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Call Letters that Reflect Past Network Affiliations

J

Joey1986

I started a thread over on the Coast to Coast board about radio call letters that reflect defunct formats and brandings. So I figured that here on the National TV board, I would start a similar thread about call letters that reflect past network affiliations. This can apply to any network the station was affiliated with, whether the network is still around under its original name, has changed names, or has completely ceased to exist.

Los Angeles
KPXN* (physical 38, virtual 30)--Ion Television: Left over from when this network was owned by Paxson and known as Pax TV. This is the only one I could find for the L.A. market.

*Just about any channel with "PX" somewhere in its call letters most likely is (or was) an affiliate of what is now known as Ion Television.

San Diego/Tijuana
KSWB (physical 19, virtual 69, cable 5)--Fox: Left over from when this channel was an affiliate of the long-defunct Warner Brothers television network (better known as The WB). This is the only one I could find for the San Diego/Tijuana market.

What such call letters can you think of for your local and/or neighboring markets?
 
A few more:

Sierra Vista/Tucson AZ - KWBA (now CW)
Phoenix AZ - KPPX (Dozens of former Pax stations, including the aforementioned KPXN, have retained their "PX" call letters) (now Ion)
Santa Fe/Albuquerque NM - KWBQ (now CW)
Roswell NM - KRWB (now CW - repeats KWBQ)
Harrison AR - KWBM (now Daystar)
Springfield/Dayton OH - WBDT (now CW)
Crossville/Knoxville TN - WBXX (now CW)
Janesville/Madison WI - WBUW (now CW)
Hobbs NM/Lubbock TX - KUPT (now CW)
Atlanta GA - WUPA (now CW)
 
In San Antonio, "CW 35" still bears the calls KMYS. In fact, they market themselves as "KMYS CW 35." Is that confusing, or what? (They were a My Network affiliate from 2006 through 2010.)

http://www.kmys.tv
 
WPXX 50 in Memphis used to be PAX but is now Ion.

Although it's cable only, WBJK in Jackson, TN was on the WB 100+ network but is now with the CW 100+ network.
 
What is now WSFL-TV 39 (RF ch 19) in Miami began as WDZL in 1982, and during their WB affiliation it was WBZL; I am sure it was not by coincidence.

I believe somebody told me that KCWX 2 (RF 5) in the San Antonio market is no longer CW, but still has kept the calls. (See three posts above mine.)

cd
 
WFTC 29 in the Twin Cities. Stands for Fox Twin Cities.

Swapped affiliations with sister KMSP 9, with FOX going there and UPN going to 29. WFTC is now a MNTV affiliate. Both stations, BTW, are FOX O&O.
 
DToTheJ said:
In San Antonio, "CW 35" still bears the calls KMYS. In fact, they market themselves as "KMYS CW 35."
Click to expand...
cd637299 said:
I believe somebody told me that KCWX 2 (RF 5) in the San Antonio market is no longer CW, but still has kept the calls.
Click to expand...

It's true. KCWX is now a MyNetworkTV affiliate.

anotherguy said:
Although it's cable only, WBJK in Jackson, TN was on the WB 100+ network but is now with the CW 100+ network.
Click to expand...

It's just CW Plus (no 100+).
 
Nashville

WNAB, formerly The WB, now The CW. Call letters have WB.
WUXP, formerly UPN, now MyNetwork TV. Call letters have UP.
 
Dave McAndrews said:
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania Market Has WSWB-TV (Now A CW Station)
Click to expand...

WSWB stands for "Scranton Wilkes-Barre."

- Trip
 
How much trouble is it to change call letters? Does it cost a lot of money?
Click to expand...
Changing calls is about as simple as anything gets with the FCC. There is a web form and a filing fee of a couple hundred dollars. $350 sounds right to me, but that could be the filing fee for another sort of license alteration. Also, the FCC weighs some fees by market size -- I am unsure if this is one of them.
 
$95.

- Trip
 
WEYI/25 in Saginaw, Michigan was a CBS affiliate prior to 1995 (now NBC), hence the "EYI".

This is probably one of the few instances referring to a big-three affiliation.

Erie's WICU/12 did have CBS as a secondary affiliation when it signed on in 1949, so it's possible the "ICU" (I see you) was related to CBS, but it's hard to say if that was in fact the case.
 
Mr. X said:
Nashville
WNAB, formerly The WB, now The CW. Call letters have WB.
WUXP, formerly UPN, now MyNetwork TV. Call letters have UP.
Click to expand...
Also here in Nashville, we have WKRN, which reflects a former owner, Knight-Ridder or something like that. They have changed call letters several times right along with ownership changes, so I don't know why Young Broadcasting (current owners of channel 2) haven't changed call letters. But it seems to me that Nashville stations, with the exception of WSMV, seem to emphasize their nicknames (in the case of WKRN, that would be "Nashville's News 2") over their call letters. So maybe call letters really don't mean much anymore, therefore, changing call letters is no longer a priority.
 
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