KBFX-CD (channel 58) is a low-power, Class A television station in Bakersfield, California, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, it operates alongside the CBS affiliate KBAK-TV (channel 29), with both stations sharing studios near Downtown Bakersfield. KBFX-CD’s transmitter is located atop Breckenridge Mountain and its digital signal is simulcast in high definition on KBAK’s second digital subchannel (58.2) from the same site.
History
KBFX signed on November 1, 1990,1 as K58DJ, a low-powered relay translator of KMPH, Fresno's Fox affiliate. It changed its call letters to KMPH-LP in 1995. Later, the Fox network wanted to include a new separate affiliate station for the Bakersfield market; as a result, in 1998, channel 58 was relaunched as KBFX-LP. Among the features on the new station was a KBAK-produced 10 p.m. newscast, Fox 58 News @ 10. It was so successful that KBAK's then-owner Westwind Communications bought the station in 2005 from KMPH's owners, Pappas Telecasting.
On August 6, 2007, Westwind Communications announced the sale of KBAK and KBFX-CA to Fisher Communications of Seattle,2 with the sale closing on January 1, 2008.
On February 28, 2010, Bright House Networks (now Spectrum) announced that KBFX would be carried in Tehachapi on cable channel 6.
In January 2011, KBFX began airing its local news in high definition.
Fisher Communications announced on April 11, 2013, that it would be acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group, pending Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval.34 The deal was completed on August 8, 2013.5 On October 3, 2013, Sinclair announced the completion of the sale of four stations owned by Titan TV Broadcast Group, including KMPH, which reunites KBFX as sister-stations for the first time in eight years.6
KBFX is the only Bakersfield television station to never change its affiliation, having always been a Fox affiliate.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed:
Subchannels of KBFX-CD7| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29.28 | 480i | 4:3 | ROAR | Roar |
| 58.1 | 720p | 16:9 | FOX58 | Fox |
| 58.3 | 480i | Comet | Comet | |
| 58.4 | TheNest | The Nest |
The analog signal went off the air in August 2010. KBFX just recently launched their new digital transmitter on RF channel 29. This signal carried This TV on its subchannel, which maps to virtual channel 29-2.
The station's 29.2 subchannel was an initial affiliate of the American Sports Network with its first broadcast on August 30, 2014.9
External links
References
Television & Cable Factbook 1993 Edition (PDF). 1993. p. B-12. Retrieved September 20, 2018. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1993-TV-Factbook/Television-Factbook-1993-ALL-OTHER.pdf ↩
"FisherCommunications - News". phx.corporate-ir.net. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2022. https://archive.today/20130111213322/http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=61026&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=1037227& ↩
"Sinclair acquiring Fisher Communications". bakersfieldnow.com. April 11, 2013. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130412180745/http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/Sinclair-acquiring-Fisher-Communications-202532881.html ↩
Colman, Price (April 10, 2013). "Sinclair poised to buy Fisher stations". TVnewscheck.com. Retrieved April 11, 2013. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/66787/sinclair-poised-to-buy-fisher-stations ↩
"Sinclair Broadcast Group Closes On Fisher Communications Acquisition". All Access. August 8, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013. http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/121117/sinclair-broadcast-group-closes-on-fisher-communic ↩
"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215829/http://sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/Titan%20close.pdf ↩
"Digital TV Market Listing for KBFX". RabbitEars. Retrieved September 9, 2014. http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KBFX#station ↩
Per ATSC standards, a station on channel X must map to channel Y if another station on channel Y maps to channel X; channel 58.2 (an HD simulcast of 58.1) already exists on KBAK. ↩
Minium, Harry (August 27, 2014). "ODU's opener with Hampton to be televised in 66 markets". HamptonRoads.com. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved September 8, 2014. http://hamptonroads.com/2014/08/odus-opener-hampton-be-televised-66-markets ↩