KNVN

KNVN is a local television station based in Chico, California, serving the Chico–Redding media market. The station broadcasts as an affiliate of NBC on channel 24 and has also carried Telemundo programming on a digital subchannel. Its current brand presence is closely associated with Action News Now, the shared local-news operation serving KNVN and sister-market station KHSL-TV. The station began broadcasting on September 24, 1985, under the call sign KCPM. It was created to provide a full-time NBC affiliate for the Chico–Redding area, where NBC programming had previously been carried intermittently by the Redding-based station KRCR. Superior Broadcasting of California, a company associated with Mel Querio and Jack Koonce, won Federal Communications Commission approval to build the station after competing applications were comparatively reviewed. Telepictures acquired a minority interest during the station's development, later becoming associated with Lorimar-Telepictures. KCPM expanded its local role quickly. In May 1986 it launched a substantial local newscast, 24 Reports, using field resources in both Chico and Redding and production capabilities intended to resemble those of a larger television market. The station later added an 11 p.m. newscast and news inserts. Despite this programming expansion, its first years were affected by distribution and coverage problems, including weak reception in some communities and the reluctance of certain cable systems to carry the new signal. Ownership changed several times. The station moved through the Davis-Goldfarb and Cottonwood Communications ownership groups before becoming part of GOCOM Communications. A sequence of serious technical failures, including transmitter and antenna problems, weakened the station's reliability in the late 1990s. After transmission equipment was replaced, the station relaunched its news operation and adopted the KNVN call sign on August 10, 1998. The letters were intended to evoke North Valley News, reflecting the station's regional service area. In 2000, Bill Evans Communications acquired KNVN and began arranging a shared services agreement with KHSL-TV, then owned by Catamount Broadcasting. The arrangement progressively consolidated engineering, promotion, production, and news functions. The stations combined their morning newscasts in 2001 and began using common weekend newscasts under the NCN, or Northern California News, identity in 2002. Later local programming was branded Action News and subsequently Action News Now. KHSL-TV has continued to provide important operational and production services for KNVN under successive ownership structures. KNVN and KHSL ended analog broadcasting ahead of the national digital-transition deadline in December 2008. The station later changed its digital transmission channel as a result of spectrum reallocation, moving to channel 20 in April 2020. Its transmitter remains at Tuscan Buttes northeast of Red Bluff, while the station's studios are shared with KHSL-TV on Eaton Road and Silverbell Road in northwest Chico. The station's ownership and operating relationships developed further during the 2010s. KNVN was sold to Maxair Media in 2015, while KHSL-TV was acquired by a Heartland Media and MSouth Equity Partners venture. Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios, later operating as Allen Media Group, acquired KHSL-TV in a broader 2019 transaction completed in 2020. Allen Media Group continued to provide services associated with KNVN and retained a role in the shared local-news operation. The station's Spanish-language local newscast, Acción Noticiero Telemundo, was discontinued on October 25, 2024. In 2025, Allen Media Group briefly proposed replacing local weather positions with a centralized Weather Channel weather hub, then reversed that plan after viewer and advertiser reaction. KNVN remains an active local broadcast outlet whose identity depends on NBC network programming, regional news, weather, syndicated c…

