 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2023) |
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| City | Greenville, Texas |
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| History | |
First air date | April 1, 1994 (31 years ago) (1994-04-01) |
Former call signs | KTAQ (1994–2011) |
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Call sign meaning | Texas Dallas |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 42359 |
| ERP | 1,000 kW |
| HAAT | 494.2 m (1,621 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 32°35′22″N96°58′12.9″W / 32.58944°N 96.970250°W /32.58944; -96.970250 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | texas47 |
KTXD-TV (channel 47) is atelevision station licensed toGreenville, Texas, United States, serving theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The station is owned byCunningham Broadcasting, a partner company ofSinclair Broadcast Group. It carries programming fromMerit TV on its primary channel, as well as threedigital multicast television networks operated by Sinclair, and religious broadcasterSonLife Broadcasting Network. KTXD's studios are located on Inwood Road inFarmers Branch, and its transmitter is located inCedar Hill, Texas.
The station largely carriedhome shopping programming from 1994 until 2006, when it began broadcasting religious programming from the Promiseland network. Under the ownership of London Broadcasting, KTXD switched to an entertainment-based format, initially as an affiliate ofMeTV, and later as anindependent station carrying a mix of classic television series, syndicated programs, and local news and lifestyle programming. KTXD was not included in the sale of most of London Broadcasting's stations toGannett, resulting in its sale to Cunningham in 2017. In March 2018, Cunningham then flipped KTXD's main channel tosports programming from Sinclair'sStadium network.
This station first signed on the air on April 1, 1994, as KTAQ. During its early years, the station carried programming fromshopping networks such as The Jewelry Network andShop at Home. In 2000, the station affiliated with the America's Collectibles Network (nowJewelry Television), though most of the shopping programming was relegated to the nighttime hours. In 2004, the station switched toShopNBC. In late 2006, KTAQ switched to a 24-hour religious programming format as the flagship station of the Promiseland Television Network after being acquired by Promiseland founder Mike Simons (through Simons Broadcasting, LP).
It was reported in February 2007 that KTAQ was fined $10,000 for failing to place its 2005 Biennial Ownership Report, all required TV issues/programs lists, and Children's Television Programming Reports in the station's public inspection file. The station admitted in its license renewal application that during the previous term, it had failed to timely place all of the documentation required by Section 73.3526 of the rules in its public inspection file.[2]
In November 2008, Simons Broadcasting, LP filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas inWaco.[3] Simons Broadcasting, LPdebtor-in-possession sold the station toPlatinum Equity, LLC in mid-2010.[4] In early November 2010, KTAQ switched to aninfomercial format.
Platinum Equity later sold the station to theAddison-based London Broadcasting Company, which changed the station's call sign to KTXD-TV. London Broadcasting retained Continental Television to act as "national and local [advertising] sales" for the station, which suggested that KTXD would adopt a general entertainment format rather than a brokered, or foreign language format. The purchase was completed on January 19, 2012.[5]
On March 16, 2012, KTXD (under the verbal "K-Tex" branding at the time) became an affiliate ofMeTV (a digital broadcast network specializing in classic television series, which is nominally carried as a multicast channel in most markets, but is optionally carried as a main channel affiliation in a few cities), carrying its programming part-time on its main channel and MeTV's complete schedule ondigital subchannel 47.4. Under London, the station also began to place an emphasis on locally produced lifestyle and entertainment programs.
On October 31, 2013, KTXD declined to renew its affiliation contract with MeTV and dropped the network's programming, which by association, resulted in the 47.4 subchannel goingdark.[6] Channel 47 converted to a general entertainment independent station, effectively competing withKTXA (channel 21), featuring local programs as well as a mix of recent and classic television series (including some that have been carried in recent years on MeTV and one of its chief rivals,Antenna TV). The station also acquired the local rights to aDallas Cowboys regular season road game against theChicago Bears on December 9, which was part of theESPNMonday Night Football package.[7] MeTV would return to the Dallas–Fort Worth area on KTXA in December 2013 over a new second digital subchannel.[8]
On May 14, 2014, theGannett Company announced the purchase of KTXD's sister stationsKCEN,KYTX,KIII,KBMT,KXVA, andKIDY for $215 million. London exempted KTXD andLongview sister stationKCEB from the deal. In the case of KTXD, the company's retention of KTXD was decided by management; Gannett's existing ownership ofABC affiliateWFAA (channel 8), which was acquired in 2013 as part of the company's merger withBelo),[9][10] did not play a factor as the Dallas–Fort Worth market has 18 full-power television stations, enough to allow a fourthduopoly (or even a true triopoly), and neither did the FCC'snewspaper-broadcast cross-ownership restrictions as Gannett did not own a newspaper within the market.[11][12]
On September 15, 2017, London agreed to sell KTXD-TV toCunningham Broadcasting, a partner company ofSinclair Broadcast Group, for $9.5 million.[13] Sinclair, which at the time was seeking to acquireKDAF (channel 33) as part of its merger withTribune Media (which was abandoned on August 9, 2018), indicated that it intended to use KTXD as a lighthouse station during the transition to theATSC 3.0 broadcast standard.[14] The sale was completed on January 11, 2018.[15]
On March 7, 2018, KTXD replaced its general entertainment format with programming from Sinclair-owned digital networkStadium. There was no formal announcement of the programming change, except on Stadium'sFacebook page, welcoming viewers in the Dallas area.[16]
On October 30, 2023, Sinclair converted Stadium's over-the-air service into The Nest, a network that currently features reruns of home improvement, true crime, reality and celebrity-driven shows. KTXD-TV, however, switched affiliations to TBD, bringing the diginet to the station's main signal from its 47.4 subchannel, swapping The Nest to that particular spot.
