KXAS-TV
KXAS-TV is the NBC-owned television station serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area from Fort Worth, Texas.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KXAS-TV, branded as NBC 5 or NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas–Fort Worth television market. The station is owned and operated by NBCUniversal through its NBC Owned Television Stations division and has carried NBC programming since it began broadcasting in 1948. It operates alongside Telemundo station KXTX-TV, with the two outlets sharing facilities at the CentrePort Business Park in eastern Fort Worth. KXAS-TV's transmission facilities are located in Cedar Hill, south of Dallas, where its signal reaches the broad North Texas region. The station originated with Amon G. Carter Sr., publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who sought a federal license for a VHF television station during the earliest development of commercial television in the United States. After receiving a construction permit in 1946, Carter initially considered the call sign KCPN, but ultimately used WBAP-TV, the call letters associated with his radio operation. The station conducted test broadcasts in September 1948 and formally began regular programming on September 29 of that year. It was the first television station to sign on in Texas and one of the earliest television stations in the United States. In its first years, WBAP-TV operated from Broadcast Hill in eastern Fort Worth. Its purpose-built facility was an important early television installation, and its programming combined NBC network material with locally produced news, entertainment, music, and children's programs. The station initially had only limited reach into Dallas, creating a complicated affiliation arrangement in which WFAA-TV served much of the eastern side of the developing two-city market. NBC eventually pressed the Carter family to improve Channel 5's Dallas coverage. The station responded by moving its transmitter to Cedar Hill and increasing its effective coverage. This change enabled WBAP-TV to become the sole NBC affiliate for the consolidated Dallas–Fort Worth market in 1957. KXAS-TV was also an early technical innovator. It adopted color production and transmission in the 1950s, carried NBC programming through an early live microwave network feed, and installed Texas's first color videotape recorder in 1959. Its local news operation received national attention during coverage of President John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit and assassination in Dallas. The station supplied color reports from Fort Worth and transmitted live images of Lee Harvey Oswald's shooting to NBC during the transfer of the suspect, an event that became a landmark in live television news. The station left Carter family ownership after federal restrictions on newspaper and broadcast cross-ownership forced the breakup of the Star-Telegram and related media holdings. LIN Broadcasting acquired the television station in a transaction announced in 1973 and completed in 1974. The call letters changed from WBAP-TV to KXAS-TV on May 16, 1974. Later ownership passed through broader broadcasting-company transactions, ultimately placing the station within NBCUniversal's owned-station portfolio. Today, KXAS-TV is a major local news, weather, sports, public-affairs, and NBC network programming outlet for North Texas. Its digital presence extends through NBCDFW.com and associated mobile and social products, while its broadcast identity remains centered on the NBC 5 brand.
History
KXAS-TV was created during the first wave of commercial television licensing in the United States. Amon G. Carter Sr., publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and owner of WBAP radio, applied for a VHF television authorization in 1944. The Federal Communications Commission granted Carter a construction permit for channel 5 in June 1946. Although the proposed call letters were initially KCPN, the station adopted WBAP-TV in recognition of Carter's established radio operation. Test broadcasts began on September 15, 1948, and the station informally went on the air on September 27 with coverage of President Harry S. Truman's reelection campaign speech. Regular programming began two days later. WBAP-TV was the first television station in Texas and among the earliest stations in the country. It operated from Broadcast Hill in eastern Fort Worth, in a facility specifically designed for television production. Early schedules were modest, but the station expanded to daily broadcasting within its first six months. From its launch, WBAP-TV was associated with NBC, inheriting the relationship held by WBAP radio with the predecessor NBC Blue Network. It also carried some ABC material in its early period. The proximity of Fort Worth and Dallas initially produced a divided affiliation structure: WBAP-TV's signal was stronger in the western part of the region, while WFAA-TV served the eastern side. NBC wanted a single affiliate capable of covering the entire developing market. The Carter family ultimately agreed to move Channel 5's transmitter from Fort Worth to Cedar Hill and increase its power. The change, completed in 1957, allowed WBAP-TV to become the market's sole NBC affiliate. Technology became a central part of the station's identity. WBAP-TV participated in one of the earliest live microwave network feeds in 1952 and moved rapidly into color. It carried NBC programming in color in 1954, converted local production facilities for color work, and installed the first color videotape recorder in Texas in 1959. These investments gave the station a prominent role in the technical development of television in the state. The station's most historically significant news coverage came in November 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. WBAP-TV produced reports from its Fort Worth studios and supplied NBC with color footage during a period when much of the network's New York-originated coverage was in black and white. On November 24, a remote unit positioned at the Dallas Police Department transmitted live pictures of nightclub owner Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald. The broadcast became one of the defining early examples of live breaking-news television. The station received professional recognition for its Kennedy coverage. Carter family control ended because of federal restrictions on common ownership of newspapers and broadcast outlets in the same market. In 1973, Carter Publications announced the sale of WBAP-TV to LIN Broadcasting; the transaction closed in 1974. The radio and newspaper properties were sold separately. Because the relevant rules also restricted duplicate call signs among separately owned local broadcast properties, the station changed its calls to KXAS-TV on May 16, 1974. KXAS continued technical expansion under later ownership. It introduced stereo broadcasting in 1985. In January 1987, an F-4 Phantom aircraft struck guy wires at the Cedar Hill tower, briefly disrupting KXAS and other stations. The station used auxiliary facilities and later built a new, taller transmission structure east of the original site; the replacement tower was completed in 1989. KXAS subsequently became part of NBC's owned-and-operated station group and is now operated by NBCUniversal. Its contemporary operation combines the NBC 5 broadcast service with local news, weather, investigative reporting, sports, public-affairs programming, and digital journalism through NBCDFW.com.
