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{{Short description|TV station in El Paso, Texas}}
{{Infobox broadcast
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
| call_letters = KDBC-TV
{{Infobox television station
| city =
| callsign = KDBC-TV
| station_logo = ]<br>] ]
| city = El Paso, Texas
| station_branding = CBS 4 {{small|(general)}}<br>CBS 4 News {{small|(newscasts)}}
| station_slogan = | logo = LOGO KDBC CBS4 solid legal blk.png
| logo_size = 200px
| digital = 18 (])<br>]: 4 (])
| subchannels = 4.1 ]<br>4.2 ]/]<br>4.3 ] | image = Kdbc mytv 2012.png
| image_size = 125px
| other_chs = <small>KCWF-CA 20 ], ]<br>KKNJ-LP 36 ], New Mexico</small>
| affiliations = CBS <br>MyNetworkTV (primary DT2)<br>This TV (secondary DT2)<br>TeLe-Romántica (DT3) | branding = CBS 4; My 4.2 (DT2)
| owner = ] | digital = 18 (])
| licensee = KDBC Licensee, LLC | virtual = 4
| location = ], ] | subchannels =
| country = ] | translators =
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''4.1:''' ]|'''4.2:''' ]/]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| airdate = December 14, 1952
| enddate = | owner = ]
| licensee = KDBC Licensee, ]
| callsign_meaning = '''D'''oubleday<br>'''B'''roadcasting<br>'''C'''ompany
| location = {{ubl|]|]|]}}
| sister_stations = ]
| former_callsigns = KROD-TV (1952–1973) | country = United States–Mexico
| airdate = {{start date and age|1952|12|14|p=y}}
| former_channel_numbers = '''Analog''':<br>4 (], 1952–2009)
| last_airdate =
| former_affiliations = ] (1952–1956)<br>] (1952–1956)
| callsign_meaning = Doubleday Broadcasting Company
| effective_radiated_power = 363 ]
| HAAT = 577 m | sister_stations = ]
| facility_id = 33764 | former_callsigns = KROD-TV (1952–1973)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 4 (], 1952–2009)}}
| coordinates = {{coord|31|48|18.9|N|106|29|0.8|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|'''All secondary:'''|]/] (1952–1956)|] (1956–1961)}}
| licensing_authority = ]
| homepage = | erp = 1,000 kW
| haat = {{convert|602|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 33764
| coordinates = {{coord|31|48|55|N|106|29|22|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = ]
| website = {{URL|https://cbs4local.com/}}
}} }}
'''KDBC-TV''' (channel 4) is a ] in ], United States, affiliated with ] and ]. It is owned by ] alongside ] affiliate ] (channel 14). The two stations share studios on South Alto Mesa Drive in northwest El Paso; KDBC-TV's transmitter is located atop the ] on the El Paso city limits.


==History==
'''KDBC-TV''', ] 4 (] ] channel 18), is a ]-] ] located in ], ], ]. The station is owned by the ], as part of a ] with ] affiliate ] (channel 14). KDBC maintains studio facilities located on South Alto Mesa Drive in northwest El Paso, and its transmitter is located atop the ] on the El Paso city limits.
===Early years===
The station first ] the air on December 14, 1952, as KROD-TV. It was the first television station in the El Paso ]. The station was founded by Dorrance Roderick, owner of ] radio (600 AM) and the '']'' newspaper. KROD-TV's original studio facilities were located at 2201 Wyoming Avenue, currently the home of ] (channel 38), now off ].


Early programs on the station included the ] ''Red Brown and Anna Lee'' and '']'s Big Top''. For adults, there was ] program ''Mitchell's Mat Time''. The station has been a CBS affiliate since its sign-on, as KROD radio had been a longtime affiliate of the ]. KROD-TV also maintained secondary affiliations with ] and the ] until 1956. It lost the ABC affiliation when KILT (channel 13; now ] on channel 7) became an affiliate of that network in November. KROD-TV lost DuMont when the network ceased operations in August 1956.<ref name="Broadcasting">{{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1955/1955-BC-YB.pdf|title= ''Broadcasting Yearbook'', 1955. p 455}}</ref> During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the ].<ref name="Boxoffice7">{{Cite journal|title=Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films |journal=Boxoffice |pages=13 |date=November 10, 1956 |url=http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614204506/http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1 |archive-date=June 14, 2009 }}</ref> Roderick sold the station to Trigg-Vaughn of ] in 1959.
The station's signal is relayed on ] ] ] '''KCWF-CA''' (channel 20) in ] and '''KKNJ-LP''' (channel 36) in ], ].


===Change to KDBC-TV===
==History==
The station was sold again in 1967, this time to the ]. On May 29, 1973, it changed its ] to KDBC-TV, reflecting the change in the station's ownership. Doubleday Broadcasting sold the station to Portal Communications, a subsidiary of the ] in 1974.
{{prose|section|date=February 2013}}
The station first signed on the air on December 14, 1952 as '''KROD-TV'''; it was the first television station to sign on in the El Paso market. The station was founded by Dorrance Roderick, owner of ] radio (600 AM) and the '']''. Early programs on the station included the children's shows ''Red Brown and Anna Lee'' and ''Bozo's Big Top'', and wrestling program ''Mitchell's Mat Time''. The station has been a ] affiliate since its sign-on, however it maintained secondary affiliations with ] and the ] until 1956 (it lost the ABC affiliation to KILT (channel 7, now ]) and lost DuMont as a result of the network's decision to cease operations).<ref name="Broadcasting"></ref> During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the ].<ref name="Boxoffice7">{{Cite journal| format = | last = | first = | title = Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films| journal = Boxoffice| volume = | issue = | pages = 13| date = November 10, 1956| url = http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1| doi = | id =| postscript = <!--None--> }} {{dead link|date=July 2010}}</ref>


The station was sold to the Doubleday Broadcasting Company in 1973; and on May 29th of that year, it changed its call letters to '''KDBC-TV''', to reflect the change in the station's ownership. Its original transmitter site was located south of Comanche Peak in El Paso. A road was built to the site, and a {{convert|288|ft|adj=on}} tower was constructed. A building was assembled from native rock chipped from the site. The station went on with a temporary transmitter (small ]) and eventually added a 10 kW RCA TT-10AL transmitter and broadcast at an ] of 61 kilowatts at {{convert|1150|ft}}. The site is now used as a backup facility for channel 4, and many local FM radio stations transmit from this building. The original transmitter site was located south of Comanche Peak in El Paso. A road was built to the site, and a {{convert|288|ft|m|adj=on}} ] was constructed. A building was assembled from the rock chipped from the site. The station went on the air with a temporary transmitter (small ]) and eventually added a 10&nbsp;kW RCA TT-10AL transmitter, broadcasting at an ] (ERP) of 61 ]s at {{convert|1150|ft|m}}. That site is now used as a backup facility for channel 4, and many local FM radio stations transmit from this building.


