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KAZD (channel 55) 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 ...
licensed to
Lake Dallas, Texas Lake Dallas is a town in Denton County, Texas, United States. It is located in North Texas, northwest of the city of Dallas, on the shores of Lewisville Lake. The community's name derives from the original name of the lake. It is also one of the 4 ...
, United States, serving the
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...
with a simulcast of
Spectrum News 1 Spectrum News (formerly Time Warner Cable News) is the brand for a slate of cable news television channels that are owned by Charter Communications through its acquisition of Time Warner Cable in May 2016. Each of the 15 regional channels primari ...
. Owned by
Weigel Broadcasting Weigel Broadcasting Co. is an American television broadcasting company based in Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV (Channel 26), at 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood. It currently owns 25 television sta ...
, KAZD maintains offices on McKinney Avenue in
downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has tradit ...
, and its transmitter is located south of Belt Line Road in
Cedar Hill Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...
.


History


Prior history of UHF channel 55 in Dallas–Fort Worth

The UHF channel 55 allocation in the
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
market was formerly occupied by KLDT (standing for either "Lake Dallas, Texas" or "Lake Dallas Television"), which signed on the air on December 25, 1990. The station was founded 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 Opal Thornton and Johnson Broadcasting (owned by businessman Doug Johnson). The station's programming originally consisted of
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
-oriented music videos, before converting to a general religious format. The station's original transmitter site was located in Lewisville. Thornton, unable to find programming resources and operating capital, attempted to add Dallas-based preacher Robert Tilton as a partner, with KLDT to serve as the flagship television outlet for his "Word of Faith" ministry. However, Tilton's poor record 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) prevented this, and the request was dropped by 1991 amidst an exposé on Tilton and other televangelists that aired on the
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 ...
newsmagazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories, in greater depth than do newspapers or new ...
''
Primetime Live ''Primetime'' was an American news magazine television program that debuted on ABC in 1989 with co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer and originally had the title ''Primetime Live''. The program's final episode aired May 18, 2012. History E ...
''. KLDT was noted for a hefty $15,500 fine that was imposed by the FCC in 1995 for failing to adequately staff its main studio, for not making its public inspection file freely available, and for other filing violations. The station lost its license in the mid-1990s.


