KASW
Encyclopedia
KASW is a full-service television station
licensed to Phoenix, Arizona
. It broadcasts in digital
on UHF
channel 49 from a transmitter located on South Mountain
in Phoenix, on cable channel 6 on major Phoenix cable systems (which is used for station branding given the relatively its high virtual channel number), and several translators in northern and eastern Arizona. KASW's former channel 61 signal broadcast with 2,510 kW, the second-highest of any Phoenix station. Currently, KASW is the second-largest CW affiliate (after Boston
's WLVI) in terms of market size that is not owned by CBS Corporation
or Tribune Broadcasting
, both of which contributed stations at the merger announcement (previously, these stations were UPN
or The WB stations, respectively). KASW is owned by Belo Corporation, in a duopoly
with KTVK
.
By 1991, preparations had been made to sign on another Phoenix independent station, KAIK. The station bore these calls into 1994 until KAIK was bought by the Brooks family in 1995 and became KASW.
When KASW signed on in its current form, a local marketing agreement
was reached with MAC America Communications, the then-owner of KTVK
. This agreement allowed KTVK, which had an overflowing program inventory, to move some of its programming to KASW. The programming included classic cartoons, classic TV sitcoms, old movies, a few recent sitcoms, The WB
affiliation, and the Kids WB cartoons. Towards the end of 1995, KTVK had also moved Fox Kids, the predecessor of 4Kids TV, and other syndicated programs to KASW. These changeovers allowed KTVK to return to broadcasting Saturday morning newscasts, while KASW started a 30-minute 9pm newscast produced by KTVK, which ended in 1997.
When Belo bought most of MAC America's properties in 1999, the local marketing agreement with KASW was included. This move further boosted its programming quality. After the FCC
allowed duopolies in 2000 when Viacom
(then-current owner of UPN
) bought CBS
, KASW was bought outright by Belo.
Due to changes in the industry, from about 1998 to about 2004, KASW began to gradually move away from classic TV sitcoms, old movies, and cartoons. They began to phase in more talk shows, reality shows, and court shows to its schedule. It finally dropped weekday cartoons at the start of 2006 when Kids WB discontinued providing that block to affiliates.
The station still runs The CW4Kids
, the successor of Kids' WB
, on Saturday mornings. It also aired 4Kids TV
on Sunday mornings until its shutdown on December 27, 2008. (Therefore, both weekend mornings were essentially programmed by one company, 4Kids Entertainment
, for seven months.) These properties, in one form or another, were on KTVK when it originally picked up The WB in 1995 and were moved in September 1995 and 1996, respectively. The same situation occurred on several duopolies, where stations like KFRE-TV
and WBNX-TV
picked up the 4Kids rights from a Fox affiliate (in KFRE's case, KMPH-TV
) or due to rejection by stations that were inherited from New World Communications
(WBNX is a good example).
and The WB would cease operations. The CW
, a new television network
created as joint venture between UPN parent CBS Corporation
and WB majority owner Warner Bros.
Entertainment, will replace them from the 2006-07 television season on. On March 8, it was announced that KASW will become the CW affiliate in Phoenix http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6314296.html?display=Breaking+News http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9511, while KUTP
, the market's UPN affiliate, became an owned-and-operated station of MyNetworkTV
13 days before the launch of the CW.
KASW is only tweaking its branding to reflect its new network, keeping the 6 that represents its position on the area's dominant cable system (satellite systems map KASW to channel 61). The station was also airing its own CW "man-on-the-street" promos before the switch. Quick6.com's images and links were revamped a week before the change and feature a new Quick6 logo.
Also, every Halloween, "Child's Play
" is shown.
Digital channels>
Channel
Format
Programming
61.1
1080i
Main KASW programming / The CW
KASW ceased its analog broadcasts at 4:30 AM on June 12, 2009, the day mandated by the federal government for TV stations to cease analog transmissions
across the country. The switchoff was originally scheduled for 12:01AM, the same time as its sister station, KTVK
. However, it was delayed for unknown reasons.
After the switchover, KASW remained on its pre-transition channel, 49. However, through the use of PSIP
, digital television receivers will display KASW's virtual channel as 61.
, Scrubs
, The Simpsons
, Friends
, South Park
,and American Dad(weeknights at 12am). KASW has the rights to a variety of other programming content, such as first-run reality shows and other TV series. KASW aired Phoenix Coyotes
NHL
hockey games from the time that the team moved to Phoenix until the 2006-2007 season, when the Coyotes announced a move to the AZ-TV
regional network. KASW also aired 4Kids TV
on Sunday mornings until 4Kids TV went off the air on December 27, 2008. KASW declined to pick up its successor block, Weekend Marketplace
, which now airs on AZ-TV.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
licensed to Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. It broadcasts in digital
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
on UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
channel 49 from a transmitter located on South Mountain
South Mountains (Arizona)
The South Mountains , known locally as simply South Mountain, is a mountain range in central Arizona in south Phoenix, Arizona. It is on public land managed by the city of Phoenix as South Mountain Park...
in Phoenix, on cable channel 6 on major Phoenix cable systems (which is used for station branding given the relatively its high virtual channel number), and several translators in northern and eastern Arizona. KASW's former channel 61 signal broadcast with 2,510 kW, the second-highest of any Phoenix station. Currently, KASW is the second-largest CW affiliate (after Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's WLVI) in terms of market size that is not owned by CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
or Tribune Broadcasting
Tribune Broadcasting
The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting...
