KJTV-TV

KJTV-TV
Lubbock, Texas
United States
Branding Fox 34 (general)
Fox 34 News (news)
Slogan It's News at Nine. At ten, it's history.
Channels Digital: 35 (UHF)
Virtual: 34 (PSIP)
Subchannels 34.1 Fox
34.2 FOX 34 News NOW
34.3 Ion Television
Affiliations Fox (1986–present)
Owner Ramar Communications II, Ltd.
First air date December 11, 1981 (1981-12-11)
Sister station(s) KJTV-CD, KLBB-LP, KXTQ-CD, KMYL, KLCW-TV, KJTV (AM), KTTU-FM, KXTQ-FM, KLZK, KLBB-FM, KLBB-LP
Former callsigns KJAA (1981–1985)
KJTV (1985–2000)
Former channel number(s) Analog:
34 (UHF, 1981–2009)
Former affiliations Primary:
Independent (1981–1986)
Secondary:
PTEN
Transmitter power 1000 kW
Height 273.9 m
Facility ID 55031
Transmitter coordinates 33°30′8.7″N 101°52′21.5″W / 33.502417°N 101.872639°W / 33.502417; -101.872639
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website www.fox34.com

KJTV-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station serving Lubbock, Texas. It is owned by Ramar Communications, and is the flagship property of the locally based media corporation. KJTV was a charter station for its network, having broadcast the network since its launch on October 9, 1986. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 35. The station also operates a low-powered sister station on channel 32.1, KJTV-CD, branded as FOX 34 News NOW, also on KJTV's digital 34.2 subchannel. The station has studios located at 98th Street and University Avenue in south Lubbock, which also houses MyNetworkTV affiliate KMYL-LD, The CW affiliate KLCW-TV, Telemundo affiliate KXTQ-CD, branded as Telemundo Lubbock, Me-TV affiliate KLBB-LD and seven radio stations (1 on AM and 6 on FM). Just yards from the studio, KJTV's transmissions emanate from a 950-foot (290 m) tower with an effective radiated power of 1 million watts for its digital signal. Syndicated programming on KJTV includes: Two and a Half Men, Friends, Ellen, How I Met Your Mother, and AgDay.

History

Channel 34 first appeared in 1967 as KKBC-TV (owned by the KB Company (Chester and Clarance Kissell), operating from a control room and transmitter at the tallest downtown building. It had approximately 25 kilowatts of visual power from an antenna about 320 feet (98 m) above average terrain. The station signed on with a few films, some network programs declined by KCBD and KLBK-TV, and The Mike Douglas Show. Local engineer Alvie Ivey built the facility from used equipment gathered from stations in the region.

Soon after channel 34 signed on, a station on channel 28 signed on with much better facilities. KSEL-TV (now KAMC) had 2 megawatts of power, an 875-foot (267 m) tower located in south Lubbock near other station's towers, and had support from sister stations KSEL-AM 950 (now KJTV-AM) and KSEL-FM 93.7 (now KLBB-FM) (both of which, ironically, are today sister stations to KJTV-TV). This provided the impetus to move KKBC to a taller location with greater power.

New owners took over channel 34 and a taller tower was built at 98th and University Avenue. Local station KWGO-FM (now KQBR) rented a spot on the tower as it was going up. The improved KKBC-TV developed a power of more than 4 megawatts. However, KSEL still had the lead, as it obtained a full-time ABC affiliation, while channel 34 affiliated with Spanish International Network (by bicycled tapes) and changed calls to KMXN-TV. The station continued until sometime in 1973. Legend has it that the board of directors met at the station, assessed their shaky financial footing, and ordered the station shut down on the way out. The film on the air was interrupted, and the station signed off. The license was then returned to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The tower and land was later acquired by Ramar for use by a radio station the company was starting, KTEZ (now KONE). After a few years' operation, Ramar decided to file for a new channel 34 license using the old tower, feed line, and antenna. That was granted around 1980-81, and on December 11, 1981 KJAA was launched as an independent station. On August 16, 1985, the station became KJTV (the KJTV call letters were previously used by KCIT, now the Fox affiliate in nearby Amarillo), and in 1986, it switched to Fox as one of its charter stations. For a time, the station secondarily aired programming from the Prime Time Entertainment Network. On October 2, 2000, KJTV added a -TV suffix to its call letters.

For a time in the early 1990s, the station aired Maury (then known as The Maury Povich Show) and Live with Kelly and Ryan (formerly Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee). [1] Prior to the Fox network beginning seven-nights-per-week programming in 1993, locally-produced programming included The Cowboy Picture Show, a Wednesday night airing of a Western film that usually had a local sponsor (e.g., KLLL-FM

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[2]
34.1 720p 16:9 FOX34 Main KJTV-TV programming / Fox
34.2 480i 4:3 FOX34NN FOX 34 News NOW
34.3 Ion Television

Analog-to-digital conversion

KJTV-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 34, on February 17, 2009, the original target date in which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 35.[3][4] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 34.

News operation

In 2000, KJTV launched a local newscast at 9 p.m. using a virtual set (which was also used for news on KXTQ-CA).

On October 1, 2008. KJTV launched a morning newscast "Good Day Lubbock" from 6-9 a.m. weekday mornings. KJTV discontinued its virtual set in 2008. In 2010, KJTV launched Ag Day Lubbock, a daily local newscast covering agricultural issues complimenting the syndicated farm news show Ag Day, which precedes it. This is also when KJTV expanded "Good Day Lubbock" to 5:30-9 a.m.

In 2012, KJTV added three hours of news and information from 6-9 p.m. on FOX 34 News NOW, 32.1 KJTV-CD/34.2 KJTV-TV.

See also

References

  1. ↑ University Daily (Texas Tech University), October 30, 1990, p. 4, https://swco-ir.tdl.org/swco-ir/handle/10605/242590
  2. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KJTV
  3. ↑ http://lubbockonline.com/stories/021009/loc_386586348.shtml
  4. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
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