Hearst Television acquires CBS affiliation in Albuquerque from Nexstar

CBS programming is moving off KRQE in Albuquerque as Hearst Television takes the affiliation from Nexstar, shifting one of the market’s most familiar network homes. For Bernalillo County households, the practical change is on the channel guide: KRQE’s long-running CBS identity is ending, while Fox remains tied to the station family through KRQE’s FOX 505 branding.

Viewers who rely on an antenna may need to rescan if their set does not pick up the new lineup automatically. Cable and streaming customers should watch for updated listings in their provider’s guide or app, since affiliation changes usually show up there without any action beyond checking the channel map.

The Albuquerque-Santa Fe market has already seen how closely its stations are linked. When Nexstar launched NextGen TV in the market on Dec. 13, 2022, it named KOAT-TV, KRQE, KWBQ and KASY-TV as the four stations beginning broadcasts with the new technology, and it identified KRQE as carrying both CBS and Fox. KRQE’s own site now includes a separate FOX 505 Shows & Specials page, reinforcing that Fox branding stays part of the Albuquerque station family even as the CBS piece moves away.

The broader shuffle sits inside a national round of affiliation bargaining. Fox and Nexstar renewed and extended their affiliation agreement on Sept. 5, 2023, covering 29 Nexstar stations nationwide, including six of the country’s top 20 markets. CBS and Nexstar renewed affiliation agreements in 2019 covering 15 markets and nearly six million television households. Hearst Television, which is part of Hearst Communications, has been expanding its broadcast footprint as well, including a renewed and extended CW partnership in 2023.

For Albuquerque, the stakes go beyond a new logo in the corner of the screen. Network swaps can move prime-time programming, live sports and national events to a different local station, while also changing which newsroom becomes the daily home for CBS weather hits and network promotion. KRQE has been a long-standing CBS fixture in the city, and the market’s December 2022 NextGen TV launch showed how tightly KOAT-TV, KRQE, KWBQ and KASY-TV already operate inside one another’s orbit.