KDFI
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - KDFI
OR:
KDFI on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

KDFI (channel 27), branded on-air as Fox 4 More or More 27, is a
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the ea ...
licensed to
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
, United States, broadcasting
MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
to the
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchor ...
. It is owned and operated by
Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Co ...
alongside Fox outlet KDFW (channel 4, also licensed to Dallas). Both stations share studios on North Griffin Street in
downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...
, while KDFI's transmitter is located in Cedar Hill, Texas.


History


Prior history of UHF channel 27 in Dallas–Fort Worth

The
UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...
channel 27 allocation in the Dallas–
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
market was initially applied for broadcasting use by Overmyer Communications, who filed a license application in 1966. Veteran radio broadcaster
Gordon McLendon Gordon Barton McLendon (June 8, 1921 – September 14, 1986Texas State Historical AssociationMcClendon, Gordon Barton/ref>) was a radio broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio", McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during the 1950s ...
(who purchased the station for his son Barton) was granted a
license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
for channel 27 in 1967 with a
construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
being issued in 1968. McLendon planned to launch a television station under the callsign KLIF-TV, which was to be based out of the building that also housed upstart radio station KNUS (98.7 FM, now KLUV) at 2110 Commerce; resources would also be pooled between the television and radio stations as KNUS planned to convert to an all-news format. However, the station never formally signed on and by 1972, the KLIF-TV license was deleted by the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC). (The KLIF calls were later used for a
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
broadcasting at 570 AM.)


