It’s a low-powered television station serving eight counties in middle Tennessee and over the border in Kentucky. Until now, it’s been largely known as a home for digital multicast networks Heartland and Action.
Now, this LPTV is poised to bring content to those near Dickson, Tenn., from one of two TV stations in Indianapolis owned by DuJuan McCoy.
McCoy’s Circle City Broadcasting owns WISH-8 in Indianapolis, and all of its news and programming will now be seen on WDHC-LD 11 thanks to an agreement signed by Kenneth Forte, Co-Owner and President of R&F Communications.
This brings WISH-TV’s content to an additional 1.7 million people, starting November 1, and includes the cities of Clarksville and Franklin, Tenn., as well as the entire Nashville metropolitan area.
For those wondering why a Nashville station would wish to air news programming from WISH-8, McCoy offers a simple explanation, one tied to his former ownership of television stations in Texas. “When I bought stations in San Angelo and Abilene, I couldn’t afford to put on a newscast,” he tells RBR+TVBR. “I reached an agreement with Sinclair out of San Antonio and told them I would cover the first seven minutes with local news of the day. I hired one local reporter, and then we joined KABB‘s news in progress. This was in 2008-2009. The first rating book gave us 3s and 4s in the first period we got, giving us significant ratings. There’s a thirst for another type of newscast in the market.”
That was the genesis for this arrangement, with Forte getting the opportunity to use a local anchor for the first seven minutes of the newscast; as of yet, that plan is still in its early stages.
“Entertainment you can get anywhere, anytime, and live news is what people enjoy watching live,” McCoy says. “I don’t have an affiliation that bounds me to the Indianapolis area, so I can syndicate my news to wherever anybody who wants news. Yes, my news is Indiana based, but we also do regional and national news. My news gets traction in viewers everywhere that I put it, even outside of Indianapolis.”
This includes a DT3 multicast station in Chicago, McCoy shares. “It’s good TV. It’s live and it is fresh. For me, it is like a TODAY Show except the abundance of my news is from Indiana and not New York. I’m getting traction from people who are thirsty for live, non-partisan news.”
McCoy adds that live news in today’s political climate means Forte could benefit from a strong 2024 political ad season on WDHC-LD.
Meanwhile, the arrangement involves two Broadcast Leadership Training (BLT) program graduates, as Forte is a 2016 graduate while McCoy previously completed his BLT courses.
“It is great to have support from fellow BLT grads who have already made a difference in the broadcasting world,” Forte said. “I look forward to all the benefits that will come to us from this partnership.”
WISH-TV’s “News 8” programming can also be viewed in Louisville, and in the Indiana markets of South Bend-Elkhart and Fort Wayne.
