KAUZ-TV
A Wichita Falls, Texas television station that serves as the CBS affiliate for the western Texoma region and carries CW programming on a secondary digital service.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KAUZ-TV is a full-power television station licensed to Wichita Falls, Texas, serving viewers across the Wichita Falls–Lawton market and the wider western Texoma region. The station broadcasts on VHF channel 6 and has maintained a primary affiliation with CBS since it began broadcasting in 1953. It also distributes CW programming through a secondary digital channel, extending the station’s network offering beyond its long-established CBS service. The station’s present operating structure reflects the complicated ownership and services arrangements common in small and medium-sized American television markets. American Spirit Media owns the KAUZ-TV license and station assets, while Gray Media operates the station through a shared services agreement. KAUZ is operated alongside KSWO-TV, the Lawton, Oklahoma–licensed ABC and Telemundo affiliate. Despite the shared operating relationship, KAUZ remains identified with Wichita Falls, retains its own local identity, and is based at studios near Seymour Highway and West Wenonah Boulevard. Its transmitter is also located at the Wichita Falls facility, and the station operates translator K29FR-D in Quanah, Texas, to reach communities in western North Texas and extreme southwestern Oklahoma that fall outside the main signal’s most effective coverage. KAUZ-TV began as KWFT-TV, the first television station to sign on in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market. Its original owner, Rowley-Brown Broadcasting, secured the channel 6 authorization from the Federal Communications Commission after competing applications from local broadcasting interests. The station’s initial CBS relationship grew out of KWFT radio’s established connection with the CBS Radio Network. During its early years, the station also carried selected programming from the DuMont Television Network and briefly transmitted programs from the NTA Film Network, but CBS became its enduring network identity. The station changed ownership and call letters several times during its first decades. It became KSYD-TV in 1956 after a sale to a group associated with KSYD radio. After another ownership change in 1962, the station adopted the KAUZ-TV call sign in 1963. The calls were selected through a contest conducted by the new owner, Mid-New York Broadcasting, and were submitted by an advertising executive. KAUZ became the first station in its market to present local newscasts in color in 1966, an important technical transition as color television became standard across American network broadcasting. Subsequent ownership passed through Bass Brothers Telecasters, Forward Communications, Adams Communications, Brissette Broadcasting, Benedek Broadcasting, Chelsey Broadcasting, and Hoak Media. Several of these transactions occurred as parts of broader television-station portfolios. Benedek’s bankruptcy and attempted sale of its stations in 2002 ultimately led KAUZ to Chelsey Broadcasting, followed by Hoak Media’s acquisition in 2003. In 2009, Drewry Communications, owner of KSWO-TV, acquired KAUZ’s non-license assets and began providing sales and selected operational services through joint sales and shared services agreements. The arrangement was later revised after Raycom Media acquired Drewry’s stations in 2015. At that point, American Spirit Media acquired KAUZ’s license and other assets, while Raycom continued to provide operating support through a shared services agreement. Gray Media’s 2019 acquisition of Raycom transferred the operating relationship to Gray. The station therefore combines a locally recognizable Wichita Falls news and broadcast identity with network programming, regional news coverage, digital distribution, and centralized technical and administrative support.
