WNDU-TV - History

History

WNDU-TV went on the air on July 15, 1955 on UHF channel 46. It was owned by the University of Notre Dame through a subsidiary, Michiana Television Corporation. In 1957, to much fanfare, WNDU-TV moved to analog channel 16.

An NBC affiliate from the very beginning, WNDU-TV's early broadcast schedule included programs like Romper Room, and the first local telecast of a Notre Dame football game. WNDU aired the non-commercial Sesame Street from 1970 to 1974 until PBS member station WNIT came on air.

From 1967 to 1986, WNDU aired Beyond Our Control, a locally-produced sketch comedy program, which was presented as part of the station's involvement in the Junior Achievement program.

On November 24, 2005, the University of Notre Dame entered into an agreement to sell the station to Gray Television for $85 million in an all-cash deal, with the university placing the money received from the sale in an endowment. The sale closed on March 5, 2006, after which the Federal Communications Commission granted Gray a crossownership waiver for WNDU and Goshen-based newspaper The Goshen News. This was necessary because the FCC prohibits the common ownership of a newspaper and a television station in the same market (Gray eventually spun off the Times and four other newspapers the following year into a new company called Triple Crown Media, which was subsequently merged with Host Communications).