KFXK-TV
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Longview/Tyler, Texas United States | |
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City | Longview, Texas |
Channels | Digital: 20 (UHF) Virtual: 51 |
Branding | Fox 51 (general) Fox 51 News (newscasts) |
Programming | |
Affiliations |
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Ownership | |
Owner | White Knight Broadcasting (Warwick Communications, Inc.) |
Operator | Nexstar Media Group (via SSA) |
KTPN-LD, KETK-TV | |
History | |
First air date | September 9, 1984 |
Former call signs | KLMG-TV (1984–1991) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 51 (UHF, 1984–2009) Digital: 31 (UHF, 2006–2019) |
Former affiliations |
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Call sign meaning | FoX |
Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 70917 |
ERP | 845 kW |
HAAT | 360.2 m (1,182 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 32°15′36.4″N 94°57′3.2″W / 32.260111°N 94.950889°W |
Links | |
Public license information | Profile LMS |
Website | www |
Translator of KFXK-TV | |
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Lufkin/Nacogdoches, Texas United States | |
City | Lufkin, Texas |
Channels | Digital: 29 (UHF) Virtual: 51 |
Branding | see KFXK-TV infobox |
Programming | |
Subchannels | see KFXK-TV infobox |
Ownership | |
Owner | White Knight Broadcasting (Warwick Communications, Inc.) |
Operator | Nexstar Media Group (via SSA) |
see KFXK-TV infobox | |
History | |
First air date | 1998specify] | [
Former call signs | KFXL-LP (1998–2012) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 30 (UHF, 1998–2012) |
Call sign meaning | FoX Low Powered -or- FoX Lufkin |
Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 70918 |
ERP | 15 kW |
HAAT | 226 m (741 ft)[1] |
Transmitter coordinates | 31°21′55″N 94°45′59″W / 31.36528°N 94.76639°W |
Links | |
Public license information | Profile LMS |
KFXK-TV, virtual channel 51 (UHF digital channel 20), is a Fox-affiliated television station serving Tyler, Texas, United States that is licensed to Longview. Owned by White Knight Broadcasting, it is a sister station to Tyler-licensed low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate KTPN-LD, channel 48 (which KFXK-TV simulcasts on its second digital subchannel); Nexstar Media Group, which owns Jacksonville-licensed NBC affiliate KETK-TV (channel 56), operates KFXK-TV and KTPN-LD under a shared services agreement (SSA). The three stations share studios on Richmond Road (near Texas Loop 323) in Tyler; KFXK-TV's transmitter is located near FM 125 in rural northwestern Rusk County (northwest of New London).
Although KFXK-TV operates a full-power signal, the broadcasting radius does not reach much of the southern part of the market. Therefore, it is relayed on low-power translator station KFXL-LD (UHF channel 29, also mapped to virtual channel 51) in Lufkin. This station's transmitter is located on SH 103 near Loop 287 northwest of Lufkin.
History[]
The station first signed on the air on September 9, 1984 as KLMG-TV; the station originally operated as a CBS affiliate, making it the first full-time affiliate of the network in the Tyler–Longview market since the short-lived KAEC-TV (channel 32) operated in Nacogdoches in the late 1960s. Until channel 51 signed on, CBS programming was relegated to joint primary status on KLTV (channel 7), which also juggled programming with NBC and ABC (the latter of which is now that station's sole affiliation) for many years.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/95/Old_KLMG_and_Original_KFXK_building.jpg/225px-Old_KLMG_and_Original_KFXK_building.jpg)
KLMG-TV made national news as its founding owner, Clara McLaughlin, was the first African American woman ever to own a television station in the United States.[2] McLaughlin bought a vacant school building located near Interstate 20 in Longview and had it renovated into a studio facility for the station. KLMG was intended to be part of a network of stations serving East Texas that would be known as the "East Texas Television Network." To this end, McLaughlin also held construction permits for KLNL on channel 19 in Nacogdoches, KLPH-TV on channel 42 in Paris, and KLDS on channel 20 in Denison. However, this plan did not come to fruition and none of the other stations ever signed on the air. KLMG wound up filing for bankruptcy just a few years later, and shut down its news department.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/KFXKFox51.jpg/125px-KFXKFox51.jpg)
In April 1991, the station changed its call letters to KFXK; it also became the market's Fox affiliate; prior to the switch, viewers in the Tyler-Longview market were only able to receive Fox programming via either the network's then-Dallas owned-and-operated station KDAF (now a CW affiliate) or Shreveport affiliate KMSS-TV; those living in Houston County carried Waco affiliate KWKT-TV instead. Conversely, the switch left the market without a CBS affiliate for the next thirteen years; Max Media would later purchase KLSB (channel 19), a satellite of NBC affiliate KETK-TV (channel 56), and converted it into CBS affiliate KYTX in 2004. In the interim, CBS programming was provided on cable via Shreveport affiliate KSLA-TV, although some cable providers in the western portion of the market carried KDFW (between 1991 and 1995) or network-owned KTVT (between 1995 and 2004); cable systems in Houston County carried KBTX-TV instead. (KETK later signed on a low-power station on UHF channel 53, which assumed the KLSB call letters (which were later changed to KETK-LP) to serve as its repeater until it shut down in 2012.) By 1998, KFXK had signed on KFXL as a translator serving the Lufkin-Nacogdoches area. In January 2013, KFXL-LD migrated its operations to KETK and KFXK's studio facility in Tyler.
