View source for KXRM-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Colorado Springs, Colorado}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = KXRM-TV
| city = Colorado Springs, Colorado
| logo = KXRM2022Logo.png
| logo_size = 225px
| image = KXTU2024.svg
| image_size = 200px
| branding = {{ubl|Fox 21; ''Fox 21 News''|[[KXTU-LD|SOCO CW]] (21.2)}}
| digital = 22 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 21
| subchannels = 
| translators = ''see {{section link||Translators}}''
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''21.1:''' [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]|'''21.2:''' [[The CW]] ([[KXTU-LD]])|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| network = 
| country = United States
| founded = 
| airdate = {{start date and age|1985|1|22|p=y}}
| last_airdate = 
| location = [[Colorado Springs]]–[[Pueblo, Colorado]]
| callsign_meaning = "Christ Exalted in the [[Rocky Mountains]]"
| former_callsigns = 
| former_channel_numbers = '''Analog:''' 21 (UHF, 1985–2009)
| owner = [[Nexstar Media Group]]
| licensee = Nexstar Media Inc.
| sister_stations = [[KXTU-LD]]
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[Independent station|Independent]] (1985–1986)|[[UPN]] (secondary, 1995–1999)}}
| erp = 51 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|641|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 35991
| coordinates = {{coord|38|44|42.9|N|104|51|41.9|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=KXRM-TV}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.fox21news.com/}}
}}

'''KXRM-TV''' (channel 21) is a [[television station]] in [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]], United States, affiliated with the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] network. It is owned by [[Nexstar Media Group]] alongside [[low-power broadcasting#Television|low-power]] [[KXTU-LD]] (channel 57), an [[owned-and-operated station]] of [[The CW]]. The two stations share studios on Wooten Road in Colorado Springs; KXRM-TV's transmitter is located on [[Cheyenne Mountain]].

==History==
KXRM-TV first signed on the air as an [[independent station]] on January 22, 1985. Its [[call signs in North America|call letters]] were chosen in part to reflect the region in which it operates and its original intent of classic family friendly programing, current and classic cartoon programing mixed with Christian teaching and talk shows. The first two letters stand for "Khrist" ([[Jesus Christ]]) "Xalted" (Exalted) and the last two letters stand for "[[Rocky Mountains]]". The station had hoped to sign on [[Christmas Eve]] 1984, but technical glitches prevented that from happening. KXRM was Southern Colorado's first independent station, and the region's first commercial television station since [[KRDO-TV]] signed on 31 years earlier. KXRM-TV became one of the initial group of independent television stations to agree to affiliate with the Fox Broadcasting Company in 1986 and had remained an affiliate of the network ever since.

The station was locally owned until 2000 when it was bought by [[Raycom Media]]. After Raycom merged with the [[Liberty Corporation]], KXRM was one of several stations that were spun off to [[Barrington Broadcasting]].

On October 11, 2007, the station began airing programming from the [[Retro Television Network]] (RTV) on its second [[digital subchannel]].<ref>[http://broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6488165.html Three Markets Go Retro with Retro Television Network]. Broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved on July 22, 2013.</ref> Previously, this aired [[The Tube Music Network|The Tube]] (a 24-hour music channel) until the network suspended operations on October 1. On September 15, 2008, KXRM replaced RTV programming on 21.2 with a simulcast of KXTU.<ref>[http://springstvtalk.blogspot.com/2008/09/kxrm-takes-kxtu-under-its-digital-wing.html KXRM takes KXTU under its digital wing]. Springstvtalk.blogspot.com (September 17, 2008). Retrieved on July 22, 2013.</ref> This signal increases KXTU's broadcasting radius; KXTU did not convert to digital until 2010, and even in digital, its coverage area is effectively limited to [[El Paso County, Colorado|El Paso]] and [[Pueblo County, Colorado|Pueblo]] counties.

