KWHE

KWHE is a religious independent television station licensed to Honolulu, Hawaii, and broadcasting on virtual channel 14. The station is owned by Family Broadcasting Corporation, a Christian-oriented broadcasting group formerly known as LeSEA Broadcasting. Its studios are located on Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu, while its transmission facilities are situated near Hawaii Pacific University. KWHE began broadcasting on August 23, 1986. From its launch, the station combined religious programming with secular, generally family-oriented entertainment. Its schedule has included sitcoms, classic westerns, dramatic series, syndicated programs, locally relevant sports coverage, and other general-interest content, alongside religious shows that have historically occupied a substantial portion of the broadcast day. This combination distinguishes KWHE from a purely religious outlet and reflects the commercial licensing structure used by the station and several other Hawaii broadcasters. The station formerly extended its reach beyond Oahu through two satellite stations. KWHM, serving Maui from Wailuku on channel 21, signed on in 1993 and was later sold in 2018. It subsequently became KLEI, a satellite of Telemundo affiliate KFVE. KWHD, serving Hilo on channel 14, originated as KWHH and began broadcasting in 1989. That station was sold in 2020 and became KEKE, a Spanish-language independent station. These transactions ended KWHE's former statewide satellite relationship, leaving the Honolulu station as the principal surviving outlet associated with the KWHE brand. KWHE became Honolulu's first affiliate of The WB on January 11, 1995. Because of programming restrictions applied by its then-owner, the station carried selected family-oriented WB series and the Kids' WB block but did not air network programs considered sexually explicit or violent. The restricted schedule weakened the affiliation, and KWHE lost The WB to KFVE on December 28, 1998, when KFVE began carrying the network's full schedule as a secondary affiliation. Beyond religious programming and network experiments, KWHE has played a role in the local circulation of established television properties. It aired syndicated repeats of Hawaii Five-O, a crime drama closely associated with Honolulu, until 2013. The station also carried classic television programming through a digital multicast service: Cozi TV appeared on subchannel 14.2 around 2015 and was replaced by Light TV in 2017. In September 2017, KWHE expanded its secular schedule in accordance with a broader strategy affecting sister stations. The revised pattern added syndicated and off-network programs during weekday afternoons, throughout Saturdays, and during parts of Sundays, while retaining religious blocks on mornings and Sunday evenings. Some secular programming was also made available through the group's Family Entertainment Television cable service. KWHE completed its transition from analog to digital broadcasting on January 15, 2009, when Hawaii full-power stations ended analog transmissions ahead of the mainland United States. The station retained virtual channel 14 while using UHF channel 31 for its post-transition digital signal. KWHE remains one of the religious stations serving the Honolulu market that also broadcasts secular programming.

KWHE is a Honolulu religious independent television station that broadcasts on virtual channel 14. It is owned by Family Broadcasting Corporation, which was formerly identified as LeSEA Broadcasting. The station maintains studios on Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu and transmits from a site near Hawaii Pacific University. The station signed on August 23, 1986. Its original operating model combined religious programming with secular general-entertainment material. Religious programs occupied an important share of the schedule, while secular programming included sitcoms, classic westerns, dramatic series, syndicated first-run programs, and local sports events. This mixed format made KWHE one of the Honolulu market's religious stations that also offered substantial nonreligious programming. Family Broadcasting later developed a broader Hawaii distribution network around the station. A Hilo-area service began on October 1, 1989, initially using the call sign KWHH and later becoming KWHD. A Maui-area service, KWHM, began broadcasting on June 15, 1993. These stations allowed programming associated with KWHE to reach viewers outside Oahu, although both were eventually separated from the group. KWHM was sold in 2018 and later became KLEI, a satellite of Telemundo affiliate KFVE. KWHD was sold in 2020 and became KEKE, a Spanish-language independent station. On January 11, 1995, KWHE became the Honolulu market's charter affiliate of The WB. The affiliation was limited by LeSEA's content policies. KWHE carried family-oriented network programs, including series such as Sister, Sister, The Parent 'Hood, and 7th Heaven, along with the Kids' WB children's block after its launch in September 1995. Programs that conflicted with the owner's restrictions on sexual or violent material were preempted. This meant that KWHE did not offer the full WB schedule, and the arrangement ended on December 28, 1998, when KFVE began airing the network's complete lineup as a secondary affiliation. KWHE also carried syndicated reruns of Hawaii Five-O, the Honolulu-filmed crime drama that remained culturally prominent in Hawaii after its original CBS run ended in 1980. The station dropped the program in 2013. Around 2015, its digital subchannel 14.2 added Cozi TV, a service focused on classic series, films, and lifestyle programming. Cozi TV was replaced by Light TV in 2017, while KUPU later carried Cozi TV for the Hawaii market. In September 2017, KWHE expanded the amount of secular programming on its schedule. Weekday secular programming began at noon, Saturdays carried secular programming throughout the day, and Sundays included secular programs from noon to 7 p.m. and again after 10 p.m. Religious programming remained scheduled on weekday and Sunday mornings and on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Some of the secular programs were also shown on the co-owned Family Entertainment Television cable channel. The adjustment demonstrated an effort to broaden the station's audience without abandoning its religious identity. KWHE completed Hawaii's early full-power television digital transition on January 15, 2009. It discontinued its analog UHF channel 14 signal and retained virtual channel 14 for digital viewers, using UHF channel 31 as its post-transition digital frequency. The station is one of a small number of religious outlets in the Honolulu market that operate under commercial licenses and include secular programming. Its present identity therefore rests on a hybrid schedule: religious content remains central, while family-oriented syndicated and multicast television supplies additional general-interest programming.

