KYAZ
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| Houston, Texas | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Katy, Texas[1] |
| Branding | Azteca Houston |
| Slogan | Tu Casa (Spanish: Your Home) |
| Channels | Digital: 47 (UHF) Virtual: 51 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Translators | KTJA-LP 51 (Victoria, Texas) KYAZ-LP 41 (Midland-Odessa) |
| Affiliations | Azteca América |
| Owner | Una Vez Más Holdings, LLC (Una Vez Mas Houston License, LLC[1]) |
| First air date | November 3, 1993[2] |
| Call letters' meaning | Your AZteca America Y: Your or KatY, Texas (City of license) AZ: AZteca América |
| Sister station(s) | KAZD |
| Former callsigns | KNWS-TV (1993–2010)[3] |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 51 (UHF, 1993–2009) Digital: 52 (UHF, 2002–2009) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1993–2010) |
| Transmitter power | 1000 kW[4] |
| Height | 597 m (1,959 ft)[4] |
| Class | DT[1] |
| Facility ID | 31870[1] |
| Transmitter coordinates | 29°33′44″N 95°30′35″W / 29.56222°N 95.50972°W[4] |
KYAZ is the Azteca América owned-and-operated television station serving Houston, Texas that is licensed to Katy. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 47 (virtual channel 51.1 via PSIP)[1] from a transmitter in unincorporated northeastern Fort Bend County (near Missouri City). Owned by Una Vez Más Holdings, LLC,[5] KYAZ maintains studios at One Arena Place on Bissonnet Street on Houston's southwest side. The station can also be seen on Comcast Xfinity channel 2 and AT&T U-verse channel 51, and in high definition on Comcast Xfinity channel 616.
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History [edit]
As an independent station [edit]
The station began broadcasting on November 3, 1993 as KNWS-TV, a 24-hour all-news station owned by Johnson Broadcasting.[2] The all-news format featured special segments, and pre-recorded newscasts looped then updated throughout the day. Throughout 1995, the station simulcast live coverage of the OJ Simpson Trial from KTLA in Los Angeles.
KNWS began cutting back on its news programming in November 1996; following a canceled sale to Global Broadcasting Systems (a home shopping operator) in 1997,[6][7] the station abandoned its all-news format on January 1, 1998 and became a traditional independent station, broadcasting syndicated classic programming and movies,[8] as well as Houston Astros baseball (many of the games were also simulcast on sister station KLDT in Lake Dallas, Texas). It also maintained local news updates, using the remains of the station's old newsroom. During this time, the station adopted the slogan "TV 51 Has The Shows You Know". By 2000, however, some of the programming had been dropped in favor of infomercials, a trend that would continue over the next decade. The Astros remained on KNWS until 2008, when they moved to KTXH.
Some NBC shows that KPRC-TV declined to air also aired on KNWS. One was the NBC daytime talk show, Leeza, which aired briefly in 1998. The other was the soap opera, Passions, which also had a brief airing on KNWS in 2001. In 1996, KNWS carried NBC Sports coverage of Notre Dame football home games as well as the Breeders' Cup. In 2000, KNWS carried Game 6 of the 2000 American League Championship Series.
During the non-stop coverage of Hurricane Rita by Houston's news channels, KNWS showed CBS' network broadcasts, on behalf of its local affiliate, KHOU, which replaced them on their own station with special coverage of the storm. KNWS repeated this pattern during Hurricane Ike.
Prior to the Una Vez Más sale, KNWS had made plans to add the Retro Television Network as a digital subchannel,[9] but due to the bankruptcy filing, that plan was scrapped. Instead, reflecting the pending sale to Una Vez Más, the Azteca América subchannel was added to the station's digital signal as channel 51.2 on April 25, 2010. RTV ended up on KUVM-CD, a Mako station, and the last home of Azteca América in Houston.
Sale to Una Vez Más [edit]
Johnson Broadcasting filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2008. One year later, impatient creditors asked the bankruptcy court to allow the sale of KNWS and KLDT. Una Vez Más Holdings, LLC emerged as the leading bidder.[10] The sale to Una Vez Más was approved by the bankruptcy court on December 29, 2009,[11] and finally received FCC approval September 27, 2010 after the FCC rejected a petition to deny the sale made by Spanish Broadcasting System.[12] The new owners reserved the KAZH call letters,[13] but changed them instead to KYAZ.[3]
KYAZ began simulcasting Azteca América on subchannels 51.1 and 51.2 on December 29, 2010, the same day its new call letters were approved.[5] Cold Case Files was relocated to KUBE-TV, and weekly episodes of Cheaters was relocated to KIAH. It is unknown if more of channel 51's former meager programming inventory will relocate to other stations.
Digital television [edit]
Digital channels [edit]
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
KYAZ broadcasts on digital channel 47.
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[14] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51.1 | 480i | 4:3 | KYAZ-1 | Azteca América |
| 51.2 | KYAZ-2 | VietFace TV | ||
| 51.3 | KYAZ-3 | Saigon Network Television | ||
| 51.4 | KYAZ-4 | New Tang Dynasty Television | ||
| 51.5 | KYAZ-5 | Global TV | ||
| 51.6 | KYAZ-6 | LATV | ||
| 51.7 | KYAZ-7 | Vietmax |
Analog-to-digital conversion [edit]
On June 12, 2009, the federally-mandated date for American television stations to cease analog transmissions across the country, KNWS-TV (former callsign of KYAZ) ceased broadcasting programming on analog UHF channel 51. Its digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 52 (which was removed from broadcasting use, along with channels 53-69, with the transition) to UHF channel 47.[15][16][17] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as "51.1" to correspond with its former analog channel.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Station Search Details". Federal Communications Commission. June 16, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Hodges, Ann (November 3, 1993). "City gets local news TV station". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ a b "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
- ^ a b c "TV Query Results". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Barron, David (2010-12-31). "Houston's Channel 51 switches to Spanish format". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
- ^ McDaniel, Mike (April 24, 1997). "Channel 51 to be sold for $40 million". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ McDaniel, Mike (May 22, 1997). "Channel 51 may not be sold after all". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ McDaniel, Mike (November 18, 1997). "Channel 51 plans to change format". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ "RTN Adds KLDT Dallas; U.S. Clearance Tops 65%". TV Newscheck. May 4, 2009.
- ^ "Creditors pushing sale of Houston TV station". Houston Chronicle. October 21, 2009.
- ^ "Court Approves KNWS, KLDT Sale: Johnson Broadcasting stations sold to Una Vez Mas Holdings". Broadcasting & Cable. December 29, 2009.
- ^ "FCC approves challenged Texas TV transaction". Radio Business Report/Television Business Report. September 27, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
- ^ "Media Bureau Call Sign Actions". Federal Communications Commission. October 6, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
- ^ "KYAZ Channel 51 Television". Station Index. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
- ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6251131.html
- ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
- ^ CDBS Print
External links [edit]
- Azteca America Houston - Official Facebook page
- Station Profile on UVM's Official Website
- Azteca América Official Website (Spanish)
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KYAZ
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KYAZ-TV
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