KWVT-LD (channel 17) is a

low-power television station Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a Radio broadcasting#Station, broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower ...

licensed to

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

, United States, serving the

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

area. The station is owned by Northwest Television, LLC. KWVT-LD's

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is located in West Portland.

History

The station signed on the air on channel 52, licensed to Eola, on May 20, 2005. On May 8, 2007, Northwest Television sold channel 52 to Churchill Media of

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

. On August 17, 2007, channel 52 began carrying programming from the Spanish-language

Azteca América Azteca América (, sometimes shortened to Azteca) was an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by INNOVATE Corp., which acquired the network from the Azteca International Corporation subsidiary of TV Azteca. Headquar ...

network, as

KXPD-LP KXPD-LP (channel 52) was a low-power television station in Eola, Oregon, United States. The station covered the Willamette Valley from Salem, Oregon, Salem to Wilsonville, Oregon, Wilsonville, within the Portland, Oregon, television market. His ...

. (That station would cease operations by the end of 2009.) Northwest Television had since moved to K17IV (channel 17), which adopted the KWVT-LP calls in November 2007, and changed the city of license from Eola to Salem. In September 2008, Northwest Television activated a digital signal on KSLM-LD (channel 16). As of March 15, 2010, KSLM has moved to channel 27. On December 31, 2022, Azteca América ceased operations.

Programming

Independent producers develop original programming for KWVT-LD, such as ''Garden Time'', ''Fusion'', ''High Desert Outdoorsman'' and ''Living Culture'', as well as music video shows ''Hard Times'', ''My Hits'' and ''Country Comfort''. KWVT-LD has a high-definition production facility that covers area events such as high school football. KWVT-LD is the local primary

Emergency Alert System The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a Emergency population warning, national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via Cable television, cable ...

(EAS) station for the "(Oregon State) Capitol Operational Area".

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is

multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource— ...

Analog-to-digital conversion

KWVT-LP had a

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

to convert to digital and move the transmitter to the Skyline Tower in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, home to numerous TV and

FM station FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...

s. After negotiations to use the Skyline site broke down, other sites were considered. On December 22, 2010, an application was filed to locate the digital facility on the former KPDX tower, approximately half a kilometer from the Skyline tower. KWVT-LP would use the antenna

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...

affiliate

KPDX KPDX (channel 49) is a television station licensed to Vancouver, Washington, United States, serving the Portland, Oregon, area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is the only major commercial broadcasting, commercial station in Portland that is ...

(channel 49) had shut down at the end of the DTV transition. The modified construction permit was granted on January 7, 2011. Since no construction was required on the tower, KWVT-LP began transmitting a digital signal in Portland later the same day. KWVT-LD remains available in Salem on a digital subchannel of KSLM-LD, and KSLM-LD programming (

Retro TV Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series f ...

) is also relayed to Portland on a digital subchannel of KWVT-LD. KWVT-LD and KSLM-LD also relay the programming of KPWC, which acquired the Azteca América affiliation after Churchill Media ceased operation of KXPD, as well as KVDO (

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network and a flagship shopping channel specializing in televised Shopping channel, home shopping, owned by QVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail Group). Founded in 19 ...

Other translator stations

Northwest Television can also be viewed in other locations. *

Tillamook, Oregon The city of Tillamook ( ) serves as the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 5,231 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

(launched 9/24/10)

References

*
Azteca América
'.''Press Release''. May 8, 2007 *

'. ''

Portland Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

''. May 9, 2007 *
Portland getting new Spanish-language TV station
'. ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

''. May 9, 2007. *
Churchill Media acquires Salem area TV station
'. ''

The Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene ...

''. May 11, 2007.
RabbitEars Query for KWVT-LD
;Specific

External links

KWVT HomepageNorthwest Television Homepage
{{Other Oregon Stations 2007 establishments in Oregon WVT-LD Mass media in Salem, Oregon Television channels and stations established in 2007 WVT-LD