As an independent station

The current television station on UHF channel 27 traces its history to 1973, when
Englewood, Colorado The City of Englewood is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 33,659 at the 2020 United States Census. Englewood is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stat ...
-based Liberty STV – a subsidiary of
cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
provider Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), which formed the company as part of a trust to avoid violating FCC cross-ownership rules prohibiting common ownership of television stations and cable television systems in markets where TCI owned cable systems – filed an application with the FCC for a license and construction permit to operate a commercial television station on channel 27 that would operate as a part-time subscription television service. A month before the FCC Broadcast Bureau granted Liberty a construction permit in February 1980, the name of the company changed to Liberty Television, Inc. The station first signed on the air on January 26, 1981, as KTWS-TV. The station's original studio facilities were located at 433 Regal Row in northwest Dallas. Originally operating as an
independent station An independent station is an independent radio or terrestrial television station which is independent in some way from broadcast networks. The definition of "independence" varies from country to country, reflecting governmental regulations, marke ...
, KDFI initially maintained a mixed information and entertainment schedule, running low-cost syndicated and barter programs (consisting of cartoons,
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
s and drama series, religious programs, westerns and some
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...
movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
) from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. weekdays, a mix of public affairs, outdoor sports and children's programs on Saturday mornings, and religious programs on Sunday mornings. It also aired business news programming from the Financial News Network each weekday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 to 4:00 p.m., as well as network programs from ABC, NBC and CBS that were respectively preempted by
WFAA WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX (channel 29), w ...
(channel 8),
KXAS-TV KXAS-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, broadcasting NBC programming to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongs ...
(channel 5) and KDFW-TV (channel 4). The signal was
scrambled Scrambled eggs is a dish made from eggs (usually chicken eggs) stirred, whipped or beaten together while being gently heated, typically with salt, butter, oil and sometimes other ingredients. Preparation Only eggs are necessary to make scramble ...
weekdays from 7:00 p.m. until its 2:00 a.m. sign-off and weekends from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. to transmit Preview, a subscription service that offered a mix of theatrically released feature films and required a special decoder box in order to receive the programs. (In September 1982, Preview was replaced by Video Entertainment Unlimited ( VEU), after the latter moved its affiliation from fellow independent KNBN-TV CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_
CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF) On_October_25,_1983,_Liberty_Television_sold_the_station_to_
CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF) On_October_25,_1983,_Liberty_Television_sold_the_station_to_Richardson,_Texas">Richardson_ Richardson_may_refer_to: __People_ *_Richardson_(surname),_an_English_and_Scottish_surname *_Richardson_Gang,_a_London_crime_gang_in_the_1960s *_Richardson_Dilworth,_Mayor_of_Philadelphia_(1956-1962) _Places_Australia *_Richardson,_Australian_Capi_...
-based_Dallas_Media_Investors_Corporation_(owned_by_former_KDFW_station_manager_John_A._McKay_and_ CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF) On_October_25,_1983,_Liberty_Television_sold_the_station_to_Richardson,_Texas">Richardson_ Richardson_may_refer_to: __People_ *_Richardson_(surname),_an_English_and_Scottish_surname *_Richardson_Gang,_a_London_crime_gang_in_the_1960s *_Richardson_Dilworth,_Mayor_of_Philadelphia_(1956-1962) _Places_Australia *_Richardson,_Australian_Capi_...
-based_Dallas_Media_Investors_Corporation_(owned_by_former_KDFW_station_manager_John_A._McKay_and_NYSE_American">American_Stock_Exchange_ NYSE_American,_formerly_known_as_the_American_Stock_Exchange_(AMEX),_and_more_recently_as_NYSE_MKT,_is_an_American__stock_exchange_situated_in_New_York_City._AMEX_was_previously_a_mutual_organization,_owned_by_its_members._Until_1953,_it_was_know_...
_chairman_Arthur_Levin)_for_$12_million._The_station_briefly_went_ CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF) On_October_25,_1983,_Liberty_Television_sold_the_station_to_Richardson,_Texas">Richardson_ Richardson_may_refer_to: __People_ *_Richardson_(surname),_an_English_and_Scottish_surname *_Richardson_Gang,_a_London_crime_gang_in_the_1960s *_Richardson_Dilworth,_Mayor_of_Philadelphia_(1956-1962) _Places_Australia *_Richardson,_Australian_Capi_...
-based_Dallas_Media_Investors_Corporation_(owned_by_former_KDFW_station_manager_John_A._McKay_and_NYSE_American">American_Stock_Exchange_ NYSE_American,_formerly_known_as_the_American_Stock_Exchange_(AMEX),_and_more_recently_as_NYSE_MKT,_is_an_American__stock_exchange_situated_in_New_York_City._AMEX_was_previously_a_mutual_organization,_owned_by_its_members._Until_1953,_it_was_know_...
