KVII-TV (channel 7) is a
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
in
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...
, United States, affiliated with
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
and
The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a secondary national programming service feed of The CW that is fully controlled and 75% owned by Nexstar Media Group, with Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery each owning a 12.5% stake in the network. It is intended primar ...
. Owned by
Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
, the station maintains studios at One Broadcast Center between South Pierce and South Buchanan streets in downtown Amarillo, and its transmitter is located west of
US 87
U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for 1,998 miles (3,215 km) from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north-south roa ...
/
287
Year 287 (Roman numerals, CCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequ ...
, in
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to:
* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality
* Unincorporated entity, a type of organization
* Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
Potter County.
KVIH-TV (channel 12) in
Clovis, New Mexico
Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico, Curry County, New Mexico. The city had a population of 37,775 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, and a 2019 estimated population of 38,319. Clovis is located in th ...
, operates as a full-time
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
of KVII-TV; this station's transmitter is located along State Road 88 (east of
Portales). KVIH-TV covers areas of northeastern and east-central New Mexico that receive a marginal to non-existent
over-the-air signal from KVII-TV, although there is significant overlap between the two stations'
contours
Contour may refer to:
* Contour (linguistics), a phonetic sound
* Pitch contour
* Contour (camera system), a 3D digital camera system
* Contour, the KDE Plasma 4 interface for tablet devices
* Contour line, a curve along which the function has a ...
otherwise. KVIH-TV is a straight
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
of KVII-TV; on-air references to KVIH-TV are limited to
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC)-mandated hourly
station identification
Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, ...
s during newscasts and other programming. Besides the transmitter, KVIH-TV does not maintain any physical presence in Clovis.
History
On September 20, 1956, Southwest States Inc. – a consortium managed by George Oliver, Robert Houck, Hoyt Houck, John McCarthy, Sam Fenberg and
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
firm Estate Development, and which owned radio station KAMQ (1010 AM, now
KTNZ
KTNZ (1360 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Catholic religious format. Licensed to Amarillo, Texas, United States. The station is currently owned by Catholic Radio of the Texas High Plains.
Formerly KDJW, this station became KTNZ on March ...
) – filed an application with the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) to obtain a
license
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
and
construction permit
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
to operate a
commercial television station on
VHF
Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter.
Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
channel 7. On February 5, 1957, Kenyon Brown – owner of local radio station KLYN (940 AM, now
KIXZ
KIXZ (940 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Amarillo, Texas, United States, the station serves the Amarillo area. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media and is licensed to Gap Broadcasti ...
) as well as KWFT in
Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...
(now
Plano-licensed
KTNO) – filed a separate license application for channel 7. Brown withdrew his application for VHF channel 7 on December 11 of that year, ceding the application to Southwest States under an agreement in which that group would pay Brown $10,000 for out-of-pocket expenses if application was granted by August 7, 1957, or $7,500 if application was granted by September 20. The FCC awarded the license and permit for channel 7 to Southern States on August 1, 1957; the group subsequently requested and received approval to assign KVII-TV (referencing the
roman numeral
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
for the number "7") as the television station's call letters.
Channel 7 first signed on the air on December 21, 1957, as the third television station to sign on in the Amarillo market, behind
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
affiliate KGNC-TV (channel 4, now
KAMR-TV
KAMR-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Amarillo, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate KCPN-LD (channel 33); Nexstar also provides certain services Fox ...
) and
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
affiliate
KFDA-TV
KFDA-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Amarillo, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Borger-licensed Telemundo affiliate KEYU (channel 31). Both stations share studios on Broadway Drive ( ...
(channel 10), both of which signed on over four years earlier. KVII-TV has operated as an
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate since its debut, having assumed the local programming rights from KFDA-TV, which aired select network shows on a secondary basis since it signed on. The sign-of KVII made Amarillo one of the smallest markets in the U.S. to maintain full service from all three commercial broadcast television networks, although the market had no
public television
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
service until
Amarillo College
Amarillo College (AC) is a public community college in Amarillo, Texas. It enrolls over 10,000 students and was established in 1929 as Amarillo Junior College. Amarillo College has a total of six campuses as of October 2005.
