KWWT

KWWT is a full-power television station serving Odessa, Midland, and the wider Permian Basin region of West Texas. Licensed to Odessa and operating on virtual channel 30, the station is owned by Gray Media and operates alongside KOSA-TV, KCWO-TV, KTLE-LD, and KMDF-LD. The stations share facilities in the Music City Mall on East 42nd Street in Odessa, while the broader operation also maintains a secondary studio and news bureau in downtown Midland. KWWT's transmitter is located along State Highway 158 near Gardendale, Texas. The station began broadcasting on December 5, 2001, under the call sign KPXK. It initially carried Pax TV programming. In the mid-2000s, its role changed as the station became associated with The WB 100+ service, a cable-oriented programming feed created for smaller television markets. When The WB and UPN were scheduled to close in 2006, their corporate owners, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros., formed The CW Television Network. KWWT was selected in March 2006 to become a CW affiliate through the network's CW Plus distribution system. KWWT remained affiliated with The CW for several years. During this period, the station also expanded its sports programming. Beginning in 2011, it carried college football and basketball from the Southland Conference Television Network under a four-season agreement. For the first three seasons, these games generally appeared on digital subchannel 30.2 because the CW Plus schedule restricted preemptions on the primary channel. In the final season, the Southland programming moved to the main channel. KWWT also carried ACC Network basketball during the 2011–12 season. The station's CW affiliation ended on December 29, 2013, when KWES-TV assumed the market's CW rights. KWWT then repositioned its programming lineup, carrying MeTV on its main digital channel and Movies! on a secondary digital subchannel. The station has subsequently been described primarily as an independent outlet while maintaining a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation. Its programming role therefore combines syndicated and entertainment content with network-supplied programming, rather than operating as a conventional single-network affiliate. Gray Television announced in July 2020 that it would acquire KWWT and low-power sister station KMDF-LD from their then-owner for $1.84 million, subject to regulatory approval. Because the transaction involved overlapping broadcast interests in the Odessa–Midland market, Gray requested a failing-station waiver from the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC approved the waiver on September 14, 2020, and the transaction closed on September 30. Following the acquisition, KWWT's operations were moved into the shared KOSA/KCWO facility in Odessa. KWWT also completed the United States digital television transition. It ended analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, and moved its digital signal to UHF channel 30 in a flash cut. As an original construction-permit station established after the FCC's digital allotment plan had been finalized, it did not receive a separate companion digital channel. KWWT's identity is principally local and regional: it is a broadcast outlet rather than a consumer product brand, and its market value derives from local reach, programming rights, digital subchannels, and its place within Gray Media's West Texas station group.

KWWT is an Odessa, Texas, television station serving the Permian Basin. It began broadcasting on December 5, 2001, as KPXK. Its original schedule was affiliated with Pax TV, but the station's programming identity changed as it became connected with The WB 100+ service. That service supplied WB programming to smaller television markets through cable and broadcast distribution arrangements. The closure of UPN and The WB led to another major change. In January 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner, announced plans to replace the two networks with The CW. KWWT was named a CW affiliate in March 2006 through CW Plus. This affiliation gave the Odessa station a network schedule while preserving a local-market broadcast outlet on channel 30. KWWT also used its digital capacity for additional programming. From 2011 through the final season of the Southland Conference Television Network, it broadcast college football and basketball. The sports package generally aired on digital subchannel 30.2 during the first three seasons because the CW Plus schedule limited the ability to preempt primary-channel network programs. In the last season, the games were carried on the main channel. KWWT additionally aired ACC Network basketball during the 2011–12 season. The station's CW period ended on December 29, 2013, when KWES-TV became the Odessa–Midland market's CW outlet. KWWT changed its lineup to carry MeTV on virtual channel 30.1 and Movies! on 30.2. It later operated chiefly as an independent station while retaining a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation. This transition illustrates the station's evolution from a conventional network affiliate toward a more flexible combination of syndicated, multicast, and secondary-network programming. KWWT's technical history includes the nationwide digital television transition. It discontinued its analog signal on June 12, 2009, and flash-cut its digital transmission onto UHF channel 30. Because its original construction permit was issued after the FCC had finalized the digital television allotment plan, it did not receive a separate companion channel for the transition. In July 2020, Gray Television announced that it would acquire KWWT and low-power station KMDF-LD for $1.84 million. Gray already owned KOSA-TV and CW affiliate KCWO-TV in the market. The proposed transaction required regulatory consideration because of the number and structure of independent broadcast voices in the Odessa–Midland area. Gray sought a failing-station waiver, and the FCC granted it on September 14, 2020. The sale closed on September 30. KWWT subsequently became part of Gray's West Texas operating group, sharing facilities with KOSA-TV, KCWO-TV, KTLE-LD, and KMDF-LD. The group operates from the Music City Mall in Odessa and maintains a secondary Midland presence, while KWWT's transmitter remains near Gardendale.

