KBCA

KBCA is a full-power television station licensed to Alexandria, Louisiana, in the United States. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 41 and transmits from a facility in Oakdale, Louisiana. It is owned by Delta Media Corporation, a Louisiana broadcasting company, and operates as a digital multicast outlet rather than as a traditional standalone network affiliate. Its principal programming affiliation is Heroes & Icons, a network specializing in action, crime, adventure, and classic television series. The station originated from plans developed in the early 2000s to establish a new over-the-air outlet in the Alexandria market. Delta Media-related interests created Dimension Broadcasting as the license-holding company for the proposed station. The Federal Communications Commission ultimately granted the new license, making KBCA the first station established by Dimension Broadcasting. KBCA began broadcasting on June 1, 2005, initially as an affiliate of The WB. Before its launch, WB programming in the market had been available primarily through cable, including a cable-only service identified with the call sign KAXN. KBCA gave the Alexandria area a local over-the-air outlet for the network. The station's initial operating arrangement was closely connected to White Knight Broadcasting, then associated with Alexandria Fox affiliate WNTZ. White Knight helped facilitate the relationship with The WB 100+ Station Group and operated KBCA under a local marketing agreement using personnel and facilities connected with WNTZ. The arrangement was later affected by the bankruptcy of White Knight Broadcasting and Communications Corporation of America. Although the local marketing agreement ended in 2006, KBCA continued operating from shared Alexandria office space for a period before its operations were consolidated at Delta Media's Carencro headquarters. KBCA's first network identity changed quickly. In January 2006, Warner Bros. and CBS announced plans to combine The WB and UPN into The CW. KBCA was selected as the Alexandria-market CW affiliate, replacing its short-lived WB affiliation when The CW launched on September 18, 2006. This made KBCA the local broadcast home of the new network for approximately a decade. The station lost its CW affiliation after Gray Television, owner of KALB-TV, announced in December 2015 that The CW would move to a new third digital subchannel of KALB. The change took effect in fall 2016. KBCA then replaced its main-channel CW programming with a Heroes & Icons feed that had previously been available on one of the station's digital subchannels. The station has also carried other multicast services, including Antenna TV, Start TV, and Story Television, while occasionally preempting some Heroes & Icons programming for infomercials. KBCA completed its transition from analog broadcasting through a digital flash-cut and later expanded and rearranged its digital multiplex. It began carrying Antenna TV on a secondary subchannel in 2012, commenced high-definition broadcasting in 2013, changed its physical RF channel from 41 to 26 in late 2019, added Start TV in 2021, and launched Story Television on a fifth subchannel in 2023. KBCA remains an active local broadcast property focused on network and syndicated multicast programming for viewers in and around Alexandria and Central Louisiana.

Plans for a new television station in the Alexandria, Louisiana, market circulated in early 2004. White Knight Broadcasting, which was associated with Fox affiliate WNTZ, was reportedly interested in developing the proposed channel and possibly moving its Fox affiliation. The initial approach did not succeed after the relevant FCC petition was denied. Delta Media Corporation subsequently pursued the opportunity through Dimension Broadcasting, a newly created corporate entity connected to Delta Media's broader shell-company structure. The FCC granted the construction and broadcast authorization, making KBCA Dimension Broadcasting's charter station. KBCA signed on June 1, 2005, as an affiliate of The WB. The station's launch expanded access to WB programming in the Alexandria area, where the network had previously been represented mainly by a cable-only WB 100+ service associated with the call sign KAXN. White Knight helped Dimension Broadcasting establish the affiliation and initially operated KBCA through a local marketing agreement. KBCA was managed with personnel linked to WNTZ, and operations were coordinated from facilities in the Alexandria and Carencro areas. Delta Media-related facilities in Carencro eventually became a central base for the company's television and radio operations. The station's first affiliation lasted only about fifteen months. In January 2006, Warner Bros. Television and CBS announced that The WB and UPN would be replaced by a new combined network, The CW. KBCA was selected as the Alexandria outlet for the new network, which launched on September 18, 2006. WNTZ instead became the market's MyNetworkTV outlet under a secondary affiliation arrangement. During the same period, former UPN low-power station KWCE-LP moved toward Retro Television Network programming. White Knight Broadcasting and Communications Corporation of America later entered bankruptcy, requiring the dissolution of White Knight's local marketing agreement with Dimension Broadcasting by mid-2006. KBCA and WNTZ continued to use the same Alexandria office location for a time despite operating as separate companies. WNTZ moved out by 2007, and KBCA subsequently consolidated its operation at Delta Media's Carencro headquarters. The station therefore retained an Alexandria license and market identity while its operational center was located elsewhere in Louisiana. KBCA remained a CW affiliate for roughly ten years. On December 15, 2015, Gray Television announced an extension of its CW relationship and disclosed a new arrangement to place The CW on a third digital subchannel of KALB-TV, the Gray-owned station in Alexandria. The change took effect in fall 2016 and ended KBCA's CW affiliation. KBCA responded by using its main channel for a simulcast of its Heroes & Icons service, while its former third subchannel was temporarily left dark; that subchannel was later used for Start TV. The station's digital service developed through several additions and technical changes. Antenna TV was added to virtual channel 41.2 on August 1, 2012. KBCA began high-definition broadcasting on January 31, 2013. Antenna TV was removed in January 2017 but returned in November 2019. In late 2019, the station moved its physical RF transmission from channel 41 to channel 26 and discontinued an audio simulcast of KSLO-FM that had been carried on a digital subchannel. Start TV was added to virtual channel 41.3 on May 7, 2021, and Story Television launched on virtual channel 41.5 on February 22, 2023. Because KBCA received an original construction permit after the FCC's 1997 digital television allotment plan, it did not receive a separate companion digital channel. It therefore completed the analog-to-digital transition through a flash-cut, turning off its analog service and beginning digital operation by the end of the national transition period. KBCA remains an active Delta Media station serving the Alexandria and Central Louisiana market, with a business model centered on multicast network distribution, local carriage, and broadcast advertising.

