KWHY
{{Short description|Television station in Garden Grove, California}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{for|the station on channel 22 which formerly used this call sign|KSCN-TV}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = KWHY
| logo = KWHY 63.1 logo on light (cropped).png
| logo_size = 220px
| logo_alt = The words "Canal de la" on one line and, larger, "Fe 63.1" on the next line in a sans serif. Sitting atop the center of the F is the red dove symbol of the Universal Church.
| city = Garden Grove, California{{efn|Originally licensed to Oxnard, California; moved to Garden Grove in 2017.}}
| digital = 4 (VHF), shared with KSCN-TV
| virtual = 63
| affiliations = {{ubl|63.1: Canal de la Fe|for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}}}
| owner = Meruelo Broadcasting
| licensee = KWHY-22 Broadcasting, LLC
| location = Garden Grove–Los Angeles, California
| country = United States
| airdate = {{start date and age|1985|8|17}}
| callsign_meaning = Carried over from the former KWHY-TV
| sister_stations = KDAY, KDEY-FM, KLLI, KLOS, KPWR
| former_callsigns = {{ubl|KTIE (1985–1988)|KADY-TV (1988–2004)|KBEH (2004–2025)}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|Analog: 63 (UHF, 1985–2009)|Digital: 24 (UHF, 2003–2018); 42 (UHF, 2018–2019)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|English-language Independent (1985–1995, 2002–2004)|UPN (1995–2002)|Spanish-language independent (2004–2006, 2018)|Tr3s (2006–2013)|CNN Latino (2013)|Super 22 (2013–2016)|Infomercials (2016–2018)}}
| erp = 35 kW
| haat = {{convert|894.1|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 56384
| coordinates = {{coord|34|12|47.9|N|118|3|44.3|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = FCC
| website = {{url|https://universalchurchusa.org/es/canaldelafe-4/}}
}}
KWHY (channel 63) is a television station licensed to Garden Grove, California, United States, serving the Los Angeles area as an affiliate of Canal de la Fe, a Spanish-language religious network. Owned by Meruelo Broadcasting, the station maintains studios on West Pico Boulevard in the Mid-City section of Los Angeles. Through a channel sharing agreement with its former sister station KSCN-TV (channel 22), the two stations transmit using KSCN-TV's spectrum from an antenna atop Mount Wilson.
Channel 63 was originally allocated to Oxnard and began broadcasting in 1985 as KTIE-TV, a local independent station for the Ventura County area. It struggled through its original ownership and was sold to Meshulam Riklis in 1988. KTIE-TV was renamed KADY-TV, after Riklis's daughter, Kady Zadora. General manager John Huddy acquired the station in 1991 but left a financial mess in his wake, leading to a court-appointed receivership in 1996. The station stabilized under its next owner, media broker Brian Cobb.
In 2004, KADY-TV built a booster increasing its Los Angeles coverage and was sold to Bela Broadcasting, which switched it to Spanish-language programming. Since the sale, KWHY has primarily been a Spanish-language station under several owners, with program sources including MTV Tres, the short-lived CNN Latino, and its present programming from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. The current KWHY call sign was adopted in early 2025 after the sale of channel 22.
