KAVU-TV

KAVU-TV is a broadcast television station based in Victoria, Texas, United States. Operating on channel 25, it is affiliated with ABC and serves the Victoria television market, with its programming and local news distributed under the Crossroads Today identity. The station is owned by Morgan Murphy Media and forms the principal outlet of the Victoria Television Group, a locally concentrated collection of broadcast stations serving the area. The station's origins date to a long-running effort to establish a second full-service television outlet in Victoria. An earlier channel 25 proposal received a construction permit in 1969 for John J. “Joe” Tibiletti, who owned KTXN-FM and had advocated for an additional Victoria television channel. That proposal did not result in a completed station. A later application by Community Broadcasting of Coastal Bend, controlled by George and Ruth Constant, revived the project. The Federal Communications Commission awarded the group a construction permit in 1981, and KAVU-TV began broadcasting on July 21, 1982. It initially affiliated with NBC, despite the owners' earlier preference for CBS. The station's original facilities were established on Navarro Road in a building that had previously housed a Devereux Foundation school. During the late 1980s, financial and legal disputes involving the station's ownership became intertwined with First Victoria National Bank. The bank had interests connected to both KAVU-TV and its principal local competitor, KVCT. A series of court proceedings and settlement arrangements ultimately led to a restructuring of the Victoria television landscape. In 1989 and 1990, KAVU-TV was sold to Withers Broadcasting, while KVCT was divested separately. Following the transaction, KAVU absorbed much of KVCT's sales and news operation and temporarily carried both NBC and ABC programming. In March 1993, it became a sole ABC affiliate, a change prompted by the practical difficulty of scheduling two complete network lineups on one station. Withers also helped develop a broader Victoria station cluster. It operated KVCT under a local marketing arrangement after that station returned to the air as a Fox affiliate, and it added radio and low-power television properties. Saga Communications acquired KAVU-TV and related assets in the late 1990s. Under Saga, the station invested in local news, digital broadcasting, and additional network services. The group added an NBC affiliate in 2001, developed Spanish-language service through Telemundo and Univision outlets, and launched a CBS affiliate in 2011. These additions eventually created a highly concentrated local broadcast operation carrying the area's major English- and Spanish-language networks, along with MeTV. KAVU-TV remains the principal news and ABC outlet in that group. Its local programming has historically been central to the station's competitive position: in 2011, the station was reported to account for approximately two-thirds of television-station revenue in the Victoria market, and its 6 p.m. newscast recorded a 47 share. The station has also occasionally appeared outside its normal market, including a brief 2006 carriage period in Corpus Christi during a retransmission-consent dispute involving that market's ABC affiliate. Saga Communications exited television broadcasting in 2017, selling its television stations to Morgan Murphy Media. Today, KAVU-TV operates as the flagship station of the Victoria Television Group, with studios on North Navarro Street and transmission facilities west of Victoria along Farm to Market Road 236.

Efforts to establish a second full-service television station in Victoria, Texas, began well before KAVU-TV went on the air. In 1963, radio broadcaster John J. “Joe” Tibiletti urged the Federal Communications Commission to assign Victoria another television channel. The FCC granted him a construction permit for channel 25 in February 1969, and the proposed station adopted the KAVU-TV call letters. Tibiletti later agreed to sell the unbuilt permit to K-SIX Television, the owner of Corpus Christi station KZTV, but the transaction was never completed. The FCC dismissed the original application in 1974 after the permit holder failed to secure additional time to construct the station. Interest in channel 25 returned in the late 1970s. Competing proposals included a translator application from Corpus Christi public television station KEDT and a plan by a couple to rebroadcast San Antonio's KWEX-TV. By December 1980, a full-power application from Community Broadcasting of Coastal Bend had become the leading proposal. The company was owned by Dr. George Constant and Ruth Constant. Its application complicated KEDT's expansion plans because a full-power commercial allocation could displace the proposed educational translator. The FCC ultimately awarded Community Broadcasting a construction permit in September 1981. The owners hoped to launch by July 4, 1982, and initially considered a CBS affiliation. When the station opened on July 21, however, it was affiliated with NBC. Its studios were installed on Navarro Road in a former Devereux Foundation school building. KAVU's early ownership became embroiled in litigation. In 1983, new investors issued a promissory note connected to their investment in the station. First Victoria National Bank later sued KAVU-TV and related parties, alleging false statements and misrepresentations in an earlier dispute. The station argued that the bank had imposed excessive rates while enforcing an unlawful contract. Former general manager Richard Lee French, who held a minority interest, also challenged the station's license renewal. The FCC rejected his challenge, although related disputes continued. In 1989, First Victoria sought to obtain control of the station as part of a state-court settlement. The bank also had a corporate interest in KVCT, KAVU-TV's principal competitor. A proposed restructuring would consolidate the market's assets, sell KAVU-TV to Withers Broadcasting, and convert or divest KVCT. Federal litigation affected the timing and terms of the transaction, including a court order requiring KAVU-TV to pay unpaid ASCAP royalties. The station and associated real estate were ultimately sold to Withers, while KVCT was transferred separately after regulatory concerns about common ownership were addressed. The transactions closed in 1990. The Withers era reshaped KAVU's programming and operations. Much of KVCT's sales staff and news personnel moved to KAVU, and KAVU temporarily carried both NBC and ABC. Maintaining two complete network schedules proved difficult, so the station became an exclusive ABC affiliate in March 1993. Withers later operated KVCT through a local marketing agreement after the competitor returned to the air as a Fox affiliate. The company also expanded into radio and low-power television, helping create the beginnings of the Victoria Television Group. Saga Communications acquired KAVU-TV and radio station KNAL from Withers in a transaction announced in 1998 and completed in 1999. The acquisition was Saga's second television property. Withers had cited the cost of the forthcoming digital transition as a reason for selling. Saga invested in KAVU's facilities, local news operation, and digital service. In 2001, the group added an NBC outlet after persuading the network that Victoria had sufficient growth potential. Other low-power stations provided Telemundo and, later, Univision service. Regulatory changes and digital broadcasting made it possible for the group to build a dense collection of local signals. The group's expansion continued in 2011, when KXTS-LD became Victoria's first CBS affiliate. By then, the cluster provided ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, Univision, and Telemundo service, later supplemented by MeTV. This concentration gave the group a distinctive role in the market: it supplied nearly all major over-the-air network programming and housed the area's only television news department. KAVU remained its leading station. Contemporary market figures cited in the station's history attributed roughly two-thirds of local television revenue to KAVU and reported a 47 share for its 6 p.m. newscast. KAVU also received temporary attention beyond Victoria in 2006, when Time Warner Cable carried it in Corpus Christi during a retransmission-consent disagreement involving that market's ABC station. The unusual carriage was reportedly noticed by KAVU employees only after relatives in Corpus Christi mentioned seeing the station. Saga Communications left the television sector in 2017, selling KAVU-TV and its related stations to Morgan Murphy Media. KAVU continues to operate as an ABC affiliate and the principal station of the Victoria Television Group, with studios on North Navarro Street and transmitter facilities west of Victoria on Farm to Market Road 236.

