Telemundo Station Group is the division of NBCUniversal Local (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees their Telemundo owned-and-operated television stations and the TeleXitos network. The NBC owned-and-operated stations are held in the separate NBC Owned Television Stations division.
History
Telemundo was formed as NetSpan in 1984 by the owners of WNJU in Linden, New Jersey (serving the New York City area) and KSTS in San Jose, California. These stations joined KVEA in Los Angeles in 1985. The following year, KVEA's part-owner, Reliance Group Holdings, purchased John Blair & Co., which owned WKAQ-TV in San Juan, Puerto Rico, branded on air as Telemundo, and WSCV in Fort Lauderdale–Miami-West Palm Beach. In late 1986, Reliance took control over WNJU and KSTS.
In 1987, Reliance merged all these stations into the Telemundo Group. The new corporation quickly went public, and in 1987, Reliance decided to rebrand NetSpan as Telemundo. It then established KTMD in Houston and KVDA in San Antonio.
On November 9, 1995, Essaness Communications sold a 74.5% controlling interest in WSNS-TV in Chicago to Telemundo for $44.7 million, with Essaness retaining a 25.5% stake. Essaness would later sell its stake in the partnership to Telemundo in 2003.
In 1997, Liberty Media and Sony Pictures Entertainment purchased a majority interest in Telemundo from Reliance Capital Group. NBC would then purchase Telemundo from Sony and Liberty Media in 2001. Telemundo in 2001 would also acquire KXTX-TV in Dallas.
In April 2002, NBC bought then Holbrook, Arizona station KPHZ (now KTAZ) and its translators un Phoenix, Arizona (KPHZ-LP and KPSW-LP) from Venture Technologies Group for $7,5 million.Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License - Federal Communications Commission It was finalized on September 26, 2002.Application Search Details - Federal Communications Commission In 2005, NBC/Telemundo successfully got FCC approval to swap licenses with the Daystar Network's owned KDTP: the KPHZ license moved from Holbrook to Phoenix, broadcasting on channel 39. Daystar's KDTP license then moved from Phoenix to Holbrook, broadcasting on channel 11. These changes were completed in 2006.
In September 2002, NBC agreed to acquire WPXB in the Boston area from Paxson Communications, with the intention of making it a Telemundo owned-and-operated station. Paxson, which was in the process of selling some of its stations in order to raise $100 million, had originally planned to sell WPXB to another company, but NBC had a right of first refusal on Paxson's stations in the fifty largest markets, which it had obtained when it acquired a 32 percent stake in Paxson in 1999. NBC completed its purchase of WPXB on October 29, 2002; two days later, the call letters were changed to WNEU.
On October 8, 2002, NBC announced that it would acquire three Telemundo affiliates: KHRR (in Tucson) and KDRX-CA (in Phoenix) from Television Apogeo, and KNSO (in Fresno) from Sainte Partners II, L.P.Telemundo buying two Az. stations - Tucson Citizen The sale of Arizona stations were completed on January 1, 2003;Application Search Details - Federal Communications CommissionApplication Search Details - Federal Communications Commission while the acquisition of the Telemundo-affiliate in Fresno was completed on April 30, 2003.Application Search Details - Federal Communications Commission
On February 23, 2005, NBC bought Telemundo affiliate KBLR in Las Vegas for $32.1 million.Telemundo 39 - KBLR Channel 39 TelevisionInside Media The sale was completed on May 24, 2005.NBC Closes on KBLR - 5/24/2005 10:57:00 AM - Broadcasting & Cable
In January 2006, NBCUniversal agreed to buy Denver's KDEN-TV from Longmont Broadcasting.NBC's buying KDEN Denver for Telemundo - TvNewsCheck The acquisition was completed on July 13.Consummation Notice - Federal Communications Commission In November, NBCUniversal agreed to donate Steamboat Springs' KMAS-TV (who was the main Telemundo affiliate for Denver before NBC's acquisition of KDEN) to Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Network.Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License - Federal Communications Commission The donation was completed on July 26, 2007.Consummation Notice - Federal Communications Commission
On January 26, 2011, NBCUniversal announced the sale of its Spanish-language independent station KWHY-TV to the Meruelo Group due to its pending merger with Comcast.NBC Has Deal To Sell KWHY In L.A. - Broadcasting & Cable The sale was completed on July 1.Consummation Notice - Federal Communications Commission
On March 21, 2013, NBCUniversal entered into an agreement to acquire WWSI from ZGS Communications for $20 million. Prior to the sale agreement, WWSI had been the largest station (in terms of market size) aligned with Telemundo that was not an owned-and-operated station of the network. The deal created a duopoly with NBC-owned Philadelphia station WCAU.NBCUniversal doubles in Philadelphia with Telemundo outlet, Radio & Television Business Report, March 21, 2013. The sale was completed on July 2.Telemundo Closes On Purchase of WWSI TVNewsCheck, July 2, 2013
In July 2013, NBC Owned Television Stations and Telemundo's owned stations were brought together under a newly formed division, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, under NBC TV Station president Valari Staab.
