WUVC-TV

From Free net encyclopedia

WUVC-TV is a broadcast television station based in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Broadcasting on UHF channel 40, WUVC is a Univision television network owned and operated station.

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History

Channel 40 began operation in 1981 and was known as WKFT-TV. It offered a general entertainment format consisting of cartoons, westerns, religious shows, dramas, and classic sitcoms. At one point, the station even had a 10PM newscast, which focused more on Fayetteville area news even after its signal had been expanded in 1986 to cover the entire Triangle television market. Even though it was essentially a low budget operation, it still fell on hard times financially.

When WRAL-TV's transmission tower was destroyed in a severe ice storm in December 1989, forcing it off the air, WKFT picked up WRAL-TV's entire broadcast schedule until October 1990, when WRAL's new tower was erected.

In the fall of 1991, WKFT resumed a general entertainment format with stronger programming, offering a blend of sitcoms, cartoons, movies, talk shows, and reality shows. It lost bids for the UPN and WB affiliations, so it remained an independent station.

In 1996 the station was sold to Bahakel. Still, as stronger programming was not as readily available, WKFT moved toward more paid programming. On 14 March 2002 the station's transmission tower was struck by a small aircraft. Although the station's broadcasts continued on local cable networks, the station remained off the air for a few months.

The station was purchased by Univision in April 2003. It switched its call-sign and affiliation in June of that year, becoming the Research Triangle area's first Spanish-language television channel. Its programming inventory was picked up by WLFL-TV and WRDC-TV.

WUVC's signal can also be picked up in Greensboro.

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