KDAF
Encyclopedia
KDAF, virtual channel
33 (digital channel 32), is a CW
-affiliated television station serving the Dallas
-Fort Worth
television market area. The station is licensed to Dallas and owned by the Tribune Company
with its studios located off the John W. Carpenter Freeway in northwest Dallas
. The station's transmitter is located in Cedar Hill
. KDAF is broadcast on channel 9 on many cable systems in the Metroplex.
KDAF had aired a 24-hour music network called The Tube
on digital channel 33.2, but it ceased operations on October 1, 2007. Digital subchannel 33.2 came back on the air around November 1, 2007 with bilingual Latino programming from LATV
. The contract with LATV expired in June 2010, however. On December 7, 2010 KDAF began carrying programming from This TV
, a digital multicast channel owned by Weigel Broadcasting
and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
featuring feature films (mostly from the MGM film library) with some classic television series, on digital subchannel 33.3.
The station also became a charter affiliate of parent company Tribune Broadcasting
's new digital multicast channel Antenna TV
upon its launch on January 1, 2011, it is carried on digital subchannel 33.2. The network, whose programming consists of classic sitcoms from the 1950s to the 1990s during the afternoon and evening, and movies during the morning and late night hours, also debuted on Tribune-owned stations in other markets as well as stations owned by Local TV, LLC
on or after January 1.
is used to display KDAF's virtual channel
as 33 on digital television receivers.
). 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 another company using channel 33 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
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 its independent station, KDTV on channel 39. After an attempt to donate KDTV to non-profit interests, Doubleday instead donated the channel 39 license and assets to CBN. Then, in April 1973, CBN moved the KXTX call letters and its programming to channel 39
, while Doubleday took over broadcasting channel 33 under the KDTV calls for another several months before turning the station off in December. Channel 33 would remain unused in Dallas 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 company, Hill Broadcasting (Nolanda Hill 40%, Sheldon Turner 40% and others). The station's call letters were derived from its on-air branding, "National Business Network". The daytime broadcast was all business while evening hours were filled by subscription television from VEU
, 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
.
. Initially, KNBN remained a Spanish station (with plans to eventually switch to an English speaking format) but added a couple syndicated English shows that Metromedia distributed but had no other station to run. Then on July 31, 1984, the station was renamed KRLD-TV after new sister station KRLD radio, which Metromedia later sold and finally 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 initial programming featured the first 7:00 p.m. newscast ever attempted in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. The station initially programmed a schedule with primarily adult fare such as first-run syndicated shows, plenty of off-network dramas, and some low budget movies. The station had very few cartoons at first because they were found on other stations. Also for four seasons starting in 1984, channel 33 was the broadcast home for Dallas Sidekicks
indoor soccer club. In the fall of 1985, with a huge abundance of barter cartoons now available, KRLD-TV added a couple hours of them in the 7 to 9 a.m. time slot and on the 3 to 5 p.m. timeslots. The station also began phasing in more off network sitcoms at that point and began looking more like a traditional independent station for that time.
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 of the Fox Broadcasting Company
, making it the Metroplex's first network-owned station. However, Fox closed down the station's news department shortly after assuming control. The station continued running mostly cartoons, off network sitcoms, and older movies. KDAF remained unprofitable well into the 1990s as, for all intents and purposes, it was still an independent station. However, with Fox' growth in the early 1990s, by 1994 the station was turning modest profits. With an increase in revenues, Fox decided to reactivate channel 33's news department by launching a primetime newscast that would go head-to-head with KTVT. KDAF was well into its news plans when Fox made an announcement which put the station's immediate future in limbo.
In November 1993, Fox acquired the broadcast rights
to the National Football Conference
of the National Football League
from CBS
. This made Fox desire more VHF stations, especially those in NFC markets. Fox was already beginning to phase in news departments on most of its stations with plans to become news intensive. Then in April 1994, 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 been the original KRLD-TV, and had carried Dallas Cowboys
games, which often draw high ratings, since 1962) was only recently bought from Times Mirror and now being sold by Argyle Television to New World, and was included in the New World-Fox deal. Fox jumped at the chance of getting on a VHF station in the nation's seventh-largest market. It placed KDAF up for sale and scrapped the newscast plans. New World took over operations of KDFW in June 1995. Fox network prime time and sports programming moved from KDAF to KDFW on July 1, 1995. Fox Kids
programming remained on KDAF for another two years. Two days later (on July 3, 1995), Fox finalized the sale of channel 33 to Renaissance Broadcasting (in exchange for KDVR
, channel 31, in Denver), and KDAF took over the market's The WB affiliation from KXTX-TV, which only had an agreement to hold it temporarily until Fox could move to KDFW.
