WHO

Station Profile

WHO-TV Channel 13 is an NBC affiliate that began broadcasting on April 26, 1954. One of the station’s biggest achievements came just four months later with its first remote broadcast of former President Herbert Hoover’s 80th birthday celebration from West Branch, Iowa, that was then fed live across the NBC Network.

WHO-TV has earned numerous awards for journalism excellence in its storied 65-year history. Perhaps the most noteworthy was the coveted George F. Peabody Award in 1976 when a WHO photographer captured the formation and patterns of two tornadoes on film, which had never been done before. So far in 2019, WHO has received 30 journalism awards – the most of any station in Iowa – including a national Edward R. Murrow “Excellence in Video” award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).

WHO-TV was the first station in the state to utilize live color radar in the mid-80’s when radar images were scarce and delayed. Today, the station utilizes the country’s first television S-Band radar. Operating in the less crowded S-Band) makes seeing storms at long range much more accurate even if another storm is blocking the signal.

WHO-TV’s legacy as Iowa’s technology leader is firmly entrenched. The station was the first in Iowa to use videotape for faster coverage of breaking news, first with a live microwave truck, first live radar and Iowa’s first high definition newscast broadcast in 2009. On May 20, 2010, WHO-TV transitioned to WHO-HD, becoming the first commercial television station in the state to make the conversion to total high-definition.

In its vast 65-year history, WHO-HD 13 takes pride in its past and is committed to providing the best broadcast service possible in years to come.

Market Profile

Des Moines, IA is in the 67th largest DMA in the United States, with a population of approximately 1,020,780 and 480,550 television households, as reported by Nielsen Media.

Cable/ADS penetration in the market is estimated to be 35% wired, 48% ADS. Des Moines is the state capital and home to many large corporations such as: Meredith Publishing, Principal Financial, Wells Fargo, Pioneer Corporation, Nationwide Insurance and more. Tech giants Facebook and Microsoft are also branching out in the Des Moines area. Forbes magazine listed Des Moines as the number one city for business and careers.