.jpg){kind=logo} | |
| |
|---|---|
| City | Decatur, Texas |
| Channels | |
| Branding | KFAA 29 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WFAA | |
| History | |
First air date | September 15, 1993 (31 years ago) (1993-09-15) |
Former call signs | KMPX (1993–2024) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 29 (UHF, 1993–2009) |
| |
Call sign meaning | From co-owned WFAA |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 73701 |
| ERP | 1,000kW |
| HAAT | 544 m (1,785 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 | |
| Website | wfaa |
KFAA-TV (channel 29) is anindependent television station licensed toDecatur, Texas, United States, serving theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned byTegna Inc. alongsideABC affiliateWFAA (channel 8). The two stations are based at the WFAA Communications Center Studios inDowntown Dallas, with transmitter inCedar Hill, Texas.
Channel 29 went on the air as KMPX in 1993 and was the original flagship station of theDaystar Television Network, a Christian ministry that operated from headquarters in the Dallas suburb ofColleyville and laterBedford. In 2003, Daystar acquiredKDTN (channel 2) and sold KMPX to Liberman Broadcasting. Under Liberman, the station was a Spanish-language outlet, first as an independent station and later as the Dallas-area affiliate of Liberman'sEstrella TV network. In 2020, KMPX was acquired by Tegna, giving itUHF spectrum to improve the reception of WFAA while continuing to broadcast Estrella TV as its primary subchannel. Tegna acquired the rights to telecastDallas Mavericks basketball in 2024, with channel 29 airing most of the team's games, and concurrently switched the primary subchannel to an English-language independent station under the new call sign KFAA-TV.
Channel 29 was originally allocated to Dallas, and two construction permits were issued for the channel. One was to be KLIF-TV, the television counterpart to radio stationKLIF (1190 AM), owned byGordon McLendon. A second attempt was made in 1962 to launch KAEI-TV on channel 29. Owned by and named for Automated Electronics Inc., the station would have broadcast printed quotes, news, and weather information. Since television sets were not required to include UHF tuners until theAll-Channel Receiver Act went into effect in 1964, the company proposed to lease converters and UHF antennas to companies to install in their offices.[2] Though the group hoped to be weeks away from signing the station on the air and gave dates of April 15 and June 1 for a planned sign-on,[3] AEI never put it into service. The company's assets were acquired in late 1963.[4]
In 1966, three applicants filed to build new stations on channel 29—Grandview Broadcasting (which later took itself out of the running), Overmyer Communications, and Maxwell Electronics.[5] In a successful bid to give both applicants a channel, Overmyer proposed changing out channel 29 for channels 27 and 33 at Dallas;[6] Overmyer never built its station on channel 27, and Maxwell signed onKMEC-TV on channel 33 in October 1967.[7]
In 1985, three applicants vied for a license to operate a television station on channel 29, including theWise County Messenger newspaper, owned by former WBAP-TV (channel 5, nowKXAS-TV) anchor Roy Eaton, whose petition had resulted in the allocation to Decatur.[8] After a settlement was reached, the construction permit was granted to Decatur Telecasting, owned byCharlotte, North Carolina, housewife Karen Hicks, in December 1985.[9] However, an unanticipated setback in the form of the sale of its planned tower site to new owners who would not allow the station to locate there led to years of delays and a sale to Word of God Fellowship, a ministry ofMarcus andJoni Lamb.[10] The Lambs sold the first station they had built,WMCF inMontgomery, Alabama, to finance the move to Texas.[11] KMPX served as the basis for the launch of theDaystar Television Network on January 1, 1997.[12] The network and KMPX operated from studios inColleyville until moving toBedford in 2002.[13]
In 2003, Daystar acquiredDenton-licensed noncommercial stationKDTN (channel 2) from North Texas Public Broadcasting. KMPX was then sold to Liberman Broadcasting for $37 million[14] in a sale that was finalized on January 13, 2004; after Liberman took over on that date, the station was converted into aSpanish-languageindependent station featuring programming distributed by the company. On September 14, 2009, KMPX became a charterowned-and-operated station of Liberman's Estrella TV network, which carried some programming seen during the station's tenure as an independent. Liberman Broadcasting becameEstrella Media in February 2020, following a corporate reorganization of the company underprivate equity firmHPS Investment Partners, LLC.
Tegna Inc., owner ofABC affiliateWFAA (channel 8), purchased KMPX from Liberman on September 25, 2020, for $19 million.[15] The deal included a five-year affiliation agreement between Estrella and Tegna, as well as an option for Estrella to purchase WFAA's VHF license.[16] The transaction for KMPX was completed on November 20.[17] The purchase allowed Tegna to begin simulcasting WFAA on a UHF-band transmitter, as virtual channel 8.8, to improve reception. Had the Estrella option been exercised, Estrella would have acquired the VHF facility of WFAA, essentially inducing a facility swap.
In 2022, Tegna filed to sell itself toStandard General andApollo Global Management for $5.4 billion. KMPX and WFAA, along withKVUE inAustin andKHOU andKTBU inHouston, were to be resold toCox Media Group.[18][19] The sale was canceled on May 22, 2023.[20]
On September 6, 2024, Tegna announced a deal with theNBA'sDallas Mavericks to move the team's local broadcasts to its television stations. As part of the deal, channel 29 originates and airs all Mavericks games not picked up by a national network, with sister station WFAA simulcasting 15 games. On September 14, Tegna requested to change KMPX's call sign to KFAA-TV effective October 20.[21] On October 17, Tegna announced that programming on KMPX would change from Estrella TV to an English-language independent format on October 20; the same date as the callsign change and station rebranding to KFAA 29. Estrella TV programming moved to subchannel 29.2.[22][23][24] KFAA announced an agreement with theTexas Legends, theG League affiliate of the Mavericks, on December 2, 2024.[25] On February 13, 2025, KFAA announced a deal with theWNBA'sDallas Wings to become the Wings' local broadcast partner.[26]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KFAA-TV | Independent/Quest |
| 29.2 | ESTRLLA | Estrella TV | ||
| 8.8 | WFAA-HD | ABC (WFAA) |
KFAA-TV (as KMPX) shut down its analog signal, overUHF channel 29, on June 12, 2009, as part of thefederally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[28] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 30, usingvirtual channel 29.
sorted by primary channel network affiliations | ||
| ABC |  | |
| CBS | ||
| The CW | ||
| Fox | ||
| MyNetworkTV | ||
| NBC | ||
| Other stations | ||
| Radio | ||
| TV networks | ||
| Defunct | ||
| Other asset |
| |
| Acquisitions | ||
| ||