History
=A long road to sign-on=
The history of channel 63, originally allocated to Oxnard, begins on September 29, 1972,{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1972/1972-11-06-BC.pdf|date=November 6, 1972|title=Final actions|page=62|accessdate=February 10, 2021|work=Broadcasting|id={{ProQuest|1016868786}}|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308025538/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1972/1972-11-06-BC.pdf|url-status=live}} when Lola Goelet Yoakem, a scriptwriter from Malibu, obtained a construction permit for the channel.{{Cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-oct-08-1972-2231561/|page=9|work=Oxnard Press-Courier|date=October 8, 1972|title=Oxnard TV Station Clears Major Hurdle|accessdate=February 10, 2021|archive-date=October 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014202910/https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-oct-08-1972-2231561/|url-status=live}} Aside from the assignment of the call letters KTIE,{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1972/1972-11-27-BC.pdf|accessdate=February 10, 2021|work=Broadcasting|title=Call letter application|page=57|date=November 27, 1972|id={{ProQuest|1014523774}}|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308045301/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1972/1972-11-27-BC.pdf|url-status=live}} little of note occurred for the next decade. The permit was assigned to a non-profit organization controlled by Yoakem, Limitless Learning, in 1976;{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1976/1976-03-08-BC.pdf|accessdate=February 10, 2021|page=66|work=Broadcasting|date=March 8, 1976|title=For the Record|id={{ProQuest|1016878337}}|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308033023/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1976/1976-03-08-BC.pdf|url-status=live}} this group applied for a HEW grant in 1978.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-sTOr3FUAKAC&q=%22Limitless+Learning%22+%22KTIE%22&pg=PA106|page=106|date=1979|title=Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1980|accessdate=February 10, 2021|archive-date=October 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014202909/https://books.google.com/books?id=-sTOr3FUAKAC&q=%22Limitless+Learning%22+%22KTIE%22&pg=PA106|url-status=live}}
The station was still unbuilt by 1980. That year, the FCC Broadcast Bureau denied Mekaoy Co., which had replaced Limitless Learning as permittee, another time extension to get the station on the air, citing increased interest in UHF television for its crackdown.{{Cite journal |last=Schonman |first=Gary P. |year=1985 |title=Extensions of Broadcast Construction Permits |journal=Catholic University Law Review |volume=34 |issue=3 |url=https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2063&context=lawreview |access-date=February 10, 2021 |archive-date=October 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028083821/https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2063&context=lawreview |url-status=live }} Two years later, though, the construction permit staged a comeback. After being reinstated on February 22, 1982,{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1984-TV-Factbook/TV-Factbook-1984.pdf#page=1095|accessdate=February 10, 2021|page=1079|work=Television Factbook|date=1984|title=CPs & Applications|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309024103/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1984-TV-Factbook/TV-Factbook-1984.pdf|url-status=live}} new technical parameters were authorized,{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1982/BC-1982-07-26.pdf|id={{ProQuest|1016912284}}|accessdate=February 10, 2021|date=July 26, 1985|title=For the Record|page=111|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308045351/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1982/BC-1982-07-26.pdf|url-status=live}} and KTIE was sold to Thorne Donnelley Jr. for $100,000.{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1982/BC-1982-08-09.pdf|date=August 9, 1982|id={{ProQuest|962728627}}|accessdate=February 10, 2021|title=For the Record|work=Broadcasting|page=68|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308030212/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1982/BC-1982-08-09.pdf|url-status=live}}
