KAEF-TV (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Arcata, California, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Eureka area. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside two low-power stations: dual CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate KECA-LD (channel 29) and Univision affiliate KEUV-LD (channel 35). Sinclair also provides certain services to Eureka-licensed Fox affiliate KBVU (channel 28) under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Cunningham Broadcasting; however, Sinclair effectively owns KBVU as the majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith. The stations share studios on Sixth Street in downtown Eureka, while KAEF-TV's transmitter is located along Barry Road southeast of the city. Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, KAEF is actually considered a semi-satellite of KRCR-TV (channel 7) in Redding–Chico. As such, it clears all network programming as provided through its parent station but airs a separate offering of syndicated programming; there are also separate local newscasts, commercial inserts and legal station identifications. Master control and most internal operations are based at the studios for KRCR-TV and KCVU in Redding. History KAEF began broadcasting August 1, 1987, as KREQ, a Fox affiliate owned by Mad River Broadcasting. During this period, the station lost money on a monthly basis, in part because KREQ was, for all intents and purposes, a UHF independent station (at the time, Fox only offered a nightly late night program and weekend prime time programming, and would not air an entire week's worth of programming until 1993) in a small market dominated by two VHF network affiliates, NBC affiliate KIEM-TV (channel 3) and CBS affiliate KVIQ (channel 6). In June 1988, Mad River put KREQ up for sale; in 1989, it sold the station to California Oregon Broadcasting (COBI), owner of KRCR-TV. COBI already owned two radio stations in Eureka, KFLI (790 AM, now KEJY) and KEKA-FM (101.5), which were sold off as a condition of the purchase of channel 23. Mad River took KREQ off the air, citing financial problems, on April 30, 1989; that October, COBI returned channel 23 to the air as KAEF (Arcata Eureka Fortuna), an ABC affiliate and semi-satellite of KRCR-TV. Prior to 1989, ABC programming was limited to off-hours clearances on KIEM and KVIQ; through KRCR, KAEF still offered some Fox programming in off-hours until KBVU signed on in 1994. California Oregon Broadcasting sold KAEF, along with KRCR-TV and