KABE-CD

KABE-CD (channel 39) is a low-power, Class A television station in Bakersfield, California, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language network Univision. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision alongside Class A UniMás outlet KBTF-CD (channel 31) and Quest affiliate KUVI-DT (channel 45). The three stations share studios on Truxtun Avenue in the western section of Bakersfield; KABE-CD's transmitter is located atop Mount Adelaide.

KABE-CD

Bakersfield, California United States
Channels	Digital: 35 (UHF) Virtual: 39
Branding	Univision 39 Noticias 39 (newscasts) Noticias 21 (during newscast simulcasts)
Programming
Affiliations	39.1: Univision
Ownership
Owner	TelevisaUnivision (Univision Bakersfield LLC)
Sister stations	KUVI-DT, KBTF-CD
History
First air date	July 31, 1989 (35 years ago) (1989-07-31)
Former call signs	K52DJ (1989–1998) KSUV-LP (1998–2002) KBTF-LP (2002–2004) KABE-LP (2004–2010) KABE-LD (2010–2013)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 52 (UHF, 1989–1998), 39 (UHF, 1998–2010) Digital: 39 (UHF, 2010–2019)
Former affiliations	Univision (via KFTV, 1989–2002) TeleFutura (2002–2004)
Call sign meaning	"Aquí en Bakersfield Estamos"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	18747
Class	CD
ERP	13 kW
HAAT	385 m (1,263 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	35°26′16.75″N 118°44′27.39″W
Translator(s)	KUVI-DT 45.2 Bakersfield
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	Univision Bakersfield

In addition to its own digital signal, KABE-CD is simulcast in high definition on KUVI's second digital subchannel (45.2) from a separate transmitter atop Mount Adelaide.

History

K52DJ launched on July 31, 1989, as a translator of Fresno's Univision station KFTV. It was renamed KSUV-LP and moved to channel 39 in 1998 after Univision purchased UPN affiliate KUZZ-TV (now KUVI-DT) from Buck Owens. It was renamed to KBTF-LP in 2002 during the launch of TeleFutura (now UniMás). It was renamed to KABE-LP in 2004 after a callsign swap with the original KABE-CA (channel 31, now KBTF-CD). In 2013, the station obtained Class A status. In 2019, KABE started airing Court TV on its second digital subchannel as part of an agreement between Scripps and Univision for areas where KERO-TV's signal is not easily received.^[2]

Subchannel

Subchannel of KABE-CD^[3]

Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
39.1	720p	16:9	KABE-CD	Univision

The True Crime Network affiliation was dropped on September 25, 2017, two weeks after KUVI obtained the affiliation; the 39.2 subchannel went dark until 2019, when it returned to the air with Court TV programming. The Court TV affiliation was dropped in 2021.