| Beaumont, Texas | |
|---|---|
| Branding | KFDM Channel 6 Southeast Texas CW (DT2) |
| Slogan | You Can Count On Us! |
| Channels | Digital: 25 (UHF) Virtual: 6 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 6.1 CBS 6.2 The CW |
| Affiliations | CBS |
| Owner | Freedom Communications, Inc. (sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. pending) (Freedom Broadcasting of Texas Licensee, LLC) |
| First air date | April 24, 1955 |
| Call letters' meaning | Kall For Dependable Magnolene (see article) or FreeDoM Communications (current owner) |
| Former callsigns | KFDM-TV (1955-2009) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 6 (VHF, 1955-2009) Digital: 21 (UHF, -2011) |
| Former affiliations | The WB (DT2 until 2006) |
| Transmitter power | 50 kW |
| Height | 254 m |
| Facility ID | 22589 |
| Website | www.kfdm.com |
KFDM is a television station licensed to Beaumont, Texas and serving the Beaumont/Port Arthur market. The station operates on physical channel 25 or virtual channels 6.1 (which is affiliated with CBS) and 6.2 (The CW). The station is currently owned by Freedom Communications, which is in the process of selling KFDM and its other stations to Sinclair Broadcast Group.
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KFDM-TV commenced broadcasting on April 24, 1955, billing itself as the first television station on "the right side of Texas" (indeed, KFDM is the oldest TV station in the Beaumont/Port Arthur market). The call sign was borrowed from its then sister radio station KFDM (AM 560), which was founded in 1924 by Magnolia Petroleum Company; the calls stood for "Kall For Dependable Magnolene," the brand name for Magnolia's motor oil line (and by coincidence stand for later owner Freedom Broadcasting). KFDM used the "-TV" suffix in its call sign to differentiate from KFDM radio until 1964 (when KFDM radio became KLVI) and again from 1980 until 2009.
KFDM-TV would be sold by Beaumont Broadcasting to A.H. Belo Corporation in 1969. In 1983, Belo merged with Corinthian Broadcasting, owner of Houston's KHOU-TV, which caused concern with the Federal Communications Commission, which at the time did not normally allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals (as was the case with the Grade B signals of KFDM and KHOU). As a result, Belo would sell KFDM-TV to Freedom Communications in 1984.
Freedom Communications announced on November 2, 2011 that it would bow out of television and sell its stations, including KFDM, to Sinclair Broadcast Group.[1] The deal would make KFDM the fourth Sinclair-owned television property in the state of Texas and the first in Eastern Texas (Sinclair already owns the duopoly of KABB and KMYS in San Antonio and has completed its purchase of Austin's KEYE-TV on January 3, 2012). Sinclair is currently operating KFDM under a time brokerage agreement while the sale awaits FCC approval and consumation.[2]
On April 7, 2010, the FCC issued a Report & Order, granting KFDM's channel change from channel 21 to channel 25.[3] The reasoning was viewers in the eastern sections of the viewing area had difficulty receiving their signal on channel 21. On April 7, 2011, KFDM completed its move to channel 25.
When The WB and UPN announced their merger as The CW in 2006, KFDM's new CW subchannel was seen only on digital cable. After negotiating with Time Warner Cable, The CW became available to all cable subscribers in February 2007.
The popular 1970s KFDM weekday news team consisted of Beaulieu, Burandt, weatherman Gary Powers, and sportscaster Jim Bergamo. KFDM was awarded in 2005 by the Texas chapter of the Associated Press for their coverage of Hurricane Rita. KFDM was also awarded a regional Emmy award in 2006, also for their coverage of Rita.
Greg Bostwick has been with the station over 30 years and approximately 20 of those years as chief meteorologist. He endured Hurricane Rita's wrath in downtown Beaumont with weeknight anchor Bill Leger.
Former KFDM Manager, Larry Beaulieu was with the station since 1974 when he was hired as News Director. He teamed for over 15 years with Cecile Burandt, who was the first female anchor hired in the Beaumont area. Beaulieu retired on September 29, 2011 [4] and was replaced the following December by longtime station employee Rix Garey.[2]
In April 2011 KFDM became Southeast Texas' second station (after KBMT) to broadcast its news in high definition.[1]
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