KSHV-TV
KSHV-TV is a Shreveport, Louisiana television station serving the Ark-La-Tex region, programmed primarily as an independent station with a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KSHV-TV is a full-power television station serving Shreveport, Louisiana, and the wider Ark-La-Tex region. The station broadcasts on UHF channel 45 and is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns NBC affiliate KTAL-TV in the market. KSHV-TV is co-managed with Fox affiliate KMSS-TV, and the three stations share facilities on North Market Street and Deer Park Road in northeast Shreveport. KSHV-TV's transmitter is located southeast of Mooringsport. The station began broadcasting on April 15, 1994, under the call sign KWLB. Its origins were closely connected with Word of Life Ministries, a Shreveport church that had pursued the channel allocation since the 1980s. Word of Life initially operated the station with a family-oriented schedule combining religious programs, children's programming, classic television series, movies, sports talk, and local sports coverage. The station's early local offerings included Sports Roundtable and broadcasts involving the Shreveport Crawdads basketball team and Shreveport Pirates Canadian Football League games. Word of Life placed the station on the market in 1995 after investing approximately $500,000 in its launch. White Knight Broadcasting acquired it, and the sale enabled Word of Life to fund construction and expansion projects associated with its church campus and charitable work. Following the transaction, the station adopted the call sign KSHV and shifted toward general entertainment. It became a United Paramount Network affiliate in August 1995, while religious programming was reduced largely to weekday and Sunday morning periods. In 1996, it also began carrying programming from The WB. KSHV's network affiliations changed as the American television network landscape evolved. In 2001, The WB became the station's primary affiliation, with the station using the WB45 brand, while UPN programming was carried on a delayed basis. KSHV dropped UPN entirely in 2003. When The WB and UPN were merged into The CW in 2006, KSHV instead joined the newly formed MyNetworkTV service. In subsequent years, its schedule became primarily independent programming supplemented by MyNetworkTV content. The station entered its current corporate structure through a series of ownership and operating transactions. Nexstar Media Group acquired Communications Corporation of America, the owner of KMSS-TV, in 2014. Because FCC ownership rules restricted a direct Nexstar combination involving the market's stations, KSHV was initially transferred to Marshall Broadcasting Group, a minority-owned broadcaster created by Pluria Marshall Jr., while Nexstar continued providing operational and programming services. Marshall Broadcasting later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Mission Broadcasting acquired Marshall's stations in 2020, and Nexstar exercised an option to acquire KSHV outright in 2021. KSHV has also carried locally produced news. Beginning in 2016, KTAL supplied Texarkana News First, a dedicated early-evening newscast focused on the Texarkana area. The program later operated from KTAL's Texarkana studio, which opened in 2019, before anchor Heather Wright left the station in 2021. Since July 2022, KSHV has been one of the Shreveport area's ATSC 3.0, or NextGen TV, outlets. Its programming is also distributed in ATSC 1.0 format through other local stations, allowing viewers with conventional digital television equipment to continue receiving its services. KSHV-TV functions less as a standalone consumer brand than as a local broadcast outlet within Nexstar's Shreveport station group. Its principal activities are television programming, local and regional news distribution, syndicated entertainment, network programming, digital broadcasting, and participation in the market's transition to newer transmission standards.
