KXAN-TV
kW | |
| HAAT | 395.4 m (1,297 ft) |
|---|---|
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°19′34″N 97°47′59″W / 30.32611°N 97.79972°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | kxan |
KXAN-TV (channel 36) is a
History
The station first signed on the air on February 12, 1965, as KHFI-TV, broadcasting on UHF channel 42. It was owned by the Kingsbury family, along with KHFI radio (970 AM, now
KHFI-TV logically should have signed on as Austin's NBC station, since up to that time all three networks had been shoehorned on KTBC, then a primary CBS affiliate. However, due to contractual obligations, it spent more than a year-and-a-half as an independent station before joining NBC in 1966. Unlike most affiliates with the network in then two-station markets, KHFI did not take on a secondary ABC affiliation (KTBC instead took on the secondary ABC affiliation, until a third station, KVUE signed on in 1971, taking on the ABC affiliation). The Kingsburys would later bring in Henry Tippie as a partner and on January 15, 1973, were granted permission from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to move KHFI-TV to channel 36.
With the channel change came a new set of call letters, KTVV. The station also boosted its transmitter power to five million
KXAN is one of two stations in Austin (the other being
KXAN's current tower was activated in 1996, replacing an older structure that had been built in 1964. Of the fifteen towers on the hill, the channel 36 tower is the tallest and the highest structure in Austin. In addition to its transmission antenna, the mast also incorporates a camera with views of downtown to the east and the hills to the west.
On March 21, 2014, it was announced that
News operation
KXAN-TV presently broadcasts 31 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with five hours each weekday and three hours each on Saturdays and Sundays).
For most of its first 30 years on the air, KHFI/KTVV/KXAN was a distant runner-up to KTBC. Despite efforts to produce a newscast of major market quality (early newscasts deliberately copied the look of NBC's flagship owned-and-operated station WNBC in New York City), it was usually unable to make a dent in KTBC's ratings dominance. Another setback was as a UHF station, KTVV/KXAN had a hard time maintaining a local share as an NBC affiliate due to the presence of nearby NBC stations in the San Antonio and Temple/Waco markets. KXAN's first number one rated newscast was also Austin's first hour-long morning newscast, News 36 Firstcast, which went on the air in November 1990. All other local stations soon followed suit, but Firstcast built an audience that delivered KXAN the station's first sweeps victory in February 1993. After KTBC switched to its current Fox affiliation in 1995, KXAN's ratings slowly increased in other time periods. By the latter part of the 1990s, channel 36 had overtaken channel 7 for the lead. Since then, it has waged a spirited battle for first place in the market with KVUE.
On December 23, 2008, starting with the weekday noon newscast, KXAN became the third television station in the Austin market (and the second LIN owned station, behind WAVY-TV/WVBT in the Hampton Roads market) to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. On September 28, 2009, the station began producing a nightly 9 p.m. newscast on KNVA (currently titled KXAN News at 9) to compete with KTBC's longer-established and hour-long prime time newscast.[10]
On September 3, 2013, KXAN began producing a two-hour extension of its weekday morning newscast for sister station KNVA. Known as KXAN News on The CW Austin, the expanded broadcast runs from 7 to 9 a.m. and competes against KTBC's long-dominant morning newscast Good Day Austin and the national morning programs on the market's other major network affiliates.[11]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
KXAN-DT | Main KXAN-TV programming / NBC |
| 36.2 | 480i | COZI | Cozi TV[13] | |
| 36.3 | 4:3 |
ION | Ion[14] | |
| 36.4 | Rewind | Rewind TV |
On August 7, 2009, KXAN began offering
Analog-to-digital conversion
KXAN-TV shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009, as part of the FCC-mandated transition to digital television for full-power stations.[16] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 21,[17] using virtual channel 36.
Carriage disputes
Suddenlink Communications
KXAN and LIN TV were locked into a contract dispute with
On January 3, 2008, Suddenlink began transmitting the signal of Temple-based NBC affiliate KCEN-TV to restore the network's programming to the affected areas. This is allowed under FCC rules because KCEN is a "significantly viewed" station in Williamson County even though that county is located in the Austin market. On March 24, Suddenlink and KXAN's dispute was settled and the station's programming was restored to Suddenlink's systems the following day. The terms of the settlement were not announced though it is widely believed that KXAN had lost thousands of viewers. Despite its cable carriage problems, the station surprised many observers by placing first in the 5–7 a.m. weekday time slot during the May 2008 sweeps period.[19]
Time Warner Cable
KXAN and LIN TV were locked in another contract dispute with
References
- ^ "FCC History Cards for KXAN-TV".
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KXAN-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Fox Network Takes 12 Stations from Big Three, The Buffalo News, May 24, 1994.
- ^ My LIN TV: 4 More For New Fox Net, Broadcasting & Cable, April 26, 2006.
- ^ KXAN launches ‘MyAustinTV’, sports programming, Austin American-Statesman, October 21, 2009.
- ^ Sruthi Ramakrishnan (March 21, 2014). "Media General to buy LIN Media for $1.6 billion". Reuters. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- ^ "Media General-LIN Media Merger Closes | TVNewsCheck.com". Archived from the original on December 20, 2014.
- ^ "Nexstar-Media General: It's A Done Deal". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ Picker, Leslie (January 27, 2016). "Nexstar Clinches Deal to Acquire Media General". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ KXAN launches 9pm newscast on The CW, Austin American-Statesman, August 27, 2009.
- ^ "KXAN expanding its morning newscast". KXAN.com, August 16, 2013.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KXAN
- ^ "Cozi TV Adds Four New Affiliates". May 19, 2015.
- ^ New broadcast TV network hits Austin’s airwaves, Austin American-Statesman, November 10, 2015.
- ^ Eggerton, John (August 7, 2009). "LIN TV Develops Blackberry App For Mobile TV Service". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
- ^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations Archived August 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ CDBS Print
- ^ Holloway, Diane. "The Spat: KXAN now gone from Suddenlink Cable". Austin American-Statesman.
- ^ Holloway, Diane. "Morning news in Austin gets a different look". Austin American-Statesman.
- Austin Business Journal. September 15, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ Holloway, Diane (October 1, 2008). "Unless a retransmission agreement is reached by midnight Thursday, KXAN and NBC programming will disappear from Time Warner Cable in Austin". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
- ^ KXAN goes dark for Time Warner customers, Austin American-Statesman, October 3, 2008.
- ^ KXAN returns to Time Warner Cable, Austin American-Statesman, October 29, 2008.
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