KAZT-TV

KAZT-TV

Prescott–Phoenix, Arizona United States
City	Prescott, Arizona
Channels	Digital: 7 (VHF) Virtual: 7
Branding	CW7 Arizona
Programming
Affiliations	7.1: The CW for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Londen Media Group (KAZT, L.L.C.)
Operator	Nexstar Media Group (time brokerage)
History
First air date	September 5, 1982 (42 years ago) (1982-09-05)
Former call signs	KNAZ (CP, 1980) KUSK (1980–2002)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 7 (VHF, 1982–2009) Digital: 25 (UHF, until 2009)
Former affiliations	Independent (1982–2024)
Call sign meaning	Arizona Television (station branded as AZ-TV from 2002 to 2024)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	35811
ERP	3.2 kW
HAAT	792 m (2,598 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	34°41′15″N 112°7′3.5″W / 34.68750°N 112.117639°W / 34.68750; -112.117639
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	cw7az.com
Translator (for others, see § Translators)
KAZT-CD
Phoenix, Arizona
Channels	Digital: 36 (UHF) Virtual: 7
History
First air date	April 22, 1986 (38 years ago) (1986-04-22)
Former call signs	KAZT-CA (2002–2010)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 22 (1986–1992) Digital: 27 (UHF, 2007–2009)
Call sign meaning	Arizona Television
Technical information[2]
Facility ID	72618
Class	CD
ERP	15 kW
HAAT	517.5 m (1,698 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	33°20′2″N 112°3′43″W / 33.33389°N 112.06194°W / 33.33389; -112.06194 (KAZT-CD)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS

KAZT-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Prescott, Arizona, United States, serving the Phoenix television market as a de facto owned-and-operated station of The CW. The station is locally owned by the Londen family of Phoenix and managed under a multi-year time brokerage agreement by Nexstar Media Group, which owns 75% of the network. KAZT-TV has studios on Tower Road in Prescott and in the Londen Center on Camelback Road in Phoenix. Its main transmitter is located atop Mingus Mountain (northeast of Prescott). Its signal is relayed through a network of five low-power translators across central and northern Arizona, including Class A station KAZT-CD in Phoenix.

A construction permit for channel 7 in Prescott was approved in 1980. The first owner, William H. Sauro, unsuccessfully sought a network affiliation for the station, but by late 1981, he had switched to envisioning it as a springboard for a national network of translators. KUSK debuted on September 5, 1982; it aired limited local programming but was primarily recognized in the market for classic TV series and a heavy sports schedule. KUSK began extending its reach by a series of low-power translators in the Phoenix area, Flagstaff, and Yuma, but it was not available on Phoenix's largest cable system until 1993. The station declared bankruptcy in 1997 and was almost sold to Harry Pappas to become an affiliate of the new Azteca América Spanish-language network.

After the sale to Pappas failed, the Londen family—owners of a life insurance company in Phoenix—acquired KUSK and overhauled the operation. The station was renamed as KAZT-TV on April 2, 2002. It remained an independent station with syndicated programming for Phoenix and Northern Arizona as well as some local shows and sports telecasts. In 2024, Nexstar assumed operational control of KAZT under a time brokerage agreement with Londen and moved the CW affiliation from a subchannel of KNXV-TV.