In 1984, the station moved farther up the hill to Comanche Peak. A {{convert|440|ft|adj=on}} tower was built and a new transmitter was installed (one of the last of the RCA TT-25GLs to become operable). The station increased its effective radiated power to 100 kW and increased the height of its transmitter to {{convert|1540|ft}}. ] stereo also commenced with the move to the new site. In 1984, the transmitter was moved farther up the hill to Comanche Peak. A {{convert|440|ft|m|adj=on}} tower was built and a new transmitter was installed (one of the last of the RCA TT-25GLs to become operable). The station increased its ERP to 100&nbsp;kW and increased the height of its transmitter to {{convert|1540|ft|m}}. BTSC stereo also began with the move to the new site.


By the mid-1980s, the station was acquired by United Broadcasting, then-owners of ] in ], ] and ] in ], ]. ], Mississippi-based Imes Broadcasting bought KDBC in 1988 after United Broadcasting was taken over by investment firm ]. Imes exited the television business in the late 1990s, and sold KDBC to ] in 1999, with the intent to convert the station into a charter affiliate of ], a fledgling ] network that was co-owned at the time by Mexican network ] and Pappas. Plans for the affiliation were canceled following outcry from viewers and station employees (especially over the fact that no other station in El Paso was interested in joining CBS); as a result, the station renewed its affiliation contract with CBS (Azteca América and Pappas ended their affiliation relationship in mid-2007; Azteca América has been carried on the fourth digital subchannel of KVIA-TV since early December 2010). In 1986, the station was acquired by United Broadcasting, then-owners of ] in ], and ] in ]. ]–based Imes Broadcasting bought KDBC in 1988 for $33 million after United Broadcasting was taken over by investment firm ].


Imes began to exit the television business in the late 1990s and announced that they would sell KDBC to ] in September 2000, who intended to convert the station into a charter affiliate of ], a fledgling ] network that was co-owned at the time by Mexican network ] and Pappas.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Mark K.|date=April 29, 2001|title=Spanish expansion|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/spanish-expansion-96992|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=Broadcasting and Cable}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81300986/channel-4-to-go-spanish-format-would-en/|title=Channel 4 to go Spanish: Format would end 40-year affiliation with CBS|work=El Paso Times|first=Victor R.|last=Martinez|pages=1A, |date=September 9, 2000|accessdate=July 12, 2021}}</ref> Plans for the affiliation were canceled following an outcry from viewers, advertisers, and station employees, especially over the fact that no other station in El Paso was interested in joining CBS; most crucially, the Azteca América plan to acquire ] in Dallas and use it as the hub of the network fell through, prompting Imes to initially pull KDBC off the market.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81300368/channel-4-to-remain-in-english-with-cbs/|accessdate=July 12, 2021|date=June 21, 2001|title=Channel 4 to remain in English, with CBS|work=El Paso Times|pages=1A, |first=Victor R.|last=Martinez}}</ref> As a result, the station renewed its affiliation contract with CBS.
]
In May 2004, KDBC launched a new set design, logo and graphics. On January 16, 2009, Pappas announced that it would sell several of its television stations, including KDBC, to New World TV Group (now the Titan TV Broadcast Group), after the sale received ] approval.<ref name="tvnd-pappastonw">{{cite news|url=http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/01/16/daily.11/|title=New World Gets Pappas TVs for $260M|date=January 16, 2008|work=TVnewsday|accessdate=January 18, 2008}}</ref> On October 19, 2009, ], owner of ] affiliate ] (channel 9), entered into a ] with Titan TV for KTSM to provide advertising sales and administrative services as well as some news resources for KDBC-TV; Titan retained KDBC's ] and both stations nominally retained separate news departments.<ref>http://www.ktsm.com/news/ktsmkdbc-sharing-services</ref> However, KTSM was heavily criticized for reducing KDBC's newscasts to near-rebroadcasts with heavy story sharing of their own newscasts which made both news departments indistinguisable from one another on-air.


