KASY-TV (channel 50) is a television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting alongside Santa Fe–licensed CW outlet KWBQ (channel 19) and its Roswell-based satellite, KRWB-TV (channel 21). The two stations share studios with dual CBS/Fox affiliate KRQE (channel 13) on Broadcast Plaza in Albuquerque; KASY-TV's transmitter is located atop Sandia Crest.
| ATSC 3.0 station | |
|---|---|
 | |
| |
| City | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Channels | |
| Branding | New Mexico 50 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Mission Broadcasting, Inc. |
| Operator | Nexstar Media Group |
| KRQE, KWBQ | |
| History | |
| Founded | July 13, 1993 |
First air date | October 6, 1995 |
Former channel number(s) |
|
| |
Call sign meaning | Used by 103.3 FM at the time Ramar started the station |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 55049 |
| ERP | 205 kW |
| HAAT | 1,278 m (4,193 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°12′49.8″N 106°27′3.3″W / 35.213833°N 106.450917°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
Nexstar Media Group, which owns KRQE and holds a majority stake in The CW, provides master control, technical, engineering and accounting services for KASY-TV and KWBQ through a shared services agreement (SSA), though the two stations are otherwise operated separately from KRQE as Mission handles programming, advertising sales and retransmission consent negotiations.
History
editKASY-TV first signed on the air on October 6, 1995, owned by Ramar Communications and managed by Lee Enterprises (then-owners of CBS affiliate KRQE) under a local marketing agreement (LMA). The station was primarily a UPN affiliate, but had a secondary affiliation with The WB; this was easy to do as neither network had more than a couple nights a week of programming at that time. Initially, KASY ran cartoons, old movies, talk shows, and classic and recent off-network sitcoms. In fall 1997, KASY dropped WB programming and became an exclusive UPN affiliate; The WB would return to the market when upstart KWBQ signed on in March 1999 with a similar general entertainment format. In the interim, WB programming was brought in out-of-market from KTLA in Los Angeles or Chicago-based superstation WGN on Albuquerque area cable providers.
In June 1999, ACME Communications, KWBQ's owner, bought KASY from Ramar and terminated the local marketing agreement with Lee Enterprises, resulting in the creation of the first major television duopoly in the Albuquerque market. Most of the programming inventory airing on KASY was also acquired by ACME, while some of the shows that aired on KASY under the LMA remained with Lee to be broadcast on KRQE. After the sale to ACME was completed, KASY stopped rebroadcasting certain local newscasts from KRQE.
That fall, KASY dropped its UPN affiliation due to contract disputes between the network and ACME Communications (which was closely associated with UPN's rival The WB) and became an independent station. In the interim, UPN programming was brought in out-of-market from KCOP in Los Angeles on Albuquerque area cable providers, while over-the-air viewers were unable to view UPN programming. While the station was an independent (during which it was branded as "Superstation 50"), KASY broadcast movies and syndicated programming during prime time hours to replace UPN programs. By February 2000, the UPN affiliation was returned to KASY, rebranding as "UPN 50;" KCOP was then pulled from area cable systems at KASY's request.
On January 24, 2006, Time Warner and CBS Corporation announced that The WB and UPN would merge to create The CW Television Network.[2] One month later on February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced the creation of MyNetworkTV.[3]
KASY affiliated with MyNetworkTV on September 5, 2006, with KWBQ joining The CW two weeks later on September 18; the station was also rebranded as "My50TV" (KASY was the only ACME-owned station that was not affiliated with The CW; ACME was the third company, after Capitol Broadcasting Company and Weigel Broadcasting, to own both CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates in the same market).
