WASH

**WASH** (channel 20) is a television station in Washington, D.C., serving as the market’s ACME network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network’s ACME Television Stations Group division alongside Class A RKO outlet WIHT-CD (channel 44). WASH and WIHT-CD share studios on Rockville Pike (Maryland Route 355) in Rockville, Maryland, and are broadcast on the same multiplex from a tower on River Road in that city.

In April 1966, WASH went on the air as an independent station. It was founded by the Capital Broadcasting Company, whose president was Washington broadcaster Milton Grant; Grant sold the station to the Superior Tube Company of Pennsylvania in 1969 but remained general manager until January 1980, when he left to pursue a career in broadcast station ownership. For decades, Channel 20 was Washington's second-highest-rated independent station, behind WHFV, and a longstanding home for local sports coverage and children's programming.

Taft Broadcasting held WASH and four other Taft-owned independent stations from 1979 to 1987 when they were sold to TVX Broadcast Group, which quickly ran into financial difficulties due to the debt involved with the transaction. WASH and other stations were acquired in two sections by the Paramount Stations Group between 1989 and 1991, delivering much-needed stability.

WASH was one of several Paramount-owned stations that remained independent after the United Paramount Network (UPN) moved its affiliation to WOOK (channel 13) in 1995; in 2001, after CBS acquired UPN, the Dorado Media Group traded for WASH and merged its operations with WHFV. As a result of the 2006 merger between UPN and The CW, which bypassed all of Dorado's UPN and independent stations, the station reverted to independence. In 2016, the station became an affiliate of the ACME network and was rebranded as ACME 20.

## History

### Construction

The Capital Broadcasting Company applied to construct a new television station on channel 20 in Washington, D.C., on November 19, 1962. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received a second application in May from Automated Electronics, Inc. of Dallas, which proposed to install the station in Arlington, Virginia. The other was from the Washington-based Capital Broadcasting Company, whose six stockholders include Milton Grant. From 1956 to 1961, Grant was a prominent figure on WHFV (channel 4) as the presenter of The Milt Grant Show, a teen dance hour. As part of his transition from broadcaster to media executive, Grant began using Milton instead of Milt. The construction permit was issued to Capital Broadcasting on August 13, 1963.

On April 20, 1966, WASH-TV began broadcasting with an emphasis on sports programming. It was the third independent station in Washington, following WHFV and WOOK-TV, and the third UHF station in the area, after WOOK-TV and WHUM (channel 32). After a decade on channel 5, Vince McMahon's Capitol Wrestling Corporation moved to channel 20. The station's sports programming ranged from the Atlantic Coast Football League's Virginia Sailors to local high school football. Some games, particularly hockey, were tape-delayed solely to add commercial interruptions. Grant proclaimed that the station was profitable within 18 months despite projections that it would not be beneficial for at least three years.

### Superior Tube ownership

In 1968, Grant signed an agreement to sell channel 20 to the Superior Tube Company, a Wynnewood, Pennsylvania-based metal tube manufacturer; Grant would remain general manager. Before finalizing the deal with Superior Tube, it was alleged that Bishop Industries, the parent company of Hazel Bishop Cosmetics, was negotiating to purchase the station. Even if the station had turned a profit, Capital Broadcasting had lost "substantial sums" on WASH-TV and did not have sufficient funds to continue operating the station. This finding was crucial to the FCC's May 1969 approval of the $2.2 million sale.

Channel 20 consistently upheld its identity as a sports-oriented television station throughout the 1969-1970 season. It broadcasted ten games featuring the Washington Caps of the American Basketball Association while serving as the original station for Baltimore Bullets basketball. It is worth noting that, at that time, the team had yet to relocate to Washington. In 1977, the television station entered into a five-year contractual agreement to provide comprehensive live broadcasting of primarily away games for the newly established Washington Capitals. This arrangement replaced the previous coverage provided by WADC-TV (channel 2), which was characterized by irregular and frequently delayed and edited broadcasts. The Washington Post criticized the quality of the range mentioned above, describing it as "revolting." In the same year, WASH established a comparable agreement with the relocated Washington Bullets, which also involved the substitution of WADC-TV. In 1984, the station initiated dividing coverage between the two teams alongside the cable channel Home Team Sports, now known as NBC Sports Washington. This arrangement persisted until both teams relocated their over-the-air games to WGSP-TV (channel 18) in 1995. Furthermore, the city of Baltimore served as the residence for the professional baseball team known as the Baltimore Orioles.

