As a CW affiliate
On January 24, 2006, the respective parent companies of UPN and The WB, CBS Corporation and the Warner Bros. Entertainment division of Time Warner, announced that they would dissolve the two networks to create The CW Television Network, a joint venture between the two media companies that initially featured programs from its two predecessor networks as well as new series specifically produced for The CW.[12][13] Subsequently, on February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced the launch of MyNetworkTV, a network operated by Fox Television Stations and sister syndication division Twentieth Television that was created to primarily to provide network programming to UPN and WB stations that The CW decided against affiliating based on their local viewership standing in comparison to the outlet that The CW ultimately chose as its charter outlets, giving these stations another option besides converting to a general entertainment independent format.[14][15]
On March 7, 2006, in a press release announcement by the network, KPXJ was confirmed as The CW's Shreveport charter affiliate. Since the network chose its charter stations based on which of them among The WB and UPN's respective affiliate bodies was the highest-rated in each market, KPXJ was chosen to join The CW over KSHV-TV as it had been the higher-rated of the two stations at the time of its agreement despite channel 45 having had a four-year headstart on KPXJ operation-wise.[16][17][18] Eight days later on March 15, News Corporation announced that it had signed an agreement with White Knight Broadcasting, in which KSHV would become the market's MyNetworkTV affiliate, as part of a deal that also saw Fox-affiliated sister station WNTZ-TV in Alexandria being committed to join the network under a secondary affiliation.[19][20]
On May 1, KPXJ became one of a few UPN-affiliated stations not owned by Fox Television Stations to remove on-air brand references to the network—rebranding as "KPXJ 21"—and cease promotion of the network's programs. However, it officially remained a UPN affiliate until September 17, 2006, before affiliating with The CW when that network debuted on September 18. KSHV-TV, meanwhile, joined MyNetworkTV upon that network's launch on September 5; unlike in other markets where The WB and UPN both had over-the-air affiliates—where the WB-turned-MyNetworkTV outlet either disaffiliated from The WB entirely or remained a part-time affiliate during the transition—KPXJ assumed temporary rights to the WB affiliation, carrying the final two weeks of that network's programming between midnight and 2 a.m. weeknights and 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. early Mondays until The WB ceased operations on September 17. KPXJ officially affiliated with The CW the following day on September 18, 2006, at which time the station changed its on-air branding to "KPXJ CW 21".
On December 30, 2008, Wray Properties Trust (through KTBS, LLC) filed an application with the FCC to purchase KPXJ from Minden Television for $10.3 million, which would create the market's first (and only) legal television duopoly. As the Shreveport–Texarkana market has only eight full-power television stations, the minimum allowed to create a duopoly under FCC rules, it is the only duopoly legally allowed in the market. KTBS, LLC included in its license transfer request a "failing station waiver", indicating that KPXJ was in an economically non-viable position—noting that the station had lost revenue for the previous three years, and had averaged only a 1 audience share point for all but two sweeps ratings books while never reaching over a 4% share—and that FCC should relax ownership limits that apply to the Shreveport–Texarkana market so that Channel 21 could stay on the air; that limit (found in CFR§73.3555(b)(2) of the FCC's rules) permits ownership duopolies in markets with at least eight full-power stations, whereas Shreveport–Texarkana has only seven. The transfer was completed on August 3 of that year, officially making KTBS-TV and KPXJ directly owned sister stations.[21][22][23][24][25]
