A Fredericksburg, Texas television station serving the San Antonio market, programmed primarily as an independent station with a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KCWX is a commercial television station licensed to Fredericksburg, Texas, and primarily serving the San Antonio television market. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 2 and is owned by Corridor Television, an Austin-based company. Although Fredericksburg lies between Austin and San Antonio and the station was initially expected to serve both cities, Nielsen assigns KCWX to the San Antonio market. Its principal studios are in Austin, while its transmission facilities and relay sites are designed to reach viewers across a broad area of Central and South Texas. The station originated in a long-running Federal Communications Commission proceeding over a channel 2 allocation created at Fredericksburg in 1986. The allocation attracted applicants because a powerful VHF signal from the location could potentially reach both the Austin and San Antonio regions. A comparative hearing initially favored Stonewall Television, but the FCC review board later selected Fredericksburg Channel 2, a group associated with former San Antonio Spurs owner Red McCombs and broadcaster Bob Roth. Roth died in a 1995 automobile accident while visiting the proposed transmitter area, and the resulting appeals delayed the project for several more years. In 1996, the McCombs–Roth group combined with Global Information Technologies, an Austin company owned by Carmen and Saleem Tawil. The merged ownership group adopted the name Corridor Television. After receiving FCC approval in 1997, Corridor began construction and received the sequential call sign KBEJ in 1998. The station launched on August 3, 2000, as a UPN affiliate under a local marketing and operating arrangement with Belo Corporation. Belo supplied management, technical, and programming support through its Austin and San Antonio television operations. KBEJ’s early programming included UPN entertainment shows, syndicated series, and a package of San Antonio Spurs basketball games. The station obtained cable carriage in San Antonio soon after launch, but its position in the Austin market was more difficult. Technical limitations affecting parts of San Antonio, particularly areas south of the city, contributed to weaker ratings for Spurs broadcasts. The team returned to its previous outlet after the 2000–01 season despite KBEJ’s multiyear rights agreement. Following the 2006 merger of UPN and The WB into The CW, KBEJ became San Antonio’s CW affiliate and changed its call sign to KCWX. The CW also selected Austin’s former WB station, KNVA, creating separate network outlets for the two nearby markets. This arrangement reduced KCWX’s role in Austin and eventually led to the loss of Austin cable carriage for CW programming. In 2010, the CW affiliation moved to KMYS, the former KRRT, and KCWX became a MyNetworkTV affiliate. Belo ended its operating agreement with Corridor Television, after which Corridor operated the station independently from Austin. KCWX has also undergone a complicated digital-transmission transition because it did not receive a companion digital channel under the FCC’s allotment plan. It ultimately moved from analog broadcasting to a digital-only operation in 2009 after transmitter and tower-work delays. The station operates with a network of transmission facilities intended to improve coverage in and around San Antonio, Austin, Hondo, Mountain Home, Llano, and the Hill Country. In addition to MyNetworkTV programming, its schedule has included syndicated and independently acquired content. Beginning in 2021, KCWX added locally produced high-school football broadcasts for the San Antonio area. As of the latest supplied reference material, KCWX remains active as a locally owned Central Texas television outlet. Its identity is rooted less in a national consumer brand than in its role as a regional broadcast station, an independent programmer, and a long-standing participant in the shifting affiliation and carriage structure of the Austin–San Antonio region.
History
The FCC created a channel 2 allocation at Fredericksburg in 1986. Because the community sits roughly between Austin and San Antonio, the allocation attracted twelve applicants seeking access to a potentially valuable VHF signal. The FCC designated the applicants for comparative hearing in 1987. An administrative law judge selected Stonewall Television in 1989, but the FCC review board reversed that decision in 1993 and favored Fredericksburg Channel 2, a consortium associated with Red McCombs and Bob Roth. The project was delayed by appeals and by Roth’s death in an automobile collision on October 20, 1995, while he was visiting the proposed transmitter area with two Hearst executives. In 1996, Fredericksburg Channel 2 merged with Global Information Technologies of Austin, owned by Carmen and Saleem Tawil. The combined group became Corridor Television. The FCC approved the partnership in 1997, and construction began in 1998. The permit received the call sign KBEJ in May of that year. Corridor entered into an operating agreement with Belo Corporation, which owned television stations in both Austin and San Antonio. KBEJ began broadcasting on August 3, 2000, as a UPN affiliate. Belo supplied management and technical support, while the station also carried syndicated material and San Antonio Spurs basketball. Cable carriage was obtained relatively quickly in San Antonio but took longer in Austin. The station’s signal geometry also created complaints in southern San Antonio, where viewers were farther from the northern transmitter than audiences for competing stations. The Spurs’ ratings declined compared with their earlier outlet, and the team returned to its prior station after the 2000–01 season. When UPN and The WB were replaced by The CW in 2006, KBEJ became a CW affiliate and changed its call sign to KCWX. Austin’s former WB affiliate, KNVA, also joined The CW, leaving KCWX increasingly identified with the San Antonio market. The station temporarily remained on some Austin cable systems, but CW programming was restricted to protect KNVA’s market position. KCWX’s digital transition was technically complicated. Since its original construction permit followed completion of the FCC’s digital allotment plan, the station did not receive a separate companion digital channel. It proposed several channel arrangements and ultimately prepared for a digital flash cut. Reduced-power operation began in early 2009 while transmitter equipment was modified. The nationwide postponement of the analog shutdown affected the timetable, and KCWX’s final digital signal was not ready until July 2009. In 2010, Sinclair Broadcast Group disclosed that the CW affiliation would move to KMYS, the former KRRT. The change occurred on August 30 rather than the initially expected September 1 date, with MyNetworkTV moving to KCWX. Belo terminated its local marketing agreement in April 2010, requiring Corridor Television to operate the station independently. KCWX subsequently continued as a MyNetworkTV outlet with syndicated and locally acquired programming. In 2021 it began airing San Antonio-area high-school football games. In January 2025, the FCC proposed a $369,190 fine related to alleged failures to properly transmit National Periodic Tests of the Emergency Alert System in three prior years. The proceeding concerned technical and compliance practices rather than the station’s ownership or affiliation. The supplied material does not establish a final disposition of the proposed penalty.
