lighted LED elements on the top to indicate features of the weather forecast. As a result of the energy crisis, solar panels were installed on the roof to power the facility. In addition to weather, the tower was lit purple after each Sacramento Kings and Sacramento Monarchs win. While no longer lit, the tower still is used for KXTV's microwave needs, cellular service, and to broadcast KXTV's Sacramento UHF replacement translator. KXTV became the broadcast television partner of the Kings midway through the 2002–03 season when a dispute erupted between the Kings and KMAX-TV (channel 31), who had been airing the team's games since 1988, over special editions of its morning show that the franchise felt traded on the team's name without its permission. As with its arrangement with that station, the Kings bought air time from KXTV, produced the telecasts, and sold the advertising; 25 games were telecast on KXTV in the first season. Several Monarchs women's basketball games were added in 2005. In 2009, the Kings moved all of their games to Comcast SportsNet (now NBC Sports California). On June 29, 2015, Gannett's broadcasting and digital divisions split from the newspaper division under the Tegna Inc. name. Two months later, the station retired the long-running "News10" moniker to brand as "ABC 10", primarily in order to improve its ability to promote entertainment programming. Programming News operation Local news was instituted from the station's beginning, with radio newsman Hank Thornley as the first anchor on KBET-TV, and slowly expanded through the 1960s. Even though at one point in the early 1970s KXTV briefly eclipsed it, the station has spent most of its history a distant second or third to KCRA-TV, the Sacramento area's traditional news leader. At times, not even KXTV and KOVR-TV combined could equal KCRA's news ratings. Known under such names as The Big News, Channel 10 News, Newservice 10, and Eyewitness News, the "News 10" name was adopted in 1984 with Belo's takeover of the station. The 40-person news staff, the smallest in the market at the time, was expanded. Ratings rose and came closer to challenging KCRA. However, between 2006 and 2010, ratings fell, and KOVR surpassed KXTV in morning and early evening news. In 2022, KXTV and reporter Brandon Rittiman were honored with a Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award for a series on the role electrical utility PG&E played in sparking the Camp Fire