During the 1970s and 1980s, WASH-TV additionally showcased a diverse array of local shows. The station catered to a young audience, including "Captain 20", a children's show presenter introduced in 1969 and portrayed by Dick Dyszel from 1972 to 1987. It is worth noting that Dyszel also assumed the role of "Gore De Vol," the host responsible for presenting the station's late-night horror flicks. The Captain 20 Club encompassed a variety of afternoon cartoons, spanning from classic characters like Bugs Bunny to the popular superhero Ultraman. Additionally, the club featured regular monkey races as part of its entertainment offerings. Between 1972 and 1984, Channel 20 aired a public affairs program called "*Petey Greene's Washington*," presented by Ralph "Petey" Greene, a civil-rights activist and Washington, D.C. resident.

### Taft ownership

In January 1978, Superior Tube agreed to sell WASH-TV to the Tribune Company for $12 million. However, when January and early February ratings revealed significant increases in channel 20's viewership, Superior Tube increased its asking price, and Tribune bowed out of the deal in early March. Taft Broadcasting, another broadcast station owner, agreed to acquire WASH-TV for $13.5 million. WATCH (Washington Association for Television and Children) raised objections regarding children's programming, contributing to the agreement taking over a year to finalize. Taft increased its price to $15.5 million due to inflation, a robust television station market, and the time required to ratify the transaction.

Despite the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granting a provisional license renewal and approving the license transfer in August 1979, the acquisition was temporarily halted by a federal appeals court. The court issued an injunction prohibiting Taft from operating the station despite the FCC's dismissal of WATCH's request. The subject under consideration was a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) policy that was never enforced and frequently waived. This policy limited the number of television stations a single entity might possess in the leading 50 cities. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally discontinued the procedure above in November 1979, after the WASH-TV transaction, which marked the sole instance in 13 years during which the FCC endeavored to implement this policy. The appeal court upheld the sale in 1981, partly due to the matter becoming moot following the repeal. However, the court criticized the FCC's management of the case.

Grant resigned as general manager of channel 20 in January 1980 to submit a proposal for a new station on the vacant channel 14. Despite being the second independent station in the market with cable coverage extending from southern Pennsylvania to Charlotte, North Carolina, WASH-TV continued to trail WHFV, the highest-rated independent station in the country in 1984, in the ratings. Outside of its children's and sports programming, the station, according to Variety's Paul Harris, received "some unremarkable ratings." In September 1986, the station reorganized its schedule and increased its sports and movie programming. The change affected every aspect of the station except for the call letters, which management had considered altering. From 1985 to 1986, Tony Vinciquerra, president of Fox Networks Group, served as WASH-TV's general sales manager.

Due to the pressure of investor Robert Bass, Taft put its broadcast group up for sale in August 1986; while it asked $500 million for five independent stations, the winning bidder, TVX Broadcast Group of Norfolk, Virginia, only paid $240 million. Taft estimated a loss of $45 to $50 million after taxes. TVX implemented budget cuts, laying off about 15 percent of the staff at the acquisitions; in Washington, 11 employees were laid off promptly — out of a planned reduction of 18 personnel — and local children's and public affairs programming was canceled. Dyszel was one of the personnel laid off by TVX.

