KGNS-TV
Channels
Branding
  • KGNS
  • ABC Laredo (on DT2)
  • Telemundo Laredo (on DT3)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KXNU-LD
KYLX-LD
History
First air date
January 7, 1956
Former call signs
KHAD-TV (1956–1958)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 8 (VHF, 1956–2009)
  • Digital: 15 (UHF, 2002–2009)
  • All secondary:
  • CBS (1956–1973)
  • ABC (1956–1984)
  • UPN (1998–2004; per-program after 2000)
  • DT2:
  • The CW (2006–2014)
Call sign meaning
Your Good Neighbor Station[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID10061
ERP20 kW
HAAT312 m (1,024 ft)
Transmitter coordinates27°40′21″N 99°39′51″W / 27.67250°N 99.66417°W / 27.67250; -99.66417
Links
Public license information
Websitekgns.tv

KGNS-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Laredo, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC and ABC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power dual CBS/CW+ affiliate KYLX-LD (channel 13) and Telemundo affiliate KXNU-LD (channel 10). The stations share studios on Loop 20 (near SH 359) in Laredo, while KGNS-TV's transmitter is located northwest of the city.

History

KGNS former studios on Del Mar Boulevard, near the intersection of Interstate 35.

KGNS originally went on air January 7, 1956, as KHAD-TV, it has been a primary NBC affiliate since its sign on, but the station initially held secondary affiliations with CBS and ABC.[3] CBS programming moved to KVTV in December 1973 (it went dark in 2015) and ABC programming moved to present-day Univision affiliate KLDO-TV in December 1984, effectively making KGNS an exclusive NBC affiliate.

Donrey Media Group (now Stephens Media Group) bought the station on September 1, 1958. One of its first moves under Donrey ownership was to change the station's call letters, Donrey management held a contest in which elementary and middle school students from both the United States and Mexico sides of the Rio Grande region to choose a new callsign; the winning entry resulted in the station changing its callsign to the current KGNS-TV (standing for "Good Neighbor Station").[1]

In 1985, KGNS was purchased by Century Development Corporation. In 1990 the station began a Spanish language newscast.[4]

By 1998, KGNS gained a secondary affiliation with the United Paramount Network (UPN) lasting at least until 2000[5][6] while definitively off the station by 2004.[7] then move to cable only on Time Warner Cable Channel 16.[8] In 2000, the WB affiliate in the market was cable-only KTXW,[6] and its successor network, the CW was carried on the .2 subchannel, which now carries ABC.[9]

In April 2002, the Spanish news staff resigned from their jobs, forcing the station to initially run a sitcom, then replacing it with English language news.[4]

In 2004, the station was purchased by SagamoreHill Broadcasting.[1] The sale to SagamoreHill was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on December 1, 2005.

On January 24, 2006, The WB and CBS Corporation-owned UPN announced that the two networks would cease broadcasting and merge into a new broadcast network called The CW. On September 18, 2006, KGNS-TV rebranded "KTXW" Time Warner Cable channel 19 as The CW Laredo starting its CW programming.[10] With the subsequent sign-on of digital subchannel 8.2, the subchannel began broadcasting "KTXW" bringing the channel over-the-air coverage throughout the market.[3] In 2010, local Spanish language news returned to the station on Telemundo affiliated subchannel 3.[11]

In May 2013, SagamoreHill Broadcasting reached a deal to sell KGNS, along with KGWN-TV in Cheyenne, Wyoming and KSTF in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, to Yellowstone Holdings, a subsidiary of Frontier Radio Management.[12][13] On November 4, 2013, Gray Television announced a deal to acquire Yellowstone Holdings for $23 million.[14] The sale was completed on December 31.[15]

On November 6, 2013, KGNS-TV reached an agreement with the ABC television network to add the ABC affiliation, originally slated to launch February 2014 on channel 8.2.[16] The ABC affiliation began on July 1, 2014, making The CW available in Laredo exclusively on Time Warner Cable via the national feed of The CW Plus; ABC network programming had been provided on cable via KSAT-TV in San Antonio or KIII in Corpus Christi since KLDO-TV lost its ABC affiliation in 1988.[3] The CW programming wouldn't be seen over the air in Laredo area until October 2015, as KYLX-LP picked up the affiliation.

On November 11, 2023, KGNS moved its operations from its studios on Del Mar Boulevard to a building located at Loop 20,[17] which was previously used by Entravision-owned KLDO-TV.

Programming

Unlike most NBC stations in the Central Time Zone, KGNS-TV has aired NBC News Daily at 11:00 a.m. rather than the network's recommended 1:00 p.m. timeslot. Syndicated programming currently broadcast (as of September 2022) on KGNS includes Pictionary, The Drew Barrymore Show, Paternity Court, Impractical Jokers, Mike & Molly, The King of Queens, Access Hollywood, Pawn Stars, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Dr. Phil and Wheel of Fortune (Jeopardy!, usually paired with Wheel, instead airs on sister station KYLX-LD.)

