KGNS TV
| Callsign | KGNS-TV |
| City | Laredo, Texas |
| Logo |    |
| Branding | KGNS ABC Laredo (8.2) Telemundo Laredo (8.3) |
| Digital | 8 (VHF) |
| Virtual | 8 |
| Affiliations | |
| Airdate | January 7, 1956 |
| Location | Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas |
| Country | United States–Mexico |
| Callsign Meaning | Your Good Neighbor Station |
| Former Callsigns | KHAD-TV (1956–1958) |
| Former Channel Numbers | Analog: 8 (VHF, 1956–2009) Digital: 15 (UHF, 2002–2009) |
| Owner | Gray Media |
| Licensee | Gray Television Licensee, LLC |
| Sister Stations | KXNU-CD, KYLX-CD |
| Former Affiliations | |
| Erp | 20 kW |
| Haat | 312m |
| Facility Id | 10061 |
| Coordinates | 27°40′22″N, 99°39′52″W |
| Licensing Authority | FCC |
| Website | kgns.tv |
KGNS-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Laredo, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC and ABC. It is owned by Gray Media alongside two low-power, Class A stations: dual CBS/CW+ affiliate KYLX-CD (channel 13) and Telemundo affiliate KXNU-CD (channel 10). The three stations share studios on Loop 20 (near SH 359) in Laredo and transmitter facilities on FM 1472 northwest of the city.
History
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. 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").
In 1985, KGNS was purchased by Century Development Corporation. In 1990 the station began a Spanish language newscast.
By 1998, KGNS gained a secondary affiliation with the United Paramount Network (UPN) lasting at least until 2000 while definitively off the station by 2004. then move to cable only as "KTXW" (Time Warner Cable channel 16). In 2000, the WB affiliate in the market was cable-only KTXW, and its successor network, The CW was carried on the .2 subchannel, which now carries ABC.
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.
In 2004, the station was purchased by SagamoreHill Broadcasting. 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" as The CW Laredo. 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. In 2010, local Spanish language news returned to the station on Telemundo affiliated subchannel 3.
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. On November 4, 2013, Gray Television announced a deal to acquire Yellowstone Holdings for $23 million. The sale was completed on December 31.
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. 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. CW programming would not 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, which was previously used by Entravision-owned KLDO-TV.
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. 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. In 2010, local Spanish language news returned to the station on Telemundo affiliated subchannel 8.3. Initially, there was a Sunday morning show, «Telemundo Laredo...En tu Casa» then expanded on November 18, 2010, with a weeknight 10 p.m. show.
On June 21, 2008, KGNS-TV began producing a weeknight, 9 p.m. 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.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed:
| scope = "row" | 8.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KGNSDT | NBC |
| scope = "row" | 8.2 | 720p | KGNSDT2 | ABC | |
| scope = "row" | 8.3 | KGNSDT3 | Telemundo (KXNU-CD) | ||
| scope = "row" | 8.4 | 480i | KGNSDT4 | Ion Television | |
| scope = "row" | 8.5 | KGNSDT5 | True Crime Network | ||
| scope = "row" | 8.6 | 4:3 | KGNSDT6 | Ion Plus |
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. 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.
See also
- Channel 8 digital TV stations in the United States
- Channel 8 virtual TV stations in the United States
References
- Station adds ABC; will drop The CW, November 13, 2015, Laredo Morning Times, July 1, 2014
- Garcia, Robert, Spanish newscast no mas, November 13, 2015, Laredo Morning Times, March 1, 2002
- United Paramount Network Affiliates, cmu.edu, Aaron Greenhouse, November 13, 2015, May 1, 1998
- CHANNELS LISTED IN THE SOUTH TEXAS EDITION, TV Guide Fan, TV Guide, November 13, 2015, November 17, 2015, dead
- Affiliates: Texas, UPN.com, United Paramount Network, November 13, 2015, December 12, 2004, dead, December 12, 2004
- Affiliates: Texas, UPN.com, United Paramount Network, November 13, 2015, October 18, 2005, dead, October 18, 2005
- Henson, Robert, Weather on the Air: A History of Broadcast Meteorology, January 22, 2013, revised, Springer Science & Business Media, November 13, 2015
- Rabago III, Emilio, Local television station sold to Georgia group, November 13, 2015, Laredo Morning Times, July 31, 2004
- CW Laredo will hit area TVs on Monday, November 13, 2015, Laredo Morning Times, September 17, 2006
- Sanchez, Mary Nell, Spanish newscast debuts, November 13, 2015, Laredo Morning Times, November 19, 2010
- Malone, Michael, Yellowstone Buys Laredo, Cheyenne Stations For $20.5 Million, May 31, 2013, Broadcasting & Cable, May 31, 2013
- Application For Consent To Assignment Of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License, May 30, 2013, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, June 17, 2013
- Gray Buying Yellowstone Stations, TVNewsCheck, November 4, 2013, November 4, 2013
- Archived copy, March 24, 2012, dead, August 29, 2013
External links
Category:American Broadcasting Company affiliates
Category:Gray Media
Category:NBC affiliates
Category:Telemundo affiliates
Category:Television channels and stations established in 1956
GNS-TV