Sometime in April 2024,[when?] KTXD-TV affiliated withPhil McGraw's Merit Street network—now known asMerit TV since that September. TBD (nowRoar as of March 2025) was then relocated once again to subchannel 47.5.
Upon adopting an entertainment-based schedule, the station began carrying MeTV programming on its main channel from 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. weekdays, and from 1 p.m. to midnight on weekends. The network was later expanded to 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on weekdays and noon to 11 p.m. on Sundays, and reduced to 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturdays.
From the time MeTV programming was dropped until March 7, 2018, classic television series were added to the schedule, alongside some more recent and barter syndicated programs, giving the station a format mildly similar toKFWD (channel 52, now aSonLife Broadcasting Network affiliate)'s format during its years as an English language independent station. The remainder of KTXD's schedule consisted of locally produced programs on weekdays; syndicated E/I programming on Saturday mornings as well as local interest programming,college sporting events in the afternoon hours on Saturdays; along with religious programming andinfomercials. The overnight hours from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. were occupied by programs from AMGTV.[17]
On July 20, 2012, KTXD announced that it would launch an hour-long news and commentary program calledThe Texas Daily;[18][19] the program featured several veteran news anchors and reporters formerly seen onKDFW (channel 4),KXAS-TV (channel 5),WFAA (channel 8) andKTVT (channel 11) – including John Criswell,Troy Dungan,Iola Johnson andTracy Rowlett.The Texas Daily debuted on October 1, 2012, and featured stories relevant to Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas as well as national and international news reports fromCNN's affiliate news service CNN Newssource.
Originally airing at 8 a.m., the program moved to 6 p.m. the following year with a rebroadcast airing at 9:30 p.m. being added. The station canceledThe Texas Daily on March 19, 2014, citing low viewership (registering ratings that were marginal or at times, too low to register a measurableratings point) and that the program "has been difficult to sell advertising into".[20] The last edition of the program aired two days later, and was replaced with syndicated reruns ofAmerica's Funniest Home Videos. The station also produced the weekend sports programDFW Sports Beat, hosted by Brady Tinker and Everson Walls, which featured interviews and discussions on area sports; the program was also canceled in early 2014.
In September 2012, KTXD debuted a talk and lifestyle program titledThe Broadcast (originally titledD: The Broadcast untilD Magazine dropped their sponsorship of the program in September 2013), which originally aired at noon; the program, which features a panel format similar to the network daytime talk showsThe View andThe Talk, was moved to 9 a.m. and expanded to two hours upon the cancellation ofThe Texas Daily in March 2014; the program, which like most of KTXD's local programs has experienced low ratings locally, received national attention in May 2014 after co-host Amy Kushnir walked off the set during a heated discussion about controversial remarks from some football players regarding a moment televised onESPN during the2014 NFL draft in which openly gay playerMichael Sam was kissed his boyfriend on-camera after being selected by theSt. Louis Rams.[21][22]The Broadcast was finally canceled in March 2015.[23] On May 6, 2013, the station began carrying a television simulcast ofTheMark Davis Morning Show, fromKSKY (660 AM), on weekdays from 7 to 9 a.m. It was canceled in December 2014.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | MERIT | Merit TV |
| 47.2 | COMET | Comet | ||
| 47.3 | 480i | 4:3 | CHARGE | Charge! |
| 47.4 | NEST | The Nest | ||
| 47.5 | ROAR | Roar | ||
| 47.6 | SBN | SonLife |
KTXD-TV shut down its analog signal, overUHF channel 47, on June 12, 2009, as part of thefederally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[25] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 46, usingvirtual channel 47.
KTXD's original analog transmitter was located in Greenville. After thedigital transition, the station's transmitter moved to theCedar Hill antenna farm. Because the digital transmitter site is over 63 miles (101 km) from the Greenville site, over 90,000 viewers in that area[26] no longer receive the station. However, the new digital signal covers the entire Dallas–Fort Worth metro area, resulting in a net change in population covered from 1,364,801 persons (for its analog signal) to 5,306,750 (for its digital signal).[26]
KTXA [...] will begin broadcasting the diginet on its ch. 21.2 starting Dec. 23.
Includes English-language stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Texas | ||
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| ATSC 3.0 | ||
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