KXXV
KXXV (channel 25) is a television station in Waco, Texas, United States, serving Central Texas as an affiliate of ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios on South New Road in Waco, and its transmitter is located near Moody, Texas.
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| City | Waco, Texas |
| Channels | |
| Branding | 25 News |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | March 22, 1985 |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 25 (UHF, 1985–2009) |
| NBC (March–December 1985) The WB (secondary, January–July 2002) | |
Call sign meaning | "XXV" is the Roman numeral for 25 |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 9781 |
| Class | DT |
| ERP | 1,000 kW |
| HAAT | 561.4 m (1,842 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 31°20′17″N 97°18′37″W |
| Translator(s) | KRHD-CD 40 Bryan–College Station |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
KRHD-CD (channel 40) in Bryan operates as a low-power, Class A semi-satellite of KXXV, serving the Brazos Valley. As such, it simulcasts all network and syndicated programming as provided through KXXV but airs separate local newscasts, commercial inserts and legal identifications, and has a different subchannel lineup. KXXV serves the western half of the Waco–Temple–Bryan market while KRHD-CD serves the eastern portion. The two stations are counted as a single unit for ratings purposes. Although KRHD-CD maintains a news bureau and advertising sales office on Briarcrest Road in Bryan,[1]master control and some internal operations are based at KXXV's studios.
History
KXXV signed on for the first time on March 22, 1985, as an NBC affiliate. The station was originally owned by Central Texas Broadcasting Company, Ltd. Waco was one of the last markets in the nation to gain full service from all three of the traditional broadcast networks, which took 32 years. It switched to ABC at the end of the year, with NBC programming returning to KCEN-TV (channel 6).[2] Central Texas Broadcasting sold KXXV to Shamrock Broadcasting in 1987. Drewry Communications purchased the station from Shamrock in 1994.
KXXV/KRHD added a secondary affiliation with The WB on January 11, 2002, following the sale of the market's previous WB affiliate, KAKW (channel 62), to Univision. KXXV/KRHD aired The WB's prime time lineup after ABC's late night programming, as well as two hours of Kids' WB programming on Sunday mornings.[3] In July 2002, KXXV/KRHD ceded the secondary WB affiliation to Fox affiliate KWKT (channel 44) and its Brazos Valley satellite KYLE (channel 28).[4]
A planned late 2008 sale of the Drewry stations to London Broadcasting fell through due to the late 2000s credit crisis;[5] London Broadcasting subsequently purchased KCEN-TV. On August 10, 2015, Raycom Media announced that it would purchase Drewry Communications for $160 million.[6] The sale was completed on December 1.[7]
Sale to Gray Television and resale to Scripps
On June 25, 2018, Atlanta-based Gray Television, owner of KWTX-TV and its semi-satellite KBTX-TV, announced it had reached an agreement with Raycom to merge their respective broadcasting assets (consisting of Raycom's 63 existing owned-and/or-operated television stations, including KXXV and KRHD, and Gray's 93 television stations) under Gray's corporate umbrella. The cash-and-stock merger transaction valued at $3.6 billion—in which Gray shareholders would acquire preferred stock currently held by Raycom—required divestment of either KXXV/KRHD or KWTX due to FCC ownership regulations prohibiting common ownership of two of the four highest-rated stations in a single market (as well as more than two stations in any market). Gray announced it would retain KWTX and KBTX, and sell KXXV and KRHD to an unrelated third party.[8][9][10][11] On August 20, it was announced that the E. W. Scripps Company would buy KXXV/KRHD and sister station WTXL-TV in Tallahassee, Florida, for $55 million.[12] The sale was completed on January 2, 2019.[13]
Programming
As part of a tradition with other former Drewry stations, KXXV airs an annual telethon, benefiting the West Texas Rehabilitation Center in Abilene.
KXXV carries any Baylor Bears games through the network's broadcast rights with NCAA Football.
News operation
KXXV currently broadcasts 29 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with five hours each weekday and two hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). The station maintains a news bureau in Killeen to serve the western portion of the area, including Fort Hood. KRHD maintains a fully staffed bureau of reporters and photographers stationed in Bryan.
Notable alumni
- Brian Collins, best remembered as the sports anchor on Ball State's college news program fumbling highlights only to conclude with the catch phrase "Boom goes the dynamite."[14][15]
- E. D. Hill (1986–1987) – reporter/anchor, best known as Fox & Friends Morning Anchor 1998–2006
- Gus Johnson – Fox Sports commentator
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KXXV-TV | Main KXXV programming / ABC |
| 25.2 | 480i | 4:3 | Grit | Grit[17] |
| 25.3 | 16:9 | CourtTV | Court TV | |
| 25.4 | 720p | ION | Ion Television | |
| 25.5 | 480i | Scripps | Scripps News | |
| 25.6 | 4:3 | QVC | QVC |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KXXV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 25, on February 17, 2009, the original target date, which full-power television stations in the United States, was to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 26.[18] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 25.
References
- "KRHD".
- "In Brief" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 30, 1985. p. 136.
- "KXXV-25 to air WB's programming". Temple Daily Telegram. January 13, 2002. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- "Waco/Temple/Killeen TV Directory". 100000 Watts. Archived from the original on August 22, 2003. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- Jessell, Harry A. (August 10, 2015). "Raycom Buying Drewry For $160 Million". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
- Raycom Media Completes $160 Million Acquisition of Drewry Communications Broadcasting & Cable, Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- "GRAY AND RAYCOM TO COMBINE IN A $3.6 BILLION TRANSACTION". Raycom Media (Press release). June 25, 2018. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- Miller, Mark K. (June 25, 2018). "Gray To Buy Raycom For $3.6 Billion". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- John Eggerton (June 25, 2018). "Gray Buying Raycom for $3.6B". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
- Dade Hayes (June 25, 2018). "Gray Acquiring Raycom For $3.65B, Forming No. 3 Local TV Group". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
- Micheli, Carolyn (August 20, 2018). "Scripps to Buy ABC Affiliates in Tallahassee, Florida, and Waco, Texas". E. W. Scripps Company. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- Wethington, Kari (January 2, 2019). "Scripps completes acquisition of TV stations in Texas and Florida; names new leadership". E. W. Scripps Company. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- "Brian Collins' Career Finally Gets A Boom". Deadspin. Archived from the original on 2008-09-02. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- "Collins Bio". KXXV. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- RabbitEars TV Query for KXXV
- "New year sees shift in some local TV channel positions", Waco Tribune-Herald, January 5, 2019, Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.