WADL (channel 38) is a television station licensed to Mount Clemens, Michigan, United States, serving the Detroit area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV.

WADL's transmitter tower is shorter and located farther east than the market's other major stations; as a result, its broadcasting radius does not reach the western and southwestern portions of the Detroit metro, and its over-the-air signal is marginal in Windsor and Essex County, Ontario, Canada.

CBS eventually bought Detroit's other low-profile independent, WGPR-TV (channel 62), changing its calls to WWJ-TV and moved the network's programming there on December 11, 1994, months before its purchase was finalized.

In September 2007, WADL began to cement its standing as a major player among the Detroit market's television stations with the acquisition of popular syndicated shows, including older series such as The Nanny, Mad About You, The Jeffersons and Good Times; the station also kept many religious programs and a few infomercials as well, and eliminated the remaining animated shows.

[7] In 2009, the station added classic television series such as The Brady Bunch, I Love Lucy, Happy Days, M*A*S*H, The Jeffersons and Laverne and Shirley to its schedule.

WADL also increased its local public affairs programming with shows such as Real Talk (hosted by political activist Rev.

On August 23, 2023, WADL announced on its website that the station was joining The CW on a primary basis, with MyNetworkTV programming airing afterwards from 10 p.m. to midnight, effective September 1.

[15] On October 30, 2023, the station posted a press release noting it had dropped The CW over a dispute with Nexstar, claiming the sale would not be approved in the near future, with MyNetworkTV programming reverting to its prime time berth.

The Detroit News reported the conflict was over Nexstar asking for a transitional affiliation agreement being signed by Adell before the station came under Mission ownership;[16] owner Kevin Adell told a trade publication that WADL was running CW programming as an "accommodation", that he was seeking payments from Nexstar as part of any affiliation agreement, and that he had "more options to put other programming" on the station.

[25][26] Adell announced another attempt to sell the station in September 2024, stating he had lost interest in the media business, which he did not consider a "fair fight".

[28] Through 2014, NBC established a relationship with WADL that provided airing programming that local TV station WDIV could not carry.

This was an opportunity for WADL to air first-run NBC programming such as Grimm, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Growing Up Fisher, Kathie Lee and Hoda, The Michael J.

On January 5, 2012, WADL announced that it would debut half-hour newscasts at noon and 9 p.m. on weekdays, which were produced by the Journal Register Company (owners of The Macomb Daily, Oakland Press and Southgate News-Herald),[29] in association with the Independent News Network.

Owner Kevin Adell stated that the program would feature longer, in-depth segments focused on local and state politics, and would not directly compete with the newscasts on WJBK, WXYZ-TV, WKBD-TV, and WDIV;[30] Dietz said that News Now would feature two-to-three stories per night and incorporate live interviews and talk radio-style call-ins,[31] including appearances by local print journalists.

In 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it would hold a voluntary incentive auction for a portion of the radio frequency spectrum that is currently used by television broadcasters across the country.

[34] In 2014, WADL owner Kevin Adell announced he would participate in the auction, since it was estimated the station would net somewhere in the range of $170 million, much more than it would be worth on the open market otherwise.