WFTV (Duluth)

WFTV Channel 38 was the first television station in Duluth, Minnesota.

The station signed on in 1953 carrying programming from all four TV networks of the time, ABC, CBS, NBC, and the DuMont Television Network. It shared office space with WEBC radio and transmitted from the former WEBC-FM tower on Duluth's Observation Hill.

WFTV faced challenges from the beginning, being a UHF station in an era when television sets only included VHF tuners. A converter box was required to receive the station. In March 1954, VHF stations KDAL-TV and WDSM-TV - both co-owned with other radio stations in the market - signed on and took the NBC and CBS affiliations. WFTV could not compete and left the air shortly thereafter.

Duluth would be a two-station market until WDIO-TV signed on in 1966. The market would not get another major UHF station until 1999 when KQDS-TV upgraded and affiliated with the FOX network.

The bottom portion of the tower used by WEBC-FM and WFTV still stands, and is used today for telecommunications. Channel 38 is currently occupied by the digital signal of WDSE, but will be empty again in 2009 when WDSE moves digital operations to channel 8.

Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth ⁱ/dəˈluːθ/ is a seaport city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Saint Louis County. Duluth has a population of 86,238 and is the second-largest city on Lake Superior's shores, after Thunder Bay, Ontario, on the lake's Canadian border; it does, however, have the largest metropolitan area on the lake. The Duluth MSA had a population of 279,771 in 2010, the second-largest in Minnesota. The combined urban population of Duluth and its adjacent communities – including Proctor, Hermantown, and Superior, Wisconsin – totals over 131,000, based on 2010 census figures.

Situated at the westernmost point of the Great Lakes on the north shore of Lake Superior, Duluth is accessible to oceangoing vessels from the Atlantic Ocean 2,300 miles (3,700 km) away via the Great Lakes Waterway and the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Lake Superior is the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area.

Duluth forms a metropolitan area with Superior called the Twin Ports. The cities share the Duluth–Superior harbor and together are the Great Lakes' largest port transporting coal, iron ore (taconite), and grain.

Duluth (album)

Duluth is the fourth studio release by Duluth, Minnesota group Trampled by Turtles.

All songs written by Dave Simonett, except for where noted.

Personnel

Duluth (disambiguation)

Duluth, Minnesota is a city in the United States

Duluth or DuLuth may also refer to:

See also

WFTV

WFTV, virtual channel 9 (UHF digital channel 39), is the ABC-affiliated television station located in Orlando, Florida, United States. The station is owned by the Cox Media Group division of Cox Enterprises, and is part of a duopoly with independent station WRDQ (channel 27). The two stations share studios on East South Street (SR 15) in downtown Orlando, and its transmitter is located between Bithlo and Christmas. WFTV is also carried on cable providers in Lakeland, which is part of the Tampa Bay market.

Digital television

Digital channels

In April 2010, WFTV announced plans to add a simulcast of GenTV affiliate WAWA-LD on a third digital subchannel. However, before the subchannel could launch, WAWA's chief investor pulled out, effectively closing that station and dissolving the partnership with WFTV. On January 25, 2013, the station replaced its weather channel Severe Weather Center 9 on digital subchannel 9.2 with Spanish language service Mega TV. In August 2014, Grit TV was added to channel 9.3. On April 14, 2015 Grit TV moved to sister station WRDQ and was replaced by Laff TV on 9.3.