View source for KFWD

{{Short description|Television station in Fort Worth, Texas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{distinguish|KDFW|KVII-TV{{!}}KFDW-TV}}
{{Infobox television station
| name = 
| callsign = KFWD
| city = Fort Worth, Texas
| logo = KFWD TV 52.png
| branding = KFWD-TV 52
| digital = 9 ([[VHF]])
| virtual = 52
| subchannels = 
| translators = 
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''52.1:''' [[Shop LC]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner = [[WRNN-TV Associates]]<ref name="nrjtvsale"/>
| licensee = RNN National, [[LLC]]
| operator = 
| location = [[Fort Worth]]–[[Dallas]], Texas
| country = United States
| airdate = {{Start date and age|1988|09|01|p=y}}
| last_airdate = 
| callsign_meaning = Fort Worth–Dallas
| sister_stations = 
| former_callsigns = 
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 52 ([[UHF]], 1988–2009)|'''Digital:''' 51 (UHF, 2002–2009)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[Telemundo]] (1988–2002)|[[Independent station|Independent]] (2002–2012, 2020–2021)|[[MundoFox]] (2012–2015)|[[MundoMax]] (2015–2016)|[[SonLife]] (2016–2020)|[[ShopHQ]] (2021–2024)}}
| erp = 26 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|546.3|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 29015
| coordinates = {{Coord|32|35|20|N|96|58|5.9|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = 
}}

'''KFWD''' (channel 52) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Fort Worth, Texas]], United States, serving the [[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex]]. Owned by [[WRNN-TV Associates]], it airs programming from [[Shop LC]]. KFWD's offices are located in [[Coppell, Texas|Coppell]], and its transmitter is located in [[Cedar Hill, Texas]].

==History==

===As a Telemundo affiliate===
The station first signed on the air on September 1, 1988; it first operated as the [[Dallas]]–Fort Worth market's original affiliate of the [[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish-language]] network [[Telemundo]]. The KFWD call letters were previously used by a local radio station on 102.1 FM (now [[KDGE]]). For much of its history with the network, KFWD signed off the air during the overnight hours each night; as a result, the station did not carry the entire Telemundo network schedule, whose overnight lineup (as is the case to this day) consisted of [[infomercial]]s produced and [[dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbed]] in Spanish as well as [[feature film]]s from countries with a predominant population of Spanish speakers such as [[Mexico]]. The station began broadcasting 24 hours a day in late 2000.

KFWD lost its affiliation with the network when [[NBC]], which had recently acquired Telemundo, bought [[independent station]] [[KXTX-TV]] (channel 39) from the [[Christian Broadcasting Network]] in 2001. During KFWD's final month as a Telemundo affiliate, the station aired [[American English|English-language]] infomercials during the morning and overnight hours.

===As an independent station===
On [[New Year's Day|January 1]], 2002, KFWD became an English-language general entertainment independent station. It acquired [[broadcast syndication|syndicated]] programs displaced by both KXTX and [[KSTR-TV]] (channel 49) when both stations affiliated with Spanish-language networks on that date—KXTX having joined Telemundo, while KSTR joined [[TeleFutura]] (including programs such as ''[[Real TV]]'' and ''[[Access Hollywood]]''). The station also began carrying live sporting events including the [[Big 12 men's basketball tournament]], as well as [[FC Dallas]] and [[Dallas Sidekicks (1984–2004)|Dallas Sidekicks]] [[soccer]] games that were dropped from KLDT (channel 55, now [[MeTV]] affiliate [[KAZD]]).

[[Belo Corporation]] began managing the station in 2006, providing advertising sales assistance, certain technical services and facilities to support the operations of KFWD; Belo's [[flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[WFAA]] (channel 8, now owned by [[Tegna Inc.|Tegna]]) also supplied the station with repurposed editions of its newscasts (consisting of simulcasts of its Monday–Saturday 6&nbsp;p.m., Sunday–Friday 10&nbsp;p.m. and Sunday 5:30&nbsp;p.m. newscasts) and other programs seen on that station (such as ''[[The Dr. Oz Show]]''). Belo also operated KFWD.tv, the station's website, using a website platform similar to that used by Belo's other stations. The management agreement included an option to purchase KFWD and create a [[duopoly (broadcasting)|duopoly]] with WFAA; this option was never exercised.