Renaissance merged with Tribune in 1997. In August 1996, Fox announced that it was buying New World outright, now making KDFW an Fox O&O. In the Fall of 1997, Fox Kids moved off KDAF and onto KDFW's partner station, KDFI
(channel 27), which was more of a traditional independent station. KDAF's focus gradually changed as well. Initially, KDAF ran a blend cartoons from both Fox Kids and Kids WB, some syndicated cartoons, older off network sitcoms, recent off network sitcoms, The WB programming, and some first run syndicated shows. Gradually, from the mid 1990s to about 2002, KDAF began focusing more on first run talk shows, reality shows, court shows, moving away from older shows. By 2002, the only cartoons on KDAF came from Kids WB which also ended weekday operations early in 2006; KDAF was the last station in the market left running afternoon weekday cartoons until that point.
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN
networks announced they would shut down. Their respective owners joined forces merge into a new service, The CW Television Network
, co-owned by CBS
and the Warner Bros. Television
unit of Time Warner
. As part of the deal, the new network signed a 10-year affiliation deal with 16 of Tribune's WB stations, including KDAF. The station rebranded as "CW 33" in the summer of 2006, two months before the network officially launched in September.
On June 23, 2008, KDAF changed its branding to KDAF 33 in a corporate effort by Tribune to strengthen the local branding of its stations and reduce the dependence on the use of the "The CW" in its stations' brandings due to sagging ratings of its current affiliation, however it has kept its CW 33 logo until August 2008 when the station changed its branding from CW 33 to The 33. After three years, KDAF returned to the "CW33" branding in September 2011, using the partial circle used under "The 33" branding and the same color scheme. Today, KDAF runs a format consisting of first-run series from The CW, talk shows, court shows, reality shows, recent off-network sitcoms, first-run and off-network recent drama series, and cartoons on weekend mornings.
KDAF broadcasts a total of 10½ hours of local news each week. On weeknights, the station airs a half-hour newscast at 5 p.m. and an hour-long newscast at 9 p.m. On Saturdays, the station airs a half-hour newscast at 5:30 p.m. and an hour-long newscast at 9 p.m. On Sundays, the station airs half-hour newscasts at 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., followed by the half-hour sports wrap-up show Inside Sports at 9:30 p.m.
After having its plans for a newscast during the Fox
era in the mid-1990s shelved, new owners Tribune
decided to return newscasts to KDAF by launching a weekday 30-minute newscast in 1999, airing at 9 p.m. to compete with KDFW
's news broadcast in the same time slot. Within a year, it was expanded to seven days a week and then expanded to an hour (on weeknights only) in January 2001.
In late February 2009, longtime anchors Terri Chappell and Tom Crespo were replaced by new anchors Amanda Salinas and Walt Maciborski (from WFTS in Tampa
). Both Salinas and Maciborski anchor the weekday 5 and 9 p.m. newscasts, while Dawn Tongish anchors the weekend at 5:30 and 9 p.m. newscasts.
KDAF expanded its newscast output by producing a new nightly 5:30 p.m. newscast on September 21, 2009 that would compete with KDFW's local newscast at 5:30 and the network newscasts on WFAA, KXAS and KTVT
. It features former interns turned full-time reporters and some new segments that would end up being irrelevant at the 9 p.m. hour. In March 2010, KDAF expanded its early evening newscast to a full hour from 5-6 p.m. on weekdays while the weekend edition retained the 5:30 start time; then in May, the weekday newscast was reduced to a half-hour newscast retaining the 5 p.m. start time. On weekdays, the newscast now competes against local newscasts on KDFW, WFAA, KXAS and KTVT, while the weekend 5:30 p.m. newscast competes on Saturdays against national newscasts on WFAA, KXAS and KTVT as they (along with KDFW) do not air their early evening newscasts until 6 p.m., and on Sundays, the newscast competes against local newscasts on KTVT, WFAA and KDFW and a national network newscast on KXAS.
On May 22, 2010 KDAF became the last remaining television station in the Dallas-Fort Worth
market to broadcast its newscasts in high definition
; the station quietly debuted its newscasts in high definition on that date. Unlike the other stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, video shot during field reports is recorded and broadcast in true high-definition. The other stations broadcast studio segments in HD, but their video footage during field reports are shot in 16:9
standard definition widescreen
.
