KAUZ-TV

KAUZ-TV is a full-power television station licensed to Wichita Falls, Texas, serving viewers across the Wichita Falls–Lawton market and the wider western Texoma region. The station broadcasts on VHF channel 6 and has maintained a primary affiliation with CBS since it began broadcasting in 1953. It also distributes CW programming through a secondary digital channel, extending the station’s network offering beyond its long-established CBS service. The station’s present operating structure reflects the complicated ownership and services arrangements common in small and medium-sized American television markets. American Spirit Media owns the KAUZ-TV license and station assets, while Gray Media operates the station through a shared services agreement. KAUZ is operated alongside KSWO-TV, the Lawton, Oklahoma–licensed ABC and Telemundo affiliate. Despite the shared operating relationship, KAUZ remains identified with Wichita Falls, retains its own local identity, and is based at studios near Seymour Highway and West Wenonah Boulevard. Its transmitter is also located at the Wichita Falls facility, and the station operates translator K29FR-D in Quanah, Texas, to reach communities in western North Texas and extreme southwestern Oklahoma that fall outside the main signal’s most effective coverage. KAUZ-TV began as KWFT-TV, the first television station to sign on in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market. Its original owner, Rowley-Brown Broadcasting, secured the channel 6 authorization from the Federal Communications Commission after competing applications from local broadcasting interests. The station’s initial CBS relationship grew out of KWFT radio’s established connection with the CBS Radio Network. During its early years, the station also carried selected programming from the DuMont Television Network and briefly transmitted programs from the NTA Film Network, but CBS became its enduring network identity. The station changed ownership and call letters several times during its first decades. It became KSYD-TV in 1956 after a sale to a group associated with KSYD radio. After another ownership change in 1962, the station adopted the KAUZ-TV call sign in 1963. The calls were selected through a contest conducted by the new owner, Mid-New York Broadcasting, and were submitted by an advertising executive. KAUZ became the first station in its market to present local newscasts in color in 1966, an important technical transition as color television became standard across American network broadcasting. Subsequent ownership passed through Bass Brothers Telecasters, Forward Communications, Adams Communications, Brissette Broadcasting, Benedek Broadcasting, Chelsey Broadcasting, and Hoak Media. Several of these transactions occurred as parts of broader television-station portfolios. Benedek’s bankruptcy and attempted sale of its stations in 2002 ultimately led KAUZ to Chelsey Broadcasting, followed by Hoak Media’s acquisition in 2003. In 2009, Drewry Communications, owner of KSWO-TV, acquired KAUZ’s non-license assets and began providing sales and selected operational services through joint sales and shared services agreements. The arrangement was later revised after Raycom Media acquired Drewry’s stations in 2015. At that point, American Spirit Media acquired KAUZ’s license and other assets, while Raycom continued to provide operating support through a shared services agreement. Gray Media’s 2019 acquisition of Raycom transferred the operating relationship to Gray. The station therefore combines a locally recognizable Wichita Falls news and broadcast identity with network programming, regional news coverage, digital distribution, and centralized technical and administrative support.

