KFXA

KFXA is the Fox-affiliated television station for Eastern Iowa licensed to Cedar Rapids. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 (or virtual channel 28.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in Van Horne. The station can also be seen on Mediacom channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 828. Owned by Second Generation of Iowa, KFXA is operated by the Sinclair Broadcast Group as sister to CBS affiliate KGAN. The two outlets share studios at Broadcast Park on Old Marion Road Northeast (along IA 100) in Cedar Rapids. Syndicated programming on this station includes The Simpsons, Family Guy, The Steve Wilkos Show and Maury among others.

Digital channels

History

The station signed-on February 1, 1988 as KOCR-TV with studios on Boyson Road Northeast in Cedar Rapids. Airing an analog signal on UHF channel 28, it was the first new full-market commercial station to launch in Eastern Iowa in 34 years. KOCR was a Fox affiliate from the beginning and owned by Gerald Fitzgerald and his company, Metro Program Network. After being on the air only a few weeks, it was ordered off-the-air by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) because a $150 check from the station bounced. Once it got back on-air some weeks later, the full story came out. Metro Program Network planned and had a construction permit for a 1,200-foot tower between Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. Lacking financing for such a tower, the company instead built a tiny 500-foot tower next to its studio building without approval of the FCC or Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This resulted in the station being practically unviewable in the eastern part of the market, and its signal was spotty at best even in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. It was thus forced to rely on cable television for most of its viewership.