On October 31, 2011 KDAF began producing and broadcasting EyeOpener, a morning news program by Tribune Broadcasting that was test marketed on sister station KIAH in Houston beginning in May 2011; airing for three hours starting at 5 a.m., it features a mix of news, lifestyle, entertainment and opinion segments. Local news and traffic updates are presented live by current KDAF reporters Tommy Noel and Toni Duclottni, while weather segments are presented by meteorologist Laura Thomas. Other segments are also produced at the KDAF studios (which replaced Tribune Company's Chicago headquarters as the show's production hub), the program is also syndicated to Tribune stations in three additional markets (WPHL-TV
in Philadelphia, WSFL-TV
in Miami and KRCW
in Portland, Oregon
), where local news and weather segments will also be provided by those stations.
Weather team
Sports team
Reporters
DFW Close Up
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
33 (digital channel 32), is a CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
-affiliated television station serving the Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
-Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
television market area. The station is licensed to Dallas and owned by the Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
with its studios located off the John W. Carpenter Freeway in northwest Dallas
Northwest Dallas
Northwest Dallas is an area consisting of many communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, .- Neighborhoods :* Koreatown* Love Field* Stemmons Corridor* Arlington Park and it is considered apart of West Dallas- Light rail :...
. The station's transmitter is located in Cedar Hill
Cedar Hill, Texas
Cedar Hill is a city in Dallas and Ellis Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located approximately sixteen miles southwest of downtown Dallas and is situated along the eastern shore of Joe Pool Lake and Cedar Hill State Park. The population was 32,093 at the 2000 census...
. KDAF is broadcast on channel 9 on many cable systems in the Metroplex.
Digital programming
| Channel | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33.1 | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
Main KDAF programming / The CW |
| 33.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | Antenna TV Antenna TV Antenna TV is an American digital broadcast television network, primarily featuring classic television series from the 1950s to the 1990s, along with some feature films. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, a division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company... |
| 33.3 | This TV This TV This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies.... |
KDAF had aired a 24-hour music network called The Tube
The Tube (TV channel)
The Tube Music Network was a music video network carried on free-to-air satellite television, select digital television subchannels and digital cable systems. The network's president and founder was Les Garland, a veteran of MTV and VH1. The Tube was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Tube Media Corp...
on digital channel 33.2, but it ceased operations on October 1, 2007. Digital subchannel 33.2 came back on the air around November 1, 2007 with bilingual Latino programming from LATV
LATV
LATV is a bilingual music and entertainment network. LATV has been on the air in the Los Angeles market as KJLA since 2001 and is distributed through mostly digital television subchannels throughout the United States and Puerto Rico....
. The contract with LATV expired in June 2010, however. On December 7, 2010 KDAF began carrying programming from This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
, a digital multicast channel owned by Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting is an American locally based television broadcasting company. The company is based in downtown Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV , at the apt address of 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood.- History :The company was founded by Chicago...
and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
featuring feature films (mostly from the MGM film library) with some classic television series, on digital subchannel 33.3.
The station also became a charter affiliate of parent company Tribune Broadcasting
Tribune Broadcasting
The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting...
's new digital multicast channel Antenna TV
Antenna TV
Antenna TV is an American digital broadcast television network, primarily featuring classic television series from the 1950s to the 1990s, along with some feature films. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, a division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
upon its launch on January 1, 2011, it is carried on digital subchannel 33.2. The network, whose programming consists of classic sitcoms from the 1950s to the 1990s during the afternoon and evening, and movies during the morning and late night hours, also debuted on Tribune-owned stations in other markets as well as stations owned by Local TV, LLC
Local TV
Local TV LLC is a limited liability corporation, owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners , which operates 18 local network-affiliated television stations in the United States.-History:...
on or after January 1.
Analog-to-digital conversion
KDAF's analog transmitter on Channel 33 was shut off at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 12, 2009. KDAF-DT remains on channel 32 following the digital transition. PSIPProgram and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
is used to display KDAF's virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 33 on digital television receivers.
Early history
Channel 33 in Dallas has been used by several companies 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 (see KTXAKTXA
KTXA, virtual channel 21 , is an independent television station based in Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth designated market area. With its transmitter in Cedar Hill, KTXA is owned by CBS Corporation and is the sister station of CBS outlet KTVT .KTXA was originally an...
