KNTV
KNTV is an NBC-owned television station licensed to San Jose, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area under the NBC Bay Area brand.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KNTV is a television station on channel 11 licensed to San Jose, California, and serving the broader San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal through NBC Owned Television Stations and is branded NBC Bay Area. The station shares facilities in North San Jose with KSTS, the region's Telemundo station, and has common ownership with NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California. KNTV's primary transmitter is on San Bruno Mountain, while some digital subchannels use transmission facilities associated with KSTS. KNTV began broadcasting on September 12, 1955, as San Jose's first television station. It initially operated as an independent station, attempting to serve a large area of north-central California from Monterey and Salinas to the San Francisco region. Its original facilities were on Park Avenue in downtown San Jose, and its transmitter was on Loma Prieta. The station's broad signal and geographic position eventually made it a useful outlet for the Monterey Bay area, even though it was based outside that television market. In 1960, KNTV became an ABC affiliate serving Monterey and Salinas. The arrangement reflected the station's favorable signal coverage in those communities and included limits intended to reduce overlap with San Francisco ABC station KGO-TV. During its ABC years, KNTV developed a strong local identity in San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley, with news and advertising that emphasized South Bay communities rather than treating the station simply as a relay for San Francisco programming. Ownership passed from the Gilliland family and Gill Industries to Landmark Communications in 1978 and then to Granite Broadcasting in 1990. KNTV's role changed sharply at the end of the 1990s. KGO-TV arranged for KNTV to end its ABC affiliation, allowing KGO to become the exclusive ABC outlet for the San Jose area. KNTV left ABC on July 3, 2000, and temporarily carried WB programming on a part-time basis. The station was subsequently selected by NBC to replace KRON-TV as the network's Bay Area affiliate. KNTV began broadcasting NBC programming late on December 31, 2001, and NBC acquired the station from financially pressured Granite Broadcasting in a transaction announced in December 2001 and completed operationally in 2002. The NBC transition expanded KNTV's mission from a primarily South Bay and Monterey-area station into a full Bay Area news operation. It initially used the cable-oriented brand NBC 3, then changed to NBC 11 in 2002 before adopting NBC Bay Area in 2008. The station expanded its San Francisco reporting presence, built out coverage of the East Bay and Silicon Valley, and invested in new production facilities. Its current North San Jose facility, opened in 2004, was designed as an all-digital operation and is shared with KSTS. The complex was also promoted as being powered by wind energy as part of NBCUniversal's environmental initiative. A major technical turning point came in September 2005, when KNTV moved its transmitter from Loma Prieta to San Bruno Mountain. The change improved over-the-air coverage across the Bay Area, particularly in San Francisco and Oakland, although reception remained more difficult in parts of the city shielded by local terrain. The move followed years of regulatory objections and engineering debate involving competing coverage concerns. KNTV later became an important regional news and network-programming outlet, while also accommodating occasional sports and special-event preemptions through arrangements with other local stations. Today, its principal business is the production and distribution of local television news, weather, traffic, investigative reporting, public-affairs programming, syndicated content, and NBC network programming across broadcast, cable, digital, and streaming platforms.