- 2010
MyNetworkTV affiliation begins
[1]KCWX loses The CW affiliation to KMYS and begins carrying MyNetworkTV programming, while Belo exits its operating agreement.
- 2009
Digital transition completed
[1]After reduced-power operation and transmitter work, KCWX completes its transition to a digital-only signal in July.
- 2006
KBEJ becomes KCWX and joins The CW
[1]The station changes its call sign to KCWX and becomes the San Antonio-area affiliate of the newly created CW network.
- 2000
KBEJ launches as a UPN affiliate
[1]The station begins broadcasting on August 3 under a Belo operating arrangement and carries UPN programming alongside syndicated shows and Spurs games.
- 1998
Construction begins under the KBEJ call sign
[1]Corridor Television starts building the station, which receives the sequential call letters KBEJ.
- 1997
Corridor Television receives FCC approval
[1]The combined Fredericksburg Channel 2 and Global Information Technologies application is approved, allowing the ownership group to proceed with construction.
- 1995
Bob Roth dies during transmitter-site trip
[1]Roth dies in a vehicle collision while scouting the proposed transmitter area, adding to the delays surrounding the channel award.
- 1993
FCC review board favors the McCombs–Roth group
[1]The FCC review board overturns the earlier comparative-hearing decision and selects a consortium associated with Red McCombs and Bob Roth.
- 1986
FCC creates the Fredericksburg channel 2 allocation
[1]The FCC adds a channel 2 assignment at Fredericksburg, creating the opportunity for a VHF station capable of reaching portions of both the Austin and San Antonio regions.
Products and positioning
A regional, locally owned television station serving the San Antonio market from a Fredericksburg license and Austin operating base, with a programming mix combining MyNetworkTV, syndicated content, and locally acquired sports.
Network television affiliation · 2010
MyNetworkTV programming
KCWX has operated as a MyNetworkTV outlet since August 30, 2010, providing the network’s scheduled programming to viewers in the San Antonio market. The affiliation is combined with syndicated and independently acquired programming rather than a fully network-owned schedule.
Sports broadcasting · 2021
Local high-school football
Beginning in 2021, KCWX added a package of local high-school football games serving the San Antonio area. The broadcasts extend the station’s regional identity beyond network and syndicated entertainment and provide coverage of community-level sports.
Broadcast transmission · 2009
Digital television service
KCWX provides a digital broadcast signal from its Central Texas transmission infrastructure. Its facilities and relay sites are intended to cover San Antonio, Austin, Hondo, Mountain Home, Llano, and surrounding areas, although the station is assigned to the San Antonio market.
Controversies
2025
FCC proposed Emergency Alert System penalty
The FCC proposed a $369,190 fine against KCWX in January 2025, alleging violations involving National Periodic Tests of the Emergency Alert System conducted in 2018, 2019, and 2021. The allegations included rebroadcasting material from earlier tests, using simulated messages instead of authorized test messages, and inaccurately indicating that tests had been received. The supplied reference does not state that the proposed penalty had become final.
Brand decisions
2021
Launch of local high-school football coverageProduct launchBackground
KCWX sought locally relevant programming for its San Antonio-area audience.
Action taken
The station began airing a package of local high-school football games.
Aftermath
The broadcasts expanded KCWX’s local sports presence.
2010
Switch from The CW to MyNetworkTVStrategyBackground
Sinclair disclosed that the CW affiliation would move to KMYS, leaving KCWX without its prior network relationship.
Action taken
KCWX accepted the MyNetworkTV affiliation, effective August 30, and Corridor Television resumed direct operation after Belo ended its local marketing agreement.
Aftermath
The station continued as a locally operated MyNetworkTV outlet with syndicated and independently acquired programming.
2006
Move from UPN to The CWStrategyBackground
UPN and The WB were being replaced by The CW, a new network formed by their parent companies.
Action taken
Corridor Television changed KBEJ’s call sign to KCWX and accepted a CW affiliation for the San Antonio market.
Aftermath
KCWX became associated primarily with San Antonio, while Austin’s former WB outlet KNVA also joined The CW.
Sources2 sources
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