KPXR-TV (channel 48) is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to Eastern Iowa. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and maintains offices on Blairs Ferry Road Northeast in Cedar Rapids and a transmitter near Walker, Iowa.

KPXR-TV
CityCedar Rapids, Iowa
Channels
BrandingIon
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
May 3, 1997 (27 years ago) (1997-05-03)
Former call signs
KTVC (1997–1998)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 48 (UHF, 1997–2009)
  • Digital: 47 (UHF, until 2018)
inTV (1997–1998)
Call sign meaning
Pax Cedar Rapids
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID21156
ERP215 kW
HAAT451 m (1,480 ft)
Transmitter coordinates42°17′43″N 91°53′11″W / 42.29528°N 91.88639°W / 42.29528; -91.88639
Links
Public license information
Websiteiontelevision.com

History

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The station first signed on the air on May 3, 1997, as KTVC; it was originally an affiliate of the Infomall TV Network (inTV), a service operated by Paxson Communications that specialized in paid programming. On August 31, 1998, KPXR became a charter station of the family-oriented Pax TV network (later reformatted into a general entertainment service as i: Independent Television, now Ion Television), with religious programming from The Worship Network airing during the overnight hours.

On September 24, 2020, the Cincinnati-based E. W. Scripps Company announced it would purchase KPXR-TV's owner, Ion Media, for $2.65 billion, with financing from Berkshire Hathaway.[2] Part of the deal included divesting 23 stations nationally to Inyo Broadcast Holdings (then-undisclosed at the time of the announcement) that would maintain Ion affiliations.[3]

Subchannels

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The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KPXR-TV[4]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
48.1 720p 16:9 ION Ion Television
48.2 480i Grit Grit
48.3 Bounce Bounce TV
48.4 Laff Laff
48.5 IONPlus Ion Plus
48.6 SCRIPPS Ion Mystery
48.7 Jewelry Jewelry TV
48.8 HSN HSN
48.9 QVC QVC

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KPXR-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Cimilluca, Dana (September 24, 2020). "E.W. Scripps nears $2.65B takeover of ION Media in Berkshire-backed deal". Fox Business. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  3. ^ "Scripps creates national television networks business with acquisition of ION Media" (Press release).
  4. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KPXR". Retrieved March 7, 2021.