WDPN-TV
WDPN-TV is a Wilmington, Delaware-licensed television station serving the Philadelphia market as a MeTV affiliate.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WDPN-TV is a commercial television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, and serving the Philadelphia, Delaware Valley, and parts of southern New Jersey markets. The station’s principal programming identity is its affiliation with MeTV, a classic-television network specializing in reruns of established American sitcoms, dramas, westerns, and other series. Although its legal city of license is Wilmington, its transmitter is located in Philadelphia’s Roxborough section, while its shared studios are on East Rock Road on South Mountain in Allentown, alongside sister station WFMZ-TV. The station began broadcasting in a very different market. A construction permit granted in 1988 to Ambassador Media led to the launch of KJVI on January 9, 1991, as a satellite of KPVI in Pocatello, Idaho. It served the Jackson, Wyoming, area and initially carried ABC programming, with locally specific commercial inserts. After KPVI and KJVI were acquired by Sunbelt Communications Company in 1995, the stations switched to NBC in January 1996. KJVI adopted the call sign KJWY in June of that year. For part of its Wyoming history, KJWY also carried news produced by KCWY in Casper, another Sunbelt-owned NBC affiliate. KJWY was technically notable because its analog operation used only 178 watts, making it one of the lowest-powered full-service analog television stations in the United States and North America. The unusually low power reflected frequency-spacing constraints involving stations in Boise and Salt Lake City. After the digital transition, the station’s power increased, but it remained relatively modest for a full-service outlet. Sunbelt agreed to sell KJWY to PMCM TV in 2009. Following regulatory approval and the closing of the transaction, the station left NBC and the KPVI simulcast, briefly went off the air, and returned as an affiliate of This TV in August 2009. It joined MeTV in 2012. PMCM then pursued a relocation of the station from Wyoming to Wilmington, using a regulatory provision concerning VHF stations and states without FCC-licensed commercial VHF stations. The FCC initially rejected the request, but a federal appeals court later overturned that decision. The station changed its call sign to KJWP in March 2013, left Jackson in August, and began broadcasting from the Philadelphia area in November 2013. It became the Delaware Valley’s exclusive MeTV affiliate in March 2014. The move substantially expanded the station’s technical reach and changed its business role from a small Wyoming outlet into a Philadelphia-market specialty station. KJWP added digital subchannels carrying Escape, Grit, and later Justice Network. In 2014, it also hired Philadelphia television personality Larry Mendte as public affairs director and introduced locally oriented programs including The Delaware Way and ...And Another Thing. Maranatha Broadcasting Company, owner of WFMZ-TV, agreed to acquire the station in 2015; the transaction closed in 2017, creating a Philadelphia-market duopoly. The call letters changed from KJWP to WDPN-TV in September 2018. As of the latest supplied reference, WDPN-TV remains active and carries most of the MeTV schedule, with selected local public-affairs programming, syndicated programming, and infomercial preemptions.
History
WDPN-TV traces its origins to an FCC construction permit awarded in 1988 to Ambassador Media for a satellite station associated with KPVI in Pocatello, Idaho. The station launched on January 9, 1991, from Jackson, Wyoming, as KJVI. It served the Wyoming portion of the Idaho Falls–Pocatello television market and operated as a semi-satellite, carrying KPVI programming while inserting separate local commercials. KPVI and KJVI were sold to Sunbelt Communications Company in November 1995. Sunbelt changed the stations’ network affiliation from ABC to NBC in January 1996, and KJVI became KJWY that June. Although KJWY was formally tied to KPVI, it later carried Wyoming news from KCWY in Casper after KCWY developed its own news operation. The station’s technical history was unusual: its analog signal operated at only 178 watts, among the lowest power levels for a full-service analog television station in the United States. Frequency-spacing concerns involving KBCI-TV in Boise and KUTV in Salt Lake City limited its analog facilities. Its post-transition digital operation used higher power, though the facility remained comparatively small. In March 2009, Sunbelt applied to sell KJWY to PMCM TV, a company associated with Press Communications’ radio interests along the New Jersey shore. The proposed arrangement initially included a local marketing agreement, but the parties abandoned that element before the FCC approved the sale in June. The transaction closed on June 12, 2009. KJWY immediately discontinued NBC programming and its KPVI simulcast. After approximately two months off the air, it returned on August 12 as an affiliate of This TV. PMCM soon sought to move KJWY from Jackson to Wilmington, Delaware. The company relied on an FCC policy allowing certain VHF stations to relocate to states without FCC-licensed commercial VHF stations. Delaware had not had such a station since Wilmington’s WVUE left the air in 1958. The FCC rejected the request in 2009 and again on review in 2011, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed the agency in December 2012. The call sign became KJWP in March 2013. KJWP left Jackson permanently on August 11, 2013, and its former local studios were closed. The relocated station began broadcasting from Philadelphia’s Roxborough transmitter site on November 18, 2013, using a 720p high-definition signal. Its effective power increased substantially to match the Philadelphia market. KJWP continued with MeTV, which it had adopted in 2012, and on March 1, 2014, became the Delaware Valley’s exclusive MeTV affiliate after WFMZ-TV removed MeTV from one of its digital subchannels. The station added Escape and Grit in August 2014 and Justice Network in February 2015, although Justice later moved to another Philadelphia-area station. KJWP also developed a limited local-programming identity. In 2014 it hired longtime Philadelphia broadcaster Larry Mendte as public affairs director. He hosted The Delaware Way, focused on Delaware issues, and ...And Another Thing, a broader news and commentary program also carried by sister-market station WJLP. PMCM agreed to sell KJWP to Maranatha Broadcasting Company in December 2015. The sale closed on August 31, 2017, bringing KJWP under the same ownership as Allentown-based WFMZ-TV and creating a Philadelphia-market duopoly with stations serving distinct programming and geographic roles. On September 4, 2018, KJWP adopted the WDPN-TV call sign. As of the supplied January 2026 programming description, WDPN-TV carries most of MeTV’s schedule. It preempts selected periods for The 302, a Delaware-focused public-affairs program, Last Man Standing, and early-morning infomercials. Its principal identity remains a classic-television outlet for the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley markets.