, both of which contributed stations at the merger announcement (previously, these stations were UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
or The WB stations, respectively). KASW is owned by Belo Corporation, in a duopoly
Duopoly (broadcasting)
In United States broadcast television and radio, duopoly is a term used to describe a single company which owns two or more stations in the same city or community....
with KTVK
KTVK
KTVK is a full-service, independent television station in Phoenix, Arizona. It broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter located on South Mountain in Phoenix, and can be seen across northern Arizona on a network of nearly two dozen translator stations...
.
History
Prior to the sign on of KASW on September 22, 1995, K61CA, a low-power, locally programmed music video channel, operated on the frequency from March 1983 until December of 1984.By 1991, preparations had been made to sign on another Phoenix independent station, KAIK. The station bore these calls into 1994 until KAIK was bought by the Brooks family in 1995 and became KASW.
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
was reached with MAC America Communications, the then-owner of KTVK
KTVK
KTVK is a full-service, independent television station in Phoenix, Arizona. It broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter located on South Mountain in Phoenix, and can be seen across northern Arizona on a network of nearly two dozen translator stations...
. This agreement allowed KTVK, which had an overflowing program inventory, to move some of its programming to KASW. The programming included classic cartoons, classic TV sitcoms, old movies, a few recent sitcoms, The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
affiliation, and the Kids WB cartoons. Towards the end of 1995, KTVK had also moved Fox Kids, the predecessor of 4Kids TV, and other syndicated programs to KASW. These changeovers allowed KTVK to return to broadcasting Saturday morning newscasts, while KASW started a 30-minute 9pm newscast produced by KTVK, which ended in 1997.
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
allowed duopolies in 2000 when Viacom
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
(then-current owner of UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
) bought CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, KASW was bought outright by Belo.
The station still runs The CW4Kids
The CW4Kids
The CW4Kids is a Saturday morning cartoon block on The CW Television Network that premiered on May 24, 2008 in the place of Kids' WB...
, the successor of Kids' WB
Kids' WB
Kids' WB! was Warner Bros. American childrens programing division brand for The WB Television Network. In September 2006, the block moved to The CW Television Network. The CW is the result of The WB's merger with UPN in 2006...
, on Saturday mornings. It also aired 4Kids TV
4Kids TV
4Kids TV was a Saturday morning television programming block on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The block was part of the Fox Network schedule...
on Sunday mornings until its shutdown on December 27, 2008. (Therefore, both weekend mornings were essentially programmed by one company, 4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
, for seven months.) These properties, in one form or another, were on KTVK when it originally picked up The WB in 1995 and were moved in September 1995 and 1996, respectively. The same situation occurred on several duopolies, where stations like KFRE-TV
KFRE-TV
KFRE-TV is the CW affiliate for the Fresno, California market. It broadcasts on digital UHF channel 36. The station is a sister station of KMPH-TV. KFRE-TV is owned by Titan Broadcast Group. The station is licensed to Sanger, with studios in Fresno and a transmitter in Auberry.-History:KFRE-TV...
and WBNX-TV
WBNX-TV
WBNX-TV, virtual channel 55 , is the CW television affiliate serving the Cleveland/Akron/Canton, Ohio television market; it brands itself as "WBNX, The CW". The studios are located in Cuyahoga Falls and the transmitter is in Parma, although it is licensed to Akron...
picked up the 4Kids rights from a Fox affiliate (in KFRE's case, KMPH-TV
KMPH-TV
KMPH-TV is a television station in Fresno, California broadcasting digitally on television channel 28, and is licensed to nearby Visalia. It is the Fresno-area affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is owned by Titan Broadcast Group and is sister station to KFRE-TV, the Central Valley's CW...
) or due to rejection by stations that were inherited from New World Communications
New World Communications
New World Pictures was an independent motion picture and television production company, and later television station owner in the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s...
(WBNX is a good example).
From The WB to The CW
In January 2006, it was announced that UPNUPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
and The WB would cease operations. The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, a new television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
created as joint venture between UPN parent CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
and WB majority owner Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Entertainment, will replace them from the 2006-07 television season on. On March 8, it was announced that KASW will become the CW affiliate in Phoenix http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6314296.html?display=Breaking+News http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9511, while KUTP
KUTP
KUTP, channel 45, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated station in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox outlet KSAZ-TV . The two stations share studio facilities in Phoenix, and KUTP's transmitter is located on South...
