KBVU (TV)
Television station in Eureka, California
title: "KBVU (TV)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1994-establishments-in-california", "charge!-(tv-network)-affiliates", "comet-(tv-network)-affiliates", "the-nest-(tv-network)-affiliates", "roar-(tv-network)-affiliates", "sinclair-broadcast-group", "television-channels-and-stations-established-in-1994", "television-stations-in-eureka,-california"] description: "Television station in Eureka, California" topic_path: "arts/film" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KBVU_(TV)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Television station in Eureka, California ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox television station"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| callsign | KBVU |
| above | |
| location | Eureka, California |
| country | United States |
| digital | 28 (UHF) |
| virtual | 28 |
| affiliations | |
| owner | Cunningham Broadcasting |
| licensee | Eureka (KBVU-TV) Licensee, Inc. |
| operator | |
| founded | July 10, 1991 |
| airdate | |
| callsign_meaning | Best VU (as in "view") |
| sister_stations | KAEF-TV |
| former_callsigns | KZJA (CP) |
| former_channel_numbers | Analog: 29 (UHF, 1994–2008) |
| former_affiliations | |
| erp | |
| haat | 512 m |
| facility_id | 58618 |
| coordinates | (STA) |
| licensing_authority | FCC |
| :: |
| callsign = KBVU | above = | logo = | logo_size = | location = Eureka, California | country = United States | city = | branding = | digital = 28 (UHF) | virtual = 28 | subchannels = | translators = | affiliations = | owner = Cunningham Broadcasting | licensee = Eureka (KBVU-TV) Licensee, Inc. | operator = | founded = July 10, 1991 | airdate = | last_airdate = | callsign_meaning = Best VU (as in "view") | sister_stations = KAEF-TV | former_callsigns = KZJA (CP) | former_channel_numbers = Analog: 29 (UHF, 1994–2008) | former_affiliations = | erp = | haat = 512 m | facility_id = 58618 | coordinates = (STA) | licensing_authority = FCC | website =
KBVU (channel 28) is a television station in Eureka, California, United States, airing programming from the digital multicast network Roar. It is owned by Cunningham Broadcasting, which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of Arcata-licensed ABC/Fox affiliate KAEF-TV (channel 23), for the provision of certain services. However, Sinclair effectively owns KBVU as the majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith. KBVU is also sister to two low-power stations owned by Sinclair: dual CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate KECA-LD (channel 29) and Univision affiliate KEUV-LD (channel 35). The four stations share studios on Sixth Street in downtown Eureka; KBVU's transmitter is located along Barry Road southeast of Eureka.
Although it identifies as a station in its own right, KBVU is considered a semi-satellite of KCVU (channel 20) in Paradise–Chico–Redding, with the only difference between the two stations being the hourly station identification as Roar uses a master default schedule, with LMA partner KRCR-TV providing services to the station from their Auditorium Drive facility in Redding.
History
The station signed on the air as a Fox affiliate on July 20, 1994. Prior to KBVU's launch, Fox's programming was only available via a secondary affiliation with ABC affiliates KAEF and KFWU (both satellites of KRCR-TV), while out-of-market affiliates KTVU and KTXL were imported by some cable providers.
On April 21, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group purchased KAEF and the LMA with KBVU as part of a four-station deal. The sale was completed on September 1.
On December 9, 2025, the Fox affiliation was moved to KAEF-TV's second subchannel, while KBVU's main channel flipped to Roar.
Technical information and subchannels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed: ::data[format=table title="Subchannels of KBVU{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KBVU|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KBVU|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=March 20, 2025}}"]
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | 28.1 | 28.2 | 28.3 | 28.6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 720p | 16:9 | KBVU-HD | Roar | |||||
| 480i | COMET | Comet | ||||||
| CHARGE | Charge! | |||||||
| STADIUM | The Nest | |||||||
| :: |
Analog-to-digital conversion
KBVU shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 29, on December 22, 2008, along with KCVU, due to financial hardship. The station's digital signal broadcasts on its pre-transition UHF channel 28.
References
References
- (August 15, 2025). "Assignments". [[Federal Communications Commission]].
- "TV Query Results -- Video Division (FCC) USA".
- (April 4, 2017). "Media giant Sinclair Broadcast Group to buy four Eureka stations".
- (September 5, 2017). "Consummation Notice". [[Federal Communications Commission]].
- Robinson, Adam. (December 4, 2025). "Fox 20 (Chico/Redding) and Fox 28 (Eureka) to change channels for some viewers December 9".
- "RabbitEars TV Query for KBVU".
- "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::