KGNS-TV

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KGNS-TV
KGNS.png
KNGS-DT2 Logo.png
KGNSTelemundo83.png
Laredo, Texas
United States
ChannelsDigital: 8 (VHF)
Virtual: 8
BrandingKGNS 8
KGNS News (newscasts)
ABC Laredo (on DT2)
Telemundo Laredo (on DT3)
Programming
Affiliations
  • 8.1: NBC
  • 8.2: ABC
  • 8.3: Telemundo
  • 8.5: True Crime Network
Ownership
OwnerGray Television
(Gray Television Licensee, LLC)
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)
Former affiliations
  • 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
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
Profile
LMS
Websitekgns.tv

KGNS-TV, virtual and VHF digital channel 8, is an NBC/ABC/Telemundo-affiliated television station licensed to Laredo, Texas, United States. Owned by Gray Television, it is a sister station to low-powered CBS affiliate KYLX-LD (channel 13). The two stations share studios on Del Mar Boulevard (near I-35) in northern Laredo; KGNS-TV's transmitter is located northwest of the city. On cable, the station can be seen on Charter Spectrum channel 10 in both standard and high definition, and is also available on Dish Network and DirecTV.

History[]

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

KGNS originally went on air January 7, 1956 as KHAD-TV,[citation needed] it has been a primary NBC affiliate since its sign on, but the station initially held secondary affiliations with CBS and ABC.[2] 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.[citation needed] In 1990 the station began a Spanish language newscast.[3]

By 1998, KGNS gained a secondary affiliation with the United Paramount Network (UPN) lasting at least until 2000[4][5] while definitively off the station by 2004.[6] then move to cable only on Time Warner Cable Channel 16.[7] In 2000, the WB affiliate in the market was cable-only KTXW,[5] and its successor network, the CW was carried on the .2 subchannel, which now carries ABC.[8]

In April 2002, the Spanish news staff resigned their jobs, forcing the station to initially run a sitcom, then replacing it with English language news.[3]

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.[9] 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.[2] In 2010, local Spanish language news returned to the station on Telemundo affiliated subchannel 3.[10]

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.[11][12] On November 4, 2013, Gray Television announced a deal to acquire Yellowstone Holdings for $23 million.[13] The sale was completed on December 31.[14]

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.[15] 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 or Corpus Christi affiliate KIII since KLDO-TV lost its ABC affiliation in 1988.[2] The CW programming wouldn't be seen over the air in Laredo area[2] until October 2015, as KYLX-LP picked up the affiliation.

Digital television[]

It broadcasts its main programming NBC on channel 8.1 in 1080i HD and ABC programming on subchannel 8.2 and Telemundo programming on subchannel 8.3 (both in 720p HD). KGNS was one of the last American television stations that continued to sign off during the overnight hours, doing so nightly from 1:35 to 5:30 a.m.; as of 2014, the station now operates 24 hours a day. However, in later years, its second and third digital subchannels remained on the air during the overnight hours even when the main channel did not.

Channel Video Aspect PSIP short name Programming
8.1 1080i 16:9 KGNS-DT Main KGNS-TV programming / NBC
8.2 720p ABC KGNS-DT2 / ABC
8.3 TELEMUN Simulcast of KXNU-LD / Telemundo
8.5 480i Justice True Crime Network

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.[16] 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.[17] KGNS-TV previously operated the area's CW affiliate on digital subchannel 8.2, branded as Laredo CW 19. 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.[15] The ABC affiliation began on July 1, 2014, leaving Laredo without a CW affiliate.

Programming[]

Syndicated programming currently broadcast on KGNS includes The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Drew Barrymore Show, Paternity Court, Impractical Jokers, Access Hollywood, Pawn Stars, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Dr. Phil and Wheel of Fortune (Jeopardy! usually paired with Wheel instead airs on KYLX-LD)

KGNS's second subchannel airs the rebroadcast of its 5:00 p.m. newscast at 5:30 p.m. As a result, it airs ABC World News Tonight on a 30-minute tape delay at 6:00 p.m. unlike most ABC stations in the Central Time Zone. Syndicated programming currently broadcast on KGNS-DT2 includes The Big Bang Theory, DailyMailTV, 25 Words or Less, Entertainment Tonight, 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 PM 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.[3] 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.[10]

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 primetime 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]

News/station presentation[]

Newscast titles[]

  • The Rio Grande Report (1956–1958)
  • Your Esso Reporter (1958–1962)[citation needed]
  • KGNS-TV News (1962–1966)
  • 24 Hours (1966–1974)
  • TV-8 Total News (1974-1980)
  • Pro 8 News (1980–2014)
  • KGNS News (2014–present)

Station slogans[]

  • Coverage You Can Count On (1998–present)

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rabago III, Emilio (July 31, 2004). "Local television station sold to Georgia group". Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Station adds ABC; will drop The CW". Laredo Morning Times. July 1, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Garcia, Robert (March 1, 2002). "Spanish newscast no mas". Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  4. ^ "United Paramount Network Affiliates". cmu.edu. Aaron Greenhouse. May 1, 1998. Retrieved November 13, 2015. From information on upn.com.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "CHANNELS LISTED IN THE SOUTH TEXAS EDITION" (PDF). TV Guide Fan. TV Guide. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  6. ^ "Affiliates: Texas". UPN.com. United Paramount Network. December 12, 2004. Archived from the original on December 12, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  7. ^ "Affiliates: Texas". UPN.com. United Paramount Network. October 18, 2005. Archived from the original on October 18, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "CW Laredo will hit area TVs on Monday". Laredo Morning Times. September 17, 2006. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Sanchez, Mary Nell (November 19, 2010). "Spanish newscast debuts". Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  11. ^ Malone, Michael (May 31, 2013). "Yellowstone Buys Laredo, Cheyenne Stations For $20.5 Million". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "Gray Buying Yellowstone Stations". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
  14. ^ Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 2 January 2014
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Gray to Air ABC on KGNS Subchannel TVNewsCheck, November 6, 2013.
  16. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ KGNS | About Us Archived 2008-08-20 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ New news show begins Monday on CW, ch. 19 Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Laredo Morning Times

External links[]

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