On November 17, 2003, two years later, Pappas agreed to buy KDBC from Imes—which had been desiring to sell the station for some time—for $20 million.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 17, 2003|title=PAPPAS TELECASTING COMPANIES ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE KDBC-TV, CHANNEL 4, EL PASO|url=http://www.pappastv.com/PressReleasesdetail.asp?ID=30|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040814033435/http://www.pappastv.com/PressReleasesdetail.asp?ID=30|archive-date=August 14, 2004|access-date=July 13, 2021|website=Pappas Telecasting Companies}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81300625/california-company-purchases-kdbc/|accessdate=July 12, 2021|date=November 18, 2003|work=El Paso Times|first=David|last=Peregrino|title=California company purchases KDBC}}</ref> Pappas began operating KDBC under a ] that same day, with the sale closing on April 2, 2004.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 2, 2004|title=PAPPAS TELECASTING COMPANIES ANNOUNCES THE CLOSING OF ITS PURCHASE OF KDBC-TV, CHANNEL 4, EL PASO|url=http://www.pappastv.com/PressReleasesdetail.asp?ID=43|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040815161426/http://www.pappastv.com/PressReleasesdetail.asp?ID=43|archive-date=August 15, 2004|access-date=July 13, 2021|website=Pappas Telecasting Companies}}</ref> Azteca América and Pappas ended their affiliation relationship in mid-2007.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 3, 2007|title=Pappas drops Azteca America|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2007/04/02/daily27.html|access-date=July 13, 2021|website=Sacramento Business Journal}}</ref> Azteca América has been carried on the fourth digital subchannel of ABC affiliate KVIA-TV since early December 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 1, 2010|title=Azteca America now under KVIA's umbrella|url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/local/blogs/media-buzz/2010/11/01/azteca-america-now-under-kvias-umbrella/31503331/|access-date=July 13, 2021|website=El Paso Times}}</ref>
On April 23, 2013, Titan TV Broadcast Group filed an application with the ] to sell KDBC-TV and its low-power repeaters to ]. Nearly all of Cunningham Broadcasting's stock is controlled by trusts held in the names of the children of ] founder Julian Sinclair Smith (Sinclair had finalized its purchase of ] affiliate ] (channel 14) from the ] by this time), which would result in Sinclair effectively running a virtual ] in the El Paso market that circumvented FCC ownership rules. The following day, it was announced that the Communications Corporation of America stations, including KTSM-TV, would be sold to the ]. The sale of KDBC was consummated on July 31.<ref>https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101566494&formid=905&fac_num=33764</ref> One week later, Sinclair exercised its option to purchase KDBC outright from Cunningham Broadcasting.<ref> Federal Communications Commission, 7 August, 2013, Retrieved 12 August, 2013</ref> FCC duopoly regulations normally disallow two of the four highest-rated stations (which usually constitute stations affiliated with the "]" networks) from being directly owned by a single entity. However, in this case, Sinclair cited that KDBC is ranked fourth overall in the El Paso market while KFOX placed sixth in total-day viewership.<ref>https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101566316&qnum=5190&copynum=1&exhcnum=2</ref> In addition, FCC regulations require a market to be left with eight unique owners after a duopoly is formed, and Sinclair noted in its application that the El Paso–Las Cruces market would still have eight unique owners (not counting Mexican stations that also serve the market) after Sinclair completed its acquisition of KDBC. The FCC approved the sale on September 23,<ref>http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1566316.pdf</ref> and the transaction was formally completed on October 1, creating a duopoly with KFOX-TV.<ref>https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101579459&formid=905&fac_num=33764</ref> Sinclair later announced plans to purchase a new studio facility using an existing building to house the two stations on South Alto Mesa Drive on the city's west side. It will open by the end of September 2014. Sinclair intends to invest heavily in KDBC to make it a factor in the market once again.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/local_news/article_5ff794f0-2b99-11e4-91d0-001a4bcf6878.html|title=Sinclair grows El Paso TV stations; Group invests $11M, will hire 40 people • KFOX, KDBC to share renovated studios|last=Gray|first=Robert|date=24 August 2014|publisher=El Paso Inc.|accessdate=26 August 2014}}</ref>


On January 16, 2009, Pappas announced that it would sell several of its television stations, including KDBC, to New World TV Group (later renamed Titan TV Broadcast Group). The sale would be consummated after it received ] approval.<ref name="tvnd-pappastonw">{{cite news|url=http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/01/16/daily.11/|title=New World Gets Pappas TVs for $260M|date=January 16, 2008|work=TVnewsday|access-date=January 18, 2008}}</ref>
==Digital television==
===Digital channels===
The station's digital channel is ]:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! ]
! ]
! ]
! ]
! Programming<ref></ref>
|-
| 4.1 || ] || ] || KDBC-DT || Main KDBC-TV programming / CBS
|-
| 4.2 || ] || ] || MyNet || ] / ] ("My 4")
|-
|}


On October 19, 2009, ], owner of ] affiliate ] (channel 9), entered into a ] agreement with Titan TV for KTSM-TV to provide advertising sales and administrative services as well as some news resources for KDBC-TV. Titan retained KDBC's ],<ref name=ept>{{cite news|last1=Kolenc |first1=Vic |title=KFOX-KDBC marriage will change El Paso TV market |url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/business/ci_26620489/kfox-kdbc-marriage-will-change-el-paso-tv |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141111160153/http://www.elpasotimes.com/business/ci_26620489/kfox-kdbc-marriage-will-change-el-paso-tv |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 11, 2014 |access-date=November 11, 2014 |work=El Paso Times |publisher=Digital First Media |date=September 28, 2014 }}</ref> while both stations would nominally employ separate news departments. However, KTSM-TV was heavily criticized for reducing KDBC's newscasts to near-rebroadcasts with heavy story sharing with its own newscasts. Critics said this made both news departments indistinguishable from one another on-air.
On February 22, 2006, ] announced the launch of a new "sixth" network called ], which would be operated by ] and its syndication division ]. MyNetworkTV was created to compete against another upstart network that would launch at the same time that September, ] (an amalgamated network that originally consisted primarily of UPN and The WB's higher-rated programs) as well as to give UPN and WB stations that were not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates another option besides converting to independent stations.<ref>{{cite news|title=News Corp. to launch new mini-network for UPN stations|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-02-22-fox-my-network_x.htm|accessdate=January 21, 2013|newspaper=]|date=February 22, 2006}}</ref><ref>, '']'', February 22, 2006.</ref> On April 18, Pappas Telecasting signed an affiliation agreement with MyNetworkTV for KDBC to serve as the market's MyNetworkTV affiliate.<ref>, '']'', April 18, 2006.</ref> KDBC began carrying MyNetworkTV programming on a newly launched second digital subchannel that debuted on September 5, 2006.


On April 23, 2013, Titan TV Broadcast Group filed an application with the ] (FCC) to sell KDBC and its low-power repeaters to ]. Nearly all of Cunningham Broadcasting's stock is controlled by trusts held in the names of the children of Sinclair Broadcast Group founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Sinclair had finalized its purchase of ] affiliate ] (channel 14) from the ] by this time. For all intents and purposes, this would have created a ] in the El Paso market that circumvented FCC ownership rules.
===Analog-to-digital conversion===

KDBC-TV shut down its analog signal, over ] channel 4, on June 2, 2009 (ten days before most full-power television stations in the United States ] under federal mandate on June 12).<ref>http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101315508&formid=910&fac_num=33764</ref><ref name="KDBC DTV Switch Info">http://www.kdbc.com/global/story.asp?s=10510636</ref> The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition ] channel 18.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2012-03-24}}</ref><ref name="FCCForm387"></ref> Through the use of ], digital television receivers display the station's ] as its former VHF analog channel 4.
The following day, it was announced that the Communications Corporation of America stations, including KTSM-TV, would be sold to ]. The sale of KDBC was consummated on July 31.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101566494&formid=905&fac_num=33764 | title=CDBS Print }}</ref> One week later, Sinclair exercised its option to purchase KDBC outright from Cunningham Broadcasting.<ref> Federal Communications Commission, August 7, 2013, Retrieved August 12, 2013</ref>

