Affiliations MeTV (2013–present) | Call letters' meaning The WB West Texas | |
Channels Digital: 22 (UHF)
30 (UHF) Subchannels xx.1 MeTV
xx.2 Movies!
xx.3 Antenna TV
xx.4 This TV Owner JB Broadcasting, Inc.
(Winstar Odessa, Inc.) First air date 2001; 16 years ago (2001) | ||
KWWT, Channel 30, is the MeTV affiliate for the Midland / Odessa area. They also own channel 22, which they have titled KMDF, though they currently air no programs on the 22 stations.
Contents
History
KWWT signed on the air in 2001 as KPXK, a Pax TV affiliate. It remained a Pax affiliate until late 2005, when KWWT moved its cable-only The WB 100+ feed (which was established on September 21, 1998) to UHF channel 30.
On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Time Warner announced the shutdown of both UPN and The WB effective that fall. In place of these two networks, a new "fifth" network – "The CW Television Network" (its name representing the first initials of parent companies CBS and Warner), jointly owned by both companies, would launch, with a lineup primarily featuring the most popular programs from both networks. In March 2006 it was announced that KWWT would be a The CW affiliate through The CW Plus.
KWWT airs mostly programs on all their stations from the national feeds. However they do take some time off each week to air the High School Football games from Ratliff Stadium from August through November. The games air Sunday at 9 PM on 30.1 and then air on Monday and Tuesday on 30.2 and 30.4.
In 2011, KWWT signed on to carry college football and basketball games from the Southland Conference Television Network. The contract continues today. For the first 3 seasons the games usually aired on 30.2, though they will likely move to 30.1 for the 2014 season. Additionally, KWWT aired ACC Network basketball games during the 2011-12 basketball season.
KWWT remained a CW affiliate until December 29, 2013. On that date KWES took over CW rights and KWWT moved MeTV to 30.1 while adding Movies! on 30.2.
Analog-to-digital conversion
KWWT shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 30, on June 12, 2009, and "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation on its analog-era UHF channel 30. Because it was granted an original construction permit after the FCC finalized the DTV allotment plan on April 21, 1997, the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station.
The move granted KWWT 3 additional channels with a Retro Television Network affiliate on 30.2, Tr3́s on 30.3, and This TV on 30.4. In August 2010 KWWT acquired the signal rights to station K22IZ and moved Tr3's to 22.1, began airing AYM Sports on 22.2, had nothing on 22.3, and aired Video Zona TV on 22.4 giving them a total of 7 stations. K22IZ would later be renamed KMDF. 30.3 would air 24-hours of infomercials until January 1, 2011 when they would become the affiliate for Antenna TV. In November 2010 they added Promiseland Television Network to 22.3, but they would be an affiliate for only 6 months. 22.3 would become an affiliate for Mexicanal in 2011. In May 2011 KWWT lost the rights to Video Zona. 22.4 would air 24-hours of infomercials until January 1, 2012, when KWWT added MeTV to channel 22.4. On Sunday, March 11 KWWT swapped the digital substations of RTV and MeTV. Sometime in summer 2012, KWWT's contract with Tr3s ended. KWWT dropped Tr3s and picked up TeLe-Romántica as a new substation. In January, 2013 KWWT added MundoFox to 22.1 and moved TeLe-Romántica to 22.3, dropping Mexicanal in the process. They also stopped airing RTV programming and turned 22.4 into a 24-hour infomercial station.
On December 29, 2013 KMDF would cease operations and KWWT lost rights to The CW. As a result they moved MeTV to 30.1 and added Movies! on 30.2. They also ceased airing also the KMDF stations.