KNSO

KNSO is a full-power television station serving Fresno and California's Central Valley. The station is licensed to Clovis, California, operates on UHF channel 51 as its branding identity, and broadcasts the Spanish-language programming of the Telemundo network. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group, placing it within the same station portfolio as other Telemundo outlets serving major Hispanic markets in the United States. The station's present identity is the result of a complicated history involving multiple channel allocations, call-sign changes, affiliations, and a 2020 exchange of broadcast licenses. The relevant channel history began with an earlier station on UHF channel 43, which operated as KICU-TV from 1961 until it ceased operations in 1968. That allocation returned to the air in 1992 as KSDI, initially affiliated with The Box music-video network, and soon became KGMC. KGMC later carried The WB under a local marketing arrangement with Pappas Telecasting, followed by home-shopping, religious, infomercial, and other independent programming. In later years, the station affiliated with MundoFox and then Estrella TV. KNSO's own channel history is also tied to the Fresno market's changing network structure. In 1998, the KNSO call sign and channel 51 facility became associated with The WB after the network's affiliation moved from other local outlets. The station subsequently became the Fresno-area Telemundo affiliate. On September 1, 2015, it introduced its first local news production, Noticiero Telemundo Valle Central, an hour-long weekday Spanish-language newscast produced with resources from Nexstar-owned KSEE and KGPE. A late-night regional newscast, Noticiero Telemundo California, was added in 2017 and was co-produced and simulcast with Sacramento sister station KCSO-LD. A major ownership and facility change occurred in 2020. NBCUniversal agreed to exchange the license assets associated with KNSO for the KGMC license held by Cocola Broadcasting. The transaction closed on September 1, 2020, and included a call-sign exchange. After completion, KNSO operated on UHF channel 27 while KGMC operated on VHF channel 11. The station's physical facilities include studios on North Grove Industrial Drive in eastern Fresno, near Fresno Yosemite International Airport, and a transmitter on Bald Mountain in Fresno County. KNSO's business is centered on free, over-the-air Spanish-language television, network programming, local news, advertising, public-service announcements, and digital distribution. Its principal audience is the Spanish-speaking population of Fresno, Merced, and surrounding Central Valley communities. The station also participates in the technical evolution of American television: its predecessor facility ended analog broadcasting during the 2009 nationwide digital transition, and its digital allocation was later changed as part of the federal spectrum-repacking process.

KNSO's history reflects the development and consolidation of television broadcasting in California's Fresno market. The relevant channel lineage began with KICU-TV, an independent station that signed on December 23, 1961, on UHF channel 43. KICU carried movies and other independent programming and occasionally aired NBC programs not shown by the market's primary NBC affiliate. It stopped broadcasting in 1968. The channel 43 allocation returned to service on September 11, 1992, under the call sign KSDI. It initially carried programming from The Box, a viewer-request music-video network. In December of that year, the station changed its call letters to KGMC. In January 1995, KGMC entered a local marketing agreement with Pappas Telecasting, which also owned Fox affiliate KMPH-TV. Pappas programmed substantial portions of the schedule with cartoons, classic sitcoms, movies, and other syndicated fare, while KGMC retained religious, paid, and home-shopping programming in other periods. The station became a charter affiliate of The WB on January 11, 1995. The arrangement with Pappas ended in 1997. KGMC then returned to a schedule dominated by infomercials and religious programming. The WB affiliation moved through other Fresno outlets, including KNSO in 1998, before eventually settling at KFRE-TV. After The WB ended operations in 2006, the relevant programming was replaced by The CW on another outlet. KGMC later carried America's Store beginning in 1998, and after that service closed in 2007 it shifted to Jewelry Television. In 2012, KGMC became an affiliate of the Spanish-language MundoFox network, later known as MundoMax, and switched to Estrella TV after MundoMax ceased operations in 2016. KNSO became established as the Fresno area's Telemundo station and developed a stronger local-news presence during the 2010s. On September 1, 2015, it launched Noticiero Telemundo Valle Central, its first local news production. The weekday program was made from facilities associated with KSEE and KGPE, with reporting support from those stations and from Bakersfield outlets KGET and KKEY-LD. Vanessa Ramirez-Avila served as anchor and executive producer. In 2017, the station added an 11 p.m. newscast branded Noticiero Telemundo California, produced jointly with and simulcast on Sacramento-based KCSO-LD while incorporating Fresno-area material. KNSO's ownership and physical channel arrangement changed materially in 2020. On February 27 of that year, NBCUniversal agreed to exchange KNSO's license assets with Cocola Broadcasting for the KGMC license. The transaction closed on September 1, 2020, and the call signs were exchanged as part of the transfer. KNSO thereafter operated on UHF channel 27, while KGMC operated on VHF channel 11. The station's current facilities include Fresno studios on North Grove Industrial Drive and a transmitter on Bald Mountain in Fresno County. The station and its predecessor facility also participated in the United States transition from analog to digital television. As KGMC, the facility ended regular analog programming on June 12, 2009, the federally designated transition date, while briefly continuing an informational analog loop under the SAFER Act. Its digital signal initially used UHF channel 43 and was later reassigned to channel 27 during the FCC spectrum-repacking process. KNSO now functions as a Telemundo Station Group outlet, combining national Spanish-language programming with local news, advertising, and community-oriented broadcast services for the Central Valley.