FCC duopoly regulations normally disallow two of the four highest-rated stations (which usually constitute stations affiliated with the "]" networks) from being directly owned by a single entity. However, in this case, Sinclair cited that KDBC is ranked fourth overall in the El Paso market while KFOX-TV placed sixth in total-day viewership.<ref> fcc.gov {{dead link|date=August 2023}}</ref> In addition, FCC regulations require a market to be left with eight unique owners after a duopoly is formed. Sinclair noted in its application that the El Paso–] market would still have eight unique owners (not counting Mexican stations that also serve the market) after Sinclair completed its acquisition of KDBC. The FCC approved the sale on September 23.<ref>http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1566316.pdf {{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The transaction was formally completed on October 1, creating a duopoly between KDBC and KFOX-TV.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101579459&formid=905&fac_num=33764 | title=CDBS Print }}</ref> Despite being longer established, KDBC is considered the junior partner in the duopoly, a rarity for a Big Three network affiliate.{{cn|date=July 2022}}

Sinclair announced plans to purchase a new studio facility, using an existing building to house the two stations on South Alto Mesa Drive on the city's west side. The new facility opened at the end of September 2014. Sinclair also announced its intention to invest heavily in KDBC to make it a factor in the market for the first time in several years, bringing its payroll to 40 people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/local_news/article_5ff794f0-2b99-11e4-91d0-001a4bcf6878.html|title=Sinclair grows El Paso TV stations; Group invests $11M, will hire 40 people|last=Gray|first=Robert|date=August 24, 2014|publisher=El Paso Inc.|access-date=August 26, 2014}}</ref>

==KDBC-DT2==
On February 22, 2006, ] announced the launch of a new "sixth" network called ], which would be operated by ] and its ] division ]. MyNetworkTV was created to compete against another upstart network that would launch at the same time that September, ] (an amalgamated network that originally consisted primarily of UPN and The WB's higher-rated programs) as well as to give UPN and WB stations that were not invited to join The CW to have another option besides converting to ] status.<ref>{{cite news|title=News Corp. to launch new mini-network for UPN stations|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-02-22-fox-my-network_x.htm|access-date=January 21, 2013|newspaper=]|date=February 22, 2006}}</ref><ref>, '']'', February 22, 2006.</ref> On April 18, Pappas Telecasting signed an affiliation agreement with Fox Entertainment Group for KDBC to serve as the market's charter MyNetworkTV affiliate.<ref>, '']'', April 18, 2006.</ref> KDBC began carrying MyNetworkTV programming on a newly launched second digital subchannel that debuted on September 5, 2006; rather than program a general entertainment format consisting of syndicated content in the style of other MyNetworkTV affiliates (particularly those which carry the service's programming on their main channel), Pappas also signed an affiliation agreement with ] to provide supplementary programming during the remainder of KDBC-DT2's schedule.

]
On January 1, 2010, KDBC-DT2 became an affiliate of movie and classic television multicast network ], while continuing to offer the MyNetworkTV schedule from 7 to 9&nbsp;p.m. weeknights. From 2015 to 2017, KDBC-DT2 carried selected sports events from Sinclair's hybrid sports syndication and multicast service ], sharing local television rights to selected ASN event content with sister station KFOX's 14.2 subchannel (then affiliated with the ]).<ref name=krod>{{cite news|last1=Kaplowitz|first1=Steve|title=UTEP Gets More TV Exposure With New American Sports Network Read More: UTEP Gets More TV Exposure With New American Sports Network |url=http://krod.com/utep-gets-more-tv-exposure-with-new-american-sports-network/|access-date=November 11, 2014|work=KROD 600 ESPN El Paso|publisher=Town Square Media|date=July 18, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Owls Set for ASN Debut on Saturday|url=http://www.riceowls.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/100214aaa.html|access-date=November 11, 2014|work=Rice Owls.com|publisher=CBSi Advance Media|date=October 2, 2014}}</ref> On March 1, 2017, KDBC-DT2 began carrying Sinclair's internet content network ] (now focused on acquired linear and internet-originated reality programming) outside of MyNetworkTV programming hours. The subchannel continued to air selected ASN sports programming until August 21, 2017, when KFOX-TV launched its 14.4 subchannel as a full-time affiliate of ] (the multicast network successor of ASN, jointly owned by Sinclair and ] subsidiary Silver Chalice).


==Programming== ==Programming==
KDBC-TV clears most of the CBS network schedule; however, the station airs the '']'' a half-hour earlier than the majority of the network's stations at 5:00 p.m. (this is the reverse order of the traditional late afternoon scheduling of major network affiliates in the ] and ]s, in which the network newscast airs after a local newscast) and airs the network's Sunday morning news programs '']'' and '']'' one hour earlier than most CBS stations (CBS normally feeds the programs starting at 8:00 a.m. in each time zone; KDBC instead transmits both programs live via the network's ] feed). KDBC-TV clears most of the CBS network schedule; however, the station airs the '']'' a half-hour earlier than the majority of the network's stations at 5&nbsp;p.m. (this is the reverse order of the traditional late afternoon scheduling of major network affiliates in the ] and ]s, in which the network newscast airs after a local newscast) and airs the network's Sunday morning news programs '']'' and '']'' one hour earlier than most CBS stations (CBS normally feeds the programs starting at 8&nbsp;a.m. in each time zone; KDBC instead transmits both programs live via the network's ] feed).


===News operation===
] programs broadcast by KDBC-TV include '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']''. The station carries ''Jeopardy!'' and ''Wheel of Fortune'' in an hour-long block during the 6:00 hour (news-producing stations in the Eastern and ]s commonly schedule syndicated programs such as ''Jeopardy!'' and ''Wheel'' in the hour before network primetime, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in those areas, though this is not very common with such stations in the Central and Mountain Time Zones).
{{See also|KFOX-TV#News operation}}
KDBC-TV presently broadcasts {{frac|24|1|2}} hours of locally produced newscasts each week; its early evening newscast airs nightly at 5:30&nbsp;p.m. instead of as two half-hour broadcasts at 5 and 6&nbsp;p.m.


