KUVI-DT (channel 45) is a television station in Bakersfield, California, United States, affiliated with the digital multicast network Quest.
The three stations share studios on Truxtun Avenue in western Bakersfield; KUVI's transmitter is located atop Mount Adelaide.
Owens had to settle with five competing applicants to obtain the construction permit, incurring significant debt in the process, and went into bankruptcy reorganization after less than a year in operation.
The purchase came about because Univision feared displacement of its local low-power TV station by a proposed educational channel; the company committed to honoring the preexisting UPN affiliation agreement.
[2] Five of these—Harold L. Mullican, Lash Communications, Liberty Broadcasting, Crown City TV, and Dorothy J. Owens—entered in October 1986 into a settlement agreement, under which Owens won the channel.
[7] It was an independent station with a family-friendly mix of programs, including syndicated movies and children's series and Los Angeles Lakers road games.
[5] Less than a year after signing on the air, in October 1989, Dorothy Owens filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization to protect the station from its creditors.
[10][11] A second bidder, Riklis Broadcasting (owner of KADY-TV in Oxnard), presented an offer, but it was far lower than the Owens bid, which would repay creditors in full.
[17] Later that year, the station was the victim of a $1 million arson that destroyed its transmitter atop Mount Adelaide;[18] a convicted felon was found to have likely been hired to carry out the crime.
The network alleged that cable penetration in Bakersfield, and thus access to KMPH-TV or KTTV from Los Angeles, was high enough that another affiliate was unnecessary.
[16][20] Pappas questioned the wisdom of Fox affiliating with KUZZ-TV as a potential "duplication of service" given the relatively strong over-the-air signal and cable availability of KMPH-TV.