KSPX-TV

KSPX-TV
Sacramento–Stockton–Modesto, California; United States;
City	Sacramento, California
Channels	Digital: 21 (UHF); Virtual: 29;
Branding	Ion
Programming
Affiliations	29.1: Ion Television; for others, see § Subchannels;
Ownership
Owner	Ion Media; (Ion Television License, LLC);
History
First air date	August 27, 1990 (34 years ago)
Former call signs	KRBJ (February–March 1985); KCMY (1985–1998); KSPX (1998–2009);
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 29 (UHF, 1990–2009); Digital: 48 (UHF, until 2020);
Former affiliations	Independent (1990–1998)
Call sign meaning	Sacramento's Pax TV
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	52953
ERP	1,000 kW
HAAT	444.6 m (1,459 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	38°14′50″N 121°30′7″W / 38.24722°N 121.50194°W
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Website	iontelevision.com

KSPX-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States, airing programming from the Ion Television network. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and maintains offices on Prospect Park Drive in Rancho Cordova; its transmitter is located at TransTower in Walnut Grove, California.

History

The station first signed on the air on August 27, 1990, as KCMY; it originally operated as the area's Home Shopping Club affiliate^[2] before joining the InfoMall TV network in 1995.

In 1995, then-CBS affiliate KXTV agreed to provide some programming to KCMY in order to give it more of a competitive edge in the Sacramento market. KCMY began airing the tabloid show Geraldo at 10 p.m. as well as the KXTV-produced health magazine show Pulse.

Paxson Communications (now Ion Media) purchased the station in 1998, changing its call sign to KSPX. The station became a charter owned-and-operated station of its new Pax TV network (later i: Independent Television and now Ion) on August 31, 1998. KSPX became the second English-language station and third overall station in the Sacramento market to be owned and operated by its affiliated network.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KSPX-TV^[3]
Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
29.1	720p	16:9	ION	Ion Television
29.2	480i		CourtTV	Court TV
29.3			Laff	Laff
29.4			Bounce	Bounce TV
29.5			IONPlus	Ion Plus
29.6			Grit	Grit
29.7			Jewelry	Jewelry TV
29.8			HSN	HSN
29.9			HSN2	HSN2

Analog-to-digital conversion

KSPX shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 29, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television.^[4] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 48, using virtual channel 29.

Reduced power operation

On August 30, 2019, the station temporarily reduced power, per special temporary authority (STA), from 1,000 kW to 4.3 kW to accommodate relocation of its transmitter site.

Power was increased to 48 kW on November 16, 2019. Another increase to 388 kW took place on April 29, 2020. The completion of the main facility and subsequent increase to 1,000 kW took place later in 2020.^[when?]

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for KSPX-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ Vierria, Dan (August 31, 1998). "Pax TV Debuts as a Network for Families: New Programing Bumps Shopping Off Channel 29". The Sacramento Bee (via NewsBank).
^ RabbitEars TV Query for KSPX
^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations Archived August 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

External links

Official website

[1] "Facility Technical Data for KSPX-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.

[2] Vierria, Dan (August 31, 1998). "Pax TV Debuts as a Network for Families: New Programing Bumps Shopping Off Channel 29". The Sacramento Bee (via NewsBank).

[3] RabbitEars TV Query for KSPX

[Analog_to_Digital-4] List of Digital Full-Power Stations Archived August 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

[1]

[2]

[3]

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