WDAZ-TV
WDAZ-TV is a television station licensed to Devils Lake, North Dakota, United States, serving the Grand Forks area as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by the Forum Communications Company, which also owns the Grand Forks Herald. WDAZ-TV's news bureau and advertising sales office are located on South Washington Street in Grand Forks, and its transmitter is located near Dahlen, North Dakota. Despite Devils Lake being WDAZ-TV's city of license, the station maintains no physical presence there.
Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, WDAZ-TV is considered a semi-satellite of sister station and company flagship WDAY-TV in Fargo, which operates two other semi-satellites: KBMY in Bismarck and KMCY in Minot, which itself is a semi-satellite of KBMY. As such, WDAZ-TV simulcasts all network and syndicated programming as provided by WDAY-TV, and the two stations share a website. However, WDAZ-TV airs separate commercial inserts and legal identifications. Local newscasts, produced by WDAY-TV, are simulcast on both stations. WDAZ-TV serves the northern half of the Fargo–Grand Forks market while WDAY-TV serves the southern portion. The two stations are counted as a single unit for ratings purposes. Internal operations are based at WDAY-TV's studios on South 8th Street in Fargo.
WDAZ-TV is widely carried on cable in the Canadian province of Manitoba, and in Kenora, Ontario.
History
WDAZ began test broadcasts on December 1966, and went on the air for the first time on January 29, 1967. For its first 15 years on the air, WDAY-TV had significant coverage problems in the northern portion of the vast Fargo–Grand Forks market. Channel 6 was required to conform its signal to protect CBC Television station CBWT in Winnipeg, which was also on channel 6. While the other Fargo stations covered the northern portion of the market very well, WDAY-TV only provided grade B coverage to most of Grand Forks and could not be seen at all in much of the northern part of the market. WDAZ was signed on to fill this coverage gap. It is one of the few stations west of the Mississippi River allowed to use a "W" call sign at sign-on. Most stations west of the Mississippi begin with the K; however, WDAY radio received 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 to the Mississippi River.Originally an NBC affiliate, WDAZ switched to ABC along with sister station WDAY-TV on August 22, 1983. WDAZ continues to be carried on Canadian cable systems, while other North Dakota broadcasts were replaced with Detroit and/or Toledo, Ohio stations, and then Minneapolis station KARE. WDAZ even maintained a sales office in Winnipeg. In 1986, WDAZ was nearly dropped from cable in Winnipeg. After the crisis, WDAZ and Prairie Public Television's KGFE set up a fixed microwave link to carry stronger signals into Winnipeg.
Image:WDAZ HD Logo.jpg|thumb|right|WDAZ HD logo used until 2016.
WDAY/WDAZ began operating cable-only WB affiliate "WBFG" in 1998. WDAY/WDAZ replaced The CW Plus successor of "WBFG" with the Justice Network on new digital broadcast subchannels WDAY 6.2 and WDAZ 8.2 and WDAY'Z Xtra on digital subchannel 6.3 in the Fargo area and 8.3 in the Grand Forks area. WDAZ-DT4 returned to the air in 2017 as an affiliate of Ion Television.
WDAY X
WDAY X is a digital subchannel carried on WDAY 6.3, WDAZ 8.3, KBMY 17.3, and KMCY 14.3, airing as a primary affiliate of MyNetworkTV on KBMY and KMCY and as an independent station on WDAY-TV and WDAZ-TV. This subchannel airs syndicated programming, North Dakota and Minnesota high school sports, North Dakota high school state tournaments, Minnesota State University Moorhead athletics, and select North Dakota State University athletic events. It airs Doppler weather radar and "Storm Tracker" weather loop with easy listening music during overnights. It is offered on Midco cable channel 596 and Sparklight channel 29.WDAY X became available in HD in 2014, and in 2016, MyNetworkTV programming began airing in prime time on the version of the subchannel seen on KBMY and KMCY but not on WDAY or WDAZ.
