KTFN

KTFN is a full-power television station licensed to El Paso, Texas, and affiliated with UniMás, the Spanish-language network formerly known as TeleFutura. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 65 and operates alongside Entravision-owned Univision affiliate KINT-TV. The two outlets share studio facilities on North Mesa Street, also identified with Texas State Highway 20, in northwest El Paso. KTFN's transmitter is located on the Franklin Mountains near the El Paso city limits, giving the station coverage across its southwestern U.S. service area. The station began broadcasting on June 22, 1991, under the call sign KJLF-TV. Its first broadcast was a live performance by Petra, a Christian rock band. The station was established by Sara Warren and Pete E. Meryl Warren III, who had previously been associated with the launch of KCIK-TV, now known as KFOX-TV. During its early years, KJLF-TV was an English-language religious independent station. Its schedule combined Christian programming with a limited amount of secular content, including sports and hunting programs, westerns, older sitcoms, public-domain films, and low-budget barter cartoons. Early prime-time programming included Remington Steele, 21 Jump Street, and Lou Grant. Over time, the religious component of the schedule declined as the station moved toward a conventional general-entertainment independent format. KJLF-TV became a charter affiliate of The WB when that network launched nationally in January 1995. The station changed ownership in 1998, when it was sold to White Knight Broadcasting. Following the January 1998 conversion of KMAZ-TV to Telemundo, KJLF-TV also carried UPN programming as a secondary affiliation and acquired syndicated programs previously shown by KMAZ. On March 1, 1998, its call sign changed to KKWB, reflecting its principal WB relationship. Entravision Communications acquired the station in 2001 after Univision Communications assigned its purchase rights to Entravision. The proposed transaction attracted opposition from The WB, which sought to prevent the sale because KKWB's affiliation agreement was scheduled to continue until 2005 and because the transaction contemplated replacing the WB schedule with Spanish-language programming. The dispute accompanied a broader change in the station's identity and programming strategy. On January 29, 2002, KKWB became an affiliate of TeleFutura, the network that later became UniMás, and adopted the call sign KTFN. KTFN's transition to Spanish-language programming left local viewers without an over-the-air WB affiliate for a period, although WB and UPN programming from Los Angeles stations was available through cable. The WB and UPN later ended their separate operations in 2006, with their programming combined under The CW. In the digital era, KTFN carried MundoFox on digital subchannel 65.2 beginning with the network's 2012 launch; MundoFox was subsequently known as MundoMax. The station completed the federally mandated end of analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, retaining digital transmission on UHF channel 51 while continuing to identify over the air with virtual channel 65. KTFN remains an Entravision television property serving the El Paso market through the UniMás network.

KTFN traces its history to June 22, 1991, when it signed on as KJLF-TV in El Paso, Texas. The station was founded by Sara Warren and Pete E. Meryl Warren III, figures associated with the earlier launch of KCIK-TV in the same broad regional broadcasting market. Its first transmission was a live Petra concert, establishing the station's original Christian orientation. KJLF-TV initially operated as an English-language religious independent station. Its schedule was not exclusively religious: Christian programs were combined with sports and hunting shows, westerns, older sitcoms, public-domain films, and low-cost syndicated cartoons. The early prime-time schedule included recognizable syndicated series such as Remington Steele, 21 Jump Street, and Lou Grant. John Warren served as station manager during the early period. The station's programming gradually shifted away from religious material and toward general entertainment, positioning it more like a conventional independent outlet. When The WB launched on January 11, 1995, KJLF-TV became one of its charter affiliates. This affiliation gave the station a network schedule while it continued to carry other syndicated and local programming. In 1998, ownership changed when White Knight Broadcasting acquired the station. That year also brought a significant programming adjustment: after KMAZ-TV moved from UPN to Telemundo, KJLF-TV began carrying UPN programming on a secondary basis and took on syndicated shows previously associated with KMAZ. On March 1, 1998, the station changed its call letters to KKWB, a reference to its WB affiliation. The station entered a new ownership and format phase in 2001. Univision Communications had initially agreed to acquire it, but assigned the purchase right to Entravision Communications. The WB opposed the transaction and filed a lawsuit seeking to block the sale, arguing in part that the station's WB affiliation agreement was not scheduled to expire until January 11, 2005. The proposed transaction also contemplated moving the station from WB programming to Spanish-language programming supplied through Univision's emerging TeleFutura network. The legal dispute reflected the strategic tension between established English-language network affiliations and the expansion of Spanish-language broadcasting in the United States. On January 29, 2002, the station became a TeleFutura affiliate and changed its call sign from KKWB to KTFN. TeleFutura was later renamed UniMás, and KTFN continued as part of that Spanish-language network's affiliate system. The change removed the local over-the-air WB affiliation from El Paso. For the remainder of the WB and UPN era, some viewers could receive programming from Los Angeles flagship stations through cable carriage, but the local broadcast arrangement had changed. The WB and UPN ultimately ceased separate operations in September 2006, when their programming was combined through the formation of The CW. KTFN also participated in the expansion of Spanish-language digital multicast services. In 2012, the station announced that MundoFox would be carried on digital subchannel 65.2. The service began appearing on the subchannel on August 1, 2012, ahead of MundoFox's formal August 13 launch, and was later rebranded MundoMax. The station's technical history includes the United States digital television transition. KTFN ended its analog transmission on UHF channel 65 at noon on June 12, 2009, the federally designated transition date for full-power television stations. Its digital signal remained on pre-transition UHF channel 51 while retaining virtual channel 65 for viewer identification. During the transition, KTFN and sister station KINT-TV transmitted Spanish-language informational crawls explaining how viewers could continue receiving television service. KTFN's studios are shared with KINT-TV on North Mesa Street in northwest El Paso, while its transmitter is located atop the Franklin Mountains. Under Entravision ownership, KTFN operates as a Spanish-language UniMás station serving the El Paso market.

