KASW

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KASW
ATSC 3.0 station
CW61 Arizona logo 2019.png
Phoenix, Arizona
United States
ChannelsDigital: 27 (UHF)
Virtual: 61
BrandingCW 61 Arizona (general)
ABC15 News on CW61 (newscasts)
Programming
Affiliations
  • 61.1: The CW / ABC (alternate)
  • 61.2: HSN
  • 61.3: Grit (O&O)
  • 61.4: Court TV Mystery (O&O)
Ownership
OwnerE. W. Scripps Company
(Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC)
KNXV-TV, KGUN-TV, KWBA-TV
History
FoundedMay 1, 1991
First air date
September 22, 1995 (25 years ago) (1995-09-22)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 61 (UHF, 1995–2009)
  • Digital:
  • 49 (UHF, 2002–2018)
Former affiliations
  • Primary:
  • The WB (1995–2006)
  • Secondary:
  • Fox Kids (1995–2002)
  • FoxBox (2002–2005)
  • 4Kids TV (2005–2008)
  • DT2:
  • Decades (2015–2018)
Call sign meaning
Arizona SouthWest
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID7143
ERP445 kW
HAAT551.8 m (1,810 ft)
Transmitter coordinates33°20′1″N 112°3′47″W / 33.33361°N 112.06306°W / 33.33361; -112.06306Coordinates: 33°20′1″N 112°3′47″W / 33.33361°N 112.06306°W / 33.33361; -112.06306
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitecw61arizona.com

KASW, virtual channel 61 (UHF digital channel 27), is a CW-affiliated television station licensed to Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, it is part of a duopoly with ABC affiliate KNXV-TV (channel 15). Both stations share studios on North 44th Street on the city's east side, while KASW's transmitter is located on South Mountain.

History[]

Prior history of UHF channel 61 in Phoenix[]

Prior to KASW's sign-on, the UHF channel 61 frequency in the Phoenix market was originally occupied by low-power station K61CA; that station carried a locally programmed music video format known as "Music Channel" and operated from March 15, 1983[1] until November 12, 1984, closing due to mounting debts and lack of cash to continue operating.[2]

The construction permit for K61CA remained active for several more years; by 1988, it was owned by Channel 61 Development Corporation and was planned as a satellite-fed relay of KSTS-TV, a Telemundo affiliate (now owned-and-operated station) in San Jose, California.[3]

In November 1987, the FCC allocated channel 61 for full-power use in Phoenix. KUSK-TV applied alongside four other groups;[4] the field was narrowed to three, and Brooks Broadcasting, owned by Chandler farmer Gregory R. Brooks, was granted the permit.

WB affiliation[]

The WB logo used by KASW when branded as "WB61": used from 1995 to 2000.
KASW logo used from 2000 to 2003, featuring The WB's mascot Michigan J. Frog: as "WB 6/61", the same font was used, but a prominent "6" was in the place of the "61", which was reduced in size and placed in the upper right.

Little activity occurred on the permit, with the call sign KAIK; Brooks considered running home shopping on the station, and he was approached by KPHO-TV about potentially splitting rights to a new major league baseball team with the station.[5]

In December 1994, Brooks entered into a local marketing agreement with Media America Corporation, then owners of KTVK (channel 3). KTVK, in the concluding phase of losing its ABC affiliation, had acquired a large inventory of children's programs, including Fox Kids, and The WB affiliation that didn't fit with its planned programming as an independent. Brooks, who was wanting to run a station catering to Phoenix's youth audience but hadn't been able to get the station going, was surprised when KTVK approached him; Delbert Lewis, the owner, owned a farm adjacent to one of Brooks's properties in Florence but had never met him.[6]

KASW signed on September 23, 1995, as the first new full-power Phoenix television station since KUTP started up in December 1985.[5] In addition to WB, Fox Kids and syndicated shows, it also aired a 30-minute newscast, known as NewsNight, produced by KTVK.[7] Brooks, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also aired the biannual LDS General Conference on channel 61.[7] KTVK and KASW also split over-the-air coverage rights to the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team when it moved to Phoenix in 1996, with 20 of the 25 games in the package airing on channel 61.[8] Because it aired Kids' WB on Saturdays, Fox Kids (and its successors) aired on Sundays until the block was discontinued in 2008.

In 1999, the Federal Communications Commission legalized television duopolies; at the same time, MAC America exited the broadcasting business and sold KTVK to Belo, which also purchased KASW outright. Under Belo, the station transitioned its branding from its over-the-air channel to its cable channel on Cox Communications systems in metro Phoenix, first changing to "WB 6/61" and then to "WB 6". It also began to gradually shift its programming away from classic sitcoms, movies and cartoons. The station began to phase in more talk shows, reality shows and court shows to its schedule. It finally dropped weekday cartoons in January 2006, when The WB discontinued the Kids' WB weekday afternoon lineup (while retaining and expanding its Saturday morning block).

