KAKW-DT

(Redirected from KAKW)

KAKW-DT (channel 62) is a television station licensed to Killeen, Texas, United States, serving as the Austin area outlet for the Spanish-language network Univision. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision alongside low-power, Class A UniMás outlet KTFO-CD (channel 31). The two stations share studios on North Loop Boulevard in Austin; KAKW-DT's transmitter is located in unincorporated Williamson County (approximately halfway between Austin and Killeen). Although the station is licensed to a community in the Waco market, most of its local programming and advertising is targeted at the Austin market.

KAKW-DT
CityKilleen, Texas
Channels
BrandingUnivision 62; Noticias 62
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KTFO-CD, KXLK-CD, KLQB, KLJA
History
FoundedAugust 22, 1988
First air date
May 31, 1996 (28 years ago) (1996-05-31)
Former call signs
  • KAKW (1996–2003)
  • KAKW-TV (2004–2009)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 62 (UHF, 1996–2009)
  • Digital: 23 (UHF, 2001–2003)
  • UPN (primary 1996–2001, secondary 2001–2002)
  • The WB (secondary 1996–2001, primary 2001–2002)
Call sign meaning
Austin, Killeen, Waco
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID148
ERP39 kW
HAAT553 m (1,814 ft)
Transmitter coordinates30°43′34″N 97°59′23″W / 30.72611°N 97.98972°W / 30.72611; -97.98972
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.univision.com/austin/kakw

History

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1996–2002: Early years

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Former logo, used on January 7, 2002, until December 31, 2012.

The station first signed on the air on May 31, 1996, as a primary affiliate of UPN and a secondary affiliate of The WB for the Waco–Killeen–Temple market; the station was originally owned by White Knight Broadcasting, with Communications Corporation of America (ComCorp), owner of Waco-based Fox affiliate KWKT (channel 44) and the station's Bryan-based satellite KYLE-TV (channel 28), providing sales and other services to KAKW under a commercial inventory agreement.[2] KAKW had secured the UPN affiliation in June 1995, prior to going on the air;[3] the WB affiliation had previously been held by KYLE before its 1996 acquisition by ComCorp.[4] Prior to the launch of Fredericksburg-based San Antonio station KBEJ (now KCWX) in 2000, channel 62 doubled as an alternate UPN affiliate for the Austin television market, alongside K13VC (channel 13); the move of KAKW's digital signal from channel 23 to channel 13 would subsequently result in the shutdown of K13VC on March 29, 2003.[5]

2002–present: Affiliating with Univision, switch to Spanish-language programming

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In January 2001, KAKW became a primary WB affiliate,[6] though UPN programming was retained on a secondary basis.[7] That October, White Knight agreed to sell KAKW to Univision in a $30 million deal, with the intention of converting it into a Univision station; the sale was opposed by The WB, who filed a lawsuit seeking to block the sale and the concurrent sale of El Paso sister station KKWB to Entravision Communications, as KAKW's contract with The WB was not slated to expire until January 15, 2008.[8] On January 7, 2002, after Univision assumed control of KAKW, KAKW dropped the WB and UPN affiliations and was converted to a Univision owned-and-operated station;[9] it also expanded the station's market coverage to Austin. Univision also invested in creating a news department for KAKW and began producing daily Spanish-language local newscasts. The WB subsequently moved its programming in the Waco–Killeen–Temple market to a secondary clearance on ABC affiliate KXXV (channel 25),[10] while UPN signed a deal with Time Warner Cable to air its programming on a leased access channel that would later be replaced by KBTX-TV's second digital subchannel.[11] It was the first time Austin had a full-power Spanish-language TV station.

Until 2009, KAKW also operated a repeater in Austin, KAKW-CA (channel 31). That year, the station switched its affiliation to Telefutura, and changed its call letters to KTFO-CD.

News operation

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KAKW-DT broadcasts five hours of locally produced newscasts each week, consisting of two half-hour evening newscasts shown at 5 and 10 p.m. on weekdays. Following its purchase by Univision Communications in 2002, the station invested in the development of a news department for KAKW and began producing daily Spanish-language local newscasts each weeknight.

On March 27, 2015, KAKW-DT announced it would launch a regionalized morning newscast, shared with fellow Univision O&Os KXLN-DT in Houston, KUVN-DT in Dallas, and KWEX-DT in San Antonio. The newscast includes local weather and traffic cut-ins, which are also provided during Univision's Despierta América. The regionalized morning newscast uses the Noticias Texas branding.

Technical information

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Subchannels

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Subchannels of KAKW-DT[12] and KTFO-CD[13]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
KAKW-DT KTFO-CD
62.1 31.2 720p 16:9 KAKW-DT Univision
62.2 31.1 KTFO-CD UniMás
62.3 31.3 480i 4:3 GetTV get
62.4 31.4 16:9 Mystery Ion Mystery
62.5 31.5 DABL Dabl
62.6 31.6 ION SD Ion Television
62.7 31.7 4:3 Confess Confess

Analog-to-digital conversion

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KAKW shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009, as part of the FCC-mandated transition to digital television for full-power stations.[14] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 13, using virtual channel 62.

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KAKW-DT". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Report on Existing Television Local Marketing Agreements" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. July 8, 1997. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  3. ^ Flint, Joe (June 26, 1995). "UPN extends affil reach". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  4. ^ "Memorandum Opinion and Order" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. November 19, 1996. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  5. ^ "Low power station loses signal to Univision". Austin Business Journal. March 19, 2003. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  6. ^ "Waco/Temple/Killeen, TX TV Directory". 100000 Watts. Archived from the original on December 8, 2000. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "Waco/Temple/Killeen, TX TV Directory". 100000 Watts. Archived from the original on June 29, 2001. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  8. ^ Schneider, Michael (January 2, 2002). "Nets gird for Spanish war". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  9. ^ "KAKW-TV changes network affiliation". Temple Daily Telegram. January 9, 2002. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  10. ^ "KXXV-25 to air WB's programming". Temple Daily Telegram. January 13, 2002. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  11. ^ Ray, Randy (January 16, 2002). "Time Warner Cable airing UPN programs". Temple Daily Telegram. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  12. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KAKW". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  13. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KTFO". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  14. ^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations Archived August 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
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