K27OJ-D
A low-power television station serving the El Paso–Las Cruces–Ciudad Juárez region and carrying Voz y Visión TV on its primary digital channel.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
K27OJ-D is a low-power digital television station licensed to El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The station serves the broader binational media area encompassing El Paso, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Its current primary service is Voz y Visión TV, carried on virtual channel 25.1. The station is associated with Grupo Multimedios and is controlled through Martín Lorenzo Smith and BGM License. The station began broadcasting on March 6, 1998, under the call sign K69IB on analog channel 69. At launch it carried programming from the commonly owned Mexican station XHIJ-TV. Its original licensee was connected to United States citizens from the Cabada family, the family associated with XHIJ. K69IB was the last new analog television station to sign on in the El Paso–Las Cruces–Ciudad Juárez area during that phase of local broadcasting development. In 2001, the station changed its call sign to K40FW and moved from channel 69 to channel 40 as part of the effort to clear the upper television channels numbered 60 through 69. The station went silent in 2003 and later returned as an affiliate of Más Musica TV. In 2006, it began carrying Multimedios Televisión, establishing a more direct relationship with the Mexican media group that remains central to the station's identity and ownership history. The station subsequently operated as K26KJ on analog channel 26. It held authorization to convert directly to digital operation on channel 26, but the transition occurred after Ciudad Juárez's analog stations had left the air. Analog channel 26 ceased transmission at noon on July 15, 2015, and the station began digital broadcasting. Although its digital signal used physical channel 26 at that stage, it used virtual channel 25 because KINT-TV occupied virtual channel 26. The Federal Communications Commission licensed the digital operation on July 24, 2015, and the call sign became K26KJ-D. Ownership changed during 2017–2018. Cabada Holdings, LLC, formerly known as Broadcast Group, Ltd., agreed on June 23, 2017, to sell the station license to Martín Lorenzo Smith, who was Grupo Multimedios' international public-relations and sales director in the United States. The FCC approved the transaction on August 9, 2017, and the sale was completed on March 7, 2018. The transaction was notable because it made K26KJ-D the first television station owned and operated by an American employee of Grupo Multimedios. K26KJ-D also expanded its programming relationships. In July 2017, its third digital subchannel began carrying a feed of XHABC-TDT from Chihuahua, Chihuahua. The service, marketed in the Juárez area as ABC Televisión or Canal 28, gave over-the-air viewers in Ciudad Juárez access to that programming in addition to XHABC's transmitters in Chihuahua and Ciudad Cuauhtémoc. Grupo Multimedios separately won a Ciudad Juárez television license in the Mexican IFT-6 auction; the resulting XHMTCH-TDT began broadcasting in October 2018. The station's call sign changed again on April 10, 2019, when it became K27OJ-D after the station was repacked from physical channel 26 to physical channel 27. K27OJ-D is therefore both a local broadcast facility and part of the cross-border television ecosystem linking U.S. broadcast regulation, Mexican programming suppliers, and Spanish-language audiences in the El Paso–Ciudad Juárez market.
History
K27OJ-D originated as K69IB, beginning analog broadcasting on March 6, 1998, from the El Paso, Texas, market. The station initially transmitted on channel 69 and carried the commonly owned Mexican station XHIJ-TV. Its original licensee was associated with United States members of the Cabada family, which also owned XHIJ. The station's launch expanded the set of television signals available across the El Paso–Las Cruces–Ciudad Juárez region. In 2001, K69IB became K40FW and moved to channel 40. The change was part of the broader clearance of television channels 60 through 69. K40FW went silent in 2003, later returning as an affiliate of Más Musica TV. In 2006, it began transmitting Multimedios Televisión, linking the station more closely to the Mexican media group that became its principal programming and ownership partner. The station later operated under the K26KJ call sign on analog channel 26. Although it had a permit to make a flash-cut to digital channel 26, its digital conversion took place after the analog stations in Ciudad Juárez had ended service. Analog channel 26 left the air at noon on July 15, 2015, and digital service began in its place. The station used virtual channel 25 because KINT-TV used virtual channel 26. The FCC licensed its digital operation on July 24, 2015, and the call sign was changed to K26KJ-D. Programming and ownership arrangements developed further in 2017. In July of that year, the station's third digital subchannel began carrying a feed from XHABC-TDT in Chihuahua. The service was promoted locally as ABC Televisión or Canal 28, providing Ciudad Juárez viewers with access to programming from the Chihuahua station and complementing XHABC's transmitters in Chihuahua and Ciudad Cuauhtémoc. On June 23, 2017, Cabada Holdings, LLC, formerly Broadcast Group, Ltd., agreed to sell the K26KJ-D license to Martín Lorenzo Smith. Smith served as Grupo Multimedios' international public-relations and sales director in the United States. The FCC approved the transfer on August 9, 2017, and the parties completed it on March 7, 2018. The transaction made the station the first television station owned and operated by an American employee of Grupo Multimedios. Grupo Multimedios also won a separate Ciudad Juárez television station in the Mexican IFT-6 auction. That station, XHMTCH-TDT on RF channel 28 and virtual channel 6, launched in October 2018. The development gave the group a distinct Mexican over-the-air outlet in the same cross-border media market while K26KJ-D continued operating from the U.S. side. On April 10, 2019, K26KJ-D changed its call sign to K27OJ-D after a repack from physical channel 26 to physical channel 27. The station's primary service is now identified with Voz y Visión TV on virtual channel 25.1. Its history reflects the interaction of U.S. low-power television licensing, digital-transition and repacking requirements, Mexican programming affiliations, and Grupo Multimedios' cross-border broadcasting strategy.
