KAZA-TV

KAZA-TV, virtual channel 54 (UHF digital channel 22), is the West Coast flagship station of the MeTV television network, licensed to Avalon, California, United States and serving the Los Angeles television market. The station is owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting. KAZA-TV's studios are located on Grand Central Avenue in Glendale, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Harvard. None of the station's assets are physically located on Santa Catalina Island, despite its city of license of Avalon.

KAZA-TV
Avalon/Los Angeles, California
United States
CityAvalon, California
ChannelsDigital: 22 (UHF)
(shared with KHTV-CD)
Virtual: 54 (PSIP)
BrandingMeTV Los Angeles
Programming
Affiliations54.1: MeTV (O&O)
54.2: Decades
Ownership
OwnerWeigel Broadcasting
(KAZA-TV LLC)
History
First air date
July 9, 2001 (2001-07-09)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
54 (UHF, 2001–2009)
Digital:
47 (UHF, until 2017)
27 (UHF, 2017–2019)
Azteca América (2001–2018)
Call sign meaning
K-AZteca America
(former affiliation)
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID29234
ERP15 kW
HAAT872.2 m (2,862 ft)
Transmitter coordinates34°12′47.9″N 118°3′44.3″W
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitemetv.com/kaza

KAZA-TV was previously an Azteca América owned-and-operated station from 2001 until 2018.

History
Former KAZA-TV logo.

The station first signed on the air on July 9, 2001, originally operating as an independent station, carrying a format of Spanish-language music videos temporarily until the launch of Azteca América on July 28. The station was founded by Visalia-based Pappas Telecasting (which initially held a 75% majority stake in the station, which expanded to 80% in 2014) and TV Azteca (which owned the remaining interest).

On November 30, 2006, NBC Universal (owner of rival KVEA, channel 52 and then-owner of KWHY, channel 22) filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny KAZA's license renewal, on basis that TV Azteca controlled 51.6% of the station (above the FCC-designated 33% interest limit for foreign owned broadcasters) via loans and other interests.[1][2] According to the Los Angeles Times, it is believed to be the first challenge to a license renewal sent to the FCC since 1979 (notwithstanding the two-decade long RKO General license challenges including KHJ-TV that were not fully sorted until the late 1980s).

According to the filing,[3] NBC Universal accused TV Azteca of attempting to undermine its operations in Mexico. One example cited is the shutdown of production of the Telemundo program Quinceañera. NBC Universal accused TV Azteca of hiring undercover police officers to enforce the shutdown; the show's production was moved to Miami as a result. Two days later, Azteca chairman, Luis Echarte, insisted that the local marketing agreement is legitimate and called NBC Universal's allegations "ridiculous", citing that: "It's obviously a ploy to damage our image, given our strong performance in the U.S.," he says. "KAZA is owned by Pappas. We’ve been paying rent to Pappas to operate the station for three years." [4]

Former station logo as an Azteca América affiliate.

On September 8, 2017, Pappas Telecasting and TV Azteca announced they would sell KAZA to Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting for $9 million.[5] On January 1, 2018, KJLA (channel 57) replaced KAZA as the Azteca America affiliate for the Los Angeles market.[6][7] Weigel Broadcasting assumed operational responsibilities for KAZA as well as ownership of its license on January 3, 2018, and converted into an owned-and-operated station of Weigel-owned MeTV as "MeTV Los Angeles". Prior to the switch, the MeTV affiliation was split between the DT3 feed of Anaheim-based KDOC-TV (channel 56) and Bishop-based KVME-TV (channel 20). KVME became an affiliate of MeTV's sister network, Heroes & Icons on January 15, 2018.[8]

On August 31, 2018, Decades soft-launched on KAZA-DT2, ahead of it moving three days later officially from KCBS-DT2 to launch fellow Weigel network Start TV.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[9]
54.1720p16:9MeTVMain KAZA-TV programming / MeTV
54.2480iDecadesDecades

Analog-to-digital conversion

KAZA-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 54, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[10] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 47, using PSIP to display KAZA-TV's virtual channel as 54 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.

References
  1. NBC Universal Contests Pappas License - 2006-11-30 18:04:00 | Broadcasting & Cable
  2. Telemuno moves to block KAZA's license renewal - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety
  3. Los Angeles Times, Dec. 1, 2006, page C1
  4. Azteca Fires Back at NBCU - 2006-12-01 09:37:00 | Broadcasting & Cable
  5. "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". Federal Communications Commission. September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  6. Mark K. Miller (January 4, 2018). "Azteca America Moving To KJLA Los Angeles". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  7. Veronica Villafañe (January 4, 2018). "Azteca América and LATV switch channels in LA". Media Movies. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  8. https://www.mediamoves.com/2018/01/azteca-america-latv-switch-channels-la.html
  9. RabbitEars TV Query for KAZA
  10. List of Digital Full-Power Stations Archived 2013-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
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