KILM
KILM is a full-power television station licensed to Inglewood, California, serving the Los Angeles area through digital multicast programming.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KILM is a full-power television station on virtual channel 64 licensed to Inglewood, California, and serving the Los Angeles television market. The station currently carries Bounce TV, a digital multicast network focused primarily on programming for Black audiences, while its ownership sits within Ion Media, a subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. KILM operates alongside Ion station KPXN-TV, licensed to San Bernardino, and the two stations share facilities in Burbank. Through a channel-sharing arrangement, KILM uses transmission infrastructure associated with KPXN-TV, including the Mount Wilson antenna site, rather than operating an entirely independent full-power transmission facility. The station began broadcasting on August 15, 1987, under the call sign KVVT. It was initially licensed to Barstow and served the Mojave Desert, where it operated as the region's only independent commercial television station and carried local news programming. In 1989, KVVT affiliated with ABC. The affiliation partly reflected the limited reception of Los Angeles ABC station KABC-TV in the Mojave Desert at that time. The station changed its call sign to KHIZ in 1992. After KABC-TV improved its signal in the desert region, KHIZ ended its ABC affiliation and returned to a non-network schedule. During the 2000s, the station's service strategy expanded beyond the Mojave Desert toward the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the Inland Empire. Multicultural Broadcasting acquired Sunbelt Television, Inc. in 2007, and KHIZ subsequently incorporated ethnic and multicultural programming. At one point, it carried Inland Empire Live, a weekday morning program produced at the facilities of WSEE-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania, and delivered to the station by satellite. These changes reflected the station's continuing use of syndicated, brokered, and specialty programming rather than a large locally produced schedule. FilmOn assumed operational control under a local marketing agreement on September 1, 2012, and the station adopted the KILM call sign. FilmOn TV programming was removed in November 2013 and replaced with paid programming. In July 2014, the station replaced the paid-programming schedule with programming from the SonLife Broadcasting Network. In August 2017, KILM entered another local marketing arrangement, this time with Punch TV, whose schedule consisted largely of public-domain and brokered content. A major structural change occurred on June 1, 2018, when KILM began sharing a channel with KPXN-TV. Because KPXN's existing broadcast coverage did not adequately serve Barstow, KILM's city of license was changed to Inglewood. Ion Media then agreed to acquire the station for a reported $10 million, a transaction that allowed Ion to consolidate control of the channel-sharing arrangement and its spectrum position. Multicultural ended the Punch TV agreement in early August 2018, temporarily replacing it with paid programming from Corner Store TV while the sale proceeded. The transaction closed on September 17, 2018. After the acquisition, Ion placed programming associated with its digital network portfolio on KILM, including the former Ion Plus feed carried through the station's virtual channel position. Following Scripps's acquisition of Ion Media, KILM became part of the broader Scripps station group. The station's current identity is therefore best understood as a Los Angeles-area broadcast outlet within the Ion/Scripps portfolio rather than as an independently branded entertainment network. Its history is marked by repeated changes in call sign, license location, affiliation, programming provider, ownership, and transmission configuration.
History
KILM began broadcasting on August 15, 1987, as KVVT, with a license based in Barstow, California. Its initial role was to provide independent commercial television service to the Mojave Desert, including local news coverage that was not otherwise widely available in the region. In 1989, the station affiliated with ABC because Los Angeles station KABC-TV did not provide a sufficiently strong signal to much of the desert area. The station changed its call sign to KHIZ in 1992. After KABC improved its Mojave Desert coverage, KHIZ lost its ABC affiliation and resumed a non-network programming model. In the 2000s, KHIZ increasingly pursued viewers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the Inland Empire as well as its original desert audience. Multicultural Broadcasting's 2007 acquisition of Sunbelt Television, Inc. was followed by the addition of ethnic and multicultural programming. The station also carried a weekday morning program, Inland Empire Live, produced by WSEE-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania, and distributed to KHIZ by satellite. FilmOn took over station operations under a local marketing agreement on September 1, 2012. The station adopted the KILM call sign, but its schedule changed repeatedly. FilmOn TV programming was replaced by paid programming in November 2013. In July 2014, KILM adopted programming from the SonLife Broadcasting Network, a religious network associated with Jimmy Swaggart. In August 2017, a new local marketing agreement brought Punch TV programming to the station. Punch TV's schedule was primarily composed of public-domain and brokered programming. KILM's technical and market position changed substantially in 2018. On June 1, it began sharing a transmission facility and spectrum arrangement with KPXN-TV, an Ion-owned station licensed to San Bernardino. Because KPXN's coverage did not adequately reach Barstow, KILM changed its city of license to Inglewood. Ion Media subsequently agreed to purchase KILM for a reported $10 million. Multicultural ended the Punch TV local marketing agreement at the beginning of August 2018, and KILM temporarily carried paid programming from Corner Store TV while the transaction was pending. Ion completed the purchase on September 17, 2018, and used KILM's virtual channel position for programming from its digital network portfolio, including an Ion Plus feed. KILM later became part of the Scripps organization through Scripps's ownership of Ion Media. The station has continued as a digital multicast outlet serving the Los Angeles area. It shares offices with KPXN-TV in Burbank and transmits through KPXN's spectrum from an antenna on Mount Wilson. The station's analog service ended on February 17, 2009, during the originally scheduled nationwide digital television transition; its digital signal remained on UHF channel 44 while retaining virtual channel 64. A former low-power translator serving Victorville was added in 2009 and later sold in 2015.
