WDCW

WDCW
Channels
BrandingDCW 50
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WDVM-TV
History
First air date
November 1, 1981
(43 years ago) (1981-11-01)
Former call signs
  • WCQR (1981–1985)
  • WFTY (1985–1995)
  • WBDC-TV (1995–2006)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 50 (UHF, 1981–2009)
  • Digital: 51 (UHF, 2001–2009), 50 (UHF, 2009–2018)
Call sign meaning
"Washington D.C.'s CW"
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID30576
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT227 m (745 ft)
Transmitter coordinates38°56′24″N 77°4′53″W / 38.94000°N 77.08139°W / 38.94000; -77.08139
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.dcnewsnow.com/watch-dcw50/

WDCW (channel 50), branded on-air as DCW 50, is a television station in Washington, D.C., serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group alongside Hagerstown, Maryland–licensed independent station WDVM-TV (channel 25); the two stations share studios on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington's Glover Park neighborhood. Through a channel sharing agreement with Univision station WFDC-DT (channel 14), WDCW transmits using WFDC's spectrum from a tower in the Tenleytown area of Washington's Northwest quadrant.

The station began broadcasting in November 1981 as WCQR, culminating a 17-year struggle to get the station on air that included the death of the original permittee, bankruptcy, and years in the FCC's comparative hearing process. The station launched primarily as a vehicle for subscription television (STV) programming from Super TV, which served the Washington and Baltimore areas. After the station was sold in 1985, it became WFTY and dropped the subscription content, operating as the Washington area's third independent station. After a foreclosure sale in 1993, it affiliated with The WB in 1995, improving its programming and market standing, and was sold to Tribune Broadcasting. WDCW was one of the charter affiliates of The CW in 2006. Over the years, the station has had several partial attempts at airing or producing local newscasts; the most recent, DC News Now, debuted in 2022.

  1. ^ "Modification of a Licensed Facility for DTV Application". FCC.gov. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  2. ^ "Commercial Broadcast Stations Biennial Ownership Report (FCC Form 323)". Federal Communications Commission. January 31, 2020. p. 11. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  3. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WDCW". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.