KVUE
An ABC-affiliated television station serving Austin and Central Texas.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KVUE is a television station licensed to Austin, Texas, operating on virtual channel 24 as an affiliate of the ABC network. It is one of the principal local news brands in the Austin market and provides broadcast television, digital news, weather, sports, investigative reporting, community programming, and syndicated or network content. The station’s studios are on Steck Avenue in northwest Austin, while its transmitter is located at the West Austin antenna farm northwest of downtown. KVUE originated in the long-running effort to establish a full-time UHF station on Austin’s channel 24. The Federal Communications Commission began receiving applications for the allocation in the early 1960s. After several ownership and construction-permit changes, a group of investors associated with McAlister Television Enterprises and former Texas governor Allan Shivers obtained approval to build the station. The call letters were changed from KVET-TV to KVUE, and the station finally began broadcasting on September 12, 1971. Its launch made it Austin’s first full-time ABC affiliate and completed the market’s access to full programming from the three major U.S. broadcast networks. The station was acquired by the Evening News Association in 1978. Under Evening News and later Gannett ownership, KVUE expanded its facilities and developed a strong local-news operation. Its newsroom became particularly influential under news director Carole Kneeland, who led the operation from 1989 until her death in 1998. During this period, KVUE reduced the emphasis on highly sensational crime coverage and introduced systematic fact-checking of political advertising. These editorial practices attracted national attention and helped establish the station as an important example of local television journalism. Gannett acquired the Evening News Association in a transaction completed in 1986. In 1999, Gannett exchanged KVUE with Belo Corporation for KXTV in Sacramento and $55 million. The transaction gave Belo an Austin station that complemented its Texas media holdings, including The Dallas Morning News and television stations in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Belo’s ownership connected KVUE with the company’s broader Texas news strategy and the former Texas Cable News operation. Gannett announced its acquisition of Belo in 2013, and the transaction closed that December. When Gannett later separated its publishing and broadcasting operations, the broadcast group became Tegna. Tegna subsequently became the subject of a proposed acquisition by Standard General and Apollo Global Management in 2022; that transaction was canceled in 2023. Nexstar Media Group later agreed to acquire Tegna, and the transaction was reported as completed in 2026. The resulting ownership structure placed KVUE within Nexstar’s Austin portfolio alongside KXAN-TV, KBVO, and services associated with KNVA, although regulatory and court proceedings affected the timing of operational integration. KVUE has competed for Austin local-news leadership with KTBC and KXAN-TV for several decades. Its news operation achieved a notable ratings breakthrough in 1981 and remained a major market competitor thereafter. The station’s documentary work has also received recognition: in 2014, it won a Peabody Award for The Cost of Troubled Minds, which examined Texas’s underinvestment in mental-health care. In addition to traditional over-the-air broadcasting, KVUE distributes news and video through its website and digital platforms. It completed the U.S. transition from analog to digital television in 2009 while continuing a temporary analog public-service announcement loop under the federal SAFER Act.
