KNCT (TV)

{{Short description|Television station in Belton, Texas}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox television station | callsign = KNCT | city = Belton, Texas | logo = KNCT Logo 2024.png | logo_size = 160px | branding = CW Central Texas; ''Central Texas CW News at 9'' | analog = | digital = 17 (UHF) | virtual = 46 | subchannels = | affiliations = {{ubl|'''46.1:''' The CW|''for others, see {{section link||Technical information and subchannels}}''}} | translators = | founded = | airdate = {{Start date|1970|11|23}} | last_airdate = | location = Belton–Killeen–Temple–Waco, Texas | country = United States | callsign_meaning = North Central Texas | former_callsigns = | former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 46 (UHF, 1970–2009)|'''Digital:''' 38 (UHF, 2001–2009), 46 (UHF, 2009–2019)}} | owner = Gray Media | licensee = Gray Television Licensee, LLC | sister_stations = KWTX-TV, KBTX-TV | former_affiliations = {{ubl|PBS (1970–2018)|Silent (2018–2019)}} | erp = 1,000 kW{{r|kncttowermove}} | haat = {{convert|505.7|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}{{r|kncttowermove}} | class = | facility_id = 9754 | coordinates = {{coord|31|19|19.2|N|97|19|3|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KNCT}}{{r|kncttowermove}} | licensing_authority = FCC | website = {{URL|https://www.kwtx.com/cw12tv/}} }}

'''KNCT''' (channel 46) is a television station licensed to Belton, Texas, United States, serving as the CW affiliate for Central Texas. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Waco-licensed CBS/Telemundo affiliate KWTX-TV (channel 10) and Bryan-licensed dual CBS/CW affiliate KBTX-TV (channel 3), a semi-satellite of KWTX-TV. KNCT and KWTX-TV share studios on American Plaza in Waco; KNCT's transmitter is located near Moody, Texas.

KNCT serves as the CW affiliate for the western half of the Waco–Temple–Bryan television market, while KBTX-TV's second digital subchannel serves the eastern half.

Until August 31, 2018, KNCT served as the PBS member station for the Waco market, owned by Central Texas College, with studios located at the CTC campus in Killeen.

==History== When KNCT signed on in November 1970, it was the sole PBS station for the western portion of the market, with the eastern portion served by Texas A&M's KAMU-TV, which signed on in February 1970. In 1978, KNCT set up a low-powered translator in Waco. The main KNCT signal barely covered Waco, while KAMU's signal just missed it. In 1989, it was upgraded to a full-fledged station, KCTF, which was spun off as a separate station in 1994 and ultimately taken over by Baylor University in 2000 as KWBU-TV. However, in July 2010, KWBU-TV began winding down operations and dropped all PBS programming prior to going off the air entirely on July 31 (it would later become KDYW, whose license was voluntarily canceled in 2012 following a failed attempt to sell the station to Daystar).<ref name=fcc-kdywgone>{{cite web|last=Harding|first=Kevin R.|title=In Re: BLCDT-20060622AAS…|url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=36222|format=PDF|date=September 27, 2012|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=September 28, 2012}}</ref> This left KNCT, once again, as the sole PBS station for the western side of the market. On July 1, KNCT took over KWBU's cable slots on Time Warner Cable (now Charter Spectrum) and Grande Communications, and became available on DirecTV.