History
KAUZ-TV traces its history to a contested Federal Communications Commission allocation for VHF channel 6 in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market. Two local broadcasting groups sought the authorization in July 1952. Texoma Broadcasting Company, associated with the Wichita Falls Times and local radio interests, submitted an application on July 11. Rowley-Brown Broadcasting, a group connected with theater and radio operators, filed its application one week later. The FCC selected Rowley-Brown on January 6, 1953, and the company obtained the KWFT-TV call sign in recognition of its connection with KWFT radio. KWFT-TV began broadcasting on March 1, 1953, becoming the first television station in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market. It launched before KSWO-TV in Lawton and KFDX-TV in Wichita Falls. The station adopted CBS as its primary network affiliation, reflecting the existing relationship between KWFT radio and the CBS Radio Network. It also carried selected DuMont programs during the network’s final years and briefly had programming from the NTA Film Network in the late 1950s. On December 9, 1955, Rowley-Brown agreed to sell the station to KSYD-TV Inc., a consortium led by Sydney A. Grayson and Nat Levine. The transaction was approved in January 1956, and the station became KSYD-TV. In 1962, Grayson sold the station to Mid-New York Broadcasting, owned by Albany businessman Paul F. Harron. The new ownership changed the call letters to KAUZ-TV on July 31, 1963. The call sign resulted from a contest open to advertising and media personnel; the winning entry came from H. Wendell Eastling, who received a sports car and a trip as the contest prize. KAUZ made an important technical advance in February 1966 by becoming the first station in its market to broadcast local newscasts in color. In 1967, Mid-New York Broadcasting sold the station to Bass Brothers Telecasters, a company associated with Perry R. Bass and other television properties. Bass Brothers later sold KAUZ to Forward Communications in the early 1970s. The station subsequently passed to Adams Communications in 1983, Brissette Broadcasting in 1991, and Benedek Broadcasting in the mid-1990s. These transactions generally formed part of larger station-group acquisitions. The station gradually expanded its operating schedule. It had historically signed off overnight, but in September 1998 it began carrying programming through the night on most weekdays. The 24-hour schedule was extended to weekends in September 2001. This expansion combined CBS’s late-night and overnight material with syndicated programming. Benedek Broadcasting filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2002 and announced plans to sell its television portfolio. Gray Communications Systems, later renamed Gray Television, initially agreed to purchase most of the group. KAUZ was instead transferred to Chelsey Broadcasting in a piecemeal transaction completed in October 2002. Chelsey sold the station to Hoak Media in 2003. In July 2009, Drewry Communications, the owner of KSWO-TV, acquired KAUZ’s non-license assets and assumed certain operational functions through joint sales and shared services agreements. KSWO provided advertising and promotional support, while KAUZ retained substantial control over programming, news, master control, and production functions under the initial arrangement. Four KAUZ employees were laid off after the arrangement began, with some responsibilities absorbed by KSWO personnel. The stations continued to maintain separate facilities, news departments, and many non-management employees. A technical modernization project completed in January 2012 allowed KAUZ to broadcast syndicated programming in high definition. The shared master-control improvements also supported the insertion of weather warnings, emergency information, school and event closures, and Emergency Alert System material into programming. In 2014, Hoak reached an agreement to transfer KAUZ’s license assets to a company controlled by Bill W. Burgess Jr., but that proposed transaction was later abandoned. Raycom Media announced its acquisition of Drewry Communications in August 2015. American Spirit Media acquired KAUZ’s license and other assets in connection with that transaction, while the station continued to be operated with support from the KSWO relationship. Regulatory changes affecting joint sales agreements led to the termination of the prior advertising-sales arrangement. A shared services agreement replaced it, with KSWO and Raycom providing news production, administrative, production, equipment, and facility support while KAUZ remained a Wichita Falls-based station. Gray Television announced its merger with Raycom in 2018. The transaction, valued at approximately $3.6 billion in the announcement, brought the Raycom operating organization into Gray’s corporate structure after completion. KAUZ consequently continued under an American Spirit Media ownership structure while being operated through Gray’s regional television organization. Today the station serves the western Texoma area through its CBS service, secondary digital programming, local news and weather, digital content, advertising, and the K29FR-D translator in Quanah.
- 2019
Gray assumes the Raycom operating organization
[1]Gray Television’s merger with Raycom placed the station’s shared-services operation within Gray’s television group.
- 2015
American Spirit Media becomes license owner
[1]American Spirit Media acquired KAUZ’s license and related assets in connection with Raycom Media’s acquisition of Drewry Communications.
- 2012
High-definition syndicated programming introduced
[1]A shared master-control upgrade enabled KAUZ to carry syndicated programming in HD and integrate emergency information more effectively.
- 2009
KSWO operating relationship begins
[1]Drewry Communications assumed selected sales and operational responsibilities for KAUZ through joint sales and shared services agreements.
- 2003
Hoak Media acquires KAUZ
[1]Chelsey agreed to sell the station to Hoak Media.
- 2002
Station transferred to Chelsey Broadcasting
[1]Following Benedek Broadcasting’s bankruptcy and portfolio restructuring, KAUZ was sold to Chelsey Broadcasting.