KAUZ-TV traces its history to a contested Federal Communications Commission allocation for VHF channel 6 in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market. Two local broadcasting groups sought the authorization in July 1952. Texoma Broadcasting Company, associated with the Wichita Falls Times and local radio interests, submitted an application on July 11. Rowley-Brown Broadcasting, a group connected with theater and radio operators, filed its application one week later. The FCC selected Rowley-Brown on January 6, 1953, and the company obtained the KWFT-TV call sign in recognition of its connection with KWFT radio. KWFT-TV began broadcasting on March 1, 1953, becoming the first television station in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market. It launched before KSWO-TV in Lawton and KFDX-TV in Wichita Falls. The station adopted CBS as its primary network affiliation, reflecting the existing relationship between KWFT radio and the CBS Radio Network. It also carried selected DuMont programs during the network’s final years and briefly had programming from the NTA Film Network in the late 1950s. On December 9, 1955, Rowley-Brown agreed to sell the station to KSYD-TV Inc., a consortium led by Sydney A. Grayson and Nat Levine. The transaction was approved in January 1956, and the station became KSYD-TV. In 1962, Grayson sold the station to Mid-New York Broadcasting, owned by Albany businessman Paul F. Harron. The new ownership changed the call letters to KAUZ-TV on July 31, 1963. The call sign resulted from a contest open to advertising and media personnel; the winning entry came from H. Wendell Eastling, who received a sports car and a trip as the contest prize. KAUZ made an important technical advance in February 1966 by becoming the first station in its market to broadcast local newscasts in color. In 1967, Mid-New York Broadcasting sold the station to Bass Brothers Telecasters, a company associated with Perry R. Bass and other television properties. Bass Brothers later sold KAUZ to Forward Communications in the early 1970s. The station subsequently passed to Adams Communications in 1983, Brissette Broadcasting in 1991, and Benedek Broadcasting in the mid-1990s. These transactions generally formed part of larger station-group acquisitions. The station gradually expanded its operating schedule. It had historically signed off overnight, but in September 1998 it began carrying programming through the night on most weekdays. The 24-hour schedule was extended to weekends in September 2001. This expansion combined CBS’s late-night and overnight material with syndicated programming. Benedek Broadcasting filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2002 and announced plans to sell its television portfolio. Gray Communications Systems, later renamed Gray Television, initially agreed to purchase most of the group. KAUZ was instead transferred to Chelsey Broadcasting in a piecemeal transaction completed in October 2002. Chelsey sold the station to Hoak Media in 2003. In July 2009, Drewry Communications, the owner of KSWO-TV, acquired KAUZ’s non-license assets and assumed certain operational functions through joint sales and shared services agreements. KSWO provided advertising and promotional support, while KAUZ retained substantial control over programming, news, master control, and production functions under the initial arrangement. Four KAUZ employees were laid off after the arrangement began, with some responsibilities absorbed by KSWO personnel. The stations continued to maintain separate facilities, news departments, and many non-management employees. A technical modernization project completed in January 2012 allowed KAUZ to broadcast syndicated programming in high definition. The shared master-control improvements also supported the insertion of weather warnings, emergency information, school and event closures, and Emergency Alert System material into programming. In 2014, Hoak reached an agreement to transfer KAUZ’s license assets to a company controlled by Bill W. Burgess Jr., but that proposed transaction was later abandoned. Raycom Media announced its acquisition of Drewry Communications in August 2015. American Spirit Media acquired KAUZ’s license and other assets in connection with that transaction, while the station continued to be operated with support from the KSWO relationship. Regulatory changes affecting joint sales agreements led to the termination of the prior advertising-sales arrangement. A shared services agreement replaced it, with KSWO and Raycom providing news production, administrative, production, equipment, and facility support while KAUZ remained a Wichita Falls-based station. Gray Television announced its merger with Raycom in 2018. The transaction, valued at approximately $3.6 billion in the announcement, brought the Raycom operating organization into Gray’s corporate structure after completion. KAUZ consequently continued under an American Spirit Media ownership structure while being operated through Gray’s regional television organization. Today the station serves the western Texoma area through its CBS service, secondary digital programming, local news and weather, digital content, advertising, and the K29FR-D translator in Quanah.

1. 2019Gray assumes the Raycom operating organization

   Gray Television’s merger with Raycom placed the station’s shared-services operation within Gray’s television group.

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2. 2015American Spirit Media becomes license owner

   American Spirit Media acquired KAUZ’s license and related assets in connection with Raycom Media’s acquisition of Drewry Communications.

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3. 2012High-definition syndicated programming introduced

   A shared master-control upgrade enabled KAUZ to carry syndicated programming in HD and integrate emergency information more effectively.

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4. 2009KSWO operating relationship begins

   Drewry Communications assumed selected sales and operational responsibilities for KAUZ through joint sales and shared services agreements.

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5. 2003Hoak Media acquires KAUZ

   Chelsey agreed to sell the station to Hoak Media.

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6. 2002Station transferred to Chelsey Broadcasting

   Following Benedek Broadcasting’s bankruptcy and portfolio restructuring, KAUZ was sold to Chelsey Broadcasting.

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7. 200124-hour schedule expanded to weekends

   KAUZ extended its overnight programming schedule to the weekend period.

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8. 1998Weekday overnight schedule introduced

   The station began maintaining a largely continuous schedule on Sunday through Thursday nights.

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9. 1966Local newscasts move to color

   KAUZ became the first station in the market to produce its local newscasts in color.

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10. 1963KAUZ-TV call sign adopted

    After Mid-New York Broadcasting acquired the station, it changed its call letters to KAUZ-TV on July 31.

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11. 1956Call sign changes to KSYD-TV

    Following the sale to KSYD-TV Inc., the station adopted the KSYD-TV call letters.

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12. 1953KWFT-TV signs on

    The station began broadcasting on March 1 as the first television outlet in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market.

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13. 1952Competing applications filed for channel 6

    Texoma Broadcasting and Rowley-Brown Broadcasting separately sought authorization to build a television station on VHF channel 6 in Wichita Falls.

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A locally focused, network-affiliated television station serving Wichita Falls, western North Texas, western Texoma, and nearby southwestern Oklahoma. Its positioning combines CBS network content with local news, weather, public-service information, syndicated programming, and expanded digital multicast offerings.

