KUNS-TV

KUNS-TV
Seattle, Washington
United States
City Bellevue, Washington
Branding Univision Seattle
Channels Digital: 50 (UHF)
Virtual: 51 (PSIP)
Translators

20 (Wave Broadband)

(see article)
Affiliations
Owner Sinclair Broadcast Group
(possible resale to another owner to be determined if Sinclair's acquisition of Tribune Media is completed)
(Sinclair Seattle Licensee, LLC)
First air date August 8, 1999 (1999-08-08)
Call letters' meaning UNivision Seattle
Sister station(s) KOMO-TV
Former callsigns
  • KBEH (1999–2000)
  • KWOG (2000–2006)
Former channel number(s) Analog:
51 (UHF, 1999-2009)
Former affiliations ValueVision/ShopNBC (1999–2006)
Transmitter power 240 kW
Height 719 m
Facility ID 4624
Transmitter coordinates 47°30′16.7″N 121°58′8.2″W / 47.504639°N 121.968944°W / 47.504639; -121.968944Coordinates: 47°30′16.7″N 121°58′8.2″W / 47.504639°N 121.968944°W / 47.504639; -121.968944
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website univisionseattle.com

KUNS-TV 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 Sinclair Broadcast Group as part of a duopoly with the area's ABC affiliate KOMO-TV. Sinclair also owns ABC affiliate KATU and Univision affiliate KUNP in neighboring Portland, Oregon. KUNS is also one of only two television stations with the Univision network affiliation alongside network owned and operated WQHS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio in or near Canadian bordering markets.

Technical information

The station's digital broadcasts on channel 50 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 m) 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.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[2]
51.1 1080i 16:9 KUNS-DT Main KUNS-TV programming / Univision
51.2 480i KUNS-D2 TBD

Analog-to-digital conversion

KUNS-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 51, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[3][4] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 50, using PSIP to display KUNS-TV's virtual channel as 51 on digital television receivers.

History

KUNS's logo from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2012

On February 10, 1988, the Federal Communications Commission issued a construction permit for television station KBEH. However, channel 51 would not begin its broadcasting operation until August 8, 1999, transmitting programs from the ValueVision Network, which became ShopNBC in 2001 after NBC (now part of NBC Universal) acquired a 37% ownership stake in that network. In December 2000, the station would change its call letters to KWOG. On October 31, 2006, the station would change its call letters one more time, this time 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 an assortment of telenovelas, along with many other programs. The station also started its own local newscast, Noticias Noroeste with Jaime Méndez and Roxy de la Torre. The newscast originates from a studio at KOMO Plaza (formerly Fisher Plaza) in Seattle.

On August 21, 2012, Fisher Communications signed an affiliation agreement with MundoFox, a Spanish-language competitor to Univision that is owned as a joint venture between Fox International Channels and Colombian broadcaster RCN TV, for KUNS and Portland sister station KUNP to be carried on both stations as digital subchannels starting in late September.[5] On April 11, 2013, Fisher announced that it would sell its properties, including KUNS-TV, to the Sinclair Broadcast Group.[6] The deal was completed on August 8, 2013.[7]

Availability on cable and satellite

"Must-carry" regulations imposed by the Federal Communications Commission require most cable television providers across western Washington to carry KUNS on their lineups. In the past under Equity ownership, the station was not available on all cable systems, as many of these providers were under carriage agreements for the national cable feed for the network, which allowed them control of several minutes throughout the day of local commercial time that would not be available if they instead carried KUNS. Equity traditionally depended completely on must-carry to bring their stations to cable providers, and the same was the case with KUNS before the sale of the station to Fisher. Retransmission consent agreements for providers in the Seattle market made after Sinclair's purchase of the station effectively made carriage of KUNS compulsory to carry KOMO-TV (along with its subchannels), though some smaller systems with a low Spanish-speaking population have been given a waiver from KUNS carriage.

KUNS is available on satellite television through DirecTV on channel 45 in Tacoma, and is also available on Dish Network channels 51 and 8624 — the network's national East and West Coast feeds are also still available to satellite customers.

Also, neither the station nor the network is available on cable or satellite systems in Canada. This is because the CRTC did not approve the network or any of its affiliates to be aired on cable/satellite systems for Canadian audiences. This was eventually rectified as Telelatino's all-Spanish network, launched on October 23, 2007 with Univision content, was relaunched with a brand licensing agreement with Univision as Univision Canada on May 5, 2014.

Cable and satellite locations

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.
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 Marketwide Locals 51 / 8624
Wave Broadband Duvall and Eastern King County Analog 66
Port Townsend Analog 62
Seattle Analog 31
Camano Island Analog 16
Port Orchard Analog 20
DirecTV Marketwide Locals 45

Call sign history

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

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

Logos

Translators

KUNS also has three translator stations, serving the Yakima-Walla Walla-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick market of Eastern Washington. All of these stations are owned and operated by Fisher Communications as of 2007.

Station City of License Analog Channel Digital Channel Began Operation Service Area Effective Radiated Power
KUNW-CA Yakima 2 (VHF) 30 (UHF) March 4, 1996 Yakima 0.8 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

At one point, KUNS had a fourth translator, KWWA-CA channel 49, which served Ellensburg. However, its license was canceled on June 4, 2008.

References

  1. ↑ http://nwbroadcasters.com/digitaltv.html
  2. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KUNS
  3. ↑ http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090207/news/302079996
  4. ↑ List of Digital Full-Power Stations Archived 2013-08-29 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ Fisher Adds MundoFox In Seattle, Portland, TVNewsCheck, August 21, 2012.
  6. ↑ Malone, Michael (April 11, 2013). "Sinclair to Acquire Fisher Stations for $373 Million". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Sinclair Broadcast Group Closes On Fisher Communications Acquisition". All Access. August 8, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
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