On December 7, 2005, then-anchor Nichole Ayoub was proposed to (accepting the marriage proposal) live during that night's 6&nbsp;p.m. newscast by her boyfriend of several years, Travis Hughes. The event was reported in feature stories seen on ABC's '']'', ''Inside Edition'' and by various local television stations around the United States. On December 15, 2009, KDBC became the third television station in the El Paso market to begin broadcasting its newscasts in ].
==News operation==
KDBC-TV presently broadcasts 12 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with two hours on weekdays and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays); unlike most CBS affiliates, the station does not produce morning or midday newscasts on weekdays, and its early evening newscast airs nightly at 5:30 p.m. instead of as two half-hour broadcasts at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.


In January 2010, Communications Corporation of America announced that it would shut down the news department of its sister station, ] in ], other than maintaining a few locally based reporters for stories in the Brownsville area. The locally produced newscast on that station would originate from KDBC, using its staff with reports filed by Brownsville-based reporters. The new newscast, which debuted on KVEO on January 18, 2010, was able to be broadcast live in Brownsville without interfering with the production of KDBC's newscasts due to the one-hour time difference between El Paso (in the Mountain Time Zone) and Brownsville (in the Central Time Zone).<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323053035/http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/mediabuzz/2010/01/ayoub-and-bettes-now-in-brownsville-sorta.html |date=March 23, 2010 }}</ref> KTSM took over responsibility for the production of KVEO's newscasts upon the sale of the station to Cunningham in 2013.
Among the station's most famous personalities was weather forecaster Howell Eurich, who also worked as El Paso's version of ] from 1968 to 1972. Eurich and fellow KDBC weather anchor Gail Gordon introduced "Puffy the Weather Dog," who became a feature of the station's weather forecasts. Eurich was also known for his jokes about the small size of the ] town of ], which were later compiled for a book that was sold locally. Eurich committed suicide in 1982 following his divorce from Gordon. His son, Robin Eurich, would play Rusty the Handyman on '']'' on ] in ] during its entire run from 1994 to 2001.


On October 16, 2014, KDBC's news operation was consolidated at the new facilities of sister station KFOX-TV, and re-launched as ''CBS 4 News''.<ref name=kfox-kdbcnew>{{cite news|title=KFOX14, CBS4 join forces for complete Borderland news coverage|url=http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/kfox14-cbs4-join-forces-complete-borderland-news-coverage-6587.shtml|access-date=September 27, 2014|work=KFOXTV.com|publisher=Sinclair Broadcast Group}}</ref> All newscasts were retained.
On December 7, 2005, then-anchor Nichole Ayoub was proposed to (accepting the marriage proposal) live during that night's 6:00 p.m. newscast by her boyfriend of several years, Travis Hughes. The event was reported in feature stores seen on ]'s '']'', '']'' and by various local television stations around the United States. On December 15, 2009, KDBC became the third television station in the El Paso market to begin broadcasting its newscasts in ].

On August 17, 2015, KDBC debuted a two-hour weekday morning newscast called ''CBS 4 News Daybreak'' from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., along with the return of the station's newscast at noon.

On July 19, 2024, as part of cutbacks, Sinclair announced that most of KDBC's newscasts would end on August 5, and would be replaced by simulcasts of their KFOX counterparts. Only the 10 p.m. newscast remained in the short term, with Sinclair stating that a "reconceptualized" newscast would premiere on KDBC later in the year. ''El Paso Matters'' suggested that Sinclair planned to introduce its lifestyle-oriented ''arc'' format, as it had done on some of its other stations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Robert |date=July 19, 2024 |title=CBS affiliate in El Paso ending most of its local news programming |url=http://elpasomatters.org/2024/07/19/el-paso-cbs4-ends-much-of-its-local-news/ |access-date=July 20, 2024 |website=El Paso Matters |language=en-US}}</ref> In November 2024, KDBC launched ''arc El Paso'', which airs as its noon and 10 p.m. newscasts.

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is ]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of KDBC-TV<ref name=rei>{{cite web|title=Digital TV Market Listing for KDBC|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KDBC#station|website=Rabbit Ears.info|access-date=November 11, 2014}}</ref>
! ]
! ]
! ]
! Short name
! Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 4.1
| ] || rowspan=4| ] || CBS || ]
|-
! scope = "row" | 4.2
| ] || TBD || ] / ]<ref name=krod/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kdbc.titantv.com/apg/ttv.aspx|title=TitanTV TV Query for KDBC|accessdate=August 29, 2023}}</ref>
|-
! scope = "row" | 4.3
| rowspan=2| ] || MeTV || ]
|-
! scope = "row" | 4.4
| Dabl || ]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope = "row" | ]
| 480i || 16:9 || TheNest || ] (])
|}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}


===Analog-to-digital conversion===
In January 2010, Communications Corporation of America announced that it would shut down the news department of its sister station, ] in ], other than maintining a few locally based reporters for stories in the Brownsville area. The locally-produced newscast on that station would originate from KDBC, using its staff with reports filed by Brownsville-based reporters. The new newscast, which debuted on KVEO on January 18, 2010, was able to be broadcast live in Brownsville without interfering with the production of KDBC's newscasts due to the one-hour time difference between El Paso (in the Mountain Time Zone) and Brownsville (in the Central Time Zone).<ref></ref>
KDBC-TV shut down its analog signal, over ] channel 4, on June 2, 2009 (ten days before most full-power television stations in the United States ] under federal mandate on June 12).<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101315508&formid=910&fac_num=33764 | title=CDBS Print }}</ref><ref name="KDBC DTV Switch Info">http://www.kdbc.com/global/story.asp?s=10510636 {{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition ] channel 18,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="FCCForm387">{{Cite web|url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101232416&formid=387&fac_num=33764|title=CDBS Print<!-- Bot generated title -->|accessdate=August 29, 2023}}</ref> using ] 4.


