While KZUP-CD is the station's official
call sign, it uses "KZUP-TV" for promotional purposes.
History
The station signed on the air in 1999 as a WZUP,[2] a
UPN affiliate available only on
cable (TCI and later
Cox channel 13). It was the second UPN affiliate (of three) in the Baton Rouge area. When the station went over the air on November 26, 2002, it changed its call sign to KZUP-CA; originally it was going to air on channel 21 and
WB affiliate
WBRL-CA was on channel 19, but this assignment was short-lived.[3] Channel 19 was once used as a translator station for local station and original UPN affiliate
WBTR, and when KZUP went on the air, WBTR moved to previously-unused channel 41.[4] It became an independent station after losing UPN to
Raycom Media's
WBXH-CA in 2003. As an independent, it called itself "Z-19," and it primarily aired
African-American-oriented programming like Good Times, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The Jeffersons. For brief periods in 2005, KZUP was used to simulcast WVLA and WGMB over analog as their individual transmitter towers were turned off to allow upgrades for their
digital television channels.[5] KZUP became an affiliate of the
Retro Television Network on September 15, 2008.[citation needed] In 2012, White Knight Broadcasting dropped RTN and resumed carrying syndicated programming.
KZUP was the official station of the
Southern University athletic department.
On January 4, 2016, Nexstar agreed to exercise its option to purchase KZUP-CD. Nexstar also decided to enter KZUP-CD into the FCC's broadcast incentive auction, but the station's spectrum was never sold.[9] The sale was approved by the FCC on February 19[10] and completed on March 17.[11]
Subchannels
Subchannel provided by KZUP-CD on the WBRL-CD multiplex (ATSC 1.0)[12]