KTFN
Encyclopedia
KTFN is a Spanish-language television station
in El Paso, Texas
, broadcasting locally on digital channel 51 (virtual channel 65) as a TeleFutura
affiliate. KTFN is owned by Entravision, and is a sister-station to KINT-TV
. The station is also aired on Time Warner Cable
channel 5.
. KJLF was started by the late Pete E. Meryl Warren III, also the founder of KCIK channel 14 (which is now KFOX-TV
, and was El Paso's first UHF TV station) and was run by the Warren family, with John Warren serving as the station manager, until the station's first sale to Telemundo
in 1999. Initially, KJLF-TV ran mostly Christian programs with several hours of secular shows such as sporting and hunting shows, westerns, some old sitcoms, public domain movies, and low budget barter cartoons. Gradually the Christian program decreased and was replaced with more classic sitcoms and cartoons and the station evolved into a more traditional independent station. KJLF became an affiliate of The WB when the WB network came on the air in 1995, and changed its call letters to KKWB (to reflect the station's nework affiliation) in 1998.
When the local UPN
affiliate KTYO (now KTDO
) was sold to ZGS Communications
in 1999, KTFN picked up UPN as a secondary affiliation. It also picked up many of KTYO's syndicated shows. Still, the station was put up for sale in 2000, Entravision bought in 2001, and it converted into a TeleFutura
affiliate. On January 29, 2002, the station adopted the KTFN callsign to reflect the new affiliation.
After the affiliation change, The WB had been available in El Paso by way of the local cable company's offering of KTLA
from Los Angeles, California
, but was never seen on a local station in the market again. The WB merged with UPN in September 2006 to form The CW
.
, KTFN ceased analog programming, due to the mandated analog television shutdown and digital conversion. After that, the station, along with its sister station KINT-TV
, broadcasted a repeated crawl in Spanish informing viewers about the analog shut-down and advising viewers of their options. This graphic repeated constantly until 11:59 P.M., when KTFN ceased analog operations while remaining on-air on its current digital channel, UHF 51.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, broadcasting locally on digital channel 51 (virtual channel 65) as a TeleFutura
TeleFutura
TeleFutura is a U.S. Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:TeleFutura Is America’s #2 Spanish-Language Network in prime time...
affiliate. KTFN is owned by Entravision, and is a sister-station to KINT-TV
KINT-TV
KINT-TV, channel 26 , is a Univision affiliate based in El Paso, Texas. It is owned by Entravision, and is a sister station to Telefutura affiliate KTFN. KINT-TV signed on the air on May 5, 1984...
. The station is also aired on Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
channel 5.
History
KTFN signed on in 1991 as KJLF-TV, an English-language Christian based independent stationIndependent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
. KJLF was started by the late Pete E. Meryl Warren III, also the founder of KCIK channel 14 (which is now KFOX-TV
KFOX-TV
KFOX-TV is a Fox affiliated television station based in El Paso, Texas. It broadcasts its digital signal on channel 15. It is owned by Cox Enterprises. Its transmitter is located in El Paso and it is also aired on cable channel 8 and HD channel 870.-History:...
, and was El Paso's first UHF TV station) and was run by the Warren family, with John Warren serving as the station manager, until the station's first sale to Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
in 1999. Initially, KJLF-TV ran mostly Christian programs with several hours of secular shows such as sporting and hunting shows, westerns, some old sitcoms, public domain movies, and low budget barter cartoons. Gradually the Christian program decreased and was replaced with more classic sitcoms and cartoons and the station evolved into a more traditional independent station. KJLF became an affiliate of The WB when the WB network came on the air in 1995, and changed its call letters to KKWB (to reflect the station's nework affiliation) in 1998.
When the local UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
affiliate KTYO (now KTDO
KTDO
KTDO, digital channel 47 , is a television station affiliated with Telemundo, serving the El Paso, Texas and Juarez Mexico television market. It is licensed to Las Cruces, New Mexico, it transmits in analog and digital...
) was sold to ZGS Communications
ZGS Communications
ZGS Communications, also referred to as the ZGS Group or ZGS Broadcasting, is a television and radio station operator in the United States, based in Arlington, Virginia. The company operates 18 stations: 15 television stations , and 3 radio stations...
in 1999, KTFN picked up UPN as a secondary affiliation. It also picked up many of KTYO's syndicated shows. Still, the station was put up for sale in 2000, Entravision bought in 2001, and it converted into a TeleFutura
TeleFutura
TeleFutura is a U.S. Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:TeleFutura Is America’s #2 Spanish-Language Network in prime time...
affiliate. On January 29, 2002, the station adopted the KTFN callsign to reflect the new affiliation.
After the affiliation change, The WB had been available in El Paso by way of the local cable company's offering of KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
from Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, but was never seen on a local station in the market again. The WB merged with UPN in September 2006 to form The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
.
Digital television
On June 12, 2009 at 12:00 P.M. MDTMountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
, KTFN ceased analog programming, due to the mandated analog television shutdown and digital conversion. After that, the station, along with its sister station KINT-TV
KINT-TV
KINT-TV, channel 26 , is a Univision affiliate based in El Paso, Texas. It is owned by Entravision, and is a sister station to Telefutura affiliate KTFN. KINT-TV signed on the air on May 5, 1984...
, broadcasted a repeated crawl in Spanish informing viewers about the analog shut-down and advising viewers of their options. This graphic repeated constantly until 11:59 P.M., when KTFN ceased analog operations while remaining on-air on its current digital channel, UHF 51.