In 2017, NBCUniversal announced that it was hiring people for NBC-owned KNSD in San Diego with the intention of launching a new Telemundo-owned station in the area, replacing Tijuana, Mexico-licensed station XHAS-TDT (whose affiliation expired at the end of June 2017). The new Telemundo affiliate, branded as "Telemundo 20", launched on July 1 on KNSD's digital 39.20 subchannel. On September 12, 2017, NBCUniversal acquired KUAN-LD from NRJ TV, LLC, to serve as San Diego's Telemundo station instead; the sale was completed on December 21, 2017.Consummation Notice
On December 4, 2017, NBCUniversal announced its purchase of ZGS Communications's ten Spanish-language television stations. The sale was completed in early 2018. Two of the stations (WRIW-CD and WZGS-CD) were filed separately, as ZGS were negotiating channel sharing agreements at the time of the sale. Those sales were completed in July 2018.Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Notice, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 24 July 2018Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Notice, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 24 July 2018
On March 5, 2019, KCSO-LD in Sacramento, California and KTMW in Salt Lake City (and their respective repeater stations) were acquired from Serestar Communications.
On July 30, 2021 NBCUniversal announced it was buying Albuquerque, New Mexico Telemundo affiliate KASA-TV and its repeater stations for $12.5 million dollars. In the short term NBC announced it was entering a transitional services agreement Gray Television, which had purchased Fox affiliate KJTV-TV and other Ramar television assets in Lubbock, Texas earlier in 2021. The deal will give NBCU Telemundo station group 31 stations and marks the end of 23 years of Ramar's ownership of the Telemundo affiliation in the city.
Stations City of license / MarketState Station ChannelTV (RF) Owned since Secondary ownednetworks PhoenixArizona KTAZ 39 (29) 2002 TeleX, Cozi, NBC True CRMZ, Oxygen Tucson KHRR 40 (16) 2003 TeleX, NBC True CRMZ, Oxygen Corona - Los AngelesCalifornia KVEAOriginal "NetSpan" station (predecessor network to what would become Telemundo) 52 (25) 1985 TeleX Clovis - Fresno KNSO 51 (27) 2003 TeleX, Cozi, NBC True CRMZ, OxygenPoway - San DiegoKUAN-LD48 (17)2017TeleXSacramento KCSO-LDa station owned by Serestar Communications before its sale to NBC Universal's Telemundo Station Group in 2019 33 (3) 2019 TeleX, NBC True CRMZ KMUM-CD 33 (31) 2019 San Jose - San Francisco - Oakland KSTS 48 (19) 1984 TeleX, NBC True CRMZ, OxygenSalinas - MontereyK15CU-Da station built and signed on by TelemundoThough traditionally owned by Telemundo as a translator of KSTS, since 2014 this station no longer carries Telemundo programming and instead carries Cozi TV in English on its primary channel; Telemundo is now on KMUV-LD (owned by News-Press & Gazette Company). 