KHSV

KHSV is the call-sign brand of television station channel 21 serving Las Vegas, Nevada. The station broadcasts from facilities on Black Mountain near Henderson and is owned by Howard Stirk Holdings. Its history reflects the changing structure of American local television: it began as an independent UHF outlet, became an early affiliate of UPN, switched to The WB, later adopted the MyNetworkTV identity, and ultimately became a separately owned station after a complex license and facility realignment involving Sinclair Broadcast Group and an NBC affiliate. The station first signed on July 31, 1984, as KRLR, using the on-air identity “Vusic 21.” Its initial schedule was dominated by music videos, a format that helped the station launch quickly while it built a broader programming operation. During its first year, KRLR expanded into movies and syndicated entertainment. Sports became an important part of the station’s identity during the late 1980s, including coverage of Las Vegas Americans indoor soccer, selected University of Nevada, Las Vegas basketball and football, and baseball telecasts involving the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics. As the first Las Vegas UHF station, KRLR also helped establish the market for subsequent UHF broadcasters, although it remained a ratings challenger to the stronger independent station KVVU. In 1993, ownership transferred to Las Vegas Channel 21 Inc., controlled by Michael J. Lambert. The station joined the newly launched United Paramount Network in January 1995 and changed its call letters to KUPN in March of that year. Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired KUPN in 1997. After Sinclair entered into an affiliation arrangement with The WB, the station moved away from UPN, adopted the KVWB call sign in 1998, and became a WB affiliate. The change improved the station’s prime-time ratings, and Sinclair later attempted to develop local news programming for the outlet. From 2003 to 2006, KVWB carried a version of Sinclair’s News Central format. The hybrid service combined locally presented reporting with nationally produced news and weather segments from Sinclair’s corporate operation. After The WB and UPN were replaced by The CW in 2006, Sinclair aligned channel 21 with MyNetworkTV rather than The CW and renamed it KVMY. The station was marketed as “My LV TV,” while the related channel 33 operation became KVCW and carried The CW. The station’s current ownership resulted from Sinclair’s 2014 acquisition of KSNV-DT, the Las Vegas NBC affiliate, from Intermountain West Communications Company. Because Sinclair already controlled two Las Vegas stations, it rearranged the technical facilities, programming, and licenses of KSNV, KVCW, and KVMY to satisfy Federal Communications Commission ownership limits. The former KSNV license and facility were transferred into the KVMY structure and sold to Howard Stirk Holdings. The transaction primarily involved the transmission facility and was reported at a nominal purchase price. The call sign changed from KVMY to KHSV on March 7, 2016. KHSV is therefore best understood as a local broadcast-station brand rather than a national consumer brand. Its assets include the channel 21 broadcast operation, associated digital transmission facilities, local-market distribution, and whatever network or syndicated programming is carried at a given time. The station’s programming identity has changed repeatedly as network affiliations, ownership arrangements, and digital-subchannel economics have evolved. Reference material indicates that the station has also been associated with Heroes & Icons programming and that future affiliation changes may occur, but the precise current schedule should be verified through the station’s own website or contemporary regulatory filings.

Channel 21's origins date to a Federal Communications Commission comparative proceeding in 1980 involving several applicants seeking to build a new UHF television station in Las Vegas. The winning operation launched on July 31, 1984, as KRLR under DRES Media. Branded Vusic 21, it initially emphasized music videos and promoted itself as an around-the-clock music-video service. The station soon diversified into movies, syndicated entertainment, and sports, including indoor soccer and selected UNLV athletics. Its early presence helped demonstrate the commercial potential of UHF broadcasting in Las Vegas, even though it competed against a much stronger established independent outlet. DRES Media filed to sell KRLR in 1993 to Las Vegas Channel 21 Inc., associated with Michael J. Lambert. Under the new ownership, the station became a charter affiliate of UPN when that network launched in January 1995 and changed its call letters to KUPN in March. Sinclair Broadcast Group bought the station in 1997 for a price reported in contemporary descriptions as $87 million. Sinclair's relationship with UPN deteriorated after the company negotiated to move several stations to The WB. KUPN consequently shifted to The WB in 1998 and adopted KVWB as its call sign. The affiliation switch improved the station's prime-time ratings, although plans for a dedicated 10 p.m. newscast were not fully realized in the proposed form. Sinclair introduced News Central programming on KVWB in October 2003. The format used local presenters and reporting alongside national news and weather prepared at Sinclair's Maryland headquarters. The service ended in March 2006. That same year, The WB and UPN were replaced by The CW. Sinclair initially committed most of its relevant stations, including KVWB, to MyNetworkTV, while the company's channel 33 station received The CW affiliation. KVWB therefore became KVMY and was promoted as My LV TV when MyNetworkTV launched. A major ownership and facility restructuring followed Sinclair's 2014 purchase of KSNV, the local NBC affiliate. Sinclair already controlled two Las Vegas licenses, so it could not simply add a third full-power station without addressing FCC ownership limits. The company moved programming and technical assets among KSNV, KVCW, and KVMY. MyNetworkTV programming moved to a KVCW digital subchannel, while the KSNV call letters, programming, and channel identity moved into the former KVMY structure. The former KSNV license and facility, operating under the KVMY call letters during the transition, was sold to Howard Stirk Holdings. The call sign officially became KHSV on March 7, 2016. KHSV transmits from Black Mountain near Henderson and operates as a local Las Vegas broadcast service. Its technical history also includes digital facilities inherited from the former KSNV operation. The station's broadcast identity has continued to depend on network and digital-subchannel arrangements rather than on a single permanent programming format. Reference material identifies an association with Heroes & Icons and describes a later planned affiliation change involving MeTV and NTD Television; because those details concern a future schedule and may change, they should be checked against current station and regulatory sources before being treated as definitive.

