KXXV

KXXV, virtual channel 25 (UHF digital channel 26), is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Waco, Texas, United States and serving Central Texas, including Waco, Temple and Killeen. The station is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. KXXV's studios are located on South New Road in Waco, and its transmitter is located near Moody, Texas. On cable, KXXV is available on Charter Spectrum channel 5 in both standard and high definition, and on Grande Communications channels 5 (SD) and 805 (HD).

KXXV
Waco/Temple/Killeen, Texas
United States
CityWaco, Texas
ChannelsDigital: 26 (UHF)
Virtual: 25 (PSIP)
Branding25 ABC (general)
25 News (newscasts)
SloganConnecting Central Texas
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerE. W. Scripps Company
(Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC)
History
First air dateMarch 22, 1985 (1985-03-22)
Former channel number(s)Analog:
25 (UHF, 1985–2009)
Former affiliationsNBC (March–September 1985)
The WB (secondary, January–July 2002)
DT2:
Telemundo (until 2019)
Call sign meaningXXV = Roman numeral 25
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID9781
ClassDT
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT561.4 m (1,842 ft)
Transmitter coordinates31°20′17″N 97°18′37″W
Translator(s)KRHD-CD 40 Bryan–College Station
Links
Public license informationProfile
LMS
Websitewww.kxxv.com
KRHD-CD
Semi-satellite of KXXV
Bryan–College Station, Texas
United States
CityBryan, Texas
ChannelsDigital: 15 (UHF)
Virtual: 40 (PSIP)
Brandingsee KXXV infobox
Slogansee KXXV infobox
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerE. W. Scripps Company
(Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC)
History
First air dateJune 15, 1990 (1990-06-15)
Former call signsK22DP (1990–1997)
KRHD-LP (1997–2010)
Former channel number(s)Analog:
40 (UHF, 1990–2010)
Digital:
40 (UHF, 2010–2020)
Former affiliationsThe WB (secondary, January–July 2002)
CD2:
Telemundo (until 2019)
Call sign meaningRobert H. Drewry
(former owner)
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID68538
ClassCD
ERP12 kW
HAAT142.7 m (468 ft)
Transmitter coordinates30°45′26.8″N 96°28′4.6″W
Links
Public license informationProfile
LMS

KRHD-CD (virtual channel 40, UHF channel 15) in Bryan operates as a low-powered, Class A semi-satellite of KXXV; this station's transmitter is located on US 190 northwest of Bryan in unincorporated Robertson County.

History

KXXV signed on for the first time on March 22, 1985 as an NBC affiliate. The station was originally owned by Central Texas Broadcasting Company, Ltd. Waco was one of the last markets in the nation to gain full service from all three of the traditional broadcast networks. It switched to ABC in September, with NBC programming returning to KCEN-TV (channel 6). Central Texas Broadcasting sold KXXV to Shamrock Broadcasting in 1987. Drewry Communications purchased the station from Shamrock in 1994.

KRHD-CD's call letters are based on the name of Robert H. Drewry, an Oklahoma native and founder of the Drewry Communications Group.

KXXV added a secondary affiliation with The WB on January 11, 2002, following the sale of the market's previous WB affiliate, KAKW (channel 62), to Univision. KXXV aired The WB's primetime lineup after ABC's late night programming, as well as two hours of Kids' WB programming on Sunday mornings.[1] In July 2002, KXXV ceded the secondary WB affiliation to Fox affiliate KWKT (channel 44).[2]

A planned late 2008 sale of the Drewry stations to London Broadcasting fell through due to the late 2000s credit crisis.[3] London Broadcasting subsequently purchased KCEN-TV (that station is now owned by Tegna Inc.). On August 10, 2015, Raycom Media announced that it would purchase Drewry Communications for $160 million.[4] The sale was completed on December 1.[5]

Sale to Gray Television and resale to Scripps

On June 25, 2018, Atlanta-based Gray Television, owner of KWTX-TV and its semi-satellite KBTX-TV, announced it had reached an agreement with Raycom to merge their respective broadcasting assets (consisting of Raycom's 63 existing owned-and/or-operated television stations, including KXXV, and Gray's 93 television stations) under Gray's corporate umbrella. The cash-and-stock merger transaction valued at $3.6 billion—in which Gray shareholders would acquire preferred stock currently held by Raycom—required divestment of either KXXV or KWTX due to FCC ownership regulations prohibiting common ownership of two of the four highest-rated stations in a single market (as well as more than two stations in any market). Gray announced it would retain KWTX and KBTX, and sell KXXV to an unrelated third party.[6][7][8][9] On August 20, it was announced that the E. W. Scripps Company would buy KXXV/KRHD and sister station WTXL-TV in Tallahassee, Florida for $55 million.[10] The sale was completed on January 2, 2019.[11]

