WQAD-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Quad Cities area of northwestern Illinois and southeastern Iowa in the United States that is licensed to Moline, Illinois. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 38 (or virtual channel 8 via PSIP) from a transmitter in Orion, Illinois. Owned by the Tribune Broadcasting subsidiary of Tribune Media Company, WQAD maintains studio facilities on Park 16th Street in Moline. On cable, the station is available on Mediacom channel 8 in standard definition and on digital channel 708 in high definition.HistoryWQAD-TV signed-on for the first time on August 1, 1963. It was owned by the Moline Television Corporation, a group of 24 local investors. They had actually won the license in 1961; however, concerns about interference with WIRL-TV in Peoria (now WHOI on channel 19) delayed sign-on for two years. Before WQAD signed-on, ABC programming had been split between NBC affiliate WOC-TV (now KWQC-TV) and CBS affiliate WHBF-TV. Viewers with a good antenna could watch the full ABC schedule on KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids.