KAKW-DT

KAKW-DT, virtual channel 62 (VHF digital channel 13), is a Univision owned-and-operated television station serving Austin, Texas, United States that is licensed to Killeen. Owned by the Univision Local Media subsidiary of Univision Communications, it is sister to Austin-licensed low-powered, Class A UniMás owned-and-operated station KTFO-CD (channel 31), which KAKW simulcasts on its second digital subchannel. The two stations share studios on North Loop Boulevard in Austin; KAKW's transmitter is located in unincorporated Williamson County (approximately halfway between Austin and Killeen). Although the station is licensed to a community in the Waco market, most of its local programming and advertising is targeted at the Austin market.

KAKW-DT
Killeen/Austin, Texas
United States
CityKilleen, Texas
ChannelsDigital: 13 (VHF)
Virtual: 62 (PSIP)
Brandinggeneral: Univision 62
newscasts: Noticias 62
SloganLa que nos Une
(The one that unites us)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerUnivision Communications
(KAKW License Partnership, L.P.)
KTFO-CD, KXLK-CD
History
First air date
May 31, 1996 (1996-05-31)
Former call signs
KAKW (1996–2003)
KAKW-TV (2004–2009)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
62 (UHF, 1996–2009)
UPN (1996–2002, secondary from 2001)
The WB (1996–2002, secondary until 2001)
Call sign meaning
Austin Killeen Waco
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID148
ERP39 kW
HAAT553 m (1,814 ft)
Transmitter coordinates30°43′34″N 97°59′23″W
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewww.univision.com/austin/kakw

History
Former logo, used until December 31, 2012.

The station first signed on the air on May 31, 1996 as a primary affiliate of UPN and a secondary affiliate of The WB for the Waco–Killeen–Temple market; the station was originally owned by White Knight Broadcasting, with Communications Corporation of America (ComCorp), owner of Waco-based Fox affiliate KWKT (channel 44) and the station's Bryan-based satellite KYLE-TV (channel 28), providing sales and other services to KAKW under a commercial inventory agreement.[1] KAKW had secured the UPN affiliation in June 1995, prior to going on the air;[2] the WB affiliation had previously been held by KYLE before its 1996 acquisition by ComCorp.[3] Prior to the launch of Fredericksburg-based San Antonio station KBEJ (now KCWX) in 2000, channel 62 doubled as an alternate UPN affiliate for the Austin television market, alongside K13VC (channel 13); the launch of KAKW's digital signal on channel 13 would subsequently result in the shutdown of K13VC on March 29, 2003.[4]

In January 2001, KAKW became a primary WB affiliate,[5] though UPN programming was retained on a secondary basis.[6] That October, White Knight agreed to sell KAKW to Univision Communications in a $30 million deal, with the intention of converting it into a Univision station; the sale was opposed by The WB, who filed a lawsuit seeking to block the sale and the concurrent sale of El Paso sister station KKWB to Entravision Communications, as KAKW's contract with The WB was not slated to expire until January 15, 2008.[7] On January 7, 2002, after Univision assumed control of KAKW, it dropped the WB and UPN affiliations and converted it to a Univision owned-and-operated station;[8] it also expanded the station's market coverage to Austin. Univision also invested in creating a news department for KAKW and began producing daily Spanish-language local newscasts. The WB subsequently moved its programming in the Waco/Killeen/Temple market to a secondary clearance on ABC affiliate KXXV (channel 25),[9] while UPN signed a deal with Time Warner Cable to air its programming on a leased access channel that would later be replaced by KBTX-TV's second digital subchannel.[10]

Until 2009, KAKW also operated a repeater in Austin, KAKW-CA (channel 31). That year, the station switched its affiliation to Telefutura, and changed its call letters to KTFO-CD.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[11]
62.11080i16:9KAKW-DTMain KAKW-DT programming / Univision
62.2KTFO-CDSimulcast of KTFO-CD / UniMás
62.3480i4:3GetTVgetTV
62.4EscapeCourt TV Mystery
62.5DABLDabl

Analog-to-digital conversion

KAKW shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009, as part of the FCC-mandated transition to digital television for full-power stations.[12] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 13, using PSIP to display KAKW's virtual channel as 62 on digital television receivers, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.

News operation

KAKW-DT broadcasts five hours of locally produced newscasts each week, consisting of two half-hour evening newscasts shown at 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. on weekdays. Following its purchase by Univision Communications in 2002, the station invested in the development of a news department for KAKW and began producing daily Spanish language local newscasts each weeknight.

On March 27, 2015, KAKW-DT announced it would launch a regionalized morning newscast, shared with fellow Univision O&Os KXLN-DT in Houston, KUVN-DT in Dallas, and KWEX-DT in San Antonio. The newscast includes local weather and traffic cut-ins, which are also provided during Univision's Despierta America. The regionalized morning newscast uses the Noticias Texas branding.

References
  1. "Report on Existing Television Local Marketing Agreements" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. July 8, 1997. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  2. Flint, Joe (June 26, 1995). "UPN extends affil reach". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  3. "Memorandum Opinion and Order" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. November 19, 1996. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  4. "Low power station loses signal to Univision". Austin Business Journal. March 19, 2003. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  5. "Waco/Temple/Killeen, TX TV Directory". 100000 Watts. Archived from the original on December 8, 2000. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  6. "Waco/Temple/Killeen, TX TV Directory". 100000 Watts. Archived from the original on June 29, 2001. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  7. Schneider, Michael (January 2, 2002). "Nets gird for Spanish war". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  8. "KAKW-TV changes network affiliation". Temple Daily Telegram. January 9, 2002. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  9. "KXXV-25 to air WB's programming". Temple Daily Telegram. January 13, 2002. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  10. Ray, Randy (January 16, 2002). "Time Warner Cable airing UPN programs". Temple Daily Telegram. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  11. RabbitEars TV Query for KAKW
  12. List of Digital Full-Power Stations Archived 2013-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
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