_chairman_Arthur_Levin)_for_$12_million._The_station_briefly_went_dark_(broadcasting)">dark_after_the_sale_was_finalized_on_June_27,_1984;_the_following_month,_the_station_returned_to_the_air_and_its_call_letters_were_changed_to_the_current_KDFI-TV_on_August_16,_1984._KDFI_dropped_VEU_programming_in_1985,_and_became_a_general_entertainment_station_for_the_entire_broadcast_day._It_began_running_low-budget_ CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF) On_October_25,_1983,_Liberty_Television_sold_the_station_to_Richardson,_Texas">Richardson_ Richardson_may_refer_to: __People_ *_Richardson_(surname),_an_English_and_Scottish_surname *_Richardson_Gang,_a_London_crime_gang_in_the_1960s *_Richardson_Dilworth,_Mayor_of_Philadelphia_(1956-1962) _Places_Australia *_Richardson,_Australian_Capi_...
-based_Dallas_Media_Investors_Corporation_(owned_by_former_KDFW_station_manager_John_A._McKay_and_NYSE_American">American_Stock_Exchange_ NYSE_American,_formerly_known_as_the_American_Stock_Exchange_(AMEX),_and_more_recently_as_NYSE_MKT,_is_an_American__stock_exchange_situated_in_New_York_City._AMEX_was_previously_a_mutual_organization,_owned_by_its_members._Until_1953,_it_was_know_...
_chairman_Arthur_Levin)_for_$12_million._The_station_briefly_went_dark_(broadcasting)">dark_after_the_sale_was_finalized_on_June_27,_1984;_the_following_month,_the_station_returned_to_the_air_and_its_call_letters_were_changed_to_the_current_KDFI-TV_on_August_16,_1984._KDFI_dropped_VEU_programming_in_1985,_and_became_a_general_entertainment_station_for_the_entire_broadcast_day._It_began_running_low-budget_broadcast_syndication">syndicated_programs,_older_cartoons,_and_ CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html"_;"title="The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF">The_CW.html"_;"title="hannel_33,_now_The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF) On_October_25,_1983,_Liberty_Television_sold_the_station_to_Richardson,_Texas">Richardson_ Richardson_may_refer_to: __People_ *_Richardson_(surname),_an_English_and_Scottish_surname *_Richardson_Gang,_a_London_crime_gang_in_the_1960s *_Richardson_Dilworth,_Mayor_of_Philadelphia_(1956-1962) _Places_Australia *_Richardson,_Australian_Capi_...
-based_Dallas_Media_Investors_Corporation_(owned_by_former_KDFW_station_manager_John_A._McKay_and_NYSE_American">American_Stock_Exchange_ NYSE_American,_formerly_known_as_the_American_Stock_Exchange_(AMEX),_and_more_recently_as_NYSE_MKT,_is_an_American__stock_exchange_situated_in_New_York_City._AMEX_was_previously_a_mutual_organization,_owned_by_its_members._Until_1953,_it_was_know_...
_chairman_Arthur_Levin)_for_$12_million._The_station_briefly_went_dark_(broadcasting)">dark_after_the_sale_was_finalized_on_June_27,_1984;_the_following_month,_the_station_returned_to_the_air_and_its_call_letters_were_changed_to_the_current_KDFI-TV_on_August_16,_1984._KDFI_dropped_VEU_programming_in_1985,_and_became_a_general_entertainment_station_for_the_entire_broadcast_day._It_began_running_low-budget_broadcast_syndication">syndicated_programs,_older_cartoons,_and_B_movie">B-movies._The_station_continued_to_run_pre-empted_network_shows_as_well,_and_had_been_able_to_balance_its_books. In_February_1994,_Hearst_Television.html" ;"title="B_movie.html" ;"title="broadcast_syndication.html" ;"title="dark_(broadcasting).html" ;"title="NYSE_American.html" "title="Richardson,_Texas.html" "title="The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html" ;"title="The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html" ;"title="The_CW.html" ;"title="hannel 33, now The CW">CW affiliate KDAF">The_CW.html" ;"title="hannel 33, now The CW">CW affiliate KDAF">The_CW">CW_affiliate_KDAF.html" ;"title="The_CW.html" ;"title="hannel 33, now The CW">CW affiliate KDAF">The_CW.html" ;"title="hannel 33, now The CW">CW affiliate KDAF) On October 25, 1983, Liberty Television sold the station to Richardson, Texas">Richardson Richardson may refer to: People * Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname * Richardson Gang, a London crime gang in the 1960s * Richardson Dilworth, Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962) Places Australia * Richardson, Australian Capi ...
-based Dallas Media Investors Corporation (owned by former KDFW station manager John A. McKay and NYSE American">American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was know ...
 chairman Arthur Levin) for $12 million. The station briefly went dark (broadcasting)">dark after the sale was finalized on June 27, 1984; the following month, the station returned to the air and its call letters were changed to the current KDFI-TV on August 16, 1984. KDFI dropped VEU programming in 1985, and became a general entertainment station for the entire broadcast day. It began running low-budget broadcast syndication">syndicated programs, older cartoons, and B movie">B-movies. The station continued to run pre-empted network shows as well, and had been able to balance its books. In February 1994, Hearst Television">Argyle Television – then-owner of KDFW-TV – took over management responsibilities for KDFI under a local marketing agreement with Dallas Media Investors. The agreement – which resulted in KDFI integrating its operations into KDFW's studio facilities on North Griffin Street in downtown Dallas – allowed KDFW to provide advertising, promotional and