KFWD has been digital-only since June 12, 2009.<ref name="Analog to Digital">[http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf List of Digital Full-Power Stations] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref>

On October 17, 2011, KFWD changed its programming format, placing a strong emphasis on classic television series. The new "Classic TV" logo and branding was first unveiled on the station's [[YouTube]] channel on August 3, 2011,<ref>{{YouTube|QGkwQ2OC3yw|KFWD 2011}} (Uploaded August 3, 2011)</ref> and later on KFWD's [[Facebook]] page on October 7.<ref>[http://www.facebook.com/KFWD52 KFWD - TV 52's Official Facebook Page] (accessed October 17, 2011)</ref> It was then rolled out to the station's website one month later.

===Return to Spanish===
On June 11, 2012, HIC Broadcast, Inc. announced that KFWD would revert to a Spanish-language format as a charter affiliate of MundoFox (a [[joint venture]] between [[Fox International Channels]] and [[RCN Television]]); it switched to the network when MundoFox "[[soft launch]]ed" on select affiliates on August 1, 2012, at 6 a.m. local time (the network's formal launch date was on August 13). As a result, Belo terminated its management agreement with HIC Broadcast, Inc. to operate KFWD.<ref name=lat-kfwdmundofox>{{cite news|last=Bark|first=Ed|title=Manana: KFWD-TV set to become D-FW's Spanish language MundoFox affiliate, ending association with Belo-owned WFAA8|url=http://unclebarky.com/dfw_files/ab790f08e973743a111e39b6fba1707e-2436.html|access-date=June 12, 2012|newspaper=Uncle Barky's Bytes|date=June 11, 2012}}</ref> The last program to air on KFWD as an English-language independent was ''[[The Shepherd's Chapel]]'' at 5&nbsp;a.m. on August 1 (despite being an English-language program, ''The Shepherd's Chapel'' returned to KFWD's schedule one month later). There was no formal on-air announcement of the programming change, except for a message posted on KFWD's [[Facebook]] page reading "it has been a pleasure".

[[File:MundoFox KFWD.png|285px|thumb|right|logo as MundoFox affiliate]]
Many of the programs formerly seen on KFWD during its classic television format now air on [[MeTV]] (whose original local affiliate [[KTXD-TV]] (channel 47), joined the network shortly before KFWD's format change; KTXD continues to carry some of these programs as an independent station whereas [[KTXA]]'s second [[digital subchannel]] recovered the MeTV affiliation), and on [[Antenna TV]] (which is affiliated with the second digital subchannel of [[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[KDAF]] (channel 33)).

On July 27, 2015, MundoFox was rebranded as [[MundoMax]] after [[21st Century Fox]] sold its stake in the network to RCN, giving it full ownership. The full name change and logo overhaul occurred August 13, which coincided with the network's third anniversary.

===Sale to NRJ TV; switch to Sonlife===
On October 26, 2015, HIC Broadcast, Inc. filed an application to sell KFWD to NRJ TV DFW License Co., LLC,<ref name="Sale">{{cite web|title=Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1690938&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=29015|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=October 26, 2015|date=October 26, 2015}}</ref> a subsidiary of NRJ Holdings LLC.<ref>[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101690938&qnum=5130&copynum=1&exhcnum=1 Parties to the Application - Federal Communications Commission]</ref> Sale was approved by the FCC on December 15, 2015<ref>[http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1690938 Application Search Details - Federal Communications Commission]</ref> and completed on January 8, 2016.<ref>[http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1717423&Service=DT&Form_id=905&Facility_id=29015 Consummation Notice - Federal Communications Commission]</ref> On September 1, 2016, KFWD switched to being an affiliate of the [[Sonlife Broadcasting Network]] at approximately 12&nbsp;a.m. [[Central Time Zone|CT]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sonlifetv.com/uslistings.html|title=SonLife Broadcasting Network &#124; SBN &#124; Jimmy Swaggart Ministries|access-date=August 5, 2016|archive-date=July 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715210256/http://www.sonlifetv.com/uslistings.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Like the previous transition, there was no announcement of the programming change, except on SonLife's website. In fact, around the time of the affiliation switchover, KFWD was just starting to run an infomercial at its scheduled time. After a few seconds, the abrupt change from MundoMax to Sonlife began, months before MundoMax went off the air on November 30.