As defined by the T ...
signed on
KACV-TV
KACV-TV (channel 2) branded on-air as Panhandle PBS, is a PBS member television station in Amarillo, Texas, United States. It is owned by Amarillo College alongside NPR member station KACV-FM (89.9). The two outlets share studios at the Gilvin ...
(channel 2) in August 1988.
Only six months after it signed on, on June 28, 1958, Southwest States Inc. announced it would sell KVII-TV to Television Properties Inc. (owned by Jack C. Vaughn, Grady H. Vaughn Jr. and Cecil L. Trigg, respectively the co-owners and
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
of existing Television Properties outlet
KOSA-TV
KOSA-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Odessa, Texas, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Permian Basin area. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KWWT (channel 30, also licensed to Ode ...
in
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
) for around $425,000, including obligations to own 77.7% of the station and an option to buy the remaining 22.5%. The sale received FCC approval almost one month later on July 16. In July 1961, the station relocated its studio facilities into the Walton Building (now the Maxor Building) on South Polk Street and Southwest Fourth Avenue in downtown Amarillo.
On August 1, 1963, Southwest States Inc. announced it would sell KVII to The Walton Group (founded by
Kermit-based mineral rights entrepreneur John B. Walton Jr., and which also owned KVKM-AM-TV
ow KCKM and KWES-TV">KCKM.html" ;"title="ow KCKM">ow KCKM and KWES-TV, respectively">KCKM">ow_KCKM<_a>_and_KWES-TV.html" ;"title="KCKM.html" ;"title="ow KCKM">ow KCKM and KWES-TV">KCKM.html" ;"title="ow KCKM">ow KCKM and KWES-TV, respectivelyin Odessa, Texas and held a minority stake in KFNE-FM in Big Spring, Texas">Big Spring) for $1.25 million. The sale received FCC approval nearly 3½ months later on November 12. In October 1967, The Walton Group announced it would sell KVII-TV to Amarillo-based Marsh Media Ltd. (founded by Estelle Marsh, mother of Stanley Marsh 3, Tom F. Marsh, Michael C. Marsh and Estelle Marsh Wattlington, each of whom owned spare 5% interests not held by Estelle and managed local charity organization The Marsh Foundation) for $1.5 million. As part of the sale agreement, John Walton Jr. – who retained ownership of KVII-AM-FM – signed a ten-year non-compete contract to remain with KVII-TV as a station consultant for a salary of $50,000 per year. The sale received FCC approval on January 31, 1968.
Since 1968, when Marsh Media adopted the design shortly after purchasing the station, KVII-TV has used proprietary version of the
Circle 7
The Circle 7 logo is an often-used television station logo in the United States. Designed in the early 1960s for the American Broadcasting Company's five owned-and-operated stations (all of which broadcast on Very high frequency, VHF channel ...
logo initially designed by G. Dean Smith for ABC's six original
owned-and-operated stations
In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
and later expanded to many ABC-affiliated stations that broadcast on channel 7. It is the longest-continuously used logo among the Amarillo market's television stations (commercial or
non-commercial
A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...
). The station also utilized variants of the "Circle 7" for KVIJ-TV starting in 1979 and for KVIH-TV starting in 1986 for use in required hourly
station identification
Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, ...
s for KVII and its satellites, with those variants utilizing thin block lettering for those station's respective channel 8 and channel 12 allocations. (The KVIH variant was discontinued in 2001.) The logo is also adorned atop the station's studio facilities at One Broadcast Center, a
pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
-shaped building on Southeast 11th Avenue and South Pierce Street in downtown Amarillo, into which KVII relocated its operations in 1968.
KVII-TV found it difficult to adequately compete against KGNC-TV and KFDA-TV largely because of the difficulties experienced by television stations operating in rugged terrain. The station was all but unviewable in Clovis,
Portales and surrounding areas of northeastern New Mexico as well as portions of the far eastern Texas Panhandle. Many viewers in those areas received ABC programming either via
KOAT-TV
KOAT-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Carlisle Boulevard in Northeast Albuquerque, and its transmitter is located ...
in
Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
or
KOCO-TV
KOCO-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. Its studios and transmitter are located on East Britton Road (Historic Route 66)—between North Kelley ...
in
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
. To solve this problem, KVII launched a network of UHF translators to serve areas not covered by its main signal. In October 1975, Marsh Media acquired KFDO-TV (channel 8) in
Sayre, Oklahoma
Sayre is a small city in, and the county seat of, Beckham County, in western Oklahoma, United States. It is halfway between Oklahoma City, and Amarillo, Texas, on Interstate 40 and the former U.S. Route 66. The population was 4,375 at the 2010 c ...
