WDKA

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WDKA
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CityPaducah, Kentucky
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BrandingMy 49 WDKA
Programming
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Ownership
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OperatorSinclair Broadcast Group via SSA
KBSI
History
FoundedOctober 2, 1989
First air date
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Former channel numberTemplate:Pluralize from text
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  • Analog: 49 (UHF, 1997–2009)
  • Digital: 50 (UHF, 2000–2010), 49 (UHF, 2010–2019)
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Call sign meaning
Paducah (soundalike "K" substituting for "C")
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
39561
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT327 m (1,073 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
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Translator(s)KBSI 23.2 Cape Girardeau, MO
Links
Public license information
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Websitekbsi23.com

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WDKA (channel 49) is a television station licensed to Paducah, Kentucky, United States, serving Western Kentucky's Purchase region, Southern Illinois and Southeastern Missouri, and Northwest Tennessee. It is programmed primarily as an independent station, but maintains a secondary affiliation with MyNetworkTV. WDKA is owned by Rincon Broadcasting Group alongside Cape Girardeau, Missouri–licensed 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 signal on UHF channel 49.[3] In 2000, WDKA switched affiliations with 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 basketball and Conference USA football and basketball games to the station's viewers.[4][5] The ASN's programming content replaced Southeastern Conference football and basketball broadcasts from 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[6]) filed to sell WDKA to Sinclair's subsidiary WDKA Licensee, LLC.[7] Sinclair bought the station for $1.9 million.[8] The sale was completed on September 1, 2017.[9] 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.[10][11]

On July 22, 2025, Sinclair announced that it had re-purchased the non-license assets of WDKA and KBSI, with an option to re-acquire the stations' broadcast licenses.[12]

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.[1] The sale was completed on February 27, 2026.[13]

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WDKA[14]
Channel Res. Short name Programming
49.1 720p MyTV Main WDKA programming
49.2 480i Charge! Charge!
49.3 Roar Roar
49.4 TheNest The Nest
49.5 Dabl Dabl
49.6 CourtTV Court TV
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 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.[15]

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

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  1. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ellis, Jon (September 22, 2025). "Lincoln ABC Affiliate Sold as Rincon Buys Standard Media Stations". Northpine. Archived from the original on September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Facility Technical Data for WDKA". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."WDKA-Channel 49 on air with UPN programming". The Paducah Sun. June 7, 1997. p. 5A. Retrieved September 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Sinclair Broadcasting Launches the American Sports Network". Baltimore Business Journal.
  5. ^ "Sinclair Launches Sports Network". TVTechnology. July 17, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  6. ^ Ownership Report for Commercial Broadcast Stations - Federal Communications Commission
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  8. ^ Asset Purchase Agreement - Federal Communications Commission
  9. ^ Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jacobson, Adam (January 20, 2021). "FCC OK's Sinclair Duo's Spin To Soo Kim". Radio and Television Business Report. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sinclair Acquires Assets of WDKA in Paduca (sic), KY and KBSI in Cape Girardeau, MO" (Press release). Sinclair Broadcast Group. July 22, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Notification of Consummation". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. March 4, 2026. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."RabbitEars TV Query for WDKA". RabbitEars. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.

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