|
|
WDIO: Duluth, Minnesota WIRT: Hibbing, Minnesota United States |
|
---|---|
Branding | WDIO/WIRT Channels 10 and 13 (general) Eyewitness News (newscasts) |
Slogan | The Northland's News Leader |
Channels |
Digital: WDIO: 10 (VHF) WIRT: 13 (VHF) Virtual: WDIO: 10 () WIRT: 13 (PSIP) |
Subchannels | xx.1 ABC xx.2 MeTV |
Translators | see article |
Affiliations | ABC |
Owner |
Hubbard Broadcasting (WDIO-TV, LLC) |
First air date |
WDIO: January 24, 1966 WIRT: August 31, 1967 |
Call letters' meaning |
WDIO: Duluth Channel IO (10) WIRT: Iron Range Television |
Former channel number(s) |
Analog: WDIO: 10 (VHF, 1966–2009) WIRT: 13 (VHF, 1967–2009) Digital: WDIO: 43 (UHF, 2002–2009) WIRT: 36 (UHF, 2002–2009) |
Former affiliations |
DT2: RTV The Sportsman Channel |
Transmitter power |
WDIO: 45 kW WIRT: 13 kW |
Height |
WDIO: 297 m (974 ft) WIRT: 204 m (669 ft) |
Facility ID |
WDIO: 71338 WIRT: 71336 |
Transmitter coordinates |
WDIO: 46°47′15″N 92°7′21″W / 46.78750°N 92.12250°W WIRT: 47°22′53″N 92°57′15″W / 47.38139°N 92.95417°W |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Public license information: |
/ WIRT-DT Profile / WIRT-DT CDBS |
Website | www.wdio.com |
WDIO-DT (VHF digital channel 10) is the ABC and MeTV-affiliated television station for north-central and northeastern Minnesota, and northwestern Wisconsin. Owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, the station is licensed to Duluth, Minnesota, and its studios and transmitter are located on Observation Road in Duluth.
WIRT-DT (VHF digital channel 13) in Hibbing is a full-time satellite station of WDIO, serving the Iron Range including Grand Rapids, Virginia and Chisholm.
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, but remained as president and general manager. HBJ sold the stations to Hubbard Broadcasting in 1986, and Befera retired a year later.
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.