There had been rumors that KFWD would be sold by NRJ in a [[spectrum auction]].<ref>[http://www.medialifemagazine.com/mundomax-increasingly-uncertain-future/ For MundoMax, an increasingly uncertain future] - ''[[Media Life Magazine]]'' (published August 8, 2016; accessed October 18, 2016)</ref>

===Sale to WRNN-TV Associates===
On December 9, 2019, it was announced that WRNN-TV Associates, owner of [[New York City]]–based [[WRNN-TV]], secured a deal to purchase seven full-power TV stations (including KFWD) and one [[Class A television service|Class A]] station from NRJ.<ref name="nrjtvsale">{{cite web|url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/12/09/1958146/0/en/RNN-Reaches-Agreement-to-Increase-Permanent-Distribution-Platform-to-28-Percent-of-the-US-With-NRJ-Purchase.html|title=RNN Reaches Agreement to Increase Permanent Distribution Platform to 28 Percent of the US With NRJ Purchase|website=Globe Newswire|date=December 9, 2019|access-date=December 10, 2019}}</ref> The sale was approved by the FCC on January 23,<ref name="nrjtvsaleapproved">{{Cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1813384|title = Application Search Details}}</ref> and was completed on February 4, 2020.<ref>[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101815245&formid=905&fac_num=29015 Consummation Notice]</ref>

From February 1 until February 4, 2020, WRNN-TV Associates operated KFWD under a short-term [[local marketing agreement]] (LMA) while it awaited full consummation of its purchase. KFWD dropped its affiliation with the Sonlife Broadcasting Network, and began airing WRNN-TV's independent network RNN on its primary channel. RNN's schedule consisted primarily of infomercials, with occasional [[religious broadcasting|religious]], [[E/I]], and news/talk (''Richard French Live'') programs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rnntv.com/wrnn-tv/|title = WRNN-Tv &#124; RNN}}</ref>

Later, KFWD reinstated the Sonlife Broadcasting Network affiliation on subchannel 52.3.

On May 20, 2021, RNN and iMedia Brands announced an agreement to affiliate most of RNN's television stations (including KFWD) with [[home shopping]] network [[ShopHQ]]. KFWD began carrying ShopHQ programming on June 28, 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=iMedia's ShopHQ Set to Launch in 20+ Million High-Definition Homes in Top U.S. Markets |url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/05/20/2233133/0/en/iMedia-s-ShopHQ-Set-to-Launch-in-20-Million-High-Definition-Homes-in-Top-U-S-Markets.html |access-date=June 28, 2021 |work=GlobeNewswire News Room |date=May 20, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> RNN's educational/informational programming and ''Richard French Live'' continues to air, but in different timeslots than before and retooled from its previous investigative news format.

Beginning in 2024, WRNN's station group switched affiliations again, this time to Shop LC while keeping its primary home shopping format.

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of KFWD<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KFWD#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KFWD|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=January 7, 2025}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 52.1 
| [[720p]] || rowspan="3" |[[16:9]]|| Shop LC || [[Shop LC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 52.2 
| rowspan="8" |[[480i]] || HeartLa || [[Heartland (TV network)|Heartland]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 52.3 
| Sonlife || [[Sonlife]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 52.4 
|[[4:3]]|| RetroTV || [[Retro TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 52.5 
| rowspan="2" |16:9|| JTV || [[Jewelry TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 52.6 
| UChurch || [[Visión Latina]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 52.7 
|4:3|| AChurch || Advenimiento TV
|-
! scope = "row" | 52.8
|16:9|| KFWD.8 || [[Infomercial]]s
|-
! scope = "row" | 52.9
| || ShopLC || Simulcast of 52.1
|}

Prior to becoming a MundoFox affiliate, KFWD carried a [[standard definition]] simulcast of its main channel on digital subchannel 52.2.

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KFWD began transmitting a [[digital terrestrial television|digital television]] signal in [[standard definition]] on [[UHF]] channel 51 on May 1, 2002, five months after it converted into an independent station. After KFWD shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009, its digital signal moved to [[VHF]] channel 9, formerly WFAA's digital channel spot.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.dfwretroplex.com DFW Radio/TV History]

{{Dallas-Fort Worth TV}}
{{Other Texas Stations}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kfwd}}
[[Category:1988 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:Heartland (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Retro TV affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1988]]
[[Category:Television stations in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex]]