KZLN
On April 20, 1977, the Texas Consumer Education and Communications Development Committee, related to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, filed an application to build a new television station on non-commercially reserved channel 44 in Harlingen; however, in October, TCECDC modified its application to specify channel 60—thus becoming a non-commercial station operating on a non-reserved commercial channel. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted the committee a construction permit on January 24, 1979.[1] The call letters KZLN were assigned that June for the new educational television outlet. Original plans called for the station to be on the air by December 1979 with a bilingual program schedule; however, opposition from Harlingen officials brought those plans to a halt. One Harlingen city commissioner sympathetic to the project told the Hispanic group to "get some Browns, Joneses, and Smiths on that board of directors"; another high-ranking official anonymously told John Bloom of Texas Monthly that they were afraid of KZLN being a "Chicano-type propaganda station".[2]
KZLN would also be beset by several years of delays in tower construction and facilities. The station shared its transmitter facility with another new station in the Rio Grande Valley, KVEO-TV, whose owner contributed $96,000.[3] By the time KZLN began telecasting on May 5, 1982,[4] the climate was poor for PBS due to major cutbacks by the Reagan administration that affected funding for public broadcasting. For cable viewers in the Valley, KZLN replaced KEDT of Corpus Christi.[5]
As had been feared at launch, KZLN's road was rocky. In September, more than $150,000 of equipment was stolen and taken to Mexico, from where it was dispersed to Arkansas, California, and elsewhere; the thieves would be arrested in Cancún in 1983, and some of the equipment was recovered.[6] By December, the station's fundraising appeals warned, "Without your help, KZLN will not be able to continue to operate".[7] In February 1983, the station managed to stay on the air thanks to a reprieve from the Central Power and Light Co. (CPL), the local electric utility; at the time, channel 60 owed CPL more than $19,000, had just avoided a full staff walkout,[8] and had its telephone service disconnected for nonpayment.[9] The station made it to its first birthday, in large part under interim leadership and with station driving force Francisco Briones having resigned.[10]
Poor community support, however, prevented KZLN from continuing much further. With only 400 memberships and no local programming,[11] the station ceased operating July 13, 1983.
Becoming KMBH
When KZLN folded, the diocese, by way of RGV Educational Broadcasting, Inc., stepped in to acquire the channel 60 license in a transaction approved by the FCC in December 1983.[12] The diocese assumed a $36,000 tax liability and $15,000 in outstanding wages and forgave $356,000 in debt.[13]
RGV Educational Broadcasting changed the call letters to KEDV; in August, the diocese announced a $1.2 million pledge to cover the start-up expenses for a new facility, to be located on diocesan land south of the Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, as well as a new tower at La Feria.[14] At the time, a May 1985 start-up date was projected, though KEDV—which soon would take on its KMBH call letters after receiving a request from KEDT[15]—got off to a slow start in fundraising.[16] Channel 60 returned to the air, this time as KMBH, on October 8, 1985.[17]
Conversion to commercial operation
On January 14, 2014, the Diocese announced its intention to file with the FCC to convert KMBH's license to a commercial license, with the intention to sign a local marketing agreement with, and sell the station to, MBTV Texas Valley LLC; the Diocese cited the expenses of running the station. Though KZLN/KMBH had always operated as non-commercial, public television stations, the 1979 decision to file for channel 60 instead of 44 meant that it operated on a non-reserved channel—unusual among PBS stations—allowing KMBH to be converted. The move raised questions about KMBH's continued operation as a PBS member, though it was stated that efforts would be made to keep PBS programming available in the Rio Grande Valley;[25][26] KEDT in Corpus Christi also sought a potential purchase of the station.[27] The proceeds from the sale were used to repay nearly $800,000 in grants to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Sister station KMBH-FM, later renamed KJJF, was not affected by the sale of KMBH television;[25][26]
Sale to Entravision Communications and change to Fox
In August 2019, Entravision Communications, owners of full-power KNVO (channel 48) as well as low-power stations KFXV-LD/KXFX-CD and KCWT-CD in the Valley, announced it would acquire KMBH for $2.9 million. For attribution reasons related to its minority ownership by Univision and certain rights held by the company relating to its Univision affiliates, Entravision declared that KMBH would not air any Univision-owned network.[37][38][39] PBS was ultimately added by Entravision to the 21.4 subchannel of KCWT-CD on June 30, 2020, reaching about 80 percent of the households covered by the former KMBH.[40]
