| ATSC 3.0 station | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Studios for KTXH andKRIV on Southwest Freeway in Houston | |
| |
| Channels | |
| Branding | My20 Vision |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Fox Television Stations, LLC |
| KRIV | |
| History | |
First air date | November 7, 1982 (42 years ago) (1982-11-07) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 20 (UHF, 1982–2009) |
| |
Call sign meaning | Texas Houston |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 51569 |
| ERP | 421kW |
| HAAT | 596 m (1,955 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 29°33′45.1″N95°30′35.8″W / 29.562528°N 95.509944°W /29.562528; -95.509944 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
KTXH (channel 20), branded asMy20 Vision, is atelevision station inHouston, Texas, United States, airing theMyNetworkTV programming service. It isowned and operated byFox Television Stations alongsideFox outletKRIV (channel 26). The two stations share studios on Southwest Freeway (I-69/US 59) in Houston; KTXH's transmitter is located nearMissouri City, Texas.
KTXH began broadcasting in November 1982 as Houston's thirdindependent station. A month after going on air, its broadcast tower collapsed in a construction accident that killed five people. The station recovered and emerged as Houston's sports independent, beginning long associations with theHouston Astros andHouston Rockets that continued uninterrupted through the late 1990s and sporadically until the early 2010s. Not long after starting up, KTXH was sold twice in rapid succession for large amounts. However, when the independent station trade, advertising market, and regional economy cooled, it was sold again for less than half of its previous value. TheParamount Stations Group acquired KTXH and other stations in two parts between 1989 and 1991, bringing much-needed stability.
KTXH was one of several Paramount-owned stations to be charter outlets for the United Paramount Network (UPN) in 1995; in 2001, after UPN was acquired byCBS, Fox took possession of the station in a trade and merged its operations with KRIV. When UPN merged intoThe CW in 2006, bypassing all of Fox's UPN and independent stations in the process, the station became part of Fox'sMyNetworkTV service. In 2021, the station became one of twoATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) transmitters for the Houston area; its subchannels are now transmitted by other local stations on its behalf.
Interest in channel 20 in Houston began to emerge in 1976, as three groups filed applications for new television stations in light of the emerging technology ofsubscription television (STV). These were Channel 20 Houston, Inc., a group led by Robert S. Block ofMilwaukee;[2] Channel 20, Inc., headed bySidney Shlenker;[3] and CPI Subscription TV, subsidiary of cable television company Communications Properties, Inc.[4][5] CPI withdrew, and a settlement application between the Block and Shlenker consortia—Channel 20, Inc.—was granted theconstruction permit by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) on May 19, 1980.[6] It was the second joint settlement between Block and Shlenker for a Texas station; the Shlenker consortium, withMilt Grant as head of operations, had previously received the construction permit forKTXA inFort Worth in March. That station began broadcasting in February 1981 as a hybrid operation, with commercial programming andON TV, the STV service owned byOak Industries. Oak was to own amajority stake in the local ON TV operation.[7] Channel 20's launch was delayed due to holdups in determining the local structure of the ON TV franchise and a dispute involving the mineral rights under the newSenior Road Tower, a 1,971-foot (601 m) mast inFort Bend County that would be used to transmit KTXH and nine HoustonFM radio stations.[8]
KTXH began broadcasting on November 7, 1982, branding on-air as "20-Vision" and broadcasting from studios at 8950 Kirby Drive in Houston. By that time, though, Oak had frozen its plans into eventual cancellation, with Grant telling Ann Hodges of theHouston Chronicle that their operation had shut down completely.[9] This was to the benefit of KTXH's ad-supported commercial offerings, giving it prime time hours to program (particularly with sports) and making reticent cable systems more willing to put the new station on their lineups.[9] On opening night, the station showed the filmThe Deer Hunter, and five nights later, the station aired its firstHouston Rockets basketball game; Shlenker was a 10 percent stakeholder in theNBA team.[9] The 30 games the Rockets were slated to telecast in 1982–83 marked a record for the club.[10] Shortly before signing on, the Houston Sports Association, owner of theHouston Astros baseball club, became a new 38 percent stockholder in KTXH, bringing with them television rights to the Astros.[11]