, from Bass Broadcasting Co. (then-owner of KFDA-TV) for $300,000; Marsh intended to convert KFDO – which Bass unloaded as part of its divestiture of its broadcast holdings to focus on its oil and gas exploration endeavors, and had been serving as a KFDA satellite since 1966 – into a satellite station of KVII to reach viewers in the eastern Texas Panhandle as well as those in west-central Oklahoma who could not adequately receive ABC programming from KOCO. In January 1976, Marsh changed the Sayre station's call letters to KVIJ-TV to match its new parent station. KVII was one of the first commercial stations to air the PBS program ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
''. It started in 1970 and continued to air it until KACV signed on.
Following the death of Bill McAlister in October 1985, Marsh acquired a former satellite of KFDA, KMCC (channel 12) in Clovis, New Mexico, from his company, McAlister Television Enterprises Inc., for $1.5 million. KMCC – which had been operating as a satellite of fellow ABC affiliate
KAMC-TV
KAMC (channel 28) is a television station in Lubbock, Texas, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Nexstar Media Group, owner of CBS affiliate KLBK-TV (cha ...
in
Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northwe ...
since 1979 – converted into a KVII satellite in September 1986, under the call letters KVIH-TV, to relay its programming into portions of eastern New Mexico who could not adequately receive ABC programming from KOAT. On December 2, 1992, Marsh Media shut down KVIJ, citing the fact that very few television viewers in its west-central Oklahoma service area actually tuned into KVIJ directly, due to the ability of receiving ABC network programming via cable through either KOCO-TV out of Oklahoma City or
KSWO-TV
KSWO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Lawton, Oklahoma, United States, serving the western Texoma area as an affiliate of ABC and Telemundo. It is owned by Gray Television, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) wit ...
out of the Wichita Falls–
Lawton DMAs. (KVIJ's former studio and transmitter site at the intersection of state highways
6 and
152, northwest of Sayre, currently sits vacant.)
On August 26, 2002, Marsh Media announced it would sell KVII-TV and KVIH-TV to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
-based
New Vision Group
The Vision Group of Companies, commonly known as the Vision Group, is a multimedia conglomerate in Uganda. It publishes the New Vision (newspaper), an English-language daily newspaper, that appears in print form and online, as well as newspa ...
for $16.85 million. On April 7, 2005, New Vision Group announced it would sell KVII/KVIH to
Schaumburg, Illinois
Schaumburg ( ) is a village mostly in Cook County and partly in DuPage County in northeastern Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 78,723. Schaumburg is around northwest of the Chicago Loop and northwest of O'Hare I ...
-based
Barrington Broadcasting
Barrington Broadcasting Group, LLC, headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois was an American corporation focused on broadcast television, primarily in middle and small size media markets. Barrington owned or operated via duopoly twenty-four televi ...
(owned by
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
-based private equity firm Pilot Group LP and then headed by former
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
joint board chairman and
Benedek Broadcasting
Benedek Broadcasting was a television broadcasting company, who owned and operated 22 network-affiliated television stations throughout the United States, all affiliated with major television networks, serving mainly small and medium-size markets. ...
CEO Jim Yager) for $22.5 million.
On February 28, 2013, Barrington announced that it would sell KVII-TV, KVIH-TV and the company's sixteen other television stations (six of which were transferred to or remained under the ownership of third-party licensees to address ownership conflicts and had their operations handled by Sinclair through
shared services agreements) to the
Hunt Valley, Maryland
Hunt Valley is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, near the site of the Maryland Hunt Cup Steeplechase. It lies just north of the city of Baltimore, along York Road (Maryland Route 45), parallel to Intersta ...
-based
Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
for $370 million.