master control Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. It is distinct from a production control room (PCR) in television studios where the activities such as swi ...
services for KDFI, while Dallas Media Investors retained responsibilities over channel 27's programming and production services. Under KDFW/Argyle's oversight, KDFI also began to make additional improvements to its programming lineup, acquiring partial local rights to certain syndicated programs carried by KDFW (mostly
talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...
s). Additional changes to channel 27's program lineup came as a result of a four-way affiliation shakeup spurred by an agreement between then- Fox network parent
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
and
New World Communications New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...
. Under that deal, on July 2, 1995, KDFW – which had been affiliated with CBS since that station signed on in December 1949 – replaced KDAF (which Fox sold to
Renaissance Broadcasting Renaissance Broadcasting, founded in 1982 by Michael Finkelstein, was a company that owned several UHF television stations, it was sold to Tribune Broadcasting in 1997. The company was headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. History Renaissanc ...
in order to affiliate with KDFW under the agreement and took over the market's WB affiliation from KXTX-TV, which carried the network under a temporary agreement) and the CBS affiliation shifting over to KTVT. In addition to carrying a mix of recent and classic sitcoms and drama series, some religious programs and a heavy schedule of talk shows in both the daytime and evening hours on weekdays, KDFI also acquired the local rights to several syndicated programs that KTVT was not able to retain because of CBS' network-dominated schedule (including a few animated series to fill certain morning timeslots, first-run and off-network syndicated scripted programs and syndicated movie packages). On July 17, 1996, News Corporation — which separated most of its entertainment holdings into
21st Century Fox Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media corporation that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, fo ...
in July 2013 — announced that it would acquire New World Communications in an all-stock transaction worth $2.48 billion; the merger deal also included rights to the LMA with KDFI. The purchase of the New World stations and transfer of the LMA between KDFW and KDFI by News Corporation was finalized on January 22, 1997, folding KDFW and the operations of KDFI into the company's
Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Co ...
subsidiary. In September 1997, KDFI acquired the local rights to the
Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a jo ...
programming block, which remained with KDAF following Fox's sale of that station to Renaissance Broadcasting. Like other New World stations affected by the affiliation agreement, KDFW declined to carry the Fox Kids weekday and Saturday blocks upon joining Fox, choosing instead to air an expanded local morning newscast and first-run syndicated programs in place of the weekday blocks, and a local Saturday morning newscast, a mix of first-run and off-network syndicated children's programs, infomercials and local
real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...
programs on weekend mornings. With the acquisition of Fox Kids, KDFI dropped the few syndicated children's programs that remained in its inventory. As a result of decisions to turn those lineups' timeslots back over to Fox Kids' carrier stations, Fox discontinued its weekday morning children's block in September 1999, and its weekday afternoon block on December 31, 2001. The Saturday morning lineup, meanwhile, was contracted out to
4Kids Entertainment 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and later known as 4Licensing Corporation) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English- dub ...
and relaunched as FoxBox (later renamed
4Kids TV 4Kids TV (often stylized as 4K!DSTV and formerly known as FoxBox from September 14, 2002 to January 15, 2005) was an American television programming block and Internet-based video on demand children's network operated by 4Kids Entertainment. I ...
) on September 14, 2002. Fox ended its network-supplied children's programming on December 28, 2008, amid a dispute over monetary compensation and affiliate clearance for the block's time-lease agreement. (4KidsTV was replaced on January 3, 2009, with the paid programming block '' Weekend Marketplace'' until Fox brought back children's programming with the launch of Xploration Station on September 13, 2014.) Channel 27's programming lineup during this period had become a more traditional format for an independent station, with a mix of classic off-network sitcoms, syndicated talk and reality shows, movies as well as children's programs sourced from Fox Kids. In December 1999, four months after the FCC began permitting television station duopolies, Fox Television Stations purchased KDFI from Dallas Media Investors for $6.2 million, creating a legal duopoly with KDFW. The sale received FCC approval on February 18, 2000. The acquisition resulted in the KDFW/KDFI combination becoming the first television duopoly in the Metroplex and the first duopoly that Fox operated as a whole (predating the group's acquisition of Chris-Craft/United Television's UPN-affiliated stations on August 12 of that year).