On February 28, 2013, Barrington Broadcasting announced the sale of its entire group, including KXRM-TV, to [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]].<ref name=b&c-saletosinclair>{{cite news|last=Malone|first=Michael|title=Sinclair's Chesapeake TV Acquires Barrington Stations|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/492113-Sinclair_s_Chesapeake_TV_Acquires_Barrington_Stations.php|access-date=March 1, 2013|newspaper=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=February 28, 2013}}</ref> The sale was completed on November 25.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/Barrington%20Closes.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203013631/http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/Barrington%20Closes.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2013 }}</ref> On August 20, 2014, Sinclair announced that it would sell KXRM-TV and KXTU-LD, along with [[WTTA]] in [[Tampa Bay Area|Tampa Bay]] and [[WHTM]] in [[Harrisburg]] (which Sinclair, on behalf of [[Allbritton]] is planning on to divest) to [[Media General]] in a swap for [[WJAR]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]], the [[WLUK-TV]] and [[WCWF]] duopoly in [[Green Bay, Wisconsin]], and [[WTGS]] in [[Savannah, Georgia]]. The swap was part of Media General's merger with [[LIN Media]].<ref name=tvnc-saletomediageneral>{{cite news|title=Media General, LIN Sell Stations In 5 Markets|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/78615/media-general-lin-sell-stations-in-5-markets|access-date=August 20, 2014|work=TVNewsCheck|date=August 20, 2014}}</ref><ref name=b&c-saletomediageneral>{{cite news|last1=Malone|first1=Michael|title=Media General, LIN Divest Stations in Five Markets|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/media-general-lin-divest-stations-five-markets/133323|access-date=August 20, 2014|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=August 20, 2014}}</ref> WHTM's sale of Media General was explored nearly two months earlier, and it was completed, nearly three months before the Media General/LIN deal was completed.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Staff|date=June 23, 2014|title=Media General Buying WHTM For $83.4M|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/uncategorized/article/media-general-buying-whtm-for-83-4m/|access-date=November 22, 2021|website=TV News Check|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=September 2, 2014|title=Media General Completes Acquisition of WHTM-TV in Harrisburg, PA|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140902006403/en/Media-General-Completes-Acquisition-of-WHTM-TV-in-Harrisburg-PA|access-date=November 22, 2021|website=www.businesswire.com|language=en}}</ref> The sale was completed on December 19.<ref>[http://sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/Swaps%20Closing%20Press%20Release.pdf Sinclair Broadcast Group Closes on Certain Station Acquisitions and Divestitures with Media General] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219222653/http://sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/Swaps%20Closing%20Press%20Release.pdf |date=December 19, 2014 }}, Press Release, [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]], Retrieved December 19, 2014</ref> On January 27, 2016, it was announced that the [[Nexstar Broadcasting Group]] would buy Media General for $4.6 billion. KXRM became part of "Nexstar Media Group" as Nexstar's second station in Colorado, joining [[Grand Junction, Colorado|Grand Junction]]'s [[CBS]] affiliate [[KREX-TV]], along with their sister Fox station [[KFQX]] through their JSA with [[Mission Broadcasting]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2016/jan27_2016nexs.html |title=Nexstar Broadcasting Group Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Media General for $4.6 Billion in Accretive Cash and Stock Transaction |access-date=January 28, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130083411/http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2016/jan27_2016nexs.html |archive-date=January 30, 2016 }}</ref> The deal was approved by the FCC on January 11, 2017, and it was completed on January 17.<ref>[http://www.nexstar.tv/nexstar-broadcasting-group-completes-acquisition-of-media-general-creating-nexstar-media-group-the-nations-second-largest-television-broadcaster/ Nexstar Broadcasting Group Completes Acquisition of Media General Creating Nexstar Media Group, The Nation's Second Largest Television Broadcaster] [[Nexstar Media Group]], January 17, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017.</ref> Nexstar would then acquire [[Tribune Broadcasting|Tribune Media]] and their Denver duopoly of CW affiliate [[KWGN-TV]] and Fox affiliate [[KDVR]], thus consolidating full control over the Fox stations across Colorado.

==News operation==
Currently, KXRM broadcasts 43 hours of local news each week (with {{frac|7|1|2}} hours each weekday, {{frac|2|1|2}} hours on Saturdays and three hours on Sundays). It has the highest local newscast output among all broadcast television stations in the Colorado Springs–[[Pueblo, Colorado|Pueblo]] market.

The station began airing a half hour prime time newscast at 9 p.m. on March 11, 2001, that was produced by local CBS affiliate [[KKTV]]. KXRM established its own in-house news department in 2006 and expanded the nightly 9 p.m. newscast to a full hour. The station hosts a morning show (first started in 2007 as a three-hour newscast) that currently runs from 5 to 9 a.m. that has been recognized by the Colorado Broadcasters Association as one of the best morning shows in the [[media market|market]]. On January 20, 2016, a 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast was added for weeknights. KXRM also airs weekend morning newscasts running from 5 to 7 a.m. on Saturdays and 6 to 8 a.m. on Sundays. The Saturday evening newscasts run a half hour from 9 to 9:30&nbsp;p.m., and the Sunday night newscasts run an hour from 9 to 10 p.m.

In late September 2010, KXRM became the fourth station in Colorado Springs–Pueblo to start broadcasting its local newscasts in [[16:9]] [[widescreen]].

In 2013, the [[Radio Television Digital News Association]] recognized KXRM with a National Edward R. Murrow Award for continuing coverage of the [[Waldo Canyon Fire]].<ref>[http://rtdna.org/content/2013_national_edward_r_murrow_award_winners#Television 2013 National Edward R. Murrow Award Winners] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414091557/http://www.rtdna.org/content/2013_national_edward_r_murrow_award_winners#Television |date=April 14, 2016 }}. RTDNA. Retrieved on July 22, 2013.</ref>

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of KXRM-TV<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KXRM#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KXRM|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=June 13, 2025}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.1 
| [[720p]] || rowspan=4|[[16:9]] || KXRM-DT || [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
|- style="background-color: #E6FFF7;"
! scope = "row" | 21.2 
| [[1080i]] || SOCO CW || [[The CW]] ([[KXTU-LD]])
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.3 
| rowspan=2|[[480i]] || ION || [[Ion Television|Ion]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 21.4 
| Mystery || [[Ion Mystery]]
|}
{{legend|#E6FFF7|Simulcast of subchannels of another station}}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KXRM-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 21, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 22, using [[virtual channel]] 21.<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 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref>

As part of the [[SAFER Act]], KXRM kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of [[public service announcement]]s from the [[National Association of Broadcasters]].<ref name="FCC Nightlight">{{cite web|url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-291375A1.pdf|title=UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=June 12, 2009|access-date=June 14, 2024}}</ref>

==Translators==
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|10789|3=K32MD-D}}''' [[Cheyenne Wells]]
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|198513|3=K15KG-D}}''' [[Eads, Colorado|Eads]], etc.
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|189268|3=K18JX-D}}''' [[Hoehne, Colorado|Hoehne]]
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|35990|3=K28GE-D}}''' [[Woodland Park, Colorado|Woodland Park]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website}}

{{Colorado Springs/Pueblo TV}}
{{Colorado TV}}
{{NXST TV}}
{{Major U.S. TV O-O Stations}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kxrm-Tv}}
[[Category:1985 establishments in Colorado]]
[[Category:El Paso County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Fox Broadcasting Company affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Mystery affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Television affiliates]]
[[Category:Nexstar Media Group]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1985]]
[[Category:Television stations in Colorado Springs, Colorado|XRM-TV]]