The acquisition of the Barrington stations received FCC approval on November 18, 2013, and was formally consummated six days later on November 25. Sinclair transferred ownership of KVII/KVIH and the other former Barrington stations to Chesapeake Television, a subsidiary (which set up its headquarters at Barrington's former Schaumburg offices) focusing on smaller markets that maintains separate management than that which runs Sinclair's large and mid-market outlets.
[ As result of the Barrington purchase, KVII gained new ]sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
s in nearby markets: Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
affiliate KOKH-TV and CW affiliate KOCB
KOCB (channel 34) is a television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Fox affiliate KOKH-TV (channel 25). The stations' studios and transmitter facilities ...
in Oklahoma City, and Fox affiliate KSAS-TV
KSAS-TV (channel 24) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to Hutchinson-licensed Dabl affiliate KMTW (channel 3 ...
and its MyNetworkTV-affiliated LMA partner KMTW
KMTW (channel 36) is a television station licensed to Hutchinson, Kansas, United States, serving the Wichita area as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Dabl. It is owned by the Mercury Broadcasting Company, which maintains a loca ...
in Wichita.
Subchannel history
KVII-DT2
KVII-DT2 (branded as "CW 11 Amarillo") is the CW-affiliated second digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
of KVII-TV, broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
standard definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
on channel 7.2 (or channel 12.2 within the KVIH-TV coverage area). All programming on KVII-DT2/KVIH-DT2 is received through The CW's programming feed for smaller media markets, The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a secondary national programming service feed of The CW that is fully controlled and 75% owned by Nexstar Media Group, with Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery each owning a 12.5% stake in the network. It is intended primar ...
, which provides a set schedule of syndicated programming acquired by The CW during time periods without network programs; however, Sinclair handles local advertising and promotional services for the subchannel.
KVII-DT2's history traces back to the September 21, 1998, launch of a cable-only affiliate of The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
that was managed, promoted and had its advertising sales handled by KVII (originally through then-parent Marsh Media and later under New Vision Television II and Barrington Broadcasting), alongside the launch of The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group (originally called The WeB from its developmental stages until March 1999) was a national programming service of The WB—owned by the Warner Bros. Entertainment division of Time Warner, the Tribune Company, and group fo ...
, a national service that was created to expand coverage of The WB via primarily local origination channels managed by cable providers to smaller areas with a Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
market ranking above #100. The channel – which was branded on-air as "KDBA," an unofficial callsign assigned by Marsh as it was a cable-exclusive outlet not licensed by the Federal Communications Commission – was carried locally on TCA Cable TV (which sold its Texas Panhandle systems in May 1999 to Cox Communications
Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...
, which in turn sold its systems in the area to Cebridge Connections ow Suddenlink Communications">Suddenlink_Communications.html" ;"title="ow Suddenlink Communications">ow Suddenlink Communicationsin May 2006) and on select other cable providers throughout the Amarillo market. Before the launch of "KDBA", viewers in the Amarillo market received WB network programming via the superstation feed of Chicago">NewsNation">superstation feed of Chicago affiliate WGN-TV">Chicago.html" ;"title="NewsNation">superstation feed of Chicago">NewsNation">superstation feed of Chicago affiliate WGN-TV beginning at the network's January 1995 launch.
On January 24, 2006, the respective parent companies of UPN and The WB, CBS Corporation and the Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment division of WarnerMedia, Time Warner, announced that they would dissolve the two networks to create The CW Television Network, a joint venture between the two media companies that initially featured programs from its two predecessor networks as well as new series specifically produced for The CW. Subsequently, on February 22, 2006, News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
announced the launch of MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
, a network operated by Fox Television Stations
Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Corp ...
and its syndication division Twentieth Television
20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...
that was created to primarily to provide network programming to UPN and WB stations that The CW decided against affiliating based on their local viewership standing in comparison to the outlet that The CW ultimately chose as its charter outlets, giving these stations another option besides converting to a general entertainment independent format.