As part of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s spectrum repacking, KNCT would have been required to move from RF channel 46 to RF channel 17 for testing starting in January 2020, with completion by March 13, 2020.<ref>[http://data.fcc.gov/download/incentive-auctions/Transition_Files/Phase_Assignment_Closing_PN.csv FCC TV spectrum Phase Assignment Table] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417160749/http://data.fcc.gov/download/incentive-auctions/Transition_Files/Phase_Assignment_Closing_PN.csv |date=April 17, 2017 }}, ''FCC Incentive Auction Television Transition Data Files'', April 13, 2017.</ref> However, on February 27, 2018, the Central Texas College Board of Trustees voted to close down KNCT due to budgetary concerns relating to the repacking. Central Texas College would have been responsible for 40 percent of the expenses related to the repacking, which would have amounted to $1.6 million in expenses for the college. Combined with the need to replace the station's transmitter, which had been in use since the station signed on, the trustees concluded that it no longer made sense to keep the station on the air. KNCT general manager Max Rudolph said that area cable systems could replace KNCT with KERA-TV from Dallas or KLRU from Austin. Sister radio station KNCT-FM (which was launched the same day as the television station), as well as the college's radio and television broadcasting courses, were not affected by the closure of KNCT television.<ref name="kcen-knctclosing">{{cite news|last1=Angeline|first1=Jillian|title=Local PBS station KNCT going dark soon|url=http://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/local-pbs-station-knct-going-dark-soon/500-524275867|access-date=March 9, 2018|work=KCEN|date=February 28, 2018}}</ref><ref name="wacotrib-knctclosing">{{cite news|last1=Hoover|first1=Carl|title=Killeen-Temple public television station KNCT to end broadcasts|url=http://www.wacotrib.com/news/killeen-temple-public-television-station-knct-to-end-broadcasts/article_5d725a61-ac3e-5116-a240-c217f5624b59.html|access-date=March 9, 2018|work=Waco Tribune-Herald|date=March 3, 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref name="kdh-knctclosing">{{cite news|last1=Ferraro|first1=Julie A.|title=Eventual closure of KNCT a tough decision|url=http://kdhnews.com/news/education/eventual-closure-of-knct-a-tough-decision/article_a6913bfc-1f36-11e8-bcc7-6b3a272b23ff.html|access-date=March 9, 2018|work=Killeen Daily Herald|date=March 3, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

On June 22, the board voted to shut down the station at midnight on August 31, 2018.<ref name="knctshutdown">{{cite web|url=http://kdhnews.com/harker_heights_herald/local/local-pbs-station-knct-tv-to-cease-broadcasting-aug/article_93461188-75a5-11e8-953c-a7ebe404e884.html|last=Payne|first=Matt|title=Local PBS station KNCT-TV to cease broadcasting Aug. 31|work=Harker Heights Herald|date=June 22, 2018|access-date=June 22, 2018}}</ref>

On August 28, 2018, it was reported that the Central Texas College Board of Trustees had voted to assign KNCT's broadcast license to Gray Television, which would create a duopoly with KWTX-TV.<ref name="kncttogray">{{cite web|url=http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/CTC-Approves-sale-of-KNCT-TV-to-Gray-Television-and-KWTX-TV-491920651.html?ref=651|title=CTC Approves sale of KNCT-TV to Gray Television and KWTX-TV|last=Carroll|first=John|work=KWTX.com|publisher=Gray Television|date=August 28, 2018|access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> This was possible because KNCT broadcasts on a channel not reserved for non-commercial broadcasting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/73.622|title=47 CFR 73.622 - Digital television table of allotments.|work=Code of Federal Regulations|access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> The sale was approved by the FCC on December 12, and it was completed on December 17.<ref name="knctgreenlight">{{cite web|url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-355581A1.pdf|title=Broadcast Actions|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=December 18, 2018|access-date=December 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?application_id=1797728&Service=DT&Form_id=905&Facility_id=9754|title=Consummation Notice|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=December 19, 2018|access-date=December 19, 2018}}</ref>

When KNCT went dark three days later, KAMU became the sole PBS member station in the Waco–Temple–Bryan market. Most cable systems on the western side of the market replaced KNCT with Austin's KLRU.<ref name="kncttogray"/>

