KGNS-TV
 | |
| Laredo, Texas | |
|---|---|
| Branding | Pro 8 News |
| Channels |
Digital: 8 (VHF) Virtual: 8.1 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | (see section) |
| Affiliations | NBC |
| Owner |
Gray Television (Yellowstone LicenseCo, LLC) |
| First air date | January 7, 1956 |
| Call letters' meaning | Good Neighbor Station |
| Former callsigns | KHAD-TV (1956-1958) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 8 (VHF, 1956-2009) Digital: 15 (UHF, 2004-2009) |
| Former affiliations |
Secondary: CBS (1956-1973) ABC (1956-1984) |
| Transmitter power | 20 kW (digital) |
| Height | 312 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 10061 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 27°40′21″N 99°39′51″W / 27.67250°N 99.66417°W |
| Website | www.pro8news.com |
KGNS-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Laredo, Texas and the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter northwest of Laredo. Owned by Gray Television, it maintains studios in northern Laredo. KGNS can be seen on Time Warner Cable Laredo channel 10 and in high definition on digital channel 860 as well as on Dish Network and DirecTV. Syndicated programming featured on this station includes Ellen, America's Funniest Home Videos, 30 Rock, Entertainment Tonight and Law & Order.
History
KGNS originally went on air January 7, 1956 as KHAD-TV, it has been an 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 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, which owned the station until 2004, when the station was purchased by SagamoreHill Broadcasting. The sale to SagamoreHill was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on December 1, 2005. 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.[1][2] On November 4, 2013, Gray Television announced a deal to acquire Yellowstone Holdings for $23 million. KGNS-TV will be operated under a local marketing agreement by Gray until the closure of the deal.[3] The sale was competed on December 31.[4]
Digital television
The station's digital signal is multiplexed. KGNS-TV operates the area's CW affiliate on digital subchannel 8.2. Branded as Laredo CW 19, this can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 19. KGNS also carries the market's Telemundo affiliate on subchannel 8.3, this is also available on Time Warner Cable channel 25. KGNS is one of the few remaining American television stations that continues to sign off during the overnight hours, it does so nightly from 1:35 to 5:30 a.m. However, its second and third digital subchannels remain on the air during the overnight hours while the main channel is not operational.[5]
On November 6, 2013, KGNS-TV reached an agreement with the ABC Television Network to add the ABC affiliation, launching in February 2014 on KGNS 8.2 and would mostly carry ABC's entire schedule.[6] It's unknown if Laredo CW 19 would move to either 8.3 or to just disaffiliate with the network entirely.
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | Main KGNS-TV programming / NBC HD |
| 8.2 | 480i | 4:3 | "Laredo CW 19" (ABC February 2014) |
| 8.3 | Telemundo | ||
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.[7] 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.[8]
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.
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, who also serves as weather anchor for the newscast, it is targeted at young adults between the ages of 21 and 34 years old.[9]
On-air staff
Current on-air staff[10]
Anchors
- Tim Gutierrez - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Ann Hutyra - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
Weather
- Richard "Heatwave" Berler (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
Sports team
- Ryan Bailey - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
- Valerie Bragg - sports anchor; weekends at 5 and 10 p.m., also sports reporter
Reporters
- Lauren Kendrick - general assignment reporter
- Noraida Negron - general assignment reporter
References
- ↑ Malone, Michael (May 31, 2013). "Yellowstone Buys Laredo, Cheyenne Stations For $20.5 Million". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Gray Buying Yellowstone Stations". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ↑ Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 2 January, 2014
- ↑ Per zap2it, zip code 78041.
- ↑ Gray to Air ABC on KGNS Subchannel TVNewsCheck, November 6, 2013.
- ↑
- ↑ KGNS | About Us
- ↑ New news show begins Monday on CW, ch. 19, Laredo Morning Times
- ↑ News team
External links
- Official website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KGNS-TV
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KGNS-TV
- RabbitEars.info query for KGNS-TV
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