On April 10, in a joint announcement by the network and Barrington Broadcasting, KVII-TV was confirmed as The CW's charter affiliate for the Amarillo market; Barrington subsequently assumed the operations of "KDBA," which was expected to take over the CW affiliation, and converted the channel to an over-the-air digital feed on KVII-DT 7.2 and KVIH-DT 12.2 to provide The CW's programming to Amarillo area viewers who do not subscribe to cable television; KVII-DT2 became an affiliate of the network's small-market feed, The CW Plus, when the network debuted on September 18, 2006. In early 2015, KVII upgraded the "CW 11 Amarillo" subchannel to 720p
720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcast ...
high definition, providing over-the-air access to HD content from The CW in the Amarillo market for the first time; the prime time newscast was not upgraded to HD until January 2016.
KVII-DT3
KVII-DT3 is the Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
- owned-and-operated third digital subchannel of KVII-TV, broadcasting in widescreen standard definition on channel 7.3 (or channel 12.3 within the KVIH-TV coverage area).
KVII/KVIH launched a digital subchannel on virtual channels 7.3 and 12.3 on April 1
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held.
* 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
*1081 – Alexios I Kom ...
, 2006, to serve as an affiliate of The Tube Music Network
The Tube Music Network, Inc., or The Tube, was an American digital multicast television network. The network was a fully owned subsidiary of The Tube Media Corp., an independent company that was founded by David Levy in 2003. The Tube focused cl ...
, through a groupwide agreement encompassing many of Barrington's network-affiliated stations. The Tube ceased operations on October 1, 2007, citing "financial limitations" as well as due to disagreements between network parent The Tube Media Corp. and certain station group partners over compliance of newly enacted FCC requirements for digital subchannels. The subchannel subsequently became an affiliate of The Local AccuWeather Channel
AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide.
AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree ...
, under the brand "StormSearch 7 Weather Channel". (It was one of two weather-focused subchannel services available in the Amarillo market, alongside KAMR-TV's NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus was an American weather-oriented digital broadcast and cable television network owned as a joint venture between NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC television network. The service, which was broadcast in standard d ...
subchannel on its DT2 feed, which was later replaced by a simulcast of MyNetworkTV-affiliated sister KCPN-LP hannel 33after the former network ceased operations in December 2008). Alongside carrying regional and national forecast segments provided by the AccuWeather
AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide.
AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree i ...
-operated network, KVII also produced pre-recorded local forecast segments presented by meteorologists from the "StormSearch 7" weather team – which were updated two to three times per day – for the subchannel as well as a half-hour block of syndicated educational children's programs on Monday through Saturday afternoons to comply with FCC Children's Television Act
The broadcast of educational children's programming by terrestrial television stations in the United States is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under regulations colloquially referred to as the Children's Television Act (C ...
programming guidelines.
After being silent for a year after it disaffiliated from AccuWeather in September 2013, KVII relaunched its DT3 subchannel on December 31
It is known by a collection of names including: Saint Sylvester's Day, New Year's Eve or Old Years Day/Night, as the following day is New Year's Day. It is the last day of the year; the following day is January 1, the first day of the followin ...
, 2014 as an affiliate of Grit, through a multi-station affiliation agreement between Sinclair and Grit parent Katz Broadcasting
Katz Broadcasting, LLC, doing business as Scripps Networks, is an American specialized digital multicasting network media company and a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. The company owns (as of 2022) nine television networks that each carry ...
. On October 31, 2015, KVII-DT3 disaffiliated from Grit to become a charter affiliate of Comet, a science fiction-focused network owned as a joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
between Sinclair and MGM Television
MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...
. (Grit returned to the market via second digital subchannel of Fox affiliate KCIT
KCIT (channel 14) is a television station in Amarillo, Texas, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Nexstar Media Group, ...
hannel 14on August 25, 2016, in which KCIT's DT2 feed disaffiliated from This TV
This TV (also known as This TV Network and alternately stylized as thisTV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by Allen Media
Broadcast Networks, LLC, part of the Allen Media Group division of Entertainment Studios. Originally fo ...
).
KVII-DT4
KVII-DT4 is the TBD
To be announced (TBA), to be confirmed (TBC), to be determined or decided or declared (TBD), and other variations, are placeholder terms used very broadly in event planning to indicate that although something is scheduled or expected to happen, a ...
