KCNS
Encyclopedia
KCNS is a digital television station
in San Francisco, California
, in the United States
, owned by NRJ TV, LLC. It carries programming from the Retro Television Network
on its main channel, and programming from Sino TV and Saigon TV on its subchannels. The station operates on 39 digital
, covering the entire San Francisco Bay Area
. The station will continue to use channel 38 as its virtual channel
through the use of PSIP.
and KHOF-TV (now KPXN
) in San Bernardino, California
, lost its FCC license after Faith Center refused to disclose its private donor records to the FCC.
The current KCNS license began broadcasting on January 6, 1986 as KWBB, and was located on San Bruno Mountain
. The station shared a building on Radio Road with KTSF
, but could not continue with that arrangement. The licensee, West Coast United Broadcasting, and Dr. Gene Scott entered into an agreement, making available the original KVOF broadcasting facilities, in exchange for continuing Dr. Scott's night time programming. The new licensee ran infomercial
s and other programming during the day.
In the station was sold to Global Broadcasting Systems and changed its call sign
to KCNS. The station switched to Chinese
and Filipino
programming, with studios at the Hamms Building in San Francisco. In addition, the power was increased to five megawatts, and the transmitter moved to Sutro Tower
on August 7, 1989, becoming the last analog television station to move there.
On January 5, 1998, KCNS switched to the Shop at Home Network
, which brought the station to their home shopping programming. This lasted until June 21, 2006, when the Shop at Home's parent, The E. W. Scripps Company, suspended its operation. KCNS switched to Jewelry Television
, and two days later, it started broadcasting a mixture of both networks, after Jewelry Television bought Shop at Home and resumed its operation.
On September 26, 2006, Multicultural Television announced it was buying KCNS from Scripps, as part of a deal to buy all of Scripps' Shop at Home channels for $170 million. http://pressreleases.scripps.com/release/877 Multicultural closed on KCNS and the Cleveland and Raleigh stations on December 20, 2006. On January 14, 2007, KCNS ended its simulcast of Shop at Home and switched to educational and informational
programming on early weekday mornings and infomercials the rest of the day. On KCNS began broadcasting Chinese language
programming in Mandarin
and Cantonese
, under the "Sino TV" banner daily from 6:00pm to 12:00am, including news programs in both Mandarin and Cantonese.
in Boston
, was sold to NRJ TV (a company unrelated to European broadcaster NRJ Radio
). The sale was consummated on May 13, 2011. A one-third equity stake in NRJ TV is held by Titan Broadcast Management, which also operates KTNC-TV
; Titan had already managed KCNS for some time prior to the sale.
.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, owned by NRJ TV, LLC. It carries programming from the Retro Television Network
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
on its main channel, and programming from Sino TV and Saigon TV on its subchannels. The station operates on 39 digital
Digital signal
A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values , for example of an arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized analog signal...
, covering the entire San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. The station will continue to use channel 38 as its virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
through the use of PSIP.
History
Channel 38 originally signed on the air on December 1, 1968 as KUDO-TV. The station initially broadcast financial programming in the mornings and early afternoons. The station also aired movies at night. The station went dark on October 3, 1971. On October 4, 1971, the Faith Center (owned by Eugene Scott) acquired the station for a cheap price and returned it to the air as KVOF-TV and remained broadcasting for 15 more years. However, the station, along with sister stations KHOF-FM (now KKLA) in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and KHOF-TV (now KPXN
KPXN
KPXN-TV is a television station licensed to San Bernardino, California, broadcasting on digital channel 38 in the Greater Los Angeles. It is now owned by ION Media Networks and is the local affiliate of the Ion Television network.-History:KPXN signed on on January 7, 1994 as KZKI...
) in San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
, lost its FCC license after Faith Center refused to disclose its private donor records to the FCC.
The current KCNS license began broadcasting on January 6, 1986 as KWBB, and was located on San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain in northern San Mateo County, California is the northernmost part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Most of the mountain lies within the San Bruno Mountain State Park, a unique open-space island in the midst of the San Francisco Peninsula's urbanization. Next to the state park is the...