From The WB to The CW[]

logo as "CW6", 2006-2018

On January 24, 2006, the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner and CBS Corporation announced that the two companies would shut down The WB (which Time Warner jointly owned with Tribune Company) and UPN and combine the networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network called The CW, which would launch on September 18, 2006.[9][10] On March 8, Belo signed an affiliation agreement with the network for KASW to become The CW's Phoenix charter affiliate;[11][12] the market's UPN affiliate KUTP (channel 45) became an owned-and-operated station of MyNetworkTV thirteen days before the launch of The CW on September 5 (MyNetworkTV was created by KUTP's then-parent News Corporation after the UPN affiliates it owned through the company's Fox Television Stations unit were passed over for initial affiliations with The CW in favor of stations owned by CBS Television Stations and Tribune Broadcasting).

On June 13, 2013, Belo announced that KTVK and KASW would be acquired by the Gannett Company, owner of KPNX and the Arizona Republic. Since this would give Gannett control of three stations in the Phoenix market, Gannett announced that it would spin off KTVK and KASW to Sander Media, LLC (operated by former Belo executive Jack Sander). While Gannett intended to provide services to the stations through a shared services agreement, KTVK and KASW's operations would have remained largely separate from KPNX and the Republic.[13] On December 23, 2013, shortly after the approval and completion of the Gannett/Belo deal,[14] the Meredith Corporation announced that it would purchase KTVK and the non-license assets of KASW from Sander Media and Gannett in a $407.5 million deal. As Meredith already owned CBS affiliate KPHO-TV (channel 5), the KASW license was instead sold to SagamoreHill Broadcasting, with Meredith operating the station under a shared services agreement.[15]

Sale to Nexstar and separation from KTVK[]

The FCC approved the sale of KASW and KTVK to SagamoreHill and Meredith on June 17, 2014, and the deal closed two days later. The two companies also agreed to voluntarily divest KASW to an independent buyer within 90 days of the deal's closure; on October 23, 2014, Meredith and SagamoreHill announced that it would sell KASW to Nexstar Broadcasting Group for $68 million, giving the company its first station in the Phoenix market. The FCC approved the sale to Nexstar on December 19, and the sale was consummated on January 30, 2015, ending the nearly 20-year partnership between KASW and KTVK.[16][17] The station began migrating out of KTVK's facilities in September 2015.[18]

Sale to Scripps[]

On March 20, 2019, as part of its proposed acquisition of Tribune Media, Nexstar announced that it would sell KASW and seven other stations to the Cincinnati-based E. W. Scripps Company, owner of local ABC affiliate KNXV-TV (channel 15). The sale would create the third duopoly in the Phoenix market after Fox Television Stations' KSAZ-TV/KUTP and Meredith Corporation's KPHO-TV/KTVK.[19][20][21] The sale was approved by the FCC on September 16 and was completed on September 19.[22]

Digital television[]

Digital channels[]

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[23] ATSC 1.0 host station
61.1 1080i 16:9 CW61AZ Main KASW programming / The CW KNXV-TV
61.2 480i Grit Grit KPNX
61.3 mystery Court TV Mystery KTVK
61.4 HSN HSN KSAZ-TV

Analog-to-digital conversion[]

KASW shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 61, at 4:30 a.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (the switchover was originally scheduled for 12:01 a.m. in order for the analog signal to be shut down at the same time as its sister station KTVK; however, it was delayed for unknown reasons). The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 49.[24] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 61, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.

ATSC 3.0[]

Channel Video Aspect Station
5.1 16:9 KPHO-TV
10.1 720p KSAZ-TV
12.1 KPNX
15.1 1080p KNXV-TV
45.1 720p KUTP-TV
61.1 1080p KASW

On March 27, 2020, this station was launched as a high-power ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) transmitter for Phoenix, operating alongside KFPH-CD and carrying the main program streams of KASW, KNXV, KSAZ and KUTP. It also is being used in the testing of single-frequency networks, with a second transmitter atop Shaw Butte.[25]

On July 8, 2021, KPHO and KPNX were added to KASW from KFPH-CD, placing all four major network affiliates on the same ATSC 3.0 multiplex.[26]

Programming[]

Syndicated programming[]

In addition to the CW network schedule, Syndicated programming featured on KASW includes Two and a Half Men, Judge Mathis, Lauren Lake's Paternity Court, The Simpsons, 2 Broke Girls, and Friends among others. Though KASW aired 4Kids TV and its previous iterations until Fox discontinued their children's program blocks in December 2008, KASW declined to pick up its successor block, Weekend Marketplace, which now airs on independent station KAZT-TV (channel 7).

Sports programming[]

KASW served as the former over-the-air broadcast home of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, airing the team's games from the time that the franchise moved to Phoenix in 1996 until 2006, when the Coyotes announced[permanent dead link] the move of their over-the-air telecasts to KAZT-TV. The station also became the first ever broadcast home of the Arizona Rattlers from 1999 to the 2004 season until the Rattlers moved their broadcasts to Fox Sports Arizona in the 2005 season. In 2018, the Rattlers announced they would be airing their home games on KASW for the 2019 season. KASW also carried a 2013 Arizona Cardinals wild card playoff game airing on and produced by ESPN on January 3, 2014, in order to ensure local over-the-air coverage of the game (for future seasons, all ABC stations simulcast said ESPN game nationwide).

