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| City | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
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| KXTU-LD | |
| History | |
First air date | January 22, 1985 (40 years ago) (1985-01-22) |
Former channel numbers | Analog: 21 (UHF, 1985–2009) |
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Call sign meaning | "Christ Exalted in theRocky Mountains" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 35991 |
| ERP | 51kW |
| HAAT | 641 m (2,103 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 38°44′42.9″N104°51′41.9″W / 38.745250°N 104.861639°W /38.745250; -104.861639 (KXRM-TV) |
| Translator(s) | see§ Translators |
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Public license information | |
| Website | www |
KXRM-TV (channel 21) is atelevision station inColorado Springs, Colorado, United States, affiliated with theFox network. It is owned byNexstar Media Group alongsidelow-powerKXTU-LD (channel 57), anowned-and-operated station ofThe CW. The two stations share studios on Wooten Road in Colorado Springs; KXRM-TV's transmitter is located onCheyenne Mountain.
KXRM-TV first signed on the air as anindependent station on January 22, 1985. Itscall letters were chosen in part to reflect the region in which it operates and its original intent of classic family friendly programing, current and classic cartoon programing mixed with Christian teaching and talk shows. The first two letters stand for "Khrist" (Jesus Christ) "Xalted" (Exalted) and the last two letters stand for "Rocky Mountains". The station had hoped to sign onChristmas Eve 1984, but technical glitches prevented that from happening. KXRM was Southern Colorado's first independent station, and the region's first commercial television station sinceKRDO-TV signed on 31 years earlier. KXRM-TV became one of the initial group of independent television stations to agree to affiliate with the Fox Broadcasting Company in 1986 and had remained an affiliate of the network ever since.
The station was locally owned until 2000 when it was bought byRaycom Media. After Raycom merged with theLiberty Corporation, KXRM was one of several stations that were spun off toBarrington Broadcasting.
On October 11, 2007, the station began airing programming from theRetro Television Network (RTV) on its seconddigital subchannel.[2] Previously, this airedThe Tube (a 24-hour music channel) until the network suspended operations on October 1. On September 15, 2008, KXRM replaced RTV programming on 21.2 with a simulcast of KXTU.[3] This signal increases KXTU's broadcasting radius; KXTU did not convert to digital until 2010, and even in digital, its coverage area is effectively limited toEl Paso andPueblo counties.
On February 28, 2013, Barrington Broadcasting announced the sale of its entire group, including KXRM-TV, toSinclair Broadcast Group.[4] The sale was completed on November 25.[5] On August 20, 2014, Sinclair announced that it would sell KXRM-TV and KXTU-LD, along withWTTA inTampa Bay andWHTM inHarrisburg (which Sinclair, on behalf ofAllbritton is planning on to divest) toMedia General in a swap forWJAR inProvidence, Rhode Island, theWLUK-TV andWCWF duopoly inGreen Bay, Wisconsin, andWTGS inSavannah, Georgia. The swap was part of Media General's merger withLIN Media.[6][7] WHTM's sale of Media General was explored nearly two months earlier, and it was completed, nearly three months before the Media General/LIN deal was completed.[8][9] The sale was completed on December 19.[10] On January 27, 2016, it was announced that theNexstar Broadcasting Group would buy Media General for $4.6 billion. KXRM became part of "Nexstar Media Group" as Nexstar's second station in Colorado, joiningGrand Junction'sCBS affiliateKREX-TV, along with their sister Fox stationKFQX through their JSA withMission Broadcasting.[11] The deal was approved by the FCC on January 11, 2017, and it was completed on January 17.[12] Nexstar would then acquireTribune Media and their Denver duopoly of CW affiliateKWGN-TV and Fox affiliateKDVR, thus consolidating full control over the Fox stations across Colorado.
Currently, KXRM broadcasts 43 hours of local news each week (with7+1⁄2 hours each weekday,2+1⁄2 hours on Saturdays and three hours on Sundays). It has the highest local newscast output among all broadcast television stations in the Colorado Springs–Pueblo market.
The station began airing a half hour prime time newscast at 9 p.m. on March 11, 2001, that was produced by local CBS affiliateKKTV. KXRM established its own in-house news department in 2006 and expanded the nightly 9 p.m. newscast to a full hour. The station hosts a morning show (first started in 2007 as a three-hour newscast) that currently runs from 5 to 9 a.m. that has been recognized by the Colorado Broadcasters Association as one of the best morning shows in themarket. On January 20, 2016, a 10 p.m. newscast was added for weeknights. KXRM also airs weekend morning newscasts running from 5 to 7 a.m. on Saturdays and 6 to 8 a.m. on Sundays. The Saturday evening newscasts run a half hour from 9 to 9:30 p.m., and the Sunday night newscasts run an hour from 9 to 10 p.m.
In late September 2010, KXRM became the fourth station in Colorado Springs–Pueblo to start broadcasting its local newscasts in16:9widescreen.
In 2013, theRadio Television Digital News Association recognized KXRM with a National Edward R. Murrow Award for continuing coverage of theWaldo Canyon Fire.[13]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KXRM-DT | Fox |
| 21.2 | 1080i | SOCO CW | The CW (KXTU-LD) | |
| 21.3 | 480i | ION | Ion | |
| 21.4 | Mystery | Ion Mystery |
KXRM-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, overUHF channel 21, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 22, usingvirtual channel 21.[15]
As part of theSAFER Act, KXRM kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop ofpublic service announcements from theNational Association of Broadcasters.[16]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofColorado | ||
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** Owned by third parties but operated by Nexstar through various agreements. | ||
