View source for KVCW

{{Short description|TV station in Las Vegas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = KVCW
| logo = KVCW_2024.svg
| logo_upright = .7
| image = Kvmy mntv.PNG
| image_upright = .6
| branding = {{ubl|The CW Las Vegas|My LVTV (DT2)}}
| digital = 29 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 33
| translators = 15 (UHF) Las Vegas (city)
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''33.1:''' [[The CW]]|'''33.2:''' [[MyNetworkTV]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| founded = August 26, 1987
| airdate = {{Start date and age|1989|07|30|p=y|br=y}}
| location = [[Las Vegas, Nevada]]
| country = United States
| callsign_meaning = Vegas CW
| former_callsigns = KFBT (1989–2006)
| former_channel_numbers = '''Analog:''' 33 (UHF, 1989–2009)
| atsc3 = yes
| owner = [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]]
| licensee = KUPN Licensee, [[LLC]]
| sister_stations = [[KSNV]]
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[Independent station|Independent]] (1989–1995, 1998–2006)|[[The WB]] (1995–1998, September 5–17, 2006)}}
| erp = 1,000 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|382.9|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 10195
| coordinates = {{coord|36|0|28|N|115|0|24|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{ubl|'''DT1:''' {{url|http://cwlasvegas.com/}}|'''DT2:''' {{url|http://mylvtv.com/}}}}
}}
'''KVCW''' (channel 33) is a [[television station]] in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], United States, affiliated with [[The CW]] and [[MyNetworkTV]]. It is owned by [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]] alongside [[NBC]] affiliate [[KSNV]] (channel 3). The two stations share studios on Foremaster Lane in Las Vegas; KVCW's transmitter is located on [[Black Mountain (Nevada)|Black Mountain]], near [[Henderson, Nevada|Henderson]] (southwest of [[Interstate 11|I-11]]/[[U.S. Route 93 in Nevada|US 93]]/[[U.S. Route 95 in Nevada|US 95]]).
==History==
===Early years===
On April 22, 1987, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) issued an original [[construction permit]] to 4-A Communications to build a new full-power television station, on UHF channel 33, to serve the Las Vegas [[media market|market]]. 4-A Communications, owned by Lawrence and Teri DePaulis, became Channel 33, Inc. (which remained the station's licensee until 2015) in August 1987. The station, known as KFBT, went on the air on July 30, 1989, under a program test authority and was given a license one month later. The station's original transmitter was located in the [[McCullough Range]] southwest of Henderson. On July 20, 1990, a family ownership group headed by Daniel "Danny" Koker purchased Channel 33, Inc. Under the Kokers, KFBT was an [[independent station]] with a firmly local flavor and soon garnered much acclaim with features such as the scary [[B-movie]] showcase ''Saturday Fright at the Movies'', hosted by Count Cool Rider, which aired at 10 p.m. Count Cool Rider was actually Danny Koker II, son of the station president and also one of the station's owners, who has since gone on to become a respected builder of custom [[motorcycle]]s,<ref name=RideOn>{{cite web|url=http://www.rideontv.com/episodes/2005Season/10010/count.html |title=Danny Koker Feature - 2005 |work=Corbin's RideOn (via archive.org) |author=K. Fudge |access-date=April 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070908125522/http://www.rideontv.com/episodes/2005Season/10010/count.html |archive-date=September 8, 2007 }}</ref> as well as a regular expert on the [[History Channel]] series ''[[Pawn Stars]]''<ref>[http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-stars/bios/experts#slide-5 Meet the Experts: Danny Koker], History.com, Accessed November 1, 2010.</ref> and host of its spinoff, ''[[Counting Cars]]''.<ref>[http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2012/07/25/danny-the-count-koker-is-in-the-drivers-seat-when-new-car-loving-series-premieres-on-history-counting-cars-388004/20120725history01/ "Danny "The Count" Koker is in the Driver's Seat When New Car-Loving Series Premieres on History(R) - 'Counting Cars'"]. The Futon Critic. July 25, 2012.</ref><ref>Rose, Lacey (July 20, 2012). [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/danny-count-koker-pawn-stars-history-series-352463 "History Orders Car Flipping Series Starring 'Pawn Stars' Personality (Exclusive)"]. ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]''.</ref>
===As a WB affiliate and return to independence===