===Translator===
On October 16, 2014, KDBC's news operation was consolidated at the new facilities of sister station ], and re-launched as ''CBS 4 News''.<ref name=kfox-kdbcnew>{{cite news|title=KFOX14, CBS4 join forces for complete Borderland news coverage|url=http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/kfox14-cbs4-join-forces-complete-borderland-news-coverage-6587.shtml|accessdate=27 September 2014|work=KFOXTV.com|publisher=Sinclair Broadcast Group}}</ref> All newscasts will be kept.
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|33767|3=KCWF-LD}}''' ]


For many years, KDBC has operated ] ] in ] and Las Cruces. The Alamogordo translator, KKNJ-LP, originally broadcast on channel 71, before relocating to UHF channel 36 in 1989 after the FCC removed high-band UHF channels 70 to 83 from broadcasting use. It changed call letters five times in 2006 to facilitate the warehousing of CW-specific call letters on sister Pappas stations in the ] market before the network's September 2006 launch; the station was assigned KCWI-LP for two separate periods, KDMI-LP and then KPWB-LP. Sinclair Broadcast Group surrendered KKNJ-LP's license to the FCC for cancellation on May 7, 2021. The Las Cruces relay, KCWF-LP, originated on UHF channel 61 in the late 1970s; it moved to channel 68 in 1997 and to channel 20 in 2000.
==Translators==
For many years, KDBC has operated ] ] in Alamogordo and Las Cruces. The Alamogordo translator, KKNJ-LP, originally broadcast on channel 71, before relocating to UHF channel 36 in 1989 after the FCC removed high-band UHF channels 70 to 83 from broadcasting use. It changed call letters five times in 2006 to facilitate the warehousing of ]-specific call letters on sister Pappas stations in the ] market before the network's September 2006 launch; the station was assigned KCWI-LP for two separate periods, KDMI-LP and then KPWB-LP. The Las Cruces relay, KCWF-CA, originated on either UHF channel 61 or 68 in 1997 and moved to channel 20 in 2000.


==Footnotes== ==Footnotes==
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== External links == == External links ==
* *
*{{TVQ|KDBC-TV}}
*{{TVQ|KKNJ-LP}}
*{{TVQ|KCWF-CA}}
*{{BIA|KDBC|TV|TV}}


{{El Paso TV}} {{El Paso TV}}
{{CBS Texas}} {{CBS Texas}}
{{MNTV Texas}} {{MNTV Texas}}
{{English TV Stations New Mexico}}
{{SBGI}} {{SBGI}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Kdbc-Tv}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kdbc-Tv}}
] ]
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Latest revision as of 05:03, 3 December 2024

TV station in El Paso, Texas

KDBC-TV
CityEl Paso, Texas
Channels
BrandingCBS 4; My 4.2 (DT2)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
Sister stationsKFOX-TV
History
First air dateDecember 14, 1952 (72 years ago) (1952-12-14)
Former call signsKROD-TV (1952–1973)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 4 (VHF, 1952–2009)
Former affiliations
Call sign meaningDoubleday Broadcasting Company
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID33764
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT602 m (1,975 ft)
Transmitter coordinates31°48′55″N 106°29′22″W / 31.81528°N 106.48944°W / 31.81528; -106.48944
Links
Public license information
Websitecbs4local.com

KDBC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in El Paso, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Fox affiliate KFOX-TV (channel 14). The two stations share studios on South Alto Mesa Drive in northwest El Paso; KDBC-TV's transmitter is located atop the Franklin Mountains on the El Paso city limits.

History

Early years

The station first signed on the air on December 14, 1952, as KROD-TV. It was the first television station in the El Paso television market. The station was founded by Dorrance Roderick, owner of KROD radio (600 AM) and the El Paso Times newspaper. KROD-TV's original studio facilities were located at 2201 Wyoming Avenue, currently the home of KSCE (channel 38), now off I-10.

Early programs on the station included the children's shows Red Brown and Anna Lee and Bozo's Big Top. For adults, there was wrestling program Mitchell's Mat Time. The station has been a CBS affiliate since its sign-on, as KROD radio had been a longtime affiliate of the CBS Radio Network. KROD-TV also maintained secondary affiliations with ABC and the DuMont Television Network until 1956. It lost the ABC affiliation when KILT (channel 13; now KVIA-TV on channel 7) became an affiliate of that network in November. KROD-TV lost DuMont when the network ceased operations in August 1956. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. Roderick sold the station to Trigg-Vaughn of Dallas in 1959.

Change to KDBC-TV

The station was sold again in 1967, this time to the Doubleday Broadcasting Company. On May 29, 1973, it changed its call sign to KDBC-TV, reflecting the change in the station's ownership. Doubleday Broadcasting sold the station to Portal Communications, a subsidiary of the Evening Post Publishing Company in 1974.

The original transmitter site was located south of Comanche Peak in El Paso. A road was built to the site, and a 288-foot (88 m) tower was constructed. A building was assembled from the rock chipped from the site. The station went on the air with a temporary transmitter (small RCA) and eventually added a 10 kW RCA TT-10AL transmitter, broadcasting at an effective radiated power (ERP) of 61 kilowatts at 1,150 feet (350 m). That site is now used as a backup facility for channel 4, and many local FM radio stations transmit from this building.

In 1984, the transmitter was moved farther up the hill to Comanche Peak. A 440-foot (130 m) tower was built and a new transmitter was installed (one of the last of the RCA TT-25GLs to become operable). The station increased its ERP to 100 kW and increased the height of its transmitter to 1,540 feet (470 m). BTSC stereo also began with the move to the new site.

In 1986, the station was acquired by United Broadcasting, then-owners of KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas, and WTOK-TV in Meridian, Mississippi. Columbus, Mississippi–based Imes Broadcasting bought KDBC in 1988 for $33 million after United Broadcasting was taken over by investment firm Merrill Lynch.

Imes began to exit the television business in the late 1990s and announced that they would sell KDBC to Pappas Telecasting in September 2000, who intended to convert the station into a charter affiliate of Azteca América, a fledgling Spanish-language network that was co-owned at the time by Mexican network TV Azteca and Pappas. Plans for the affiliation were canceled following an outcry from viewers, advertisers, and station employees, especially over the fact that no other station in El Paso was interested in joining CBS; most crucially, the Azteca América plan to acquire KXTX-TV in Dallas and use it as the hub of the network fell through, prompting Imes to initially pull KDBC off the market. As a result, the station renewed its affiliation contract with CBS.

On November 17, 2003, two years later, Pappas agreed to buy KDBC from Imes—which had been desiring to sell the station for some time—for $20 million. Pappas began operating KDBC under a time brokerage agreement that same day, with the sale closing on April 2, 2004. Azteca América and Pappas ended their affiliation relationship in mid-2007. Azteca América has been carried on the fourth digital subchannel of ABC affiliate KVIA-TV since early December 2010.

