KTFQ-DT
 | |
| Albuquerque, New Mexico United States | |
|---|---|
| Branding | UniMás Nuevo México |
| Channels |
Digital: 22 (UHF) Virtual: 14 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 14.1 UniMás |
| Affiliations | UniMás (2013–present) |
| Owner |
Univision Communications (UniMas Albuquerque LLC) |
| Operator | Entravision Communications |
| First air date |
May 8, 1981 (original incarnation) April 1999 (current incarnation) |
| Call letters' meaning | TeleFutura AlbuQuerque |
| Sister station(s) | KLUZ-TV |
| Former callsigns |
KGSW (1981-1993) KAPX (1999–2003) KTFQ (2003) KTFQ-TV (2004–2009) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 14 (UHF, 1981–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
Independent (1981-1986) Fox (1986-1993) silent (1993-1999) Pax TV (1999–2003) TeleFutura (2003–2013) |
| Transmitter power | 1000 kW |
| Height | 350 m |
| Facility ID | 57220 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°24′44.1″N 106°43′34.1″W / 35.412250°N 106.726139°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | TeleFutura |
KTFQ-DT channel 14 (digital 22) is a television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The station is owned by Univisión and runs a Spanish Entertainment format consisting of programming from Univisión's secondary network, UniMás. The KTFQ-DT studio is co-located with Entravision, which operates a Joint Sales Agreement for KTFQ-DT and also owns two other stations in Albuquerque, Univisión affiliate KLUZ channel 41 and Home Shopping Network affiliate KTFA-LP channel 48.
History
Channel 14 signed on as KGSW-TV on May 8, 1981. The call sign was derived from the station's original owners, Galaxy Communications and Southwest Television. Initially, KGSW carried drama shows, movies from the 1940s through the 1970s, sitcoms, and religious shows. In the fall of 1983, the station added more sitcoms and began running cartoons in the 7–9 a.m. and the 3–5 p.m. weekday slots.
In 1984, the Providence Journal Company bought KGSW from the original owners. The station affiliated with the Fox network when the network launched on October 9, 1986. The station continued a general entertainment format with a lot of cartoons, sitcoms, and movies. In the fall of 1992, after KKTO-TV (channel 2) went dark, Providence Journal acquired its programming and integrated it into KGSW's lineup. Shortly afterward, it acquired the KKTO license as well, and on April 5, 1993 KGSW moved to channel 2 and changed call letters to KASA-TV. The channel 14 license was then surrendered to the Federal Communications Commission for cancellation.
In 1997, Paxson Communications was awarded a construction permit for a new station on channel 14; in April 1999, it signed on as KAPX, airing programming from the family-oriented Pax TV from 11 a.m. and 11 p.m., along with infomercials during the day and The Worship Network during the overnight hours. Pax would subsequently cut its programming hours from 4 to 11 p.m., and later 5 to 11 p.m., due to financial problems at Paxson. The company then chose to sell some of its stations, including KAPX; in 2003, Univision bought the station, and that June relaunched channel 14 as Telefutura (now UniMás) affiliate KTFQ. The network was previously seen in Albuquerque on KTFA-LP (channel 48), which switched to HSN. Programming from The Worship Network continued to air overnights on KTFQ for several years afterward.
Digital television
Digital channel
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KTFQ-DT | Main KTFQ-DT programming / UniMás |
Analog-to-digital conversion
Because it was granted an original construction permit after the FCC finalized the DTV allotment plan on April 21, 1997.[2] The station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station. Instead, on June 12, 2009, which is the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, KTFQ-TV was required to turn off its analog signal and turn on its digital signal (called a "flash-cut"). KTFQ has been assigned channel 22 for its digital broadcast. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 14.