented an issue. Virtual channel 25 is already in use by [[Hagerstown]]'s [[WDVM-TV]], which covers much of the western part of the Washington market and overlaps the signal of WRC-TV. The [[PSIP]] standard resolves virtual channel conflicts by assigning the new station a virtual channel number equal to the existing station's physical channel number. As WDVM-TV broadcast over physical channel 26 at the time, the rule would assign WZDC-CD virtual channel 26. However, [[WETA-TV]] already uses virtual channel 26 in the market, and there is no further remedy prescribed in the PSIP standard. NBC proposed as a second option virtual channel 64, corresponding to WZDC-CD's original analog channel. This introduces another conflict with [[WDPB]], which overlaps the eastern portion of WRC-TV's coverage area. In this case, the same rule assigned virtual channel 44, which was available.<ref>{{cite web|title=WZDC-CD Assignment of Virtual Channel 44|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/25076f9161427e780161527329bb0447|website=FCC LMS}}</ref>

==Local programming==
WZDC broadcasts 10 hours of locally produced newscasts each week, at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. on weekdays, along with morning cut-ins during ''[[Hoy Día]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=WZDC Adds More Local News, Rebrands {{!}} TVNewsCheck.com|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/111834/wzdc-adds-more-local-news-rebrands|website=TVNewsCheck|date=March 8, 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

Until the 2023 shift of [[MLS]] regional rights to [[Apple TV+]], the station carried [[D.C. United]] games in Spanish on its TeleXitos subchannel, in tandem with English coverage on [[NBC Sports Washington]].<ref>{{cite news |title=D.C. United Announces Partnerships with NBC Sports Washington and TeleXitos |url=https://www.dcunited.com/post/2021/04/12/dc-united-announces-partnerships-nbc-sports-washington-and-telexitos}}</ref>

==Subchannels==
{{#section:WRC-TV|subs}}
==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|www.telemundowashingtondc.com}}
* [http://www.telemundo.com/ Telemundo website]
{{clear}}
{{Washington TV}}
{{Salisbury TV}}
{{Other Maryland Stations}}
{{Other Virginia Stations}}
{{TV Stations West Virginia}}
{{Pennsylvania TV}}
{{NBCUniversal}}
{{Major U.S. TV O-O Stations}}

[[Category:1993 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Low-power television stations in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Spanish-language television stations in Washington, D.C.|ZDC-CD]]
[[Category:Telemundo Station Group]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1993]]
[[Category:TeleXitos affiliates]]