KKFX-CD, virtual and UHF digital channel 24, is a low-powered, Class A Fox-affiliated television station licensed to San Luis Obispo, California, United States and serving the Central Coast of California. Owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG), it is a sister station to Santa Barbara-licensed ABC/CBS affiliate KEYT-TV (channel 3); NPG also operates Santa Maria-licensed Dabl affiliate KCOY-TV (channel 12) under a shared services agreement (SSA) with owner VistaWest Media, LLC. KKFX-CD and KCOY-TV share studios at West McCoy Lane and Skyway Drive in Santa Maria north of Santa Maria Public Airport; KEYT-TV maintains separate facilities at 730 Miramonte Drive on TV Hill, overlooking downtown Santa Barbara. KKFX-CD's transmitter is located near Serrano and US 101 in the Los Padres National Forest. The station can be seen on channel 11 on most cable systems in the market, hence the Fox 11 branding.
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|---|---|
| City | San Luis Obispo, California |
| Channels | |
| Branding | general: Fox 11 newscasts: Fox 11 News |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | 24.1: Fox 24.2: Dabl 24.3: Grit |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KEYT-TV, KCOY-TV, KION-TV, KESQ-TV, KECY-TV | |
| History | |
| Founded | March 21, 1995 |
First air date | November 6, 1998 |
Former call signs | K24EJ (1995–2000) KKFX-LP (2000–2001) KKFX-CA (2001–2015) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 24 (UHF, 1998–2015) |
| DT2: CBS (until 2021) | |
Call sign meaning | K K Fox |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 33870 |
| ERP | 0.325 kW |
| HAAT | 445 m (1,460 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°21′37.9″N 120°39′24.6″W / 35.360528°N 120.656833°W |
| Translator(s) | KCOY-DT 12.2 (19.2 UHF) Santa Maria KSBB-LP 17 (UHF) Santa Barbara |
| Links | |
Public license information |
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| Website | www |
Although KKFX-CD identifies as a station in its own right, it is officially licensed as a translator of KCOY-TV. In addition to its own digital signal, KKFX-CD is simulcast in high definition on KCOY-TV's second digital subchannel from a transmitter on Tepusquet Peak in the Los Padres National Forest east of Santa Maria. KCOY-TV, in turn, is simulcast on KKFX-CD's second digital subchannel.
History
KKFX-CD signed on for the first time on November 6, 1998 as the area's Fox affiliate. Network-owned West Coast flagship station KTTV in Los Angeles (which had been carried on cable throughout the Central Coast dating back to its days as a superstation) served as the affiliate of record for the Central Coast before the station began operations. Before July 1, 2006, this station could also be seen in Santa Barbara on KSBB-LP channel 17, but it switched to a repeater of KEYT-TV. On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel Communications entered into an agreement to sell its television station group to Providence Equity Partners. The sale was finalized on March 14, 2008.[2] However, Providence Equity Partners did not keep KKFX and sister station KCOY due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) restrictions. As a result, they were resold to the Cowles Publishing Company.[3] On May 7, 2008, the deal between Cowles and Newport Television closed.[4]
On September 20, 2013, News-Press & Gazette Company, owner of KEYT-TV in Santa Barbara, announced that it would purchase KKFX-CA as well as Monterey sister stations KION-TV and KMUV-LP. NPG also took over some operations of KCOY that Cowles retained under a shared services agreement.[5] The sale was completed on December 13, 2013.[6]
On January 20, 2015, KKFX began broadcasting over the air in high definition[7] and providing an HD feed directly to cable and DirecTV. On that same date, KKFX-CA returned to the airwaves in Santa Barbara on low-power KSBB-LP channel 17.[7]
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24.1 | 720p | 16:9 | FOX-DT | Main KKFX-CD programming / Fox |
| 24.2 | 1080i | KCOY-HD | Simulcast of KCOY-TV / Dabl | |
| 24.3 | 480i | Grit TV | Simulcast of KCOY-DT3 / Grit |
Programming
Syndicated programming on KKFX includes 25 Words or Less, The Simpsons (which also airs first-run episodes via Fox), Two and a Half Men, Last Man Standing and The Big Bang Theory.
Newscasts
Fox 11 News in the Morning airs weekdays on KKFX from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. A nightly hour-long newscast is included.
See also
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KKFX-CD
([[broadcast relay station#Broadcast translators|translator]] of [[KCOY-TV]],
[[Santa Maria, California]])". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.{{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ "Clear Channel Agrees to Sell Television Station Group to Providence Equity Partners" (Press release). Clear Channel Communications. 2007-04-20. Archived from the original on 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ^ "Deals - 10/8/2007 - Broadcasting & Cable".
- ^ "MSN - Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos". www.msnbc.msn.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09.
- ^ "KCOY to 'share services' with KEYT parent company under planned station purchases". Santa Maria Times. September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
- ^ [1] Archived 2013-12-19 at the Wayback Machine NewsChannel 3 Owner Completes Purchase of Fox 11, KEYT, 13 December 2013, Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- ^ a b Scholl, Claire (2015-01-20). "CBS, Fox Now Over-The-Air in Most of SB, SLO Counties". KEYT. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KKFX