In the first month on air, Houston's third independent station claimed eight percent of the viewing audience in the Houston metropolitan area, immediately moving into a tie for the lead, with its program lineup organized into thematic blocks.[12]
KTXH was the first tenant to use the Senior Road Tower. A month later, work began to install the antenna that the FM radio stations would use on the mast. The first part was put into place on December 6. Despite winds, work proceeded the next morning, December 7. A failure in a clamping device on the hoisting mechanism caused a 75-foot (23 m) section of antenna to fall off, severing aguy wire and leading to the tower's collapse. Five people, all tower workers employed by a New Jersey company, died. KTXH suffered a $1.5 million loss in equipment, including the transmitter, on which the falling mast collapsed.[13][14] A man in the transmitter building saw the tower collapse and fled.[15]
In the wake of the tower collapse, KTXH was out of service for a total of 61 days.[16] The station filed a $42 million lawsuit, alleging negligent construction and claiming a $7 million loss in equipment and advertising. It also immediately ordered a new transmitter[17][18] as the Senior Road Tower consortium moved ahead with reconstruction of the mast,[19] where KTXH would return upon its completion in October 1983.[17][18] Even while broadcasting from a temporary facility atop theAllied Bank Plaza, KTXH continued to post competitive numbers against KRIV.[20]
The pairing of KTXA and KTXH had proven to be successful and highly lucrative. Grant's aggressive programming and promotions strategy, plus a favorable climate for independent stations nationally, made the two stations highly profitable and attracted major bidders. Outlet Communications, the broadcasting division ofThe Outlet Company of Rhode Island, was one of several parties negotiating to buy KTXA and KTXH. However, negotiations fell through, and Grant instead sold the pair to the Gulf Broadcast Group for $158 million in May 1984.[21] The sale was held up for several months at the FCC, which conditioned the purchase on Gulf divesting FM stations in both cities.[22] The sale price was considered unprecedented given the short period of operation of the stations.[23]
Gulf had scarcely owned the stations when it sold its entire stations group for $755 million toTaft Broadcasting in 1985.[24] Taft doubled the size of the KTXH facility to include a second studio and more office space.[25] Over the course of late 1985 and late 1986, Taft was fending off overtures from activist investorRobert Bass, who was amassing shares in the company.[26][27] Meanwhile, in addition to a worsening regional economy, the independent television market nationally was softening; the two Texas stations were believed to be the weakest in the Taft chain,[28] even as KTXH boasted the highest audience share of any independent station in a top-35 market built since 1981.[29] On Rockets telecasts during this time, a youngHannah Storm hosted pregame and postgame shows.[30]
Taft put its broadcast group up for sale in August 1986 due to agitation by Bass. While it asked $500 million for five independent stations, the winning bidder—TVX Broadcast Group—only paid $240 million, and Taft estimated its after-tax loss for the sale at $45 to $50 million.[31] TVX implemented budget cuts, laying off about 15 percent of the staff at the acquisitions, and renegotiated programming costs; KTXH's production unit was completely disbanded.[32]
The Taft stations purchase left TVX highly leveraged and vulnerable. TVX's bankers,Salomon Brothers, provided the financing for the acquisition and in return held more than 60 percent of the company.[32] The company was to pay Salomon Brothers $200 million on January 1, 1988, and missed the first payment deadline, having been unable to lure investors to itsjunk bonds even beforeBlack Monday.[33] While TVX recapitalized by the end of 1988,[34] Salomon Brothers reached an agreement in principle in January 1989 forParamount Pictures to acquire options to purchase the investment firm's majority stake.[35] This deal was replaced in September with an outright purchase of 79 percent of TVX for $110 million.[36]
In 1991, Paramount acquired the remainder of TVX.[37] The deal gave Paramount a strategic entrance into the television stations market; three years later, Paramount merged withViacom, and the following year, KTXH became one of the charter outlets of theUnited Paramount Network (UPN).[38] In 1996, Viacom purchased a 50 percent ownership interest in UPN.[39]