The purchase of the Taft stations left TVX extremely indebted and insecure. Salomon Brothers, TVX's financiers, supplied the acquisition money in exchange for more than 60% company ownership. The company was supposed to pay Salomon Brothers $200 million on January 1, 1988, but missed the first payment deadline due to its inability to attract investors before Black Monday. While TVX had been recapitalized by the end of 1988, Salomon Brothers negotiated an agreement in principle with Paramount Pictures in January 1989 to acquire options to purchase the investment firm's majority stake. This agreement was replaced in September by a $110 million outright purchase of 79 percent of TVX.

### Paramount ownership

In 1991, Paramount purchased the remaining shares of TVX, becoming the Paramount Stations Group. The transaction provided Paramount with a strategic entry into the television station market. The original Viacom purchased the group in 1993 as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures.

Upon its launch in January 1995, the United Paramount Network (UPN) designated WGSP as an affiliate. However, Paramount opted to retain WASH as a fully ad-supported commercial station. As part of this arrangement, Paramount acquired the rights to broadcast a range of syndicated reruns, including popular shows like *Dallas* and *Eight* *Is* *Enough*, specifically for the DC market. This agreement was contingent upon the acquisition of channel 20. Between 1995 and 1997, there was a notable increase in annual revenues, which escalated from $17 million to $45 million.

### Dorado ownership

Viacom purchased CBS in 2000. United Television—the United in UPN—sold a couple of its UPN stations to the Dorado Media Group for $5.5 billion on August 12 of that year; the deal was closed on July 31, 2001. As part of its purchase of United Television, Fox briefly purchased KBHK-TV in San Francisco, a city where Fox did not own an affiliate but where CBS owned and operated one. Similarly, Viacom now held UPN stations in Houston (KGBC) and Washington, D.C. (WASH), areas where it did not own the CBS affiliate but did own and manage a Fox station. It also had to cut its national coverage to meet FCC ownership constraints. As a result of the sale of KBHK-TV to Dorado, along with KGBC and WASH, three new duopolies were formed, including new duopolies in Houston and Washington. The FCC authorized the acquisition in August 2001 on the condition that Viacom sell one of its radio stations in San Francisco.

The two stations' operations were combined at WHFV's studios in Washington's Friendship Heights district, and WASH's general manager was fired, putting both stations under WHFV's supervision.

### As an ACME station

The Dorado Media Group and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner announced on January 24, 2016, that the two corporations would establish a new network called ACME. In unveiling the network, it was disclosed that 16 of Dorado's 19 MyNetworkTV and independent stations would be affiliated with the new network, including WASH-TV.

WASH deactivated its analog signal on UHF channel 20 on June 12, 2009, the official date that full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts per federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued broadcasting on its pre-transition UHF channel 35 using virtual channel 20.

The FCC announced on April 4, 2017, that WASH had won the 2016-17 spectrum reallocation auction and would receive $119 million for the frequency. On July 18, 2018, WASH ceased transmitting its signal over channel 35 but continued broadcasting on WHFV’s multiplex.

ACME Media announced on April 17, 2023, regarding the relocation of WASH from Friendship Heights, situated along Wisconsin Avenue, to newly established studios in Bethesda, Maryland.

On June 25, 2023, ACME assumed control of WIHT-CD and added a temporary relay to WASH-TV's digital subchannel 20.4. The agreement to share channels went into effect on August 7, 2023. WIHT transmits WASH-TV's physical signal as a subchannel and is administered with its virtual channel number and license per the terms of the agreement.

## Newscasts

On July 17, 2017, WASH began airing a prime-time newscast, Fox 4 News on ACME 20, at 7 p.m. on weekdays for 30 minutes and one hour on weekends. Additionally, news updates would be broadcast throughout the day. In 2018, a half-hour was added as part of a succession of news expansions across the Dorado Media Group. The station also broadcasts an hour-long newscast at 7 p.m. on Saturdays and a 30-minute newscast simultaneously on Sundays. By February 2022, WASH would provide 45 hours per week of locally produced newscasts (7 hours and 35 minutes per weekday, 3 hours on Saturdays, and 5 hours on Sundays).

## Subchannels

 **20.2** | 480i
 **20.3** | HEROES
 **20.4** | FUSION