KEYU

KEYU is a television station on channel 31 licensed to Borger, Texas, and serving the Amarillo television market and surrounding Texas Panhandle communities. The station operates as an affiliate of Telemundo, the Spanish-language television network, and is owned by Gray Media alongside CBS affiliate KFDA-TV. KEYU and KFDA share broadcast facilities on Broadway Drive, just south of West Cherry Avenue, in northern Amarillo. KEYU's transmitter is located on Dumas Drive, part of the U.S. 87–287 corridor, near Reclamation Plant Road in rural Potter County. The station began broadcasting on November 2, 2004, under the ownership of Little Rock-based Equity Broadcasting Corporation, later known as Equity Media Holdings. It originally carried Univision programming and was the first Amarillo television station to affiliate with that Spanish-language network. Before KEYU launched, Amarillo-area viewers generally received Univision through cable systems carrying the network's national feed. KEYU provided a local broadcast outlet, inserting local advertising, news material, and occasional paid programming into a schedule that otherwise closely followed the network feed. KEYU initially operated from studios on South Kentucky Street on Amarillo's southwest side. Its early local news operation, Noticias Univision Amarillo, was produced through Equity's centralized news-production system. The service aired twice each weeknight, at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m., and combined locally gathered news and weather with centrally produced national, international, and sports material. Equity discontinued the newscasts in June 2008 during corporate cost-cutting associated with its financial difficulties. Equity's financial problems also affected a proposed sale of KEYU. In 2008, Luken Communications agreed in principle to acquire KEYU and several other Equity stations and translators. The proposed transaction was not completed after Equity entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and Luken withdrew its offers for a number of the stations. KEYU was subsequently included in Equity's broader station divestiture program. Drewry Communications announced an acquisition in October 2009, using a failing-station waiver to permit common ownership with KFDA. After Drewry assumed control in 2010, KEYU moved away from Univision and adopted the Telemundo programming and local operations previously associated with KTMO-LP. Its operations were relocated to KFDA's Broadway Drive facilities, and full-scale locally produced evening newscasts returned in September 2009. Raycom Media acquired Drewry's television and radio assets in a transaction announced in 2015 and completed later that year. The deal made KEYU the first full-power Spanish-language television station owned by Raycom, whose other Telemundo outlets were primarily low-power or digital-subchannel operations. Gray Television's subsequent agreement to merge with Raycom brought KEYU into Gray's portfolio. The transaction was approved in December 2018 and completed on January 2, 2019. KEYU's over-the-air reach is smaller than that of KFDA. Its full-power contour does not cover the entire Amarillo market, so the station is also simulcast in 480i widescreen standard definition on KFDA's third digital subchannel, 10.3, using a separate transmitter associated with the shared facilities. The station added Ion Television programming to a third digital subchannel in 2018 after removing LATV programming from its second subchannel. KEYU also carried the statewide Noticias Telemundo Texas morning newscast from October 2022 until that program was discontinued on November 1, 2024. KEYU remains a Telemundo-serving broadcast outlet for the Amarillo area, although some details of its current schedule and digital subchannels require verification.

KEYU signed on the air on November 2, 2004, as a full-power television station licensed to Borger, Texas, with the Amarillo market as its principal service area. It was established by Equity Broadcasting Corporation, a Little Rock-based broadcaster that later operated under the name Equity Media Holdings. The station began as a Univision affiliate and represented a significant change in local Spanish-language television distribution. Prior to its launch, Amarillo-area cable systems carried Univision's national feed, but viewers did not have a locally licensed full-power Univision station. KEYU's initial schedule largely mirrored the network feed while allowing for local advertising, news inserts, and occasional paid programming. The original KEYU facilities were located on South Kentucky Street in southwest Amarillo. Equity also developed a local news operation, Noticias Univision Amarillo. From 2005 through 2008, the service aired at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on weeknights. Although KEYU had local reporters and photographers, much of the production was centralized at Equity's Little Rock headquarters, which supplied material for several of the company's Spanish-language affiliates. The broadcasts generally combined a short local news and weather segment with centrally produced national, international, and sports reports. Equity's deteriorating financial position led to the cancellation of these newscasts in June 2008. Ownership uncertainty intensified during 2008 and 2009. In June 2008, Equity announced a proposed sale of KEYU, its low-power repeaters, and several other Univision-affiliated properties to Luken Communications. The proposed package was valued at $25 million, with a possible reduction if all of the stations closed together. Equity filed for Chapter 11 protection in December 2008, however, and Luken subsequently withdrew its offers for KEYU and other Equity stations. A planned Retro Television Network service for one of KEYU's digital subchannels also did not proceed; the network affiliation was removed from Equity-operated stations in January 2009 following a commercial dispute. Equity placed KEYU and several related Amarillo low-power stations on the market in 2009. Drewry Communications eventually agreed to acquire them, and a failing-station waiver allowed Drewry to own KEYU alongside KFDA-TV, the Amarillo CBS affiliate. Following the change in control, KEYU relocated its operations to KFDA's studios on Broadway Drive in northern Amarillo. Drewry also changed the station's network affiliation. In place of Univision, KEYU adopted Telemundo programming and moved the local news operation formerly associated with KTMO-LP to the full-power station. Local news returned in September 2009 through weeknight broadcasts at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m., produced from the shared Broadway Drive facility. Raycom Media announced in August 2015 that it would acquire Drewry Communications' eight television stations and two radio stations. The $160 million transaction closed on December 1, 2015. KEYU thereby became the first full-power Spanish-language television station in Raycom's portfolio; Raycom's other Telemundo outlets were primarily low-power stations or digital subchannels. In June 2018, Gray Television announced a merger with Raycom. The transaction, valued at approximately $3.6 billion, was approved in December 2018 and completed on January 2, 2019, making KEYU part of Gray's national television group. KEYU's terrestrial coverage is narrower than KFDA's. Its full-power signal does not adequately reach all parts of the Amarillo market, so the station is also distributed on KFDA's third digital subchannel, 10.3, in 480i widescreen standard definition. This arrangement extends access to viewers who cannot reliably receive KEYU's main transmitter in Potter County. The station's digital multicast configuration has changed over time. In August 2018, it removed LATV from its second digital subchannel and added Ion Television on a third subchannel, bringing Ion programming back to the market after a low-power outlet ceased operations. KEYU later carried Noticias Telemundo Texas, a statewide morning newscast presented from KXTX-TV in Fort Worth. The program began appearing on the station on October 10, 2022, and was discontinued on November 1, 2024. KEYU continues to function as the Amarillo area's full-power Telemundo affiliate under Gray Media, sharing facilities and operational resources with KFDA-TV.

