Los Angeles TV chronology

[Ccook55]

1947
KTLA/ch. 5 (Dumont) signs on. It originally went on the air on channel 4 in 1942 as experimental W6XYZ.

1948
KTSL/ch. 2 (Dumont) signs on. It originally went on the air on channel 1 in 1935 as experimental W6XAO. It moved to channel 2 in 1945.
KTLA/ch. 5 reverts to independent.
KFI/ch. 9 (independent) signs on.
KMTR/ch. 13 (independent) signs on. It changed call to KLAC later that year.

1949
KNBH/ch. 4 (NBC) signs on.
KECA/ch. 7 (ABC) signs on.
KTTV/ch. 11 (CBS) signs on.
KMTR/ch. 13 becomes a Dumont affiliate.

1951
KTSL/ch. 2 switches to CBS and changes call to KNXT.
KFI/ch. 9 changes call to KHJ.
KTTV/ch. 11 switches to Dumont.

1953
KLAC/ch. 13 changes call to KCOP.

1954
KNBH/ch. 4 changes call to KRCA.
KECA/ch. 7 changes call to KABC.
KTTV/ch. 11 reverts to independent.

1955
KCOP/ch. 13 reverts to independent.

1962
KRCA/ch. 4 changes call to KNBC.
KIIX/ch. 22 (Asian-American) signs on.
KVCR/ch. 24 (NET) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from San Bernardino, Calif.
KMEX/ch. 34 (SIN) signs on.

1964
KIIX/ch. 22 goes off the air.
KCET/ch. 28 (NET) signs on.

1965
KIIX/ch. 22 returns as an independent and changes call to KPOL.

1966
KPOL/ch. 22 changes call to KWHY.
KXLA/ch. 40 (Spanish independent) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Santa Ana, Calif.
KMTW/ch. 52 (independent) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Corona, Calif.

1968
KMTW/ch. 52 changes call to KBSC.

1969
KHOF/ch. 30 (independent) signs on. It is licensed to an originates from San Bernardino, Calif.

1970
KVCR/ch. 24 and KCET/ch. 28 become PBS affiliates.

1972
KSCI/ch. 18 (bilingual independent) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Long Beach, Calif.
KOCE/ch. 50 (PBS) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Huntington Beach, Calif.
KBSA/ch. 46 (independent) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Ontario, Calif.

1973
KBSA/ch. 46 becomes a Trinity affiliate.
KLCS/ch. 58 (PBS) signs on.

1974
KXLA/ch. 40 becomes a Trinity affiliate.

1977
KXLA/ch. 40 changes call to KTBN.
KBSA/ch. 46 goes off the air.

1982
KNXT/ch. 2 changes call to KCBS.
KDOC/ch. 56 (independent) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Anaheim, Calif.

1983
KHOF/ch. 30 goes off the air.

1984
KBSA/ch. 46 returns as an independent and changes call to KIHS.

1985
KHOF/ch. 30 returns and changes call to KAGL.
KBSC/ch. 52 changes call to KVEA.
KTIE/ch. 63 (independent) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Oxnard, Calif.

1986
KTTV/ch. 11 becomes a Fox affiliate.
KMEX/ch. 34 becomes Univision affiliate.

1987
KHIS/ch. 46 becomes a Spanish independent and changes call to KZKI.
KVEA/ch. 52 becomes a Telemundo affiliate.
KVVT/ch. 64 (independent) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Barstow, Calif.

1988
KRCA/ch. 62 (Estrella TV) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Riverside, Calif.
KTIE/ch. 63 changes call to KADY.

1989
KHJ/ch. 9 changes call to KCAL.

1990
KSTV/ch. 57 (independent) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Ventura, Calif.

1992
KAGL/ch. 30 goes off the air.
KVVT/ch. 64 changes call to KHIZ.

1994
KAGL/ch. 30 returns and changes call to KZKI. It is unrelated to the KZKI on channel 46.

1995
KTLA/ch. 5 and KSTV/ch. 57 become WB affiliates.
KCOP/ch. 11 and KADY/ch. 63 become UPN affiliates.

1998
KZKI/ch. 30 becomes a Pax affiliate and changes call to KPXN.
KSTV/ch. 57 reverts to Spanish independent and changes call to KJLA.

1997
KVMD/ch. 31 (independent) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Twentynine Palms, Calif.

2000
KRPA/ch. 44 (America One) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

2001
KRPA/ch. 44 reverts to ethnic independent and changes call to KXLA.
KZKI/ch. 46 becomes a TeleFutura affiliate and changes call to KFTR.
KAZA/ch. 54 (TV Azteca) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Avalon, Calif.

