KUNS-TV

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KUNS-TV
Seattle / Tacoma / Olympia / Bellingham, Washington
City of license	Bellevue
Branding	Univision Seattle
Channels	51 (UHF) analog, 50 (UHF) digital
Translators	See article (All in Washington)
Affiliations	Univision
Owner	Fisher Communications (Fisher Broadcasting - Bellevue TV, L.L.C.)
Founded	February 10, 1988 (On-air since 1999)
Call letters meaning	K UNivision Seattle
Former callsigns	KBEH (1988-1999) KWOG (1999-2006)
Former affiliations	ValueVision & ShopNBC (Ended January 2007)
Transmitter Power	3,800 kW Analog 240 kW Digital LIC 21.2 kW Digital STA
Height	719 m (2,358.92 ft) Analog & Digital
Class	Full Service TV Station (-TV) Full Time Digital Station (-DT) Temporary Digital Service (-DS)
Facility ID	4624
Transmitter Coordinates	47° 30' 17.00" N LAT 121° 58' 4.00" W LON
Website	www.univisionseattle.com

KUNS-TV "Univision Seattle" is a full-power commercial television station licensed to Bellevue, Washington. As an affiliate of the Univision Spanish-language network, this station serves the entire Seattle-Tacoma, Washington metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by Fisher Communications and is sister station to the area's ABC affiliate KOMO-TV 4. Fisher also owns ABC affiliate KATU and Univision affiliate KUNP in neighboring Portland, Oregon. KUNS is also one of only three television stations with the Univision network affiliation along side WUDT-CA in Detroit, Michigan and network owned and operated WQHS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio in or near Canadian bordering markets.

Contents 1 Technical Information 2 History 3 Availability on Cable and Satellite 4 Cable & Satellite Locations 5 Call Sign History 6 Translators 7 External links

[edit] Technical Information

The station's analog broadcasts are on UHF channel 51, with an Effective Radiated Power of 3.8 megawatts and its digital broadcasts on channel 50, also on the UHF dial operates with an ERP of 240 kilowatts. Its transmitter is situated atop West Tiger Mountain -- which is also known as West Tiger #3 and in turn is located near Interstate 90 and State Route 18 on the outer fringe of the Seattle metropolis. Its transmitter measures about 2,358.92 feet (or 719 meters) above the average terrain level, and because of this the station can be received through many areas of Western Washington. Previously locally owned and operated and at one point being minority owned, the station was sold to Fisher Communications on September 29, 2006. [1]

[edit] History

On February 10, 1988, the Federal Communications Commission issued a construction permit for television station KBEH, however the station never made it to the air. Channel 51 would begin its broadcasting operation on August 8, 1999 -- transmitting programs from the ValueVision Network, which later became ShopNBC in 2000 after NBC (now part of NBC Universal) acquired a 37% ownership stake in that network -- in December of that same year, the station would change its call letters to KWOG. On October 31, 2006, the station would change its call letters one more time, from KWOG to the current KUNS-TV. On January 1, 2007, it rang in the year by going from broadcasting home retail programs to broadcasting Hispanic programming as a Univision affiliate almost instantly, providing viewers with programs such as Sabado Gigante, Despierta América and El Gordo y La Flaca, in addition to primetime telenovelas such as Duelo de Pasiones, La Fea Mas Bella and Mundo de Fieras, along with many other programs. The station will begin a local newscast sometime in the fall of 2007. However, it is unclear if KUNS will use the facilities of KOMO or whether it will use its own studio.

[edit] Availability on Cable and Satellite

"Must-carry" regulations imposed by the FCC require most cable television systems across Western Washington to carry KUNS on their lineups. But even with the station's affiliation with Univision, the station is not available on all cable systems, opting for the network's national feed somewhere on their lineups -- or even no Univision service at all.

KUNS is not yet available on satellite television through DirecTV, but is available on Dish Network -- the network's national East and West Coast feeds are also still available to satellite customers.

Also, neither the station nor the network are available on cable or satellite systems in Canada. This is because the CRTC has not approved the network or any of its affiliates to be made available for Canadian audiences -- although some of its shows are seen on Telelatino, which is a part Spanish, part Italian cable channel. Telelatino does have plans to launch an all Spanish network in the future.

[edit] Cable & Satellite Locations

Cable / Satellite Provider	Service Areas	Package Fare	Channel Position(s)
Comcast	Aberdeen	Analog	28
	Arlington	Analog	29
	Bremerton	Analog Classic	29
		Cable Ready Rebuild
	Centralia	Analog	28
	Seattle	Analog	29
	Snohomish	Analog	29
	Tacoma	Analog	29
Click Network	Tacoma	Analog	27
Dish Network	Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia-Bellingham Metro	Analog	51 / 8624
Millennium Digital Media	Duvall and Eastern King County	Analog	66
	Port Townsend	Analog	62
	Seattle	Analog	31
Wave Broadband	Camano Island	Analog	16
	Port Orchard	Analog	20

[edit] Call Sign History

This is the station's call sign history according to the FCC. [2]

Call Sign	First Used	Last Used
KBEH	February 10, 1988	December 13, 2000
KWOG	December 13, 2000	October 31, 2006

[edit] Translators

KUNS also has four translator stations, serving the Yakima-Walla Walla-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick market of Eastern Washington. All of these stations are owned by WatchTV, Inc., but are operated by Fisher Communications under a Local Marketing Agreement.

Station	City of License	Analog Channel	Began Operation	Service Area	Effective Radiated Power
KKFQ-CA	Yakima	2 (VHF)	March 4, 1996	Yakima	0.8 kW Analog
KWWA-CA	Ellensburg	49 (UHF)	1997	Yakima	8 kW Analog
KVVK-CA	Kennewick	15 (UHF)	March 15, 1996	Pasco - Walla Walla - Kennewick	81.9 kW Analog
KORX-CA	Walla Walla	16 (UHF)	2001	Pasco - Walla Walla - Kennewick	84.8 kW Analog

[edit] External links

• Station Website - Currently under construction
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KUNS-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KKFQ-CA
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KWWA-CA
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KVVK-CA
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KORX-CA
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KKFQ-CA
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KWWA-CA
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KVVK-CA
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KORX-CA
• http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Orders/2001/da012297.txt
• http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Orders/2002/da020047.txt
• http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Orders/2002/da020048.txt
• http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Orders/2001/da012350.txt