KWWF
Encyclopedia
KWWF is licensed to Waterloo, Iowa
broadcasting on UHF channel 22. Its transmitter is located near Walker, Iowa
.
s, home shopping
, and reruns that were in the public domain. It then began rebroadcasting religious programs from LeSEA Broadcasting
.
Equity Broadcasting
bought the station in the summer of 2004 and quickly made it a general entertainment station. KWWF affiliated with UPN
on September 13, 2004, and the station soon gained carriage on cable systems throughout the market.
In 2006, with the end of UPN, KWWF became an affiliate of Equity Broadcasting's own Retro Television Network
to fill the gaps left by the end of UPN programming. However, in 2008, most RTN programming was removed from KWWF and moved to a digital subchannel of KWWL. KWWF became an independent station, carrying various syndicated programs as well as a handful of Equity-produced live shows, which were also aired on many RTN stations.
KWWF was sold at auction to Valley Bank on April 16, 2009. Valley Bank, in turn, filed to sell KWWF to an ownership group connected to Fusion Communications that August.
KWWF did flash cut to digital on June 12, 2009 and is currently transmitting from the American Tower near Walker, IA. The station is currently affiliated with the Untamed Sports TV
network.
. Equity Broadcasting transmitted the signal to the transmitter and cable systems via satellite. As a result, although KWWF's over-the-air broadcast could only be seen over the air within approximately 25 miles from Waterloo, it could also be seen via satellite throughout North America on Galaxy 18.
KWWF now transmits on the American tower near Walker, Iowa, and can be seen over the air within a 30 mile radius of this site. Sales are currently handled through the centralized offices at Fusion Communications in Davenport, IA. The signal is also available via satellite throughout North American and Canada on Anik F3.
after the FCC
finalized the DTV
allotment plan on April 21, 1997 , the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station
. Instead, at the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, KWWF would have been required to turn off its analog signal
and turn on its digital signal
(called a "flash-cut
").
, this station is scheduled to go dark
in 2009
. According to the station's DTV status report, "On December 8, 2008, the licensee's parent corporation filed a petition for bankruptcy
relief under chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy
code... This station must obtain post-petition financing and court approval before digital facilities
may be constructed. The station will cease analogue broadcasting on February 17, 2009
, regardless of whether digital facilities
are operational by that date. The station will file authority to remain silent
if so required by the FCC
."
While the DTV Delay Act extends this deadline to June 12, 2009, Equity applied for an extension of the digital construction permit
in order to retain the broadcast license
in case the station went dark. New buyers Fusion Communications were able to build a temporary digital site near Walker, IA to meet the deadline. At the end of analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, KWWF transitioned from the old Equity Facility to Fusion's Iowa Master Control facility and continued to provide a signal to cable systems. KWWF's satellite feed was still available on Anik F3 C-Band as of November 2010.
It is noted that although KWWF's main signal is transmitted in 720p, the programming that is currently seen on this channel is entirely in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition.
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
broadcasting on UHF channel 22. Its transmitter is located near Walker, Iowa
Walker, Iowa
Walker is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 791 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.Near Walker, there are several guy-wired TV towers, all of them nearly 2000 feet tall.-Geography:...
.
History
KWWF signed on December 1, 2002, with a format of infomercialInfomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s, home shopping
Home shopping
Home shopping commonly refers to the electronic retailing/home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as HSN, QVC, eBay, ShopNBC, Buy.com, and Amazon.com, as well as traditional mail order and brick and mortar retailers as Hammacher...
, and reruns that were in the public domain. It then began rebroadcasting religious programs from LeSEA Broadcasting
LeSEA
LeSEA Broadcasting , also known as World Harvest Television, is an American Christian television network with over 40 affiliate stations in a number of U.S...
.
Equity Broadcasting
Equity Broadcasting
Equity Media Holdings was a broadcasting company based in Little Rock, Arkansas that owned and operated television stations across the United States. Prior to March 30, 2007, the company was known as Equity Broadcasting, which is now used for its broadcast station subisdary...
bought the station in the summer of 2004 and quickly made it a general entertainment station. KWWF affiliated with UPN
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...
on September 13, 2004, and the station soon gained carriage on cable systems throughout the market.
In 2006, with the end of UPN, KWWF became an affiliate of Equity Broadcasting's own Retro Television Network
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
to fill the gaps left by the end of UPN programming. However, in 2008, most RTN programming was removed from KWWF and moved to a digital subchannel of KWWL. KWWF became an independent station, carrying various syndicated programs as well as a handful of Equity-produced live shows, which were also aired on many RTN stations.
KWWF was sold at auction to Valley Bank on April 16, 2009. Valley Bank, in turn, filed to sell KWWF to an ownership group connected to Fusion Communications that August.
KWWF did flash cut to digital on June 12, 2009 and is currently transmitting from the American Tower near Walker, IA. The station is currently affiliated with the Untamed Sports TV
Untamed Sports TV
Untamed Sports TV is a digital subchannel which provides niche outdoor and lifestyle programming to several stations in the United States. This channel was launched in 2008 by OlympuSAT who also distributes the Funimation Channel.-Programs:...
network.
Operations and programming
While KWWF has a transmitter and sales office in Waterloo, under Equity's ownership the master control was actually in Little Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
. Equity Broadcasting transmitted the signal to the transmitter and cable systems via satellite. As a result, although KWWF's over-the-air broadcast could only be seen over the air within approximately 25 miles from Waterloo, it could also be seen via satellite throughout North America on Galaxy 18.
KWWF now transmits on the American tower near Walker, Iowa, and can be seen over the air within a 30 mile radius of this site. Sales are currently handled through the centralized offices at Fusion Communications in Davenport, IA. The signal is also available via satellite throughout North American and Canada on Anik F3.
Digital television
Because it was granted an original construction permitConstruction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
after the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
finalized the DTV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
allotment plan on April 21, 1997 , the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
. Instead, at the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, KWWF would have been required to turn off its analog signal
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
and turn on its digital signal
Digital signal
A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values , for example of an arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized analog signal...
(called a "flash-cut
Flash-cut
A flash-cut, also called flash-cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period.Some telephone area codes were split immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dialing period. An example is telephone area code 213, which was split into 213 and 714 all at...
").
, this station is scheduled to go dark
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
in 2009
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
. According to the station's DTV status report, "On December 8, 2008, the licensee's parent corporation filed a petition for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
relief under chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
The Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure are a set of rules promulgated by the Supreme Court of the United States under the Rules Enabling Act, directing procedures in the United States bankruptcy courts...
code... This station must obtain post-petition financing and court approval before digital facilities
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
may be constructed. The station will cease analogue broadcasting on February 17, 2009
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
, regardless of whether digital facilities
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
are operational by that date. The station will file authority to remain silent
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
if so required by the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
."
While the DTV Delay Act extends this deadline to June 12, 2009, Equity applied for an extension of the digital construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
in order to retain the broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
in case the station went dark. New buyers Fusion Communications were able to build a temporary digital site near Walker, IA to meet the deadline. At the end of analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, KWWF transitioned from the old Equity Facility to Fusion's Iowa Master Control facility and continued to provide a signal to cable systems. KWWF's satellite feed was still available on Anik F3 C-Band as of November 2010.
It is noted that although KWWF's main signal is transmitted in 720p, the programming that is currently seen on this channel is entirely in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition.