KFXK
Encyclopedia
KFXK-TV is the Fox
affiliate station of Longview, Texas
. Its East Texas coverage area includes Tyler
and Longview. The station is owned by White Knight Broadcasting
, and controlled by Communications Corporation of America
. Its transmitter is located near New London, Texas
. The station's programming can also be seen on KFXL-LP channel 30 in Lufkin
, which serves the Lufkin-Nacogdoches
area; this helps spread the Fox signal further south, as KFXK's signal is not strong enough on its own to cover the whole East Texas TV market.
affiliate KLMG-TV on September 9, 1984. It made national news because the owner, Clara McLaughlin, was the first black woman to own a TV station in US history. (http://www.powells.com/biblio/156025999X?&PID=32317) She bought a school building on I-20
in Longview and turned it into the station's studios. KLMG was intended to be part of a network of stations in East Texas entitled the East Texas Television Network. To this end, McLaughlin also held construction permits for KLNL on channel 19 in Nacogdoches, KLPH-TV on channel 42 in Paris
, and KLDS on channel 20 in Denison
. However, this plan did not pan out and none of the other stations ever came on the air. KLMG wound up in bankruptcy just a few years after it opened and the news department was closed.
KLMG switched its call letters to KFXK and affiliation to Fox in April 1991, leaving the market without a CBS affiliate for 13 years - until 2004 when KLSB, a satellite of NBC
affiliate KETK
, moved to low-power channel 53 in order for a new CBS affiliate, KYTX
, to sign on. By 1998, KFXK had signed on the KFXL signal, giving the Lufkin-Nacogdoches area its first Fox affiliate.
, a co-owned MyNetworkTV
affiliate, as a digital subchannel (31.2). KFXK began testing an HDTV signal on October 20, 2006, with a full HDTV signal going live on October 25. The signal is carried on Suddenlink
Digital Cable systems on channel 705. On February 1, 2008, Longview Cable Television added KFXK-DT and KLPN on digital cable channels 250 and 252. KFXK ceased analog broadcasting on channel 51 on June 12, 2009.
In 1998, KFXK launched a 9:00 newscast, the first in the market. Produced by KETK-TV
, it focused on stories across the East Texas region. The newscast initially achieved unexpectedly strong rating
s, garnering a 3 share in only a month and a half, and continuing to rise while the initial anchor team and producer were in place; however, the ratings began to drop after both left for larger markets. In addition, the newscast was plagued with logistical problems when sports delays would push back the newscast's slated 9:00 airtime; when this happened, KFXK was forced to air it on a tape delay
to allow KETK to produce its own 10 p.m. newscast on schedule. This occasionally led to the same meteorologist being seen on both KFXK and KETK simultaneously, causing some viewer confusion and thus letting them in on the secret that KFXK's news was not always live every night, despite the impression that it was. This, coupled with the declining ratings, eventually caused station management to cancel the newscast.
On January 28, 2008, KFXK launched yet another newscast, Fox News East Texas, which airs at 9:00 for a half-hour. Despite early reports of a two-hour morning newscast, Good Day East Texas, debuting at the same time, the station does not air one.
Fox News East Texas (Weeknights 9 to 9:30 P.M.)
KFXK features news personnel from KETK. See that article for a complete listing.
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate station of Longview, Texas
Longview, Texas
Longview is a city in Gregg and Harrison Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 80,455. Most of the city is located in Gregg County, of which it is the county seat; only a small part extends into the western part of neighboring Harrison County. It is...
. Its East Texas coverage area includes Tyler
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
and Longview. The station is owned by White Knight Broadcasting
White Knight Broadcasting
White Knight Broadcasting is a company based in Lafayette, Louisiana. It is a shell company for the Communications Corporation of America , owning seven ComCorp-controlled stations, all based in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi...
, and controlled by Communications Corporation of America
Communications Corporation of America
Communications Corporation of America is a broadcasting company in the United States that owns television stations in smaller markets. The company is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana...
. Its transmitter is located near New London, Texas
New London, Texas
New London is a city in Rusk County, Texas, United States. The population was 987 at the 2000 census.On March 18, 1937, the London School Explosion killed in excess of three hundred people...
. The station's programming can also be seen on KFXL-LP channel 30 in Lufkin
Lufkin, Texas
Lufkin is a city in Angelina County, Texas, United States. Founded in 1882, the population was 35,067 in 2010. It is the county seat of Angelina County, and is situated in Deep East Texas.-History:...
, which serves the Lufkin-Nacogdoches
Nacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...
area; this helps spread the Fox signal further south, as KFXK's signal is not strong enough on its own to cover the whole East Texas TV market.