15 (15) 1990 Cozi, NBC True CRMZ, TeleX, Oxygen Longmont - DenverColorado KDEN-TV 25 (29) 2006 TeleX, Cozi, NBC True CRMZ, Oxygen Hartford - New HavenConnecticut WRDM-CDIndicates a station owned by ZGS Communications before its sale to NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group in 2018 19 (31) 2018 TeleX WashingtonDistrict of Columbia WZDC-CD 44 (34) 2018 TeleX Fort Lauderdale - Miami - West Palm BeachFlorida WSCV 51 (30) 1987 TeleX, Telemundo Palm Beach Naples - Fort Myers WWDT-CD 43 (43) 2018 NBC True CRMZ Orlando WTMO-CD 31 (31) 2018 TeleX, NBC True CRMZ Tampa - St. Petersburg WRMD-CD 49 (30) 2018 TeleX, NBC True CRMZ, Oxygen ChicagoIllinois WSNS-TVThis station was jointly owned by Ensaness Communications from 1996 to 2003. 44 (33) 1996 TeleX Merrimack - Manchester, New Hampshire - BostonMassachusetts WNEU 60 (29) 2002 NBC True CRMZ Springfield WDMR-LD 14 (23) 2018 TeleX, NBC True CRMZ, Oxygen Paradise - Las VegasNevada KBLR 39 (20) 2005 TeleX, NBC True CRMZ, Cozi, Oxygen Linden, New Jersey - New YorkNew York WNJU 47 (35) 1984 TeleX Santa Fe - AlbuquerqueNew Mexico KASA-TVOwned by Ramar Communications prior to purchase by NBCUniversal in 2021. 2 (27)2021 TeleX, Roar, Cozi TV KUPT-LD 2 (32)2021 TeleX, NBC True CRMZ, Oxygen, Movies!, Roar, Cozi Raleigh - DurhamNorth Carolina WRTD-CD 54 (15) 2018 Mount Laurel, New Jersey - PhiladelphiaPennsylvania WWSI 62 (28) 2013 TeleX San JuanPuerto Rico WKAQ-TVSince 2014, WKAQ-TV also carries a mainly WNBC-sourced NBC affiliate, NBC Puerto Rico, in English on their DT3 channel. 2 (28) 1987 Spanish Independent, NBC (via WNBC in New York City), NBC True CRMZ ProvidenceRhode Island WRIW-CD 51 (17) 2018 Cozi, Oxygen WYCN-LDThis station was originally owned by Telemundo as its Boston station, W32AY, from 1995 to 2001. It was acquired by NBCUniversal in 2016 and served as the primary station for NBC Boston from 2017 to 2019 before being moved to Providence. 8 (36) 2016 TeleX, Cozi, NBC True CRMZ Dallas - Fort WorthTexas KXTX-TV 39 (36) 2001 TeleX Galveston - Houston KTMD 47 (22) 1987 TeleX, NBC True CRMZ, Cozi, Oxygen Las Cruces, New Mexico - El Paso, Texas KTDO 48 (26) 2018 TeleX, NBC True CRMZ Rio Grande City - McAllen - Harlingen - Brownsville KTLM 40 (14) 2013 TeleX, Cozi, NBC True CRMZ, Oxygen San Antonio KVDA 60 (15) 1989 TeleX, Cozi, NBC True CRMZ, Oxygen Salt Lake City - OdgenUtah KTMW 20 (20) 2019 TeleX, Nosey, NBC True CRMZ, Oxygen KULX-CD 10 (14) 2019 KEJT-CD 50 (21) 1993 RichmondVirginia WZTD-LD 45 (34) 2018 NBC True CRMZ, Oxygen
Former City of license / Market Station ChannelTV (RF) Years owned Current status Phoenix KPSW-LP 41 2002 Canal de la Fe affiliate, KPDF-CD, owned by HC2 Holdings. KDRX-CA 48 2002-2006 Defunct KPHZ-LP 58 2002-2006 Daystar owned-and-operated (O&O), KDTP-LP Los Angeles KWHY-TV 22 (4) 2001–2011 Scientology Network affiliate, KSCN-TV, owned by Sunset Boulevard Broadcasting Steamboat Springs KMAS-TV 24 (10) 2002–2007 KMHC, owned by Syncom Media Group
References
External links