KPXL-TV

Summary

KPXL-TV (channel 26) is a television station licensed to Uvalde, Texas, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the San Antonio area. Owned by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, KPXL-TV maintains transmitter facilities off Highway 173/RM Road 689 on the MedinaBandera county line (west-northwest of Lakehills).

KPXL-TV
CityUvalde, Texas
Channels
BrandingIon
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
February 19, 1999 (25 years ago) (1999-02-19)
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 26 (UHF, 1999–2009)
Call sign meaning
Pax TV
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID61173
ERP228 kW
HAAT521 m (1,709 ft)
Transmitter coordinates29°37′12″N 99°2′57.1″W / 29.62000°N 99.049194°W / 29.62000; -99.049194
Links
Public license information
  • Public file
  • LMS
Websiteiontelevision.com

History edit

The station began broadcasting on February 19, 1999; it was built and signed on by Paxson Communications as an owned-and-operated station of the family-oriented Pax TV network (later reformatted into a general entertainment service as i: Independent Television, now Ion Television), with religious programming from The Worship Network airing during the overnight hours.

On September 24, 2020, the Cincinnati-based E. W. Scripps Company announced it would purchase KPXL-TV's owner, Ion Media, for $2.65 billion, with financing from Berkshire Hathaway.[2] Part of the deal included divesting 23 stations nationally to Inyo Broadcast Holdings (then-undisclosed at the time of the announcement) that would maintain Ion affiliations.[3]

Newscasts edit

From 2000 to 2004, KPXL aired rebroadcasts of NBC affiliate KMOL-TV (channel 4)'s newscasts at 6:30 and 10:30 p.m. (KMOL-TV became WOAI-TV in 2002). KPXL was also an affiliate of The News of Texas from 1999 to 2000.[4]

Technical information edit

Subchannels edit

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KPXL-TV[5]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
26.1 720p 16:9 ION Ion Television
26.2 480i CourtTV Court TV
26.3 Laff Laff
26.4 Mystery Ion Mystery
26.5 Defy TV Defy TV
26.6 SCRIPPS Scripps News
26.7 Jewelry Jewelry TV
26.8 HSN HSN
26.9 HSN2 HSN2

Analog-to-digital conversion edit

Because it was granted an original construction permit after the FCC finalized the DTV allotment plan on April 21, 1997,[6] the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station. KPXL-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 26, on June 12, 2009. The station "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation UHF channel 26.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KPXL-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Cimilluca, Dana (September 24, 2020). "E.W. Scripps nears $2.65B takeover of ION Media in Berkshire-backed deal". Fox Business. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  3. ^ "Scripps creates national television networks business with acquisition of ION Media" (Press release).
  4. ^ "Texas Network - The Week at a Glance". San Antonio Business Journal. August 1, 1999. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  5. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KPXL". Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  6. ^ "Final DTV Channel Plan from FCC97-115".
  7. ^ "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.

External links edit

  • Ion Television official website