News operation and programming
Until December 21, 2018, WDAZ aired its own locally produced newscasts from Grand Forks on weekdays at 6 and 10 p.m., and simulcast WDAY-TV's other newscasts with resources from WDAZ. From 1997 until 2011, WDAZ broadcast nine hours of locally produced newscasts each week.WDAY's morning show First News has been broadcast on WDAZ since its inception, although the broadcast went statewide in April 2014 as it debuted on sister ABC affiliates KBMY in Bismarck and KMCY in Minot. WDAZ's weekend news was taken over by WDAY in 2011 and its 5 p.m. weekday newscast was taken over in July 2014. The decision to replace the 5 p.m. broadcast, which had been anchored by long-time personality Terry Dullum, was met with an immediate backlash from viewers, including those who circulated a petition on Change.org demanding that Forum restore the local 5 p.m. news to WDAZ. General manager Mari Ossenfort defended the cutbacks at WDAZ, believing that the stations were to focus more on producing "content" rather than "shows".
WDAZ is noted for being nationally honored with the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Continuing Coverage during the Red River Flood of 1997. WDAZ received two Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Awards in 2014.
On February 22, 2012, WDAZ began presenting its local newscasts in 16:9 widescreen standard definition, while the morning and weekend newscasts originating from WDAY were presented in high definition. WDAZ began presenting its locally produced newscasts in high definition on October 15, 2013.
WDAZ signs off briefly in the overnight hours; as a result, ABC's overnight news program, World News Now, is not broadcast. The station goes off the air at 3:37 a.m. and signs on again at 4 a.m. to broadcast America This Morning. WDAZ previously broadcast a weekly political talk show called Agenda, which was primarily on local and regional issues.
Starting on August 29, 2016, WDAY Xtra and the Justice Network aired WDAY Xtra News weekdays at 9 p.m.
WDAZ began airing a 4 p.m. weekday newscast on September 11, 2017, that originates from Fargo–based sister station WDAY-TV. It was the first afternoon newscast ever to air in the market.
On November 30, 2018, it was announced that WDAZ would merge its news department with that of WDAY-TV, resulting in the cancellation of WDAZ's separate 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, effective December 21. General manager Joshua Roher cited "changes to distribution of television, emerging technologies and economic factors in our area" as reasons for the consolidation, in a statement to the Grand Forks Herald. WDAZ's studio continued as WDAY-TV's Grand Forks news bureau and sales office.
Sports coverage
WDAZ was known for its coverage of University of North Dakota athletics, with former longtime sports director Pat Sweeney serving as play-by-play announcer. The station produced telecasts in conjunction with the University of North Dakota for its own airwaves, often simulcast on its sister ABC stations statewide, from 1984 until 2012. UND play-by-play coverage began being simulcast on WDAZ's airwaves and a cable network known as the University of North Dakota Sports Network, which was launched in 2002. This network broadcast UND hockey, football, and basketball games which were distributed on cable television by Midcontinent Communications and other cable systems in North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota. The UND Sports Network was also available all across the North American continent via free-to-air satellite. Pat Sweeney also handled play-by-play commentating on UNDSN. UNDSN was folded into the regional Midco Sports Network in 2012, and UND athletics play-by-play broadcast rights were taken over by the new regional network.Technical information and subchannels
WDAZ-TV's transmitter is located near Dahlen, North Dakota. The station's signal is multiplexed:| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
| 8.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WDAZABC | ABC |
| 8.2 | 480i | 16:9 | WDAZ-SD | True Crime Network |
| 8.3 | 720p | 16:9 | XTRA | WDAY X |
| 8.4 | 480i | 16:9 | ION | Ion Television |
| 8.5 | 480i | 16:9 | DEFY | Ion Plus |
| 8.6 | 480i | 16:9 | GRIT | Grit |
True Crime Network is carried on a digital subchannel of WDAY 6.2 in Fargo, WDAZ 8.2 in Devils Lake/Grand Forks, KBMY 17.2 in Bismarck and KMCY 14.2 in Minot. WDAY 6.2 and WDAZ 8.2 were previously Fargo CW until that network's affiliation moved to KXJB-LD 30.2/28.2 in September 2016.