KVUE


KVUE, virtual channel 24, is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Austin, Texas, United States. The station is owned by Tegna Inc. KVUE's studios are located on Steck Avenue just east of Loop 1 in northwest Austin, and its transmitter is located on the West Austin Antenna Farm northwest of downtown Austin.
On cable, KVUE is available on Charter Spectrum, Suddenlink and Grande Communications channel 3.

History

The station first signed on the air on September 12, 1971, and was originally operated by Center Broadcasting Co. of Center, Texas. The station was the market's first full-time ABC affiliate; prior to KVUE's sign-on, the network's programming had previously been limited to off-hours clearances on KTBC, though most of the market could pick up San Antonio's KSAT-TV with a decent antenna. Unlike most network affiliates in then two-station markets, KHFI-TV did not take on a secondary affiliation with ABC when that station signed on in February 1965.
Universal Communications, the broadcasting arm of The Detroit News, purchased KVUE from Center Broadcasting in 1978. The station was acquired by the Gannett Company in 1986 as part of its purchase of The Detroit News. In 1999, Gannett swapped KVUE to Belo Corporation in exchange for KXTV in Sacramento. Previously, Belo had established a Texas-based cable news channel, Texas Cable News, a partnership amongst the company's Texas station properties, including KHOU-TV in Houston, WFAA-TV in Dallas and KENS-TV in San Antonio. With the addition of KVUE, TXCN could provide news and information from the four largest cities in Texas. On June 13, 2013, Gannett announced that it would acquire Belo for $1.5 billion. The sale was completed on December 23, which once again put KVUE under Gannett ownership and reunited the station with several of its sister stations for the first time in 14 years, as well as becoming a sister station to KXTV in Sacramento for the first time.
In 2014, KVUE won a Peabody Award for a documentary entitled The Cost of Troubled Minds, about Texas' underinvestment in addressing mental health care. Specifically honored were film-makers Andy Pierrotti, Derek Rasor, Matt Olsen, Patti C. Smith, Frank Volpicella and Michelle Chism.
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. KVUE was retained by the latter company, named Tegna.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
ChannelVideoAspectPSIP Short NameProgramming
24.11080iKVUE-DTMain KVUE programming / ABC
24.2480iNVUE-TVEstrella TV
24.3480iCrimeTrue Crime Network
24.4480iQuestQuest
24.5480iCircleCircle

Analog-to-digital conversion

KVUE shut down its analog signal on February 17, 2009, as part of the FCC-mandated transition to digital television for full-power stations. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 33, using PSIP to display KVUE's virtual channel as 24 on digital television receivers.
KVUE is the only former Belo-owned ABC affiliate to broadcast its over-the-air signal in 720p.

Programming

KVUE is one of the few ABC stations to delay Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Nightline by a half hour on Fridays during high school football season. Syndicated programming seen on KVUE includes Entertainment Tonight, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. KVUE also broadcast Dr. Red Duke's syndicated medical reports throughout the Austin metro area for much of the 1980s and 1990s.
Sports programming on KVUE is provided through ESPN on ABC; the station airs any Texas Longhorns football games selected for the network's college football package. This includes the team's national championship victory in 2005.

News operation

KVUE-TV presently broadcasts 31 hours of locally produced newscasts each week.
On June 1, 2008, KVUE began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. With the transition, KVUE became the first Austin area station to implement HD weather graphics and broadcast field reports in the widescreen format.

Notable former on-air staff