• 2017

  Secular schedule expansion

  [1]KWHEen.wikipedia.org

  The station expanded syndicated and off-network programming while preserving religious blocks.

• 2009

  Digital transition

  [1]KWHEen.wikipedia.org

  KWHE ended analog broadcasting and continued as a digital station using virtual channel 14.

• 1998

  WB affiliation ends

  [1]KWHEen.wikipedia.org

  KWHE lost The WB affiliation after KFVE began carrying the network's complete schedule.

• 1995

  Joins The WB

  [1]KWHEen.wikipedia.org

  KWHE became Honolulu's first WB affiliate, carrying selected family-oriented network content.

• 1993

  Maui satellite service begins

  [1]KWHEen.wikipedia.org

  KWHM signed on June 15, extending the group's programming reach to Maui.

• 1989

  Hilo satellite service begins

  [1]KWHEen.wikipedia.org

  The service that later became KWHD began broadcasting as KWHH on October 1.

• 1986

  KWHE signs on

  [1]KWHEen.wikipedia.org

  KWHE began broadcasting in Honolulu on August 23 as a religious independent station with a mixed religious and secular schedule.

A commercially licensed religious broadcaster combining Christian programming with family-friendly secular entertainment and syndicated television for viewers in Honolulu and Hawaii.

• Television broadcast station · 1986

  KWHE channel 14

  KWHE's primary Honolulu television service broadcasts a hybrid schedule of religious programming and secular, family-oriented entertainment. Its programming history has included syndicated series, classic television, dramas, sitcoms, local sports, and selected network content. The station uses virtual channel 14 for viewers in the Honolulu market.

• Digital television subchannel · 2015

  Digital multicast service

  KWHE has used its digital multicast capacity for additional television services. Cozi TV was carried on subchannel 14.2 around 2015 before being replaced by Light TV in 2017, providing viewers with programming distinct from the station's main religious and syndicated schedule.

• Television programming · 1986

  Religious programming blocks

  Religious programming is the defining content category of KWHE. Following the 2017 schedule expansion, religious shows remained concentrated in weekday and Sunday mornings and during a Sunday evening block, while secular programs filled additional daytime and weekend periods.

• 2020

  Sale of KWHDM&A

  Background

  KWHD served the Hilo area as the former KWHH satellite of the KWHE operation.

  Action taken

  The Hilo station was sold in 2020.

  Aftermath

  It became KEKE, a Spanish-language independent station, ending the former satellite relationship.

  Source

• 2018

  Sale of KWHMM&A

  Background

  KWHM was one of the satellite stations that had extended KWHE-related programming beyond Honolulu.

  Action taken

  The Maui-area station was sold in 2018.

  Aftermath

  It later became KLEI, a satellite of Telemundo affiliate KFVE.

  Source

• 2017

  Increase secular programmingStrategy

  Background

  Family Broadcasting directed sister stations toward broader secular schedules while retaining their religious positioning.

  Action taken

  KWHE added more syndicated and off-network programming during weekday afternoons, Saturdays, and portions of Sundays.

  Aftermath

  The station continued as a hybrid religious and general-entertainment broadcaster, with some secular content also appearing on Family Entertainment Television.

  Source

• 1995

  Accept a restricted WB affiliationStrategy

  Background

  KWHE sought network programming while operating under LeSEA content restrictions that excluded programs deemed inconsistent with its family-oriented standards.

  Action taken

  The station carried selected WB series and Kids' WB programming but preempted portions of the network schedule.

  Aftermath

  The incomplete schedule contributed to the end of the affiliation in 1998, when KFVE began carrying the WB lineup more fully.

  • KFVE — KFVE subsequently carried The WB as a secondary affiliation with the network's complete schedule.

  Source

1. 1KWHEen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KWHE official websitekwhe.com