This happens to be the fourth call change for the station first known as KHTV. The last three letters of the new calls reflects Intercontinental Airport Houston, which happens to be that city's most busiest airport. Channel 39-which celebrated its 40th Anniversary last year, wants to put the Local back to Local Television. It plans to expand its primetime newscast to an hour this Monday-without anchors Alan Hemberger & Sherry Williams. By next year, It plans to add a Local morning newscast. and I think I remember some great shows in the past. Shows like "Houston Wrestling", "Don, Jeanna, & the Kiddie Troupers", "Calendar with Pat & MariJane", "Cita Con Carlos", and "The Three Stooges Comedy Hour" have all put 39 on the map.
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KHCW becomes KIAH next month.
- Thread starter TroyG
- Start date
Why not just go back to KHTV -- HTV for Houston Television. That is the heritage call and sure sounds local to me. KIAH -- with calls like that, are they going to show the Houston Airport System report that runs on either channel 51 or 55 and I think also on the Houston municipal access channel? Maybe they can bring back "News Before the Hour" with the teenagers that used to give the news updates.....or "TV KID POW" where kids would call in and someone would control a pong or breakout type game based on the kid yelling "POW". or show reruns of Spectre Man that Channel 39 used to show back in the early 80s.. one of the most low budget shows ever, Japanese show with a very crudely animated model of a gold robotic superhero. Cheesy, but I used to watch it.
I guess they want to compete more directly with Channel 11 with the KHOU calls.. since HOU is Hobby Airport's abbreviation.
Seriously though, the News Before the Hour updates were a great thing and I enjoyed watching them as a kid.
Or maybe bring back a program like Channel 2's 2Country Kidsworld.
which station will flip to KEFD for Ellington Field? the calls are available?
Also, with the change of calls, does that mean that Channel 39 is not betting on the future of the CW...that they think the CW might not make it...?
I guess they want to compete more directly with Channel 11 with the KHOU calls.. since HOU is Hobby Airport's abbreviation.
Seriously though, the News Before the Hour updates were a great thing and I enjoyed watching them as a kid.
Or maybe bring back a program like Channel 2's 2Country Kidsworld.
which station will flip to KEFD for Ellington Field? the calls are available?
Also, with the change of calls, does that mean that Channel 39 is not betting on the future of the CW...that they think the CW might not make it...?
I see that KHTV-LP is a low power station licensed to "Inland Empire, California"
would a low power station having KHTV-LP as its calls prevent a full power station from using KHTV for call letters?
Also, know that the Riverside/San Bernadino area is the "Inland Empire" of California (which would probably be a separate TV market from Los Angeles if TV was just staring today) but is there actually a city or community called "Inland Empire" --Mapquest can't find any such place-- so how is the station licensed to "Inland Empire"
would a low power station having KHTV-LP as its calls prevent a full power station from using KHTV for call letters?
Also, know that the Riverside/San Bernadino area is the "Inland Empire" of California (which would probably be a separate TV market from Los Angeles if TV was just staring today) but is there actually a city or community called "Inland Empire" --Mapquest can't find any such place-- so how is the station licensed to "Inland Empire"
HoustonListener said:
Might be a smart idea to not identify with any specific network, and go with branding that's going to last. The CW is still on shakey ground.
Hey, someone needs to grab the KORD calls for Chicago. LOL. KIAH makes absolutely no sense. I don't buy the airport connection viewers might have. Hell, with airfares going through the roof in future more people will be driving. Perhaps they should reconsider using KI10 or KI45. That should accomplish the same goal.
C
CW
Guest
adguy said:
REALLY! Most viewers will not get the IAH connection! KHOU was originally KGUL iirc since they were licensed to Galveston when they signed on...then changed calls to KHOU when they relocated to Houston (thus the callsign reflecting HOUston, NOT Hobby airport!) Geesh, what some people will come up with!!
I find KAIH ridiculous.....if they are still a CW affil (and no I have nothing to do with it..I had the initials 1st!
, then why not keep KHCW??? Or are they dumping the CW??? HHMMMMMMMM
N
nbc9houston
Guest
adguy said:
"KIHX" would be better than KI10; the meaning of those calls is...
K
Interstate
Highway
X (Ten)
Another suggestion from me for better call letters would be "KHCT" which stands for...
K
Harris
County
Texas
C
CW
Guest
NOPE! Would not stop 39 from getting the call KHTV....KJAC in Port Arthur got KBTV when they moved their studios to Beaumont...but there is a KBTV-LP out west.....so the LP having the calls does not stop a Full Service station from requesting them (at least I dont think so...even if it did, Im sure 39 could afford to pay the LP for the use of the call)HoustonListener said:
C
CW
Guest
Troy Goodwin said:
The callsign KHTV-LP is on a Low Power in California, not a full service TV from what I have read....that doesnt keep 39 from requesting KHTV-TV...chances? Yep, its possible....NOW if KHTV was assigned to a full service TV station? OR KHTV was assigned to an AM or KHTV-FM was on a FM (WHY?!)??? May be a problem, but the right amount of cash would make anything possible...and Tribune with Randy Michaels has money.....