- 2001
24-hour schedule expanded to weekends
[1]KAUZ extended its overnight programming schedule to the weekend period.
- 1998
Weekday overnight schedule introduced
[1]The station began maintaining a largely continuous schedule on Sunday through Thursday nights.
- 1966
Local newscasts move to color
[1]KAUZ became the first station in the market to produce its local newscasts in color.
- 1963
KAUZ-TV call sign adopted
[1]After Mid-New York Broadcasting acquired the station, it changed its call letters to KAUZ-TV on July 31.
Products and positioning
A locally focused, network-affiliated television station serving Wichita Falls, western North Texas, western Texoma, and nearby southwestern Oklahoma. Its positioning combines CBS network content with local news, weather, public-service information, syndicated programming, and expanded digital multicast offerings.
Television network affiliate · 1953
KAUZ-TV CBS service
The station’s primary over-the-air service carries CBS network programming for Wichita Falls, western Texoma, and surrounding communities. CBS has been KAUZ’s principal network affiliation since the station first signed on under the KWFT-TV call sign in 1953.
Local television news
NewsChannel 6 local news
KAUZ’s local news operation provides regional reporting, weather, severe-weather information, traffic and community coverage for Wichita Falls and nearby portions of North Texas and southwestern Oklahoma. News production and selected operational functions have been supported through the station’s relationship with KSWO-TV and Gray Media.
Digital multicast television
CW digital service
KAUZ distributes CW programming through a secondary digital service, giving the station an additional network offering alongside its primary CBS affiliation.
Television translator
K29FR-D
K29FR-D is KAUZ’s translator station in Quanah, Texas. It relays the station’s programming to parts of western North Texas and extreme southwestern Oklahoma that are outside the main Wichita Falls signal’s primary coverage area.
Brand decisions
2019
Transfer the Raycom operating relationship to Gray MediaM&ABackground
Gray Television agreed to combine its broadcasting assets with Raycom Media’s television group.
Action taken
Completion of the merger placed the operating relationship for KAUZ within Gray’s television organization while American Spirit Media remained the license owner.
Aftermath
KAUZ continued operating as a Wichita Falls CBS affiliate with shared-services support from the Gray group.
Announced transaction value. 3600000000 (2018 announcement)
2015
Replace the joint sales structure with a shared services arrangementStrategyBackground
The FCC adopted restrictions affecting joint sales agreements involving the sale of substantial advertising time by one competing station for another.
Action taken
After American Spirit Media acquired KAUZ’s license assets, the prior joint sales agreement was terminated and a shared services agreement was used instead.
Aftermath
KSWO and the Raycom operating organization continued to support news, administration, production, equipment, and facilities while KAUZ retained its Wichita Falls identity.
2009
Enter a joint sales and shared services relationship with KSWO-TVStrategyBackground
Drewry Communications owned KSWO-TV and sought to consolidate selected commercial and operational functions while KAUZ remained a separate Wichita Falls station.
Action taken
Drewry acquired KAUZ’s non-license assets and began providing advertising, promotional, and selected operational support through joint sales and shared services agreements.
Aftermath
The stations shared some resources but retained separate facilities, news departments, and much of their non-management staffing.
1966
Convert local news production to colorGeneration changeBackground
CBS and the American television industry were moving from black-and-white transmission toward predominantly color programming.
Action taken
KAUZ upgraded its local newscast production to color.
Aftermath
It became the first station in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market to present local newscasts in color.
1963
Adopt the KAUZ-TV call signStrategyBackground
Mid-New York Broadcasting acquired the station and sought a new identity distinct from the previous KSYD-TV branding.
Action taken
The station adopted KAUZ-TV after an owner-sponsored contest for a new call sign.
Aftermath
KAUZ-TV became the station’s enduring broadcast identity.
1953
Adopt CBS as the primary network affiliationStrategyBackground
The station’s predecessor, KWFT-TV, was launched with a connection to KWFT radio, which had an established relationship with the CBS Radio Network.
Action taken
KAUZ’s predecessor made CBS its principal television network affiliation while also carrying selected programming from other networks during the station’s early years.
Aftermath
CBS became the station’s long-term network identity and remains central to its programming position.
Sources2 sources
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