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| City | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Channels | |
| Branding | KFWD-TV 52 |
| Programming | |
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| Ownership | |
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| History | |
First air date | September 1, 1988 (37 years ago) (1988-09-01) |
Former channel numbers |
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Call sign meaning | Fort Worth–Dallas |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 29015 |
| ERP | 26kW |
| HAAT | 546.3 m (1,792 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 32°35′20″N96°58′5.9″W / 32.58889°N 96.968306°W /32.58889; -96.968306 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
KFWD (channel 52) is atelevision station licensed toFort Worth, Texas, United States, serving theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Owned byWRNN-TV Associates, it airs programming fromShop LC. KFWD's offices are located inCoppell, and its transmitter is located inCedar Hill, Texas.
The station first signed on the air on September 1, 1988; it first operated as theDallas–Fort Worth market's original affiliate of theSpanish-language networkTelemundo. The KFWD call letters were previously used by a local radio station on 102.1 FM (nowKDGE). For much of its history with the network, KFWD signed off the air during the overnight hours each night; as a result, the station did not carry the entire Telemundo network schedule, whose overnight lineup (as is the case to this day) consisted ofinfomercials produced anddubbed in Spanish as well asfeature films from countries with a predominant population of Spanish speakers such asMexico. The station began broadcasting 24 hours a day in late 2000.
KFWD lost its affiliation with the network whenNBC, which had recently acquired Telemundo, boughtindependent stationKXTX-TV (channel 39) from theChristian Broadcasting Network in 2001. During KFWD's final month as a Telemundo affiliate, the station airedEnglish-language infomercials during the morning and overnight hours.
OnJanuary 1, 2002, KFWD became an English-language general entertainment independent station. It acquiredsyndicated programs displaced by both KXTX andKSTR-TV (channel 49) when both stations affiliated with Spanish-language networks on that date—KXTX having joined Telemundo, while KSTR joinedTeleFutura (including programs such asReal TV andAccess Hollywood). The station also began carrying live sporting events including theBig 12 men's basketball tournament, as well asFC Dallas andDallas Sidekickssoccer games that were dropped from KLDT (channel 55, nowMeTV affiliateKAZD).
Belo Corporation began managing the station in 2006, providing advertising sales assistance, certain technical services and facilities to support the operations of KFWD; Belo'sflagshipABC affiliateWFAA (channel 8, now owned byTegna) also supplied the station with repurposed editions of its newscasts (consisting of simulcasts of its Monday–Saturday 6 p.m., Sunday–Friday 10 p.m. and Sunday 5:30 p.m. newscasts) and other programs seen on that station (such asThe Dr. Oz Show). Belo also operated KFWD.tv, the station's website, using a website platform similar to that used by Belo's other stations. The management agreement included an option to purchase KFWD and create aduopoly with WFAA; this option was never exercised.
KFWD has been digital-only since June 12, 2009.[3]
On October 17, 2011, KFWD changed its programming format, placing a strong emphasis on classic television series. The new "Classic TV" logo and branding was first unveiled on the station'sYouTube channel on August 3, 2011,[4] and later on KFWD'sFacebook page on October 7.[5] It was then rolled out to the station's website one month later.
On June 11, 2012, HIC Broadcast, Inc. announced that KFWD would revert to a Spanish-language format as a charter affiliate of MundoFox (ajoint venture betweenFox International Channels andRCN Television); it switched to the network when MundoFox "soft launched" on select affiliates on August 1, 2012, at 6 a.m. local time (the network's formal launch date was on August 13). As a result, Belo terminated its management agreement with HIC Broadcast, Inc. to operate KFWD.[6] The last program to air on KFWD as an English-language independent wasThe Shepherd's Chapel at 5 a.m. on August 1 (despite being an English-language program,The Shepherd's Chapel returned to KFWD's schedule one month later). There was no formal on-air announcement of the programming change, except for a message posted on KFWD'sFacebook page reading "it has been a pleasure".
Many of the programs formerly seen on KFWD during its classic television format now air onMeTV (whose original local affiliateKTXD-TV (channel 47), joined the network shortly before KFWD's format change; KTXD continues to carry some of these programs as an independent station whereasKTXA's seconddigital subchannel recovered the MeTV affiliation), and onAntenna TV (which is affiliated with the second digital subchannel ofCW affiliateKDAF (channel 33)).
On July 27, 2015, MundoFox was rebranded asMundoMax after21st Century Fox sold its stake in the network to RCN, giving it full ownership. The full name change and logo overhaul occurred August 13, which coincided with the network's third anniversary.
On October 26, 2015, HIC Broadcast, Inc. filed an application to sell KFWD to NRJ TV DFW License Co., LLC,[7] a subsidiary of NRJ Holdings LLC.[8] Sale was approved by the FCC on December 15, 2015[9] and completed on January 8, 2016.[10] On September 1, 2016, KFWD switched to being an affiliate of theSonlife Broadcasting Network at approximately 12 a.m.CT.[11] Like the previous transition, there was no announcement of the programming change, except on SonLife's website. In fact, around the time of the affiliation switchover, KFWD was just starting to run an infomercial at its scheduled time. After a few seconds, the abrupt change from MundoMax to Sonlife began, months before MundoMax went off the air on November 30.
There had been rumors that KFWD would be sold by NRJ in aspectrum auction.[12]
On December 9, 2019, it was announced that WRNN-TV Associates, owner ofNew York City–basedWRNN-TV, secured a deal to purchase seven full-power TV stations (including KFWD) and oneClass A station from NRJ.[1] The sale was approved by the FCC on January 23,[13] and was completed on February 4, 2020.[14]
From February 1 until February 4, 2020, WRNN-TV Associates operated KFWD under a short-termlocal marketing agreement (LMA) while it awaited full consummation of its purchase. KFWD dropped its affiliation with the Sonlife Broadcasting Network, and began airing WRNN-TV's independent network RNN on its primary channel. RNN's schedule consisted primarily of infomercials, with occasionalreligious,E/I, and news/talk (Richard French Live) programs.[15]
Later, KFWD reinstated the Sonlife Broadcasting Network affiliation on subchannel 52.3.
On May 20, 2021, RNN and iMedia Brands announced an agreement to affiliate most of RNN's television stations (including KFWD) withhome shopping networkShopHQ. KFWD began carrying ShopHQ programming on June 28, 2021.[16] RNN's educational/informational programming andRichard French Live continues to air, but in different timeslots than before and retooled from its previous investigative news format.
Beginning in 2024, WRNN's station group switched affiliations again, this time to Shop LC while keeping its primary home shopping format.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52.1 | 720p | 16:9 | Shop LC | Shop LC |
| 52.2 | 480i | HeartLa | Heartland | |
| 52.3 | Sonlife | SonLife | ||
| 52.4 | 4:3 | RetroTV | Retro TV | |
| 52.5 | 16:9 | JTV | Jewelry TV | |
| 52.6 | UChurch | Visión Latina | ||
| 52.7 | 4:3 | AChurch | Advenimiento TV | |
| 52.8 | 16:9 | KFWD.8 | Infomercials | |
| 52.9 | ShopLC | Simulcast of 52.1 |
Prior to becoming a MundoFox affiliate, KFWD carried astandard definition simulcast of its main channel on digital subchannel 52.2.
KFWD began transmitting adigital television signal instandard definition onUHF channel 51 on May 1, 2002, five months after it converted into an independent station. After KFWD shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009, its digital signal moved toVHF channel 9, formerly WFAA's digital channel spot.
Includes English-language stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Texas | ||
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