Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 23, 2026

KABE-CD

KABE-CD 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 and Quest affiliate KUVI-DT. The three stations share studios at the Univision Broadcast Center on Truxtun Avenue in the western section of Bakersfield; KABE-CD's transmitter is located atop Mount Adelaide.

Last revised
Jun 23, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
373 w
Citations
3
Source
Wikipedia ↗
KABE-CD
Channels
Branding
  • Univision 39
  • Noticias 39 (newscasts)
  • Noticias 21 (during newscast simulcasts)
Programming
Affiliations39.1: Univision
Ownership
Owner
KUVI-DT, KBTF-CD
History
First air date
July 31, 1989 (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 numbers
  • Analog: 52 (UHF, 1989–1998), 39 (UHF, 1998–2010)
  • Digital: 39 (UHF, 2010–2019)
Call sign meaning
"Aquí en Bakersfield Estamos"
Technical information1
Licensing authority
FCC
18747
ClassCD
ERP13 kW
HAAT385 m (1,263 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
35°26′16.75″N 118°44′27.39″W / 35.4379861°N 118.7409417°W / 35.4379861; -118.7409417
Translator(s)KUVI-DT 45.2 Bakersfield
Links
Public license information
WebsiteUnivision Bakersfield

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 at the Univision Broadcast Center on Truxtun Avenue in the western section of Bakersfield; KABE-CD's transmitter is located atop Mount Adelaide.

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-CD3
Channel Res. Short name Programming
39.1 720p 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.

References

References

  1. "Facility Technical Data for KABE-CD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. "Court TV official website". Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  3. "RabbitEars query of KABE-CD". RabbitEars. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
External links