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KNVA, virtual channel 54 (UHF digital channel 49), is a CW-affiliated television station located in Austin, Texas, United States. The station is owned by Vaughan Media; Media General, which owns NBC affiliate KXAN-TV (channel 36) and MyNetworkTV affiliate KBVO (channel 14), operates KNVA under a local marketing agreement. All three stations share studios on West Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard between the Clarksville section of Austin and the University of Texas at Austin campus, KNVA's transmitter is located at the West Austin Antenna Farm north of West Lake Hills. Syndicated programming seen on KNVA includes The Jerry Springer Show, The Doctors, Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle.

History

According to an Austin American-Statesman article and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) records, 54 Broadcasting applied for the license for the station in 1989; it was to have been assigned the call letters KCFP, but it could not economically start up the station until signing a local marketing agreement with LIN TV five years later in 1994.[1][2] KNVA first signed on the air on August 31, 1994 as a 24-hour feed of KXAN's live weather network and Doppler weather radar. It became an independent station for a short time before affiliating with The WB as a charter station the following year on January 11, 1995. During this time, the station was branded as "KNVA 54" and carried off-network sitcoms, drama series and cartoons. In 2001, the station was rebranded "Austin's WB 54", before finally settling on "Austin's WB".

On January 24, 2006, the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner and CBS Corporation announced that the two companies would shut down The WB and UPN and combine the networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network called The CW.[3][4] One month later on February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced the launch of a new "sixth" network called MyNetworkTV, which would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television, to give UPN and WB stations that were left out from The CW's affiliate roster another option besides converting to independent stations.[5][6]

At first, those moves put KNVA's future in doubt, as UPN affiliate KCWX (channel 2, now a MyNetworkTV affiliate) was announced as the affiliate of The CW. However, that station is considered part of the San Antonio market, although it had been supplying the Austin area with UPN programming. Viewers were left speculating that KNVA's only options would be to join MyNetworkTV or revert to being an independent station. But in a surprise move on April 18, LIN TV announced that KNVA would join The CW. KCWX now no longer serves Austin and CW programming on that station began to be blocked out by Time Warner Cable effective October 1, 2006. KCWX's syndicated programming continued to be shown on Time Warner Cable until April 3, 2007 when the provider officially dropped the station from its Austin systems.

Over a week later on April 26, 2006, it was announced that KNVA would also carry MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliation.[7] To date, KNVA was one of two stations in the country carrying both The CW and MyNetworkTV (the other being KWKB in Iowa City, Iowa, which would also drop MyNetworkTV and become a sole CW affiliate in September 2011. Until 2014, Columbia, South Carolina's existing MyNetworkTV affiliate WKTC added a primary CW affiliation while retaining MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliation on its main channel, making it currently the only station in the United States to carry both networks).

On August 1, a video posted to the KNVA/KXAN shared website revealed the station would be officially branded as "The CW Austin" with MyNetworkTV programming branded as "MyNetworkTV on The CW Austin". On October 21, 2009, sister station KBVO picked up the MyNetworkTV affiliation for the Austin market, leaving KNVA solely with The CW. That station had been serving as a semi-satellite of KXAN.[8] Vaughan Media acquired a majority stake in 54 Broadcasting, Inc. on July 27, 2009 from an ownership group that included now-former KEYE-TV news anchor Ron Oliveira, who sold off his share of the station as part of the deal. LIN TV continues to hold a small (4.5 percent) stake in the station.