On April 24, 2013, the Communications Corporation of America announced the sale of its television stations, including KETK-TV, to Nexstar Broadcasting Group. KFXK and KTPN were planned be sold to Nexstar partner company Mission Broadcasting; in the case of KFXK, that station was being sold to Mission to comply with FCC duopoly rules. But on August 5, 2014, Mission withdrew its application to acquire KFXK.[3] Nexstar continues to operate KFXK and KLPN under a shared services agreement with sister station KETK.[4] The sale was completed on January 1, 2015.[5]
Nexstar completed a $4 million renovation of studio and office facilities that KFXK shares with KETK in November 2017. A dedication and reception was held on November 16, which included the presence of Nexstar chairman/president/CEO Perry Sook, as well as Leslie Roberts, an anchorwoman who worked for KETK in the late 1980s, among other attendees.[6]
Digital television[]
Digital channels[]
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[7][8] |
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51.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KFXK-DT | Main KFXK-TV programming / Fox |
51.2 | KLPN-TV | Simulcast of KTPN-LD / MyNetworkTV | ||
51.3 | 480i | Escape | Court TV Mystery | |
51.4 | Laff | Laff |
Analog-to-digital conversion[]
KFXK launched a full-power digital signal on UHF channel 31 on July 30, 2006, the station began testing high definition broadcasts of Fox programming on October 20, 2006, with Fox programs broadcasting in that format full-time five days later on October 25. On February 1, 2008, Longview Cable Television added KFXK's HD feed and KLPN-LP on digital cable channels 250 and 252.
KFXK-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 51, 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 station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 31,[9] using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 51.
Availability[]
Paid services[]
On cable, KFXK is available on Suddenlink channel 12 and Longview Cable Television channel 8. There is a high definition feed offered on Suddenlink digital channel 705 and Longview Cable Television digital channel 235. KFXK can also be seen on DirecTV, Dish Network, and several smaller cable providers throughout East Texas.
Over-the-air[]
KFXK can be seen via over the air in cities throughout East Texas, such as Tyler, Longview, Pittsburg, Canton, Mineola, Lindale, Gilmer, Jefferson, Marshall, Athens, Kilgore, Jacksonville, Henderson, Carthage, Palestine, Rusk, Center, and Nacogdoches. Notable towns that cannot receive KFXK via OTA within the Tyler market are Lufkin and Crockett. However, as noted above, Lufkin is served by a low-power relay of KFXK.[10]
Programming[]
Syndicated programs broadcast by KFXK-TV include The People's Court, Mike & Molly, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and Divorce Court, among others.
Newscasts[]
KETK-TV produces 12½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 2½ hours each weekday) for KFXK-TV. As a CBS affiliate, the station made two attempts at producing local newscasts; both were subsequently canceled. In 1998, KETK-TV began producing a weeknight 9:00 p.m. newscast for KFXK under a news share agreement; the program was the first prime time newscast in the Tyler-Longview market. The newscast initially received strong ratings, garnering a 3 share in only a month and a half of its debut, however, ratings fell subsequently after its original anchors left the station. The newscast was plagued with logistical problems, when Fox Sports programming scheduled during prime time hours resulted in the delay of the newscast, causing KFXK to air the program on a tape delay to allow KETK to produce its own 10:00 p.m. newscast on schedule. This occasionally led to the same meteorologist being seen on both stations simultaneously, causing some viewer confusion and giving away the fact that the KFXK newscast was not always live every night. This, coupled with the declining ratings, eventually caused station management to cancel the newscast.
KETK restored a prime time newscast on KFXK on January 28, 2008, with the debut of a half-hour 9:00 p.m. newscast (titled Fox News East Texas), which airs only on Monday through Friday evenings. On April 23, 2010, KETK became the second television station in the Tyler-Longview market (after KYTX) to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition; the KFXK newscasts were included in the upgrade. KETK reportedly planned on producing a two-hour weekday morning newscast for channel 51 (to be titled Good Day East Texas), which would have debuted at the same time; a morning newscast did not debut on the station until September 2011, when the station launched a two-hour weekday newscast from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. (titled Fox 51 Today).
See also[]
- Channel 31 digital TV stations in the United States
- Channel 29 digital TV stations in the United States
- Channel 51 virtual TV stations in the United States
References[]
- ^ Antenna Height Above Average Terrain Calculations -- Results Archived April 24, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Books, Used, New, and Out of Print Books - We Buy and Sell - Powell's. "Powell's Books". www.powells.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
- ^ Application Info Archived December 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Consummation Notice Archived January 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ^ Prichard, Cara (November 16, 2017). "KETK unveils $4 million news station". KETK-TV. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
- ^ "RabbitEars.Info". www.rabbitears.info. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
- ^ "RabbitEars.Info". www.rabbitears.info. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ "KFXK-TV Station Information | LONGVIEW, TX". NoCable.org. Archived from the original on January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
Further reading[]
- "Texas TV Pioneer" (Clara McLaughlin interview), Ebony, March 1987, page 78 - Ironically, just before KLMG's first bankruptcy and first disbanding of its news department, this article gives an upbeat look at McLaughlin, behind the scenes at KLMG, and how well it was doing.
External links[]
- Official website
- FCC Public Inspection File: KFXK-TV
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KFXK-TV
- Technical and ownership information for KFXK-TV at RabbitEars
- Technical and ownership information for KFXL-LD at RabbitEars
KLMG video[]
- Drugs in schools report, 1986 (some sound issues)
- Last Newscenter 51 newscast (1984–1987), March 1987 (short portion)
- Video of KLMG test pattern/logo, April 1987 (snowy picture)
- Fox network affiliates
- Nexstar Media Group
- Court TV Mystery affiliates
- Laff (TV network) affiliates
- Television channels and stations established in 1984
- 1984 establishments in Texas
- Television stations in Tyler, Texas