• 2012

  MundoFox added to digital subchannel 65.2

  [1]KTFNen.wikipedia.org

  The station begins carrying MundoFox on digital subchannel 65.2; the network later becomes MundoMax.

• 2009

  Analog transmission ends

  [1]KTFNen.wikipedia.org

  KTFN shuts down its analog UHF 65 signal and continues digitally on UHF 51 with virtual channel 65.

• 2006

  WB and UPN programming ends as separate network services

  [1]KTFNen.wikipedia.org

  The WB and UPN cease separate operations and their programming is combined under The CW.

• 2002

  TeleFutura conversion and KTFN rename

  [1]KTFNen.wikipedia.org

  On January 29, the station joins TeleFutura and changes its call sign to KTFN.

• 2001

  Entravision acquisition

  [1]KTFNen.wikipedia.org

  Entravision Communications acquires the station after Univision Communications assigns its right to purchase it.

• 1998

  Adopts KKWB call sign

  [1]KTFNen.wikipedia.org

  The station changes its call letters to KKWB and carries WB programming while adding UPN programming as a secondary affiliation.

• 1995

  Becomes a charter WB affiliate

  [1]KTFNen.wikipedia.org

  KJLF-TV joins The WB when the network launches nationally on January 11.

• 1991

  KJLF-TV signs on

  [1]KTFNen.wikipedia.org

  The station begins broadcasting in El Paso on June 22 under the KJLF-TV call sign, initially using a Christian-oriented English-language independent format.

A local Spanish-language broadcast television station serving El Paso and nearby communities through the UniMás network, with an operating history that began as a Christian-oriented English-language independent station.

• Spanish-language television network affiliation · 2002

  UniMás

  KTFN's principal network service is UniMás, the Spanish-language network that succeeded TeleFutura. Through its virtual channel 65 operation, the station distributes network programming to the El Paso television market and complements the Entravision-owned KINT-TV Univision service.

• Digital multicast television · 2012

  MundoFox/MundoMax

  KTFN carried MundoFox on digital subchannel 65.2 beginning in 2012. The service was introduced ahead of the network's formal launch and was later renamed MundoMax. It represented the station's use of digital multicasting to add a separate Spanish-language network service.

• 2009

  Digital television transitionOther

  Background

  Federal regulations required full-power U.S. television stations to end regular analog broadcasting.

  Action taken

  KTFN discontinued its analog UHF 65 signal and continued digital broadcasting on pre-transition UHF channel 51 with virtual channel 65.

  Aftermath

  The station continued service through digital transmission, while informational Spanish-language crawls advised viewers about reception options.

  Source

• 2002

  Switch from WB programming to TeleFuturaStrategy

  Background

  After Entravision acquired the station, the ownership strategy called for replacing the existing WB-centered English-language schedule with Spanish-language programming from TeleFutura.

  Action taken

  On January 29, 2002, the station became a TeleFutura affiliate and changed its call sign from KKWB to KTFN.

  Aftermath

  The move established the station's long-term Spanish-language identity and left El Paso without a local over-the-air WB affiliate for a period.

  • The WB — The network opposed the proposed sale and filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the affiliation change before the transaction was completed.

  Source

1. 1KTFNen.wikipedia.org