KDAF

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KDAF
Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas
Branding	CW 33
Slogan	"Free To Be Together"
Channels	33 (UHF) analog, 32 (UHF), The Tube on 33.2 digital
Affiliations	The CW
Owner	Tribune Company
Founded	1967
Call letters meaning	Dallas and Fort Worth (or during Fox affiliation, Dallas Area Fox)
Former callsigns	KMEC-TV (1967-1968) KBFI-TV (1972-1973) KXTX-TV, KDTV (1973) KNBN-TV (1981-1984) KRLD-TV (1984-1986)
Former affiliations	Independent (1967-1986) Fox (1986-1995) WB (1995-2006)
Transmitter Power	5000 kW/520 m (analog) 780 kW/537 m (digital)
Website	www.cw33.com

KDAF, channel 33, is the CW affiliate for the Dallas-Fort Worth designated market area. The station is owned by the Tribune Company with its transmitter located on highway 67 in Cedar Hill. The station airs on cable channel nine on cable systems in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

From June 1995 to September 2006, KDAF was affiliated with the WB Television Network. Prior to that, KDAF spent nine years as an owned-and-operated station of the Fox Broadcasting Company.

Contents 1 History 2 Newscast 2.1 Weeknights 2.2 Weekends 2.3 CW33 News Reporters 3 Station Slogans 4 Former logo 5 Trivia 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

Channel 33 in Dallas has had several incarnations over four decades of operation. It first signed on-the-air as KMEC in October 1967, the second UHF station in the market after KFWT-TV (channel 21, now KTXA). The station aired a mix of syndicated programming and locally produced shows. KMEC signed off less than a year later. That short-lived attempt was followed by another in 1972, with channel 33 returning to the air using the call letters KBFI and a religious programming format. But, like its predecessor, KBFI signed off after only ten months on the air.

The Christian Broadcasting Network then purchased channel 33's license and, on January 11, 1973, channel 33 returned to the air as KXTX-TV (for "Christ (X) for TeXas"), a station with a religious format and some general entertainment. But CBN's stay on channel 33 wouldn't be a long one: Doubleday Broadcasting wanted to get rid of their independent station, KDTV on channel 39. After an attempt to donate KDTV to non-profit interests, Doubleday donated the channel 39 license and assets to CBN. In April 1973, CBN then moved its programming to channel 39 and Doubleday took over broadcasting channel 33 under the KDTV calls for another several months before turning the frequency off again in December. Channel 33 would remain dark for the next six and-a-half years.

In May 1980, channel 33 returned to the Dallas airwaves for a fourth time. The new station was called KNBN-TV, owned by a local firm, Hill Broadcasting. The station's call letters were derived from its on-air branding, "National Business Network". KNBN was a pioneer in airing "live" (primarily) business news and programming throughout the day; opening with The Morning Report anchored by Ian Kinsey, with reporters Joe Sullivan and Lisa Protter; closing off with Financial Final hosted by Ward Andrews. The evening hours were filled by subscription television from VUE, a program service owned by Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters. Again, this format turned out to be short-lived, and channel 33 revamped itself again. Within a year and-a-half, the business programming was gone, the subscription television service moved to rival UHF station KTWS (channel 27, now KDFI-TV), and KNBN-TV picked up programming from the Spanish International Network, the forerunner to today's Univision.

In late 1983, Hill Broadcasting sold KNBN to Metromedia, and on July 31, 1984, the station was renamed KRLD-TV after new sister station KRLD radio, which Metromedia later sold to comply with Federal Communications Commission rules at the time. Metromedia attempted to do the impossible: make channel 33 competitive and profitable, both at the same time. Immediately after taking over control, the station switched from Spanish to a general entertainment format. The new KRLD-TV was entering a very crowded marketplace -- its competition included KTXA, KXTX-TV, and the market's leading independent, KTVT (channel 11). Metromedia's programming investments featured the first 7:00 p.m. newscast ever attempted in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, as well as other first-run syndicated shows and news magazines. Also for four seasons starting in 1984, channel 33 was the broadcast home for Dallas Sidekicks indoor soccer club.

In 1986 Metromedia sold its group of independent stations, including KRLD-TV, to the News Corporation and the 20th Century Fox film studio. On March 6 of that year, channel 33's call letters were changed to the current KDAF, and it would become one of the cornerstones that formed the Fox television network. However, Fox closed down the station's news department shortly after assuming control. Though KDAF remained unprofitable into the early 1990s, by 1994 the station was turning modest profits. With an increase in revenues, Fox considered reactivating channel 33's news department by launching a primetime newscast that would go head-to-head with KTVT. KDAF was well into their news plans when Fox made an announcement which put the station's immediate future in limbo.

In December 1993 Fox made a group deal with New World Communications to move its network affiliation in several markets, including Dallas-Fort Worth, to stations New World either owned outright or were currently purchasing. In Dallas, then-CBS affiliate KDFW-TV (channel 4, which ironically had also once used the KRLD-TV calls) was being sold by Argyle Television to New World, and was included in the New World-Fox deal. At once, Fox placed KDAF on the selling block, and plans for the newscast were shelved indefinitely. Fox network programming moved from KDAF to KDFW on July 1, 1995 (with the exception of Fox Kids programming, which moved to KDFI in September 1997). About the same time, Fox finalized a sale of channel 33 to Renaissance Broadcasting, and KDAF took over the market's WB affiliation from KXTX-TV. Renaissance sold all of its stations, including KDAF, to Tribune Broadcasting in 1997.

[edit] Newscast

Tribune restored news on KDAF in 1999 by launching a weekday 9 p.m. newscast, and within a year it was expanded to seven nights a week. However, the ratings for the newscast have rarely been competitive, ranking far behind KDFW's 9 p.m. newscast.

[edit] Weeknights

• CW33 News at Nine 9-10 p.m.
• Tom Crespo

• Terri Chappell

• Sports-Bob Irzyk

• Weather-Bob Goosmann

• Entertaiment News-Victoria Snee

[edit] Weekends

• CW33 News at Nine 9-9:30 p.m.
• Jim Grimes

• Dawn Tongish

• Weather-Fred Barnhill

• Sports-Dave Crome

• Donovan Campbell

[edit] CW33 News Reporters

• Barry Carpenter

• Joanne Castaneda

• Norris Deajon

• Jennifer Dodd

[edit] Station Slogans

Watch your Frog (2002-2005)
We Play Favorites (2005-2006)
The Future Home of the New CW33 (2006)
Free To Be Together (2006-present)

[edit] Former logo

KDAF WB 33 logo.

[edit] Trivia

• The KNBN calls once used on this station now reside on the NBC affiliate in Rapid City, South Dakota.
• Fox would not be without an O&O in the Metroplex for long, as they bought New World's stations in early 1997.

[edit] References

• Shannon, Mike (January, 2004). Dallas–Fort Worth TV Station History. The History of Dallas-Fort Worth Radio and Television.

[edit] External links

• KDAF home page
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KDAF