The station primarily broadcast older movies, sitcoms, and dramas during this era, as well as some Christian [[religious broadcasting|religious programs]] (as the senior Koker was a gospel musician)<ref>[https://obits.reviewjournal.com/obituaries/lvrj/obituary.aspx?n=danny-koker&pid=142269857 Danny Koker Obituary], ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'', 2008.</ref> and [[professional wrestling]] (most notably [[World Class Championship Wrestling]] and the [[National Wrestling Alliance]]). KFBT became a charter affiliate of [[The WB]] at the network's launch on January 11, 1995, and remained an affiliate while owned by the Koker family. On December 18, 1997, the Koker family sold Channel 33, Inc. to Montecito Broadcasting Corporation with the sale being finalized on February 3, 1998. The same day that Montecito closed on its purchase of KFBT, it immediately entered into an agreement to be acquired by the [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]], which Montecito entered into a [[local marketing agreement]] (LMA) to operate KFBT, until the transaction was completed.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.secinfo.com/duWyh.75m.b.htm| title=Sinclair/MBC Stock Purchase Agreement| date=March 18, 1998| access-date=April 28, 2007}}</ref> On March 1, 1998, Sinclair moved the WB affiliation to KUPN (channel 21, which later changed calls to KVWB, now [[KSNV]]) and KFBT was to affiliate with [[UPN]], but Sinclair did not sign an affiliation contract and KFBT became an independent station instead leaving no local provider of the network over the air, which caused public outcry for Las Vegas viewers. Eventually the next year, [[KCNG-LP]] signed on and picked up the UPN affiliation, immediately asserting network exclusivity in the market and causing providers to drop KCOP and WWOR on their request.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} The station was rebranded as "Gold 33" and began showing mainly newer syndicated programming. Sinclair completed its purchase of Montecito and Channel 33, Inc. in February 2000, resulting in the creation of the market's first [[duopoly (broadcasting)|duopoly]] between KFBT and KVWB.
===As a CW affiliate===
On January 24, 2006, [[CBS Corporation]] (the parent company of UPN) and the [[Warner Bros.]] unit of [[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]] announced that The WB and UPN would be shut down that September and have some of their higher-rated programs migrated onto a new jointly owned network called [[The CW]].<ref>[https://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/cbs_warner/ 'Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner venture beginning in September], [[CNNMoney.com]], January 24, 2006.</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/business/media/24cnd-network.html?bl UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 24, 2006.</ref> On February 22, [[News Corporation]] announced that it would start up another new network called [[MyNetworkTV]].<ref>[http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/102922-News_Corp_Unveils_My_Network_TV.php News Corp. Unveils MyNetworkTV], ''[[Broadcasting & Cable]]'', February 22, 2006.</ref> This new service, which would be a sister network to [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]], would be operated by [[Fox Television Stations]] and its syndication division, [[Twentieth Television]]. MyNetworkTV was created in order to give stations affiliated with UPN and The WB that were not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates another option besides becoming independent stations, as well as to compete against The CW.
Sinclair chose to affiliate KVWB with MyNetworkTV leaving The CW to join with either low-power UPN affiliate KTUD-CA (channel 25) or KFBT. Sinclair began negotiations with The CW to affiliate KFBT, and in April, when KTUD decided to go independent instead of pursuing a CW affiliation,<ref name="KTUD">{{cite news |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Apr-26-Wed-2006/living/7046892.html |title=Second local affiliate rejects new CW |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |author=K. White |date=April 26, 2006 |access-date=April 13, 2007}}</ref> KFBT was virtually assured The CW affiliation. An affiliation agreement was announced on May 2 and KFBT changed its call letters to the current KVCW on June 19, reflecting its pending affiliation with the new network. KVMY (now KHSV) affiliated with MyNetworkTV, when the network launched on September 5, two weeks before The WB was scheduled to shut down and The CW made its debut; as a result, KVCW rejoined The WB for the network's last two weeks of programming before switching its affiliation to The CW on September 18.