Thorne Donnelley Jr.—grandson of Reuben H. Donnelley, inventor of the yellow pages—brought in new investors, including Beverly Hills accountant and real estate broker Donald Sterling (no relation to the former Los Angeles Clippers owner of the same name), and built studios and offices at 663 Maulhardt Avenue in Oxnard.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69469042/ventura-county-to-get-new-television/|title=Ventura County to Get New Television Station|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 13, 1985|page=VII 2|accessdate=February 10, 2021}} After a $5 million investment, the station first signed on the air on August 17, 1985, offering movies, syndicated fare and local newscasts to Ventura County from its transmitter on South Mountain near Santa Paula.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69305687/new-tv-station-to-bow-in-ventura/|accessdate=February 10, 2021|date=August 16, 1985|first=Lee|last=Margulies|work=Los Angeles Times|title=New TV Station To Bow in Ventura|page=VI 26|archive-date=May 5, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505023220/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-new-tv-station-to/69305687/|url-status=live}} It was the first television station to operate in Ventura County since KKOG-TV (channel 16) shut down in 1969.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-local-tv-station-wil/128486620/|date=May 7, 1984|page=A-12|title=Local TV station will soon be on air, owners say|newspaper=Ventura County Star-Free Press|first=Jim|last=McLain|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719061056/https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-local-tv-station-wil/128486620/|url-status=live}}
One blow was struck to the station one month before it began broadcasting when must-carry rules requiring local cable systems to add KTIE to their lineups were struck down by a federal court. Though management initially downplayed the impact of this ruling on the station,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-tv-rulings-local-im/128486698/|date=July 29, 1985|page=A-12|first=Reed|last=Fujii|title=TV ruling's local impact small: Cable operators committed to new station|newspaper=Ventura County Star-Free Press|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719061055/https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-tv-rulings-local-im/128486698/|url-status=live}} when the Cox, Century, and Group W cable systems in the market refused to add channel 63, it cut off the station from 30 percent of its planned market.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-loss-of-must-carry/128486791/|date=September 7, 1985|page=A-2|first=Reed|last=Fujii|title=Loss of 'must carry' rule hurts local TV station|newspaper=Ventura County Star-Free Press|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719055552/https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-loss-of-must-carry/128486791/|url-status=live}} It took nearly ten months for the Group W system, covering the key city of Simi Valley, to finish a channel expansion that included KTIE.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/simi-valley-star-oxnard-tv-station-celeb/128486888/|date=August 17, 1986|page=23|first=Mike|last=Farkash|title=Oxnard TV station celebrates birthday|newspaper=The Enterprise|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719062606/https://www.newspapers.com/article/simi-valley-star-oxnard-tv-station-celeb/128486888/|url-status=live}} The Cox system in Santa Barbara did not add the station until August 1987.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-oxnards-ktie-hooks/128487241/|date=July 21, 1987|page=A-2|title=Oxnard's KTIE hooks up with Cox Cable of S.B.|newspaper=Ventura County Star|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719062602/https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-oxnards-ktie-hooks/128487241/|url-status=live}}
KTIE-TV heavily emphasized local programming. The station had a 15-person news department for local news coverage and produced local sports, a call-in show, and public affairs shows.{{r|Simi860817}} However, the news department was slimmed down by layoffs in late 1986 and early 1987, in response to revenue that came in under forecasts and incomplete cable coverage.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/thousand-oaks-star-ktie-to-hold-onto-new/128487024/|date=March 31, 1987|page=11|first=Stephen J.|last=Klenk|title=KTIE to hold onto news programming|newspaper=News Chronicle|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719055548/https://www.newspapers.com/article/thousand-oaks-star-ktie-to-hold-onto-new/128487024/|url-status=live}} Leasing firms sought payment owed to them for equipment the station used for broadcast.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-ktie-is-sued-for-1/128487156/|date=April 21, 1987|page=A-1|title=KTIE is sued for $1.5 million: Firms say leased equipment not paid for|newspaper=Ventura County Star-Free Press|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719055545/https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-ktie-is-sued-for-1/128487156/|url-status=live}}
=KADY-TV=