KNVN originated in a Federal Communications Commission proceeding concerning a proposed television station on channel 24 in Chico. Superior Broadcasting of California filed its application in 1978 and ultimately prevailed over competing applicants after the FCC favored its media-ownership diversification case. The station received the call sign KCPM and secured the NBC affiliation for the Chico–Redding market. Construction involved a studio facility previously used by KHSL-TV and a transmitter site at Tuscan Buttes near Red Bluff. Delays caused by severe weather and incorrectly shipped equipment postponed the launch, but KCPM began broadcasting on September 24, 1985. The station initially faced practical distribution challenges. Some cable systems did not carry the new signal, and reception was weak in portions of the market, including Paradise. KCPM acquired a translator to improve service to communities affected by difficult terrain. Local programming was initially limited, but the station made a substantial commitment to news in May 1986 with the launch of 24 Reports. The program used reporting and live-production resources in Chico and Redding and sought to introduce the presentation style and technical capabilities of larger-market television news to Northern California. By the end of the decade, the station had added late-evening news and daytime news inserts. Ownership evolved through several broadcast groups. Telepictures, which had held a minority interest, became connected with Lorimar-Telepictures and later sold its stake. The station became associated with the Davis-Goldfarb group in 1989, then with Cottonwood Communications after a 1995 transaction. Cottonwood merged with GOCOM Communications in 1997. During this period the station experienced repeated technical outages, including a major antenna failure that left its NBC signal unavailable for several days during the 1997 baseball postseason. Fourteen outages were reported over an eleven-month period. Replacement antenna and transmission-line equipment was installed in 1998. On August 10, 1998, GOCOM relaunched the station's news operation and changed the call sign from KCPM to KNVN. The new letters represented North Valley News and gave the station a more explicitly regional identity. After GOCOM combined with Grapevine Communications in 1999, the company sought to sell KNVN. Bill Evans Communications acquired the station in 2000 and began developing a shared services relationship with KHSL-TV. Engineering, promotion, production, and eventually news operations were increasingly coordinated. The morning newscasts were combined in 2001, and common weekend news programs began in 2002 under the NCN name. The news operation was later known as Action News and then Action News Now. KNVN and KHSL transitioned away from analog transmission on December 22, 2008, earlier than the nationwide deadline. The move allowed the stations to reduce power costs and retire aging analog transmitters. The station's digital channel later changed as a consequence of the United States wireless spectrum auction, with KNVN moving from channel 24 to channel 20 on April 1, 2020. Its principal transmission facilities remain northeast of Red Bluff, while its Chico operations are housed with KHSL-TV. In 2013, GOCOM Media and K4 Media Holdings acquired KHSL-TV and KNVN in tandem transactions. The deal returned GOCOM executive Ric Gorman to the market and was followed by facility improvements and conversion of local news production to high definition. In 2015, K4 Media Holdings sold KNVN to Maxair Media. KHSL-TV was sold separately to USA Television Holdings, a venture involving Heartland Media and MSouth Equity Partners, while the existing services relationship continued. Allen Media Group later acquired KHSL-TV as part of its purchase of multiple Heartland stations, with the transaction announced in 2019 and completed in 2020. KNVN has also carried a Telemundo service on its second digital subchannel. By 2015 that service included the locally produced Spanish-language program Acción Noticiero Telemundo, although the local newscast ended in October 2024. In January 2025, Allen Media Group announced a plan affecting KHSL-TV and KNVN to replace local weather positions with a centralized Weather Channel operation. The proposal was withdrawn within a week following viewer and advertiser response. In June 2025, Allen Media Group said it was exploring strategic options amid financial pressures, including possible transactions involving its television stations and the KNVN-related shared-services arrangement. KNVN remains active as an NBC affiliate serving the Chico–Redding region.

1. 2024Local Telemundo newscast discontinued

   Acción Noticiero Telemundo ended on October 25.

   Source
2. 2020Digital channel changes to 20

   KNVN moved its digital signal to channel 20 following spectrum reallocation.

   Source
3. 2015Maxair Media acquires KNVN

   KNVN was sold to Maxair Media while KHSL-TV continued providing services under the shared arrangement.

   Source
4. 2008Analog transmission ends

   KNVN ended analog broadcasting on December 22 as part of an early digital transition.

   Source
5. 2002Common weekend newscasts introduced

   KNVN and KHSL-TV began airing shared weekend news under the NCN identity.

   Source
6. 2000Shared services relationship begins

   Bill Evans Communications acquired KNVN and began coordinating services with KHSL-TV.

