 | |
| |
|---|---|
| City | Waterloo, Iowa |
| Channels | |
| Branding | KWWF |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | Defunct |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | December 1, 2002 (2002-12-1) |
Last air date |
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Former channel number(s) | Analog: 22 (UHF, 2002–2009) |
| |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 81595 |
| ERP | 70kW |
| HAAT | 197.3 m (647 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°24′35″N92°5′10″W / 42.40972°N 92.08611°W /42.40972; -92.08611 |
KWWF (channel 22) was anindependent television station licensed toWaterloo, Iowa, United States, which served the Eastern Iowatelevision market. The station was owned by Stratus Media Holdings. KWWF's transmitter was located nearWalker, Iowa.
KWWF opened on December 1, 2002, with a format ofinfomercials,home shopping andpublic domainreruns. Later, the station began airingreligious programs fromLeSEA Broadcasting.
Equity Broadcasting bought the station in 2004, and quickly made it a general entertainment station. KWWF affiliated withUPN on September 13, 2004, and the station soon gained carriage on cable systems throughout the market. Under Equity ownership, the station'smaster control, located inLittle Rock, Arkansas, relayed its signal via the Galaxy 18 satellite to the transmitter and area cable systems.
In 2006, Equity outright refused to affiliate their stations withThe CW, the merger of UPN andThe WB, withKWKB taking both that affiliation and second replacement networkMyNetworkTV. This left Equity to have KWWF become an affiliate of Equity Broadcasting's ownRetro Television Network to fill the gaps left by the end of UPN programming. In 2008, most RTN programming was removed from KWWF and moved to a digital subchannel ofKWWL. KWWF then became an independent station, carrying various syndicated programs, as well as a handful of Equity-produced live shows, which were also aired on many RTN stations.
KWWF was sold to Valley Bank at auction on April 16, 2009, as a part of Equity's bankruptcy.[1] Valley Bank, in turn, filed to sell KWWF to an ownership group connected to Fusion Communications in August.[2]
Because it was granted an originalconstruction permit after theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) finalized thedigital television allotment plan on April 21, 1997,[3] the station did not receive a companion channel for a digitaltelevision station. Instead, at the end of thedigital TV conversion period for full-service stations, KWWF was required to turn off itsanalog signal and turn on itsdigital signal (called a "flash-cut").
As of December 2008[update], this station was scheduled to godark in 2009. According to the station's DTV status report, "On December 8, 2008, thelicensee's parent corporation filed a petition for bankruptcy relief underChapter 11 of thefederal bankruptcy code... This station must obtain post-petition financing and court approval beforedigital facilities may be constructed. The station will ceaseanalog broadcasting on February 17, 2009, regardless of whether digital facilities are operational by that date. The station will file authority to remain silent if so required by the FCC."[4]
While theDTV Delay Act extended this deadline to June 12, 2009, Equity applied for an extension of the digital construction permit, in order to retain thebroadcast license in case the station went dark. Fusion Communications was able to build a temporary digital site near Walker to meet the deadline. At the end of analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, KWWF transitioned from the old Equity facility to Fusion's Iowa master control facility and continued to provide a signal to cable systems. Thereafter, KWWF was affiliated with Untamed Sports TV. KWWF's satellite feed was still available on Anik F3 C-Band as of November 2010. Although the station transmitted in720p, Untamed Sports never maintained ahigh definition programming feed and all programming on the station was carried in standard definition.
In 2012, Fusion Communications was acquired by Stratus Media Holdings.[5] KWWF ceased broadcasting on August 2, 2013, due to financial difficulties. On August 8, 2013, the station's owners filed a Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA with the FCC.[6][7] On March 14, 2014, Stratus surrendered KWWF's license to the Federal Communications Commission,[8] which canceled the license a week later.[9]