On March 21, 2014, Media General announced that it would purchase LIN Media and its stations, including KXAN-TV, KBVO, and the LMA and 4.5-percent stake in KNVA, in a $1.6 billion merger.[9][10] The merger was completed on December 19.[11]

Hill Country Paramount Network

KXAN controls a number of low-powered broadcast translator stations around Central Texas. It had been simulcasting its programming on the translators since its launch. However, with the launch of UPN, KXAN and KNVA opted to create a secondary simulcast feed for KNVA's programming. It ended up replacing The WB's prime time schedule with that of UPN. The network of translators was referred to as the "Hill Country Paramount Network" (or "HPN") and was in service from 1995 to 1998. That year, Austin low-power station K13VC (operated by KTBC) picked up the UPN affiliation in a move designed to give the network greater cable coverage, at least in the city of Austin, as well as slightly stronger over-the-air reception than the translators provided. From around 2002 to 2008, the translator network was used to simulcast the programming of Telefutura affiliate KBVO-CA, which is also owned by LIN TV. In the fall of 2008, KBVO-CA disaffiliated from Telefutura, with it and the repeaters becoming rebroadcasters of KNVA.[12] This lasted until October 21, 2009 when the MyNetworkTV affiliation moved to KBVO, a former semi-satellite of KXAN-TV which then became a separate station. At this point, KBVO-CA became a rebroadcaster of full-power KBVO; KBVO-CA most recently flash-cut to digital and replaced its -CA suffix with a -CD suffix which reflects its current status as a Class A digital station.

Digital television

Digital channels

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[13]
54.1 1080i 16:9 KNVA DT Main KNVA programming / The CW
54.2 480i 4:3 GRIT Grit[14]
54.3 LAFF Laff[15]

KNVA began airing TheCoolTV in September 2010, after parent LIN reached an affiliation deal to add the network to the company's stations in 11 of its then-17 markets.[16] TheCoolTV was dropped from KNVA's second digital subchannel on February 28, 2013. Grit and Laff were added on January 29, 2016.

Analog-to-digital conversion

KNVA shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009, as part of the FCC-mandated transition to digital television for full-power stations.[17] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 49, using PSIP to display KNVA'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.

Newscasts

KNVA airs hourly weather updates throughout the day that are produced by KXAN. At one point,[when?] it also aired a weeknight newscast at 5:30 p.m. that was also produced by KXAN, however this program was eventually dropped. On September 28, 2009, that station began producing a nightly news broadcast at 9 p.m. on KNVA to compete with KTBC's longer-established hour-long primetime newscast.[18] On September 3, 2013, KXAN began producing a two-hour extension of its weekday morning newscast for KNVA. Known as KXAN News Today on The CW Austin, the expanded broadcast runs from 7:00-9:00 a.m. and competes against KTBC's long-dominant morning newscast Good Day Austin and the national morning newscasts on the market's other major network affiliates.[19]

References

  1. ^ http://austintvnews.com/switch3.html
  2. ^ http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=144&Callsign=KNVA
  3. ^ 'Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner venture beginning in September, CNNMoney.com, January 24, 2006.
  4. ^ UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
  5. ^ "News Corp. to launch new mini-network for UPN stations". USA Today. February 22, 2006. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  6. ^ News Corp. Unveils MyNetworkTV, Broadcasting & Cable, February 22, 2006.
  7. ^ My LIN TV: 4 More For New Fox Net, Broadcasting & Cable, April 26, 2006.
  8. ^ LIN Launches MyNet Station on KBVO Austin, Broadcasting & Cable, October 21, 2009.
  9. ^ Reid Blackwell, John (March 21, 2014). "MG will combine with LIN TV chain". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  10. ^ Swiatecki, Chad (March 21, 2014). "KXAN, other TV stations join Media General in $1.6 billion deal". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  11. ^ Media General Completes Merger With LIN Media, Press Release, Media General, Retrieved 19 December 2014
  12. ^ radioinfo.com: "KBVO-CA goes to KNVA?"
  13. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KNVA
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference grit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference laff was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ LIN Stations Get CoolTV, Broadcasting & Cable, September 28, 2010.
  17. ^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations
  18. ^ KXAN launches 9pm newscast on The CW, Austin American-Statesman, August 27, 2009.
  19. ^ KXAN expanding its morning newscast KXAN.com, August 16, 2013.

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