The original owners, fighting ongoing losses to the tune of $1 million a year, sold the station in 1988 to billionaire Meshulam Riklis, the then-husband of actress Pia Zadora. The acquisition was made through Riklis's PZ Entertainment.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/thousand-oaks-star-impending-sale-of-kti/128487290/|date=October 14, 1987|page=3|title=Impending sale of KTIE revealed, price a secret|newspaper=News Chronicle|first=Amy|last=Hielsberg|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719062605/https://www.newspapers.com/article/thousand-oaks-star-impending-sale-of-kti/128487290/|url-status=live}} Riklis changed the call letters to KADY-TV in honor of his and Zadora's daughter Kady, in turn the name of the role Zadora played in the movie Butterfly famously financed by Riklis.{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Channels-of-Communication/Channels-1988-05.pdf|work=Channels|date=May 1988|page=13|title=From Pia to Prime Time: Meshulam Riklis Enters Station Business|accessdate=February 10, 2021|first=Rhoda|last=Fukushima|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309060947/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Channels-of-Communication/Channels-1988-05.pdf|url-status=live}} The station reintroduced itself with its new call letters with a commercial-free weekend; Riklis infused capital to build up the station.{{r|pia}} The news department was retained, with the news program moving from 7 to 10 p.m.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/simi-valley-star-its-glasnost-for-kady/128487411/|date=September 7, 1988|pages=25, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/simi-valley-star-kady/128487396/ 26]|first=Michael R.|last=Farkash|title=It's glasnost for KADY: Oxnard TV station's fall season kickoff features films, news about Soviets|newspaper=The Enterprise|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719061058/https://www.newspapers.com/article/simi-valley-star-its-glasnost-for-kady/128487411/|url-status=live}} The station also announced plans for live coverage of areas from Santa Barbara to Thousand Oaks.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-kady-wants-to-be-lik/128487672/|date=January 28, 1989|page=D-1|first=Marni|last=McEntee|title=KADY wants to be like 'Cheers'|newspaper=Ventura County Star-Free Press|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719061058/https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-kady-wants-to-be-lik/128487672/|url-status=live}}
Riklis and his executives envisioned KADY as a kind of "superstation" for the West Coast and a base for further media expansion.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/simi-valley-star-big-plans-in-the-works/128487478/|date=January 11, 1989|page=12|first=Dianne|last=Hastings|title=Big plans in the works for county's 'superstation'|newspaper=The Enterprise|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719055547/https://www.newspapers.com/article/simi-valley-star-big-plans-in-the-works/128487478/|url-status=live}} To that end, beginning in 1989, Riklis simulcast KADY on a newly built station, KADE channel 33, at San Luis Obispo.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-big-changes-in-store/128487556/|date=September 18, 1989|pages=B-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-prison-documentary-i/128487604/ B-3]|first=Elena|last=Jarvis|title=Big changes in store for Riklis empire|newspaper=Ventura County Star-Free Press|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719062604/https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-big-changes-in-store/128487556/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69471924/dispute-has-tv-station-pulling-plug/|title=Dispute has TV station pulling plug|work=Santa Maria Times|first=Angela|last=Hastings|page=A-3|date=November 6, 1991|accessdate=February 10, 2021}}
Riklis achieved his wealth by inventing complicated paper schemes like junk bonds and leveraged buyouts. As Riklis's empire began to unravel, KADY-TV was part of settlements, and a payment dispute caused it to lose the San Luis Obispo station where it leased time.{{r|kade}} The subsequent company, E-II Holdings (a group of jilted Riklis investors),{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/26/business/company-news-e-ii-holdings-wins-fight-for-reorganization-plan.html|title=COMPANY NEWS; E-II Holdings Wins Fight For Reorganization Plan|work=The New York Times|date=May 26, 1993|accessdate=February 10, 2021|archive-date=March 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328214113/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/26/business/company-news-e-ii-holdings-wins-fight-for-reorganization-plan.html|url-status=live}} sold KADY to John Huddy, former general manager under Riklis; Huddy had been near a deal in 1991 to acquire the station for $10 million.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69471775/kady-may-be-sold-to-area-buyers/|title=KADY May Be Sold to Area Buyers|pages=Ventura B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69471814/kady-station-may-be-sold-for-10/ B4]|date=May 30, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Christopher|last=Reynolds|accessdate=February 10, 2021}}
