KESE-LP is the lone Telemundo affiliate serving the Yuma-El Centro (Imperial Valley) TV market, located in Yuma, Arizona

Yuma, Arizona

Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....

. It is owned and operated by Gulf-California Broadcast Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the News-Press & Gazette Company

News-Press & Gazette Company

The News Press & Gazette Company  is a media company based in St. Joseph, Missouri, wholly owned and operated by the Bradley family. It is presided by Brian Bradley and David R. Bradley, with Hank Bradley , Eric Bradley and Kit Bradley serving on its Board of Directors.  All are descendants of...

 of St. Joseph, Missouri, and shares studios with KECY-TV

KECY-TV

KECY-TV is the primary Fox and secondary MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for El Centro, California and Yuma, Arizona. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter between the two cities in the Chocolate Mountains in Imperial County, California. Owned...

 in Yuma.

The station is the first full-time Telemundo outlet for the Yuma / El Centro market; Telemundo programming was originally seen late-nights on CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 affiliate KSWT

KSWT

KSWT is a television station serving the Yuma, Yuma/El Centro, California market. Licensed to Yuma, it serves as a CBS affiliate. It broadcasts locally in digital on VHF channel 13, and is owned by the Pappas Telecasting Companies of Visalia, California under the name Pappas Telecasting of...

.

History

The station began with an original construction permit granted on October 24, 1997. The station was assigned the callsign K35EX and was owned by Estrella License Corporation. Gulf-California Broadcast Company acquired the station in October 2000, applied for a station license in November, and changed the station's callsign to KESE-LP in December. The FCC

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 granted the station a license on February 2, 2001.

Digital television

In September 2006, KESE-LP was identified as a singleton applicant for a companion digital LPTV signal on UHF channel 40 http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,46344.0.html. A singleton applicant is one whose application for a construction permit has no competition from nearby applications on the same or adjacent channels. As a singleton applicant, the station is likely to be granted a construction permit. Currently, KESE-LP can be seen on KECY-TV

KECY-TV

KECY-TV is the primary Fox and secondary MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for El Centro, California and Yuma, Arizona. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter between the two cities in the Chocolate Mountains in Imperial County, California. Owned...

digital subchannel 9.4, a full power station.