KTXH's relationship with the Rockets continued until the 1997–1998 season, whenKHTV (channel 39) outbid channel 20 for the rights to the team's road games.[40] The move was largely precipitated by what was believed to be a reluctance to commit to sports preemptions of UPN programming. KHTV, which became KHWB in 1999, cited its affiliation withThe WB when it dropped the team after three years; after a disastrous start to the 2000–2001 season on new independentKTBU, plagued by low ratings and signal coverage issues in parts of the Houston metropolitan area, the Rockets moved their games back to KTXH, with someHouston Comets women's basketball telecasts appearing on the station.[41][42] At the same time, the Astros—which aired 64 games in the 1997 campaign on channel 20[43]—left for independent stationKNWS-TV (channel 51), with KTXH's increasing obligations to UPN as a core factor.[44][45] In both cases, ratings fell after the teams moved their games off KTXH.[46][47]
In 2000, Viacom purchased CBS. On August 12 of that year,United Television—the United in UPN—sold its UPN stations to theFox Television Stations subsidiary ofNews Corporation for $5.5 billion;[48] the deal was finalized on July 31, 2001. As part of its acquisition of the United stations, Fox had purchasedKBHK-TV in San Francisco, a city in which Fox did not own its affiliate—but there was a CBSowned-and-operated station. Similarly, Viacom now owned UPN stations in Houston (KTXH) and Washington, D.C. (WDCA), markets where it did not own the CBS affiliate but where there was a Fox owned-and-operated station. As a result, Fox traded KBHK-TV to Viacom in exchange for KTXH and WDCA, resulting in three new duopolies, including new Fox duopolies in Houston and Washington.[49] The FCC approved the deal in August 2001 on the condition that Viacom sell one of its San Francisco radio stations.[50] KTXH vacated the Kirby Drive facilities and consolidated with KRIV at its Southwest Freeway facility; the move led to some job losses.[51] The Rockets departed KTXH in 2002 for a new agreement with KNWS-TV and KHWB.[52]
On January 24, 2006, theWarner Bros. unit ofTime Warner andCBS Corporation (which had been created as a result of the split of Viacom at the start of the year) announced that the two companies would shut downThe WB and UPN and combine the networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network calledThe CW.[53][54] In unveiling the merged network, while WB and UPN affiliates owned by WB minority stakeholderTribune Broadcasting (including KHWB in Houston) and byCBS Television Stations were announced as charter outlets, none of the Fox-owned UPN stations—many of which were competitors to these stations—were chosen. The next month, News Corporation then announced the creation of its own secondary network,MyNetworkTV, to serve its own outgoing UPN stations as well as those that had not been selected for The CW.[55][56]
Even past the MyNetworkTV switch, KTXH continued its association with local sports. In late 2007 and early 2008, the Rockets and Astros returned to KTXH with a reduced schedule of games, largely in a complementary role toFox Sports Houston, the Fox-ownedregional sports network (RSN).[57] The Astros aired all of their games on Fox Sports Houston in 2011, which was to be their last season on the RSN as the two teams prepared to launch Comcast SportsNet Houston (nowSpace City Home Network) in 2012.[58]
In 1999, KTXH began broadcasting a digital signal, which was not broadcast from the Senior Road tower but at a new, purpose-built mast in the same area.[59] KTXH discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, overUHF channel 20, on June 12, 2009, as part of thefederally mandated transition from analog to digital television; the station's digital signal continued on UHF channel 19, usingvirtual channel 20.[60]
On December 7, 2021, KTXH became one of twoATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) transmitters for the Houston area as part of a deployment involving 10 stations in the market.[61]
The station's ATSC 1.0 subchannels are carried on themultiplexed signals of other Houston TV stations:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | ATSC 1.0 host |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KTXH-DT | MyNetworkTV | KRIV |
| 20.2 | 480i | Movies! | Movies! | KXLN-DT | |
| 20.3 | TheGrio | HSN | KFTH-DT | ||
| 20.4 | BUZZR | Buzzr | KTRK-TV |
| Channel | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | KTRK | ABC (KTRK-TV) |
| 20.1 | KTXH | MyNetworkTV |
| 26.1 | KRIV | Fox (KRIV) |
| 45.1 | KXLN | Univision (KXLN-DT) |
| 67.1 | KFTH | UniMás (KFTH-DT) |
