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KXVA (channel 15) is a television station in Abilene, Texas, United States, affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station broadcasts from a transmitter located in rural southwestern Callahan County. Its operations and local productions are housed at sister station and fellow Fox affiliate KIDY in San Angelo; the two stations are commonly branded as "Fox West Texas" and largely simulcast the same programming, including local newscasts covering both areas.
A final construction permit for channel 15 was issued on June 15, 2000, but the call letters KXVA had already been announced, as had been the programming plan: to move Fox to the new full-power station and convert the low-power outlet into a UPN affiliate. The new station's startup was pushed back from a planned September or October 2000 launch due to equipment delays and bad weather affecting the construction of the tower to January 18, 2001. It was the first new full-power TV station in Abilene since KTAB began in October 1979.
In 2008, the station was purchased by Bayou City Broadcasting in a group deal for approximately $3 million. On September 27, 2012, Bayou City Broadcasting announced an agreement to sell KXVA and its seven other television stations to the Dallas-based London Broadcasting Company (the sale price initially was not disclosed). The sale marked a temporary exit from the broadcasting industry for the company's owner DuJuan McCoy, who planned on refocusing his company to acquire major network affiliates in mid-sized markets larger than San Angelo and Abilene. The FCC granted its approval of the sale on November 14; the sale was completed on December 31.
On May 14, 2014, the Gannett Company announced that it would acquire KIDY, KXVA, and four other London Broadcasting stations for $215 million; Gannett CEO Gracia Martore touted that the acquisition would give the company a presence in several fast-growing markets and opportunities for local advertisers to leverage its digital marketing platform. The sale was completed on July 8. 13 months later, on June 29, 2015, the Gannett Company split in two, with one side specializing in print media and the other side specializing in broadcast and digital media. KXVA was retained by the latter company, named Tegna.
On January 20, 2014, KXVA debuted Fox News First at Nine, a half-hour 9 p.m. newscast produced from San Angelo, as part of the launch of local news for KXVA and KIDY. The KABB morning news simulcast has been replaced by other programming including The Texas Daily and The Broadcast, news and interview programs produced by its Dallas then-sister station KTXD-TV.
On August 2, 2016, KXVA re-launched its news operation, moving its 6:30 p.m. news to 6 p.m. and moving its prime time newscast to 10 p.m., and introducing a new studio, standalone website, and on-air branding as "Fox 15". By 2019, the two stations had recombined their news operation and branding as Fox West Texas with a half-hour 6 p.m. newscast and an hour-long 9 p.m. newscast. A shared morning show, Wake Up West Texas, aired on both stations until 2020.
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In 2011, KXVA added a second digital subchannel as a simulcast of KIDZ-LD. On January 25, 2018, KIDZ signed off and KXVA-DT2 became the sole MyNetworkTV affiliate for the Abilene media market.
There were two additional translators. KIDT-LD (channel 44) at Stamford closed in August 2020 to allow US Cellular to commence 600 MHz cellular service and never reopened on a new channel; the license was surrendered on July 8, 2021. KIDB-LD (channel 35) at Sweetwater closed in March 2022.
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