WDAM-DT2
 | |
| Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi United States | |
|---|---|
| Branding |
WDAM ABC (general) News 7 (newscasts) |
| Slogan |
You've Got 7 On Your Side & The Pine Belt's Choice For News |
| Channels |
Digital: WDAM-DT 7.2 (VHF) Virtual: 7.2 (PSIP) |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Owner |
Raycom Media (WDAM License Subsidiary, LLC) |
| First air date | unknown |
| Call letters' meaning | see WDAM |
| Sister station(s) | WLOX-DT2, WLBT |
| Former affiliations | This TV |
| Transmitter power | 75 kW |
| Height | 155 m |
| Facility ID | 21250 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 31°27′12″N 89°17′5″W / 31.45333°N 89.28472°WCoordinates: 31°27′12″N 89°17′5″W / 31.45333°N 89.28472°W |
WDAM-DT2 is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southeastern Mississippi's Pine Belt. It broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 7.2 from a transmitter at studios on U.S. 11 (in unincorporated Moselle) in southern Jones. Owned by Raycom Media, the station can also be seen in standard definition on Comcast channel 2 and in high definition on digital channel 431. Syndicated programming on WDAM-DT2 includes Live! with Kelly and Michael, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Judge Mathis, The Doctors, and Extra.
History
On May 30, 2012, Raycom Media and ABC jointly announced that WDAM had entered into a long-term affiliation agreement. This resulted in WDAM-DT2 dropping This TV in favor of the big three network on June 11. Prior to the change, ABC had not been seen locally in the Hattiesburg/Laurel market since 1962 after the main WDAM channel dropped its secondary arrangement with the network. After that, WLOX in Biloxi began serving as the Pine Belt's default affiliate and would subsequently become a sister outlet to WDAM in 2006.[1][2]
Along with WDSU-TV in New Orleans, the main NBC channel of WDAM has been serving as the de facto affiliate for the Mississippi Gulf Coast region. This arrangement changed July 1, 2012 when Fox outlet WXXV-TV converts its MyNetworkTV-affiliated second digital subchannel to NBC. There has never been an NBC station directly serving Biloxi and Gulfport.
Newscasts
With the addition of ABC, WDAM-DT2 simulcasts some local news offerings from the main channel. More specifically, this includes the entire weekday morning show as well as weeknight broadcasts at 5 and 10. A new newscast weeknights at 6:30 is seen exclusively on WDAM-DT2. Weekend simulcasts include Saturdays at 6 and both nights at 10. With the simulcasts, however, there can be delays and/or pre-emptions on one programming service due to network obligations.