KWBA
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| KWBA | |
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| Sierra Vista / Tucson, Arizona | |
| Branding | The CW Tucson |
| Channels | Analog: 58 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | The CW LATV (DT2) |
| Owner | Journal Broadcast Group, Inc. |
| First air date | January 1, 1999 |
| Call letters’ meaning | The WB Arizona (after previous affiliation) |
| Transmitter Power | 5000 kW (analog) 1000 kW (digital) |
| Height | 335 m (analog) 319 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 35095 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Website | www.thecwtucson.com |
KWBA is the affiliate of The CW network in Tucson, Arizona. The station broadcasts on analog channel 58 and digital channel 44, and is licensed to Sierra Vista, Arizona. KWBA signed on the air January 1, 1999 and is owned by the Journal Broadcast Group.
[edit] History
The station began November 22, 1996 with a construction permit granted to KM Communications to serve Sierra Vista and Tucson on analog channel 58. The call letters were originally KAUC, but in August 1997, the station changed their call letters to KWBA to reflect their affiliation deal with The WB. KWBA began broadcasting under Program Test Authority on January 1, 1999 and was licensed on May 24, 1999. Also in May 1999, KM Communications transferred the station to Cascade Broadcasting Group.
KWBA entered into an agreement with local CBS affiliate KOLD and launched a 9pm newscast in April 2003. FOX affiliate KMSB-TV soon followed with their own 9pm newscast. KWBA's 9pm news was short-lived, as it went off the air in December 2005 after the contract with KOLD expired.
In 2006, KWBA began multicasting LATV on digital subchannel 58.2. LATV is provided by KJLA-TV in Los Angeles.
KWBA broadcasted the games of the Arizona Diamondbacks in cooperation with KTVK in Phoenix until 2008, when FSN Arizona secured an exclusive 10-year deal with the franchise. The station resultingly lost audience share.
On March 18, 2008, Journal Broadcast Group announced plans to buy KWBA from Cascade for undisclosed terms, creating a duopoly with Journal-owned ABC affiliate KGUN-TV (Channel 9) [1]. On 3 June of that year, the Federal Communications Commission issued a failing-station waiver [2] which allowed Journal to buy KWBA. While the sale would not leave eight independently-owned television stations in the market, the FCC made an exception; KWBA had been deferring debt payments and showed operating losses for the past three years, so instead of possibly letting the station go dark or reduce service due to financial issues, Journal became able to buy KWBA. The chief financial officer of the station asserted that there was no hope without a buyout.
Journal pledged to launch a 30-minute daily newscast and improve the station's community outreach.
[edit] External links
- KWBA website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KWBA
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KWBA-TV
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