KFRE-TV

**KFRE-TV**, virtual channel 59 (UHF digital channel 36), is a CW-affiliated television station serving Fresno, California, United States that is licensed to Sanger. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group as part of a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KAIL (channel 7). The station's studio facilities are located on McKinley Avenue in eastern Fresno (one mile (1.6 km) southwest of Fresno Yosemite International Airport); KFRE's transmitter is located on Bear Mountain (near Meadow Lakes).

## History

### **Early years**

The station first signed on the air on July 17, 1985, as **KMSG-TV**; originally operating as an independent station, channel 59 originally ran a bilingual format of Spanish-language programming during the afternoon and evening hours, and English-language religious programs for about six hours a day each morning; it also ran mostly English-language home shopping programs during the overnight hours. The station's Spanish programming was sourced from NetSpan, the second Spanish-language television network to launch in the United States (after the Spanish International Network, now Univision); NetSpan was relaunched as Telemundo in 1987. The following year, the station dropped its inventory of English-language programs, and exclusively affiliated with Telemundo.

### **Early 2000s**

In 2000, KNSO (channel 51, then an affiliate of The WB) signed a deal to become the Fresno market's new Telemundo affiliate; as a result, Pappas Telecasting terminated a local marketing agreement between KNSO and Fox affiliate KMPH-TV](channel 26). On January 1, 2001, the LMA with KMPH was transferred to KMSG, which also resulted in the WB affiliation moving to the station from KNSO (becoming the network's third affiliate in the market; The WB's original Fresno affiliate was Clovis-based KGMC(channel 43), which was with the network from its launch in 1995 until 1997); channel 59 also changed its call letters to **KFRE-TV** (the KFRE calls were originally used in the market on what is now ABC owned-and-operated station KFSN-TV (channel 30) from 1956 to 1971). At this time, the station changed its on-air branding to "WB 59".

### **Since 2006**

On January 24, 2006, the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner and CBS Corporation announced that the two companies would shut down The WB and UPN and combine the networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network called The CW. KFRE became the market's CW affiliate when the network launched on September 18, 2006.

On May 10, 2008, thirteen Pappas stations, including KFRE, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As a result of the bankruptcy, Pappas Telecasting Companies was given until February 15, 2009, to sell these stations to other owners. On January 16, 2009, Pappas announced that most of the stations, including KFRE, would be purchased by New World TV Group, after the sale received United States bankruptcy court approval; the stations would eventually come under the Titan TV Broadcast Group banner. Titan announced the sale of KFRE-TV, and most of the company's other stations to the Dorado Media Group on June 3, 2013. The Federal Communications Commission approved the sale on September 19, and the sale was finalized on October 3.

## Digital Television

### **Digital channel**

 59.2
 59.3

### **Analog-to-digital conversion**

KFRE-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 59, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 36. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 59, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.

## Programming

KFRE formerly served as the local television broadcaster of Fresno State Bulldogs sporting events until 2008, when the rights moved to MyNetworkTV affiliate KAIL (channel 53, now on channel 7). The station was also the local holder of television rights to San Francisco Giants baseball games until the 2007 season; in 2008, the Giants telecasts also moved to KAIL. In 2008, the station held the local rights to Oakland Athletics baseball telecasts, which are produced by regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Bay Area before moving exclusively to Comcast SportsNet California in 2009. Since 2014, KFRE has aired pre-season San Francisco 49ers football games.