KTXA
FCC | |
Facility ID | 51517 |
---|---|
ERP | 1,000 kW |
HAAT | 533.7 m (1,751 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 32°32′36″N 96°57′33″W / 32.54333°N 96.95917°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
KTXA (channel 21), branded as TXA 21, is an
KTXA began broadcasting in January 1981 and was one of three new television stations in the Metroplex in six months. All three broadcast advertiser-supported commercial programming during the day and scrambled
KTXA was one of several Paramount-owned stations to be charter outlets for the United Paramount Network (UPN) in 1995 and merged its operations with KTVT in 2001 after a corporate buyout of CBS. When UPN merged into The CW in 2006, KTXA was not selected to affiliate with the network, and KTXA retooled its local programming around prime time news and professional sports coverage.
Prior history of UHF channel 21 in Fort Worth
The UHF channel 21 allocation in the Dallas–Fort Worth market was originally occupied by KFWT, an independent station licensed to Fort Worth that signed on the air on September 14, 1967. Owned by W. C. Windsor's Trinity Broadcasting Company (no relation to the Trinity Broadcasting Network, which was formed in 1973) alongside KFWT-FM 102.1, the station was the first of three new UHF independents in six months in the Metroplex. Within two years, however, the station had gone silent for financial reasons. No buyer was ever found, and Trinity declared bankruptcy in March 1970, with the channel 21 equipment repossessed.
History
Early years
In 1975 and 1976, two groups, both calling themselves Channel 21, Inc., filed applications with the
KTXA began broadcasting on January 4, 1981,[7] making it the second of three new UHF stations within six months in the Metroplex.[b] In addition to sharing a transmitter tower,[10] KTXA had much in common with Dallas-based KTWS-TV (channel 27, now KDFI) and KNBN-TV (channel 33, now KDAF). All three were part-time STV operations, KTWS-TV carrying Preview from American Television and Communications and KNBN-TV providing VEU, owned by Golden West Broadcasters. ON TV did not start broadcasting until the end of February, and KTXA temporarily broadcast an advertiser-supported prime time schedule until that date, in addition to its permanent daytime lineup with movies, live sports, and a heavy dose of syndicated reruns.[11] When ON TV started, it made Dallas–Fort Worth the only market with three over-the-air STV services. Anthony Cassara, who headed VEU, called the market "total insanity".[12]
Oak would like more hours, but we're not going to do it for them. We've probably come on full-force more than any other 'STV station'.
Milton Grant, general manager of KTXA[13]
ON TV ran third in the Metroplex's subscription television wars. By June 1982, the general zenith of STV nationally, VEU had 42,000 subscribers, Preview 30,000, and ON TV 24,800. Of the eight ON TV-branded services nationally, the Dallas–Fort Worth market was the second-smallest behind the newer franchise serving Salem and Portland, Oregon,[12] and of those owned by Oak, it also had the worst relationship between station and STV franchise. Milton Grant, who had joined the Shlenker group and became intimately involved in operations, built up channel 21 as an aggressive independent in program purchasing. When ON TV launched in the Metroplex, as in other cities and with other STV services, it broadcast late-night adult programming as an add-on to the subscription. In 1982, KTXA—already unwilling to cede more hours to subscription broadcasting—and Oak entered into a dispute over these broadcasts, which the station felt were indecent, and KTXA won in a court fight to uphold its right to cancel ON TV programs to which it objected. ON TV characterized the legal battle as an attempt to prevent the subscription service from continuing with plans to lengthen its programming hours. This was followed in February 1983 by the station pulling such adult films as The Pleasure Palace, New Day in Eden, and Portrait of a Seduction from the schedule.[14] KTXA's development as a station outside of ON TV had also been robust. At KTXA, Grant minted a reputation for being extremely promotion-oriented. In contrast to the other two hybrid startups in the Metroplex that "merely appeared", Ed Bark of The Dallas Morning News wrote that channel 21 had "burst into living rooms like a world-champion encyclopedia salesman", with nearly ubiquitous billboards, high-profile programming, and an emphasis on weekend movies.[15]