Under Huddy ownership, the station returned to local news for the first time since 1989 with the 1993 introduction of Ventura County News Network (VCNN), a separate venture that shared studio space with and aired programming on KADY.{{cite news|work=Daily News of Los Angeles|first=Caitlin|last=Rother|date=July 12, 1993|title=Family-run VCNN producing Ventura County news program|page=TO1}} VCNN was a joint venture with cable company Jones Intercable.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oxnard-star-free-press-kady-tv-to-air-lo/128487977/|date=April 23, 1993|pages=A-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/oxnard-star-free-press-kady-jones-inter/128487966/ A-8]|first=Jeff|last=Sturgeon|title=KADY TV to air local newscast|newspaper=Oxnard Star-Free Press|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719055550/https://www.newspapers.com/article/oxnard-star-free-press-kady-tv-to-air-lo/128487977/|url-status=live}} The station also became a charter affiliate of UPN when it launched on January 16, 1995; it built more than {{convert|200|mi|km|sp=us}} of microwave links to deliver its signal to all cable systems in the Santa Barbara market,{{r|troubled}} adding a translator in Lompoc.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-kady-extends-range/128488107/|date=October 1, 1994|page=B-8|title=KADY extends range|newspaper=Ventura County Star|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719061056/https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-kady-extends-range/128488107/|url-status=live}}
However, Huddy's management became a financial disaster for the television station. Despite promising to offer "the best local news in America",{{r|troubled}} VCNN, unable to perform well due to the way ratings were measured between two media markets in Ventura County and its high costs compared to channel 63's other programs, folded on July 1, 1996.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-kady-tv-pulls-plug/69472423/|pages=Ventura B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472447/vcnn-low-ratings-end-news-show/ B7]|title=KADY-TV Pulls Plug on County News Network|first=Fred|last=Alvarez|date=July 2, 1996|accessdate=February 10, 2021|archive-date=April 19, 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250419071849/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-kady-tv-pulls-plug/69472423/}} By that time, the station was mired in a string of financial problems. It was behind on rent to Sterling, who had built the station more than a decade prior and still owned the Oxnard facilities, and narrowly avoided eviction in February,{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472538/kady-tv-operators-barely-avoid-eviction/|title=KADY-TV Operators Barely Avoid Eviction|first=Daryl|last=Kelley|work=Los Angeles Times|page=Ventura B3|date=February 14, 1996|accessdate=February 10, 2021}} only for a court to ratify his right to foreclose on the station a month later for $4 million.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472491/judge-gives-approval-to-kady-tv/|accessdate=February 10, 2021|title=Judge Gives Approval to KADY-TV Foreclosure|first=Daryl|last=Kelley|page=A20|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 5, 1996}} Sterling had previously lost a lawsuit for failing to pay monthly rent and a longshot bid at the FCC to have the license transferred back to him.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472656/judge-bolsters-bid-to-sell-kady/|first=Daryl|last=Kelley|pages=Ventura B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472638/kady-judge-rules-in-huddys-favor/ B4]|date=February 6, 1996|title=Judge Bolsters Bid to Sell KADY|accessdate=February 10, 2021|work=Los Angeles Times}} On top of all of this and attempts to sell KADY, Huddy suffered a major heart attack in January 1996.{{r|bolster}}
=Fixing the mess=
{{Quote box
| quote = It at least equals the most poorly managed companies I've seen.
| author = John W. Hyde
| source = on the situation the Huddys left at KADY{{r|troubled}}
| align = left
| width = 250px
| quoted = yes
| salign = left
}}
The messy Huddy era ended with creditors, primarily program providers, forcing the station into bankruptcy and the naming of a court-appointed trustee, film executive producer John W. Hyde, in July 1996.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472398/court-named-trustee-takes-over-at-kady/|accessdate=February 10, 2021|title=Court-Named Trustee Takes Over at KADY|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Daryl|last=Kelley|pages=Ventura B3|date=July 10, 1996|archive-date=January 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105045813/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472398/court-named-trustee-takes-over-at-kady/|url-status=live}} Hyde worked to repair a station in disarray; the state of California had designated KADY a "problem employer" due to a spate of claims made to the state labor commission, while the bankruptcy judge hearing the case had remarked that testimony about its accounting practices "made [her] skin crawl".{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472349/|title=New Boss Seeks to Repair Financially Troubled KADY-TV|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Daryl|last=Kelley|pages=Ventura B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472324/station-trouble-shooter-pledges/ B6], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69885929/ B7]|date=July 28, 1996}}
