WEFC-TV
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| WDRL-TV | |
|---|---|
| File:Anime 24.JPG | |
| Danville, Virginia | |
| Branding | Anime 24 |
| Analog channel | 24 (UHF) |
| Digital channel | 41 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | Anime Television Animovie on DT2 Funimation Channel on DT3 Anivision on DT4 (starting 02/09/08) |
| Owner | Taylor Media Stations Group |
| Founded | Early 1990s |
| Call letters meaning | Danville Roanoke Lynchburg |
| Former affiliations | WB, UPN |
WDRL-TV is an Anime Television Affiliate to Danville, Virginia but located in Pelham, North Carolina, USA, which serves the Roanoke/Lynchburg market in Virginia.
The station broadcasts from a short tower in Pelham, NC, and its signal is directional toward Greensboro, North Carolina. It broadcasts on channel 24 analog and on channel 41 digital. The digital channel will operate from Smith Mountain, giving it coverage of Lynchburg and northern Roanoke. WDRL is owned by Taylor Media Stations Group.
WDRL signed on in the early 1990s as WDRG, which stood for Danville Roanoke Greensboro, and it held the WB affiliation for Greensboro. The channel 24 dial position was once occupied by WBTM-TV, which operated in the mid-to-late 1950s. When Lexington, NC station WEJC (now WCWG) took the WB affiliation, and the definition of a market was changed by the FCC so that instead of being in the Greensboro market, the poor signal of WDRG was considered a Roanoke station. It became UPN WDRL (for Danville-Roanoke-Lynchburg) and signed on W54BT from Poor Mountain in Roanoke to bring UPN programming to Roanoke and Lynchburg.
On March 31, 2005, the FCC ordered W54BT off the air to make way for cellular phones and the transmitter was retuned to broadcast on channel 24 with less power, and allowing for WDRL to become "UPN24" instead of "WDRL 24/54."
On May 1, 2006, it was announced that WDRL would become Anime Tube when UPN & The WB will merge to become The CW, on September 18, 2006. WJPR will carry The CW on its digital channel while WDBJ will carry My Network TV on their digital channel. WDRL will also carry Animovie and The Funimation Channel on it's digital channel as well.