). 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 another company using channel 33 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
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
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 its independent station, KDTV on channel 39. After an attempt to donate KDTV to non-profit interests, Doubleday instead donated the channel 39 license and assets to CBN. Then, in April 1973, CBN moved the KXTX call letters and its programming to channel 39
KXTX-TV
KXTX-TV, digital channel 40 , is the Telemundo owned-and-operated station in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Designated Market Area...
, while Doubleday took over broadcasting channel 33 under the KDTV calls for another several months before turning the station off in December. Channel 33 would remain unused in Dallas 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 company, Hill Broadcasting (Nolanda Hill 40%, Sheldon Turner 40% and others). The station's call letters were derived from its on-air branding, "National Business Network". The daytime broadcast was all business while evening hours were filled by subscription television from VEU
VEU
VEU was an American subscription television channel owned by Golden West Broadcasting. The channel was similar to ON-TV, another scrambled UHF service, and was carried by many stations including KAUT-TV in Oklahoma City, WVEU in Atlanta and KNBN in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The service began...
, a program service owned by Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
'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
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
.
Stabillity, then transition
In late 1983, Hill Broadcasting sold KNBN to MetromediaMetromedia
Metromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
. Initially, KNBN remained a Spanish station (with plans to eventually switch to an English speaking format) but added a couple syndicated English shows that Metromedia distributed but had no other station to run. Then on July 31, 1984, the station was renamed KRLD-TV after new sister station KRLD radio, which Metromedia later sold and finally 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
KTVT
KTVT, virtual channel 11, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth designated market area. The station is co-owned with independent station KTXA , and the two stations share facilities in Dallas and Fort Worth...
(channel 11). Metromedia's initial programming featured the first 7:00 p.m. newscast ever attempted in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. The station initially programmed a schedule with primarily adult fare such as first-run syndicated shows, plenty of off-network dramas, and some low budget movies. The station had very few cartoons at first because they were found on other stations. Also for four seasons starting in 1984, channel 33 was the broadcast home for Dallas Sidekicks
Dallas Sidekicks
The Dallas Sidekicks were one of the longest operating professional soccer teams, either indoor or outdoor, in the United States, based in Dallas, Texas, and operating from 1984 until suspending operations following the 2004 season. The team was founded as a member of the original Major Indoor...
indoor soccer club. In the fall of 1985, with a huge abundance of barter cartoons now available, KRLD-TV added a couple hours of them in the 7 to 9 a.m. time slot and on the 3 to 5 p.m. timeslots. The station also began phasing in more off network sitcoms at that point and began looking more like a traditional independent station for that time.
In 1986 Metromedia sold its group of independent stations, including KRLD-TV, to the News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
and the 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
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 of the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, making it the Metroplex's first network-owned station. However, Fox closed down the station's news department shortly after assuming control. The station continued running mostly cartoons, off network sitcoms, and older movies. KDAF remained unprofitable well into the 1990s as, for all intents and purposes, it was still an independent station. However, with Fox' growth in the early 1990s, by 1994 the station was turning modest profits. With an increase in revenues, Fox decided to reactivate channel 33's news department by launching a primetime newscast that would go head-to-head with KTVT. KDAF was well into its news plans when Fox made an announcement which put the station's immediate future in limbo.
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
to the National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
from CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
. This made Fox desire more VHF stations, especially those in NFC markets. Fox was already beginning to phase in news departments on most of its stations with plans to become news intensive. Then in April 1994, Fox made a group deal with New World Communications
New World Communications
New World Pictures was an independent motion picture and television production company, and later television station owner in the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s...
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
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate KDFW-TV (channel 4, which ironically had been the original KRLD-TV, and had carried Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
games, which often draw high ratings, since 1962) was only recently bought from Times Mirror and now being sold by Argyle Television to New World, and was included in the New World-Fox deal. Fox jumped at the chance of getting on a VHF station in the nation's seventh-largest market. It placed KDAF up for sale and scrapped the newscast plans. New World took over operations of KDFW in June 1995. Fox network prime time and sports programming moved from KDAF to KDFW on July 1, 1995. Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
programming remained on KDAF for another two years. Two days later (on July 3, 1995), Fox finalized the sale of channel 33 to Renaissance Broadcasting (in exchange for KDVR
KDVR
KDVR, , is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Denver, Colorado designated market area. The station is owned by Local TV LLC, the media arm of private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, under a local marketing agreement with Tribune-owned CW affiliate KWGN . Its transmitter is...