On December 31, 2018, Gray filed an application to move KNCT's transmitter to KWTX's tower outside Moody, Texas.<ref name="kncttowermove">{{cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f9167c87ec60168013cf5e8584a&id=25076f9167c87ec60168013cf5e8584a&goBack=N|title=Modification of a DTV Station Construction Permit Application|work=Licensing and Management System|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=December 31, 2018|access-date=January 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kwtx.com/cw12tv/content/news/Make-a-Plan-to-Rescan-to-receive-KNCT-CW12-MeTV-and-Start-TV-560512661.html|title=Rescan your channels today to receive KNCT (CW12, MeTV, and Start TV)|website=KWTX.com|publisher=Gray Television|date=October 15, 2019|access-date=October 17, 2019|archive-date=October 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017084903/https://www.kwtx.com/cw12tv/content/news/Make-a-Plan-to-Rescan-to-receive-KNCT-CW12-MeTV-and-Start-TV-560512661.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Two days later, on January 2, 2019, Gray Television formally assumed operations of KNCT and made it The CW affiliate for the western half of the market. The CW had aired on KWTX-DT2 since the network launched in September 2006.<ref name="kwtx-knctchanges">{{cite news|title=Time to Rescan! New KWTX Channels Coming in 2019|url=https://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Time-to-Rescan-New-KWTX-Channels-Coming-in-2019-503557101.html|website=KWTX.com|publisher=Gray Television|date=December 27, 2018|access-date=December 31, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101002858/https://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Time-to-Rescan-New-KWTX-Channels-Coming-in-2019-503557101.html|archive-date=January 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wacotrib.com/entertainment/accesswaco/tv_and_radio/new-year-sees-shift-in-some-local-tv-channel-positions/article_fdd9f92d-7c69-5f14-af7e-aa78b37226a5.html|title=New year sees shift in some local TV channel positions|work=Waco Tribune-Herald|date=January 5, 2019|access-date=February 18, 2019}}</ref>

==Technical information and subchannels== The station's signal is multiplexed: {| class="wikitable" |+Subchannels of KNCT<ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KNCT#station RabbitEars TV Query for KNCT]</ref><ref name="kwtx-knctchanges" /> ! scope = "col" | Channel ! scope = "col" | Res. ! scope = "col" | Short name ! scope = "col" | Programming |- ! scope = "row" | 46.1 | 720p || KNCT-CW || The CW |- ! scope = "row" | 46.2 | rowspan=6| 480p || OUTLAW || Outlaw |- ! scope = "row" | 46.3 | StartTV || Start TV |- ! scope = "row" | 46.4 | DABL || Dabl |- ! scope = "row" | 46.5 | H&I || Heroes & Icons |- ! scope = "row" | 46.6 | Defy || Defy |- ! scope = "row" | 46.7 | MeToons || MeTV Toons |}

As a PBS member station, KNCT carried PBS Kids on subchannel 46.2. KNCT would later add Create to 46.3 in July 2010, after the closedown of KWBU-TV. However, KNCT did not offer the Spanish-language V-me network, which was seen on KWBU until that station's closedown.<ref name="wacotrib-knctcreate">{{cite news |last1=Teeter |first1=Bill |title=Killeen station will replace KWBU on TV in Waco at midnight |url=https://www.wacotrib.com/news/killeen-station-will-replace-kwbu-on-tv-in-waco-at/article_65bab039-bae4-529a-976f-4223ea45225d.html |access-date=September 1, 2018 |work=Waco Tribune-Herald |date=June 30, 2010 |language=en}}</ref>

In coincidence with the station's conversion into a commercial station, on January 2, 2019, KNCT began carrying programming from MeTV on its DT2 subchannel (with a simulcast on KWTX-DT3, which was concurrently established with the relaunch of KNCT) and Start TV on its DT3 subchannel.<ref name="kwtx-knctchanges"/>

===Analog-to-digital conversion=== KNCT shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 46, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 38 to channel 46 for post-transition operation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Official website|https://www.kwtx.com/cw12tv/}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knct (Tv)}} Category:1970 establishments in Texas Category:Belton, Texas Category:The CW affiliates Category:Dabl affiliates Category:Defy (TV network) affiliates Category:Gray Media Category:Heroes & Icons affiliates Category:MeTV Toons affiliates Category:Start TV affiliates Category:Television channels and stations established in 1970 NCT (TV)