Within a year, a deal had been reached to buy the station, subject to potential outbidding, with Paxson Communications placing an $8 million bid on KADY in July 1997 as part of its national purchasing spree to build Paxnet.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472221/infomercial-carrier-signs-deal-to-buy/|accessdate=February 10, 2021|title=Infomercial Carrier Signs Deal to Buy Channel 63|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Richard|last=Warchol|date=July 8, 1997|page=Ventura B5}} At the auction at the end of September, a surprise $11 million bid, from media broker Brian Cobb, won out.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472163/kady-tv-sold-in-bankruptcy-auction/|accessdate=February 10, 2021|first=Veronique|last=du Turenne|title=KADY-TV Sold in Bankruptcy Auction|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 30, 1997|page=Ventura B4}}
Cobb had no immediate plans for what to do with the station.{{cite news|work=Ventura County Star|first=John A.|last=Lehr|title=TV station sells for $11 million - BANKRUPTCY AUCTION: Media broker unsure what he'll do with KADY|page=A1|date=September 30, 1997}} However, he soon cast his gaze south. Cobb began a $4 million facility upgrade{{r|upgrading}} by moving the station's studio facilities from Oxnard to Camarillo and filed to boost the station's power to cover Simi Valley and the Conejo Valley better.{{cite news|work=Ventura County Star|first=John A.|last=Lehr|title=Owners will take KADY to Camarillo - EXPANSION: Media broker is applying with the FCC to increase station's reach.|page=E1|date=July 3, 1998}} Another go at local news was made, this time using newscasts produced by Santa Barbara ABC affiliate KEYT-TV, using studio and editing space provided by KADY.{{cite news|title=New owner pumping $4 million into Camarillo-based television station - Remaking KADY UPGRADING: Brian Cobb wants to establish a 'viable broadcast entity.'|date=September 3, 1998|page=E1|work=Ventura County Star|first=John A.|last=Lehr}} The station abruptly disaffiliated from UPN on September 1, 2001.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tribune-star-trek-beams-up-to-local/136102569/|date=September 27, 2001|pages=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tribune-trek/136102623/ B2]|first=Jerry|last=Bunin|title=Star Trek beams up to local station: Charter confident of long-term deal to broadcast series|newspaper=The Tribune|location=San Luis Obispo, California|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 1, 2023}}
=Going Spanish=
In 2004, Cobb sold the station for $30 million to Bela, LLC, a Florida-based Spanish-language broadcaster headed by Bob Behar. The move came after KADY was approved to build a booster on Mount Wilson, a major move to gain visibility in the Los Angeles market.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-miami-group-buys-cam/128488208/|date=March 19, 2004|pages=D1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-more-spanish-program/128488199/ D3]|first=Deborah|last=Crowe|title=Miami group buys Camarillo TV station|newspaper=Ventura County Star|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719061100/https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-miami-group-buys-cam/128488208/|url-status=live}} In May 2004, the station dropped its prior programming and became KBEH, a Spanish-language independent targeting the Los Angeles market and available on Los Angeles-area cable systems.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472883/new-spanish-language-tv-station-enters/|title=New Spanish-Language TV Station Enters Market|first=María Elena|last=Fernández|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 26, 2004|page=C11|accessdate=February 10, 2021|archive-date=January 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121112335/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69472883/new-spanish-language-tv-station-enters/|url-status=live}} In 2006, MTV Tr3s launched, with Bela's KBEH and KMOH-TV/KEJR-LP in the Phoenix market switching to the network.{{cite news|title=MTV courts Latino auds over the air|work=Variety|date=April 30, 2007|page=17|id={{ProQuest|236360867}}|first=Michael|last=Schneider}}
Bela Broadcasting sold KBEH to Hero Broadcasting in January 2008.{{cite news|author1=BIA Financial Networks|title=Deals|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/deals/84192|access-date=April 8, 2017|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=January 11, 2008|archive-date=April 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409113242/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/deals/84192|url-status=live}} On January 28, 2013, KBEH began serving as the first station of CNN Latino, a news service targeting U.S. Hispanics focusing on news, lifestyle, documentary, talk and debate program as an alternative to traditional Hispanic networks. The service's initial rollout on the station began with a branded programming block of eight hours of customized content from 3 to 11 p.m.{{Cite news|first=James|last=Meg|title=CNN wants slice of Latino market; The network will launch a Spanish programming service for broadcast stations.|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 3, 2012|id={{ProQuest|1221088031}} }} CNN Latino shut down in February 2014.{{cite news|url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2014/cnn-latino-to-shut-down-by-months-end/|work=Poynter|first=Sandra|last=Oshiro|date=February 6, 2014|title=CNN Latino to shut down by month's end|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719055554/https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2014/cnn-latino-to-shut-down-by-months-end/|url-status=live}}
