KFFV
KFFV, virtual channel 44 (UHF digital channel 16), is a MeTV owned-and-operated television station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States and also serving Tacoma. The station is owned by Weigel Broadcasting, as part of a duopoly with Bellingham-licensed Heroes & Icons owned-and-operated station KVOS-TV, channel 12 (which KFFV simulcasts on its third digital subchannel).[1] The two stations share studios on Third Avenue South in Seattle; KFFV's transmitter is located on Capitol Hill east of downtown.
| Seattle–Tacoma, Washington United States | |
|---|---|
| City | Seattle, Washington |
| Channels | Digital: 16 (UHF) Virtual: 44 (PSIP) |
| Branding | MeTV Seattle |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Weigel Broadcasting (KFFV-TV LLC) |
| Sister stations | KVOS-TV |
| History | |
| First air date | January 1, 1999 |
| Former call signs | KHCV (1999–2009) KPST (2009–2010) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 45 (UHF, 1999–2009) Digital: 44 (UHF, until 2019) |
| Former affiliations | Analog/DT1: Military Channel AMGTV Jewelry TV (1999–2009) Silent (2009–2010) Infomercials (2010–201?) Evine (201?–2018) DT2: Azteca América (2006–2018) DT3: FUNimation Channel (2006–2007) GameZnFlix Entertainment Channel (GnF) "Game & Music" (March–October 2007) AAT Television (October 2007–2018) DT4: GnF "Movie" (2007–200?) America One (200?–2008) Sportsman Channel (2008–20??) MBC-D (20??–2018) KBS World DT5: WeatherNation (2013–201?) Cozi TV (201?–2018) |
| Call sign meaning | Channel Forty-FiVe (former analog/virtual channel allocation) |
| Technical information | |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 49264 |
| ERP | 260 kW |
| HAAT | 259 m (850 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 47°36′55.6″N 122°18′33.8″W |
| Links | |
| Public license information | Profile LMS |
| Website | KFFV page on MeTV.com |
History
The former KHCV call letters were assigned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with a construction permit on October 2, 1989. The station signed on the air on January 1, 1999 on Channel 45 after many permit extensions.
During the week of August 11, 2006, KHCV started carrying Azteca América on its analog channel 45 and on its digital channel 44.2.
On December 20, 2006, Navarre's FUNimation Entertainment announced that the FUNimation channel would be broadcast on KHCV 44.3.[2]
On March 1, 2007, KHCV started broadcasting content from GNF Entertainment Network[3] on its digital subchannels 44.3 and 44.4. 44.3 carried GNF "Game & Music" and 44.4 carried GNF "Movie".
The analog broadcast (UHF 45) had been exclusively Azteca América, while the Comcast broadcast of this channel (Channel 15) is Jewelry TV. On September 10, 2007, analog UHF channel 45 carried the same Jewelry TV content as digital UHF channel 44.1 and Comcast channel 15.
On October 15, 2007, programming from AAT Television started broadcasting on digital channel 44.3.
On April 19, 2008, America One content on channel 44.4 was replaced by Sportsman Channel; it was later replaced with MBC-D, a Korean television channel.
On November 13, 2008, KHCV filed for a request for silent state for its analog signal.[4]
On September 28, 2009, KHCV became KPST. On December 22, 2009, KPST went silent. The station was evicted from its studios and its STL link couldn't be operated from the new location. KPST hoped to have the station up and running within a few weeks.[5][6] The station resumed broadcasting on February 4, 2010. During that time, KPST aired only infomercials on its main channel, 24 hours a day.[7]
The call letters were changed to KFFV on November 15, 2010. The station was purchased at bankruptcy auction by OTA Broadcasting on June 30, 2011;[8] the sale was completed on October 12.
In January 2013, WeatherNation was added to channel 44.5. It was later replaced by Cozi TV.
On March 12, 2015, KFFV's sister station KVOS-TV's main channel, MeTV, had "soft-launched" to sub-channel 44.6.[9]
Weigel Broadcasting agreed to acquire KFFV and KVOS-TV, along with KAXT-CD and KTLN-TV in San Francisco, in a $23.2 million deal on October 18, 2017.[10] The sale was closed on January 15, 2018, with KFFV and KVOS now under Weigel ownership.[11]
On January 17, 2018, Weigel terminated KFFV's carriage agreements with the networks aired under OTA ownership, and switched to a near-duplication of KVOS' services, with MeTV replacing Evine on channel 44.1, Movies! replacing Azteca América on 44.2, and AAT replaced by H&I on 44.3 (AAT moved to KUSE-LD4).[1] Azteca and KBS World have yet to find new channel locations in Seattle; Cozi returned to Seattle in 2019 on low-powered TV station KYMU-LD.[12]
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[13] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KFFV-HD | MeTV |
| 44.2 | 480i | Movies | Movies! | |
| 44.3 | Heroes | Simulcast of KVOS-TV / H&I | ||
| 44.4 | Decades | Decades |
References
- KVOS TV (2018-01-12). "KVOS TV". Retrieved 2018-01-17.
- FUNimation Channel in Seattle
- GNF Entertainment Signs Affiliate Agreement with Full Power Station KHCV for Digital Channel Carriage in Seattle, Washington
- http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101274792&formid=910&fac_num=49264
- FCC Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA
- NW Broadcasters
- KPST schedule
- "Troubled Seattle indy TV sold at auction (dead link)". Television Business Report. July 2, 2011. Archived from the original on July 4, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- KVOS TV
- "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
- KVOS Turns Its Back On Canadian Advertisers at Fraser Valley News Network
- https://www.cozitv.com/get-cozi-tv/ COZI TV – Get Cozi TV
- RabbitEars TV Query for KFFV