, channel 31, in Denver), and KDAF took over the market's The WB affiliation from KXTX-TV, which only had an agreement to hold it temporarily until Fox could move to KDFW.
Renaissance merged with Tribune in 1997. In August 1996, Fox announced that it was buying New World outright, now making KDFW an Fox O&O. In the Fall of 1997, Fox Kids moved off KDAF and onto KDFW's partner station, KDFI
KDFI
KDFI-TV, virtual channel 27, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated station serving the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The station is licensed to Dallas and owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network outlet KDFW . Its transmitter is located in Cedar...
(channel 27), which was more of a traditional independent station. KDAF's focus gradually changed as well. Initially, KDAF ran a blend cartoons from both Fox Kids and Kids WB, some syndicated cartoons, older off network sitcoms, recent off network sitcoms, The WB programming, and some first run syndicated shows. Gradually, from the mid 1990s to about 2002, KDAF began focusing more on first run talk shows, reality shows, court shows, moving away from older shows. By 2002, the only cartoons on KDAF came from Kids WB which also ended weekday operations early in 2006; KDAF was the last station in the market left running afternoon weekday cartoons until that point.
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
networks announced they would shut down. Their respective owners joined forces merge into a new service, The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, co-owned by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and the Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
unit of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
. As part of the deal, the new network signed a 10-year affiliation deal with 16 of Tribune's WB stations, including KDAF. The station rebranded as "CW 33" in the summer of 2006, two months before the network officially launched in September.
On June 23, 2008, KDAF changed its branding to KDAF 33 in a corporate effort by Tribune to strengthen the local branding of its stations and reduce the dependence on the use of the "The CW" in its stations' brandings due to sagging ratings of its current affiliation, however it has kept its CW 33 logo until August 2008 when the station changed its branding from CW 33 to The 33. After three years, KDAF returned to the "CW33" branding in September 2011, using the partial circle used under "The 33" branding and the same color scheme. Today, KDAF runs a format consisting of first-run series from The CW, talk shows, court shows, reality shows, recent off-network sitcoms, first-run and off-network recent drama series, and cartoons on weekend mornings.
News operation
After having its plans for a newscast during the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
era in the mid-1990s shelved, new owners Tribune
Tribune Broadcasting
The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting...
decided to return newscasts to KDAF by launching a weekday 30-minute newscast in 1999, airing at 9 p.m. to compete with KDFW
KDFW
KDFW, virtual channel 4 , is the Fox owned-and-operated television station in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex designated market area....
's news broadcast in the same time slot. Within a year, it was expanded to seven days a week and then expanded to an hour (on weeknights only) in January 2001.
In late February 2009, longtime anchors Terri Chappell and Tom Crespo were replaced by new anchors Amanda Salinas and Walt Maciborski (from WFTS in Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
). Both Salinas and Maciborski anchor the weekday 5 and 9 p.m. newscasts, while Dawn Tongish anchors the weekend at 5:30 and 9 p.m. newscasts.
KDAF expanded its newscast output by producing a new nightly 5:30 p.m. newscast on September 21, 2009 that would compete with KDFW's local newscast at 5:30 and the network newscasts on WFAA, KXAS and KTVT
KTVT
KTVT, virtual channel 11, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth designated market area. The station is co-owned with independent station KTXA , and the two stations share facilities in Dallas and Fort Worth...
. It features former interns turned full-time reporters and some new segments that would end up being irrelevant at the 9 p.m. hour. In March 2010, KDAF expanded its early evening newscast to a full hour from 5-6 p.m. on weekdays while the weekend edition retained the 5:30 start time; then in May, the weekday newscast was reduced to a half-hour newscast retaining the 5 p.m. start time. On weekdays, the newscast now competes against local newscasts on KDFW, WFAA, KXAS and KTVT, while the weekend 5:30 p.m. newscast competes on Saturdays against national newscasts on WFAA, KXAS and KTVT as they (along with KDFW) do not air their early evening newscasts until 6 p.m., and on Sundays, the newscast competes against local newscasts on KTVT, WFAA and KDFW and a national network newscast on KXAS.
On May 22, 2010 KDAF became the last remaining television station in the Dallas-Fort Worth
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...
market to broadcast its newscasts in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
; the station quietly debuted its newscasts in high definition on that date. Unlike the other stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, video shot during field reports is recorded and broadcast in true high-definition. The other stations broadcast studio segments in HD, but their video footage during field reports are shot in 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
standard definition widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
.
