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KSWL-LD

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KSWL-LD
Channels
BrandingCBS Lake Charles
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KWWE-LD
History
First air date
February 15, 2017 (7 years ago) (2017-02-15)
Former call signs
K17KH-D (2011–2017)
Former channel number(s)
Digital: 17 (UHF, 2017–2019)
Call sign meaning
Southwest Louisiana
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID185296
ClassLD
ERP15 kW
HAAT163.5 m (536 ft)
Transmitter coordinates30°13′16.4″N 93°18′40.9″W / 30.221222°N 93.311361°W / 30.221222; -93.311361
Links
Public license information
LMS
Websitewww.cbslakecharles.tv

KSWL-LD (channel 17) is a low-power television station in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting alongside MyNetworkTV/MeTV/Telemundo affiliate KWWE-LD (channel 19). The two stations share studios on West Prien Lake Road in Lake Charles; KSWL-LD's transmitter is located at the KTSR tower in Westlake.

History

[edit]

In 2011, the FCC awarded a construction permit for the station, with the call sign of K17KH-D. The current KSWL-LD calls were adopted on February 10, 2017. Five days later, the station went on the air as the Lake Charles area's CBS affiliate, owned by Lake Charles Television, LLC, a unit of Waypoint Media.[2]

KSWL-LD is the area's first CBS affiliate since the shutdown of its original CBS affiliate, KTAG-TV (UHF channel 25), in August 1961.[3] Between that time, KLFY-TV in Lafayette served as the default CBS affiliate via cable for Southwestern Louisiana, while Beaumont affiliate KFDM was carried by a few cable providers in some areas of the market. Between KSWL-LD's sign-on as part of CBS, sister station KWWE-LD's sign on as a MyNetworkTV affiliate, and Fox affiliate KVHP launching ABC programming on its DT2 subchannel, the year 2017 marks the first time that the Lake Charles area has received over-the-air service from every major television network, having previously relied on cable television to supply network affiliates from Lafayette and Beaumont for CBS, ABC, MyNetworkTV, and until 2009, The CW.[4][5]

On December 31, 2019, SagamoreHill Broadcasting acquired the station from Waypoint Media.

News operation

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The station is unusual among CBS affiliates in that it carries no local news. However, it airs local weather inserts during CBS Mornings as well as a five-minute weathercast at the conclusion of CBS' prime time programming. KSWL also produces and airs two sports programs focused on Southwest Louisiana-area sports: Sound Off, which is a call-in show about secondary and postsecondary sports, and Poke Nation, covering sports at McNeese State University.

Subchannels

[edit]

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KSWL-LD[6]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
17.1 1080i 16:9 KSWLCBS CBS
17.2 480p CourtTV Court TV
17.3 LaffTV Laff
17.4 QVC QVC
17.5 480i 16:9 Mystery Ion Mystery

After Scripps News ceased over-the-air operations on November 16, 2024, KSWL-LD replaced the network on its fifth subchannel with the crime-oriented diginet Ion Mystery.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KSWL-LD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Lake Charles gets a local CBS television station". AmericanPress.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  3. ^ "Lake Charles First CBS Television Network Affiliate - Lake Charles, LA". lakecharles.com. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  4. ^ Digital TV Market Listing for KWWE-LD
  5. ^ KVHP Launching ABC Feed On Subchannel
  6. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for KSWL-LD