MyNetworkTV affiliation

On January 24, 2006, UPN parent company
CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, an ...
and WB network parent
Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
announced that they would dissolve the two networks to create The CW, a joint network venture that initially featured a mix of original first-run series and programs that originated on The WB and UPN. On that date, The CW also signed a ten-year affiliation agreement with
Tribune Broadcasting Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC was an American media company which operated as a subsidiary of Tribune Media, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. The group owned and operated television and radio stations throughout the United St ...
, under which sixteen of the group's eighteen WB-affiliated stations – including KDAF, which Tribune acquired as part of its July 1996 acquisition of Renaissance Broadcasting – would serve as the network's charter stations. In response to having its UPN affiliates be passed over for affiliations with The CW, Fox Television Stations stripped all network branding from and ceased promoting the network's programming on its UPN-affiliated stations. However, it is very unlikely that KDFI would have been selected as The CW's Metroplex area affiliate in any event. Representatives for The CW were on record as preferring to align with UPN and The WB's "strongest" affiliates; KDAF had been ahead of KDFI in the ratings since shortly after channel 33 became the market's original Fox owned-and-operated station in October 1986. Nearly one month after the CW launch announcement, on February 22, 2006, Fox Television Stations and fellow News Corporation subsidiary Twentieth Television announced the launch of
MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
, a network created primarily to serve as a network programming option for UPN and WB stations that were left out of The CW's affiliation deals. Of the eleven stations that Fox announced would serve as the nuclei for the new network, KDFI was the only one to have been an independent station prior to joining MyNetworkTV, whereas the service's other News Corporation-owned charter stations – all but
one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
of which was involved in the BHC Communications purchase six years earlier – had been affiliates of UPN. KDFI is also the largest MyNetworkTV-affiliated station, in terms of market size, to not have been formerly affiliated with either UPN or The WB prior to joining the network (which would convert into a "syndication service" in September 2009). The station began branding itself on-air as "My 27" shortly after the announcement, reflecting the new network's branding conventions. A temporary logo using the circular 27 symbol and the word "my" (in place of the call letters) was created. The KDFI website accordingly changed its slogan to "Shows I Like Are on My27". On July 7, 2006, KDFI officially changed its logo to MyNetworkTV's four-square logo style. KDFI officially joined MyNetworkTV upon that network's launch on September 5, 2006, two weeks prior to the cessation of UPN's operations on September 17. On August 28, 2017, KDFI changed its on-air branding to "Fox 4 More", aligning its brand with that of KDFW; the adoption of the "Fox 4" brand extension mirrored similar rebrandings of Fox Television Stations' MyNetworkTV O&Os or independent stations in other markets where the group has a duopoly (such as " KTVU Plus," adopted from KTVU in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, " Fox 5 Plus," adopted from
WTTG WTTG (channel 5) is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outlet WDCA (channel 20). WTTG and WDCA sh ...
in Washington, D.C., " Fox 9 Plus," adopted from KMSP-TV in
Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota) ...
, " Fox 10 Xtra," adopted from KSAZ-TV in Phoenix, and " Fox 13 Plus", adopted from KCPQ in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
) to increase their brand association with their parent Fox O&Os. As of the Fall 2019 television season, KDFI alternately brands itself as "More 27".


Programming

KDFI carries the entire MyNetworkTV programming schedule; from the service's launch in September 2006, KDFI aired MyNetworkTV programming from its "live" feed each weeknight from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. This lasted until August 2017, when KDFI began airing the service's programming on a one-hour delay from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. (later pushed further to 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. in April 2018 and then 10:00 to midnight in September 2019). Syndicated programs broadcast by KDFI () include off-network repeats of ''
The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...
'', ''
America Says ''America Says'' is an American television game show hosted by John Michael Higgins and broadcast on Game Show Network. The series consists of two teams of four guessing the top answers to fill-in-the-blank survey questions. It is basically a res ...
'', '' Dateline'', '' Chicago P.D.'' and ''
Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...
'', as well as repeats of first-run syndicated programs seen earlier on KDFW, such as '' Extra'', ''
The Real In continental philosophy, the Real refers to the remainder of reality that cannot be expressed, and which surpasses reasoning. In Lacanianism, it is an "impossible" category because of its opposition to expression and inconceivability. I ...
'', ''The Good Dish'' and ''
Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated courtr ...
''. There are also first-run syndicated programs that are only seen on KDFI, including '' Dish Nation'', '' Divorce Court'', '' Caught in Providence'', '' Family Feud'' and '' The 700 Club''. Occasionally as time permits, KDFI may air Fox network programs whenever KDFW is unable to in the event of extended breaking news or severe weather coverage.


