Early History and WB Affiliation
Prior to the sign on of KASW on September 22, 1995, the channel 61 UHF frequency was originally occupied by low-powered K61CA, a locally-programmed music video channel that operated from March 1983 to December 1984.
By 1991, preparations had been made to sign on another independent station in Phoenix, under the callsign KAIK. The station's construction permit and eventual license bore these calls into 1994, until KAIK was bought by the Brooks family the following year and became KASW. When KASW signed on in its current form, the Brooks entered into a local marketing agreement with MAC America Communications, the then-owners of KTVK (which was in the concluding stages of its transition from an ABC affiliate into an independent station at the time).
This agreement allowed KTVK, which had an overflowing program inventory, to move some of its programming over to KASW. The programming included classic cartoons (such as The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Double Dragon, The Woody Woodpecker Show and Sailor Moon), classic sitcoms (such as Happy Days, The Brady Bunch, The Odd Couple, Bewitched, Gilligan's Island and All in the Family), old movies and a few recent sitcoms (such as Doogie Howser, M.D., Blossom, Family Matters, The Simpsons and Who's the Boss?). KTVK also dropped its charter affiliation with The WB Television Network, which also migrated to KASW, along with animated series from Kids' WB (such as Animaniacs and Pinky & The Brain). Towards the end of 1995, KTVK had also moved Fox Kids (the predecessor of 4Kids TV) and other syndicated programs to KASW. These changes allowed KTVK to reinstate its Saturday morning newscasts, while KASW began airing a half-hour 9 p.m. newscast produced by KTVK, which ended in 1997.
When Belo bought most of MAC America's television properties in 1999, the local marketing agreement with KASW was included in the transaction. This move further boosted its programming quality. After the Federal Communications Commission started allowing duopolies in 2000 following CBS' merger with Viacom (then-owner of UPN), KASW was bought by Belo outright.
Due to changes in the industry, from about 1998 to about 2004, KASW began to gradually move away from classic sitcoms, old movies and cartoons. The station began to phase in more talk shows, reality shows and court shows to its schedule. It finally dropped weekday cartoons in January 2006, when The WB discontinued the Kids' WB weekday afternoon lineup (while retaining and expanding its Saturday morning block).
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