KPEJ-TV

KPEJ-TV, virtual channel 24 (UHF digital channel 23), is a Fox-affiliated television station licensed to Odessa, Texas, United States and serving the Permian Basin area. The station is owned by Marshall Broadcasting Group; Nexstar Media Group, which owns Midland-licensed ABC affiliate KMID (channel 2), operates KPEJ under a shared services agreement (SSA). The two stations share studios on Windview Street (along I-20) in southwestern Odessa and transmitter facilities on FM 1788 in rural southeastern Andrews County.

KPEJ-TV
Odessa–Midland, Texas
United States
CityOdessa, Texas
ChannelsDigital: 23 (UHF)
Virtual: 24 (PSIP)
BrandingFox 24 (general)
Fox West Texas (alternate)
Fox 24 News (newscasts)
SloganYou Are What You Watch!
Programming
Affiliations24.1: Fox
24.2: Estrella TV
Ownership
OwnerMarshall Broadcasting Group, Inc.
(sale to Mission Broadcasting pending[1])
OperatorNexstar Media Group
(via SSA)
Sister stationsKMID
History
FoundedDecember 26, 1984
First air dateJune 16, 1986 (1986-06-16)
Former channel number(s)Analog:
24 (UHF, 1986–2009)
Former affiliationsPrimary:
Independent (1986–1990)
Secondary:
UPN (1998–2003)
Call sign meaningrandomly assigned
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID12524
ERP600 kW
HAAT333 m (1,093 ft)
Transmitter coordinates32°5′51.4″N 102°17′22.5″W
Links
Public license informationProfile
LMS
Websitewww.yourbasin.com

On cable, KPEJ is carried on channel 8 on most systems in the market.

History

The station first signed on the air on June 16, 1986; it originally operated as an independent station. However, despite not officially identifying as a Fox affiliate, it did carry the few Fox prime time programs that aired in the network's early years. In 1990, KPEJ became the Midland–Odessa market's Fox affiliate. In 1998, the station began carrying programming from the United Paramount Network (UPN) as a secondary affiliation; UPN programming moved to CBS affiliate KOSA-TV (channel 7) in 2003, when that station launched a second digital subchannel (now affiliated with MyNetworkTV). In August 2007, KPEJ changed its on-air branding from "Fox 24" to "Fox West Texas"; the following year, it reverted to the "Fox 24" brand, but continued to use the "Fox West Texas" brand for its website and other special promotions.

On April 24, 2013, the Communications Corporation of America announced the sale of its television stations to the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, owner of ABC affiliate KMID (channel 2). Since the Odessa–Midland market has only eight full-power stations, Nexstar could not legally purchase KPEJ (Federal Communications Commission rules require a market to have eight remaining unique station owners after a duopoly is formed). In addition, KMID and KPEJ are two of the four highest-rated stations in the market in monthly total-day viewership, respectively ranking at third and fourth place. As a result, Nexstar planned to sell KPEJ's license assets to Mission Broadcasting, with Nexstar assuming the station's operation under a shared services agreement, which would have formed a virtual duopoly with KMID.[2]

However, on June 6, 2014, Nexstar announced that it would instead sell KPEJ-TV, along with two other Fox affiliates—sister station KMSS-TV in Shreveport, Louisiana and KLJB in Davenport, Iowa—to the Marshall Broadcasting Group (marking the company's first television station acquisitions) for $58.5 million. The minority-owned Marshall intends to fund the acquisitions through borrowings guaranteed by Nexstar, and are subject to FCC approval of the other stations Nexstar plans to acquire from ComCorp, White Knight Broadcasting and Grant Broadcasting; Marshall plans to launch news operations and provide sports and minority-oriented public affairs programming to KMSS and the other two stations, with Nexstar providing sales and certain non-programming services (including engineering, master control and other administrative functions).[3] The sale was completed on January 1, 2015.[4]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[5]
24.1720p16:9KPEJ-TVMain KPEJ-TV programming / Fox
24.2480i4:3KPEJ-SDEstrella TV

Analog-to-digital conversion

KPEJ-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 24, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 23.[6] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 24.

Programming

After Fox acquired the rights to the NFL's National Football Conference in 1994, KPEJ has carried preseason football games from the Dallas Cowboys, along with team owner Jerry Jones' weekly game discussion program. In 2010, KPEJ also acquired the rights to Houston Texans preseason games, which aired on tape delay if the game started while a Cowboys pre-game broadcast or preseason game telecasts was ongoing. KPEJ lost the Dallas Cowboys preseason games to NBC affiliate KWES-TV in 2011, resulting in KPEJ broadcasting Texans preseason games live. In 2014, KMID acquired the rights to the Dallas Cowboys preseason games. When conflicts exist that won't allow KMID to air the games KPEJ has been given the rights to air the Dallas Cowboys preseason games. When Dallas plays Houston in the pre-season, KMID airs the Dallas broadcast while KPEJ airs the Texans broadcast.

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References
  1. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101816643&qnum=5120&copynum=1&exhcnum=2
  2. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101552312&qnum=5040&copynum=1&exhcnum=1
  3. Nexstar Selling 3 Fox Affils For $58.5 Million, TVNewsCheck, June 6, 2014.
  4. Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  5. "RabbitEars.Info". www.rabbitears.info. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  6. "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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