KGNS-TV's second subchannel airs the rebroadcast of its 5:00 p.m. newscast at 5:30 p.m. As a result, it airs an alternate live feed of ABC World News Tonight at 6:00 p.m. unlike most ABC stations in the Central Time Zone. Syndicated programming currently broadcast (as of September 2021) on KGNS-DT2 includes The Big Bang Theory, 25 Words or Less, Entertainment Tonight, Young Sheldon, Divorce Court, Funny You Should Ask, Judge Mathis and The People's Court.

News operation

Since CBS affiliate KVTV shut down its news department in 2006, KGNS has operated the only English-language news department in the market. It currently airs three hours of newscasts every weekday and one hour per day on weekends. The station employs a number of recent college graduates. According to Nielsen Media Research, KGNS competes closely with Spanish-language station KLDO.

In 1990, the station began a Spanish language newscast at 5 p.m. called Noticias en Español with news anchor Hector Lerma. On April 29, 2002, the Spanish news staff resigned from the station forcing them to run a sitcom in that time slot. KGNS eventually replaced the Spanish news broadcast with English language news on March 1 of the following year.[4] In 2010, local Spanish language news returned to the station on Telemundo affiliated subchannel 3. Initially, there was a Sunday morning show, Telemundo Laredo...En tu Casa then expanded on November 18, 2010, with a week night 10 PM show.[11]

On June 21, 2008, KGNS-TV began producing a weeknight, 9 o'clock newscast on its CW-affiliated second digital subchannel titled Laredo's First News at 9. This program was the only prime time newscast in the Laredo-Nuevo Laredo market until Fox affiliate KXOF-CA launched a competing 9 p.m. newscast on April 9, 2012. The half-hour newscast is anchored by Brenda Medina and Ryan Bailey. This newscast was targeted at young adults between the ages of 21 and 34 years old.[18]

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:&.6

Channel Video Aspect Short name Programming[19]
8.11080i16:9KGNS-TVMain KGNS-TV programming / NBC
8.2720pABCKGNS-DT2 / ABC
8.3TELEMUNSimulcast of KXNU-LD / Telemundo
8.5 480iJusticeTrue Crime Network (soon)

Analog-to-digital conversion

On April 8, 2004, KGNS-TV launched its digital signal on UHF channel 15, becoming the first television station in the Laredo market to operate a digital broadcast television signal. KGNS-TV discontinued Its analog signal and began broadcasting exclusively on a digital-only signal on June 12, 2009.[20] The station vacated its pre-transition digital channel 15, and moved its digital channel allocation to its former analog VHF channel 8. KGNS-TV began broadcasting high-definition programming on its digital signal in October 2008.[21]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rabago III, Emilio (July 31, 2004). "Local television station sold to Georgia group". Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KGNS-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. 1 2 3 "Station adds ABC; will drop The CW". Laredo Morning Times. July 1, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Garcia, Robert (March 1, 2002). "Spanish newscast no mas". Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  5. ↑ "United Paramount Network Affiliates". cmu.edu. Aaron Greenhouse. May 1, 1998. Retrieved November 13, 2015. From information on upn.com.
  6. 1 2 "CHANNELS LISTED IN THE SOUTH TEXAS EDITION" (PDF). TV Guide Fan. TV Guide. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Affiliates: Texas". UPN.com. United Paramount Network. December 12, 2004. Archived from the original on December 12, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Affiliates: Texas". UPN.com. United Paramount Network. October 18, 2005. Archived from the original on October 18, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  9. ↑ Henson, Robert (January 22, 2013). Weather on the Air: A History of Broadcast Meteorology (revised ed.). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 30. ISBN 978-1935704003. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  10. ↑ "CW Laredo will hit area TVs on Monday". Laredo Morning Times. September 17, 2006. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Sanchez, Mary Nell (November 19, 2010). "Spanish newscast debuts". Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  12. ↑ Malone, Michael (May 31, 2013). "Yellowstone Buys Laredo, Cheyenne Stations For $20.5 Million". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. May 30, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Gray Buying Yellowstone Stations". TVNewsCheck. November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
  15. ↑ Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved January 2, 2014
  16. ↑ Gray to Air ABC on KGNS Subchannel TVNewsCheck, November 6, 2013.
  17. ↑ KGNS+ says goodbye to Del Mar studios, set to broadcast from new studios on Loop 20 KGNS-TV, November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  18. ↑ New news show begins Monday on CW, ch. 19 Archived June 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Laredo Morning Times
  19. ↑ "Digital TV Market Listing for KGNS-TV". RabbitEars. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. ↑ KGNS | About Us Archived August 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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