KWBQ

KWBQ
Santa Fe–Albuquerque, New Mexico
United States
City Santa Fe, New Mexico
Branding New Mexico's CW
Slogan Dare to Defy
See funny, CW!
Channels Digital: 29 (UHF)
Virtual: 19 (PSIP)
Subchannels 19.1 The CW
19.2 Grit
19.3 Laff
19.4/21.4 Ion
Affiliations The CW (2006–present)
Owner Tamer Media, LLC
(KASY-TV Licensee LLC)
Operator Nexstar Media Group
(via SSA)
Founded April 11, 1997
First air date March 5, 1999 (1999-03-05)
Call letters' meaning The WB (former affiliation) AlbuQuerque
Sister station(s) KRQE
KASY-TV
Former channel number(s) Analog:
19 (UHF, 1999–2009)
Former affiliations The WB (1999–2006)
Transmitter power 245 kW
Height 1,275 m (4,183 ft)
Facility ID 76268
Transmitter coordinates 35°12′49.8″N 106°27′3.3″W / 35.213833°N 106.450917°W / 35.213833; -106.450917
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website kwbq.com
KRWB-TV
(satellite of KWBQ)
Roswell, New Mexico
United States
Branding see KWBQ infobox
Slogan see KWBQ infobox
Channels Digital: 21 (UHF)
Virtual: 21 (PSIP)
Subchannels 21.1 The CW
21.2 Grit
21.3 Laff
21.4 Ion
Affiliations The CW (2006–present)
Owner Tamer Media, LLC
(KASY-TV Licensee LLC)
Operator Nexstar Media Group
(via SSA)
Founded February 4, 2003
First air date February 18, 2003 (2003-02-18)
Call letters' meaning Roswell's WB
Sister station(s) KRQE
KASY-TV
Former channel number(s) Analog:
21 (UHF, 2003–2009)
Former affiliations The WB (2003–2006)
Transmitter power 1000 kW
Height 128 m (420 ft)
Facility ID 84157
Transmitter coordinates 33°6′1″N 104°15′18″W / 33.10028°N 104.25500°W / 33.10028; -104.25500 (KRWB-TV)
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information:
(satellite of KWBQ) Profile

(satellite of KWBQ) CDBS

KWBQ is a CW-affiliated television station serving Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States that is licensed to Santa Fe. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 29 (or virtual channel 19 via PSIP) from a transmitter atop Sandia Crest.

KRWB-TV is a satellite of KWBQ, rebroadcasting its signal across southeastern New Mexico. Licensed to Roswell, it broadcasts a high definition signal on virtual and UHF digital channel 21 from a transmitter in rural southeastern Chaves County.

Owned by Tamer Media, KWBQ is sister to Albuquerque-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KASY-TV (channel 50) and the two stations share studios on Washington Street in northeastern Albuquerque. Nexstar Media Group, which owns Albuquerque-licensed CBS/Fox affiliate KRQE (channel 13), provides technical, engineering and accounting services for KWBQ and KASY through a shared services agreement (SSA), though the two stations are otherwise operated separately from KRQE as Tamer handles master control, programming, advertising sales and retransmission consent negotiations.

History

KWBQ commenced operations on March 5, 1999 as an affiliate of The WB, bringing that network's programming back to the market two years after then-UPN affiliate KASY-TV dropped its secondary affiliation with the network after a two-year run in 1997. The station was originally branded as "WB19" at sign-on, before it was later changed to "New Mexico's WB" in 2002. ACME Communications would purchase KASY from Ramar Communications in June 1999, a deal that resulted in the formation of Albuquerque's first major television duopoly and the termination of KASY's local marketing agreement with Lee Enterprises (then-owners of CBS affiliate KRQE). In February 2003, KWBQ signed on Roswell-licensed satellite station KRWB-TV on UHF channel 21 to extend KWBQ's broadcast signal into southeastern New Mexico.

