Branding SOCO CW Affiliations The CW (2006–present) | Subchannels 20.1 The CW | |
Channels Digital: 20 (UHF)
& KXRM-TV 22.2
Virtual: 21.2 (PSIP) Owner Nexstar Media Group
(Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.) First air date November 5, 1999; 17 years ago (1999-11-05) | ||
KXTU-LD is a low-powered television station affiliated with The CW serving Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and other communities in southern Colorado. It is licensed to Colorado Springs and operates on digital channel 20. KXTU is a sister station to Fox affiliate KXRM-TV; both are owned by Nexstar Media Group.
Contents
History
KXTU went on the air as KXTU-LP on November 5, 1999 as an UPN affiliate under the brand of UPN57.
With the market realignment due to ending of UPN in the summer of 2006, KXTU affiliated with The CW.
Since 2008, the station has been available on KXRM's digital subchannel 21.2; its over-the-air signal is effectively limited to Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
Unlike most other low-powered stations, KXTU is available to viewers on DirecTV and Dish Network, as well as on cable systems throughout southern Colorado. This is because under the retransmission consent portion of the must-carry rules, KXRM has the right to require cable and satellite providers to carry KXTU as part of the compensation for carrying KXRM.
On August 30, 2010, KXTU-LP flashed-cut from analog to digital on the same frequency/channel 57. KXTU-LP switch on October 27, 2010 to the KXTU-LD call sign.
In early 2012 the channel moved frequencies from 57 to 20 and rebranded from CW 57 to SOCO CW.
On February 28, 2013, Barrington Broadcasting announced the sale of its entire group, including KXTU-LD, to Sinclair Broadcast Group. The sale was completed on November 25.
On August 20, 2014, Sinclair announced that it would sell KXRM-TV and KXTU-LD, along with WTTA in Tampa Bay, to Media General in a swap for WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, WLUK-TV and WCWF in Green Bay, and WTGS in Savannah, Georgia. The swap is part of Media General's merger with LIN Media. The sale was completed on December 19. A condition of the sale maintained the station's affiliation with Sinclair's American Sports Network package of college sports.
Programming
The station signed on in 1999 as an affiliate of UPN, but when that network left the air on September 17, 2006, it switched to The CW, which was created by the merger of The WB (which had been available in the market by way of Denver's KWGN-TV) and UPN. Unlike its sister station, KXTU does not air news but during a breaking news event or weather bump it simulcasts KXRM's newscasts.
The station carried programming from MundoFox/MundoMax on its second subchannnel throughout its three year existence from August 2013 until December 2016.