KWCE-LP
KWCE-LP, UHF analog channel 27, is a low-powered MeTV-affiliated television station licensed to Alexandria, Louisiana, United States. Owned by Atlanta-based Cox Media Group, it is a sister station to ABC affiliate KLAX-TV (channel 31). The two stations share studios on England Drive/LA 498 in Alexandria; KWCE-LP's transmitter is located on Bayou Maria Road in Pineville.
| Alexandria, Louisiana United States | |
|---|---|
| Channels | Analog: 27 (UHF) |
| Branding | MeTV Alexandria |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | MeTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Cox Media Group[1][2] (Lost Coast Broadcasting LLC) |
| KLAX-TV | |
| History | |
First air date | 2000 |
Former call signs | K36DS (1994–2004) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 36 (UHF, 2000–2006) |
| Primary: UPN (2000–2006) RTV (2006–2012) Secondary: America One (2000–2006) UATV (2000–2006) | |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 40521 |
| ERP | 12.3 kW |
| HAAT | 129 m (423 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 31°18′25″N 92°24′12″W |
| Translator(s) | KLAX-DT 31.2 (UHF) Alexandria |
| Links | |
Public license information | Profile LMS |
KWCE-LP does not broadcast a digital signal of its own, and at the present time, there are no plans to convert the station's signal to digital. In addition, the analog station's low-power signal contour is limited to the immediate Alexandria area.[3] Therefore, in order to reach the entire market, KWCE-LP is simulcast in widescreen standard definition on KLAX-TV's second digital subchannel (virtual and UHF channel 31.2) from a transmitter in the Kisatchie National Forest southwest of Dry Prong.
History
Plans for a new TV station in Central Louisiana occurred in the early 1990s. Tiger Eye Broadcasting of Miami, Florida held the license for K36DS. In mid-2000, state representative Woody Jenkins purchased K36DS and launched it as Alexandria's first standalone UPN affiliate; prior to 2000, UPN's programming was carried on a secondary basis by KLAX-TV. The station went by the call letters "KCLA", even though the official call sign remained K36DS; this practice was similar to Jenkins' Baton Rouge station, KBTR-LP, which went by "WBTR" in order to be in line with other Baton Rouge television stations.
Despite the UPN affiliation, KCLA was unable to attain cable coverage in the Central Louisiana area. On March 1, 2002, Pollack/Belz Broadcasting purchased KCLA from Woody Jenkins, and the station gained cable carriage in the region. At the time, KCLA also aired programming from America One and UATV on a secondary basis, similar to WBTR, but programming from those two networks soon disappeared after the acquisition. Pollack-Belz changed the call sign of the station to KWCE-LP in 2004.
When UPN and The WB ceased operations in 2006, KWCE opted to become an affiliate of RetroTV, while The CW went to KBCA and MyNetworkTV affiliated with Fox affiliate WNTZ on a secondary basis. The station also moved to channel 27 to avoid interference with nearby Fox affiliate KARD of Monroe, which broadcasts digitally on channel 36 and whose signal reaches much of the Alexandria market. When KLAX upgraded to high definition in 2012, KWCE was moved to a subchannel of channel 31 and affiliated with Me-TV.
Pollack/Belz Broadcasting agreed to sell KWCE-LP and KLAX-TV to Lost Coast Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Northwest Broadcasting, for $3.5 million on April 6, 2018.[4] The sale was completed on August 31.[5]
In February 2019, Reuters reported that Apollo Global Management had agreed to acquire the entirety of Brian Brady's television portfolio, which it intends to merge with Cox Media Group (which Apollo is acquiring at the same time) and stations spun off from Nexstar Media Group's purchase of Tribune Broadcasting, once the purchases are approved by the FCC.[6] In March 2019 filings with the FCC, Apollo confirmed that its newly-formed broadcasting group, Terrier Media, would acquire Northwest Broadcasting, with Brian Brady holding an unspecified minority interest in Terrier.[7] In June 2019, it was announced that Terrier Media would instead operate as Cox Media Group, as Apollo had reached a deal to also acquire Cox's radio and advertising businesses.[8] The transaction was completed on December 17.[9]
References
- "Apollo Global Management Acquires Cox's Television Stations Plus Radio & Newspapers In Dayton". RadioInsight. February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- Jessell, Harry A. (March 6, 2019). "Cox TV Valued At $3.1 Billion In Apollo Acquisition". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia LLC. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityTechDetails.html?facilityId=40521&applicationId=2190e677cb2f4e9fbb84cf6212b6c0ea
- "Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. June 8, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 5 September 2018
- "EXCLUSIVE-Apollo nears $3 billion deal to buy Cox TV stations -sources" from CNBC (February 10, 2019)
- Jessell, Harry A. (March 6, 2019). "Cox TV Valued At $3.1 Billion In Apollo Acquisition". TV News Check. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- Jacobson, Adam (June 26, 2019). "It's Official: Cox Radio, Gamut, CoxReps Going To Apollo". Radio & Television Business Report. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- "Cox Enterprises Announces Close of Cox Media Group Sale to Affiliates of Apollo Global Management", prnewswire.com, 17 December 2019, Retrieved 17 December 2019.