On January 24, 2006, Time Warner's Warner Bros. Entertainment unit and CBS Corporation announced that the two companies would merge the operations of The WB and UPN, which the companies respectively owned, into a joint venture called The CW Television Network.[1] On March 9 of that year, ACME Communications signed an affiliation agreement with the network for KWBQ and its KRWB satellite to join The CW upon the network's September 18 launch, while KASY would join another new service, the Fox Entertainment Group-owned MyNetworkTV, upon its September 5, 2006 launch. The deals made ACME the third station group, after Capitol Broadcasting Company (WJZY-WMYT-TV/Charlotte) and Weigel Broadcasting (WCWW-LP-WMYS-LP/South Bend) to have duopolies affiliated with both The CW and MyNetworkTV. In September 2006, KWBQ/KRWB was rebranded as "New Mexico's CW" to reflect their new affiliation. At that time, the station created a new mascot dubbed "The CW Guy" (designed basically as an anthropomorphic television with arms and legs and The CW's logo on its screen) to serve as a promotional tool at local station events; "The CW Guy" served as a replacement for The WB's former mascot Michigan J. Frog.

On June 4, 2010, ACME announced it would enter into a shared services agreement with LIN Media; as a result, LIN's own duopoly of KASA-TV and KRQE would provide technical, engineering and accounting services for KWBQ and KASY, with the mutual operating costs shared in order to help reduce overall costs for ACME.[2]

On September 10, 2012, ACME announced a proposed sale of KASY-TV as well as KWBQ (and its Roswell repeater, KRWB-TV) to Tamer Media, a company founded by broadcast industry veteran John S. Viall, Jr. The $17.3 million sale, which the FCC approved on November 21,[3] and was completed on December 11, gave Tamer Media its first TV properties, while ACME is making its exit from the station ownership business (the three stations are the last portions of ACME's TV station portfolio). The stations' shared services agreement with LIN Media will continue under new ownership.[4][5]

On March 21, 2014, Media General announced that it would purchase LIN Media and its stations, including KRQE, KASA-TV, and the SSA with KWBQ/KRWB-TV and KASY-TV, in a $1.6 billion merger.[6] The merger was completed on December 19.[7] Just over a year later, on January 27, 2016, it was announced that the Nexstar Broadcasting Group would buy Media General for $4.6 billion.[8] The sale was completed on January 17, 2017.[9]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[10][11]
19.1
21.1		1080i16:9KWBQ-DT
KRWB-DT		Main KWBQ programming / The CW
19.2
21.2		480i4:3GritGrit
19.3
21.3		LaffLaff
19.4
21.4		16:9IonIon Television

KWBQ has not carried any subchannels in past years but on January 11, 2016 the station added the action/western channel Grit and comedy channel Laff from Katz Broadcasting.[12] Laff further adds to KWBQ's identity as a station for comedy while Grit and Ion add some programming diversity to the signal. KWBQ further added Ion Television to 19.4 on January 18, 2017, due to the January 2017 sale of KASA-TV to Ramar Communications, as well as the switch in Fox affiliation over to KRQE.[13]

Analog-to-digital conversion

Both stations shut down their analog signals, respectively on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate.[14]

  • KWBQ shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 19; the station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 29. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 19.
  • KRWB-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 21, and "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation UHF channel 21.

As part of the SAFER Act,[15] KWBQ kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.

Programming

Syndicated programs seen on KWBQ include Mom, The Goldbergs, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Right This Minute, Seinfeld and The King of Queens.

Newscasts

Starting in April 2015, KWBQ began to simulcast KRQE's morning newscast, including the later Fox New Mexico half of the show, from 4:30–9 a.m. It airs the Fox New Mexico (KRQE-DT2) show New Mexico Living from 10–11 a.m.

References

  1. ↑ UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
  2. ↑ ACME Communications and LIN Media Announce Shared Services Arrangement in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe, Dayton, and Green Bay-Appleton Markets, GlobeNewswire, June 4, 2010.
  3. ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1515123.pdf
  4. ↑ "ACME Communications Announces Sale of Its Albuquerque-Santa Fe Stations to Tamer Media, LLC," press release via GlobeNewswire, announced 9/10/2012
  5. ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1533689
  6. ↑ Reid Blackwell, John (March 21, 2014). "MG will combine with LIN TV chain". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  7. ↑ Media General Completes Merger With LIN Media Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine., Press Release, Media General, Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  9. ↑ Nexstar Broadcasting Group Completes Acquisition of Media General Creating Nexstar Media Group, The Nation’s Second Largest Television Broadcaster Nexstar Media Group, 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  10. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KWBQ
  11. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KRWB
  12. ↑ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/katz-broadcasting-announces-major-distribution-agreements-with-media-general-and-tribune-media-300179251.html
  13. ↑ "FOX New Mexico". KRQE.com. LIN Television Corporation. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  14. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  15. ↑ "UPDATED List Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
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