WDIO-DT

WDIO-DT (digital channel 10) and WIRT-DT (digital channel 13) are the ABC and Me-TV-affiliated television stations for North Central and Northeastern Minnesota, and Northwestern Wisconsin. WDIO's studios and transmitter are located on Observation Road in Duluth.

WIRT in Hibbing is a full-time satellite station of WDIO, serving the Iron Range including Grand Rapids, Virginia and Chisholm.

History

WDIO-TV first went on the air on January 24, 1966. WDIO's original owner was Frank Befera, a trained engineer who owned a chain of radio stations across northeastern Minnesota. WIRT went on the air on August 31, 1967. He sold channels 10 and 13 to publishers Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1977, who sold the stations to Hubbard Broadcasting in 1986.

The red 10/13 disk logo is the oldest TV logo in Duluth, having been in use since the 1980s. The lettering used in the logo (which blends a number "10" into the "IO" lettering) dates back to as late as the early 1970s. Since the 1980s, changes to the 10/13 logo have merely depended on changes to ABC's logo and branding guidelines. The most recent change was in fall 2013 upon ABC's newest rebranding, which saw the 10/13 ball take on the same subtle reflection of the current ABC logo. WDIO/WIRT has broadcast in color since they first went on the air.