KNAT-TV
Encyclopedia
KNAT-TV is a religious
television station
in Albuquerque, New Mexico
, broadcasting locally on digital channel 24 (virtual
ch. 23) as an owned and operated station of the Trinity Broadcasting Network
. Founded October 17, 1975, the station is owned by Trinity Broadcasting Network
. The station does air a small amount of public affairs local programming.
Trinity Broadcasting runs a variety of Christian programs ranging such as church services, sermons, variety shows, teaching programs, Christian films, children's programming, and contemporary Christian music. KNAT 23 is one of three full-time Christian television stations in the Albuquerque market.
) daily in the afternoon and evening hours. In the mornings they ran religious programs in English.
In the Spring of 1978 New Mexico Visions purchased KMXN and changed the format to English speaking general entertainment making it a traditional independent. The station ran cartoons from 7-9 a.m./3-5 p.m. weekdays, religious shows 9 a.m. to Noon weekdays, sitcoms/westerns/dramas/movies from noon to 3 p.m. weekdays, classic sitcoms or drama shows 5 to 7 p.m., movies from 7-9 p.m. weekdays, and a blend of dramas and westerns late at night. On weekends the station ran more movies and drama shows along with a lot of religious shows Sunday morning.
KMXN changed its call to KLKK-TV in 1980.
In 1981 KGSW channel 14 signed on and KLKK began to have financial difficulties. In the Summer of 1982 KLKK was sold to Carson Broadcasting which was owned by a group of celebrities headed by Johnny Carson
. Carson Broadcasting also owned KVVU channel 5 in Henderson, Nevada
. The station was renamed KNAT.
KNAT dropped all the religious programs and began to add more recent off network sitcoms and more recent movies. The religious shows would move to KGSW and a new sign on station KSAF
channel 2. While KNAT had good ratings the station continued to lose money.
In April 1985 Carson Broadcasting decided that they could no longer put money into KNAT's operation. At the same time they sold KVVU to Meredith Corporation
, which still owns them today. They put KNAT up for sale and sold the programming to KSAF, which became known as KNMZ that same year. KNAT then began airing music videos around the clock. In mid-May 1985, Carson Broadcasting shut down KNAT altogether after being unable to sell the station.
The station stayed up for sale through the Fall of 1985, when Trinity Broadcasting Network, through National Minority Television, purchased KNAT. By the Winter of 1986 KNAT was back on the air running TBN programming 24/7.
Religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting refers to broadcasting by religious organizations, usually with a religious message. Many religious organizations have long recorded content such as sermons and lectures, and have moved into distributing content on their Internet websites.While this article emphasises...
television station
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...
in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, broadcasting locally on digital channel 24 (virtual
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
ch. 23) as an owned and operated station of the Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
. Founded October 17, 1975, the station is owned by Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
. The station does air a small amount of public affairs local programming.
Trinity Broadcasting runs a variety of Christian programs ranging such as church services, sermons, variety shows, teaching programs, Christian films, children's programming, and contemporary Christian music. KNAT 23 is one of three full-time Christian television stations in the Albuquerque market.
History
Channel 23 began operation as KMXN-TV in 1975 as a Spanish language television station most of the day. They ran programming from the Spanish International Network (now UnivisionUnivision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
) daily in the afternoon and evening hours. In the mornings they ran religious programs in English.
In the Spring of 1978 New Mexico Visions purchased KMXN and changed the format to English speaking general entertainment making it a traditional independent. The station ran cartoons from 7-9 a.m./3-5 p.m. weekdays, religious shows 9 a.m. to Noon weekdays, sitcoms/westerns/dramas/movies from noon to 3 p.m. weekdays, classic sitcoms or drama shows 5 to 7 p.m., movies from 7-9 p.m. weekdays, and a blend of dramas and westerns late at night. On weekends the station ran more movies and drama shows along with a lot of religious shows Sunday morning.
KMXN changed its call to KLKK-TV in 1980.
In 1981 KGSW channel 14 signed on and KLKK began to have financial difficulties. In the Summer of 1982 KLKK was sold to Carson Broadcasting which was owned by a group of celebrities headed by Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
. Carson Broadcasting also owned KVVU channel 5 in Henderson, Nevada
Henderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
. The station was renamed KNAT.
KNAT dropped all the religious programs and began to add more recent off network sitcoms and more recent movies. The religious shows would move to KGSW and a new sign on station KSAF
KASA-TV
KASA-TV is the Fox network affiliate for most of New Mexico. It is licensed to the state capital, Santa Fe and broadcasts on digital channel 27 but is displayed as channel 2, its former analog channel number. It is owned by LIN TV and is a sister station to CBS affiliate KRQE. The two stations...
channel 2. While KNAT had good ratings the station continued to lose money.
In April 1985 Carson Broadcasting decided that they could no longer put money into KNAT's operation. At the same time they sold KVVU to Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation
The Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:...
, which still owns them today. They put KNAT up for sale and sold the programming to KSAF, which became known as KNMZ that same year. KNAT then began airing music videos around the clock. In mid-May 1985, Carson Broadcasting shut down KNAT altogether after being unable to sell the station.
The station stayed up for sale through the Fall of 1985, when Trinity Broadcasting Network, through National Minority Television, purchased KNAT. By the Winter of 1986 KNAT was back on the air running TBN programming 24/7.