WAND (TV)

WAND

Decatur–Springfield– Champaign–Urbana, Illinois United States
City	Decatur, Illinois
Channels	Digital: 20 (UHF) Virtual: 17
Branding	WAND; WAND News
Programming
Affiliations	17.1: NBC for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Block Communications (WAND(TV) Partnership)
History
First air date	August 16, 1953 (71 years ago) (1953-08-16)
Former call signs	WTVP (1953–1966)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 17 (UHF, 1953–2009) Digital: 18 (UHF, 2002–2011), 17 (UHF, 2011–2020)
Former affiliations	ABC (1953–2005) DuMont (1953–1955)
Call sign meaning	None known[a]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	70852
ERP	1,000 kW
HAAT	390.5 m (1,281 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	39°57′8.6″N 88°49′56.6″W / 39.952389°N 88.832389°W / 39.952389; -88.832389
Translator(s)	see § Translators
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.wandtv.com

WAND (channel 17) is a television station licensed to Decatur, Illinois, United States, serving the Central Illinois region as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Block Communications, the station maintains studios on South Side Drive in Decatur, and its transmitter is located along I-72, between Oreana and Argenta.

Channel 17 was the first station built in the market, signing on as WTVP on August 16, 1953. Originally an affiliate of ABC, it was owned by local non-broadcast investors and struggled due to its impaired reach. Investments were made in facilities and programming under Metromedia in the early 1960s, but it was as the first television station property owned by LIN Broadcasting that the station activated a more powerful transmitter facility and changed its call sign to WAND in 1966. The tower collapsed in a 1978 ice storm and was not rebuilt for more than a year, hindering the station's reach. LIN sold majority ownership to Block Communications in 2000, but it continued to operate the station until Block purchased the remainder in 2007. During that time, WAND switched affiliations from ABC to NBC as part of a new group affiliation agreement between LIN and NBC.

As the station's media market is spread out among several stations in different cities, the station's news ratings strength is concentrated within Decatur and Macon County, with lesser figures in the areas of Springfield and Champaign–Urbana.

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