KWKT-TV
kW | |
HAAT | 557.6 m (1,829 ft) |
---|---|
Transmitter coordinates | 31°18′53.6″N 97°19′37.1″W / 31.314889°N 97.326972°W |
Translator(s) | KYLE-DT 28.2 (UHF) Bryan |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
KWKT-TV (channel 44) is a television station in Waco, Texas, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for Central Texas. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Bryan-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KYLE-TV (channel 28).[2] The two stations share studios on Woodway Drive in Woodway, Texas (using a Waco address); KWKT-TV's transmitter is located near Moody, Texas.
History
The station first signed on the air on March 13, 1988, and has been affiliated with Fox since the station's launch. Beginning with the launch of the block in 1990, KWKT aired
The station was purchased by
In July 2002, KWKT became a secondary affiliate of The WB;
On February 22, 2006,
On April 24, 2013, Communications Corporation of America announced the sale of its stations to
On May 7, 2015, Nexstar announced that it would convert KYLE into a separate station that would serve as the market's MyNetworkTV affiliate. After becoming the market's sole Fox affiliate on July 1, KWKT replaced the time period previously occupied by MyNetworkTV programming with syndicated programs; it also began simulcasting KYLE on its second digital subchannel to provide its programming to the entire Waco–Temple–Bryan market. KWKT is simulcast on KYLE's second subchannel for the same reason.[13]
Programming
Prior to the conversion of KYLE into a standalone station, KWKT aired MyNetworkTV programming on a three-hour delay from 10 p.m. to midnight; the MyNetworkTV schedule began airing in pattern from 7 to 9 p.m. after KYLE became a primary MyNetworkTV affiliate on July 1, 2015.
Through Fox's primary rights to the National Football Conference (NFC), the station carries select Sunday afternoon National Football League games involving the Dallas Cowboys, as well as any flex-scheduled games involving the Houston Texans (which play in the American Football Conference) at times when either team plays a home game against an NFC opponent that airs in a Sunday afternoon timeslot.
News operation
As of April 2021[update], KWKT-TV broadcasts 12 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with two hours each weekday and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays).
News programming history
On January 28, 2008, KWKT premiered a half-hour prime time newscast at 9 p.m. titled Fox News Central Texas. The pre-taped newscast was produced by NBC-affiliated sister station KETK-TV in Longview, Texas; similar to other outsourced newscasts by its sister Fox stations in Texas and Louisiana under Comcorp ownership, the program featured stories filed by reporters based in the Waco–Temple–Bryan area, with a local forecast segment compiled and presented by KETK's evening meteorologists. The program's debut broadcast was delayed by a half-hour due to Fox's coverage of that year's State of the Union address, before moving to its regular timeslot on January 29.[14][15][16]
On April 27, 2009, as part of cost-cutting measures mandated by Comcorp, the program was reduced to a six-minute broadcast; KWKT also added 30-second hourly updates (known as "news blasts") interspersed within syndicated and network programming. The changes resulted in the layoffs of five employees, all of whom worked as reporters or assignment editors.[17] On September 20, 2010, it was expanded to a half-hour and was retitled to Fox 44 News at Nine.
On May 8, 2015, Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced plans to expand local news programming on KWKT-TV in early 2016.
Subsequently, on July 17, KWKT launched a two-hour-long simulcast of the weekday morning news program aired by
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
44.1 | 720p | 16:9 |
KWKT-DT | Fox |
44.2 | MyNet | MyNetworkTV (KYLE-TV) | ||
44.3 | 480i | Antenna | Antenna TV | |
44.4 | Bounce | Bounce TV |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KWKT-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 44, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station relocated its digital signal from its pre-transition UHF channel 57, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era UHF channel 44 for post-transition operations.[22]
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KWKT-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ KYLE - Nexstar Broadcasting Group
- Reed Business Information. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
- ^ "Memorandum Opinion and Order" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. November 19, 1996. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ Smith, Doug (October 1996). "TV News" (PDF). VHF-UHF Digest. p. 18. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ Smith, Doug (November 1996). "TV News" (PDF). VHF-UHF Digest. p. 15. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ "Waco/Temple/Killeen TV Directory". 100000 Watts. Archived from the original on August 22, 2003. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- Gannett Company. February 22, 2006. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- ^ Eggerton, John (February 22, 2006). "News Corp. Unveils My Network TV". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
- ^ "Nexstar, Mission Buy 19 Stations For $270M". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. April 24, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ^ Malone, Michael (May 7, 2015). "Nexstar First Quarter Revenue Up 52%". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
- ^ Waco Tribune, 1/28/2008 (article 1)
- ^ Waco Tribune, 1/28/2008 (article 2) Ali "the Tractor" Cerrato is a radio personality often utilized by KWKT-TV.
- Reed Business Information. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- FishbowlNY. Mediabistro Holdings. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- Nexstar Broadcasting Group. May 8, 2015. Archived from the originalon July 5, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- ^ a b Ortega, Roly (July 10, 2017). "KWKT has launched its in-house news department". The Changing Newscasts Blog. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
- ^ Ortega, Roly (August 25, 2018). "KXAN reduces its morning news footprint". The Changing Newscasts Blog. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KWKT". RabbitEars. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
- U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original(PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.