WDAY-TV

WDAY-TV, digital channel 21 (virtual channel 6), is the ABC affiliate television station for Fargo, North Dakota. The station serves the southern half of the Fargo-Grand Forks television market, with WDAZ-TV serving the northern half. It broadcasts from a 1,000-foot (300 m) tower located near Amenia, North Dakota. WDAY is offered on cable channel 6 in most areas.

The station is owned by Forum Communications of Fargo, which also owns WDAY Radio and The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.

Fargo CW, a CW affiliate is carried on a digital subchannel of WDAY (channel 6.2 PSIP) and WDAZ (channel 8.2 PSIP). Fargo CW is offered on CableOne cable channel 8 in the Fargo-Moorhead area. It can be seen on Midcontinent cable channel 14 in Fargo, Moorhead, and most other areas. It can be seen on Midcontinent cable channel 7 in the Grand Forks area.

History
WDAY-TV went on the air for the first time in 1953 as the third television station in North Dakota, and the first in the eastern part of the state. It was originally an NBC affiliate, but shared ABC programming with KXJB-TV until KXGO-TV (channel 11, later KTHI-TV and now KVLY-TV) signed on in 1959. It swapped affiliations with KTHI and became an ABC affiliate in 1983, a year after former sister station KSFY-TV switched from NBC to ABC.

Unlike rivals KXJB and KVLY, WDAY-TV is all but unviewable in the northern part of the market, including Grand Forks. It must conform its signal to protect CBC Television's Winnipeg station, CBWT, which signed on a year after WDAY-TV. To solve this problem, it signed onsemi-satellite WDAZ-TV in 1967. WDAZ-TV identifies as a station in its own right, producing its own newscasts and airing its own commercials. However, it rebroadcasts most of WDAY-TV's syndicated programming, and the two stations often share news stories. WDAZ serves the northern part of the Fargo-Grand Forks market, while WDAY-TV serves the southern portion.

In 1998, WDAY-TV launched a cable channel carrying The WB 100+ and The WB programming. The channel became "Fargo CW", and became available over the air as a digital subchannel of WDAY-TV. Fargo CW also carries programming from The CW Plus. In 2007, WDAY began broadcasting in high-definition.

WDAY-TV is one of the few stations in the country that still signs off at night. It goes off the air after the 1:06 am rebroadcast of WDAY News at 10 and does not air World News Now. NBA Countdown is frequently declined by the station to air additional paid programming on Sunday mornings.

Its daytime schedule includes the long-running sitcom Coach.

WDAY-TV is one of the western most stations in the country whose callsign begins with W. Most stations west of the Mississippi begin with K, however WDAY radio licensed its call letters before the U.S. government moved the K-W boundary in 1923 from the state borders between 102 and 104 degrees West longitude (including the North Dakota-Montana border) to the Mississippi River.

WDAY will broadcast in digital format only, effective June 12, 2009.[1]

News and sports
WDAY-TV produces local newscasts during Monday through Friday at 6:00am, 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 10:00pm, Saturdays at 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 10:00pm, and a Sunday newscast at 10:00pm. The morning newscast, First News, at 6:00am Monday through Fridays, is simulcast on WDAZ-TV. Unlike most ABC affiliates, WDAY does not air midday news during the week.

The station also broadcasts some North Dakota State University football and basketball games as well as WDAZ-produced University of North Dakota hockey games.

Current on-air staff
Anchors


 * Kerstin Kealy (Weekday Co-anchor of 6PM and 10PM Newscasts/Producer)
 * Dana Mogck (Weekday Co-anchor of 6PM and 10PM Newscasts)
 * TJ Nelson (Weekday Anchor of 5PM Newscasts / Producer)
 * Chastity Walberg (First News Anchor/Producer)
 * Travis Skonseng (Weekend Co-Anchor)

Meteorologists (Weather)


 * John Wheeler (Chief Meteorologist - Weekday Evenings)
 * Daryl Ritchison (Meteorologist - Weekday Mornings and Midday)
 * Rob Kupec (Meteorologist - Weekends)

Sports


 * Dom Izzo (Weekdays)

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Other


 * Kevin Wallevand (Feature Reporter)

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">WDAY 6 Fargo Television-

Past on-air staff

 * Marv Bossart, News Anchor 1958-2000
 * Najla Amundson, News Anchor (now Media Relations Director for NDSU)
 * Austen Schauer, Weekend Anchor (KVRR-TV, Fargo, ND)
 * Kip Hines, Weather (KVRR-TV, Fargo, ND).
 * Rich Lodewyk, Sports Anchor
 * Steve Hallstrom, Sports Anchor
 * Justin White, Weekend Sports Anchor
 * Lon Francis
 * Karena Lunday
 * Dana Turtle, Meteorologist (WSYX-TV) Columbus, Ohio)
 * Maureen Zimmerman
 * Kathy Reynolds
 * Eric Widmann
 * Stacie Schaible (WFLA-TV) Tampa, Florida)
 * Steve Bergeson, Reporter
 * Jack Sand
 * Jim Shaw (KVRR-TV, Fargo, ND)
 * Ed Schultz
 * Kelsey Soby (KMSP-TV, Minneapolis, MN)
 * Al Aamodt
 * Nate Aamodt
 * Matt Warner (KSPR-TV, Springfield, MO)

Newscast titles

 * WDAY News
 * WDAY NewsCenter 6 (1980s-1999)
 * WDAY News (1999-2010)
 * WDAY 6 News (2010-present)

Station slogans

 * Your News Leader (1996-present)

Fargo CW
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Fargo CW is a cable-only station with WB affiliation, and branded as "WBFG", a designation going back to its launch as a station transmitting the The WB 100+ distant network schedule to the area over cable exclusively. When The CW launched in September 2006 WBFG switched over to the distant The CW Plus schedule and eventually moved onto WDAY-DT2 to provide all viewers CW service in the area.

Translators
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">WDAY is broadcasted on the following translators (low-powered rebroadcasters):


 * K02DD Channel 2 Jamestown, ND
 * K02MM Channel 2 Fergus Falls, MN