History
The history of KVUE begins with the allocation of UHF channel 24 in Austin. The Federal Communications Commission received competing applications for the channel during the early 1960s, including proposals from Midland broadcaster Dalton Homer Cobb, John R. Powley’s Texas Longhorn Broadcasting Company, and Austin radio station KVET. The KVET application was selected in 1963, but construction did not proceed on the timetable initially promised. The permit changed hands several times, including a proposed sale to McAlister Television Enterprises, the owner of KSEL-TV in Lubbock. McAlister later brought in additional investors, including former Texas governor Allan Shivers. The resulting Channel Twenty-Four Corporation received regulatory approval in 1970. Before launch, the proposed KVET-TV call letters were replaced by KVUE, and the owners selected a studio site in northern Austin. Strong winds associated with Hurricane Fern delayed the intended opening, but KVUE ultimately began broadcasting on September 12, 1971. The station was Austin’s third television station and the city’s first full-time ABC affiliate. Before its arrival, ABC programs had only been shown during limited clearance periods on other local stations. The Evening News Association acquired KVUE in 1978. During its ownership, the station enlarged its studio complex and dealt with a serious 1984 security incident in which an armed man sought to force the station to broadcast a political manifesto. Employees persuaded him that his statement had been transmitted, allowing authorities to arrest him without the attempted broadcast he demanded. The Evening News Association was later acquired by Gannett, with the transaction closing in February 1986 after a takeover contest involving Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio. Gannett invested further in KVUE’s facilities, including a 1991 expansion for the newsroom. The station also became a significant force in Austin local news. Its Action News broadcasts overtook longtime market leader KTBC at 6 and 10 p.m. in 1981, and KVUE and KTBC traded leadership positions during much of the 1980s. News director Carole Kneeland guided KVUE from 1989 until her death from breast cancer in 1998. She reduced the newsroom’s reliance on sensational crime stories and helped establish political-advertising fact-checking as a regular editorial practice. KVUE’s editorial approach was discussed in national journalism publications and on ABC’s Nightline. In February 1999, Gannett and Belo agreed to exchange KVUE and Sacramento station KXTV, with Belo also paying Gannett $55 million. The transaction gave Belo an Austin outlet that fit its Texas newspaper and television holdings and supported the company’s statewide news ambitions. During the later Gannett years, KXAN-TV became KVUE’s principal local-news rival, particularly after Austin’s network-affiliation changes in the mid-1990s reshaped the competitive landscape. Gannett acquired Belo in 2013. The deal closed on December 23, bringing KVUE into Gannett’s expanded station group. Gannett subsequently separated its publishing and broadcasting assets; the broadcast company was renamed Tegna. KVUE continued operating as an ABC affiliate under Tegna and maintained its focus on local news, weather, investigative reporting, and digital content. The station received its most prominent journalism honor in 2014, when The Cost of Troubled Minds won a Peabody Award. The documentary examined Texas’s limited investment in mental-health care and became the first Peabody-winning work produced by an Austin television station. KVUE’s news operation continued to compete closely with KXAN, with KXAN leading KVUE in some early- and late-evening ratings by 2021. KVUE also became the subject of a 2021 media-ethics stunt. A production team working for Last Week Tonight created the fictional Venus Veil product, actually a blanket, and paid KVUE $2,650 for a sponsored segment presented as a product interview. The broadcast was used to question whether viewers could distinguish advertising from editorial content when sponsorships were not made sufficiently explicit. Technically, KVUE ended regular analog programming on February 17, 2009, during the U.S. digital-television transition. Its digital service continued using UHF channel 33 with virtual channel 24. Under the FCC’s SAFER Act, the station temporarily maintained an analog signal carrying public-service announcements about the transition until June 27. Tegna became the target of a proposed $5.4 billion acquisition by Standard General and Apollo Global Management in 2022, but the deal was canceled in 2023. Nexstar later agreed to acquire Tegna, and the transaction was reported as completed in 2026. Nexstar’s existing Austin holdings included KXAN-TV, KBVO, and interests or operating arrangements involving KNVA. Regulatory limitations and subsequent court proceedings affected the pace at which KVUE could be integrated with those stations.
- 2026
Nexstar acquires Tegna
[1]Nexstar was reported to have completed its acquisition of Tegna, placing KVUE under Nexstar ownership.
- 2021
Venus Veil sponsored-content stunt
[1]KVUE aired a paid segment for the fictional Venus Veil product as part of a television satire and media-ethics test.
- 2015
Broadcast group becomes Tegna
[1]Following Gannett’s separation of publishing and broadcasting assets, KVUE became part of Tegna’s television portfolio.
- 2014
First Austin television station to win a Peabody Award
[1]KVUE won a Peabody Award for its mental-health documentary The Cost of Troubled Minds.
- 2013
Gannett acquires Belo
[1]Gannett completed its acquisition of Belo, returning KVUE to Gannett ownership.
