KSTS
The Telemundo network logo, a T with two circular overlapping components. To the right and under the T, the number 48. Beneath it, in a sans serif, the word Telemundo.
CitySan Jose, California
Channels
Branding
  • Telemundo 48
  • Telemundo Área de la Bahía ("Telemundo Bay Area")
  • Noticiero Telemundo 48 (newscasts)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KNTV
History
First air date
May 31, 1981 (1981-05-31)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 48 (UHF, 1981–2009)
  • Digital: 49 (UHF, until 2020)
Independent (1981–1989)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID64987
ERP500 kW
HAAT703 m (2,306 ft)
Transmitter coordinates37°29′57″N 121°52′20″W / 37.49917°N 121.87222°W / 37.49917; -121.87222
Translator(s)KNTV-DT 48.3 (13.3 VHF) San Jose
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.telemundoareadelabahia.com

KSTS (channel 48) is a television station licensed to San Jose, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside NBC outlet KNTV (channel 11); it is also sister to regional sports networks NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California. KSTS and KNTV share studios on North 1st Street in the North San Jose Innovation District; KSTS's transmitter is located on Mount Allison, and two of its main subchannels are also broadcast from the KNTV tower on San Bruno Mountain.

KSTS was established in 1981 to provide subscription television service in the South Bay and Santa Clara Valley. The STV programming ended in 1983, and the station mostly became noted for specialty programming about business and computers as well as some ethnic programs. Telemundo purchased the station in 1987, giving the Bay Area a second station focusing on Spanish-language programming and a second choice for Spanish-language local news.

History

Early years

On March 29, 1978, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted National Group Television a construction permit to build a new television station on channel 48 in San Jose. The permit took the call letters KQWT before becoming KSTS on January 2, 1979.[2] The station first signed on the air on May 31, 1981, as an independent station.[3] It was owned by National Group Television, which was headed by John Douglas. The station's commercial programming included business programs, including a local program called Business Today, as well as old off-network shows.[4] At night, the station originally carried subscription television programming supplied by Satellite Television & Associated Resources (STAR TV) of Santa Monica;[5] STAR had acquired the franchise from Universal Subscription Television three months prior to launch.[6] STAR would have a short run on channel 48 because it bought the Super Time STV service on KTSF and relaunched it as STAR TV that September.[7] It would be replaced by a unique STV offering known as International Network Television,[8] which consisted of three program tiers: two hours a night of Japanese-language shows, another two hours of Chinese-language programming, and a late-night adult film block.[9] Daytime hours were filled by the then-new Financial News Network after it launched in November 1981.[10]

The STV service, with just 3,000 subscribers in February 1983,[8] ended later that year. The station then added additional brokered programming, including several shows on the young computer industry. The Thursday night Affordable Computer Hotline, channel 48's highest-rated show, was one of three devoted to the topic and cemented KSTS's place as "The Computer Connection".[11] The station also rebroadcast the 1984 shareholders meeting of Apple Computer, where the Macintosh was introduced, as the company had been unable to accommodate all those who wanted to attend.[12] However, when must-carry provisions were struck down, KSTS disappeared from several San Francisco-market cable systems; the manager of Viacom Cablevision systems in Marin County said that channel 48 had "phenomenally low ratings".[13] The vast majority of its programming continued to be related to business and computing, as well as sports, wine, and photography, passions linked to its upscale audience.[14] Further, the station aired foreign-language programming in Filipino and Vietnamese, among others, from independent producers.[15]

Telemundo acquisition

In 1987, after several members of National Group Television desired to sell, Douglas sold KSTS to Telemundo Group, Inc., which operated the fledgling Telemundo Spanish-language network, for $17 million.[16] At the insistence of network executive Paul Niedermayer, who had been instrumental in the 1985 launch of KVEA in the Los Angeles area, the network bypassed KCNS channel 38 to buy the station in San Jose, which at the time was home to 35 percent of the Hispanics in the Bay Area.[17] The station, however, was not Spanish around the clock even after the sale. As late as 1990, locally produced programs in Portuguese and Farsi were airing on KSTS.[18] An effort at regional expansion began in 1990 when K15CU "KCU", a KSTS translator, began broadcasting in Salinas.[19]