• 2020

  License exchange and call-sign swap close

  [1]KNSOen.wikipedia.org

  NBCUniversal and Cocola Broadcasting complete their Fresno-area license exchange, after which KNSO operates on channel 27.

• 2017

  Regional late newscast is added

  [1]KNSOen.wikipedia.org

  KNSO adds Noticiero Telemundo California at 11 p.m. on weeknights.

• 2015

  Local Spanish-language news launches

  [1]KNSOen.wikipedia.org

  KNSO debuts Noticiero Telemundo Valle Central.

• 2012

  KGMC joins MundoFox

  [1]KNSOen.wikipedia.org

  The channel 43 station adopts a Spanish-language MundoFox affiliation.

• 2009

  Analog broadcasting ends

  [1]KNSOen.wikipedia.org

  The KGMC facility ends regular analog transmission during the United States digital television transition.

• 1998

  The WB affiliation moves to KNSO

  [1]KNSOen.wikipedia.org

  The Fresno-area WB affiliation is transferred to KNSO before later moving to another local station.

• 1995

  KGMC becomes a charter WB affiliate

  [1]KNSOen.wikipedia.org

  A local marketing arrangement with Pappas Telecasting begins, and KGMC joins The WB at launch.

• 1992

  Channel 43 returns as KSDI and becomes KGMC

  [1]KNSOen.wikipedia.org

  The allocation returns to the air as KSDI with The Box programming and changes call letters to KGMC later that year.

• 1968

  KICU-TV ceases operations

  [1]KNSOen.wikipedia.org

  The original channel 43 station stops broadcasting.

• 1961

  KICU-TV begins broadcasting on channel 43

  [1]KNSOen.wikipedia.org

  The earlier station associated with the channel 43 allocation signs on as an independent outlet serving the Fresno market.

A local Spanish-language Telemundo broadcaster serving Fresno, Merced, and California's Central Valley, combining national network entertainment and news with locally relevant reporting and advertising.

• Spanish-language television broadcasting

  Telemundo network programming

  KNSO's core offering is the Spanish-language schedule supplied by Telemundo, including network entertainment, news, sports, specials, and other programming. The station distributes this content over the air to households in the Fresno and Central Valley market and supports it with local advertising and station presentation.

• Local television news · 2015

  Noticiero Telemundo Valle Central

  Introduced in 2015, this weekday Spanish-language newscast was KNSO's first local news production. It was produced from facilities used by KSEE and KGPE and drew on reporting resources from Fresno-area and Bakersfield stations, giving the Telemundo outlet locally focused coverage for Central Valley viewers.

• Regional television news · 2017

  Noticiero Telemundo California

  Added in 2017, this weeknight 11 p.m. newscast was co-produced and simulcast with Sacramento sister station KCSO-LD. Its regional format combined broader California coverage with Fresno-area news supplied through the shared production arrangement.

• 2020

  Exchange of KNSO and KGMC license assetsM&A

  Background

  NBCUniversal and Cocola Broadcasting agreed to exchange broadcast license assets in the Fresno market.

  Action taken

  NBCUniversal transferred the KNSO license assets to Cocola Broadcasting and acquired the KGMC license. The transaction closed on September 1, 2020, with the call signs exchanged.

  Aftermath

  KNSO subsequently operated on UHF channel 27, while KGMC operated on VHF channel 11.

  Source

• 2018

  Digital spectrum repack reassignmentGeneration change

  Background

  The station was among the large number of United States television stations required to change digital channel assignments following the federal spectrum auction.

  Action taken

  The digital signal associated with the facility was reassigned to UHF channel 27 in the first phase of the repack.

  Aftermath

  The reassignment changed the station's transmission frequency while maintaining its role as a Fresno-market broadcaster.

  Source

• 2017

  Addition of Noticiero Telemundo CaliforniaProduct launch

  Background

  KNSO expanded beyond its initial weekday local newscast and sought to offer a later regional news service.

  Action taken

  The station added an 11 p.m. weeknight newscast that was co-produced and simulcast with KCSO-LD in Sacramento.

  Aftermath

  The service broadened KNSO's news output to include regional California coverage alongside Fresno-area reporting.

  Source

• 2015

  Launch of local Spanish-language newsProduct launch

  Background

  KNSO had not previously produced a local newscast and sought to strengthen its service to Spanish-speaking viewers in the Fresno and Central Valley market.

  Action taken

  The station launched the weekday program Noticiero Telemundo Valle Central using production facilities and reporting resources shared with KSEE, KGPE, KGET, and KKEY-LD.

  Aftermath

  The launch established KNSO's first local news operation and was followed by the addition of a regional late newscast in 2017.

  Source

1. 1KNSOen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KNSO official websitetelemundofresno.com