KAZD station history

The current channel 55 was founded on March 18, 1997 as KAVB, with the granting of the original construction permit to Johnson Broadcasting of Dallas, LLC. The application was mutually exclusive with the license renewal application of the first KLDT station, but the FCC granted the Johnson Broadcasting application and did not renew the license of the previous station. Shortly after its sign-on, the station quickly changed its call letters to KLDT. Originally served as an affiliate of the America's Collectibles Network
home shopping Home shopping is the electronic retailing and home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as Shop LC, HSN, Gemporia, TJC, QVC, eBay, ShopHQ, Buy.com and Amazon.com, as well as tradit ...
service (now Jewelry Television), the station soon relegated shopping programming to the nighttime hours, and began broadcasting syndicated classic television series and
movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
, as well as business news programming from
Bloomberg Television Bloomberg Television (on-air as Bloomberg) is an American-based pay television network focusing on business and capital market programming, owned by Bloomberg L.P. It is distributed globally, reaching over 310 million homes worldwide. It is head ...
, collegiate sporting events syndicated by ESPN Plus, Lone Star Park
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
, and
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
games simulcast from
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 ...
KNWS-TV (now
KYAZ KYAZ (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Katy, Texas, United States, broadcasting the classic television network MeTV to the Houston area. Owned and operated by Weigel Broadcasting, the station maintains studios at One Arena Place ...
) in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. During this time, the station adopted the slogan "TV55 Has the Shows You Know". By 2000, KLDT quietly dropped most of its entertainment programming in favor of
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
s, or shopping programming from ACN. However, that same year, the station received a much needed shot in the arm. KLDT subsequently became the
flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyalt ...
of the
Hispanic Television Network Hispanic Television Network (HTVN) was a family-oriented television network that was once the third-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, after Univision and Telemundo. It was the first network to specifically target Hispanics of ...
, which aired programming targeted towards Hispanic viewers from
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. Due to several missteps, the network ceased operations in 2003 and the station again broadcast home shopping programs, affiliating with ShopNBC. By this time, most of the station's sports programming had moved to former
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
affiliate
KFWD KFWD, virtual channel 52 (VHF digital channel 9), is a ShopHQ- affiliated television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States and serving the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. The station is owned by Rye Brook, New York-based WRNN-TV ...
(channel 52), which became a general entertainment
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
in January 2002. In
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, KLDT became the temporary broadcaster of the
FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team, whose game telecasts also eventually moved to KFWD. The station eventually dropped its ShopNBC affiliation and began to fill its empty timeslots with infomercials and religious programming. Two weeks prior to shutting down its analog signal, KLDT became an affiliate of
Gems TV Gems TV was a jewellery manufacturer and reverse auction TV shopping network headquartered in Chanthaburi, Thailand. It began its operations in October 2004 in the UK, and then expanded to Germany, America, Japan and China. Gems TV was formed fr ...
. In 2008, KLDT reverted to an infomercial format, this time through the OnTV4U and WizeBuys networks; on November 2, 2009, KLDT re-affiliated with ShopNBC. Johnson Broadcasting filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
protection in October 2008. One year later, impatient creditors asked the bankruptcy court to allow the sale of KLDT and KNWS. Una Vez Más Holdings, LLC emerged as the leading bidder. The sale to Una Vez Más was approved by the bankruptcy court on December 29, 2009, and finally received FCC approval on September 27, 2010 after the FCC rejected a petition to deny the sale made by the Spanish Broadcasting System. On September 30, 2010, Una Vez Mas requested a call sign change to KAZD in order reflect its intended affiliation with Azteca América. Plans for KLDT had originally called for the station to carry the
Retro Television Network Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through th ...
to its 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 ...
(54.2), but due to the bankruptcy filing, those plans were immediately scrapped. The station broadcast all of its program audio on a second audio program feed until February 2009. In April 2010, KLDT became an affiliate of the Liquidation Channel (now Shop LC). With the exception of two religious programs and one children's program, the majority of KLDT's programming consisted of infomercials and the Liquidation Channel feed. However, in mid-November 2010. KLDT switched to infomercials (although it continued to carry religious programming). Throughout the years, KLDT had suffered several technical setbacks, almost to the point where they had to go off the air for several hours. The station formally changed its call letters to KAZD on December 30, 2010, and became an affiliate of Azteca América at 9:00 p.m. on that date. In 2014, Una Vez Mas' TV assets (including KAZD) were then sold to Northstar Media,
LLC A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
. In turn, HC2 Holdings acquired Northstar Media in addition to Azteca América on November 29, 2017, making KAZD an Azteca owned-and-operated station. On September 14, 2020, Weigel Broadcasting announced that it would buy three of HC2's TV properties (including KAZD and its longtime Houston sister KYAZ) as well as a low-power station. The sale was consummated on December 29, making this the fourth ownership change in 11 years and Weigel's first entry into the Dallas–Fort Worth market. KAZD and KYAZ became MeTV owned-and-operated stations on March 29, 2021. On May 14, 2021, Decades was added to the DT2 subchannel, moved from KDFW-DT2. On September 27, 2021, MeTV's secondary network, MeTV Plus, launched on KAZD-DT4 as well as sister station KYAZ-DT2. On July 15, 2022, a simulcast of Spectrum News 1 Dallas/Fort Worth was added to KAZD-DT1, with MeTV moving to KAZD-DT2 and Decades moving to KAZD-DT6. Previously, Spectrum News 1 Dallas/Fort Worth was only available to subscribers of the
Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...
cable service owned and operated by Charter Communications.


Technical information


Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:


Analog-to-digital conversion

On May 22, 2006, KAZD—as KLDT—signed on its digital signal on UHF channel 54. This would be key, as
Qualcomm Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...
, which was launching its ill-fated
MediaFLO MediaFLO was a technology developed by Qualcomm for transmitting audio, video and data to portable devices such as mobile phones and personal televisions, used for mobile television. In the United States, the service powered by this technology wa ...
service on 716-722 
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
(the frequency corresponding to UHF channel 55), would request them to stop using channel 55. On November 17, 2006, the Federal Communications Commission gave permission for KLDT to shut off its analog transmitter facilities and "
flash-cut A flash cut, also called a flash cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period. In the United States, some telephone area codes were split or overlaid immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dia ...
" to its final digital channel at the end of the
digital transition Digital transition refers to the process of moving an existing analog system to a digital format. Used without further qualifiers, the term normally refers to the move from analog television to digital television, the digital television transition. ...
period. KLDT shut down its analog signal, over
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 55, on January 1, 2007.List of Digital Full-Power Stations
The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 54 in the interim, becoming the first station in the market to broadcast exclusively in digital. On June 12, 2009, KLDT relocated its digital signal to UHF channel 39 after KXTX shut down its analog signal on that channel, using PSIP to display KLDT's
virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...
as 54 from 2007 to 2010; in December 2010, what is now KAZD changed its virtual channel to 55. UHF TV channels 52 through 69 were removed from television broadcast use as a part of the transition from analog to digital.


See also

*
KYAZ KYAZ (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Katy, Texas, United States, broadcasting the classic television network MeTV to the Houston area. Owned and operated by Weigel Broadcasting, the station maintains studios at One Arena Place ...
(sister station in
Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
)


References


External links


Spectrum News 1 official websiteMeTV official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazd MeTV affiliates Story Television affiliates Decades (TV network) affiliates OnTV4U affiliates Weigel Broadcasting Television channels and stations established in 1999 Television stations in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Spanish-language television stations in Texas 1999 establishments in Texas