| Callsign: | KSWL-LD |
| Branding: | CBS Lake Charles |
| Digital: | 34 (UHF) |
| Virtual: | 17 |
| Location: | Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| Country: | United States |
| Callsign Meaning: | Southwest Louisiana |
| Former Callsigns: | K17KH-D (2011–2017) |
| Former Channel Numbers: | Digital: 17 (UHF, 2017–2019) |
| Owner: | SagamoreHill Broadcasting |
| Licensee: | SagamoreHill Lake Charles, LLC |
| Sister Stations: | KWWE-LD |
| Erp: | 15 kW |
| Haat: | 163.50NaN0 |
| Facility Id: | 185296 |
| Class: | LD |
| Coordinates: | 30.2212°N -93.3114°W |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
KSWL-LD (channel 17) is a low-power television station in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting alongside MyNetworkTV/MeTV/Telemundo affiliate KWWE-LD (channel 19). The two stations share studios on West Prien Lake Road in Lake Charles; KSWL-LD's transmitter is located at the KTSR tower in Westlake.
In 2011, the FCC awarded a construction permit for the station, with the call sign of K17KH-D. The current KSWL-LD calls were adopted on February 10, 2017. Five days later, the station went on the air as the Lake Charles area's CBS affiliate.[1]
KSWL-LD is the area's first CBS affiliate since the shutdown of its original CBS affiliate, KTAG-TV (UHF channel 25), in August 1961.[2] Between that time, KLFY-TV in Lafayette served as the default CBS affiliate via cable for Southwestern Louisiana, while Beaumont affiliate KFDM was carried by a few cable providers in some areas of the market. Between KSWL-LD's sign-on as part of CBS, sister station KWWE-LD's sign on as a MyNetworkTV affiliate, and Fox affiliate KVHP launching ABC programming on its DT2 subchannel, the year 2017 marks the first time that the Lake Charles area has received over-the-air service from every major television network, having previously relied on cable television to supply network affiliates from Lafayette and Beaumont for CBS, ABC, MyNetworkTV, and until 2009, The CW.[3] [4]
The station is unusual among CBS affiliates in that it carries no local news. However, it airs local weather inserts during CBS Mornings as well as a five-minute weathercast at the conclusion of CBS' prime time programming. KSWL also produces and airs two sports programs focused on Southwest Louisiana-area sports: Sound Off, which is a call-in show about secondary and postsecondary sports, and Poke Nation, covering sports at McNeese State University.
The station's signal is multiplexed:
| Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17.1 | KSWLCBS | CBS | ||
| 17.2 | CourtTV | Court TV | ||
| 17.3 | Laff | Laff | ||
| 17.4 | QVC | QVC | ||
| 17.5 | Newsy | Scripps News |