I'm not sure KHTV-LP could stop Houston's channel 39 from becoming KHTV-TV if they wanted. El Paso PBS station KCOS has had those calls at least since the 1970s, but in 2000, Phoenix Spanish-language station K28FV changed its calls to KCOS-LP. I don't know if permission was necessary from the El Paso station; I couldn't imagine them granting it.
I forgot to tell you, 39 was one of so many stations that carried "Soul Train"-Right from the beginning. That show was a brainchild for its founder, Don Cornelius-who served himself as host, creator & executive producer. Mr. Cornelius sold his beloved franchise, and hopefully it will finally breath something fresh into this legendary music show. The show itself was distributed by Tribune, in which it has gotten out of the entertainment business-thanks its new owner
S
snoman
Guest
Why not KWHY? ??? or try for 'WHAT'. It fits in with their philosophy. I wonder if more Trib stations who changed their calls to a "CW" related call sign, will do the same? If so, Tribune might end their agreement with CBS as far as their stake in the CW goes. Don't put it past the new Tribune owners. They could want their own piece of the pie. Randy Michaels has a tremendous ego. I'm not saying it would happen right away. I'm not sure how long their agreement with CBS is for? But, I could definitely see it happening sometime in the near future. Especially if the CW's ratings don't improve this coming season. With the departure of WWE, one of their highest rated programs moving to MY Network TV, they've already started behind the 8-Ball.
This call letter change makes very little sense to me, but it probably won't have much negative impact either.
How many people know this station by its call letters? CW39 is the way most people know it. KHCW.. not so much.
Changing it to KIAH doesn't make it anymore identifiable with the area. It's also not going to hurt it much. It just seems like a pointless move.
How many people know this station by its call letters? CW39 is the way most people know it. KHCW.. not so much.
Changing it to KIAH doesn't make it anymore identifiable with the area. It's also not going to hurt it much. It just seems like a pointless move.
C
CW
Guest
True.....most folks know 2 as LOCAL 2, not KPRC-TV (to prevent confusion with 950 KPRC)....you would think they would change the call on 2......but probably not...same goes with ABC13...few know it as KTRK (which is confusing with KTRH!).......I just call 20, 20 and 39, 39...I DONT call it CW39 or KHCW....who cares?? Only time the callsign is relevant is at the TOH when they do the legal ID...other than that, its all branding.
CW said:adguy said:
REALLY! Most viewers will not get the IAH connection! KHOU was originally KGUL iirc since they were licensed to Galveston when they signed on...then changed calls to KHOU when they relocated to Houston (thus the callsign reflecting HOUston, NOT Hobby airport!) Geesh, what some people will come up with!!
I find KAIH ridiculous.....if they are still a CW affil (and no I have nothing to do with it..I had the initials 1st!
For one, it's WORD, since Chicago is east of the Mississippi River. If we were talking about St. Louis or another river city, the FCC seems to apply those rules reluctantly.
IMO KGUL/KHOU should have just changed only the COL to Houston. KGUL-TV seems to be universal in the Houston metro area since it neither favors one city over another and references the Gulf Coastal region, though they may have overemphasized their Houston move by moving next to Downtown Houston.
This morning, it was odd that the little 3 (20,26,39) was the independent stations they used to be in the old days and the current "independent" stations (33/49,51,55) were playing infomercials at the same time.
N
nbc9houston
Guest
CW said:
KPRC-TV was known as LOCAL 2 for about a year, then sometime before Hurricane Katrina, they became "KPRC Local 2". KHOU is simply known as "Channel 11".
Most people couldn't tell you the call letters of a TV station if their lives depended on it. Nobody says, hey, Maude, turn on KPRC. It's always "Channel 2." Or Channel 11. Or Channel 13. Or Channel 39.
Up here in D/FW, the only station that could be identified by its calls is maybe WFAA - and that's only because they're the only "W" TV station in the market (and one of only two in the state, WOAI in San Antonio being the other). So it makes them unique. But even then, most people will call them "Channel 8."
Only us tube-heads and radio junkies give a hoot about call letters (and the FCC, of course), but the general public isn't going to care if Channel 39 is known as KIAH or KHTV or KHCW or KGFY (give you a buck if you can figure out the meaning behind that last callsign Okay, no, not really).
Up here in D/FW, the only station that could be identified by its calls is maybe WFAA - and that's only because they're the only "W" TV station in the market (and one of only two in the state, WOAI in San Antonio being the other). So it makes them unique. But even then, most people will call them "Channel 8."
Only us tube-heads and radio junkies give a hoot about call letters (and the FCC, of course), but the general public isn't going to care if Channel 39 is known as KIAH or KHTV or KHCW or KGFY (give you a buck if you can figure out the meaning behind that last callsign
Okay, no, not really).
Perhaps they could figure a way to get the original call letters. It would along with their expanded newscasts.
http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/knuz-tv-channel-39.html
http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/knuz-tv-channel-39.html
dhett said:
If you want a particular call sign that is already being used by another operator in a different service (i.e.: a TV station asks a FM station) you have to ask them for permission before requesting the change at the FCC. Some entities have no problem with granting it so long as you aren't nearby; but others want $$$ to give you the right to use those magical letters.
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