As this dispute escalated, the STV industry began to experience a significant reversal nationally due to increased cable television penetration (which included the launch of cable systems in Dallas and Fort Worth) and an ongoing recession. In the Metroplex, VEU had bought Preview's business in September 1982, integrating the two systems over the next several months;[16] further, the loss of the adult programming led to subscriber cancellations. The Dallas–Fort Worth ON TV operation and that in Phoenix, which suffered from similar issues over cable and adult programming, were Oak's first to be put out of business, with ON TV's last day of programming on KTXA on April 30, 1983.[17]
An ownership revolving door
The Shlenker–Grant group had set up another Texas television station in late 1982, KTXH in Houston, which carried a similar mix of programming (but never broadcast an STV service). Grant's aggressive programming and promotions strategy, plus a favorable climate for independent stations nationally, made the two stations highly profitable and attracted major bidders. Outlet Communications, the broadcasting division of The Outlet Company of Rhode Island, was one of several parties negotiating to buy KTXA and KTXH. However, negotiations fell through, and Grant instead sold the pair to the Gulf Broadcast Group for $158 million in May 1984.[18] The sale was held up for several months at the FCC, which conditioned the purchase on Gulf divesting FM stations in both cities.[19] The sale price was considered unprecedented given the short period of operation of the stations.[20]
Gulf had scarcely owned the stations when it sold its entire stations group for $755 million to Taft Broadcasting in 1985.[21] At the same time Taft acquired a Fort Worth television station, it attracted the attention of an activist investor from the city who increased his stake over the course of 1985 and 1986: Robert Bass, who sought to raise his ownership in the company to 25 percent.[22][23] Meanwhile, in addition to a worsening regional economy, the independent television market nationally was softening; by this time, many believed that Taft had overpaid for KTXA and that Dallas–Fort Worth had become one of the worst markets for independent stations in the United States.[24] Bill Castleman, KTXA's general manager, believed that the station's programming costs—estimated at $30 million a year—had been deliberately increased as part of a strategy by Grant to pump the station up for a buyer by expanding its programming inventory, a situation which Taft had not anticipated discovering prior to the acquisition.[25]
Taft put its broadcast group up for sale in August 1986 due to agitation by Bass, and while it asked $500 million for five independent stations, the winning bidder—TVX Broadcast Group—only paid $240 million, and Taft estimated its after-tax loss for the sale at $45 to $50 million.[26] (One source believed that the buyers begrudgingly purchased KTXA in order to acquire the other four outlets.[27]) TVX implemented budget cuts, laying off about 15 percent of the staff at the acquisitions, and renegotiated programming costs, though Tim McDonald, the president of TVX, noted that KTXA was among the better operations Taft had sold.[28]
Through the 1980s, KTXA continued to air local sports programming. The
The Taft stations purchase left TVX highly leveraged and highly vulnerable. TVX's bankers,
Paramount ownership and UPN affiliation
In 1991, Paramount acquired the remainder of TVX.
In 2000,
Return to independence
On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner announced that the two companies would respectively shut down UPN and The WB and combine the networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network called The CW; the day of the announcement, it was revealed that 11 of CBS Corporation's 15 UPN affiliates would become CW stations.[47][48] The merger of networks, however, left out KTXA and two other CBS-owned UPN outlets, as 16 Tribune Broadcasting stations, including KDAF—regarded as one of the strongest affiliates of The WB[49]—were selected.[50]
Two months ago, we found out we were going to have two hours available in prime time. What to do? Took us about five seconds that we wanted to be local.
