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KTXA, channel 21, is an independent television station based in Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth designated market area. With its transmitter in Cedar Hill, KTXA is owned by the CBS Corporation and is the sister station of CBS outlet KTVT (channel 11). The station will pre-empt its programming for news coverage from either KTVT or CBS News when situations warrant. From January 1995 to September 2006, KTXA was an affiliate of the United Paramount Network (UPN). On September 16, 2006, following the shut down of UPN, KTXA reverted into an independent station, using the branding tagline TXA 21.
[edit] HistoryKTXA began broadcasting on January 4, 1981, and was owned by Grant Broadcasting, with its original studios based in Arlington, Texas (though Fort Worth was always the city of license) near the new Rangers Ballpark. The station ran a general entertainment format of cartoons and sitcoms during the day, while at night it broadcast ON-TV, a subscription TV service. By 1983, KTXA became a full-time general entertainment station which also included old movies and off network dramas. The channel 21 frequency had previously been occupied by KFWT, an independent station which went on the air in 1967, but went dark three years later. Grant Broadcasting signed on a similarly formatted station, KTXH in Houston, in 1982. In 1984, both KTXA and KTXH were sold to Gulf Broadcasting, which itself was purchased by the Taft Television and Radio Company that same year.  Channel 21 was a money loser throughout the 1980s, but Taft kept strong programming on the station. In February 1987 Taft sold its independent stations, including KTXA, to the TVX Broadcast Group. In 1989, Paramount Pictures purchased a minority stake in TVX; two years later, Paramount acquired the remainder of TVX and renamed the company Paramount Stations Group, and KTXA adopted the on-air branding Paramount 21 during this period. Viacom bought the stations in 1994 as part of its purchase of Paramount Pictures. In January 1995, the station became a founding affiliate of the United Paramount Network, changing its branding to UPN 21. KTXA later picked up various syndicated programs from KTVT when that station, a former independent, joined CBS in July 1995. From 1985 to 1989, KTXA operated the "Channel 21 Kids' Club." Kids were encouraged in short spots between cartoons to send off for a membership card which would entitle them to discounts at various local businesses and enable them to participate in on-air prize giveaways. The membership cards were made of a thin plastic, blue on the front side and white on the back. A "KTXA Channel 21 Kids' Club" Logo appeared on the front in red and white along with the line "I turned 21." The hostess of these shorts, K.D. Fox, was later featured in many other local promotions for various businesses in the DFW area.  In the late 1990s, more first run syndicated talk and reality shows began moving onto KTXA while the amount of sitcoms and cartoons was reduced. Viacom purchased CBS in 2000, making channel 21 a sister station to its former rival KTVT. KTXA was then moved from the Paramount Building in downtown Dallas to share studios with KTVT in Fort Worth (both are two of three stations licensed to Fort Worth, the other being NBC-owned KXAS-TV). For a brief period in the early 2000's, KTXA served as the de-facto UPN affiliate for the Waco/Killeen/Temple television market when former affiliate KAKW became a Univision station for that market and Austin market as well.  In September 2006, the UPN and WB networks were merged into the CW, and former WB affiliate KDAF became the new network's affiliate in Dallas/Fort Worth. Having been reverted to independent status, KTXA joined KCAL-TV in Los Angeles and WSBK-TV in Boston (another former UPN outlet) as CBS-owned independents. Today, KTXA broadcasts a lineup of off-network sitcoms, talk shows, sports (the station is the broadcast outlet for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks), reality shows, court shows, and a two-hour block of news during primetime called TXA-21 News First in Prime, which was launched on September 18, 2006. For the 2009 Dallas Cowboys season, KTXA will simulcast the 2 games that are on ESPN and NFL Network. The game on ESPN was already shown on, Monday, September 29th, with the Carolina Panthers at the Dallas Cowboys. The game on NFL Network will feature the Dallas Cowboys at the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, December 19th. This is done to ensure that the NFL will make the game available to each team's home market in the event that people do not get ESPN or NFL Network. The program draws on resources from KTVT's news department ([1]). Channel 21 also carries The Daily Buzz, a syndicated morning program which airs weekdays. KTXA previously had its own local anchor, Christina McLarty, now with KCAL in Los Angeles, who appeared during local cut-ins during the show that featured local news, weather, and entertainment highlights. The local cut-ins are branded as Buzzed into DFW. KTXA may also air CBS programming on occasions when KTVT cannot, such as emergencies or coverage of sporting events. Channel 21's new branding was announced in two parts, starting with the introduction of the TXA 21 slogan on May 5, 2006. KTXA then launched a promotional ad campaign called "What Could it Mean?" in which a distinctive star-shaped logo showed up on buildings, sidewalks, and billboards around the Metroplex. The new KTXA logo (seen above) was unveiled on July 4. The station's website also revealed that the station plans to begin covering high school football games in the fall. It is one of a few TV stations still signing off on Sunday Night/Monday Morning from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. Central Time. [edit] Digital televisionOn June 12, 2009 KTXA shut down its analog signal and moved its digital station from channel 18 to channel 19 to complete its analog to digital conversion [1] using PSIP to display KTXA's virtual channel as "21". KTXA was granted permission to move its digital station from channel 18 to channel 19 in response to its 2008 application. However, to accommodate KTVT's move back to channel 19 on August 4, 2009, KTXA moved back to channel 18. On September 10, 2009, the FCC issued a Report & Order approving KTXA's channel change from channel 18 to channel 29.[2] On October 21, 2009, KTXA filed a minor change application for a construction permit, stating the channel change.
[edit] NewscastOn September 18, 2006, KTXA began producing a 7pm newscast, "TXA 21 News: First In Prime". On September 24, 2007, KTXA was the fourth station in Dallas-Fort Worth area to start broadcasting local news in high definition with sister station KTVT being third respectively. TXA 21 News: First in Prime (7 to 9 P.M.)
Weekends
KTXA features additional news personnel from KTVT. See that article for a complete listing. [edit] News/Station presentation[edit] Newscast titles
[edit] Station slogans
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: Independent television stations in the United States | CBS Corporation television stations | Channel 21 TV stations in the United States | Television stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex | Television channels and stations established in 1981 | UPN network affiliates | Television stations in Texas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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