KFPH-DT
KFPH-DT, virtual and VHF digital channel 13, branded as UniMás Arizona, is a UniMás owned-and-operated television station licensed to Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. The station is owned by the Univision Local Media subsidiary of Univision Communications, as part of a duopoly with Phoenix-licensed Univision owned-and-operated station KTVW-DT (channel 33). The two stations share studios on 30th Street in southern Phoenix; KFPH's transmitter is located atop Mormon Mountain, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Flagstaff in the Coconino National Forest.
 | |
| Flagstaff/Phoenix, Arizona United States | |
|---|---|
| City | Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Channels | Digital: 13 (VHF) Virtual: 13 (PSIP) |
| Branding | UniMás Arizona Univision Arizona (on DT2) |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Univision Communications (UniMas Partnership of Flagstaff) |
| KTVW-DT, KHOT-FM, KOMR | |
| History | |
First air date | January 1, 1992 (29 years ago) as KKTM |
Former call signs |
|
Former channel number(s) |
|
| |
Call sign meaning | TeleFutura (former network name) PHoenix |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 41517 |
| ERP | 33 kW |
| HAAT | 475.5 m (1,560 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 34°58′5.8″N 111°30′36.1″W |
| Translator(s) | KTVW-DT 33.2 (UHF) Phoenix K16FB-D 16 (UHF) Globe/Miami K21GC 21 (UHF) Safford |
| Links | |
Public license information | Profile LMS |
| Website | UniMás |
As KFPH's broadcasting radius does not reach most of the Phoenix metropolitan area, the station's programming is simulcast in high definition on KTVW-DT's second digital subchannel in order to reach the entire market; this signal can be seen on virtual and UHF channel 33.2 from a transmitter atop South Mountain on the south side of Phoenix. In addition, the station is also relayed on translator stations K16FB-D (channel 16) in Globe/Miami, Arizona and K21GC (analog channel 21) in Safford. The station had been simulcast on Class A low-power translator station KFPH-CD (UHF digital channel 35) in Phoenix, until that station converted to an ATSC 3.0 station.
On cable, KFPH is carried on Cox Communications channel 16, and is also carried by cable providers in Flagstaff, Sedona and Cottonwood.
History
The original construction permit to build a station in Flagstaff on VHF channel 13 was granted to Minority Television of Flagstaff, Inc., on October 25, 1984. The station was to transmit from Mount Elden, located north of the city. However, the next year, the permit was sold to Michael C. Gelfand, M.D., and Del Ray Television Company, Inc.; after several permit extensions and expired permits, Del Ray licensed the station on March 11, 1992, under the call letters KKTM. The station's original transmitter was located on Mormon Mountain, having been granted permission to move there in 1989. The station first signed on the air on January 1, 1992 operating as an independent station; at one point, the station produced its own local newscast aimed at the Flagstaff area, although the program was produced on a very low budget and production standards that rivaled public-access television.
The station became a charter affiliate of The WB on January 11, 1995 and in correspondence, changed its call letters to KWBF. Channel 13 of Flagstaff, Inc. (part of Christian Networks, Inc.), acquired the station in 1996, with financing assistance from Paxson Communications (now Ion Media Networks). Channel 13 Flagstaff, Inc. also entered into a time brokerage agreement with Paxson Communications, in which the latter company would provide programming for the station; this agreement included an option for Paxson to acquire the station outright. Paxson exercised that option several months later, and bought the station in July 1996; KWBF then became an affiliate of Paxson's Infomail Television Network (inTV) infomercial service. On August 31, 1998, the station became a charter affiliate of Pax TV (now Ion Television) and the station's call letters were changed to KBPX. KBPX was originally to serve as the market's full-power Pax outlet, with its programming simulcast over a low-power repeater in Phoenix; in 2001, Paxson Communications built and signed on KPPX-TV (channel 51) in Tolleson, and moved Pax TV's programming there. The company sold KBPX to the Equity Broadcasting Corporation, which immediately changed the call letters to KDUO and affiliated the station with the home shopping service America's Collectibles Network (now Jewelry Television).
The station was purchased by Univision Communications in November 2001, it then became a charter station of Univision's new secondary network TeleFutura (which was renamed UniMás in January 2013), when it launched on January 14, 2002; its call letters were then changed to KFPH (a "-TV" suffix was added to the callsign in 2004, which was changed to a "-DT" suffix in 2009, which the station elected to retain for its digital signal).
KFPH-CD history (prior to 2001)
On December 16, 1986, North Phoenix Baptist Church obtained an original construction permit to build K39BI, a low-power station on UHF channel 39 in Phoenix. The station was licensed on July 31, 1987, and originally signed on as an affiliate of the American Christian Television System (ACTS); it later became affiliated with FamilyNet. The station's transmitter was first located at the church, but was moved to South Mountain in 1988. In December 1998, North Phoenix Baptist sold the station to religious broadcast network Daystar, which changed the call letters to KDTP-LP. In 2000, Daystar was awarded a construction permit to build KDTP, a full-power station on UHF channel 39 and put KDTP-LP up for sale. That same year, Daystar obtained permission to move KDTP-LP to UHF channel 35 and to upgrade the license to Class A status.
In February 2001, Daystar entered into an agreement to sell the station to Equity Broadcasting. The sale was finalized in May 2001, and the station became an affiliate of the America's Collectibles Network. Three months later, the station moved to channel 35, and changed its call letters to KOND-LP.
Univision Communications bought the station in November 2001, in concurrence with its purchase of KDUO. In February 2002, the station's call letters were changed to KFPH-CA, after its full-power sister station in Flagstaff, which it began to serve as its translator. It is one of three Class A Spanish-language broadcasters in the Phoenix market (alongside KPDF-CD and KCOS-LP). On August 10, 2011, the station changed its callsign to KFPH-CD.
On April 6, 2018, KFPH-CD discontinued ATSC 1.0 broadcasts and became the official "lighthouse" station for ATSC 3.0 tests being conducted by the Pearl TV consortium.[1]
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KFPH-DT | Main KFPH-DT programming / UniMás |
| 13.2 | KTVW-HD | Simulcast of KTVW-DT / Univision | ||
| 13.3 | 480i | 4:3 | getTV | GetTV |
| 13.4 | MYSTERY | Court TV Mystery |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KFPH-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 13, on September 18, 2008, citing a lack of space at its transmitter site to accommodate the analog transmitter, its digital channel 27 transmitter, and the new digital channel 13 transmitter; additionally, winter weather conditions rendered it impossible to perform work during the last 90 days before the conclusion of the digital transition.[3] The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 27 to VHF channel 13.[4]
References
- http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/112543/30s-potential-to-be-tested-in-phoenix-dallas
- RabbitEars TV Query for KFPH
- "DTV TRANSITION STATUS REPORT". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
External links
- KFPH-DT in the FCC's TV station database
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KFPH-DT