In the FCC's incentive auction in 2017, KBEH sold its spectrum for $146,627,980 and indicated that it would enter into a post-auction channel sharing agreement.{{cite web|title=FCC Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction Auction 1001 Winning Bids|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db0413/DA-17-314A2.pdf|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=May 1, 2017|date=April 4, 2017|archive-date=April 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414174258/http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db0413/DA-17-314A2.pdf|url-status=live}} KBEH then reached a channel sharing agreement with KWHY-TV (channel 22); Hero Broadcasting also agreed to sell the KBEH license to KWHY's owner, Meruelo Television, for $10 million. It was the first "zombie" station—a license without a channel—to be sold after the auction.{{Cite news |date=November 29, 2017 |title=Sale Of Zombie Station KBEH Closes |language=en |work=TVNewsCheck |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/uncategorized/article/sale-of-zombie-station-kbeh-closes/ |access-date=December 1, 2023}}
Meruelo relaunched KBEH in May 2018, focusing on the family and women's audiences with a variety of telenovelas including Rebeca, Camelia la Texana, and Las Aparicio.{{Cite news|url=https://www.produ.com/noticias/otto-padron-de-meruelo-media-el-nuevo-canal-63-presenta-una-estrategia-familiar-y-enfoqu|work=Produ|lang=es|title=Otto Padrón de Meruelo Media: El nuevo Canal 63 presenta una estrategia familiar y enfoque femenino|trans-title=Otto Padrón of Meruelo Media: The new Channel 63 offers a family strategy and focus on women|date=May 8, 2018|access-date=December 1, 2023|archive-date=February 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206215410/https://www.produ.com/noticias/otto-padron-de-meruelo-media-el-nuevo-canal-63-presenta-una-estrategia-familiar-y-enfoqu|url-status=live}} Within months, the new format was scrapped; by August 2018, the station began to air Canal de la Fe, a religious television channel from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2326323440716482|date=August 10, 2018|title=¿Usted ya conoce el nuevo Canal 63.1?|lang=es|trans-title=Have you heard of the new Channel 63.1?|website=Templo de los Milagros Los Ángeles}}
On February 2, 2025, the station changed its call sign to KWHY.{{cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f91943b6ee9019441f45db81a7e&id=25076f91943b6ee9019441f45db81a7e&goBack=N|title=Form 380 - Transfer/Assignment Request|work=Licensing and Management System|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=December 16, 2024|accessdate=December 30, 2024|archive-date=February 22, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222215548/https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f91943b6ee9019441f45db81a7e&id=25076f91943b6ee9019441f45db81a7e&goBack=N|url-status=live}} Meruelo had previously sold the original KWHY-TV to the Church of Scientology,{{cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/276381/meruleo-media-sells-los-angeles-tv-station-to-church-of-scientology/|title=Meruelo Media Sells Los Angeles TV Station to Church of Scientology|website=RadioInsight|date=July 29, 2024|accessdate=July 30, 2024|archive-date=July 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729233010/https://radioinsight.com/headlines/276381/meruleo-media-sells-los-angeles-tv-station-to-church-of-scientology/|url-status=live}} and its call sign changed to KSCN-TV.{{cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f91936ff5070193b28709153da4&id=25076f91936ff5070193b28709153da4&goBack=N|title=Form 380 - Transfer/Assignment Request|work=Licensing and Management System|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=December 16, 2024|accessdate=December 30, 2024|archive-date=December 18, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241218045005/https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f91936ff5070193b28709153da4&id=25076f91936ff5070193b28709153da4&goBack=N|url-status=live}}
Technical information
=Subchannels=
{{#section:KSCN-TV|subs}}
=Analog-to-digital conversion=
KWHY (as KBEH) shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 63, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 24, using virtual channel 63.{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2006 |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |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 |access-date=August 29, 2021 |publisher=Federal Communications Commission}}
Notes
{{notelist}}