WHO-TV
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Des Moines, Iowa United States |
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| Branding | WHO-HD Channel 13 (general) Channel 13 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | THE Local News Leader |
| Channels |
Digital: 13 (VHF) Virtual: 13 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 13.1 NBC 13.2 Iowa's Weather Channel 13.3 Antenna TV 13.4 This TV |
| Affiliations | NBC |
| Owner |
Tribune Broadcasting (WHO License, LLC) |
| First air date | April 15, 1954 |
| Call letters' meaning | The question prefix Who |
| Former callsigns | WHO-TV (1954–2009) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 13 (VHF, 1954–2009) Digital: 19 (UHF, 2002–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
Secondary: UPN (2003–2006) |
| Transmitter power | 36.5 kW |
| Height | 600 metres (2,000 ft) |
| Class | Full-power commercial digital |
| Facility ID | 66221 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°48′32.6″N 93°36′53.7″W / 41.809056°N 93.614917°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | www |
WHO-DT (known on air as WHO-HD) is a television station that broadcasts on Channel 13 in Des Moines, Iowa. It is affiliated with the NBC television network and serves most of central Iowa. The station transmits from the WOI Tower in Alleman, Iowa, which is actually owned by WHO-DT's owners, and its studio facilities are located on Grand Avenue in downtown Des Moines. WHO-DT brands itself as WHO-HD on air, indicating its high definition broadcasts, though the legal call letters are WHO-DT.
WHO-DT was repeated on K27CV channel 27 in Ottumwa and K66AL channel 66 in Clarinda. The Ottumwa translator was operated by a local non-profit organization, and the Clarinda translator was owned by the City of Clarinda.
WHO-TV signed on the air on April 15, 1954 as the third television station in Des Moines, after WOI-TV and KGTV. It was owned by the Palmer family, owners of WHO radio (AM 1040 and FM 100.3, now KDRB). The Palmers had competed with KIOA for the channel 13 license and won it after reaching a settlement. It has always been an NBC affiliate, having inherited this affiliation from WOI-DT and owing to WHO's long affiliation with the NBC Radio Network.
The Palmers sold off their broadcast holdings in 1996, with WHO-TV and sister station KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City going to The New York Times Company. Earlier that year, a joint plan by the Sinclair Broadcast Group (at the time in the process of purchasing Oklahoma City's then-UPN affiliate KOCB) and River City Broadcasting (then owner of Fox affiliate KDSM-TV) to purchase Palmer Communications, the Palmer family's holding company, fell through: Sinclair would have purchased WHO outright while River City would have received KFOR. However, River City was in the process of being merged into Sinclair, which would have resulted in duopolies, which were at the time prohibited by Federal Communications Commission ownership rules, in both the Des Moines and Oklahoma City markets. Up to that time, channel 13 had been the last locally owned commercial station in Des Moines. WHO-AM, which was eventually acquired by Jacor Communications (which later merged with Clear Channel Communications), continued to occupy the same building until it moved to another building in 2005. While WHO-TV was co-owned with WHO-AM, it used an owl as its mascot.
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Wikipedia