KVCT


KVCT, virtual channel 19, is a dual Fox/CW+-affiliated television station licensed to Victoria, Texas, United States. Owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting, the station is operated through a local marketing agreement by Morgan Murphy Media, making it a sister station to ABC affiliate KAVU-TV and five low-power stations: NBC affiliate KMOL-LD, Univision affiliate KUNU-LD, Cozi TV affiliate KQZY-LD, CBS affiliate KXTS-LD, and Telemundo affiliate KVTX-LP. All of the stations share studios on North Navarro Street in Victoria and transmitter facilities on Farm to Market Road 236 west of the city.

History

In fall 1969, the station signed on the air as KXIX, an ABC affiliate. It was originally a satellite of KIII in Corpus Christi. In 1976, channel 19 was sold to local ownership and became a separate station.
In 1984, the call letters were changed to KVCT. Financial problems eventually led to the station dropping the ABC affiliation and dissolving its news operation in 1990, becoming a religious station, as an affiliate of the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
In 1994, KVCT entered into a local marketing agreement with KAVU-TV and became a Fox affiliate. Before then, the network was available on cable via either KRIV in Houston or KRRT in San Antonio or via Foxnet. KAVU also periodically produced newscasts for the station. After an attempt in 1998, local news was not seen on KVCT until 2002, when the current newscast debuted. Saga Communications, KAVU's owner, eventually bought channel 19 outright.
On May 10, 2017, Morgan Murphy Media announced that it would acquire Saga Communications' television clusters in Joplin, Missouri, including KOAM-TV, and Victoria, Texas, including KAVU-TV. Saga will additionally acquire the assets of Fox affiliates in each market owned by Surtsey Media and operated by Saga under local marketing agreements. These stations' license assets will be acquired by SagamoreHill Broadcasting. The sale was completed on September 1.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
ChannelVideoAspectPSIP Short NameProgramming
19.1720pKVCT-HDMain KVCT programming / Fox
19.2480iKVTXTelemundo
19.3480iCWKWVB Victoria's CW 10
19.4480iThisTVThis TV

Subchannels

KVCT-DT2">KVTX-LP">KVCT-DT2

KVCT-DT2 is a full-market over-the-air simulcast of co-owned low-powered station, KVTX-LP, which is the Telemundo-affiliated station for the Victoria market; this full-market simulcast is being broadcast in widescreen standard definition on VHF channel 11.4. Even though KVTX-LP operates a digital signal of its own, its signal only reaches the immediate Victoria area; therefore, this simulcast exists.

KVCT-DT3

KVCT-DT3 is the CW+-affiliated third digital subchannel of KVCT, broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen standard definition on VHF channel 11.5. The subchannel carries the default schedule of the CW+ service meant for smaller markets. On August 15, 2018, KVCT-DT3 was converted into an over-the-air feed of the once-cable-exclusive "KWVB" to provide viewers within the Victoria market without cable or satellite TV access to The CW for the first time since K39HB unexpectedly went dark; on that date, This TV programming was moved to a newly created subchannel on 19.4. Following this CW affiliate's August 15, 2018 debut over the new KVCT-DT3 subchannel, the Victoria's CW 10 branding, as well as the fictitious "KWVB" callsign within its branding, have both remained intact; additionally, the local Suddenlink cable channel positions of "KWVB" were inherited by KVCT, although the HD feed presently remains exclusive to cable, due to KVCT's current multiplexer limitations.
Previously, the CW affiliation in the market was available through a cable-only channel operated by Suddenlink and the forerunner providers in the market, which carried the station on cable channel 10 since 1998, when it launched as a WB affiliate with the WB 100+ service under the false callsign "KWVB" for the purposes of identification in electronic program guides and Nielsen ratings tabulation. Prior to the launch of the cable channel, residents in the Victoria market were only able to receive WB network programming on cable via Chicago-based superstation WGN, and from the fall of 1995, the network's Houston affiliate, KHTV on both cable and satellite. Throughout its twenty years as a cable channel, it only ran in standard definition. It seamlessly became associated with the new CW network on September 18, 2006 after the merger of The WB and UPN into that one network.