- 2019
K27OJ-D call sign adopted
[1]The station changes from K26KJ-D to K27OJ-D after being repacked from physical channel 26 to 27.
- 2018
License transfer completed
[1]The transfer of the station license to Martín Lorenzo Smith is consummated on March 7.
- 2018
Grupo Multimedios launches XHMTCH-TDT
[1]A separate Grupo Multimedios station in Ciudad Juárez, XHMTCH-TDT, begins broadcasting in October.
- 2017
ABC Televisión appears on a digital subchannel
[1]A feed from XHABC-TDT begins airing on the station's third digital subchannel in July.
- 2015
Digital service launches
[1]Analog channel 26 leaves the air on July 15, and the station begins digital operation. The FCC licenses the digital facility on July 24.
- 2011
Station adopts K26KJ call sign
[1]The station becomes K26KJ and operates on analog channel 26.
- 2006
Multimedios Televisión affiliation begins
[1]The station begins carrying Multimedios Televisión programming.
- 2003
Broadcasting resumes after silence
[1]After going silent, the station returns as an affiliate of Más Musica TV.
- 2001
Station becomes K40FW
[1]The call sign changes to K40FW and the station moves to channel 40 as channels 60 through 69 are cleared.
- 1998
K69IB begins broadcasting
[1]The station signs on March 6 as K69IB on analog channel 69, carrying programming from XHIJ-TV.
Products and positioning
A low-power, Spanish-language television outlet serving a cross-border audience in the El Paso–Las Cruces–Ciudad Juárez region, with programming ties to Grupo Multimedios and related Mexican television services.
Primary digital television service
Voz y Visión TV
The station's current primary programming service, carried on virtual channel 25.1. It provides the principal television identity associated with K27OJ-D and serves viewers in the El Paso–Las Cruces–Ciudad Juárez broadcast area.
Television programming affiliation · 2006
Multimedios Televisión
A programming service carried by the station beginning in 2006. The affiliation connected K27OJ-D with Grupo Multimedios and formed part of the station's Spanish-language, cross-border programming history.
Digital subchannel programming · 2017
ABC Televisión / Canal 28
A feed from XHABC-TDT in Chihuahua carried on the station's third digital subchannel beginning in July 2017. The arrangement brought the ABC Televisión service to over-the-air viewers in Ciudad Juárez.
Brand decisions
2019
Physical-channel repack and call-sign changeGeneration changeBackground
The station was repacked from physical channel 26 to physical channel 27.
Action taken
The call sign changed from K26KJ-D to K27OJ-D on April 10, 2019.
Aftermath
The station retained virtual channel 25 while adopting the K27OJ-D identity.
2017
License transfer to Martín Lorenzo SmithM&ABackground
Cabada Holdings, LLC agreed to sell the K26KJ-D license to Martín Lorenzo Smith, a U.S.-based Grupo Multimedios executive.
Action taken
The FCC approved the transaction on August 9, 2017; closing took place on March 7, 2018.
Aftermath
The station became the first television station owned and operated by an American employee of Grupo Multimedios.
2015
Conversion from analog to digital broadcastingStrategyBackground
The station's analog operation on channel 26 ended during the transition to digital television in the Ciudad Juárez market.
Action taken
K26KJ began digital broadcasting after analog transmission ended on July 15, 2015, and received FCC licensing for digital operation on July 24.
Aftermath
The station continued using virtual channel 25 while operating on a digital physical channel.
Sources1 sources
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