• 2020

  Acquisition by Gray Television

  [1]KWWTen.wikipedia.org

  Gray announced the purchase of KWWT and KMDF-LD, received an FCC waiver, and completed the transaction on September 30.

• 2013

  CW affiliation ends

  [1]KWWTen.wikipedia.org

  KWES-TV assumed the market's CW rights on December 29, after which KWWT carried MeTV and Movies! services.

• 2011

  Southland Conference sports begin

  [1]KWWTen.wikipedia.org

  KWWT began carrying Southland Conference Television Network college football and basketball, with much of the package initially placed on a digital subchannel.

• 2009

  Analog transmission ends

  [1]KWWTen.wikipedia.org

  KWWT shut down its analog UHF channel 30 signal and completed a digital flash cut on the same channel.

• 2006

  KWWT becomes a CW Plus affiliate

  [1]KWWTen.wikipedia.org

  The station was selected to carry The CW through the CW Plus distribution system after the planned shutdown of UPN and The WB.

• 2001

  Station signs on as KPXK

  [1]KWWTen.wikipedia.org

  KPXK began broadcasting from Odessa on December 5, initially carrying Pax TV programming.

A local West Texas broadcast station serving the Odessa–Midland and Permian Basin market through independent programming, secondary network affiliation, syndicated entertainment, and digital multicast services.

• Broadcast television · 2001

  KWWT main channel

  KWWT's primary broadcast service on virtual channel 30. The station has operated with a primarily independent schedule in its later history, supplemented by syndicated entertainment and a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation. Its lineup has changed over time as network affiliations and multicast arrangements in the Odessa–Midland market have evolved.

• Network affiliation · 2006

  CW Plus affiliation

  KWWT carried The CW through CW Plus from 2006 until December 2013. CW Plus provided a standardized network and syndicated schedule intended for smaller television markets, giving KWWT a network-based identity during this period.

• Sports programming · 2011

  Southland Conference Television Network

  KWWT carried college football and basketball from the Southland Conference Television Network for four seasons beginning in 2011. The games generally appeared on digital subchannel 30.2 during the first three seasons and moved to the primary channel in the final season.

• Digital multicast programming · 2013

  MeTV

  After KWWT's CW affiliation ended, MeTV was carried on the station's primary digital channel. The service provided a schedule centered on classic television programming and marked the station's shift toward a multicast and independent-programming model.

• Digital multicast programming · 2013

  Movies!

  Movies! was added to KWWT's secondary digital channel after the station left The CW. It supplied feature-film programming as part of the station's revised multicast lineup.

• 2020

  Sale to Gray TelevisionM&A

  Background

  Gray Television sought to acquire KWWT and KMDF-LD while already owning other stations in the Odessa–Midland market. The proposed ownership structure required FCC review and a failing-station waiver.

  Action taken

  Gray announced a $1.84 million purchase, obtained FCC approval for the waiver on September 14, and completed the transaction on September 30.

  Aftermath

  KWWT joined Gray's West Texas station group and moved its operations into the shared KOSA/KCWO facility in Odessa.

  Reported acquisition price. $1.84 million (Announced July 2020; transaction completed September 30, 2020)

  Source

• 2013

  Reposition after losing CW affiliationStrategy

  Background

  KWES-TV took over the Odessa–Midland market's CW rights on December 29, ending KWWT's network affiliation.

  Action taken

  KWWT placed MeTV on virtual channel 30.1 and Movies! on digital channel 30.2, while operating primarily as an independent station with a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation.

  Aftermath

  The station adopted a more flexible entertainment and multicast-oriented programming model.

  Source

• 2006

  Join The CW through CW PlusStrategy

  Background

  The planned shutdown of UPN and The WB created a new national network, The CW, and required affiliates in smaller markets to select new programming arrangements.

  Action taken

  KWWT was selected as a CW Plus affiliate for the Odessa market.

  Aftermath

  The station remained associated with The CW until December 2013, when KWES-TV assumed the market affiliation.

  Source

1. 1KWWTen.wikipedia.org