• 2017

  Morgan Murphy Media acquires the station

  [1]KAVU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Saga Communications sold its television stations to Morgan Murphy Media after exiting the television business.

• 2011

  CBS service joins the local station cluster

  [1]KAVU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KXTS-LD became the area's first CBS affiliate, completing a broad collection of major English- and Spanish-language network services.

• 2001

  Victoria Television Group adds NBC service

  [1]KAVU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The group launched an NBC affiliate, strengthening its multi-station presence in the Victoria market.

• 1999

  Saga Communications takes ownership

  [1]KAVU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Saga completed its acquisition of KAVU-TV and KNAL from Withers Broadcasting.

• 1993

  Station adopts exclusive ABC affiliation

  [1]KAVU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KAVU ended its temporary dual NBC-ABC schedule and became solely affiliated with ABC.

• 1990

  Withers Broadcasting completes acquisition

  [1]KAVU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Withers acquired KAVU-TV after the ownership and litigation issues involving First Victoria National Bank and KVCT were resolved sufficiently for regulatory approval.

• 1982

  KAVU-TV launches

  [1]KAVU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KAVU-TV began broadcasting on July 21 as Victoria's second full-service television station and an NBC affiliate.

• 1981

  Community Broadcasting receives the channel 25 permit

  [1]KAVU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC awarded a new construction permit to Community Broadcasting of Coastal Bend, owned by George and Ruth Constant.

• 1969

  FCC grants an earlier channel 25 construction permit

  [1]KAVU-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC granted John J. Tibiletti a permit for a proposed Victoria station using the KAVU-TV call letters. The unbuilt proposal was later abandoned.

A locally focused ABC broadcast station and the flagship of the Victoria Television Group, emphasizing local news, weather, community coverage, and broad over-the-air network access in South Texas.

• Broadcast television · 1993

  KAVU-TV ABC programming

  KAVU-TV's principal service is the ABC network schedule delivered over the station's channel 25 signal. The affiliation provides national entertainment, news, sports, and special-event programming while the station supplies local inserts and market-specific content for viewers in Victoria and surrounding South Texas communities.

• Local news

  Crossroads Today local news

  The station's local-news identity provides reporting, weather, community information, and other locally produced programming for the Victoria market. KAVU has historically been the leading news operation in the Victoria Television Group and has benefited from the group's concentration of local broadcast resources.

• Broadcasting group

  Victoria Television Group

  The Victoria Television Group is the station cluster associated with KAVU-TV. It includes low-power outlets carrying NBC, CBS, Univision, Telemundo, and MeTV, while Morgan Murphy Media also provides certain services to Fox affiliate KVCT under a local marketing agreement. Together, the stations provide unusually broad over-the-air network coverage for the Victoria market.

• 1987

  Bank litigation involving station ownership

  First Victoria National Bank sued KAVU-TV and related parties in a dispute involving investment financing, alleged misrepresentations, and the enforcement of a promissory note. The matter contributed to later ownership restructuring and litigation over the station's control.

  Source

Read more

• 2017

  Transfer from Saga Communications to Morgan Murphy MediaM&A

  Background

  Saga Communications decided to leave the television business.

  Action taken

  Saga sold KAVU-TV and its other television stations to Morgan Murphy Media.

  Aftermath

  KAVU-TV continued operating as the flagship of the Victoria Television Group under new ownership.

  Source

• 2011

  Expand the Victoria network portfolio with CBSStrategy

  Background

  Saga Communications had developed a cluster of full-power and low-power stations representing multiple national networks in the Victoria market.

  Action taken

  KXTS-LD relaunched as the market's first CBS affiliate.

  Aftermath

  The Victoria Television Group supplied all four major English-language networks as well as Univision and Telemundo, strengthening KAVU's position as its flagship operation.

  Source

• 1993

  End dual NBC-ABC programmingStrategy

  Background

  After the acquisition and consolidation of Victoria television assets, KAVU temporarily carried two network schedules. Management determined that operating as a single-network station was more practical.

  Action taken

  KAVU-TV dropped NBC programming and became an exclusive ABC affiliate.

  Aftermath

  The station has remained associated with ABC and developed its local-news role within the Victoria Television Group.

  Source

1. 1KAVU-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Crossroads Todaycrossroadstoday.com