• 2023

  Story Television added

  [1]KBCAen.wikipedia.org

  Story Television launched on virtual channel 41.5 on February 22.

• 2021

  Start TV added

  [1]KBCAen.wikipedia.org

  Start TV was added to virtual channel 41.3 on May 7.

• 2019

  Physical RF channel changes

  [1]KBCAen.wikipedia.org

  KBCA moved its physical transmission channel from 41 to 26 and dropped its KSLO-FM audio simulcast.

• 2016

  CW affiliation ends

  [1]KBCAen.wikipedia.org

  The CW moved to KALB-TV's third digital subchannel, and KBCA shifted its principal programming to Heroes & Icons.

• 2013

  High-definition broadcasting begins

  [1]KBCAen.wikipedia.org

  KBCA began transmitting in high definition on January 31.

• 2012

  Antenna TV added

  [1]KBCAen.wikipedia.org

  Antenna TV launched on KBCA's virtual channel 41.2.

• 2006

  Affiliation changes to The CW

  [1]KBCAen.wikipedia.org

  KBCA became the Alexandria affiliate of The CW when the network launched on September 18.

• 2005

  KBCA signs on as a WB affiliate

  [1]KBCAen.wikipedia.org

  KBCA began broadcasting on June 1 as an over-the-air affiliate of The WB.

• 2004

  FCC application and station development

  [1]KBCAen.wikipedia.org

  Delta Media-related interests pursued a new Alexandria television license through Dimension Broadcasting after earlier development plans associated with White Knight Broadcasting did not proceed.

A Central Louisiana over-the-air television station positioned as a digital multicast outlet, with Heroes & Icons as its principal network service and additional classic-television and specialty multicast offerings.

• Digital multicast television network · 2016

  Heroes & Icons

  Heroes & Icons is KBCA's principal current programming service. The network supplies a schedule built around action, crime, adventure, and other classic television programming. After KBCA lost its CW affiliation, the station placed its Heroes & Icons feed on the main virtual channel, making it the central identity of the station's digital broadcast service. Some network programs may be preempted for infomercials.

• Digital multicast television network · 2012

  Antenna TV

  Antenna TV is a classic-television multicast service carried by KBCA on virtual channel 41.2. It was first added in 2012, removed in early 2017, and returned to the lineup in late 2019.

• Digital multicast television network · 2021

  Start TV

  Start TV occupies virtual channel 41.3. The service was added to KBCA's digital multiplex on May 7, 2021, expanding the station's selection of multicast entertainment channels.

• Digital multicast television network · 2023

  Story Television

  Story Television is carried on KBCA's virtual channel 41.5. It joined the station's lineup on February 22, 2023, as an additional multicast service.

• Broadcast television network affiliation · 2006

  The CW

  The CW was KBCA's principal network affiliation from the network's launch in September 2006 until the affiliation moved to KALB-TV's third digital subchannel in fall 2016. The affiliation represented the station's main commercial-network era before its transition to a multicast-focused model.

• Broadcast television network affiliation · 2005

  The WB

  KBCA launched on June 1, 2005, as an affiliate of The WB. The affiliation connected the new over-the-air station with programming that had previously been available in Alexandria mainly through a cable-only WB 100+ service.

• 2023

  Add Story TelevisionProduct launch

  Background

  KBCA was using its digital multiplex to distribute several specialized television services.

  Action taken

  Story Television was launched on virtual channel 41.5 on February 22, 2023.

  Aftermath

  The station added another national multicast service to its Central Louisiana broadcast offering.

  Source

• 2021

  Add Start TVProduct launch

  Background

  KBCA continued expanding its digital broadcast capacity after moving away from The CW.

  Action taken

  The station added Start TV to virtual channel 41.3 on May 7, 2021.

  Aftermath

  The addition broadened KBCA's multicast programming portfolio.

  Source

• 2016

  Transition to a Heroes & Icons-led multicast modelStrategy

  Background

  Gray Television arranged to place The CW on KALB-TV's third digital subchannel, ending KBCA's network affiliation.

  Action taken

  KBCA replaced its former main-channel CW schedule with a Heroes & Icons simulcast and continued developing its digital subchannel lineup.

  Aftermath

  KBCA shifted from a conventional major network affiliation to a multicast-oriented service offering.

  Source

• 2006

  Move from The WB to The CWStrategy

  Background

  The WB and UPN were replaced by the jointly created CW network.

  Action taken

  KBCA accepted the Alexandria CW affiliation when the network launched on September 18, 2006.

  Aftermath

  The station remained a network-affiliated outlet for approximately a decade, while WNTZ took a MyNetworkTV affiliation.

  Source

• 2005

  Launch as an over-the-air WB stationProduct launch

  Background

  Alexandria had previously received WB programming primarily through a cable-only service, creating an opportunity for a new broadcast station.

  Action taken

  Dimension Broadcasting launched KBCA on June 1, 2005, with The WB as its initial affiliation.

  Aftermath

  KBCA became the market's over-the-air WB outlet and established its local broadcast identity.

  Source

1. 1KBCAen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KBCA partner pageyourcwtv.com