On January 16, 2009, Pappas announced that it would sell several of its television stations, including KDBC, to New World TV Group (later renamed Titan TV Broadcast Group). The sale would be consummated after it received United States bankruptcy court approval.

On October 19, 2009, Communications Corporation of America, owner of NBC affiliate KTSM-TV (channel 9), entered into a shared services agreement with Titan TV for KTSM-TV to provide advertising sales and administrative services as well as some news resources for KDBC-TV. Titan retained KDBC's broadcast license, while both stations would nominally employ separate news departments. However, KTSM-TV was heavily criticized for reducing KDBC's newscasts to near-rebroadcasts with heavy story sharing with its own newscasts. Critics said this made both news departments indistinguishable from one another on-air.

On April 23, 2013, Titan TV Broadcast Group filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to sell KDBC and its low-power repeaters to Cunningham Broadcasting. Nearly all of Cunningham Broadcasting's stock is controlled by trusts held in the names of the children of Sinclair Broadcast Group founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Sinclair had finalized its purchase of Fox affiliate KFOX-TV (channel 14) from the Cox Media Group by this time. For all intents and purposes, this would have created a duopoly in the El Paso market that circumvented FCC ownership rules.

The following day, it was announced that the Communications Corporation of America stations, including KTSM-TV, would be sold to Nexstar Broadcasting Group. The sale of KDBC was consummated on July 31. One week later, Sinclair exercised its option to purchase KDBC outright from Cunningham Broadcasting.

FCC duopoly regulations normally disallow two of the four highest-rated stations (which usually constitute stations affiliated with the "Big Four" networks) from being directly owned by a single entity. However, in this case, Sinclair cited that KDBC is ranked fourth overall in the El Paso market while KFOX-TV placed sixth in total-day viewership. In addition, FCC regulations require a market to be left with eight unique owners after a duopoly is formed. Sinclair noted in its application that the El Paso–Las Cruces market would still have eight unique owners (not counting Mexican stations that also serve the market) after Sinclair completed its acquisition of KDBC. The FCC approved the sale on September 23. The transaction was formally completed on October 1, creating a duopoly between KDBC and KFOX-TV. Despite being longer established, KDBC is considered the junior partner in the duopoly, a rarity for a Big Three network affiliate.

Sinclair announced plans to purchase a new studio facility, using an existing building to house the two stations on South Alto Mesa Drive on the city's west side. The new facility opened at the end of September 2014. Sinclair also announced its intention to invest heavily in KDBC to make it a factor in the market for the first time in several years, bringing its payroll to 40 people.

KDBC-DT2

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 20th Television. MyNetworkTV was created to compete against another upstart network that would launch at the same time that September, The CW (an amalgamated network that originally consisted primarily of UPN and The WB's higher-rated programs) as well as to give UPN and WB stations that were not invited to join The CW to have another option besides converting to independent status. On April 18, Pappas Telecasting signed an affiliation agreement with Fox Entertainment Group for KDBC to serve as the market's charter MyNetworkTV affiliate. KDBC began carrying MyNetworkTV programming on a newly launched second digital subchannel that debuted on September 5, 2006; rather than program a general entertainment format consisting of syndicated content in the style of other MyNetworkTV affiliates (particularly those which carry the service's programming on their main channel), Pappas also signed an affiliation agreement with America One to provide supplementary programming during the remainder of KDBC-DT2's schedule.

Former DT2 logo, used from 2010 to 2017.

On January 1, 2010, KDBC-DT2 became an affiliate of movie and classic television multicast network This TV, while continuing to offer the MyNetworkTV schedule from 7 to 9 p.m. weeknights. From 2015 to 2017, KDBC-DT2 carried selected sports events from Sinclair's hybrid sports syndication and multicast service American Sports Network, sharing local television rights to selected ASN event content with sister station KFOX's 14.2 subchannel (then affiliated with the Retro Television Network). On March 1, 2017, KDBC-DT2 began carrying Sinclair's internet content network TBD (now focused on acquired linear and internet-originated reality programming) outside of MyNetworkTV programming hours. The subchannel continued to air selected ASN sports programming until August 21, 2017, when KFOX-TV launched its 14.4 subchannel as a full-time affiliate of Stadium (the multicast network successor of ASN, jointly owned by Sinclair and Chicago White Sox subsidiary Silver Chalice).

Programming

KDBC-TV clears most of the CBS network schedule; however, the station airs the CBS Evening News a half-hour earlier than the majority of the network's stations at 5 p.m. (this is the reverse order of the traditional late afternoon scheduling of major network affiliates in the Central and Mountain Time Zones, in which the network newscast airs after a local newscast) and airs the network's Sunday morning news programs CBS News Sunday Morning and Face the Nation one hour earlier than most CBS stations (CBS normally feeds the programs starting at 8 a.m. in each time zone; KDBC instead transmits both programs live via the network's Eastern Time Zone feed).

News operation

See also: KFOX-TV § News operation

KDBC-TV presently broadcasts 24+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week; its early evening newscast airs nightly at 5:30 p.m. instead of as two half-hour broadcasts at 5 and 6 p.m.

On December 7, 2005, then-anchor Nichole Ayoub was proposed to (accepting the marriage proposal) live during that night's 6 p.m. newscast by her boyfriend of several years, Travis Hughes. The event was reported in feature stories seen on ABC's Good Morning America, Inside Edition and by various local television stations around the United States. On December 15, 2009, KDBC became the third television station in the El Paso market to begin broadcasting its newscasts in high definition.

In January 2010, Communications Corporation of America announced that it would shut down the news department of its sister station, KVEO-TV in Brownsville, Texas, other than maintaining a few locally based reporters for stories in the Brownsville area. The locally produced newscast on that station would originate from KDBC, using its staff with reports filed by Brownsville-based reporters. The new newscast, which debuted on KVEO on January 18, 2010, was able to be broadcast live in Brownsville without interfering with the production of KDBC's newscasts due to the one-hour time difference between El Paso (in the Mountain Time Zone) and Brownsville (in the Central Time Zone). KTSM took over responsibility for the production of KVEO's newscasts upon the sale of the station to Cunningham in 2013.

On October 16, 2014, KDBC's news operation was consolidated at the new facilities of sister station KFOX-TV, and re-launched as CBS 4 News. All newscasts were retained.