In October 1990, half of KSTS's 18 employees went on strike in protest of low pay and poor working conditions.[20] The week-long strike, which resulted in temporary suspensions of the station's 6 p.m. newscast and the outright cancellation of its 11 p.m. news,[21] resulted in the station staff unionizing with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and agreeing to a contract in 1992.[22]

A road sign with NBC 11 and Telemundo 48 logos at the entrance to the studios
The KNTV-KSTS studios on First Street in San Jose

The acquisition of Telemundo by NBC in 2002 came at the same time the network bought San Jose's KNTV and turned it into an NBC owned-and-operated station. Both stations moved from their separate facilities—KSTS from its site on Bering Drive—to a new building on First Street.[23]

News operation

A parade float going down a street. There is a large soccer ball. Station employees are on the float waving flags of various Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, and there is promotion for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
A Telemundo 48 float at Carnaval San Francisco 2022

In 1988, KSTS launched its news department with the debut of a half-hour 6 p.m. newscast, which was originally co-anchored by Celina Rodriguez and Dante Betteo; both left in 1999.[24] The program proved successful, which resulted in the station later adding a half-hour 11 p.m. newscast. This was canceled after the 1990 strike[21] and was not reinstated until 1997.[25]

In 1999, KSTS hired model Mónica Mesones in 1999 to present the weather, resulting in controversy over the selection.[24]

KSTS expanded its news programming in 2001, launcing a morning newscast, Noticiero 48 Esta Mañana, and a mid-morning newscast, Noticiero 48 Al Mediodía anchored by Blanca Garza and Santiago Aburto. These were canceled in 2004. At this time, César Bayona and Mariate Ramos anchored the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts. 2006 saw the dismantling of the local news operation and the creation of a regional news operation to serve the western United States as part of the NBCUni 2.0 cost-cutting initiative.[26] This was later reversed, and local news production was restored at KSTS in 2010.[27] On February 27, 2012, KSTS became the first Spanish language television station in the Bay Area to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.[28]

2014 saw a series of news expansions at Telemundo, KSTS included. A second attempt at a morning newscast, titled Noticiero Telemundo 48 Primera Edición, began in June, and in November, KSTS launched a 5:30 p.m. newscast as part of a national news expansion; a 10 a.m. newscast also was added to the schedule at this time. Additionally, KSTS received a new set, began producing its own weather segments locally, launched a local Telemundo Responde consumer investigative franchise, added 20 additional staffers to its news department, and began a deeper sharing of resources, including the public affairs program Comunidad del Valle, with KNTV.[29]

Effective June 27, 2016, the morning and 10 a.m. newscasts were canceled in order to begin the production of weekend editions of the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts beginning July 2.[30]

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KSTS[31]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
48.1 1080i16:9KSTS-HDMain KSTS programming / Telemundo
48.2 480iTeleXTeleXitos
48.5 NBCLXLX
48.6 OxygenOxygen
11.3 1080iKNTV-HDNBC (KNTV)
11.4 480iCoziCozi TV (KNTV-DT2)
  Simulcast of subchannels of another station

Between them, KNTV and KSTS broadcast the same five services (48.3 and 48.4 on the KNTV multiplex simulcast 48.1 and 48.2 on the KSTS multiplex and vice versa for KNTV), though Oxygen is only broadcast by KSTS.[32]

Analog-to-digital conversion

KSTS shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 48, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television, and continued broadcasting in digital on channel 49, using virtual channel 48.[33]

The station was repacked from channel 49 to 19 in 2020.[31]

