WKNX-TV
WKNX-TV, virtual and VHF digital channel 7, is an independent television station licensed to Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. The station is owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group, as part of a duopoly with Fox affiliate WTNZ. The two stations share studios on Executive Park Drive in Knoxville's Green Valley section; WKNX-TV's transmitter is located on Sharp's Ridge, near the city's Oakwood section.
History
WKNX signed on the air on July 31, 2004 as WMAK-TV. It was one of the first stations in the United States to sign on exclusively as a digital station, with no full-powered analog counterpart. The station was originally owned by South Central Communications, which also owns or operates five radio stations in the Knoxville area, and formerly owned CBS affiliate WVLT-TV from 1954 to 1989. As an independent station, WMAK ran syndicated programs as well as recent and classic motion pictures. On September 8, 2008, the station added programming from the Retro Television Network on its second digital subchannel. This, however, would soon compromise the network's entire schedule on its main channel.On April 27, 2009, Dallas-based religious broadcaster Daystar Television Network bought WMAK for $2 million; the deal was completed on July 14 of that year. WMAK would retain its RTV affiliation on its main channel until mid-2012, when it switched it over to the Daystar Network, making RTV programming exclusively on DT2.
On November 13, 2012, Lockwood Broadcast Group entered into an agreement to purchase WMAK from Daystar for $2.95 million. Simultaneously with the purchase, Lockwood filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to change the station's call letters to WKNX-TV. The FCC approved the sale on December 21.
On February 25, 2013, Lockwood took control of the station, which reverted to a general entertainment programming format ; its branding was also changed to "WKNX, The Knox", although the station did not formally change its callsign until March 19. Formal consummation of the Lockwood purchase occurred on March 4, 2013, creating the Knoxville television market's first station duopoly with CW affiliate WBXX-TV.
On October 1, 2015, Gray Television, owners of WVLT-TV, announced that it would acquire WBXX-TV from Lockwood, separating the station from WKNX-TV. The purchase was made as part of Gray's acquisition of the broadcasting assets of Schurz Communications; as part of the deal, Lockwood received KAKE in Wichita, Kansas and paid $11.2 million to Gray. Gray took the operations of the station via Local Marketing Agreement. The sale was completed on February 1, 2016.
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP short name | Programming |
| 7.1 | 1080i | WKNX-HD | Main WKNX-TV programming | |
| 7.2 | 480i | Daystar | Simulcast of WDTT-LD / Daystar | |
| 7.3 | 480i | 16:9 | WKNX-CT | Court TV |