2002
KADY/ch. 63 reverts to independent.

2004
KADY/ch. 63 changes call to KBEH.

2006
KTLA/ch. 5 becomes a CW affiliate.
KCOP/ch. 13 becomes a My Network TV affiliate.
KBEH/ch. 63 becomes a Televisa affiliate. It is a simulcast of XEWT/ch. 12 in San Diego, Calif.

2007
KBBC/ch. 20 (independent) signs on. It is licensed to and originates from Bishop, Calif.

2009
All analog broadcasts cease. The following list shows the stations' physical digital channel in parentheses and subcarriers in italics:
KCBS/ch. 2 (43) - 2.2 - KCBS (SD)
KNBC/ch. 4 (36) - 4.2 - Cozi TV
KTLA/ch. 5 (31) - 5.2 - Antenna TV; 5.3 - This TV
KABC/ch. 7 (7) - 7.2 - Live Well Network (HD); 7.3 - Live Well Network (SD)
KCAL/ch. 9 (9)
KTTV/ch. 11 (11) - 11.2 - Fox (SD)
KCOP/ch. 13 (13) - 13.2 - Bounce TV; 13.3 - Movies!
KSCI/ch. 18 (18) - 18.2 - NHK; 18.3 - MBC-D (Korean); 18.4 - Korean religious; 18.5 - Armenian; 18.6 - Best TV (Armenian); 18.7 - Armenian-Russian; 18.8 - Mandarin/Taiwanese; 18.9 - Korean
KVME/ch. 20 (20--changed calls from KBBC and affiliated with Me-TV in 2012)
KWHY/ch. 22 (42--became a MundoFox affiliate in 2013)
KVCR/ch. 24 (26) - 24.2 - First National Experience; 24.3 - Desert Cities; 24.4 - Create
KCET/ch. 28 (28--became an educational independent in 2013)
KPXN/ch. 30 (38) - 30.2 - qubo; 30.3 - Ion Life; 30.4 - Ion Shop; 30.5 - QVC; 30.6 - HSN
KVMD/ch. 31 (23) - 31.2 - Spanish educational; 31.3 - Filipino; 31.4 - Cantonese/Mandarin; 31.5 - Mandarin; 31.6 - Spanish; 31.7 - Mandarin; 31.8 - Mandarin; 31.9 - CCTV News; 31.10 - Mandarin; 31.11 - KLYY radio (audio only)
KMEX/ch. 34 (34)
KTBN/ch. 40 (33) - 40.2 - Church Channel; 40.3 - JUCE TV; 40.4 - Enlace USA; 40.5 - Smile Of A Child
KXLA/ch. 44 (51) -
KFTR/ch. 46 (29--became a UniMás affiliate in 2013) - 46.2 - Get TV
KOCE/ch. 50 (48) - 50.2 - PBS SoCal; 50.3 - PBS Plus; 50.4 - Daystar; 50.5 - PBS World
KVEA/ch. 52 (39) - 52.2 - Exitos TV
KAZA/ch. 54 (57) - 54.2 - Azteca Mexico; 54.3 - Simulcast of KSFV-CA
KDOC/ch. 56 (32) - 56.2 - ESNE; 56.3 - Me-TV; 56.4 - The Works; 56.5 - IBC-TV
KJLA/ch. 57 (49) - 57.2 - Vietnamese; 57.3 - Vietnamese; 57.4 - Vietnamese; 57.5 - Vietnamese; 57.6 - Vietnamese; 57.7 - Vietnamese; 57.8 - Vietnamese; 57.9 - Mandarin; 57.10 - Vietnamese
KLCS/ch. 58 (41) - 58.2 - PBS Kids; 58.3 - Create
KRCA/ch. 62 (45) - 62.2 - Mandarin; 62.3 - Spanish; 62.6 - Mandarin
KBEH/ch. 63 (24) - 63.2 - Guadalupe Radio TV; 63.3 -Tele-Romantica; 63.4 - Tele Vide Abudante; 63.5 - Latin TV; 63.6 - Brazilian; 63.7 - Infomercials; 63.8 - Religious
KILM/ch. 64 (44--changed call from KHIZ and transferred city of license to Pasadena, Calif. in 2012)

 

[Ccook55]

An addition I missed: 2005--KPXN becomes an "I" affiliate; 2007--KPXN becomes an Ion affiliate.