On May 15, 2012, Sinclair and Fox agreed to a five-year affiliation agreement extension for the station group's 19 Fox-affiliated stations until 2017. This included an option, that was exercisable between July 1, 2012, and March 31, 2013, for Fox parent News Corporation to buy a combination of six Sinclair-owned stations (two CW/MyNetworkTV duopolies and two standalone MyNetworkTV affiliates) in three out of four markets; KVCW and KVMY were included in the Fox purchase option, along with stations in [[Cincinnati]] ([[WSTR-TV]]), [[Raleigh]] ([[WLFL]]/[[WRDC]]) and [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]] ([[WTVZ-TV]]).<ref>[http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/59463/sinclair-reups-with-fox-gets-wutb-option Sinclair Reups With Fox, Gets WUTB Option], ''TVNewsCheck'', May 15, 2012.</ref> In January 2013, Fox announced that it would not exercise its option to buy any of the Sinclair stations in the four markets included in the option.<ref>[http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/65306/sinclair-in-an-acquisition-state-of-mind Sinclair In An Acquisition State Of Mind], ''TVNewsCheck'', February 6, 2013.</ref>
On August 13, 2013, [[KHSV|KSNV-DT]] announced that the [[NBC]] soap opera ''[[Days of Our Lives]]'' would move to KVCW as of August 19. The move of the program was necessitated after KSNV changed its schedule to accommodate a 3 p.m. newscast.<ref name=tvnc-kvcwdool>{{cite news|title=KSNV To Debut One-Hour 3 P.M. News|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/69680/ksnv-to-debut-onehour-3-pm-news|access-date=August 14, 2013|newspaper=TVNewsCheck|date=August 13, 2013}}</ref> On September 3, 2014, Sinclair announced the purchase of KSNV from [[Intermountain West Communications Company]] for $120 million. As Sinclair already owns KVCW and KVMY, the company will sell the license assets (though not the programming) of one of the three stations to comply with FCC ownership restrictions, with the divested station's programming being relocated to the other stations.<ref name=tvnc-saletosinclair>{{cite news|title=Sinclair Buying KSNV Las Vegas For $120M|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/78930/sinclair-buying-ksnv-las-vegas-for-120m|access-date=September 3, 2014|work=TVNewsCheck|date=September 3, 2014}}</ref> On November 1, 2014, KVMY's programming was moved to KVCW's second digital subchannel, while KSNV's programming began to simulcast on KVMY's license. With the sale's completion, Sinclair now controls half of those stations. It also created a situation in which a CW affiliate is the nominal senior partner in a duopoly involving an NBC affiliate and a "Big Four" station.
==Programming==
===Sports programming===
On February 3, 2021, the [[Henderson Silver Knights]] announced a partnership with KVCW to broadcast 10 home games during the team's inaugural season.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 3, 2021 |title=Henderson Silver Knights Announce Inaugural 2020-21 Broadcast Schedule |url=https://www.hendersonsilverknights.com/henderson-silver-knights-announce-inaugural-2020-21-broadcast-schedule/ |access-date=April 23, 2022 |website=Henderson Silver Knights |language=en-US}}</ref> This partnership would continue in the 2021–22 season.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=News 3 |date=October 4, 2021 |title=Henderson Silver Knights 2021-22 broadcast schedule |url=https://news3lv.com/news/local/henderson-silver-knights-2021-22-broadcast-schedule |access-date=April 23, 2022 |website=KSNV |language=en}}</ref>
On May 21, 2021, the [[WNBA]]'s [[Las Vegas Aces]] announced a partnership with MyLVTV to televise 25 games during the [[2021 WNBA season]].<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://aces.wnba.com/news/las-vegas-to-partner-with-mylvtv-to-televise-up-to-25-games-locally-in-2021/ |access-date=May 21, 2021|title=Las Vegas to Partner with MyLVTV to Televise up to 25 Games Locally in 2021}}</ref> The Aces later moved to [[KVVU-TV]].<ref>{{Cite web  |title=FOX5 KVVU announced as Official Broadcast Home of Las Vegas Aces |url=https://www.fox5vegas.com/2023/03/08/fox5-kvvu-announced-official-broadcast-home-las-vegas-aces/ |access-date=March 8, 2023 |website=fox5vegas.com |language=en}}</ref>
===Newscasts===
{{see|KSNV#Local news and programming}}
In 2003, former sister station KVWB established a news department and began airing an hour-long primetime newscast at 10 p.m. It was part of Sinclair's centralized ''[[News Central (American TV program)|News Central]]'' operation that was based at the company's headquarters in [[Hunt Valley, Maryland]]. National and international news segments, weather forecasts and some sports segments originated from the company's Hunt Valley facility, while local news and sports segments were based at KFBT/KVWB's Las Vegas studios. The news department was shared with KFBT, which aired its own local newscast at 7 p.m. It also aired "The Point", a one-minute [[conservatism in the United States|conservative]] political commentary, that was required to be broadcast on all Sinclair-owned stations with newscasts. The news department was shut down at the beginning of March 2006, as were the majority of Sinclair's news operations under the News Central format.