• KAUZ-TV CBS serviceTelevision network affiliate1953

  The station’s primary over-the-air service carries CBS network programming for Wichita Falls, western Texoma, and surrounding communities. CBS has been KAUZ’s principal network affiliation since the station first signed on under the KWFT-TV call sign in 1953.

• NewsChannel 6 local newsLocal television news

  KAUZ’s local news operation provides regional reporting, weather, severe-weather information, traffic and community coverage for Wichita Falls and nearby portions of North Texas and southwestern Oklahoma. News production and selected operational functions have been supported through the station’s relationship with KSWO-TV and Gray Media.

• CW digital serviceDigital multicast television

  KAUZ distributes CW programming through a secondary digital service, giving the station an additional network offering alongside its primary CBS affiliation.

• K29FR-DTelevision translator

  K29FR-D is KAUZ’s translator station in Quanah, Texas. It relays the station’s programming to parts of western North Texas and extreme southwestern Oklahoma that are outside the main Wichita Falls signal’s primary coverage area.

• 2019Transfer the Raycom operating relationship to Gray MediaM&A

  Gray Television agreed to combine its broadcasting assets with Raycom Media’s television group.

  What changed. Completion of the merger placed the operating relationship for KAUZ within Gray’s television organization while American Spirit Media remained the license owner.

  Aftermath. KAUZ continued operating as a Wichita Falls CBS affiliate with shared-services support from the Gray group.

  Announced transaction value. 3600000000 (2018 announcement)

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• 2015Replace the joint sales structure with a shared services arrangementStrategy

  The FCC adopted restrictions affecting joint sales agreements involving the sale of substantial advertising time by one competing station for another.

  What changed. After American Spirit Media acquired KAUZ’s license assets, the prior joint sales agreement was terminated and a shared services agreement was used instead.

  Aftermath. KSWO and the Raycom operating organization continued to support news, administration, production, equipment, and facilities while KAUZ retained its Wichita Falls identity.

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• 2009Enter a joint sales and shared services relationship with KSWO-TVStrategy

  Drewry Communications owned KSWO-TV and sought to consolidate selected commercial and operational functions while KAUZ remained a separate Wichita Falls station.

  What changed. Drewry acquired KAUZ’s non-license assets and began providing advertising, promotional, and selected operational support through joint sales and shared services agreements.

  Aftermath. The stations shared some resources but retained separate facilities, news departments, and much of their non-management staffing.

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• 1966Convert local news production to colorGeneration change

  CBS and the American television industry were moving from black-and-white transmission toward predominantly color programming.

  What changed. KAUZ upgraded its local newscast production to color.

  Aftermath. It became the first station in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market to present local newscasts in color.

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• 1963Adopt the KAUZ-TV call signStrategy

  Mid-New York Broadcasting acquired the station and sought a new identity distinct from the previous KSYD-TV branding.

  What changed. The station adopted KAUZ-TV after an owner-sponsored contest for a new call sign.

  Aftermath. KAUZ-TV became the station’s enduring broadcast identity.

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• 1953Adopt CBS as the primary network affiliationStrategy

  The station’s predecessor, KWFT-TV, was launched with a connection to KWFT radio, which had an established relationship with the CBS Radio Network.

  What changed. KAUZ’s predecessor made CBS its principal television network affiliation while also carrying selected programming from other networks during the station’s early years.

  Aftermath. CBS became the station’s long-term network identity and remains central to its programming position.

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• 2019Gray Media becomes KAUZ’s operating partner after Raycom merger

  Gray’s merger with Raycom transferred operational responsibility for KAUZ’s shared-services arrangement into the Gray television group.

  M&A
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• 2015American Spirit Media acquires KAUZ-TV assets

  As part of the transaction involving Raycom Media’s acquisition of Drewry Communications, American Spirit Media acquired KAUZ’s license and related assets.

  M&A
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• 2012KAUZ moves to high-definition syndicated programming

  A master-control upgrade associated with KSWO and KAUZ enabled the station to transmit syndicated programming in high definition and insert emergency and community information without reducing the signal to standard definition.

  Product generation
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• 2009Drewry Communications assumes selected KAUZ operating responsibilities

  Drewry Communications acquired KAUZ’s non-license assets and began providing advertising and other services under joint sales and shared services agreements with KSWO-TV.

  M&A
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• 1966KAUZ-TV becomes the market’s first station with local color newscasts

  The station upgraded its local news production to color, preceding the other major stations in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market.

  Product generation
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• 1953KAUZ-TV begins broadcasting in Wichita Falls

  KWFT-TV, the station that later became KAUZ-TV, signed on as the first television station in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market.

  Other
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1. KAUZ-TV
2. KAUZ-TV official website