Steve Mauldin, general manager of KTVT–KTXA, on programming channel 21 without network prime time programming[51]
For the post-UPN programming lineup of what was dubbed "TXA 21", CBS opted for a strategy focusing on local news in prime time, which complemented the station's existing sports coverage and leveraged KTVT's newsroom and was modeled after KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, a CBS-owned station that specializes in prime time news.[50][51] On September 18, 2006, KTVT began producing a nightly two-hour prime time newscast for KTXA, titled TXA 21 News: First In Prime, running for two hours from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The newscast had separate anchors to KTVT's news offerings, but sports was provided by KTVT sports director Gina Miller.[52]
In 2010, KTXA entered into a five-year agreement with the Texas Rangers to show 25 baseball games per season (primarily on Friday nights), complementing the Mavericks and high school sports as well as syndicated college telecasts.[53] The next year, they were joined by the Stars, which returned to channel 21 with a package of 15 games a year for four years.[54] FC Dallas soccer was added in 2015, an arrangement that continued through 2022.[55][c]
After five years, on September 12, 2011, KTXA reduced the newscast to an hour-long block consisting of a half-hour local newscast at 7:00 p.m. and a half-hour sports program at 7:30 p.m.[57] The evening newscast was cancelled outright on October 31, 2011; the sports show became The Fan Sports Show, hosted by Miller until her departure from KTVT, and continued to air until 2014.[58]
On August 26, 2013, KTVT/KTXA moved its Dallas business operations, which included a news bureau and advertising sales, north from the former KTVT Dallas studio center to a redeveloped office building, which was renamed the CBS Tower;[59] the former 24,000-square-foot (2,230 m2) Dallas offices on North Central were purchased in 2015 to be demolished and replaced with a hotel.[46]
CBS Corporation re-merged with Viacom on December 4, 2019, creating ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Global).[60]
On July 18, 2022, KTXA premiered CBS News DFW Now, a hybrid local and national newscast. The newscast, the national portions of which originate at CBS's news and innovation lab in Fort Worth, also airs on nine other CBS-owned CW affiliates and independent stations.[61]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
21.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
KTXA-DT | Main KTXA programming |
21.2 | 480i | QVC | QVC | |
21.3 | ThisTV | This TV | ||
21.4 | (none) | Dabl | ||
21.5 | HSN | HSN |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KTXA began transmitting a
The station's digital signal initially moved from channel 18 to 19, which had been used for KTVT. However, in the wake of the switch, KTVT, which had moved its digital signal to the VHF band, reported losses of as much as 57 percent of its over-the-air viewership. As a result, in September 2009, the FCC approved KTVT to move back to channel 19 and KTXA to eventually move to channel 29.[64][65] On January 20, 2011, KTXA commenced operations on channel 29, ceasing operations on channel 18 the following day.[66]
Notes
- ^ Moved to RF channel 19 in June 2009 but reverted to channel 18 that August; see § Analog-to-digital conversion.
- ^ KNBN-TV signed on September 29, 1980.[8] KTWS-TV began broadcasting January 26, 1981.[9]
- ^ All Major League Soccer local television rights agreements ended after 2022 to make way for MLS's 10-year deal with Apple.[56]
References
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- ^ FCC History Cards for KTXA
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- ^ Luchter, Les (January 17, 1983). "'They only come out at light'" (PDF). Broadcast Week. p. 25. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
- ^ "21, ON TV squabble over adult programs". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. February 4, 1983. p. 11C. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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- ^ Benedetti, Marti (February 2, 1985). "Channel 21 to be sold to Ohio firm". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. p. 9B. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Piller, Dan (December 20, 1985). "Bass group increases Taft stake". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. p. 32A. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Rassenfoss, Stephen (August 2, 1986). "Bass leading group buying up Taft shares". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. p. 11B. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Weiss, Michael (June 8, 1986). "Area UHF channels in a jam: Profitability eludes independent stations". The Dallas Morning News. p. 1H.
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- ^ Rassenfoss, Stephen (November 17, 1986). "Taft Broadcasting sells Channel 21". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. p. A17. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Weiss, Michael (January 24, 1988). "Channel 21's latest signals show trouble, possible sale". The Dallas Morning News. p. 2H.
- ^ a b Weiss, Michael (July 8, 1987). "Broadcaster to focus on trimming costs: Channel 21's new owner 'doing deals'". The Dallas Morning News. p. 1D.
- ^ Harasta, Cathy (March 3, 1985). "TV programming to help Mavericks". The Dallas Morning News. p. 21B.
- ^ Harasta, Cathy (June 21, 1985). "Mavericks switch coverage to Channel 11". The Dallas Morning News. p. 14B.
- ^ Harasta, Cathy (February 8, 1987). "Rangers, HSE head into late innings". The Dallas Morning News. p. 23B.
- ^ Harasta, Cathy (April 23, 1987). "Channel 21 cancels contract to televise SMU football, basketball". The Dallas Morning News. p. 3B.
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- ^ Horn, Barry (July 31, 2010). "No dancing around topics". The Dallas Morning News. p. C2.
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Apple TV matches will not be shown on local television networks...
- ^ Bark, Ed (September 2, 2011). "Halftime for TXA21 prime-time news, with the 8 to 9 p.m. hour being dropped". www.unclebarky.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
- ^ Bark, Ed (June 4, 2014). "TXA21 no longer a fan of The Fan". www.unclebarky.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
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External links
- CBS Texas – KTVT/KTXA official website