History
The station began life as CBSCBS
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...
affiliate KLMG-TV on September 9, 1984. It made national news because the owner, Clara McLaughlin, was the first black woman to own a TV station in US history. (http://www.powells.com/biblio/156025999X?&PID=32317) She bought a school building on I-20
Interstate 20 in Texas
Interstate 20 in Texas is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States, running east from a junction with Interstate 10 east of Kent, Texas, through the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to the border with Louisiana near Waskom, Texas...
in Longview and turned it into the station's studios. KLMG was intended to be part of a network of stations in East Texas entitled the East Texas Television Network. To this end, McLaughlin also held construction permits for KLNL on channel 19 in Nacogdoches, KLPH-TV on channel 42 in Paris
Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas is a city located northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States. It is situated in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods. Physiographically, these regions are part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. In 1900, 9,358 people lived...
, and KLDS on channel 20 in Denison
Denison, Texas
Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 22,773 at the 2000 census; it is estimated to have grown to 24,127 in 2009. Denison is one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. However, this plan did not pan out and none of the other stations ever came on the air. KLMG wound up in bankruptcy just a few years after it opened and the news department was closed.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate KETK
KETK-TV
KETK-TV, virtual channel 56, is the NBC television affiliate serving the East Texas viewing area. It is owned by Communications Corporation of America, under licensee of "ComCorp of Tyler", which also operates Fox network affiliates KFXK and KFXL-LP, and MyNetworkTV affiliate KLPN-LP through a...
, moved to low-power channel 53 in order for a new CBS affiliate, KYTX
KYTX
KYTX, virtual channel 19, is a television station based in Tyler, Texas, licensed to Nacogdoches. It operates on digital UHF 18. The CBS affiliate, owned by London Broadcasting Company, serves a swath of East Texas, including Tyler, Jacksonville, Lufkin and Nacogdoches. It is the sister station of...
, to sign on. By 1998, KFXK had signed on the KFXL signal, giving the Lufkin-Nacogdoches area its first Fox affiliate.
Digital television
KFXK launched a full power digital television feed on UHF channel 31 on July 30, 2006. The digital signal carries KLPNKTPN-LP
KTPN-LP, channel 48, and KLPN-LP, channel 58, are low-powered affiliates of MyNetworkTV based in Tyler, Texas and Longview, Texas, respectively. they are sister to KETK, KFXK.-History:...
, a co-owned MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate, as a digital subchannel (31.2). KFXK began testing an HDTV signal on October 20, 2006, with a full HDTV signal going live on October 25. The signal is carried on Suddenlink
Suddenlink Communications
Suddenlink Communications, formerly Cebridge Connections, is a top-10 cable broadband services provider in the United States with approximately 1.4 million subscribers. Suddenlink operates in 18 states in primarily medium-sized communities. With its corporate headquarters in St. Louis, MO,...
Digital Cable systems on channel 705. On February 1, 2008, Longview Cable Television added KFXK-DT and KLPN on digital cable channels 250 and 252. KFXK ceased analog broadcasting on channel 51 on June 12, 2009.
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 51.1 / 31.1 | KFXK-HD - Fox-HD 720p DD5.1 |
| 51.2 / 31.2 | KLPN-LP - My Network TV 480i |
Newscasts
As KLMG, the station made two attempts at newscasts; both were subsequently canceled.In 1998, KFXK launched a 9:00 newscast, the first in the market. Produced by KETK-TV
KETK-TV
KETK-TV, virtual channel 56, is the NBC television affiliate serving the East Texas viewing area. It is owned by Communications Corporation of America, under licensee of "ComCorp of Tyler", which also operates Fox network affiliates KFXK and KFXL-LP, and MyNetworkTV affiliate KLPN-LP through a...
, it focused on stories across the East Texas region. The newscast initially achieved unexpectedly strong rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
s, garnering a 3 share in only a month and a half, and continuing to rise while the initial anchor team and producer were in place; however, the ratings began to drop after both left for larger markets. In addition, the newscast was plagued with logistical problems when sports delays would push back the newscast's slated 9:00 airtime; when this happened, KFXK was forced to air it on a tape delay
Broadcast delay
In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical...
to allow KETK to produce its own 10 p.m. newscast on schedule. This occasionally led to the same meteorologist being seen on both KFXK and KETK simultaneously, causing some viewer confusion and thus letting them in on the secret that KFXK's news was not always live every night, despite the impression that it was. This, coupled with the declining ratings, eventually caused station management to cancel the newscast.
On January 28, 2008, KFXK launched yet another newscast, Fox News East Texas, which airs at 9:00 for a half-hour. Despite early reports of a two-hour morning newscast, Good Day East Texas, debuting at the same time, the station does not air one.
Fox News East Texas (Weeknights 9 to 9:30 P.M.)
- Anchor:
- Kris Betts
- Weather:
- Scott Chesner
- Sports:
- Danny Elzner
- Reporters
- KETK STAFF
KFXK features news personnel from KETK. See that article for a complete listing.