KPXL-TV (channel 26) is a television station licensed to Uvalde, Texas, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the San Antonio area. Owned by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, KPXL-TV maintains transmitter facilities off Highway 173/RM Road 689 on the Medina–Bandera county line (west-northwest of Lakehills).
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|---|---|
| City | Uvalde, Texas |
| Channels | |
| Branding | Ion |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | February 19, 1999 |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 26 (UHF, 1999–2009) |
Call sign meaning | Pax TV |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 61173 |
| ERP | 228 kW |
| HAAT | 521 m (1,709 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 29°37′12″N 99°2′57.1″W / 29.62000°N 99.049194°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | iontelevision |
History
The station began broadcasting on February 19, 1999; it was built and signed on by Paxson Communications as an owned-and-operated station of the family-oriented Pax TV network (later reformatted into a general entertainment service as i: Independent Television, now Ion Television), with religious programming from The Worship Network airing during the overnight hours.
On September 24, 2020, the Cincinnati-based E. W. Scripps Company announced it would purchase KPXL-TV's owner, Ion Media, for $2.65 billion, with financing from Berkshire Hathaway.[2] Part of the deal included divesting 23 stations nationally to Inyo Broadcast Holdings (then-undisclosed at the time of the announcement) that would maintain Ion affiliations.[3]
Newscasts
From 2000 to 2004, KPXL aired rebroadcasts of NBC affiliate KMOL-TV (channel 4)'s newscasts at 6:30 and 10:30 p.m. (KMOL-TV became WOAI-TV in 2002). KPXL was also an affiliate of The News of Texas from 1999 to 2000.[4]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26.1 | 720p | 16:9 | ION | Ion Television |
| 26.2 | 480i | CourtTV | Court TV | |
| 26.3 | Laff | Laff | ||
| 26.4 | Mystery | Ion Mystery | ||
| 26.5 | Defy TV | Defy TV | ||
| 26.6 | SCRIPPS | Scripps News | ||
| 26.7 | Jewelry | Jewelry TV | ||
| 26.8 | HSN | HSN | ||
| 26.9 | HSN2 | HSN2 |
Analog-to-digital conversion
Because it was granted an original construction permit after the FCC finalized the DTV allotment plan on April 21, 1997,[6] the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station. KPXL-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 26, on June 12, 2009. The station "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation UHF channel 26.[7]