History
KNTV signed on September 12, 1955, as San Jose's first television station. It was established by Standard Radio and Television Corporation, controlled by Allen T. Gilliland, and initially operated as an independent station. Its original studios were on Park Avenue in downtown San Jose, while its transmitter was located on Loma Prieta. The station carried a mixture of programming rejected or unavailable from San Francisco stations and attempted to serve communities along the north-central California coast. The economics of independent television were difficult in the early years. The Bay Area already had established network outlets, and the launch of KTVU in 1958 added another independent competitor. KNTV's signal, however, reached the Monterey and Salinas area particularly well. In 1960, it secured the ABC affiliation for the Monterey Bay area, subject to technical limitations designed to protect KGO-TV's coverage. This made KNTV an unusual station: it was based in San Jose but served, for network-affiliation purposes, a separate market to the south. After Allen T. Gilliland's death in 1960, ownership was administered through his estate. His son, Allen T. Gilliland Jr., obtained majority control in 1966 and operated KNTV within the Gill Industries structure, which also had interests in San Jose cable television. The station developed a reputation as a hometown outlet for the South Bay, with locally oriented news and commercials. Gill Industries sold KNTV to Landmark Communications in 1978. Landmark later sold the station to Granite Broadcasting in 1990. The station's ABC affiliation ended as part of a major restructuring of Bay Area network television. In 1999, KGO-TV and ABC arranged for KNTV to stop carrying ABC programming when its contract expired. KNTV left ABC on July 3, 2000, and for a transitional period used a schedule that included WB programming. Nielsen subsequently reassigned KNTV to the San Francisco Bay Area designated market area, and the FCC formally recognized the station as a Bay Area outlet in 2001. NBC selected KNTV to replace KRON-TV as its Bay Area affiliate after NBC failed to acquire KRON and could not reach acceptable renewal terms with KRON's new owner, Young Broadcasting. Granite and NBC negotiated an affiliation arrangement under which KNTV would carry NBC programming beginning in January 2002. KNTV expanded its signal and newsgathering plans in preparation. NBC then announced that it would purchase KNTV from Granite, creating an owned-and-operated station and a planned Bay Area television pairing with Telemundo station KSTS. KNTV joined NBC late on December 31, 2001. The change was marked on NBC's late-night and morning programming, and the station initially used the cable-position identity NBC 3. In September 2002, it adopted NBC 11 to align its branding with its broadcast channel and avoid confusion with Sacramento's KCRA-TV. The station invested in San Francisco and East Bay reporting, although its earliest post-transition newscasts were criticized in contemporary accounts for emphasizing accessible crime and entertainment material. By late 2002, the news operation had moved toward broader Bay Area coverage. In 2004, KNTV and KSTS moved into a newly converted digital facility in northern San Jose. The operation included modern production infrastructure and was promoted as part of NBC's environmental program because the facility used wind-generated power. The station also maintained a San Francisco bureau and expanded its regional business and technology coverage. In 2005, KNTV shifted its transmitter from Loma Prieta to San Bruno Mountain after a prolonged regulatory and competitive dispute. The relocation improved service to much of San Francisco, Oakland, and the wider Bay Area, though terrain continued to affect reception in some neighborhoods. KNTV adopted the NBC Bay Area name in 2008. Its online presence was later integrated into NBC's owned-station digital network, and its San Jose newsroom also became associated with CNBC's Silicon Valley reporting operation in 2007. The station has used other local outlets to carry NBC programs when sports or special events required preemption, including arrangements involving KRON-TV and, for a period, KICU-TV. KNTV remains an active NBC-owned station whose core role is regional news production and distribution combined with NBC network service.
- 2008
NBC Bay Area branding adopted
[1]The station replaces the NBC 11 identity with NBC Bay Area.
- 2005
Transmitter relocates to San Bruno Mountain
[1]The transmitter move strengthens KNTV's Bay Area over-the-air coverage.
- 2004
New North San Jose facility opens
[1]KNTV and KSTS move into a shared all-digital production and newsroom complex.
- 2002
NBC assumes operational control
[1]NBC completes its transition to ownership and operation of KNTV.
- 2001
NBC programming launches
[1]KNTV becomes the Bay Area NBC affiliate on December 31.
- 2000
ABC service ends
[1]KNTV ends its ABC affiliation and enters a transitional programming period.
- 1990
Granite Broadcasting becomes owner
[1]Landmark sells KNTV to Granite Broadcasting.
- 1978
Landmark Communications acquires KNTV
[1]Gill Industries sells the station to Landmark Communications.
- 1960
ABC affiliation begins
[1]KNTV becomes the ABC affiliate serving the Monterey and Salinas area while continuing to operate from San Jose.
