City St. Louis, Missouri Sister station(s) WODK-LD | Channels Digital: 33 (UHF/PSIP) Founded 1991 | |
Affiliations Buzzr
Estrella TV (DT2)
VideoMix TV (DT3)
Laff (DT4) Owner DTV America Corporation (operated by Regal Media)
(King Forward, Inc.) First air date 1991
May 25, 2015; 20 months ago (2015-05-25) (re-incarnation) | ||
KBGU-LP is a low powered digital television station that is licensed to and serving St. Louis, Missouri. The channel broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 33. It is affiliated with FremantleMedia's game show network Buzzr. It is owned and operated by DTV America Corporation, a broadcasting firm based in Sunrise, Florida, a suburb of Miami.
History
Although granted a construction permit in July 1987, the station did not commence broadcasting until 1991. The station was originally K18BT, an owned-and-operated translator of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, with all programming retransmitted via a satellite feed from TBN’s headquarters in Santa Ana, California. The station’s call letters were changed to K33GU upon moving to analog UHF channel 33.
In 2010, TBN closed down many of its low-powered repeaters, including K33GU, due to ongoing economic problems. Many of these repeaters would be donated by TBN to the Minority Media and Television Council (MMTC), an organization designed to preserve equal opportunity and civil rights in the media. In 2015, the station was purchased by DTV America Corporation, but the license was held under the company King Forward, Inc., a unit of DTV America, with Regal Media announced as the operator of the station. King Forward changed the call letters to the current KBGU-LP, and converted the station to digital. The station returned to the air on May 25, 2015 as an affiliate of MundoMax, with Estrella TV being offered on a second digital subchannel, and Video Mix TV, a music channel originating from southern Florida, on a third subchannel. In December, 2015, MundoMax was replaced with Buzzr.