Digital television

Digital channels

The stations' digital signals are multiplexed:

KXXV digital channels
Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[12]
25.1720p16:9KXXV-TVMain KXXV programming / ABC
25.2480i4:3GritGrit[13]
25.316:9WX NOWFirst Alert 25 Weather Now
25.4720pCourtTVCourt TV

KRHD-CD digital channels
Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[14]
40.1720p16:9ABC 40Main KRHD-CD programming / ABC
40.2480i4:3TelemCourt TV Mystery

Until November 14, 2017, the Telemundo subchannel was simulcast on KSCM-LP (channel 18) in Bryan.

In Waco/Killeen/Temple, KXXV broadcasts on cable channel 5, while in Bryan/College Station, KRHD-CD broadcasts on cable channel 9. In Waco, cable operator Grande Communications carries both KXXV and Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA (channel 8). Only WFAA's local news and some syndicated programming can be seen on cable channel 8. During ABC network programming, a message appears informing viewers to tune to KXXV for network shows.

Analog-to-digital conversion

KXXV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 25, 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 26.[15] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 25.

Programming

Syndicated programs broadcast by KXXV include Judge Judy, The Doctors, The Kelly Clarkson Show and Hot Bench.

As part of a tradition with other former Drewry stations, KXXV airs an annual telethon, benefiting the West Texas Rehabilitation Center in Abilene.

KXXV carried any Baylor Bears games through the network's broadcast rights with NCAA Football.

News operation

KXXV currently broadcasts 29 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with five hours on weekdays, and two hours each on Saturday and Sunday). The station maintains a news bureau in Killeen to serve the western portion of the area, including Fort Hood. KRHD also has a small studio and offices in Bryan.

KXXV simulcasts its morning newscast, Good Morning Texas and its 11 a.m. newscast, The Texas Report Midday on KRHD. Both programs feature stories from the main focus area of Waco/Temple/Killeen but also include some stories from Bryan–College Station and the Brazos Valley.

Until January 5, 2015, KXXV produced a taped 30 minute newscast for KRHD, called The ABC40 Nightbeat, that aired at 10 p.m. weekdays. The newscast incorporated stories produced by reporters stationed at the Bryan facility. Outside of the morning news simulcasts, KRHD no longer airs local programming.

Notable reporters
  • Brian Collins, best remembered as the sports anchor on Ball State's college news program fumbling highlights only to conclude with the catch phrase Boom goes the dynamite.[16][17]
  • E. D. Hill (1986-1987) KXXV-TV, Waco, TX - reporter/anchor, best known as Fox & Friends Morning Anchor 1998–2006
  • Gus Johnson - Fox Sports commentator
gollark: Bleh.
gollark: I mean, it's lossless on any message actually worth sending, but you know.
gollark: Yes, but then people might notice it didn't work very well when reading the docs and seeing the signature.
gollark: No, this is cooler.
gollark: No.

References
  1. "KXXV-25 to air WB's programming". Temple Daily Telegram. January 13, 2002. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  2. "Waco/Temple/Killeen TV Directory". 100000 Watts. Archived from the original on August 22, 2003. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  4. Jessell, Harry A. (August 10, 2015). "Raycom Buying Drewry For $160 Million". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  5. Raycom Media Completes $160 Million Acquisition of Drewry Communications Broadcasting & Cable, Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  6. "GRAY AND RAYCOM TO COMBINE IN A $3.6 BILLION TRANSACTION". Raycom Media (Press release). June 25, 2018. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  7. Miller, Mark K. (June 25, 2018). "Gray To Buy Raycom For $3.6 Billion". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  8. John Eggerton (June 25, 2018). "Gray Buying Raycom for $3.6B". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
  9. Dade Hayes (June 25, 2018). "Gray Acquiring Raycom For $3.65B, Forming No. 3 Local TV Group". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
  10. Micheli, Carolyn (August 20, 2018). "Scripps to Buy ABC Affiliates in Tallahassee, Florida, and Waco, Texas". E. W. Scripps Company. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  11. Wethington, Kari (January 2, 2019). "Scripps completes acquisition of TV stations in Texas and Florida; names new leadership". E. W. Scripps Company. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  12. RabbitEars TV Query for KXXV
  13. "New year sees shift in some local TV channel positions", Waco Tribune-Herald, January 5, 2019, Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  14. RabbitEars TV Query for KRHD
  15. "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.
  16. "Brian Collins' Career Finally Gets A Boom". Deadspin. Archived from the original on 2008-09-02. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  17. "Collins Bio". KXXV. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
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