KTLE-LP

KTLE-LP / KTLD-LP
Odessa, Texas
United States
Branding Telemundo 20
Channels Analog: 20 / 49 (UHF)
Digital: KWES-DT 9.3, (VHF)
Virtual: 9.3 (PSIP)
Affiliations Telemundo
Owner Drewry Communications Group
(Adelante Television Limited Partnership)
First air date August 23, 1989 /
April 29, 1988
Call letters' meaning K TeLEmundo /
K TeLemunDo
Former callsigns K60EE / K49CD
Transmitter power 5.5 kW / 1.72 kW
Height 107 m / 142 m
Facility ID 64993 / 64989
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: / KTLD-LP Profile
/ KTLD-LP CDBS

KTLE-LP and KTLD-LP are low-power television stations licensed to Odessa, Texas, as affiliates of Spanish-language network Telemundo. KTLE serves Odessa, broadcasting in analog on UHF channel 20, while KTLD serves Midland, Texas, broadcasting in analog on UHF channel 49. Both stations are owned by Drewry Communications Group of Lawton, Oklahoma, under licensee Adelante Television Limited Partnership, and are operated by local NBC affiliate KWES-TV. The stations also broadcast in digital on KWES digital subchannel 9.3 (actually broadcasting on VHF channel 13).

History

KTLE-LP began as a construction permit granted to Telemundo on August 23, 1989 and was licensed as K60EE, UHF channel 60, on April 19, 1991. KTLD-LP began as a construction permit granted to Brooks Broadcasting Inc. on April 29, 1988. Brooks Broadcasting sold the permit to Ronald J. Gordon in March 1989, who in turn, sold the permit to Telemundo in October 1991. The station was licensed as K49CD, UHF channel 49, on August 14, 1992.

The stations' early days were marked by uncertainty, being transferred several times as Telemundo, their owner, endured financial hardship in the mid-1990s, and at one point went into bankruptcy. In May 2001, Telemundo sold the stations, along with Amarillo station K36DV (now KTMO-LP), to Drewry Communications Group, who owned the NBC affiliate in the Midland-Odessa market. Both stations received new call letters in January 2002; K60EE became KTLE-LP, and K49CD became KTLD-LP. In April 2004, KTLE moved from channel 60 to channel 20, having been required to abandon their position in the high-700 MHz band (channels 60 - 69).

Programming

KTLE and KTLD broadcast programming from Telemundo, but unlike most low-power television stations, they also feature Spanish-language local newscasts, produced by KWES, which air Monday through Friday at 5:00 PM, and Monday through Thursday at 10:00 PM.

Digital television

Rather than build separate low-power digital facilities for their Telemundo stations, Drewry Communications opted instead to use a digital subchannel of KWES-TV to broadcast Telemundo programming. The stations air in digital on channel 9.3 and can be seen throughout the Midland-Odessa market.

External links