KAEF-TV


KAEF-TV, virtual channel 23, is an ABC-affiliated television station serving Eureka, California, United States that is licensed to Arcata. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, it is sister to two low-power stations: dual CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate KECA-LD, and Univision affiliate KEUV-LP ; Sinclair also operates Eureka-licensed Fox affiliate KBVU under a local marketing agreement with owner Cunningham Broadcasting. However, Sinclair effectively owns KBVU as the majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith. The four stations share studios on Sixth Street in downtown Eureka; KAEF-TV's transmitter is located along Barry Road southeast of the city.
Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, KAEF is actually considered a semi-satellite of KRCR-TV in Redding/Chico. As such, it clears all network programming as provided through its parent station but airs a separate offering of syndicated programming; there are also separate local newscasts, commercial inserts and legal station identifications. Master control and most internal operations are based at the shared studios of KRCR-TV and LMA partner KCVU on Auditorium Drive in Redding. There is no separate website for KAEF-TV; instead, it is integrated with that of sister station KRCR-TV.

History

KAEF began broadcasting August 1, 1987 as KREQ, a Fox affiliate owned by Mad River Broadcasting. During this period, the station lost money on a monthly basis, in part because KREQ was, for all intents and purposes, a UHF independent station in a small market dominated by two VHF network affiliates, NBC affiliate KIEM-TV and CBS affiliate KVIQ.
In June 1988, Mad River put KREQ up for sale; in 1989, it sold the station to California Oregon Broadcasting, owner of KRCR-TV. COBI already owned two radio stations in Eureka, KFLI and KEKA-FM, which were sold off as a condition of the purchase of channel 23. Mad River took KREQ off the air, citing financial problems, on April 30, 1989; that October, COBI returned channel 23 to the air as KAEF, an ABC affiliate and semi-satellite of KRCR-TV. Prior to 1989, ABC programming was limited to off-hours clearances on KIEM and KVIQ; through KRCR, KAEF still offered some Fox programming in off-hours until KBVU signed on in 1994.
California Oregon Broadcasting sold KAEF, along with KRCR-TV and its other satellite station, KFWU in Fort Bragg, to Lamco Communications for $11.925 million in 1995. Lamco sold its stations, including KAEF and KRCR, to BlueStone Television in 2004; BlueStone, in turn, was acquired by Bonten Media Group for $230 million in 2007. KAEF added the "-TV" suffix to its call sign on July 1, 2009.
KAEF-TV became a sister station to Fox affiliate KBVU in 2012, after Bonten took over the sales operation for KBVU in August and the entire station in December through a local marketing agreement with Esteem Broadcasting, which has functioned as a shell corporation for Bonten since 2008.

Disputes with Dish Network

and KAEF, via KRCR, had been at odds for quite sometime regarding carriage of the station on the satellite system. KRCR was asking for reimbursement and made their feeling public. As a result, on December 8, 2013, Dish halted carrying KRCR on their system. General manager Andrew Stewart went to the internet at the station's website to share his frustrations with the viewers and called out Dish Network. On January 12, 2014, DISH restored KRCR and KAEF and associated stations to its line-up. On January 17, 2017, KAEF was once again removed from Dish Network's lineup as part of a new dispute. KAEF is back on Dish

Sale to Sinclair

On April 21, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its purchase of KAEF-TV as part of its $240 million acquisition of Bonten Media Group; the purchase also gave it control of KBVU, KECA-LD, and KEUV-LP. The sale was completed on September 1.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
ChannelVideoAspectPSIP Short NameProgramming
23.1720pKAEFDTMain KAEF-TV programming / ABC
23.2480iMeTV
23.3480iMovies!

On August 23, 2011, Disney-ABC Television Group announced that KAEF would carry Live Well Network as part of an affiliation agreement with Bonten Media Group; the network was added to a new third subchannel. Live Well Network was replaced by Movies! on November 18, 2013.

Analog-to-digital conversion

KAEF-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 23, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 22. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 23.

Programming

KAEF airs much of the same programming as KRCR, sometimes at different times. There are also some programs that only air on KAEF while some only air on KRCR, as the stations are in different media markets. Such programs include The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dr. Phil, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy!.

News operation

KAEF presently broadcasts 15 hours of newscasts each week. KAEF produces five of those hours at its Eureka studios; the morning newscast, Daybreak, is simulcast from KRCR-TV in Redding. There are currently no newscasts on the weekends. Scott Rates is the news director and evening anchor at the station. Rates has also been a reporter in San Francisco and Orlando.
KAEF discontinued its original news operation on February 6, 2001, due to low ratings; ABC 23 News had generally been the third-ranked news operation in the Eureka market. Following the cancellation, the only Eureka-specific news content on the station was a weather segment produced by KRCR-TV. Local news returned to KAEF-TV on November 17, 2014; the news operation also produces a prime time newscast for sister station KBVU.

Translators

KAEF has one translator station:
StationCity of licenseChannelFoundedERPHAATFacility IDTransmitter Coordinates
K21OO-D1South Eureka/Loleta211October 15, 19920.328 kW141 m8272