KDAF

KDAF, virtual channel 33 (UHF digital channel 32), is a CW-affiliated television station serving the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex that is licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States. The station is owned by the Tribune Broadcasting subsidiary of the Tribune Media Company. KDAF maintains studio facilities located off the State Highway 183/John W. Carpenter Freeway in northwest Dallas, and its transmitter is located south of Belt Line Road in Cedar Hill.

History

Early history

The UHF channel 33 allocation in Dallas-Fort Worth has been used by several companies over four decades of operation. It was first used by independent station KMEC, which signed on the air on October 1, 1967, becoming the second UHF television station in the market after KFWT-TV (channel 21, frequency now occupied by KTXA). Founded by Maxwell Electronics Corporation (owned by Carroll Maxwell, who also served as its general manager), the station aired a mix of syndicated and locally produced programming. The station was sold to the Evans Co. on April 2, 1969; Evans paid for the demolition of the existing and construction of a new transmitter tower, however the station never returned to the air, ceasing operations in October 1968. That short-lived attempt was followed by another that signed on February 21, 1972 with Berean Fellowship International acquiring a license for channel 33, operating using the call letters KBFI, which carried a religious programming format. But, like its predecessor, KBFI signed off after only ten months on the air on December 6, 1972.