KWBA-TV

The first attempt at putting a station on channel 58 in Sierra Vista was KCCA-TV (call sign standing for Cochise County, Arizona). KCCA was owned by Sierra Vista Television, owned by Thomas Gramatikas.[2] The proposed station would have broadcast from a tower in the Sierra Vista area with a power of 2.38 million watts; however, the Tucson area would have been blocked by terrain from seeing it.[3] It may have desired to operate as a subscription television station, indicated by a 1982 filing where the FCC granted KCCA permission to install subscription television equipment. By 1985, the permittee was Manning Telecasting, who also held the construction permit for channel 11 in Yuma,[4] but the permit vanished the next year, and KCCA never made it to air.

The history of the current channel 58 began November 22, 1996, with a construction permit granted to KM Communications to serve Sierra Vista and Tucson on analog channel 58. The call letters were originally KAUC, but in August 1997, the station changed their call letters to KWBA to reflect their affiliation deal with The WB; the former superstation feed of Chicago's WGN-TV served as Tucson's de facto affiliate of The WB until KWBA signed on. In 1997, the station announced its existence and that it was close to securing Tucson office space.[5] The station had now changed ownership, being held by a partnership of two companies: Sierra Television (a KM subsidiary[6]) and Tucson Communications. Its general manager was Ron Bergamo, an alumnus of the University of Arizona returning to Tucson after a six-year stint as general manager of KTSP-TV/KSAZ-TV in Phoenix.[5]

Delays in permitting for the tower site on United States Forest Service land[7] held up construction more than anticipated, but KWBA-TV began broadcasting on December 31, 1998.[8] WB programming was supplemented by short local features, syndicated programs, and Arizona Diamondbacks baseball.[9] It proved a success: in 2001, it tied for the highest rating among all WB affiliates in non-metered television markets (those still measured by diaries).[10] That year, Tucson Communications changed its name to Cascade Broadcasting Group, having become the sole owner. In 2006, KWBA-TV affiliated with The CW upon the merger of The WB with UPN.[11]

On March 18, 2008, Journal Broadcast Group announced it would purchase KWBA-TV, creating a duopoly with KGUN-TV. To make the $11.9 million purchase, Journal had to apply for a failing station waiver; even though Tucson had too few commercial station owners to normally permit another duopoly, it presented financial statements showing it had lost money for three years straight (with operating losses nearing $900,000 a year in 2006 and 2007[12]), a situation exacerbated by the loss of Diamondbacks baseball rights (the team moved all games to cable after the 2007 season), and pledged to start a local newscast from KGUN-TV for air on KWBA-TV. It also The FCC permitted the acquisition in June.[13] Work was carried out that fall to move KWBA-TV into KGUN-TV's studios.[14]

On July 30, 2014, it was announced that the E. W. Scripps Company would acquire Journal Communications in an all-stock transaction. The combined firm would retain its broadcast properties, including KGUN, and spin off the print assets as Journal Media Group.[15] The FCC approved the deal on December 12, 2014, and shareholders followed suit on March 11, 2015; the merger was completed on April 1.[16][17]

• KWBA Website