WDSU-TV, the Hearst-Argyle-owned NBC affiliate in New Orleans, resumed on-air operations Sept. 1 through an arrangement to transmit from WPXL-TV, the Paxson Broadcasting station in New Orleans.
Hurricane Katrina and the accompanying devastation knocked WDSU off the air. When the station lost its transmitter, WDSU personnel turned to sister stations WAPT-TV in Jackson, MS, and WESH-TV in Orlando, FL, to maintain operations. Although the station was off the air, it continued its live coverage of the unfolding disaster, making its coverage available to visitors on its Web site.
During the initial days of Katrina coverage last week, WDSU.com served more than 15 million page views and nearly 2 million video streams of the station's live continuing coverage of the hurricane disaster.
On Sept. 5, WDSU re-established operations at its downtown New Orleans studio site and is working closely with NBC News, which has co-located its network news operations adjacent to WDSU's studio. Since WDSU's broadcast tower and transmitter remain inoperable, WDSU expects to continue broadcasting on Channel 49 in the near term.
In addition to its on-air coverage on Channel 49 and WDSU.com, WDSU's news coverage has been carried by NBC News and national cable networks, and DirecTV and Echostar (DISH Network), as well as on the Internet Broadcasting (www.ibsys.com) Web sites.
For more information, visit www.hearstargyle.com.