KASY-TV broadcast games from the Colorado Rockies during the 2008 Major League Baseball season. Starting in the fall of 2008, KASY-TV began broadcasting several University of New Mexico Lobos men's basketball games; the contract was renewed for the 2009–10 and 2010–11 basketball seasons. On April 30, 2008, KASY-TV broadcast their first program in true high definition, the MyNetworkTV sitcom Under One Roof. On June 4, 2010, ACME Communications announced that 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.[4]
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,[5] and was completed on December 11, gives Tamer Media its first TV properties, while ACME makes its exit from the station ownership business (the three stations were the last portions of ACME's TV station portfolio). The stations' shared services agreement with LIN Media continued with new ownership.[6][7] On March 21, 2014, Media General announced that it would purchase LIN Media and its stations, including KRQE, KASA-TV, and the SSA with KASY-TV and KWBQ/KRWB-TV, in a $1.6 billion merger.[8] The merger was completed on December 19.[9] 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.[10] The sale was completed on January 17, 2017.[11]
On August 7, 2020, it was announced that Mission Broadcasting would acquire KASY and KWBQ (and its satellites) from Tamer Media.[12][13] The sale was completed on November 16.[14]
Technical information
editSubchannels
editThe station's ATSC 1.0 channels are carried on the multiplexed signals of other Albuquerque–Santa Fe television stations:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | ATSC 1.0 host |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KASY-TV | MyNetworkTV | KWBQ |
| 50.2 | 480i | Mystery | Ion Mystery | ||
| 50.3 | 4:3 | Get TV | getTV | KRQE | |
| 50.4 | 16:9 | Court | Court TV | ||
| 50.5 | 4:3 | Antenna | Antenna TV | KOAT-TV |
KASY has not carried any subchannels in past years but on January 11, 2016, the station added the suspense channel Escape from Katz Broadcasting.[16] KASY further added on GetTV to 50.3 on January 14, 2017, and added Cozi TV to 50.4 on January 18, 2017, all as a result of the January 2017 sale of KASA-TV to Ramar Communications, as well as the switch in Fox affiliation over to KRQE.[17] In mid-December 2021, Cozi TV was replaced by Court TV on channel 50.4 after Cozi TV returned to KASA following the purchase by parent company NBCU. Court TV is also aired locally on KLUZ 14.4.
Analog-to-digital conversion
editKASY-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 50, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 45,[18] using virtual channel 50.
As part of the SAFER Act,[19] KASY-TV kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through the loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.
ATSC 3.0
editKASY switched to ATSC 3.0 broadcasts on December 13, 2022, hosting KRQE, KWBQ and KOAT in addition to KASY.[20]
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KOAT-TV | ABC (KOAT-TV) |
| 13.1 | 1080p | KRQE | CBS (KRQE) | |
| 13.2 | 720p | FoxNM | Fox (KRQE-DT2) | |
| 19.1 | 1080p | KWBQ-TV | The CW (KWBQ) | |
| 50.1 | 720p | KASY TV | MyNetworkTV |
References
edit- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KASY-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
- ^ News Corp. Unveils My Network TV, Broadcasting & Cable, February 22, 2006.
- ^ ACME Communications and LIN Media Announce Shared Services Arrangement in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe, Dayton, and Green Bay-Appleton Markets, GlobeNewswire, June 4, 2010.
- ^ "Consent To Assignment" (PDF). fcc.gov. November 21, 2012.
- ^ "ACME Communications Announces Sale of Its Albuquerque-Santa Fe Stations to Tamer Media, LLC," press release via GlobeNewswire, announced October 9, 2012
- ^ "Application Search Details". Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
- ^ Reid Blackwell, John (March 21, 2014). "MG will combine with LIN TV chain". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
- ^ Media General Completes Merger With LIN Media Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Press Release, Media General, Retrieved December 19, 2014
- ^ "Nexstar Broadcasting Group Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Media General for $4.6 Billion in Accretive Cash and Stock Transaction". Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ Nexstar Broadcasting Group Completes Acquisition of Media General Creating Nexstar Media Group, The Nation’s Second Largest Television Broadcaster Nexstar Media Group, January 17, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Mission Accomplished: A Nexstar Shared Services Partner Shift In Albuquerque". Radio & Television Business Report. August 18, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ^ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, November 17, 2020, Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KWBQ". www.rabbitears.info.
- "RabbitEars TV Query for KRQE". www.rabbitears.info.
- "RabbitEars TV Query for KOAT". www.rabbitears.info.
- ^ Broadcasting, Katz. "Katz Broadcasting Announces Major Distribution Agreements With Media General and Tribune Media". www.prnewswire.com (Press release).
- ^ "FOX New Mexico". KRQE.com. LIN Television Corporation. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
- ^ "Licensing and Management System".
- ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KASY". www.rabbitears.info.