 

[ShawnHill1]

Some corrections...

*Channel 2's call letter change from KNXT to KCBS-TV took place in 1984.
*Channel 40's original call letters were KLXA
*Channel 62 originally signed-on as KSLD; it became KRCA in 1990. Become it became a Spanish station by 1998, it carried programming from one of HSN's secondary networks.
*Channel 46 never had the KZKI calls, that was strictly on the third incarcation of Channel 30. Channel 46 changes its calls from KIHS to KHSC in 1987, and remained so just before of Telefutura (UniMas) in 2002.

 

[Ccook55]

Ah, noted. As a SoCal boy myself originally, I should have followed up on those. Much obliged.

 

[ShawnHill1]

No problem at all, Ccook...happy to help.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Even more errors and omissions

Congratulations, Ccook55. I had intended not to re-register here, but there are so many mistakes and omissions I had to come in and correct them (so if anyone complains that I'm back, it's all your fault!). ShawnHill got some of the corrections and omissions, but there are others:

KTLA was never a DuMont affiliate. In fact, that was a sour note in the DuMont network history, as Paramount owned part of the network but refused to carry its programs on KTLA, which it owned at the time. That is why DuMont affiliated with KTSL.

Channel 13 was never KMTR. Somewhere on this board there is a thread about that in which I am quoted as having researched this using David (Eduardo) Gleason's online archive of Broadcasting magazine to disprove that often-stated myth. It was KLAC-TV from the start until it became KCOP under Copley.

KIIX was not Asian-American. It was programmed for blacks.

You missed entirely KCHU/ch. 18 in San Bernardino (on 1962, off 1964) and KKOG/ch. 16 in Ventura (on 1968, off 1969).

KBSA was not a Trinity affiliate. TBN did not exist until the Crouchs bought KLXA and used it as the start of the network.

KSCI's original city of license was San Bernardino, until the early 2000s.

KAGL was technically an "interim operator" of channel 30 after KHOF lost its license and the FCC went through the process of choosing a new licensee. It went off the air once the new licensee was chosen and KZKI was not the same station, so "changes call" is incorrect.

KSTV signed on as an affiliate of Galavision.

KBEH ran MTV3, not a simulcast of XEWT.

Forgive me for saying so, but you clearly failed to do thorough research.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I remembered another omission this morning.

KVST/ch. 68, which operated in 1974 and 1975.
KDDE (later KEEF)/ch. 68 (not KVST resuming operation; a new station on that channel) in 1987.

The Wikipedia page on KEEF-TV is surprisingly accurate about these two stations' history, even if it does make it appear that they were the same station.

 

[gregg75]

So here's my question.....TV Guide back in the day.....were all these stations listed under L.A. or did Oxnard, Barstow, Ventura, etc. have their stations listed under their city names?
OR
What other cities were listed in the L.A. edition besides L.A. (other than USA Super Stations)?

 

[K.M. Richards]

So here's my question.....TV Guide back in the day.....were all these stations listed under L.A. or did Oxnard, Barstow, Ventura, etc. have their stations listed under their city names?
OR
What other cities were listed in the L.A. edition besides L.A. (other than USA Super Stations)?

Originally, there was a single edition for everything south of Bakersfield. It had both the Los Angeles and San Diego stations, plus KEYT in Santa Barbara.

San Diego was spun off into a separate edition in the mid-1960s but continued to include the L.A. stations, but the S.D. stations disappeared from the Los Angeles edition. When KCOY in Santa Maria went on the air in the late-1960s it was added to the L.A. edition as well, primarily due to it being carried via microwave relay on the Ventura-Oxnard cable systems.

There was also originally an edition carrying both Fresno and Bakersfield stations, but in the early 1980s TV Guide created the separate Santa Barbara-Bakersfield edition, which also had the L.A. stations listed, plus KSBY San Luis Obispo, KEYT and KCOY (the latter two being removed from the L.A. edition at that point). It was that edition which listed KSTV Ventura and KTIE Oxnard when they came on.

KVVT Victorville came on the air after TV Guide stopped providing listings, but the San Bernardino and Palm Springs stations were always in the Los Angeles edition.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Oh, and that reminds me of a few more minor corrections to the timeline:

KLXA was originally city of license Fontana.
KBSA was originally city of license Guasti.

And I would like to object to the concept of "originating from" in the timeline. Many of the stations licensed to communities other than Los Angeles still had offices and studios in L.A. and transmitters on Mount Wilson.