• 2016

  KHSV call sign adopted

  [1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  The station changes from KVMY to KHSV on March 7.

• 2014

  Las Vegas license and facility realignment

  [1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  Sinclair restructures its three-station Las Vegas portfolio after agreeing to acquire KSNV.

• 2006

  KVMY and MyNetworkTV

  [1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  KVWB becomes KVMY and launches the My LV TV identity as a MyNetworkTV affiliate.

• 2003

  News Central launch

  [1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  KVWB begins airing a Sinclair News Central newscast.

• 1998

  The WB affiliation

  [1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  The station leaves UPN, joins The WB, and changes its call sign to KVWB.

• 1997

  Sinclair acquisition

  [1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  Sinclair Broadcast Group acquires KUPN.

• 1995

  UPN affiliation and KUPN call sign

  [1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  The station joins UPN at the network's launch and changes its call letters to KUPN.

• 1993

  Ownership transfer to Las Vegas Channel 21 Inc.

  [1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  DRES Media files to sell KRLR to a company controlled by Michael J. Lambert.

• 1984

  KRLR signs on

  [1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  Channel 21 begins broadcasting on July 31 as KRLR, initially using the Vusic 21 music-video format.

A local Las Vegas broadcast television outlet whose identity has historically been shaped by UHF distribution, changing network affiliations, syndicated entertainment, sports programming, and digital-subchannel operations.

• Broadcast television station · 1984

  KHSV channel 21

  The core KHSV offering is a full-power television broadcast serving the Las Vegas market from a transmitter on Black Mountain near Henderson. The station's programming identity has changed over time, spanning independent entertainment, UPN, The WB, MyNetworkTV, and digital-subchannel programming. Its commercial product also includes local advertising reach across Southern Nevada.

• Historical programming format · 1984

  Vusic 21

  The original KRLR on-air format concentrated on music videos and was used to establish the station as a new UHF service. The format was later broadened with movies, syndicated programming, and sports as the station developed a more conventional independent-station schedule.

• Historical network identity · 2006

  My LV TV

  My LV TV was the local promotional identity used after KVWB became KVMY and affiliated with MyNetworkTV in 2006. The identity positioned channel 21 around the newly created network after The WB and UPN were discontinued.

• 2014

  Sale of the restructured channel 21 operation to Howard Stirk HoldingsM&A

  Background

  Sinclair's acquisition of KSNV would have left it with three Las Vegas full-power station licenses, requiring a portfolio restructuring under FCC ownership rules.

  Action taken

  Sinclair exchanged facilities, call signs, programming, and license structures and sold the former KSNV facility and license arrangement to Howard Stirk Holdings.

  Aftermath

  The operation later adopted the KHSV call sign and became separately owned from Sinclair's remaining Las Vegas stations.

  Reported purchase price for KSNV acquisition. $120 million (2014)

  Source

• 2006

  Adoption of MyNetworkTVStrategy

  Background

  The WB and UPN were being replaced by The CW, while Sinclair negotiated different affiliations for its Las Vegas stations.

  Action taken

  KVWB became KVMY and joined MyNetworkTV under the My LV TV identity.

  Aftermath

  KVCW received The CW affiliation, creating differentiated network roles within Sinclair's Las Vegas portfolio.

  Source

• 1998

  Switch from UPN to The WBStrategy

  Background

  Sinclair's broader affiliation agreement with The WB created a conflict with UPN and affected several Sinclair-owned stations, including channel 21.

  Action taken

  KUPN moved to The WB and changed its call letters to KVWB.

  Aftermath

  The station's prime-time ratings increased substantially in the following year.

  Source

• 2016

  KVMY changes call sign to KHSV[1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  The channel 21 station adopts the KHSV call letters under Howard Stirk Holdings ownership.

• 2014

  Sinclair announces acquisition of KSNV[1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Regulation

  Sinclair agrees to acquire Las Vegas NBC affiliate KSNV, prompting a restructuring of its existing local-station licenses and facilities.

• 2014

  Former KVMY facility is sold to Howard Stirk Holdings[1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Regulation

  As part of Sinclair's Las Vegas station realignment, the former KSNV technical facility operating under the KVMY structure is sold to Howard Stirk Holdings.

• 2006

  KVWB becomes KVMY and joins MyNetworkTV[1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  Product generation · Product launch

  After the closure of The WB and UPN, the station adopts the KVMY call sign and launches the My LV TV identity as a MyNetworkTV affiliate.

• 2003

  KVWB launches Sinclair's News Central newscast[1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The station begins airing a 10 p.m. local-news service using Sinclair's hybrid local and centrally produced News Central format.

• 1998

  Channel 21 moves from UPN to The WB[1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Following Sinclair's broader affiliation agreement with The WB, KUPN changes its call sign to KVWB and switches network affiliation.

• 1997

  Sinclair acquires KUPN[1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Sinclair Broadcast Group purchases KUPN, entering the Las Vegas television market.

• 1995

  KUPN joins UPN[1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The station changes its call sign from KRLR to KUPN and becomes an affiliate of the newly launched United Paramount Network.

• 1984

  KRLR begins broadcasting as Las Vegas's second independent station[1]KHSVen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Channel 21 signs on as KRLR with the Vusic 21 identity and a schedule centered on music videos.

1. 1KHSVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KHSV station websitekhsv.antennatv.tv