History
The Federal Communications Commission allocated UHF channel 45 to Shreveport in 1986. Word of Life Ministries, a local church, formally applied for the channel on October 29 of that year. Its proposal envisioned a Christian television outlet with ministry programming in important viewing periods. Several applicants entered the proceeding, which was placed into comparative hearing status in 1987. Word of Life reached settlements with two competing applicants, while businessman Wesley Godfrey's application was dismissed in 1989 after he failed to continue prosecuting it. Despite holding the construction permit, Word of Life made limited visible progress for several years. In 1990, Shreveport Community Television sued the ministry, alleging that Word of Life had failed to honor the financial terms of an earlier settlement and had cited unexpectedly high construction costs. The permit used the call sign KCDN during this period. By 1994, Word of Life was preparing the station for launch, hiring staff and leasing space on Interstate Drive. Broadcasting began on April 15, 1994, under the call sign KWLB. The original service reflected Word of Life's religious ownership. Its schedule included religious programs, children's shows, classic television series, and movies. Local programming included the sports discussion program Sports Roundtable, games involving the Shreveport Crawdads of the Continental Basketball Association, and twelve games involving the Shreveport Pirates of the Canadian Football League in 1995. Word of Life pastor Sam Carr also hosted a daily program with his wife, Becky. After spending about $500,000 to establish the station, Word of Life offered it for sale in April 1995. The ministry intended to use the proceeds to support a 2,000-seat auditorium and other campus improvements, as well as missions and related charitable activity. White Knight Broadcasting, led by Sheldon Galloway, acquired the station for approximately $3.8 million. The new owner was connected commercially with Communications Corporation of America, whose Shreveport television property was Fox affiliate KMSS-TV. Following the sale, the station changed its call sign to KSHV and became a UPN affiliate on August 28, 1995. Before that change, UPN programming had been shown secondarily on CBS affiliate KSLA-TV. KSHV retained some religious programming, but largely confined it to weekday and Sunday mornings while expanding its general-entertainment schedule. In July 1996, it began carrying The WB as a secondary affiliation. In January 2001, The WB became the primary affiliation and the station adopted the WB45 brand; UPN shows were delayed by approximately two hours. KSHV ended its UPN relationship in September 2003, after which KPXJ-TV became the market's UPN outlet. The 2006 creation of The CW through the combination of The WB and UPN prompted another affiliation decision. KPXJ was selected for The CW, while White Knight affiliated KSHV with MyNetworkTV. KSHV also discontinued analog transmission on February 17, 2009, in advance of the nationwide digital transition. Over time, the station's identity settled into a combination of independent general entertainment, MyNetworkTV programming, syndicated material, advertising, and selected local news. The station's ownership became more complex after Nexstar Media Group announced in 2013 that it would purchase Communications Corporation of America for $270 million. Nexstar already owned KTAL-TV in Shreveport, and FCC rules limited the ability to combine multiple full-power stations directly in a market of this size. The original regulatory plan contemplated selling KSHV to Rocky Creek Communications and KMSS to Mission Broadcasting, with Nexstar providing shared operational services. As regulators increased scrutiny of local television sharing agreements, Nexstar revised the structure. KMSS and other stations were sold to Houston-based Marshall Broadcasting Group, founded by Pluria Marshall Jr., for a reported $58.5 million, while Rocky Creek withdrew its KSHV acquisition application. The broader ComCorp transaction received FCC approval on December 4, 2014. Marshall Broadcasting became KSHV's owner, but Nexstar continued to provide services under the operating arrangement and supplied a KTAL-produced newscast for the Texarkana area. Marshall filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 3, 2019. It also sued Nexstar, alleging that Nexstar's conduct undermined Marshall's business and was intended to facilitate recovery of the stations through Mission Broadcasting. Mission agreed to buy Marshall's stations for $49 million on March 30, 2020; the FCC approved the transaction in August. Nexstar later exercised an option to purchase KSHV directly from Mission, completing the station's move into Nexstar's ownership in 2021. Local news became a more prominent part of the outlet's role in 2016, when KTAL began producing Texarkana News First for KSHV. The half-hour newscast aired at 5:30 p.m. and focused on the Texarkana metropolitan area. After KTAL opened a Texarkana studio in 2019, the program's presentation moved there. Anchor Heather Wright left the station in 2021, and the available reference material does not establish the program's subsequent staffing or status. In July 2022, KSHV became one of two Shreveport stations to offer ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV. Its subchannels continued to be transmitted in ATSC 1.0 by three other stations in the market, preserving compatibility for viewers without ATSC 3.0 receivers. KSHV therefore combines a conventional local broadcast role with participation in the market's transition to newer digital transmission technology.
- 2022
ATSC 3.0 service begins
[1]KSHV joined the Shreveport area's NextGen TV deployment in July.
- 2021
Nexstar takes direct ownership
[1]Nexstar exercised its option to acquire KSHV-TV from Mission Broadcasting.
- 2020
Mission Broadcasting purchases Marshall stations
[1]Mission acquired Marshall Broadcasting's stations after Marshall entered bankruptcy proceedings.
- 2016
Texarkana News First launches
[1]KTAL began supplying a dedicated Texarkana-focused newscast for KSHV.
- 2014
Nexstar's ComCorp transaction receives approval
[1]The FCC approved Nexstar's acquisition of Communications Corporation of America, leading to Marshall ownership of KSHV with Nexstar operational involvement.
- 2009
Analog transmission ends
[1]KSHV ended analog broadcasting on February 17 ahead of the United States digital television transition.