- 2018
License location and transmission arrangement change
[1]KILM began channel sharing with KPXN-TV and changed its city of license to Inglewood.
- 2018
Ion Media completes acquisition
[1]Ion Media completed its purchase of KILM on September 17 and incorporated it into its digital network strategy.
- 2017
Punch TV local marketing agreement
[1]KILM began carrying Punch TV programming, consisting largely of public-domain and brokered content.
- 2014
SonLife programming begins
[1]KILM replaced its paid-programming schedule with programming from the SonLife Broadcasting Network.
- 2012
FilmOn assumes operations
[1]FilmOn took over operations under a local marketing agreement, and the station became KILM.
- 2009
Digital transition and translator addition
[1]The station ended analog broadcasting and later added a low-power translator serving Victorville.
- 2007
Multicultural Broadcasting acquires Sunbelt Television
[1]The ownership change preceded KHIZ's increased use of ethnic and multicultural programming.
- 1992
Call sign changes to KHIZ
[1]The station adopted the KHIZ call sign and later ended its ABC affiliation after KABC-TV improved its Mojave Desert signal.
- 1989
KVVT affiliates with ABC
[1]The station joined ABC to improve network access in a region that received a weak signal from KABC-TV.
- 1987
Station launches as KVVT
[1]The station began broadcasting on August 15 as KVVT, licensed to Barstow and serving the Mojave Desert.
Products and positioning
A full-power Southern California television station used primarily as a digital multicast outlet within the Ion Media and Scripps station portfolios.
Broadcast television station · 1987
KILM virtual channel 64
KILM's principal broadcast identity and virtual channel position in the Los Angeles market. The station is licensed to Inglewood and operates through a channel-sharing arrangement using KPXN-TV's transmission spectrum and Mount Wilson facilities.
Digital multicast network
Bounce TV
The network currently carried by KILM, providing nationally distributed entertainment programming as a digital multicast service for the Los Angeles area.
Brand decisions
2018
Channel sharing with KPXN-TVStrategyBackground
KPXN-TV's coverage and existing facilities provided a way to consolidate transmission resources while expanding KILM's relevance to the Los Angeles market.
Action taken
KILM began sharing KPXN-TV's spectrum and changed its city of license from Barstow to Inglewood.
Aftermath
The station became part of a coordinated Ion Media operating structure and continued as a Los Angeles-area multicast outlet.
2018
Ion Media acquisitionM&ABackground
Ion Media sought control of a channel-sharing partner and its associated spectrum position.
Action taken
Ion Media agreed to acquire KILM for a reported $10 million and completed the transaction on September 17.
Aftermath
Ion replaced the prior schedule with programming from its digital network portfolio, including an Ion Plus feed.
Reported purchase price. $10 million (2018 acquisition agreement)
2017
Punch TV programming arrangementStrategyBackground
KILM continued to rely on outside programming providers rather than a conventional major-network affiliation.
Action taken
A local marketing agreement brought Punch TV programming to KILM beginning August 1.
Aftermath
The arrangement ended in early August 2018 before Ion Media completed its purchase of the station.
2012
FilmOn local marketing agreementStrategyBackground
The station was seeking a new operating and programming model after years of changing affiliations and specialty schedules.
Action taken
FilmOn assumed operational control on September 1, and the station adopted the KILM call sign.
Aftermath
FilmOn TV programming was later replaced by paid programming, followed by other network and brokered schedules.
Recent events
- 2018
KILM begins channel sharing with KPXN-TV[1]
Other
KILM entered a channel-sharing arrangement with San Bernardino-licensed KPXN-TV and changed its city of license from Barstow to Inglewood, aligning the station more closely with the Los Angeles market.
- 2018
Ion Media agrees to acquire KILM[1]
M&A
Ion Media agreed to purchase KILM from its existing owner in a transaction reported at $10 million, continuing Ion's effort to consolidate control of channel-sharing partners.
- 2018
KILM sale to Ion Media closes[1]
M&A
The sale closed on September 17, 2018. Ion immediately used KILM's channel capacity for programming associated with its digital multicast portfolio.
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