- 2009
Digital television transition
[1]KVUE ended regular analog broadcasting and continued its digital service on UHF channel 33 with virtual channel 24.
- 1999
Belo acquires KVUE
[1]Belo obtained KVUE in a station exchange with Gannett involving KXTV and an additional cash payment.
- 1986
Gannett ownership begins
[1]Gannett completed its acquisition of the Evening News Association and took control of KVUE.
- 1981
KVUE reaches the top of Austin news ratings
[1]KVUE’s Action News edged KTBC at the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. news periods, establishing the station as a serious ratings competitor.
- 1978
Evening News Association acquires KVUE
[1]The Detroit-based media company purchased KVUE from its original Texas investor group.
Products and positioning
A mainstream, locally focused broadcast-news brand combining ABC network affiliation with Austin-area reporting, weather, investigative journalism, and digital distribution.
Television news · 1971
KVUE local news
KVUE’s core offering is locally produced television news for Austin and Central Texas. Coverage includes breaking news, politics, public safety, education, business, health, transportation, community affairs, and enterprise reporting. The station has historically competed for leadership in morning, early-evening, and late-evening news.
Weather services
KVUE weather
KVUE provides local forecasts, severe-weather alerts, radar information, warnings, and weather explainers for Austin and surrounding Central Texas communities through broadcast and digital channels.
Journalism
Investigative and documentary journalism
The station’s investigative and documentary work addresses public institutions, social problems, accountability, and public policy. Its documentary The Cost of Troubled Minds examined Texas mental-health funding and won a Peabody Award in 2014.
Digital media
KVUE digital news
KVUE extends its local-news brand through its website and associated digital video and information products, distributing articles, live coverage, weather information, investigations, and local updates beyond the linear television schedule.
Broadcast television · 1971
ABC programming
As an ABC affiliate, KVUE carries the network’s scheduled programming while combining it with locally produced news, weather, public-service material, and other station content.
Controversies
2021
Venus Veil sponsored-content incident
KVUE accepted $2,650 for a segment promoting Venus Veil, a fictitious sexual-wellness product that was actually a blanket. The segment was created by a team working for Last Week Tonight and was intended to expose weaknesses in the disclosure of sponsored content on local television. The incident generated criticism because the paid material was presented in an interview-like news format.
Brand decisions
2026
Nexstar acquisition of TegnaM&ABackground
Nexstar already owned several Austin television properties, creating regulatory and operational issues around station ownership and integration.
Action taken
Nexstar agreed to acquire Tegna, with the transaction reported as completed on March 19, 2026.
Aftermath
KVUE entered Nexstar’s ownership structure. A federal court order later restricted immediate integration with Nexstar’s existing Austin stations.
Acquisition value. $6.2 billion (2025-2026 transaction)
2022
Proposed Tegna saleM&ABackground
Tegna announced a proposed acquisition by Standard General and Apollo Global Management.
Action taken
The proposed transaction would have transferred KVUE and other Tegna stations to new ownership, with certain stations expected to be resold to Cox Media Group.
Aftermath
The transaction was canceled in 2023, so KVUE remained with Tegna.
Proposed acquisition value. $5.4 billion (2022 proposed transaction)
2013
Gannett acquisition of BeloM&ABackground
Belo owned KVUE as part of a group of newspapers and television stations concentrated in major Texas markets.
Action taken
Gannett announced and completed the acquisition of Belo.
Aftermath
KVUE returned to Gannett ownership and later became part of the company’s broadcast successor, Tegna.
Acquisition value. $1.5 billion (2013 acquisition)
1999
Station exchange with BeloM&ABackground
Gannett wanted to exchange KVUE for KXTV in Sacramento, while Belo sought an Austin television property to complement its Texas media holdings and statewide news strategy.
Action taken
Gannett transferred KVUE to Belo and received KXTV plus $55 million.
Aftermath
KVUE became part of Belo’s Texas-centered media portfolio and remained a major Austin local-news competitor.
Cash component of station exchange. $55 million (1999 transaction)
Sources2 sources
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