From 2014 to 2019, KASW served as the Phoenix affiliate for Raycom Sports' ACC Network.

From 2015 to 2018, the station broadcast Major League Soccer games involving Real Salt Lake, simulcasting from Salt Lake City's MyNetworkTV affiliate KMYU.[27] In 2019, KASW became the official broadcast partner of Phoenix Rising FC of the USL Championship.[28]

Other local programming[]

KTVK began producing a half-hour 9 p.m. newscast for KASW when that station signed on in September 1995, under the name Newsnight. However, it was unable to compete with KSAZ-TV and it was later canceled.

In January 2016, KASW premiered its first ever original program, Politics in the Yard, a talk show hosted by Jaime Molera. KASW also announced a partnership with Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication to launch the :60 Second Download, a news break segment that aired at the top of the hour before each program. Both programs were canceled after Scripps took over operation of the station.

After the station was sold to Scripps, sister station KNXV began producing two local newscasts for KASW; both of them debuted in a gradual basis over the course of 2020. The first of these newscasts debuted on March 30, when KASW debuted a two-hour extension of KNXV's morning newscast, anchored by a separate team of anchors from that of the main KNXV newscast.[29] It was followed on August 30 by a half-hour long 9pm newscast, anchored by the station's evening team.[30] Both newscasts air only on weeknights (weekends continue to feature syndicated programming at those timeslots) and compete with the longer-established newscasts at KTVK and KSAZ-TV.

Translators[]

Further information: KNXV-TV § Translators, KTVK § Translators, KPNX § Translators, and KSAZ-TV § Translators

At the time of ATSC 3.0 conversion, KASW had three dedicated translators:

Since conversion, programming from KASW has been seen through the translators of its ATSC 1.0 hosts.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Wilkinson, Bud (March 15, 1983). "Low-power music-oriented station to debut in portions of Valley". The Arizona Republic. p. C5. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  2. ^ Wilkinson, Bud (November 13, 1984). "Debts, lack of cash signal low-power station's demise". The Arizona Republic. p. B15. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "Translators" (PDF). Television Factbook. 1988. p. B-57. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  4. ^ "(4 FCC Rcd 2) Hearing Designation Order". FCC Record. November 30, 1988. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Walker, Dave (September 24, 1995). "At last! Channel 61 joins the airwaves". The Arizona Republic. pp. B1, B2. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  6. ^ Walker, Dave (December 6, 1994). "'Power Rangers' to spawn new station for kids' shows". The Arizona Republic. pp. A1, A4. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Leonard, Susan (June 17, 1996). "Now he can watch favorite programs on his own TV station". The Arizona Republic. p. Tempe Community 3. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  8. ^ "Coyotes, TV stations finalize agreement to broadcast games". The Arizona Republic. September 18, 1996. p. D3. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  9. ^ 'Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner venture beginning in September, CNNMoney.com, January 24, 2006.
  10. ^ UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
  11. ^ Belo Signs With CW in Phoenix, Broadcasting & Cable, March 8, 2006.
  12. ^ New Nets Reeling in Affiliates Archived 2014-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, , March 20, 2006.
  13. ^ Brown, Lisa (June 13, 2013). "Gannett to buy TV station owner Belo for $1.5 billion". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  14. ^ Gannett Completes Its Acquisition of Belo, TVNewsCheck, Retrieved 23 December 2013
  15. ^ "Meredith Buying Three Stations From Gannett". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  16. ^ Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  17. ^ "Nexstar Buying KASW Phoenix For $68M". 23 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  18. ^ "Excuse the mess, we're moving". YourPHX.com. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  19. ^ Farrell, Mike. "Scripps, Tegna to Buy 19 Nexstar Stations". Multichannel. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  20. ^ Hayes, Dade (2019-03-20). "Nexstar Sells Off TV Stations Worth $1.3B, Including New York's WPIX". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  21. ^ Nabila Ahmed; Anousha Sakoui (March 20, 2019). "Nexstar to Sell Stations to Tegna, Scripps for $1.32 Billion". Bloomberg News. Bloomberg, L.P.
  22. ^ "Scripps Closes Acquisition of Eight TV Stations from Nexstar-Tribune Merger Divestitures", E. W. Scripps Company, 19 September 2019, Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  23. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KASW
  24. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  25. ^ Balderston, Michael (October 28, 2020). "Phoenix Model Market Adds SFN to Improve NextGen TV Reception". TV Technology. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  26. ^ "Scripps KASW 3.0 Request for Modification of Special Temporary Authority (STA)". FCC Licensing and Management System. June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  27. ^ @realsaltlake (4 July 2015). "#RSL fans in Phoenix area or @GrandeSportsA - CW affiliate KASW now carrying non-National games via #KMYU syndication starting tonight" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ "Phoenix Rising Announces Television Partnership With Your Phoenix CW". Phoenix Rising Football Club. January 29, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  29. ^ Ortega, Roly (2020-03-09). "KNXV will debut a newscast for KASW in the form of "Mornings."". Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  30. ^ "ABC15 News is expanding on CW61". KNXV. 2020-08-18. Retrieved 2020-12-28.

External links[]

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