WDPM-DT

WDPM-DT is a digital religious television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, in the United States. The station operates as part of the Daystar Television Network, a Christian television network that distributes religious programming through owned and affiliated broadcast outlets and other platforms. WDPM-DT serves viewers in southwest Alabama and northwest Florida, with its transmitter located near Robertsdale, Alabama. The station began broadcasting after the analog signal of PBS member station WSRE on channel 23 ended for the final time on February 17, 2009, as part of the United States transition from analog to digital television. WDPM-DT’s launch was therefore connected to the reassignment and use of digital broadcast capacity in the Mobile-area television market rather than to the conversion of an established analog WDPM service. Its programming identity is tied to Daystar’s religious television service rather than to a separately documented local entertainment, news, or general-interest brand. At sign-on, WDPM-DT displayed itself as virtual channel 4.1. That designation created a technical and regulatory numbering issue because the existing digital subchannels associated with WSRE already used the channel 23.1 series. Under the relevant ATSC channel-numbering framework, the new station’s virtual-channel presentation would have needed to be based on WSRE’s digital channel 31. The station used the 4.1 display from sign-on until February 2010, and the period was described as a violation of applicable digital television channel-numbering standards. WDPM-DT’s principal offering is television broadcasting: a digital over-the-air signal carrying Daystar religious programming. The station’s broadcast footprint is regional, covering the Mobile market and surrounding communities across the Alabama–Florida border area. Available reference material does not identify a separate commercial product portfolio, local news operation, executive roster, financial performance, or publicly listed corporate structure for the individual station. Its public identity is consequently best understood as a local broadcast outlet within the broader Daystar Television Network rather than as an independent consumer brand.

WDPM-DT entered service in the context of the United States digital television transition. The analog transmission of WSRE, a PBS member station serving the region, ended on February 17, 2009. WDPM-DT subsequently signed on as a digital religious television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, and affiliated with the Daystar Television Network. The station’s transmitter is located near Robertsdale, Alabama, allowing it to serve portions of southwest Alabama and northwest Florida. The station’s initial virtual-channel presentation produced a technical issue involving digital television numbering. From its sign-on through February 2010, WDPM-DT identified itself as channel 4.1. Existing channel 23.1 virtual-channel designations were already associated with WSRE’s digital subchannels, meaning that the channel-23 sequence could not simply be reused by the new service. Under the ATSC numbering approach described in the station’s reference material, WDPM-DT’s displayed channel numbers would instead have needed to be derived from WSRE’s digital channel number, 31. The use of the 4.1 designation during the initial operating period was characterized as a violation of the applicable standards. Following that initial numbering period, WDPM-DT continued as a Daystar-owned religious broadcaster. Its documented role is primarily the distribution of network religious programming through a local digital broadcast signal. The available material does not provide a detailed account of subsequent ownership changes, programming expansions, local production, management appointments, financial results, or major audience developments. It also indicates that the station’s signal is multiplexed, although the supplied reference does not enumerate the individual subchannels. As a result, the station’s history is principally defined by its post-2009 launch, its relationship with Daystar, its Mobile-area service territory, and the early virtual-channel numbering dispute.

• 2010

  End of the 4.1 display period

  [1]WDPM-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station’s use of the 4.1 virtual-channel display ends in February 2010 after the initial period described as inconsistent with ATSC numbering requirements.

• 2009

  WDPM-DT begins digital broadcasting

  [1]WDPM-DTen.wikipedia.org

  WDPM-DT signs on after WSRE’s analog channel 23 transmission ends on February 17, 2009, entering the Mobile-area market as a Daystar religious television station.

• 2009

  Initial virtual-channel designation

  [1]WDPM-DTen.wikipedia.org

  At sign-on, the station displays as virtual channel 4.1, despite channel-numbering constraints associated with WSRE’s existing digital designations.

A regional digital broadcast outlet delivering Daystar Christian and religious television programming to viewers in southwest Alabama and northwest Florida.

• Television broadcasting · 2009

  WDPM-DT digital broadcast service

  WDPM-DT’s primary offering is a digital over-the-air television signal licensed to Mobile, Alabama. The station carries religious programming associated with the Daystar Television Network and serves viewers in southwest Alabama and northwest Florida. Its transmitter is located near Robertsdale, Alabama. The supplied reference confirms that the signal is multiplexed, but does not list the individual subchannels or their program schedules.

• 2009

  Initial use of virtual channel 4.1Other

  Background

  When WDPM-DT began broadcasting after the end of WSRE’s analog service, it needed a virtual-channel designation that did not duplicate the numbering already used by WSRE’s digital subchannels.

  Action taken

  WDPM-DT displayed as channel 4.1 from sign-on until February 2010.

  Aftermath

  The designation was described as violating applicable ATSC channel-numbering standards; the supplied material does not specify the subsequent displayed channel or the regulatory resolution.

  Source

1. 1WDPM-DTen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Daystar Television Networkdaystar.com