KAZT-TV

KAZT-TV is a television station licensed to Prescott, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix television market. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 7 and maintains facilities in Prescott and Phoenix, with its principal transmitter located on Mingus Mountain northeast of Prescott. Its coverage is extended through a group of low-power translators, including KAZT-CD in Phoenix and additional facilities serving communities such as Flagstaff, Kingman, Bullhead City, and Lake Havasu City. The station began broadcasting on September 5, 1982, under the call sign KUSK. It was established by William H. Sauro after the Federal Communications Commission approved a construction permit for a Prescott channel 7 station in 1980. Sauro initially pursued a conventional network affiliation, but after those efforts failed he developed a more ambitious concept built around a network of translators serving smaller and rural communities. KUSK consequently emphasized classic television programs, sports, and locally oriented programming rather than operating as a traditional major-network affiliate. KUSK expanded gradually into the Phoenix area through low-power facilities and translators. Its schedule included baseball, college sports, local news, talk programming, and syndicated entertainment. Although the station gained a wider technical footprint, it faced difficulties obtaining full cable distribution in Phoenix. It did not reach the market's largest cable system until the 1990s, and its business experienced financial and shareholder problems. KUSK filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 1997 and emerged from reorganization in 2000. A proposed sale to Harry Pappas would have converted the station into an affiliate of the planned Azteca América Spanish-language network, but financial problems prevented the transaction and the intended launch. The Londen family subsequently agreed to acquire KUSK in late 2001. After taking control on April 1, 2002, the new owners changed the call sign to KAZT-TV and introduced the AZ-TV brand. The relaunch involved new management, technical improvements, local programming, and a broader effort to position the station as an Arizona-focused independent outlet. During the Londen era, KAZT carried syndicated entertainment, locally produced talk and information programs, Arizona State University athletics, regional sports, and selected professional sports events. Its sports portfolio at various times included Phoenix Mercury basketball, Arizona Cardinals preseason games, Phoenix Coyotes hockey, Arizona Rattlers arena football, and overflow events from Fox Sports Arizona. The station also carried local-interest programs such as The Best of Wallace and Ladmo and a Sunday Catholic Mass broadcast from the Cathedral of Saints Simon and Jude in Phoenix. KAZT completed its transition from analog to digital broadcasting in stages. Its digital companion service began operating in the early 2000s, and the analog channel 7 transmission ended in May 2009, after which the digital signal moved to VHF channel 7. The Phoenix low-power station KAZT-CA also underwent a digital transition and changed channels because of interference concerns. Additional digital multicast services, including Retro Television Network and MeTV, were introduced in 2008 and 2011. In 2024, Nexstar Media Group assumed operational control of KAZT through a time brokerage agreement with the Londen family. The arrangement accompanied a change in the Phoenix market's CW distribution: KAZT became the market's CW affiliate on February 1, 2024, replacing CW programming that had been moved to a subchannel of KNXV-TV. The station continues to combine network programming with local content and a translator-based Arizona coverage model. Nexstar announced in 2026 that KAZT would add a 9 p.m. newscast, although details of the planned program were not provided in the cited material.

KAZT-TV originated with a Federal Communications Commission construction permit granted to William H. Sauro on January 7, 1980, for a Prescott station on channel 7. The call sign briefly considered for the project was KNAZ, but the station adopted KUSK in September 1980. Sauro initially attempted to secure an affiliation with ABC and also explored CBS, but neither network regarded the proposed station as necessary for Northern Arizona coverage. By late 1981, Sauro had shifted toward an unusual business model. In partnership with a cable television consultant, he proposed a national network of more than 140 low-power translators that would distribute KUSK-style programming to rural communities. The station signed on September 5, 1982, with a schedule centered on classic television, sports, and programs intended for older viewers in Yavapai County. Its initial local output included a nightly newscast, weather segments, a Saturday information program, and local school and college sports. Financial pressures led to layoffs in 1985 and the discontinuation of much of this original local production. KUSK expanded its presence in Phoenix by acquiring the low-power facility K27AN in 1985 and beginning a Phoenix-area relay of its programming on April 22, 1986. Further translators were added around the metropolitan area and elsewhere in Arizona. During the late 1980s and 1990s, KUSK carried baseball, college athletics, music videos, syndicated entertainment, and other programming. A Phoenix translator temporarily shifted toward Home Shopping Network programming in the early 1990s, while the main KUSK service continued through other facilities. Coverage later reached Flagstaff, Casa Grande, Mohave County, and Yuma. The station's audience growth was constrained by cable carriage. KUSK reached an agreement with the Phoenix area's largest cable provider in 1993, but broad availability depended on system reconstruction that was not completed until 1996. The station nevertheless developed a substantial sports identity, carrying Arizona Wildcats basketball, Northern Arizona University and Brigham Young University athletics, baseball, and other regional events. It also aired local talk programming, including a show hosted by former Arizona politician Sam Steiger. KUSK, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 5, 1997. William Sauro attributed the filing primarily to an effort to resolve prolonged shareholder litigation and stated that the station had recently experienced a strong financial year. KUSK emerged from bankruptcy in May 2000. Later that year, it reached an agreement to sell to Harry Pappas, who intended to make it an Azteca América affiliate. The proposed transaction did not close because financing and broader network-launch difficulties disrupted the planned acquisition. The Londen family agreed to acquire KUSK on November 30, 2001. The family, associated with Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Company, installed Ron Bergamo as general manager. Operational control transferred on April 1, 2002, and the station was relaunched the next day as KAZT-TV under the AZ-TV brand. The new owners pursued a comprehensive overhaul of management, facilities, technology, and programming. They also created an advisory board that included prominent Arizona political, business, sports, and civic figures. KAZT's early Londen-era schedule included syndicated programs, local talk shows, a radio simulcast, Arizona State University athletics, and a compilation of classic material from the Phoenix children's program Wallace and Ladmo. The station continued to use its Prescott base while adding production facilities in Phoenix. During the 2000s, KAZT broadened its regional sports role through Phoenix Mercury games, Arizona Cardinals preseason football, Fox Sports Arizona overflow events, Arizona Rattlers arena football, and Phoenix Coyotes hockey. The Coyotes arrangement lasted through the 2008–09 season before Fox Sports Arizona became the team's exclusive television outlet. The station's translator network also changed during this period. Its Yuma relay stopped carrying KAZT programming in December 2006 because of syndication exclusivity issues and changing programming economics. That facility later became associated with Arizona State University's PBS station. In Phoenix, interference involving the digital operations of KUTP led KAZT-CA to obtain authorization for a digital transition and later to move from channel 27 to channel 36. KAZT introduced digital multicast services during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Retro Television Network was added in October 2008, followed by MeTV in June 2011. The main station's digital companion channel began operating in 2002, received permanent authorization during the following years, and was licensed in 2006. KAZT-TV ended its analog VHF channel 7 transmission on May 15, 2009, then moved its digital service to VHF channel 7. In 2024, Nexstar Media Group entered an eight-year time brokerage agreement with the Londen family and assumed operational control of the station. KAZT became the Phoenix market's CW affiliate on February 1, 2024. The change followed the movement of CW programming from KASW to a KNXV-TV subchannel by the E. W. Scripps Company. KAZT now operates as a locally owned station with network programming supplied through Nexstar, while retaining its Arizona-oriented identity, Prescott license, Phoenix facilities, and translator network.

