KWGN-TV launched on July 18, 1952 is a CW affiliated broadcasting in Denver, CO and owned by Tribune Broadcasting which in turn is owned by Tribune Media Company. The channel shares duopoly with Fox-affiliated KDRV broadcasting @ Ch 31 The two siblings are located under one roof on East Speer Boulevard. The transmitter of the service is maintained on Lookout Mountain. K14JZ-D, K31IQ-D and K49EX-D are the broadcast relay stations of the KWGN in Peetz, Sterling and Anton.
Watch KWGN-TV Denver, CO Stream Live
Watch KWGN-TV live stream from Denver, Colorado. Get latest local news, traffic reports, weather and sports updates from Denver. Wait as the stream loads.
Read MoreComcast Xfinity and CenturyLink are the carriers of the Denver based television service; however, the channel at present is not available on any pay TV providers in United States.
Slogan: Colorado’s Own
Sub-Channels: 2.1 The CW
2.2 This TV
2.3 Comet TV
2.4 Charge!
Website: www.kdvr.com
Early History
KFEL-TV went on air on July 18, 1952 as KFEL-TV under the ownership of Gene O’Fallon alongside KFEL 950 AM; it was the maiden television service introduced in Colorado and also the first to get on air on VHF after FCC lifted the sanctions on the licenses in 1952. It was originally linked with DuMount Television Network while also having secondary affiliations with CBS, NBC and ABC. The original studios were maintained in a remodeled brick warehouse at 550 Lincoln Street.
It was later acquired by J. Elroy McCaw in 1955 and 50% of the stake in channel was acquired by John M. Shaheen of Tele-Trip Inc. The call sign was changed to KTVR during the same time while its affiliation with DuMont ended in Aug 1956 when the network ended its operations. During 50s, it for a brief stint signed affiliation with NTA Film Network. McCaw in 1959 took over the channel as sole owner by acquiring the share in the service. The calls were changed to KCTO in 1963.
Acquisition by Tribune
The service in 1965 was purchased by Tribune broadcasting which changed it call to KWGN-TV after the consummation of deal in March 1966. It would then became company’s 14th TV asset. A chain of translators was introduced under the new ownership somewhere in 60s. It shifted its facilities to Greenwood Village in 1983.
Affiliation with WB
It became charter affiliate of KWGN on Jan 11, 1995 when the new network was launched. KWGN was rebranded as Denver’s WB2 in 1996 when it dropped Denver’s 2.
Affiliation with CW
Upon the merger of UPN and The WB and formation of CW in Jan 2006, it moved from The WB to CW on Sep 18, 2006.
Current Corporate Identity and Sale Pending to Nexstar
The sale of KWGN-TV to Sinclair Broadcast Group was stopped following the intervention of US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division in 2018.
Nexstar Media Group in Dec 2018 announced their plans to acquire the channel and other Tribune assets however, the sale is pending and would also seek approval of Federal Communications once agreed.
Programming
KWGN had been the official home of the Colorado Rockies from 1993 to 2002 and also supported Denver Nuggets between 1995 and 2004. It presently hosts 41 hours of locally produced news-bulletins weekly which include seven hours on weekdays and 3 each on Saturdays and Sundays. The sibling KDVR and KWGN source each other with a great deal of programs including reports, video footages and news operations.