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KSTS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ FCC History Cards for KSTS
  3. ↑ Malaspina, Rick (June 1, 1981). "Something new is added to Bay Area's UHF airwaves". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. p. C-11. Retrieved August 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Malaspina, Rick (November 30, 1981). "Bizcasting fills first 8 hours of KSTS' narrowcast day". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. p. C-9. Retrieved August 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Beebe, Greg (May 31, 1981). "New Kid On The TV Block". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 15, 24. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Business in Brief". Los Angeles Times. February 18, 1981. p. IV:2. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  7. ↑ Mandel, Bill (September 17, 1981). "Creating our own 'event'". San Francisco Examiner. p. A2. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Operational STV stations list provided" (PDF). Broadcast Week. February 21, 1983. p. 16. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Profit-Tiers" (PDF). Channels of Communication. November 1982. p. 8. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  10. ↑ Harris, Kathryn (January 4, 1982). "Ambitious News Network Beams Financial Programming to Nation". Los Angeles Times. p. IV:1. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  11. ↑ Tyler, Tim (July 1985). "User-Friendly TV: The Affordable Computer Hotline". MicroTimes. pp. 47–50. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  12. ↑ "The Apple Shareholders Meeting. For the rest of us". San Francisco Examiner. February 23, 1984. p. C5. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  13. ↑ Stumes, Larry (June 14, 1986). "GGF Report Can't Air Races - No Friday Night Live". San Francisco Chronicle. p. 46.
  14. ↑ Schulman, Henry (April 21, 1986). "Channel 48 is a TV station that means business". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. p. B-1, B-7. Retrieved August 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Querol Moreno, Cherie M. (July 31, 1987). "TV Station's Sale May Threaten Filipino Shows". AsianWeek. p. 5. ProQuest 371360823 – via ProQuest.
  16. ↑ Barnum, Alex (June 19, 1987). "KSTS-TV Sold to Telemundo". Mercury News. p. 17G.
  17. ↑ Miller, Ron (December 9, 1990). "Winning Hispanic viewers' hearts: Two networks wage a TV war in the Bay Area". Mercury News. p. Arts 3.
  18. ↑ Niedermayer, Paul (July 9, 1990). "Cable Companies Shut Out Local Stations". Mercury News. p. 6B.
  19. ↑ Burleson, Marty (February 17, 1990). "Salinas gets more Spanish-language TV". The Californian. p. 6B. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  20. ↑ Gathright, Alan (October 31, 1990). "High-Tension Television". Mercury News. p. 2B.
  21. 1 2 "Viewers sided with Channel 48 strikers". Mercury News. November 16, 1990. p. 1B.
  22. ↑ Gathright, Alan (May 19, 1992). "KSTS workers win contract". Mercury News. p. 8B.
  23. ↑ McCollum, Charlie (November 18, 2004). "KNTV Gets New Home After Nearly 50 Years". Mercury News. p. 1C.
  24. 1 2 Garcia, Edwin (November 21, 1999). "New anchor's stormy start". Mercury News. p. 1B.
  25. ↑ Garcia, Edwin (October 22, 1997). "Must-Sí TV: KSTS-TV has informed its viewers, and listened to them, for 10 years". Mercury News. p. 1A.
  26. ↑ Olvera, Javier Erik; Villafane, Veronica (October 20, 2006). "Local newscasts to be cut from Telemundo's KSTS". Mercury News. p. 1D.
  27. ↑ Tanklefsky, David (February 2, 2010). "Telemundo Rolls Out Enhances [sic] Local Newscasts in Key Markets". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  28. ↑ "Noticiero Telemundo 48 ahora en HD". Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  29. ↑ "KSTS San Francisco Expands Local News". TVNewsCheck. May 6, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  30. ↑ "KSTS cancels morning newscasts to launch weekend shows". Media Moves. March 29, 2016.
  31. 1 2 "RabbitEars TV Query for KSTS". RabbitEars. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  32. ↑ "RabbitEars TV Query for KNTV". RabbitEars. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  33. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
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