   Source
7. 1998Station becomes KNVN

   After transmitter upgrades, the station relaunched its news operation and adopted the KNVN call sign.

   Source
8. 1986Local news service launches

   KCPM introduced 24 Reports, a substantial local newscast serving Chico and Redding.

   Source
9. 1985KCPM begins broadcasting

   The station launched on September 24 as KCPM and became the market's full-time NBC affiliate.

   Source
10. 1983Superior Broadcasting wins FCC proceeding

    An FCC administrative decision favored Superior Broadcasting over a competing applicant, with the commission later upholding the result.

    Source
11. 1978Application filed for channel 24

    Superior Broadcasting of California applied to construct a television station on channel 24 in Chico.

    Source

A regional broadcast outlet combining NBC network programming with locally focused news, weather, emergency information, and advertising for the Chico–Redding area. Its local-news identity is integrated with KHSL-TV through the Action News Now operation.

• NBC affiliate serviceNetwork television1985

  KNVN's primary service carries NBC network programming for the Chico–Redding market, supplemented by station promotions, public-service material, syndicated programming, and locally sold advertising.

• Action News NowLocal television news2015

  The station's principal local-news identity is produced through the operational relationship with KHSL-TV. It covers regional news, weather, traffic, public safety, and community events across Northern California.

• Telemundo Chico-ReddingSpanish-language television2015

  KNVN's second digital subchannel carries Telemundo programming for Spanish-speaking viewers in the Chico–Redding area. Its locally produced Spanish-language newscast, Acción Noticiero Telemundo, was discontinued in 2024.

• 2025Proposed centralized weather operationStrategy

  Allen Media Group announced a plan to reduce locally based weather positions at stations including KHSL-TV and KNVN.

  What changed. The company proposed replacing local meteorologist and weather-forecaster roles with a Weather Channel-produced weather hub.

  Aftermath. Management reversed the plan within a week after reaction from viewers and advertisers.

  Source
• 2024End of local Spanish-language newscastStrategy

  KNVN had carried a locally produced Spanish-language newscast through its Telemundo service.

  What changed. Acción Noticiero Telemundo was discontinued on October 25.

  Aftermath. The Telemundo subchannel continued, but its local Spanish-language news production ended.

  Source
• 2000Establishment of shared services with KHSL-TVStrategy

  After acquiring KNVN, Bill Evans Communications sought to reduce duplicated operating costs and use resources from the established KHSL-TV operation.

  What changed. The stations coordinated engineering, promotion, production, and eventually portions of their news operations.

  Aftermath. News output was progressively consolidated, including shared morning and weekend newscasts.

  Source
• 1998Rebrand from KCPM to KNVNStrategy

  Repeated transmitter and antenna failures had damaged the station's technical reliability and its local-news identity.

  What changed. GOCOM replaced key transmission equipment, relaunched the news operation, and changed the call sign to KNVN, evoking North Valley News.

  Aftermath. The new identity positioned the station as a regional North Valley news outlet.

  Source

• 2025Allen Media Group announces planned reduction of local weather positions

  Allen Media Group announced that stations including KHSL-TV and KNVN would move away from locally based meteorologist and weather-forecaster positions in favor of a centralized weather hub produced by The Weather Channel.

  Leadership change
  Source
• 2025Allen Media Group reverses weather-hub decision after local reaction

  Management reversed the planned weather staffing change within a week, citing reaction from viewers and advertisers associated with the affected stations.

  Other
  Source
• 2025Allen Media Group explores strategic options amid financial pressure

  Allen Media Group announced that it was considering strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of television stations and related interests. The announcement included KHSL-TV and the shared-services relationship involving KNVN.

  M&A
  Source
• 2024KNVN ends locally produced Spanish-language newscast

  The station discontinued Acción Noticiero Telemundo, its local Spanish-language news program associated with the Telemundo service on its second digital subchannel.

  Other
  Source

1. KNVN