- 2006
KSHV joins MyNetworkTV
[1]The station selected MyNetworkTV after The WB and UPN announced their merger into The CW.
- 2003
UPN affiliation ends
[1]KSHV dropped UPN programming, which moved to KPXJ-TV.
- 2001
The WB becomes primary affiliation
[1]The station adopted the WB45 identity and moved UPN programming to a delayed schedule.
- 1996
The WB added as a secondary affiliation
[1]KSHV began carrying programming from The WB alongside its primary UPN schedule.
Products and positioning
A local Shreveport-area broadcast station offering general entertainment and MyNetworkTV programming, regional news content, advertising services, and next-generation digital television distribution.
Television broadcasting · 1994
Broadcast television service
KSHV-TV operates a full-power digital television service on channel 45 for Shreveport and surrounding communities in the Ark-La-Tex region. Its schedule combines independent general-entertainment programming, syndicated shows, movies, advertising, and selected network content. The station's programming profile has changed over time from religious and family-oriented programming to UPN, WB, and MyNetworkTV affiliations and then to its current hybrid structure.
Network television affiliation · 2006
MyNetworkTV programming
KSHV has carried MyNetworkTV programming since 2006, when the station selected the service after The WB and UPN were replaced by The CW. MyNetworkTV content forms a secondary component of the station's schedule alongside independent and syndicated programming.
Local television news · 2016
Texarkana News First
Texarkana News First was a KTAL-produced newscast carried by KSHV beginning in 2016. The early-evening program concentrated on news affecting the Texarkana metropolitan area and later used KTAL's Texarkana studio after that facility opened in 2019.
Digital television technology · 2022
ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV service
Since July 2022, KSHV has participated in Shreveport's ATSC 3.0 deployment. The technology supports newer digital broadcasting capabilities, while KSHV's subchannels remain available in ATSC 1.0 through other stations for viewers using legacy digital television equipment.
Controversies
2019
Marshall Broadcasting bankruptcy and dispute with Nexstar
Marshall Broadcasting Group, then the owner of KSHV, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2019. Marshall also sued Nexstar, alleging that Nexstar's conduct damaged the company's business and was intended to enable the stations' eventual return through Mission Broadcasting. The dispute was followed by Mission's acquisition of Marshall's stations in 2020 and Nexstar's later direct acquisition of KSHV.
Brand decisions
2022
Launch of ATSC 3.0 transmissionProduct launchBackground
Broadcasters in the Shreveport market began introducing NextGen TV transmission.
Action taken
KSHV began transmitting as one of the area's ATSC 3.0 stations while maintaining ATSC 1.0 distribution of its subchannels through other outlets.
Aftermath
The station gained a role in the local transition to newer digital broadcast standards without eliminating legacy reception options.
2021
Nexstar exercises option to acquire KSHVM&ABackground
Mission Broadcasting had acquired Marshall Broadcasting's stations following Marshall's bankruptcy proceedings.
Action taken
Nexstar exercised an option to purchase KSHV-TV outright from Mission.
Aftermath
KSHV became directly owned by Nexstar and remained part of the company's Shreveport station group.
2014
Regulatory restructuring of the Nexstar–ComCorp transactionM&ABackground
Nexstar's acquisition of Communications Corporation of America would have created ownership issues under FCC limits on television duopolies in smaller markets.
Action taken
KSHV was placed with Marshall Broadcasting while Nexstar continued supplying operational services; Rocky Creek withdrew its proposed acquisition application.
Aftermath
The FCC approved the broader transaction in December 2014, leaving KSHV under a separately held but Nexstar-operated structure until later ownership changes.
2006
Selection of MyNetworkTVStrategyBackground
The WB and UPN announced plans to merge into The CW, while the market's CW affiliation went to KPXJ.
Action taken
KSHV affiliated with MyNetworkTV and continued as a general-entertainment outlet.
Aftermath
MyNetworkTV became the station's principal network relationship within a broader independent schedule.
1995
Word of Life sells the station to White Knight BroadcastingM&ABackground
Word of Life sought to recover its launch investment and fund a large auditorium and other ministry-related projects.
Action taken
White Knight acquired the station for approximately $3.8 million and changed its call sign from KWLB to KSHV.
Aftermath
The station shifted from a religious and family-oriented format toward general entertainment and joined UPN.
Reported acquisition price. $3.8 million (1995)
Sources2 sources
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