KFXO-CD


KFXO-CD, virtual channel 39, is a low-powered, Class A Fox-affiliated television station licensed to Bend, Oregon, United States and serving Central Oregon. Owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company, it is a sister station to dual NBC/CW+ affiliate KTVZ and low-powered Telemundo affiliate KQRE-LD. The three stations share studios on Northwest O.B. Riley Road in Bend; KFXO-CD's transmitter is located on Awbrey Butte west of US 97. There is no separate website for KFXO-CD; instead, it is integrated with that of sister station KTVZ.
In addition to its own digital signal, KFXO-CD is simulcast in standard definition on KTVZ's third digital subchannel from the same transmitter on Awbrey Butte. On cable, KFXO-CD is available on BendBroadband channel 10 and in high definition on digital channel 610.

History

The station began as K39DU on November 17, 1993 as a translator of Fox affiliate KPDX in Portland. On December 18, 1995, it upgraded to low-power level and became KFXO-LP. The Meredith Corporation acquired KFXO-LP and KPDX in 1997 when the company bought out First Media. In 2002 when KPDX became a UPN affiliate, KFXO-LP became its own self-sufficient station although some common operations between the two continued. On December 31, 2008, the retransmission agreement with local cable provider BendBroadband expired. Consequently, local viewers had to view the station using broadcast signals. Just before kickoff of the Fiesta Bowl on January 5, 2009, BendBroadband and KFXO-LP successfully negotiated a retransmission agreement that returned its signal to the cable provider in time for the game.
In late 2006, it was announced that Meredith would sell KFXO-LP to the News-Press & Gazette Company which occurred on May 24, 2007. BendBroadband filed a petition with Federal Communications Commission to block the proposed sale but it was still approved. The channel has a construction permit which allowed it to perform a "flash-cut" to digital and upgrade to Class A level. It was not required by law to make the transition on June 12, 2009 because of its low-powered status. On July 19, 2011, the station began broadcasting in digital, and changed its calls to KFXO-CD.

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
ChannelVideoAspectPSIP Short NameProgramming
39.1720pKFXO-HDMain KFXO-CD programming / Fox
39.2480iKQRE-SDSimulcast of KQRE-LD / Telemundo
39.3480iGFXO-DTGrit
39.4480iEFXO-DTCourt TV Mystery
39.5480iLFXO-DTLaff

Translators

KFXO-CD is rebroadcast on the following translator stations:
Call signChannelCity of licenseTransmitter location
K02JL2La PineFinley Butte
KBND-LP14BendAwbrey Butte
KQRE-LD20BendGrizzly Mountain
K27DO-D27PrinevilleGrizzly Mountain
K32CC32Montgomery RanchSpring River
45BendAwbrey Butte

Programming

programming on KFXO-CD includes Family Guy, The Simpsons, Two and a Half Men, and America's Funniest Home Videos.

Newscasts

In 2002, the simulcast of KPDX's newscasts were replaced with those of sister station and new Portland Fox affiliate KPTV. In January 2006, this was dropped in favor of KFXO-LP's own separate news department which offered an hour-long prime time broadcast weeknights at 10. On June 22, 2007, the show was replaced by one produced by KTVZ. It was then reduced to a half-hour and expanded to seven nights a week. In September 2007, KTVZ began to air its newscasts in widescreen enhanced definition and the broadcast on KFXO-LP was included. While not true high definition, it matches the ratio of HD television screens. At some point in time, KTVZ began producing a two-hour extension of its weekday morning show on this station. As of October 14, 2013, the weekday edition of NewsChannel 21, First at 10:00 on FOX Central Oregon has been expanded to an hour. The weekend edition remains a half-hour and the extended portion of the weekday morning show on KFXO-CD is now a rebroadcast of KTVZ's weekday morning show.