KDTX-TV

KDTX-TV is a full-power religious television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, and serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. It broadcasts on UHF channel 58 and is owned and operated by the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the Christian television organization commonly known as TBN. The station’s principal studio operations are based at TBN’s International Production Center in Irving, while its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill, Texas. The channel 58 allocation was originally pursued for commercial television use by Metroplex Broadcasting Company, a venture associated with Adam Clayton Powell III and former KDFW channel 4 journalist Barbara Harrison. The proposed station initially received the call sign KDIA-TV in January 1985. The call letters were changed to KDTX-TV on July 1 of that year, before the station began broadcasting. KDTX-TV first went on the air on February 9, 1987. Although the original allocation process involved another applicant, the station was ultimately constructed and launched by the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Its programming identity has therefore been centered on TBN’s religious television schedule rather than on a conventional local general-entertainment format. The station carries TBN network programming and related Christian religious content for viewers in the North Texas market. Dallas–Fort Worth has been an important regional base for TBN because of the area’s substantial religious audience and its position as one of the largest media markets in the United States. KDTX-TV has consequently been described as one of TBN’s most important stations, second in strategic significance within the network to its flagship KTBN-TV in Santa Ana, California. TBN has also moved portions of its production and other operations to the Dallas–Fort Worth region, strengthening the relationship between KDTX-TV and the network’s wider production infrastructure. The station’s transmission operations have evolved with the broader transition from analog to digital television. TBN-owned full-power stations, including KDTX-TV, permanently ended analog broadcasting on April 16, 2009. KDTX-TV now operates as a digital, multiplexed television service, distributing TBN programming through its broadcast signal. Its public identity remains closely tied to TBN’s national religious television brand, while its license, transmitter, and local market role are specific to Dallas–Fort Worth.

KDTX-TV traces its origins to the allocation of UHF channel 58 in the Dallas–Fort Worth television market. Metroplex Broadcasting Company initially applied to use the allocation for a station called KDIA-TV. The company was associated with Adam Clayton Powell III, the son of civil rights activist and congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Barbara Harrison, a former anchor and reporter at Dallas–Fort Worth station KDFW. The KDIA-TV call sign was assigned on January 15, 1985. The call sign did not remain in place. On July 1, 1985, the proposed station was assigned the KDTX-TV identity. Those call letters had previously been used by a radio station broadcasting at 102.9 FM, a frequency now associated with KDMX. The television station itself was eventually built and brought to air by the Trinity Broadcasting Network rather than operating as a conventional commercial station developed by the original applicant. KDTX-TV began broadcasting on February 9, 1987, as a TBN religious television station. From its launch, the station’s principal role was to distribute TBN programming to viewers in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Its schedule and identity have been tied to Christian religious broadcasting, distinguishing it from the market’s general-entertainment, news, and commercial network affiliates. The Dallas–Fort Worth market became especially significant to TBN because of its large population, broad regional reach, and substantial religious audience. KDTX-TV came to be regarded as one of TBN’s most important stations, particularly in relation to the network’s flagship KTBN-TV in Santa Ana, California. TBN subsequently relocated or expanded several activities in the Metroplex, including production facilities. KDTX-TV’s studios are located at TBN’s International Production Center in Irving, reflecting the station’s connection to the network’s regional infrastructure. The transmitter is located in Cedar Hill, allowing the station to serve the wider North Texas metropolitan area. Like other full-power TBN stations, KDTX-TV transitioned from analog to digital broadcasting. TBN-owned full-power stations permanently discontinued analog transmissions on April 16, 2009. The station’s digital signal is multiplexed, allowing it to distribute TBN-related services through multiple subchannels. The available reference material does not establish a complete historical list of those subchannels or their individual programming changes. KDTX-TV remains an active broadcast station licensed to Dallas and operating within the Trinity Broadcasting Network group. Its significance is primarily regional: it functions as TBN’s Dallas–Fort Worth outlet and as part of the network’s national religious television distribution system. Publicly available reference material identifies its ownership, facilities, launch history, and analog shutdown, but does not provide a sufficiently detailed record of individual station executives, campaigns, controversies, financial results, or subsequent programming rebrands.

• 2009

  Analog transmissions end

  [1]KDTX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  TBN-owned full-power stations permanently ceased analog transmissions on April 16, as KDTX-TV moved to digital-only broadcasting.

• 1987

  KDTX-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]KDTX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The Trinity Broadcasting Network built and launched KDTX-TV on February 9, establishing its Dallas–Fort Worth religious television service.

• 1985

  Channel 58 receives the KDIA-TV call sign

  [1]KDTX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The UHF channel 58 allocation in the Dallas–Fort Worth market was assigned the KDIA-TV call sign during the initial application process associated with Metroplex Broadcasting Company.

• 1985

  Call letters change to KDTX-TV

  [1]KDTX-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The proposed television station adopted the KDTX-TV call sign on July 1, replacing the earlier KDIA-TV designation.

A local full-power broadcast outlet for the Trinity Broadcasting Network, positioned as a major TBN presence in the Dallas–Fort Worth religious television market.

• Digital television station · 1987

  KDTX-TV channel 58

  KDTX-TV is a full-power digital television station licensed to Dallas and serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. Its broadcast service carries programming from the Trinity Broadcasting Network and uses a multiplexed digital signal. The station’s transmitter is in Cedar Hill, while studio operations are based at TBN’s International Production Center in Irving.

• Religious television programming · 1987

  TBN religious programming

  KDTX-TV’s principal programming offering is the Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Christian religious television schedule. The station serves as TBN’s local broadcast outlet in the Dallas–Fort Worth market, distributing network and related religious content through its digital over-the-air signal.

• 2009

  Transition to digital-only broadcastingStrategy

  Background

  The United States television industry was transitioning from analog transmission to digital broadcasting, and TBN-owned full-power stations were preparing to discontinue analog service.

  Action taken

  KDTX-TV permanently ended its analog transmissions on April 16, 2009, continuing as a digital, multiplexed television station.

  Aftermath

  The station continued serving the Dallas–Fort Worth market through its digital broadcast signal. The available reference material does not specify subsequent subchannel schedules or audience effects.

  Source

1. 1KDTX-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Trinity Broadcasting Networktbn.org