- owned-and-operated fourth digital subchannel of KVII-TV, broadcasting in widescreen standard definition on channel 7.4 (or channel 12.4 within the KVIH-TV coverage area). On November 1, 2017, KVII/KVIH launched a digital subchannel on virtual channel 7.4 and 12.4, serving as an affiliate of the sports network Stadium (owned as a joint venture between Sinclair and Silver Chalice
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
), the affiliation lasted until 2020 when KVII/KVIH replaced it with sister network TBD.
Programming
KVII-TV currently broadcasts the full ABC network schedule, with the only programming preemptions being the ''ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
Brief'' seen during ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime programming block on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game ...
programming, and situations in which preemption of the network's daytime and prime time programs is necessary to allow the main channel to provide extended coverage of breaking news
Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in orde ...
or severe weather
Severe weather is any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life. Types of severe weather phenomena vary, depending on the latitude, altitude, topography, and atm ...
events (in some instances, these programs may either be rebroadcast on KVII on tape delay in place of the station's regular overnight programming, however, cable and satellite subscribers have the option of watching the affected shows on ABC's desktop and mobile streaming platforms or its cable/satellite video-on-demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
service the day after their initial airing). The station carries the network's Sunday morning political/news discussion program '' This Week'' live via its Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...
feed (at 8:00 a.m.), due to its broadcast of the Sinclair-produced investigative news program '' Full Measure'' and locally based Quail Creek Church's weekly televised services. KVII is one of a few ABC affiliates to air paid programming
Paid or PAID may refer to:
* ''Paid'' (1930 film), an American film starring Joan Crawford
* ''Paid'' (2006 film), a Dutch film
*''Personality and Individual Differences'', a journal
See also
* Paide, the capital of Järva County, Estonia
* P ...
on weekdays.
Excluding those carried on KVII-DT2 via The CW Plus, syndicated programs broadcast by KVII-TV include ''Live with Kelly and Ryan
''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
'' (which has aired on KVII since the late 1980s under previous hosts Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...
and Kathie Lee Gifford
Kathryn Lee Gifford (née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee''. Gifford is a ...
), ''Judge Judy
''Judge Judy'' is an American Court show#Arbitration-based reality court show, arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judy Sheindlin, Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudi ...
'', ''The Drew Barrymore Show
''The Drew Barrymore Show'' (often shortened to ''Drew'') is a first-run syndicated American talk show hosted by actress Drew Barrymore. The show is distributed by CBS Media Ventures and debuted on September 14, 2020. In April 2022, the show w ...
'', ''U.S. Farm Report
The ''U.S. Farm Report'' (''USFR'') is a weekly syndicated United States television news program, presented in magazine format, which has a focus on agriculture and agribusiness.
''USFR'' is currently hosted by Tyne Morgan and is based in Sout ...
'', and ''Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Art
* ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
'' (Amarillo is one of a small number of U.S. television markets in which ''Wheel of Fortune'' and ''Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'' are carried on separate stations: ''Jeopardy!'' airs on CBS affiliate KFDA-TV, which has carried the program locally since September 2001). KVII also serves as the Amarillo market carrier of the statewide-syndicated feature program ''Texas Country Reporter
''Texas Country Reporter'' is a weekly syndicated television program, hosted and produced by Bob Phillips and Kelli Phillips, which airs in all twenty-two Texas media markets, generally on weekends, and nationally on the satellite/cable channel ...
''.
Starting with the 2002–03 season and ending in its final season (2010–11), KVII broadcast ''The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
'' to viewers in the Texas Panhandle; prior to that time, NBC affiliate KAMR had aired the show for several years from its 1986–87 start when the station replaced it with ''The Wayne Brady Show
''The Wayne Brady Show'' is an American variety show hosted by comedian Wayne Brady that aired in two separate forms.
On August 8, 2001, ABC, for whom Brady had been working as a panelist on ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', launched the first ''Way ...
'' (and later ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'').