On August 17, 2015, KDBC debuted a two-hour weekday morning newscast called CBS 4 News Daybreak from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., along with the return of the station's newscast at noon.

On July 19, 2024, as part of cutbacks, Sinclair announced that most of KDBC's newscasts would end on August 5, and would be replaced by simulcasts of their KFOX counterparts. Only the 10 p.m. newscast remained in the short term, with Sinclair stating that a "reconceptualized" newscast would premiere on KDBC later in the year. El Paso Matters suggested that Sinclair planned to introduce its lifestyle-oriented arc format, as it had done on some of its other stations. In November 2024, KDBC launched arc El Paso, which airs as its noon and 10 p.m. newscasts.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KDBC-TV
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
4.1 1080i 16:9 CBS CBS
4.2 720p TBD MyNetworkTV / TBD
4.3 480i MeTV Antenna TV
4.4 Dabl Dabl
14.4 480i 16:9 TheNest The Nest (KFOX-TV)
  Broadcast on behalf of another station

Analog-to-digital conversion

KDBC-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 4, on June 2, 2009 (ten days before most full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate on June 12). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 18, using virtual channel 4.

Translator

For many years, KDBC has operated low-power translator stations in Alamogordo and Las Cruces. The Alamogordo translator, KKNJ-LP, originally broadcast on channel 71, before relocating to UHF channel 36 in 1989 after the FCC removed high-band UHF channels 70 to 83 from broadcasting use. It changed call letters five times in 2006 to facilitate the warehousing of CW-specific call letters on sister Pappas stations in the Des Moines, Iowa market before the network's September 2006 launch; the station was assigned KCWI-LP for two separate periods, KDMI-LP and then KPWB-LP. Sinclair Broadcast Group surrendered KKNJ-LP's license to the FCC for cancellation on May 7, 2021. The Las Cruces relay, KCWF-LP, originated on UHF channel 61 in the late 1970s; it moved to channel 68 in 1997 and to channel 20 in 2000.

Footnotes

  1. "Facility Technical Data for KDBC-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. "Broadcasting Yearbook, 1955. p 455" (PDF).
  3. "Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films". Boxoffice: 13. November 10, 1956. Archived from the original on June 14, 2009.
  4. Miller, Mark K. (April 29, 2001). "Spanish expansion". Broadcasting and Cable. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  5. Martinez, Victor R. (September 9, 2000). "Channel 4 to go Spanish: Format would end 40-year affiliation with CBS". El Paso Times. pp. 1A, 2A. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  6. Martinez, Victor R. (June 21, 2001). "Channel 4 to remain in English, with CBS". El Paso Times. pp. 1A, 2A. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  7. "PAPPAS TELECASTING COMPANIES ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE KDBC-TV, CHANNEL 4, EL PASO". Pappas Telecasting Companies. November 17, 2003. Archived from the original on August 14, 2004. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  8. Peregrino, David (November 18, 2003). "California company purchases KDBC". El Paso Times. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  9. "PAPPAS TELECASTING COMPANIES ANNOUNCES THE CLOSING OF ITS PURCHASE OF KDBC-TV, CHANNEL 4, EL PASO". Pappas Telecasting Companies. April 2, 2004. Archived from the original on August 15, 2004. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  10. "Pappas drops Azteca America". Sacramento Business Journal. April 3, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  11. "Azteca America now under KVIA's umbrella". El Paso Times. November 1, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  12. "New World Gets Pappas TVs for $260M". TVnewsday. January 16, 2008. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  13. Kolenc, Vic (September 28, 2014). "KFOX-KDBC marriage will change El Paso TV market". El Paso Times. Digital First Media. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  14. "CDBS Print".
  15. Application For Consent To Transfer Control Of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License Federal Communications Commission, August 7, 2013, Retrieved August 12, 2013
  16. Document fcc.gov
  17. http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1566316.pdf
  18. "CDBS Print".
  19. Gray, Robert (August 24, 2014). "Sinclair grows El Paso TV stations; Group invests $11M, will hire 40 people". El Paso Inc. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  20. "News Corp. to launch new mini-network for UPN stations". USA Today. February 22, 2006. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  21. News Corp. Unveils MyNetworkTV, Broadcasting & Cable, February 22, 2006.
  22. My Network TV Signs Nine More Affils, Broadcasting & Cable, April 18, 2006.
  23. ^ Kaplowitz, Steve (July 18, 2014). "UTEP Gets More TV Exposure With New American Sports Network Read More: UTEP Gets More TV Exposure With New American Sports Network". KROD 600 ESPN El Paso. Town Square Media. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  24. "Owls Set for ASN Debut on Saturday". Rice Owls.com. CBSi Advance Media. October 2, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  25. El Paso Times: "Ayoub and Bettes now in Brownsville ... sorta", January 14, 2010. Archived March 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  26. "KFOX14, CBS4 join forces for complete Borderland news coverage". KFOXTV.com. Sinclair Broadcast Group. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  27. Moore, Robert (July 19, 2024). "CBS affiliate in El Paso ending most of its local news programming". El Paso Matters. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  28. "Digital TV Market Listing for KDBC". Rabbit Ears.info. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  29. "TitanTV TV Query for KDBC". Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  30. "CDBS Print".
  31. http://www.kdbc.com/global/story.asp?s=10510636
  32. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  33. "CDBS Print". Retrieved August 29, 2023.

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stations
Antenna TV
KXVU-LD
WYME-CD
Comet
KTES-LD
Dabl
KBTV-TV
KFXA
KMEG
KMTW
KMYS
WMYA-TV
WNAB
WRGT-TV
WWMB
Catchy Comedy
WVAH-TV
TBD
KENV-DT
KXVO
WDCO-CD / WIAV-CD
WHOI
WTTE
WUTB
Ind.
KJZZ-TV
KOCB
KUNP
WJTC
Defunct
Channels
Subchannel
networks
Defunct
American Sports Network
Cable channels
Defunct
Stadium College Sports
Programming
News
Full Measure w/ Sharyl Attkisson
The National Desk
Defunct
Circa News
KidsClick
News Central
Ring of Honor Wrestling
Acquisitions
  • Operated by Sinclair under an LMA.
  • Formerly separately licensed as WCGV-TV and merged with WVTV's spectrum, but remains on its former channel number as a separate station
  • Joint Venture
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