KBTV-CD (channel 8) is a low-power, Class 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 ea ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, United States, affiliated with Visión Latina, a

Spanish-language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Am ...

religious television network. The station is also a multicultural

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 * Independe ...

station, branded on-air as Crossings TV, on its second digital subchannel. KBTV-CD is owned by

HC2 Holdings INNOVATE Corp. (formerly known as HC2 Holdings, Inc. and Primus Telecommunications Group, Inc.) is an American public financial services company founded in 1994. History Beginning (1994–1997) Primus commenced operations in 1994 intent on bei ...

and its second digital subchannel is also available throughout the Central Valley on

Comcast Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications company and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the com ...

channel 398.KBTV programming schedule
/ref> KBTV-CD's transmitter is located in downtown Sacramento. The station on its second digital subchannel broadcasts programs in various ethnic languages as well as programming from

Shop LC Shop LC, formerly known as Liquidation Channel and The Jewelry Channel, is an American cable television network based in Austin, Texas, which mainly specializes in selling jewelry. The network is a subsidiary of the Indian-based Vaibhav Global ...

during the late-night hours.

History

When KBTV-CD started broadcasting, it carried the

Home Shopping Network HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flo ...

. In June 2013, KBTV-CD was slated to be sold to Landover 5 LLC as part of a larger deal involving 51 other low-power television stations; the sale fell through in June 2016. Mako Communications sold its stations, including KBTV-CD, to HC2 Holdings in 2017. On November 1, 2021, KBTV's main signal was upgraded from 4:3

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 ...

(

480i 480i is the video mode used for standard-definition digital television in the Caribbean, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Laos, Western Sahara, and most of the Americas (with the exception of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay). T ...

) to 16:9 high definition (

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 broadcas ...

), after becoming the nationwide Crossings TV network from schedule change.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's digital channel is

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

Since it was not a full-power station, its analog signal stayed on the air after the June 12, 2009 analog cutoff date but went off the air in December 2010. Its new digital signal then started broadcasting with a total of 4 channels, all in 4:3 standard-definition and

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

. Two additional channels were added in 2013 for a total of six. Another channel was added in 2014 for a total of seven.

Subchannel affiliations

A number of different networks have come and gone from KBTV-CD's subchannels, the only one constantly remaining is

Jimmy Swaggart Jimmy Lee Swaggart (; born March 15, 1935) is an American Pentecostal televangelist, gospel music recording artist, pianist, and Christian author. His television ministry, which began in 1971, and was originally known as the “Camp Meeting Ho ...

SonLife Broadcasting Network Jimmy Lee Swaggart (; born March 15, 1935) is an American Pentecostal televangelist, gospel music recording artist, pianist, and Christian author. His television ministry, which began in 1971, and was originally known as the “Camp Meeting Ho ...

(currently on channel 8.3). The "History of TV" (

HOT TV HOTGOLD TV is a Portuguese pornography premium cable and satellite television network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete ...

) network was dropped but returned after a few months (previously on channel 8.6, then on channel 8.5). An

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 ...

network called "WizeBuys" used to be on channel 8.5, which later affiliated with

Retro TV 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 ...

until April 2016 when Retro TV switched over to

KSAO-LD KSAO-LD (channel 49), is a low-power television station licensed to and serving Sacramento, California, United States, as an affiliate of Spanish-language religious network Visión Latina. The station is owned by Cocola Broadcasting. On cable, KSA ...

, channel 49.2 (it was later dropped in 2018). A 24-hour feed of Liquidation Channel (now

) later aired on channel 8.5 until 2017 when HOT TV moved from channel 8.6. (

Infomercials 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 ...

would later be restored to KBTV's schedule via the

OnTV4U OnTV4U (often capitalized as ONTV4U) is an American television network that airs a 24/7 infomercial format, owned by Burlington, Wisconsin-based Cannella Response Television. It can be seen through various cable providers and on the following ov ...

network on channel 8.2, while Shop LC airs every early morning from 12:00 midnight to 7:00 am on channel 8.1). Other networks that have aired on KBTV's subchannels in the past include Punch TV, Cubana de Television (which aired afterwards on sister station

K04QR-D K04QR-D (channel 38) is a low-power television station licensed to Esparto, California, United States, as an affiliate of beIN Sports Xtra. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings. K04QR-D's transmitter is located in the Crescent Ridge Village ar ...

before being dropped in 2015), Telos and

TheCoolTV TheCoolTV was a digital broadcast television network and online music video " jukebox" streaming service owned by Cool Music Network, LLC of Lawrence, Kansas. History As a digital broadcast television network Launched in March 2009, the netw ...

(whose satellite feed was replaced by QVC, which then left KBTV-CD after

Ion Media Networks Ion Media (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) was an American broadcasting company that owned and operated over 71 television stations in most major American markets (through its television stations group ...

acquired the rights to air it and aired on KSPX-TV, channel 29.5 until 2021; TheCoolTV later aired on

, channel 49.2, but was dropped in 2016 for

; the channel would eventually shut down altogether). A channel called "Boraq Broadcasting Network" ran a "Coming Soon" screen but never launched; its space instead was taken by SBN.

Rev'n Rev’n is an American vehicle-oriented digital broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media and launched on November 3, 2014. History As early as October 2012, Luken Communications, LLC was planning a car focused channel then call ...

, an automotive oriented channel, debuted on channel 8.7 on December 1, 2014 as part of the network's launch and aired until April 21, 2016 when it switched over to KSAO, channel 49.5 (the channel was later dropped in 2018). The subchannel remained dark until 2017 when QVC returned to KBTV. Both Rev'n and its sister channel, Retro TV, currently have no affiliate in the Sacramento television market. In September 2022, KBTV's second digital subchannel became an affiliate of Visión Latina, while at the same time, its sixth digital subchannel went dark. On October 3, 2022, ''Crossings TV'' and Visión Latina swapped channel positions, making Visión Latina the primary affiliate of KBTV.

References

External links

Official Website
*
{{- BTV-CD Low-power television stations in the United States Television channels and stations established in 1994 1994 establishments in California HC2 Holdings