• 2024

  CW affiliation begins

  [1]KAZT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KAZT became the Phoenix-area affiliate of The CW under a Nexstar time brokerage arrangement.

• 2011

  MeTV added

  [1]KAZT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KAZT added MeTV to its multicast offering.

• 2008

  Retro Television Network added

  [1]KAZT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station launched its first reported additional digital multicast service, carrying Retro Television Network.

• 2002

  KAZT-TV and AZ-TV relaunch

  [1]KAZT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The Londen family took control and relaunched the station as KAZT-TV under the AZ-TV brand.

• 1997

  Chapter 11 filing

  [1]KAZT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KUSK, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during a shareholder and corporate reorganization dispute.

• 1986

  Phoenix relay launched

  [1]KAZT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KUSK programming began reaching Phoenix through the low-power station K27AN.

• 1982

  KUSK signs on

  [1]KAZT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station began broadcasting on September 5 under the KUSK call sign.

• 1980

  Construction permit approved

  [1]KAZT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC approved William H. Sauro's construction permit for a new Prescott television station on channel 7.

A locally owned, Arizona-focused broadcast station combining network, syndicated, sports, and locally produced programming across the Phoenix and Northern Arizona markets.

• Network television · 2024

  The CW programming

  Since February 1, 2024, KAZT has carried The CW's network schedule for the Phoenix television market. The affiliation is supplied and operated through Nexstar under a time brokerage agreement with the Londen family.

• Local lifestyle programming

  Arizona Daily Mix

  A weekday morning program produced from Phoenix and hosted by former KTVK anchor Brad Perry. It represents KAZT's continuing focus on locally oriented information and lifestyle content.

• Sports broadcasting

  Regional sports programming

  KAZT has historically carried a varied selection of Arizona and professional sports, including college athletics, Phoenix Mercury basketball, Arizona Cardinals preseason football, Phoenix Coyotes hockey, Arizona Rattlers arena football, and overflow events from regional sports networks.

• Multicast television · 2008

  Digital multicast services

  KAZT has used digital subchannels to distribute additional television services, including Retro Television Network beginning in 2008 and MeTV beginning in 2011. The exact current subchannel lineup is not specified in the supplied material.

• 2024

  CW affiliation and Nexstar time brokerage agreementStrategy

  Background

  The Phoenix market's CW distribution had changed after CW programming moved from KASW to a subchannel of KNXV-TV.

  Action taken

  Nexstar assumed operational control of KAZT under a reported eight-year time brokerage agreement, and KAZT began carrying The CW on February 1.

  Aftermath

  KAZT became a de facto Nexstar-operated CW outlet while remaining locally owned by the Londen family.

  Source

• 2002

  AZ-TV independent-station relaunchStrategy

  Background

  The new owners sought to establish a stronger Arizona identity after acquiring the financially troubled KUSK operation.

  Action taken

  The station adopted the KAZT-TV call sign and AZ-TV brand, expanded Phoenix production, introduced local talk and information programs, and acquired additional sports and syndicated content.

  Aftermath

  KAZT operated for more than two decades as an independent, locally focused station before taking the CW affiliation in 2024.

  Source

• 2001

  Sale to the Londen familyM&A

  Background

  Following KUSK's bankruptcy reorganization and the failure of the proposed Pappas transaction, the station required a new owner.

  Action taken

  The Londen family agreed to acquire KUSK and subsequently took operational control in April 2002.

  Aftermath

  The station was renamed KAZT-TV, rebranded as AZ-TV, and subjected to a broad management, technical, and programming overhaul.

  Source

1. 1KAZT-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KAZT-TV official websiteaztv.com