WDCW, channel 50, is The CW-affiliated television station for Washington, D.C. It transmits from the Hughes Memorial Tower located in the Brightwood section of the city. Owned by the Tribune Company, the station has studios on Wisconsin Avenue Northwest in the Glover Park section of Washington D.C.

WDCW is currently available on DirecTV as Standard Definition only "CW-E" in markets without a CW affiliate on the system. It is also The CW feed for DirecTV's feed on JetBlue airlines in-flight entertainment system. All of the other network channels are predominantly New York-based.

The channel 50 license was first assigned to WGSP. That station ran test patterns in early-1972 but never signed on. On April 6, 1981, channel 50 finally signed on as WCQR. Beginning on November 1, WCQR aired SuperTV subscription programming at night and live pictures of Washington D.C. from above its broadcasting tower by day. Early in the day, WCQR also ran some basic computer still images with music called "Morning Muse". The live pictures were soon replaced with programming from the Financial News Network. Hill Broadcasting purchased both channel 50 and WHLL-TV (now WUNI) in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1985. On July 1, the call letters were changed to WFTY to match the Channel FifTY allocation. The station then became a full-time independent station in early-1986. Initially, the station ran a lineup of classic off-network sitcoms, dramas, cartoons, movies, and some religious shows. Also WFTY picked up the final years of the ABC soap Ryan's Hope after ABC affiliate WJLA-TV dropped it in 1986.

Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given rise to much legend, including a Faustian myth. As an itinerant performer who played mostly on street corners, in juke joints, and at Saturday night dances, Johnson enjoyed little commercial success or public recognition in his lifetime.

His records sold poorly during his lifetime, and it was only after the first reissue of his recordings on LP in 1961 that his work reached a wider audience. Johnson is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly of the Mississippi Delta blues style. He is credited by many rock musicians as an important influence; Eric Clapton has called Johnson "the most important blues singer that ever lived." Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "Early Influence" in their first induction ceremony in 1986. In 2003, David Fricke ranked Johnson fifth in Rolling Stone 's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.