- 1955
KNTV begins broadcasting
[1]KNTV signs on as San Jose's first television station and initially operates as an independent outlet.
Products and positioning
A locally focused NBC network station serving the San Francisco Bay Area, combining national network programming with regional news, weather, traffic, investigative reporting, and Silicon Valley coverage.
Local television news
NBC Bay Area local news
KNTV's principal offering is a schedule of local newscasts covering San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, the East Bay, the Peninsula, Silicon Valley, and surrounding communities. Coverage includes breaking news, investigations, politics, public affairs, business, weather, traffic, and emergency information, distributed through broadcast television and digital channels.
Network television · 2001
NBC network programming
As an NBC-owned station, KNTV carries NBC's entertainment, news, sports, and special-event programming for the Bay Area. Local scheduling may occasionally be adjusted for regional sports or other special programming, with arrangements sometimes used to place preempted network content on another station.
Digital media
NBC Bay Area digital news
The NBC Bay Area digital operation extends the station's reporting through its website, video distribution, mobile experiences, alerts, and streaming-oriented formats. It supports continuous publication of regional news, weather, traffic, investigative work, and live coverage beyond scheduled broadcast newscasts.
Marketing campaigns
- 2004I11uminating
San Francisco Bay Area
KNTV promoted its channel 11 identity during the 2004 Summer Olympics through an 'I11uminating' campaign that visually substituted the number 11 for letters in the campaign name.
Outcome. The campaign increased emphasis on the station's channel-number identity during its early period as an NBC-owned outlet.
Brand decisions
2005
Relocate the primary transmitterOtherBackground
The Loma Prieta transmitter did not provide coverage comparable to other major Bay Area stations, especially in San Francisco and Oakland.
Action taken
KNTV moved its transmitter to San Bruno Mountain.
Aftermath
Over-the-air coverage improved across much of the Bay Area, although terrain continued to affect reception in parts of San Francisco.
2000
Join NBC and expand Bay Area coverageStrategyBackground
NBC needed a new Bay Area outlet after its relationship with KRON-TV was set to end, while KNTV needed a major network affiliation after departing ABC.
Action taken
KNTV agreed to begin carrying NBC programming and prepared to increase its signal reach and regional news resources.
Aftermath
KNTV became the Bay Area NBC affiliate at the end of 2001 and was subsequently acquired by NBC.
1999
End the ABC affiliationStrategyBackground
ABC sought to consolidate its Bay Area presence through KGO-TV and agreed with KNTV's owner that KNTV would stop carrying ABC programming when its contract expired.
Action taken
KNTV left ABC in July 2000 and entered a transitional schedule while pursuing a new network affiliation.
Aftermath
The change temporarily removed an over-the-air ABC affiliate from the Monterey Bay area and positioned KNTV for its later NBC affiliation.
Recent events
- 2008
KNTV adopts the NBC Bay Area brand[1]
Other
The station changed its on-air identity from NBC 11 to NBC Bay Area to emphasize its regional service area.
- 2005
KNTV moves transmitter to San Bruno Mountain[1]
Other
The station relocated its main transmitter from Loma Prieta to San Bruno Mountain, materially improving its over-the-air reach across the San Francisco Bay Area.
- 2001
KNTV becomes the Bay Area NBC affiliate[1]
Other
KNTV began carrying NBC programming at the end of 2001 after NBC and KRON-TV ended their long-running affiliation relationship.
- 2001
NBC acquires KNTV[1]
M&A
NBC announced the purchase of KNTV from Granite Broadcasting, establishing the station as an NBC-owned-and-operated outlet in the Bay Area.
- 2000
KNTV signs off from ABC affiliation[1]
Other
KNTV ended its four-decade ABC affiliation and temporarily operated with a mixed independent and WB-oriented schedule before its planned transition to NBC.
Sources2 sources
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