- 2018
WDPN-TV call sign adopted
[1]KJWP changed its call letters to WDPN-TV.
- 2017
Acquisition by Maranatha completed
[1]Maranatha Broadcasting Company completed its purchase of KJWP from PMCM.
- 2014
Delaware Valley MeTV exclusivity and multicast expansion
[1]KJWP became the market’s exclusive MeTV affiliate and added Escape and Grit digital subchannels.
- 2013
Relocation to the Philadelphia area
[1]The station left Jackson, changed to KJWP, and began operating from the Philadelphia market.
- 2012
MeTV affiliation begins
[1]The station adopted MeTV programming.
- 2009
PMCM acquisition and This TV launch
[1]PMCM acquired the station; after leaving NBC, it returned to the air as a This TV affiliate.
- 1996
Network and call-sign changes
[1]The station switched to NBC and changed its call letters from KJVI to KJWY.
- 1991
KJVI signs on
[1]The station began broadcasting in Jackson on January 9 as a semi-satellite of KPVI.
- 1988
Construction permit granted
[1]Ambassador Media received authorization for a Jackson, Wyoming, satellite station associated with KPVI.
Products and positioning
A Philadelphia-market broadcast station positioned around MeTV’s classic-television schedule, supplemented by Delaware-focused public affairs and selected syndicated or paid programming.
Network affiliation · 2012
MeTV
WDPN-TV’s principal programming service is MeTV, a classic-television network built around reruns of well-known American series. The station carries most of the network schedule while making limited local and commercial preemptions.
Local public-affairs program
The 302
A Delaware-focused public-affairs program carried by WDPN-TV in selected weekend time slots. It provides a local component within the station’s predominantly syndicated and network-oriented schedule.
Multicast television · 2014
Digital multicast services
WDPN-TV expanded beyond its primary MeTV service with additional digital subchannels, including Escape and Grit in 2014 and Justice Network in 2015. Justice later moved to another area station.
Brand decisions
2018
Call-sign rebrandingOtherBackground
Following the ownership transition, the station updated its broadcast identity.
Action taken
KJWP became WDPN-TV on September 4.
Aftermath
The station has continued operating under the WDPN-TV call sign.
2015
Sale to Maranatha Broadcasting CompanyM&ABackground
Maranatha Broadcasting Company, which owned WFMZ-TV, sought to acquire the Philadelphia-area MeTV outlet.
Action taken
Maranatha agreed to purchase KJWP and completed the transaction on August 31, 2017.
Aftermath
The acquisition created a Philadelphia-market duopoly with WFMZ-TV.
2014
Expansion of digital multicast programmingProduct launchBackground
After entering the Philadelphia market, the station expanded its digital broadcast offering beyond its main MeTV service.
Action taken
It added Escape and Grit, followed by Justice Network in 2015.
Aftermath
The station offered additional genre-focused programming, although Justice later relocated to another broadcaster.
2013
Relocation from Wyoming to DelawareStrategyBackground
PMCM sought to place the VHF facility in Wilmington, Delaware, after litigating the FCC’s initial rejection of the move.
Action taken
The station changed its call sign to KJWP, left Jackson, and began operating from the Philadelphia area.
Aftermath
The move transformed the outlet into a Philadelphia-market station and enabled a major increase in transmission power.
2009
Sale to PMCM TVM&ABackground
Sunbelt Communications sought to dispose of the small Wyoming station, while PMCM pursued a broader VHF-station relocation strategy.
Action taken
The FCC approved the sale after the parties dropped the proposed local marketing agreement, and the transaction closed in June 2009.
Aftermath
The station left NBC and its KPVI simulcast, then returned as a This TV affiliate.
Sources2 sources
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