, the market's UPN affiliate, became an owned-and-operated station of MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
13 days before the launch of the CW.
KASW is only tweaking its branding to reflect its new network, keeping the 6 that represents its position on the area's dominant cable system (satellite systems map KASW to channel 61). The station was also airing its own CW "man-on-the-street" promos before the switch. Quick6.com's images and links were revamped a week before the change and feature a new Quick6 logo.
Also, every Halloween, "Child's Play
Child's Play
Child's Play is a 1988 American horror film written by Don Mancini and directed by Tom Holland. The film was released on November 9, 1988 and stars Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon and Brad Dourif...
" is shown.
Digital television
The station's digital channel:KASW ceased its analog broadcasts at 4:30 AM on June 12, 2009, the day mandated by the federal government for TV stations to cease analog transmissions
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
across the country. The switchoff was originally scheduled for 12:01AM, the same time as its sister station, KTVK
KTVK
KTVK is a full-service, independent television station in Phoenix, Arizona. It broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter located on South Mountain in Phoenix, and can be seen across northern Arizona on a network of nearly two dozen translator stations...
. However, it was delayed for unknown reasons.
After the switchover, KASW remained on its pre-transition channel, 49. However, through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers will display KASW's virtual channel as 61.
Programming
Besides airing programming from The CW, KASW broadcasts syndicated content like Two and a Half MenTwo and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
, Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
,and American Dad(weeknights at 12am). KASW has the rights to a variety of other programming content, such as first-run reality shows and other TV series. KASW aired Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....
NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
hockey games from the time that the team moved to Phoenix until the 2006-2007 season, when the Coyotes announced a move to the AZ-TV
KAZT-TV
KAZT-TV is an independent television station in Prescott, Arizona, broadcasting locally in digital on VHF channel 7 from its transmitter located atop Mingus Mountain northeast of Prescott. Its analog signal is simulcast across central and northern Arizona through a translator system, and its...
regional network. KASW also aired 4Kids TV
4Kids TV
4Kids TV was a Saturday morning television programming block on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The block was part of the Fox Network schedule...
on Sunday mornings until 4Kids TV went off the air on December 27, 2008. KASW declined to pick up its successor block, Weekend Marketplace
Weekend Marketplace
Weekend Marketplace is a two hour Saturday morning block of paid programming airing on Fox that began airing on January 3, 2009, replacing the 4Kids TV Saturday morning cartoon block that aired using time leased by 4Kids from Fox from 2002 until the last Saturday of 2008...
, which now airs on AZ-TV.
Station names and slogans over the years
- WB61: We're just havin' fun! (1995–1997)
- WB61 (1997–2001)
- WB6 and 61 (2001–2003)
- WB6, More fun than [random facts and jokes inserted here] (2003–2006)
- Free To Be CW6 (2006–present)
- "T.V. to talk about" (current)
Translators
- K41CV DuncanDuncan, ArizonaDuncan is a town in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 713. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area. Duncan is at the juncture of the Gila River and the Arizona-New Mexico state border...
- K34EF KingmanKingman, ArizonaKingman is located in a desert climate on the edge of the Mojave Desert, but its higher elevation and location between the Colorado Plateau and the Lower Colorado River Valley tempers summer high temperatures and contributes to winter cold and rare snowfall. Summer daytime highs reach above 90 °F ...
- K21EA Lake Havasu CityLake Havasu City, Arizona-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 41,938 people, 17,911 households, and 12,716 families residing in the city. The population density was 974.4 people per square mile . There were 23,018 housing units at an average density of 534.8 per square mile...
- K34EE PrescottPrescott, ArizonaPrescott is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. It was designated "Arizona's Christmas City" by Arizona Governor Rose Mofford in the late 1980s....
/CottonwoodCottonwood, ArizonaCottonwood is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 11,171.-Geography:Cottonwood is located at .... - K41JE WilliamsWilliams, ArizonaWilliams is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States west of Flagstaff. Its population was 2,842 at the 2000 census; according to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,094. It lies on the route of Historic Route 66, Interstate 40, and the Southwest Chief Amtrak...
/Ash ForkAsh Fork, ArizonaAsh Fork is a census-designated place in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 457 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ash Fork is located at ....
External links
- KASW's Web site
- TV-61.com "dedicated to preserving the memory of, and the people behind, K61CA, Arizona's First Low Power Television Station." as mentioned in the History section above.
- CW6's social network: CWPhoenix.com
- Jim Carr (US)Jim Carr (US)Jim Carr is a Digital strategist, Online producer, and Educator. An advocate for digital literacy, Carr serves on the Board of Directors for the Digital Literacy Institute, a non-profit organization that works to bridge the digital divide and promote access to Internet technologies for...
, Director of Digital Media