KVWB later entered into a news share agreement with NBC affiliate KVBC (channel 3, now KSNV) to produce a nightly 10 p.m. newscast for channel 21. The newscast, originally titled ''News 3 at 10 on The WB Las Vegas'', debuted on April 4, 2006, and was later renamed to ''News 3 at 10 on MyLVTV'' to correspond with KVMY's affiliation switch to MyNetworkTV. The program was discontinued on December 15, 2006, and moved to KVCW the following Monday under the title ''News 3 at 10 on The CW Las Vegas''. On August 11, 2007, KVBC became the second station in the Las Vegas market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[high-definition television|high definition]] and the KVCW broadcast was included in the upgrade. The 10 p.m. newscast originated from KVBC's studios on Foremaster Lane in Las Vegas near the border with [[North Las Vegas]]. KVBC also produced a 15-minute sports highlight program called ''Sports Zone'', that aired weeknights at 10:45. Both programs were discontinued on September 28, 2009, and replaced with syndicated programming.
As of August 17, 2015, current sister station KSNV relaunched newscasts on KVCW. ''Wake Up with The CW Las Vegas'' airs from 7 to 9 a.m. and the half-hour broadcast of ''The CW Las Vegas News at Ten'', airs at 10 p.m. Both newscasts compete with [[KVVU]]'s 7 a.m. segment of ''Fox 5 News This Morning'' and the 10 p.m. airing of ''Fox 5 News at Ten''.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.news3lv.com/content/news/cw/default.aspx| title=CW Las Vegas News}}</ref>
==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels provided by KVCW (ATSC 1.0)<ref name="rei"/>
! 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 = "col" | ATSC 1.0 host
|-
! scope = "row" | 33.1
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=5| [[16:9]] || TheCWLV || [[The CW]] || KTNV-TV
|-
! scope = "row" | 33.2
| [[720p]] || My_LVTV || [[MyNetworkTV]] || KSNV
|-
! scope = "row" | 33.3
| rowspan=3| [[480i]] || TBD || [[TBD (TV network)|TBD]] || rowspan=3| KLAS-TV
|-
! scope = "row" | 33.4
| ThisTV || rowspan=2|[[The Nest (TV network)|The Nest]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 33.5
| Nest
|}
=== Analog-to-digital conversion ===
When the FCC released its initial [[digital television|digital channel]] allocations on April 21, 1997, it had assigned KFBT's digital companion channel to [[UHF]] channel 32.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Orders/1997/fc97115a.pdf| title=DTV Allocation Table, Sixth Report and Order| publisher=Federal Communications Commission| page=34| date=April 21, 1997| access-date=April 28, 2007}}</ref> The allocations met with considerable resistance from low-power broadcasters who would be displaced by the digital channel allocations, and on February 17, 1998, the FCC issued a revised final DTV allocation table.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/News_Releases/1998/et8002a.pdf| title=Final DTV Allocation Table, MO&O for Recon. of Sixth R&O| publisher=Federal Communications Commission| page=27| date=February 17, 1998| access-date=April 28, 2007}}</ref> KFBT's original allocation would have displaced low-powered K31DO (now [[KNBX-CD]]), so the FCC substituted UHF channel 29 allowing channel 32 to be assigned to [[KMCC|KMCC-DT]] in [[Lake Havasu City, Arizona]], and eliminating a displacement there. KFBT was granted a permit to construct its digital facilities on January 26, 2001. Technical difficulties delayed construction of the full-power facilities requiring extensions of the construction permit.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=86743| title=Construction permit extension request| publisher=Federal Communications Commission| date=August 30, 2007| access-date=April 28, 2007}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
On November 8, 2002, KFBT was granted special temporary authority (STA) to construct a low-power facility in order to comply with the FCC deadline for commencing digital broadcasting while the full-power facilities were still being built. The station, now known as KVCW-DT, completed construction of its full-power digital facilities in January 2007 and was granted a license on March 8. Back in 2006, the FCC required each station with a digital companion channel to select which one it would continue to use after the end of the transition period (at that time scheduled for February 17, 2009). KVCW-DT selected channel 29 as its final digital channel and returned the channel 33 license to the FCC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref> Digital television receivers display the station's [[virtual channel]] as its former UHF analog channel 33. Regular analog programming was dropped on February 18, 2009, with the station participating in the "[[Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act|Analog Nightlight]]" program for two weeks, with a broadcast explaining how to switch to digital reception.
