KCWQ-LD is a low-powered CW-affiliated television station licensed to Palm Springs, California, United States and serving the Coachella Valley in California's Inland Empire. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 (or virtual channel 2 via PSIP) from a transmitter on Edom Hill northeast of Cathedral City and I-10.
Owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company, it is a sister station to Palm Springs-licensed ABC affiliate KESQ-TV (channel 42), Cathedral City-licensed Class A CBS affiliate KPSP-CD (channel 38), Class A Fox affiliate KDFX-CD (channel 33.2, licensed to both Indio and Palm Springs), and Indio-licensed low-powered Telemundo affiliate KUNA-LP (channel 15). The five stations share studios on Dunham Way in Thousand Palms.
Along with other major Coachella Valley television stations, KCWQ identifies itself on-air using its cable designation (Palm Springs CW 5) rather than its over-the-air channel position. The unusual practice stems in part from the area's exceptionally high cable penetration rate of 80.5% which is one of the highest in the United States.
In addition to its own digital signal, KCWQ is simulcast in standard definition on KESQ's seventh digital subchannel (UHF channel 42.7 or virtual channel 2.1 via PSIP) from the same Edom Hill transmitter facility.
Video KCWQ-LD
History
Originally, the station was a WB affiliate as part of the cable-only WB 100+ operation until September 18, 2006. As such, it used the "KCWB" call sign in a fictional manner.
Carriage issues
Between The CW launch on September 18, 2006 and April 21, 2007, KCWQ (and the network) was not available to Time Warner Cable systems in the Coachella Valley due to a carriage dispute. As the station was launched over-the-air, the News-Press & Gazette Company explained that they had requested the station be assigned KCWB's cable designation (channel 5) and came to several agreements to that effect with the local Time Warner Cable office. They were then all successively vetoed by the cable company's head office in Stamford, Connecticut.
Interestingly, The CW is half owned by the cable system's then-parent company, Time Warner. (Time Warner Cable would later be spun off from Time Warner in 2009). Thus, by blocking cable carriage for the network in this market, the company was ostensibly hurting itself. Without an agreement in place, News-Press & Gazette was suggesting cable subscribers wishing to watch The CW use an over-the-air antenna and tune to VHF channel 2. The company also pointed out that the channel is available on Dish Network. Instead of KCWQ and The CW, Time Warner Cable substituted Classic Arts Showcase on channel 5. In the early days of the dispute, Time Warner also ran a ticker that explained the problem:
- The CW Network is not available at this time. Despite continued talks, we have not been able to reach an agreement for carriage of this network. We will continue to negotiate and remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached soon.
In April 2007, News-Press & Gazette and Time Warner reached an agreement that would finally add KCWQ to the cable line-up on channel 5 effective 12:01 in the morning on April 21.
Maps KCWQ-LD
See also
- Channel 2 low-power TV stations in the United States
- Channel 5 branded TV stations in the United States
- Channel 26 digital TV stations in the United States
- Channel 26 low-power TV stations in the United States
External links
- KCWQ-LP/LD "Palm Springs CW 5"
- KESQ-DT "NewsChannel 3 HD"
- KUNA-LP/LD "Telemundo 15"
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KCWQ
Source of article : Wikipedia
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