. The station shared a building on Radio Road with KTSF
KTSF
KTSF is an independent television station serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Although licensed to San Francisco, the station's studio building is located in south suburban Brisbane, California. It is owned by Lincoln Broadcasting Company, and broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a...
, but could not continue with that arrangement. The licensee, West Coast United Broadcasting, and Dr. Gene Scott entered into an agreement, making available the original KVOF broadcasting facilities, in exchange for continuing Dr. Scott's night time programming. The new licensee ran infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s and other programming during the day.
In the station was sold to Global Broadcasting Systems and changed its call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
to KCNS. The station switched to Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and Filipino
Filipino language
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
programming, with studios at the Hamms Building in San Francisco. In addition, the power was increased to five megawatts, and the transmitter moved to Sutro Tower
Sutro Tower
Sutro Tower is a three-pronged antenna tower near Clarendon Heights in San Francisco, California. Rising from a hill between Twin Peaks and Mount Sutro, it is a prominent part of the city skyline and a landmark for city residents and visitors...
on August 7, 1989, becoming the last analog television station to move there.
On January 5, 1998, KCNS switched to the Shop at Home Network
Shop at Home Network
The Shop at Home Network was a television network in the United States Before its acquisition by Jewelry Television in 2006, The E. W. Scripps Company owned and operated the network from 2002 until 2006, when the network temporarily ceased operations on June 21...
, which brought the station to their home shopping programming. This lasted until June 21, 2006, when the Shop at Home's parent, The E. W. Scripps Company, suspended its operation. KCNS switched to Jewelry Television
Jewelry Television
Jewelry Television is an American television network, similar to the Home Shopping Network. It was formerly called "America's Collectibles Network" . The privately-held company was founded in 1993 and broadcasts high definition programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to over 80 million unique...
, and two days later, it started broadcasting a mixture of both networks, after Jewelry Television bought Shop at Home and resumed its operation.
On September 26, 2006, Multicultural Television announced it was buying KCNS from Scripps, as part of a deal to buy all of Scripps' Shop at Home channels for $170 million. http://pressreleases.scripps.com/release/877 Multicultural closed on KCNS and the Cleveland and Raleigh stations on December 20, 2006. On January 14, 2007, KCNS ended its simulcast of Shop at Home and switched to educational and informational
E/I
E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
programming on early weekday mornings and infomercials the rest of the day. On KCNS began broadcasting Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
programming in Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
and Cantonese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
, under the "Sino TV" banner daily from 6:00pm to 12:00am, including news programs in both Mandarin and Cantonese.
Financial difficulties and sale to NRJ TV
After Multicultural ran into financial problems and defaulted on its loans, KCNS was placed into a trust; in 2011, the station, along with WMFPWMFP
WMFP is a television station in the Boston market. The station is licensed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, and is owned by NRJ TV, LLC. The station's programming primarily consists of programming from the Retro Television Network...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, was sold to NRJ TV (a company unrelated to European broadcaster NRJ Radio
NRJ Radio
NRJ French multimedia group based in Paris. Since its foundation in 1981 as a French pop music radio station it has grown and evolved to become the NRJ Group...
). The sale was consummated on May 13, 2011. A one-third equity stake in NRJ TV is held by Titan Broadcast Management, which also operates KTNC-TV
KTNC-TV
KTNC-TV, digital channel 14, is the Estrella TV affiliate in Concord, California, serving both Bay Area and Sacramento areas. KTNC is owned by New World TV Group and broadcasts at 40 kilowatts.-Station history:...
; Titan had already managed KCNS for some time prior to the sale.
Conversion to all digital
KCNS turned off its analog signal on UHF channel 38 on February 17, 2009. The station now broadcasts only in digital on UHF channel 39, however, through the use of PSIP, digital tuners will still receive KCNS on channel 38 as a virtual channelVirtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
.
Digital television
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:| Digital Channel | Digital Network |
|---|---|
| 38.1 | RTV Retro Television Network The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs... |
| 38.2 | Sino TV (Chinese Chinese language The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages... ) |
| 38.3 | Saigon TV (Vietnamese Vietnamese language Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam... ) |
| 38.4 | NHK World (as of November 1, 2011) |