WHDT
| |
|---|---|
| City | Stuart, Florida |
| Channels | |
| Branding | South Florida's 9 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WPTV-TV, WFLX | |
| History | |
| Founded | May 25, 2000 |
First air date | June 1, 2001 |
Former channel number(s) | Digital: 59 (UHF, 2001–2009), 42 (UHF, 2009–2019) |
Call sign meaning | High Definition Television |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 83929 |
| ERP | 943.1 kW |
| HAAT | 440 m (1,444 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 26°34′30.7″N 80°14′31.1″W / 26.575194°N 80.241972°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | WHDT page on WPTV website |
WHDT (channel 9) is an independent television station licensed to Stuart, Florida, United States, serving the West Palm Beach area. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside NBC affiliate WPTV-TV (channel 5); Scripps also provides certain services to Fox affiliate WFLX (channel 29) under a shared services agreement (SSA) with Gray Media. The stations share studios on South Australian Avenue in downtown West Palm Beach (mailing address says Banyan Boulevard, also known as 1st Street); WHDT's transmitter is located near Wellington west of US 441/SR 7.
While the present facility dates to 2002, WHDT dates to 1997, originally as a low-power station. It was founded by Günter Marksteiner and was early to convert to high-definition program origination and broadcasting, including being the first digital-only television station authorized for must-carry. Early programming consisted of a mix of Deutsche Welle output and classic reruns before cycling through a mix of programming services. Scripps bought WHDT from Marksteiner in 2018; the station features Florida Panthers hockey telecasts and some syndicated programs.