View source for WDKA

{{Short description|Television station in Paducah, Kentucky}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Distinguish|KDKA-TV}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = WDKA
| city                   = Paducah, Kentucky
| logo                   = WDKA My 49.svg
| logo_size              = 160px
| branding               = My 49 WDKA
| analog                 =
| digital                = 25 ([[UHF]])
| virtual                = 49
| subchannels            = 
| translators            = [[KBSI]] 23.2 Cape Girardeau, MO
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''49.1:''' [[MyNetworkTV]]|''for others, see {{Section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| network                = 
| country                = United States
| founded                = October 2, 1989
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1997|6|5|p=y}}
| last_airdate           = 
| location               = {{ubl|[[Paducah, Kentucky]]|[[Harrisburg, Illinois]]|[[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]]}}
| callsign_meaning       = Paducah (soundalike "K" substituting for "C")
| former_callsigns       = 
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 49 (UHF, 1997–2009)|'''Digital:''' 50 (UHF, 2000–2010), 49 (UHF, 2010–2019)}}
| owner                  = {{ubl|[[Standard Media|Community News Media]]{{r|wdkasold}}|''(sale to [[Rincon Broadcasting Group]] pending{{r|rincon}})''}}
| licensee               = Paducah Television License [[LLC]]
| operator               = [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]] via [[shared services|SSA]]
| sister_stations        = [[KBSI]]
| former_affiliations    = {{ubl|[[UPN]] (1997–2000)|[[The WB]] (2000–2006)}}
| erp                    = 1,000 [[kW]]
| haat                   = {{convert|327|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| class                  = 
| facility_id            = 39561
| coordinates            = {{nowrap|{{coord|37|23|42|N|88|56|23|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                = {{URL|https://kbsi23.com/}} 
}}

'''WDKA''' (channel 49) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Paducah, Kentucky]], United States, serving as the [[MyNetworkTV]] affiliate for [[Western Kentucky]]'s [[Jackson Purchase|Purchase]] region, [[Southern Illinois]] and Southeastern [[Missouri]], and [[West Tennessee|Northwest Tennessee]]. It is owned by the Community News Media subsidiary of [[Standard Media]] alongside [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]]–licensed [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[KBSI]] (channel 23); [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]] operates the two stations under a [[shared services]] agreement (SSA). WDKA and KBSI share studios on Enterprise Street in Cape Girardeau; WDKA's transmitter is located in [[Vienna, Illinois]].

In addition to its own digital signal, WDKA is [[simulcast]] in [[standard definition]] on KBSI's second [[digital subchannel]] (23.2) from a transmitter north of Cape Girardeau in unincorporated [[Cape Girardeau County]].

==History==
WDKA began broadcasting on June 5, 1997. It was a [[UPN]] affiliate broadcasting an [[analog television|analog]] signal on UHF channel 49.<ref name="Padu970607">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-paducah-sun-wdka-channel-49-on-air-w/131891491/|date=June 7, 1997|page=5A|title=WDKA-Channel 49 on air with UPN programming|newspaper=The Paducah Sun|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 16, 2023}}</ref><!-- Sat --> In 2000, WDKA switched affiliations with [[low-power broadcasting#Television|low-powered]] station [[WQTV-LP]] (licensed to [[Murray, Kentucky]]) and repeater WQWQ-LP to become an affiliate of [[The WB]]. In September 2006, The WB and UPN merged to become [[The CW]], and WQTV-LP was announced to become The CW affiliate for Paducah in advance of the merger. As a result, WDKA became affiliated with MyNetworkTV when it launched on September 5. 

On August 30, 2014, WDKA became a charter affiliate of Sinclair's ad-hoc syndicated television network, the [[American Sports Network]]. ASN provided [[Ohio Valley Conference]] [[college basketball|basketball]] and [[Conference USA]] [[college football|football]] and basketball games to the station's viewers.<ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2014/07/17/sinclair-broadcast-launch-american-sports-network.html "Sinclair Broadcasting Launches the American Sports Network"]. Baltimore Business Journal.</ref><ref>[http://www.tvtechnology.com/prntarticle.aspx?articleid=271329 "Sinclair Launches Sports Network"]. TVTechnology. July 17, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2015.</ref> The ASN's programming content replaced [[Southeastern Conference]] football and basketball broadcasts from [[ESPN Events|ESPN Plus]]-oriented [[SEC TV]], which was run from 2009 until 2014, which was discontinued because of the launch of the pay TV-exclusive [[SEC Network]]. 