Sports programming

Due to its Fox ownership, KDFI once broadcast Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars games that were not carried regionally by
Fox Sports Southwest Bally Sports Southwest is a Texan regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group (a joint-venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios), and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional c ...
. Broadcasts of both teams' games moved to
KTXA KTXA (channel 21) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside Fort Worth–ba ...
(channel 21) in 2010. KDFI began airing a number of Stars and Rangers games in network's high definition in early 2008. The station also aired two
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
''
Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 2 ...
'' games that also aired on the
NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...
during the 2007–2008 NFL season, along with the high definition feed for those games. The games against the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...
on November 29 and Carolina Panthers on December 22, 2007, were the highest-rated telecasts in the history of KDFI.


Newscasts

When channel 27 (as KTWS-TV) signed on in January 1981, the station aired some limited local news programming in the form of five-minute news capsules that aired weekdays at the top of the hour between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m., anchored by former WFAA anchor Bob Gooding. After KDFW assumed management responsibilities for KDFI under a local marketing agreement between Argyle Television and Dallas Media Investors Corporation in January 1994, KDFI began airing tape-delayed rebroadcasts of KDFW's 10:00 p.m. newscast each weeknight at 10:30 p.m. In addition, during the summer and fall of 1994, KDFW also produced a daily 30-minute wrap-up of the proceedings in the O. J. Simpson murder case for KDFI, which aired in place of the 10:00 p.m. news rebroadcast. The news rebroadcasts were discontinued in September 1994. In the early 2000s, KDFW produced a 15-minute newscast after Stars and Rangers games aired on KDFI known as the Fox News Wrap. For the remainder of the LMA's existence as well as the first 15 years under Fox ownership, KDFI did not broadcast any local news programming, either rebroadcasts or those produced specifically for channel 27 by KDFW. This ended on April 2, 2018, when KDFI began airing a rebroadcast of KDFW's 6:00 p.m. newscasts each weeknight at 7:00 p.m. – replacing first-run syndicated programs that had aired during the 7:00 half-hour – following the footsteps of other Fox-owned MyNetworkTV stations that have de-emphasized the service's branding during the 2017 calendar year, which have opted to air local newscasts produced by its parent Fox O&O after timeshifting the MyNetworkTV schedule to a later evening slot. In February 2022, KDFI began simulcasting programming from Fox Weather. This programming airs from 10 to 11 a.m. on weekdays, and from 5 to 7 a.m. on Saturdays on the main channel. KDFI also offers a full simulcast of Fox Weather on their 6th subchannel.


Technical information


Subchannels

The station's digital signal is Multiplex (TV), multiplexed: KDFI launched digital subchannel 27.2 with programming from Bounce TV on March 30, 2012.Bounce TV Adds KDFI Dallas
''TVNewsCheck'', March 30, 2012. KDFI added Movies! on digital channel 27.2 on May 27, 2013, with Bounce being moved to a new 27.3 subchannel. Bounce TV later moved to KUVN-DT 23.2. Buzzr was added to 27.3 on June 1, 2015.


Analog-to-digital conversion

KDFI shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 27, on June 12, 2009, as part of the Digital television transition in the United States, federally mandated transition from analog to digital television.List of Digital Full-Power Stations
 The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 36, using Program and System Information Protocol, PSIP to display KDFI's virtual channel as 27 on digital television receivers.


References

*KLIF-TV Channel 27 designation in 1972
Detailed Texas EBS Operational Plan


External links

*
DFW Radio/TV HistoryFCC History Cards for KDFI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kdfi Fox Television Stations MyNetworkTV affiliates Movies! affiliates Buzzr affiliates TheGrio affiliates Television stations in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Television channels and stations established in 1981 New World Communications television stations 1981 establishments in Texas National Hockey League over-the-air television broadcasters