• 2024

  Noticias Telemundo Texas ends

  [1]KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org

  The statewide morning program is discontinued on November 1.

• 2022

  Noticias Telemundo Texas launches on KEYU

  [1]KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org

  The station begins carrying the statewide morning newscast on October 10.

• 2019

  Gray completes Raycom merger

  [1]KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org

  Gray Television completes its merger with Raycom, acquiring KEYU and KFDA-TV.

• 2018

  Ion Television joins the digital lineup

  [1]KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org

  KEYU replaces LATV on a digital subchannel and adds Ion Television programming.

• 2015

  Raycom acquires Drewry

  [1]KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org

  Raycom completes its $160 million acquisition of Drewry's broadcast assets on December 1.

• 2010

  Telemundo affiliation begins

  [1]KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org

  KEYU drops Univision, adopts Telemundo programming, and operates from KFDA's facilities.

• 2009

  Drewry acquisition process advances

  [1]KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org

  Drewry Communications agrees to acquire KEYU and related Amarillo stations under a failing-station waiver arrangement.

• 2008

  Equity enters financial distress

  [1]KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org

  Equity announces a proposed Luken sale and later files for Chapter 11 protection; KEYU's Equity-produced newscasts are discontinued.

• 2005

  Local Spanish-language news launches

  [1]KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org

  KEYU begins airing Noticias Univision Amarillo, with local and centrally produced news segments.

• 2004

  KEYU signs on

  [1]KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org

  The station begins broadcasting on November 2 as an Amarillo-area Univision affiliate.

A local Spanish-language broadcast outlet serving Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle through Telemundo programming, locally oriented news, advertising, and supplementary digital distribution.

• Spanish-language television network affiliation · 2010

  Telemundo network service

  KEYU's principal service is its full-power broadcast of Telemundo programming for the Amarillo market. The schedule supplies Spanish-language entertainment, news, sports, and other network content, complemented by local advertising and station operations. KEYU adopted the Telemundo affiliation after Drewry Communications acquired the station and moved programming previously associated with KTMO-LP to the full-power outlet.

• Local television news · 2005

  Local Spanish-language newscasts

  KEYU has carried several forms of Spanish-language news. Noticias Univision Amarillo ran from 2005 until 2008 using a combination of local reporting and centralized Equity-produced segments. After the station became a Telemundo affiliate and a KFDA sister station, locally produced weeknight newscasts returned in September 2009 at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. KEYU also carried Noticias Telemundo Texas from 2022 until the program ended in 2024.

• Digital terrestrial distribution · 2011

  KFDA-TV 10.3 simulcast

  Because KEYU's full-power contour does not adequately cover the entire Amarillo market, its service is simulcast on KFDA-TV's third digital subchannel. The 480i widescreen standard-definition feed helps extend access to viewers who cannot receive KEYU's main signal reliably.

• Digital multicast television · 2018

  Ion Television digital subchannel

  In August 2018, KEYU added Ion Television programming to a third digital subchannel after LATV programming was removed from the station's second subchannel. The change restored Ion programming to the Amarillo area after a former low-power outlet had ceased operations.

• 2022

  Carry Noticias Telemundo TexasProduct launch

  Background

  Telemundo distributed a statewide morning newscast presented from KXTX-TV in Fort Worth.

  Action taken

  KEYU began airing Noticias Telemundo Texas on October 10, 2022.

  Aftermath

  The program remained part of KEYU's schedule until it was discontinued on November 1, 2024.

  Source

• 2018

  Add Ion Television to a digital subchannelProduct launch

  Background

  The station revised its digital multicast lineup after LATV programming was removed from the second subchannel.

  Action taken

  KEYU opened a third digital subchannel carrying Ion Television programming.

  Aftermath

  The move returned Ion Television service to the Amarillo market after a low-power Ion outlet had stopped operating.

  Source

• 2010

  Switch from Univision to TelemundoStrategy

  Background

  After Drewry Communications took control of KEYU, the station's operating model and network affiliation were reorganized.

  Action taken

  KEYU ended its Univision affiliation and began carrying Telemundo programming and local operations formerly associated with KTMO-LP.

  Aftermath

  The change established KEYU as the Amarillo market's full-power Telemundo outlet and was followed by the return of locally produced evening newscasts.

  Source

1. 1KEYU (TV)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2KEYU official websitetelemundoamarillo.com