- 1989
Completes replacement Cedar Hill transmission tower
[1]A new high-rise transmission facility is completed after the 1987 aircraft collision damaged the earlier tower installation.
- 1985
Begins stereo broadcasting
[1]KXAS becomes the first station in the Dallas–Fort Worth market to broadcast in stereo.
- 1974
Changes ownership and call sign
[1]LIN Broadcasting completes its acquisition, and WBAP-TV becomes KXAS-TV on May 16.
- 1963
Covers the Kennedy assassination
[1]KXAS's predecessor provides nationally recognized reports and live footage during the assassination and subsequent shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald.
- 1959
Installs Texas's first color videotape recorder
[1]The station adds a color videotape system capable of recording and rapidly replaying locally produced material.
- 1957
Moves transmitter to Cedar Hill
[1]The transmitter relocation improves Dallas coverage and makes WBAP-TV the sole NBC affiliate for the Dallas–Fort Worth market.
- 1954
Expands color broadcasting
[1]The station dedicates upgraded production and master-control facilities and significantly expands color programming.
- 1952
Joins an early live NBC microwave feed
[1]WBAP-TV becomes one of the first stations to receive NBC programming through a live network microwave connection.
- 1948
WBAP-TV launches
[1]Regular broadcasts begin on September 29, making the station the first television outlet to sign on in Texas.
- 1946
FCC awards the construction permit
[1]The FCC grants Carter a permit to build a television station on VHF channel 5.
Products and positioning
A legacy NBC network station combining local news, weather, emergency information, sports, and national network programming for the large and diverse Dallas–Fort Worth market. Its positioning emphasizes regional reach, broadcast-news credibility, and the NBC 5 identity.
Television news · 1948
NBC 5 local news
KXAS-TV's local newscasts cover events across Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, and the wider North Texas region. The service typically combines breaking news, politics, public safety, investigations, consumer reporting, sports, traffic, and weather. Its broadcast identity is anchored by the NBC 5 name, while related clips and reports are distributed through the station's website, mobile products, and social channels.
Digital news
NBCDFW.com
NBCDFW.com is the station's digital news and information platform. It extends the television operation with written reports, video, live coverage, weather information, traffic updates, alerts, and locally focused features for users who consume news online rather than through a conventional television schedule.
Weather information
North Texas weather service
Weather coverage is a core KXAS-TV offering, particularly during severe storms, tornado threats, flooding, winter weather, and extreme heat. The service is delivered through television forecasts, digital updates, alerts, radar and video features, and live interruption of regular programming when conditions require urgent public information.
Network television · 1948
NBC network programming
KXAS-TV distributes NBC's national schedule to the Dallas–Fort Worth market. The station has maintained an NBC affiliation since its 1948 launch and has served as the network's owned-and-operated outlet in the market since joining NBCUniversal's station group.
Controversies
Brand decisions
1989
Construction of a replacement Cedar Hill transmission facilityOtherBackground
A military aircraft damaged the earlier Cedar Hill tower in 1987, requiring temporary transmission arrangements.
Action taken
KXAS built a new, approximately 1,400-foot transmission facility east of the previous tower site.
Aftermath
The replacement structure restored a permanent high-power transmission base and also accommodated transmitters for other radio and television services.
1974
Sale to LIN BroadcastingM&ABackground
Federal newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules prevented the Carter family from retaining its combined Fort Worth newspaper and broadcast holdings.
Action taken
Carter Publications sold the television station to LIN Broadcasting, with the transaction completed in 1974.
Aftermath
The station left Carter family ownership and changed its call letters from WBAP-TV to KXAS-TV on May 16, 1974.
reported transaction value. $35 million (Sale announced in 1973; completed in 1974)
1957
Relocation of the transmitter to Cedar HillStrategyBackground
NBC sought a single affiliate with sufficiently strong coverage across both Dallas and Fort Worth. WBAP-TV's original Fort Worth-centered signal did not adequately serve the eastern portion of the expanding market.
Action taken
The Carter family agreed to move the transmitter to Cedar Hill and increase the station's effective coverage, allowing it to serve as NBC's exclusive Dallas–Fort Worth affiliate.
Aftermath
The move consolidated NBC service in the metropolitan market and strengthened Channel 5's long-term regional position.
Recent events
- 1987
KXAS-TV transmitter tower is struck by a military aircraft[1]
Other
A Navy F-4 Phantom struck guy wires at the Cedar Hill transmission site during a training approach. KXAS and other stations were briefly interrupted before the station arranged auxiliary transmission capacity.
- 1985
KXAS-TV begins stereo broadcasting[1]
Product generation
KXAS became the first television station in the Dallas–Fort Worth market to broadcast programming in stereo when NBC introduced the format.
- 1974
LIN Broadcasting acquires the television station[1]
M&A
The Carter family's television property was sold to LIN Broadcasting after federal newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules forced the separation of the Star-Telegram and associated broadcast stations.
- 1974
WBAP-TV changes call letters to KXAS-TV[1]
Other
The station adopted the KXAS-TV call sign on May 16 following the change in ownership.
- 1963
WBAP-TV provides landmark coverage of the Kennedy assassination[1]
Other
The station supplied NBC with color reports from the Dallas–Fort Worth area during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and transmitted live images of Lee Harvey Oswald being shot.
- 1957
WBAP-TV becomes the sole NBC affiliate for Dallas–Fort Worth[1]
Other
After relocating its transmitter to Cedar Hill and expanding coverage toward Dallas, WBAP-TV became NBC's exclusive affiliate for the consolidated metropolitan television market.
- 1948
WBAP-TV begins regular broadcasting in Fort Worth[1]
Other
The station formally launched regular television programming on September 29, becoming the first television station to sign on in Texas.
Sources3 sources
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