News operation
, KVII-TV presently broadcasts 22 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 4½ hours on weekdays and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). In addition, KVII produces five hours of locally produced newscasts each week for its CW-affiliated subchannel KVII-DT2 (running for a half-hour each on weekdays only). The station may also simulcast long-form severe weather coverage on KVII-DT2 in the event that a tornado warning
A tornado warning ( SAME code: TOR) is a severe weather warning product issued by regional offices of weather forecasting agencies throughout the world to alert the public when a tornado has been reported or indicated by weather radar within the ...
is issued for any county within the Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and Oklahoma Panhandle
The Oklahoma Panhandle (formerly called No Man's Land, the Public Land Strip, the Neutral Strip, or Cimarron Territory) is a salient in the extreme northwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, consisting of Cimarron County, Texas Count ...
s as well as Eastern New Mexico
Eastern New Mexico is a physiographic subregion within the U.S. state of New Mexico. The region is sometimes called the "High Plains," or "Eastern Plains (of New Mexico)," and was historically referred to as part of the "Great American Desert". The ...
.
The ''ProNews'' title had been used at KVII-TV continuously since Marsh Media purchased the station from John Walton in late 1967. For many years, the 10:00 p.m. edition of ''ProNews'' was a 45-minute broadcast, but has been truncated back to 35 minutes in recent years. Also, ''ProNews 7'' broadcast a noon newscast on Sundays during the 1970s and 1980s, along with the noon broadcast Monday through Friday.
On February 6, 2012, KVII began producing a half-hour prime time newscast at 9:00 p.m. for KVII-DT2, which aired only on Monday through Friday nights, under the title ''ProNews 7 at 9:00'' (now ''ABC 7 News: The Panhandle's News at 9:00''). The KVII-produced program would gain additional prime-time news competitors beginning with the launch of a half-hour prime time newscast in that timeslot on KCIT (channel 14), a program that NBC-affiliated sister station KAMR-TV began producing for the Fox affiliate in March 2001 after the station brought back a newscast for channel 14 after a 6-year absence.
On April 6, 2015, KVII unveiled a new studio, and discontinued the previous ''Pro News 7'' brand in favor of simply ''ABC 7 News''.
Notable former on-air staff
*Kathy Vara
Kathy Vara is an American television news anchor in Los Angeles.
Early life
Vara is a native of San Antonio, Texas She began her broadcasting career at University of North Texas, where she was a producer and host of "North Texas Scene".
Caree ...
, now at KNBC
KNBC (channel 4) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Corona-licens ...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
Technical information
Subchannels
The stations' digital signals are multiplexed
In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:
Analog-to-digital conversion
By mid-October 2006, the digital signal was fully operating, coinciding with the introduction of a viewer-interactive newscast, in which viewers can send e-mails with questions and concerns in regards to the stories and features in the newscasts. KVII-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 7, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital television under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...
channel 23 to its pre-transition analog allocation of VHF channel 7.
Repeater stations
To reach viewers throughout the 34 counties comprising the Amarillo television market, KVII-TV extends its over-the-air coverage area through a full-power satellite station and a network of 12 low-power translator stations encompassing much of the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, and the northeastern New Mexico that distribute its programming beyond the range of its broadcast signal. (All low-power translators transmit on virtual channel 7, including those located adjacent to KVIH-TV's coverage area.) Nielsen Media Research treats KVII and KVIH as one station in local ratings books, using the identifier name "KVII+".
KVII and KVIH serve viewers across a four-state region including the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, eastern New Mexico and southwestern Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
. A unique feature of KVII's coverage area is that it covers two time zones — Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and Mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
. This means that viewers in New Mexico watch ABC's prime time schedule from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. (instead of 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.), with ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
'' airing at 9:35 p.m.
Full-power satellite stations
=Current
=
=Former
=
Translator stations
See also
* Channel 20 digital TV stations in the United States The following television stations broadcast on Digital television, digital channel 20 in the United States:
* K20BP-D in Phillips County, Montana
* K20BR-D in Gage, etc., Oklahoma
* K20CN-D in Fortuna/Rio Dell, California
* K20CV-D in Raton, New Me ...
* Channel 7 virtual TV stations in the United States
The following television stations operate on virtual channel 7 in the United States:
* K04RX-D in Preston, Idaho
* K05CF-D in Weaverville, California
* K05DQ-D in Burney, etc., California
* K05EM-D in Paradise, California
* K05FW-D in Girdwoo ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvii-Tv
ABC network affiliates
The CW affiliates
Comet (TV network) affiliates
TBD (TV network) affiliates
Charge! (TV network) affiliates
Sinclair Broadcast Group
Television channels and stations established in 1957
VII-TV
1957 establishments in Texas