On March 3, 2016, WDKA Acquisition Corporation (owned by Paul T. Lucci<ref>[http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1691106&Service=TV&Form_id=322&Facility_id=39561 Ownership Report for Commercial Broadcast Stations - Federal Communications Commission]</ref>) filed to sell WDKA to Sinclair's subsidiary WDKA Licensee, LLC.<ref name="Sale">{{cite web|title=Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1722629&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=39561|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=March 3, 2016|date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> Sinclair bought the station for $1.9 million.<ref>[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101722629&qnum=5120&copynum=1&exhcnum=1 Asset Purchase Agreement - Federal Communications Commission]</ref> The sale was completed on September 1, 2017.<ref>[http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1765769&Service=DT&Form_id=905&Facility_id=39561 Consummation Notice], ''CDBS Public Access'', [[Federal Communications Commission]], Retrieved September 6, 2017.</ref> Sinclair would continue to own WDKA and KBSI until both were sold to Community News Media for $28 million in a transaction that closed in 2021.<ref name="wdkasold">{{cite web|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101823155&formid=314&fac_num=19593|title=Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=November 12, 2020|access-date=November 16, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rbr.com/fcc-oks-sinclair-duos-spin-to-soo-kim/|accessdate=August 14, 2021|title=FCC OK's Sinclair Duo's Spin To Soo Kim|work=Radio and Television Business Report|first=Adam|last=Jacobson|date=January 20, 2021}}</ref>

On July 22, 2025, Sinclair announced that it had purchased the non-license assets of WDKA and KBSI, with an option to acquire the stations' broadcast licenses.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://sbgi.net/sinclair-acquires-assets-of-wdka-in-paduca-ky-and-kbsi-in-cape-girardeau-mo/|title=Sinclair Acquires Assets of WDKA in Paduca ''(sic)'', KY and KBSI in Cape Girardeau, MO|publisher=[[Sinclair Broadcast Group]]|date=July 22, 2025|accessdate=July 22, 2025}}</ref>

On September 22, 2025, it was announced that [[Rincon Broadcasting Group]] would be buying WDKA and KBSI along with the other stations owned by Standard Media for $50 million, pending FCC approval.<ref name="rincon">{{Cite web |last=Ellis |first=Jon |date=September 22, 2025 |title=Lincoln ABC Affiliate Sold as Rincon Buys Standard Media Stations |url=https://northpine.com/2025/09/22/lincoln-abc-affiliate-sold-as-rincon-buys-standard-media-stations/ |access-date=September 23, 2025 |website=Northpine |language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250923125727/https://northpine.com/2025/09/22/lincoln-abc-affiliate-sold-as-rincon-buys-standard-media-stations/ |archive-date= September 23, 2025}}</ref>

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WDKA<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WDKA#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WDKA|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=December 9, 2024}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 49.1 
| [[720p]] || rowspan=7| [[16:9]] || MyTV || [[MyNetworkTV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 49.2 
| rowspan=6| [[480i]] || Charge! || [[Charge! (TV network)|Charge!]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 49.3 
| Roar || [[Roar (TV network)|Roar]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 49.4 
| TheNest || [[The Nest (TV network)|The Nest]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 49.5 
| Dabl || [[Dabl]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 49.6 
| CourtTV || [[Court TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 49.7
| CHSN || [[Chicago Sports Network]] 
|}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WDKA shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 49, on February 17, 2009, the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to [[Digital television transition in the United States|transition from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate (which was pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 50, using [[virtual channel]] 49.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref>

===Spectrum reallocation===
In October 2019, WDKA reallocated its digital signal onto UHF channel 25 as a result of the station's participation in the FCC's spectrum incentive auction. 

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Kentucky TV}}
{{Missouri TV}}
{{Illinois TV}}
{{Tennessee TV}}
{{Paducah TV}}
{{SBGI}}
<!-- {{Rincon}} -->

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wdka}}
[[Category:1997 establishments in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Charge! (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Court TV affiliates]]
[[Category:Dabl affiliates]]
[[Category:MyNetworkTV affiliates]]
[[Category:The Nest (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Paducah, Kentucky]]
<!-- [[Category:Rincon Broadcasting Group]] -->
[[Category:Roar (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Sinclair Broadcast Group]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1997]]
[[Category:Television stations in the Paducah–Cape Girardeau–Harrisburg market]]