===ATSC 3.0 lighthouse===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of KVCW (ATSC 3.0)<ref name="rei">{{cite web|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KVCW|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KVCW#station|website=RabbitEars|access-date=December 22, 2020}}</ref>
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | Short name
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" |  3.1
| rowspan="2" | [[1080p]] || rowspan="4" | [[16:9]] || KSNV || [[NBC]] ([[KSNV]])
|-
! scope = "row" |  8.1
| KLAS || [[CBS]] ([[KLAS-TV]])
|-
! scope = "row" | 13.1
| rowspan="2" |[[720p]]|| style="background-color:#ffe8d0|KTNV || style="background-color:#ffe8d0|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] ([[KTNV-TV]]) [[File:Action lock 2 - orange.svg|14px|alt=DRM|link=]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 33.1
| KVCW || [[The CW]]
|}
{{legend|#ffe8d0|Subchannel broadcast with [[digital rights management]]}}
On May 26, 2020, KVCW discontinued ATSC 1.0 broadcasts and became one of the first stations in the country (and the first in the [[Western United States]]) to begin broadcasting in [[ATSC 3.0]]. Its primary channel is simulcast on [[KTNV-TV|KTNV-DT5]], MyNetworkTV on sister station KSNV-DT5, and KVCW-DT3, KVCW-DT4 and KVCW-DT5 on the fifth, sixth and seventh digital subchannels of KLAS-TV.
===Translators===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! City of license
! Callsign
! Channel
! [[effective radiated power|ERP]]
! [[HAAT]]
! [[Facility ID]]
! Transmitter coordinates
|-
| [[Las Vegas]]
!{{FCC-LMS-Facility|10195|3=KVCW (DTS)}}
| 29 || 11.22&nbsp;kW || {{convert|43|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} || 10195 || {{coord|36|7|44.8|N|115|11|28.4|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KVCW (DTS)}}
|-
| [[Pahrump]]
!{{FCC-LMS-Facility|10195|3=KVCW (DRT)}}
| 15 || 0.25&nbsp;kW || {{convert|-125.1|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} || 10195 || {{coord|36|9|29.5|N|115|54|3.8|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KVCW (DRT)}}
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://cwlasvegas.com/ CWLasVegas.com] - Official KVCW website
*[http://mylvtv.com/ MyLVTV.com] - MyLVTV official website
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101020155603/http://lasvegas.thistv.com/ LasVegas.ThisTV.com] - Official This TV Las Vegas website
{{Las Vegas TV}}
{{TV Stations Nevada}}
{{SBGI}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvcw}}
[[Category:1989 establishments in Nevada]]
[[Category:ATSC 3.0 television stations]]
[[Category:The CW affiliates]]
[[Category:MyNetworkTV affiliates]]
[[Category:Sinclair Broadcast Group]]
[[Category:TBD (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1989]]
[[Category:Television stations in the Las Vegas Valley|VCW]]