On October 31, 2011 KDAF began producing and broadcasting EyeOpener, a morning news program by Tribune Broadcasting that was test marketed on sister station KIAH in Houston beginning in May 2011; airing for three hours starting at 5 a.m., it features a mix of news, lifestyle, entertainment and opinion segments. Local news and traffic updates are presented live by current KDAF reporters Tommy Noel and Toni Duclottni, while weather segments are presented by meteorologist Laura Thomas. Other segments are also produced at the KDAF studios (which replaced Tribune Company's Chicago headquarters as the show's production hub), the program is also syndicated to Tribune stations in three additional markets (WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV, channel 17, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, owned by the Tribune Company and currently affiliated with the News Corporation-owned MyNetworkTV television network. This makes it the largest non-O&O station of the network...
in Philadelphia, WSFL-TV
WSFL-TV
WSFL-TV, channel 39, is a The CW Television Network-affiliated television station located in Miami. Owned by the Tribune Company, the station shares studios with co-owned newspaper the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, and has its transmitter based in Miramar, Florida.It is a television station in...
in Miami and KRCW
KRCW-TV
KRCW-TV is the CW-affiliated television station for Portland, Oregon that is licensed to Salem. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter in the Sylvan-Highlands section of Portland. Owned by the Tribune Company, KRCW has studios on Southwest Arctic Drive...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
), where local news and weather segments will also be provided by those stations.
Newscast titles
- Channel 33 Night Report (1977–1981)
- KNBN-TV 33 News (1981–1984)
- KRLD-TV 33 News (1984–1986)
- WB33 News (1999–2006)
- CW33 News (2006–2008, 2011–present)
- KDAF 33 News (2008)
- The 33 News (2008–2011)
Station slogans
- "Channel 33, First in Texas" (1981–1984)
- "Channel 33 Is Your Place" (1984–1986)
- "Fox 33, This is the Year!" (1988–1990; localized version of Fox ad campaign)
- "It's on Fox 33!" (1990–1992; localized version of Fox ad campaign)
- "The Future Home of WB 33" (early–late 1995; used to promote the switch from Fox to The WB)
- "Watch Your Frog" (2002–2005; reference to Michigan J. FrogMichigan J. FrogMichigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character who debuted in the Looney Tunes cartoon One Froggy Evening , written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones...
, The WB's then-mascot) - "Putting Our Community First" (2003–present; used for its promotion)
- "We Play Favorites" (2005–2006; also briefly used as slogan for Nick at NiteNick at NiteNick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
during 2006 and early 2007) - "The Future Home of the New CW33" (2006; used to promote the switch from The WB to The CW)
- "Free To Be" (2006–2007; also initial CW network slogan)
- "TV That Gets U" (2008–2009)
- "TV To Talk About" (2009–present; also current CW network slogan)
- "Watch Something New(s)" (2009–present; news slogan)
Current on-air staff (as of October 31, 2011)
Anchors- Walt MaciborskiWalt MaciborskiWalt Maciborski is a television news anchor. He currently anchors the weekday 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM newscasts at KDAF. Previously, Walt worked as an anchor at WFTS-TV beginning in October 2005. Walt also was an assistant producer at ABC News in Los Angeles, London, and Washington D.C...
- weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m. - Tommy Noel - news cut-in anchor during EyeOpener; also general assignment reporter
- Amanda Salinas - weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m.
- Dawn Tongish - weekends at 5:30 and 9 p.m.
Weather team
- Rebecca Miller (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m. - Bob Goosmann (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekends at 5:30 and 9 p.m.
- Laura Thomas - meteorologist; weather cut-ins during EyeOpener
Sports team
- Andy Scholes - sports reporter
- Chase Williams - sports multimedia journalist
Reporters
- Charles Bassett - general assignment reporter
- Barry Carpenter - general assignment and health reporter
- Toni Duclottni - lifestyle and entertainment reporter, and traffic reporter for news cut-ins during EyeOpener
- Amber Fisher - general assignment reporter ("Backpack Journalist")
- Erin Harris - social media reporter ("PluggedIN")
- Shama Kabani - technology reporter ("Tech Zen with Shama")
- Doug Magditch - feature reporter ("Backpack Journalist")
- Daniel Novick - general assignment reporter ("Backpack Journalist")
- Giselle Phelps - general assignment and Collin County reporter
- Roni Proter - lifestyle and entertainment reporter
DFW Close Up
- Ashley Roberts - host