KAXT-CD


KAXT-CD is a low-power, Class A television station licensed to both San Francisco and San Jose, California, United States, broadcasting the digital multicast network Catchy Comedy to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by Weigel Broadcasting alongside Palo Alto–licensed Heroes & Icons outlet KTLN-TV. The two stations share studios on Pelican Way in San Rafael, and transmitter facilities on Mount Allison.
Due to its low-power status, KAXT-CD's broadcasting radius does not reach all of the San Francisco Bay Area. Because of that, its market affiliation is shared with KICU-TV which broadcasts Catchy Comedy on its fourth digital subchannel.

History

Early years

Founded May 31, 1989, the station previously broadcast in analog on UHF channel 22 as KAXT-CA, an affiliate of Spanish-language religious network Tiempos Finales TV, formerly being an affiliate of TBN from 1990 to 2003, and of Almavision from 2003 to 2006.

Changes

On July 31, 2009, KAXT began ATSC digital TV transmissions on UHF channel 42, which had been vacated by KTNC-TV. KAXT's digital transmissions used the call sign KAXT-LD, later KAXT-CD. The station was the first digital television station to broadcast 12 video streams on a standard 6 MHz 19.39 Mbit/s ATSC stream. Using statistical multiplexing technology in the encoders and multiplexer, the system provides variable bit rate compression needed to provide full quality standard definition video across all of the channels with enough bandwidth for radio services.
Broadcast Engineering nominated KAXT as Station of the Year for 2009, the first low power television station to receive such a distinction.
In 2016, San Jose Councilman Ash Kalra filed a Federal Communications Commission complaint against the station, alleging that various Vietnamese-language subchannels had run a large volume of advertisements for opponent Madison Nguyen in the 27th State Assembly District election without disclosing it in the station's public files, as required by the FCC.

Since 2017

The DTV virtual channels between KAXT-LD's channel 22 and KRCB's channel 22 in Cotati had significant overlap that caused a PSIP conflict, allowing KAXT-CD to move to a new virtual channel, Channel 1. KAXT had been operating with a PSIP of Channel 1, at one point with 12 different video program streams and one audio-only channel for a total of 13 virtual channels for a few years until the late 2010s.
Weigel Broadcasting agreed to acquire KAXT-CD and KTLN-TV, along with KVOS-TV and KFFV in Seattle, from OTA Broadcasting in a $23.2 million deal on October 18, 2017. The sale was completed on April 15, 2019. By 2018, most of KAXT's Vietnamese-language subchannels had moved to KSCZ-LD.

Programming

Until 2019, KAXT broadcast an electronic program guide, shopping channels, and several channels of ethnic news, entertainment, and religious programming. Several subchannels were produced locally, while the remainder were simulcasts. KAXT is the only television station in the United States that broadcasts on virtual channel 1.

Former affiliations

Since its transition to digital broadcasting, KAXT has broadcast a wide variety of programming, both local and syndicated:
  • Bahía TV – family-oriented Spanish-language programming
  • Cool Music Radio – audio simulcast
  • Coastal Television Network – tourism-focused channel based in Monterey, California
  • Colours TV – multicultural programming
  • Corner Store – informercials
  • Creation TV Cantonese Christian
  • Diya TV – South Asian programming
  • FAN – Filipino programming
  • Hải Lê TV Vietnamese-language programming
  • i2TV – public-access television
  • KCTV/TVHS – Taiwanese programming
  • La Voz – audio simulcast of Christian programming
  • My Family TV – family-oriented programming
  • NetV Vietnamese- and English-language programming
  • Nét Việt Vietnamese-language programming
  • Tiempos Finales – Spanish Christian
  • PeanutTV – real estate listings
  • Quê Hương TV Vietnamese-language programming
  • Quê Hương Radio – audio simulcast of KZSJ 1120
  • Retro TV – classic sitcoms
  • SKDTV – South Korean programming
  • TheCoolTV – music videos
  • U Channel Chinese/Taiwanese programming
  • Việt Phố Tivi Vietnamese-language programming
  • Vietface TV – Vietnamese-language programming
  • Vietoday – Vietnamese-language programming
  • VieTop Vietnamese-language programming
  • What's On electronic program guide

    Subchannel


LicenseChannelRes.AspectShort nameProgramming
KAXT-CD1.2480i16:9KAXT-SDCatchy Comedy
KTLN-TV68.1720p16:9KTLN-HDHeroes & Icons
KTLN-TV68.2720p16:9MeTVMeTV
KTLN-TV68.3480i16:9StoryStory Television
KTLN-TV68.4480i16:9MeTV+MeTV+
KTLN-TV68.5480i16:9QuestQuest
KTLN-TV68.6480i16:9TOONSMeTV Toons
KTLN-TV68.7480i16:9WESTWEST