KSAT-TV

KSAT-TV is a commercial television station licensed to San Antonio, Texas, and affiliated with the ABC television network. Broadcasting on virtual channel 12, it is one of the principal English-language television news outlets in the San Antonio market. The station is owned by Graham Media Group, the broadcasting subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company, and operates from studios on North St. Mary’s Street near downtown San Antonio. Its transmitter is located in northwest Wilson County, near the Elmendorf area. The station began broadcasting on January 21, 1957, under the call sign KONO-TV. Its launch followed several years of competing applications for San Antonio’s final commercial VHF allocation, channel 12. Mission Telecasting Company ultimately received the Federal Communications Commission license and built a studio and transmission facility on North St. Mary’s Street. KONO-TV launched as an ABC affiliate and has maintained a continuous full-time ABC relationship since its debut. Its first broadcast included coverage of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s inauguration. The station was sold in 1967 to The Outlet Company, which took control in January 1968. Because of contemporaneous Federal Communications Commission rules concerning shared call signs, the station changed its call letters to KSAT-TV on February 1, 1968. Later ownership changes placed the station under H&C Communications and, in 1994, under The Washington Post Company’s Post-Newsweek Stations group, the predecessor of Graham Media Group. The station’s ownership history reflects the consolidation of American local television broadcasting, while its local identity has remained centered on the KSAT 12 name. KSAT’s core business is local television news and information programming, supplemented by ABC network programming, syndicated content, digital journalism, weather coverage, sports, and community-oriented lifestyle programming. It produces multiple daily newscasts, including the Good Morning San Antonio franchise, evening and late-night newscasts, and the weekday lifestyle program SA Live. The station also distributes news and video through its website, mobile services, and digital streaming platforms. In 2018 it introduced a 9 p.m. newscast distributed through its app and major digital media-player platforms. The station has invested significantly in local news technology and facilities. It began high-definition local-news broadcasting in February 2009 and moved into a newly constructed two-story facility in March 2014. The newer building provided expanded newsroom, office, meeting, production, and staff amenities while retaining the station’s long association with the North St. Mary’s Street site. In May 2024, KSAT converted its primary transmission operation to ATSC 3.0, becoming the San Antonio market’s NextGen TV lighthouse station while its ATSC 1.0 programming was simulcast through other local broadcasters. KSAT’s public profile has also been shaped by its journalists and local reporting. In 2002, anchor Leslie Mouton documented her breast-cancer treatment while continuing to present the station’s evening newscasts, an experience later discussed on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 1999, reporter and anchor Michelle Lima died after being struck by a truck while covering a search operation in southern Bexar County. The incident became one of the most significant tragedies in the station’s history. KSAT remains an active local media brand whose principal value proposition is regional news, weather, traffic, sports, and community coverage delivered through broadcast and digital channels.

San Antonio’s channel 12 allocation attracted competing applicants after the Federal Communications Commission opened the final commercial VHF opportunity in the market. Early applicants included Bexar County Television Corporation, associated with radio station KABC, and Mission Broadcasting interests connected to KONO radio. Several applicants withdrew or reorganized, leaving Mission Telecasting Company and Walmac Corporation as the principal contenders. In 1956, the FCC granted the license to Mission Telecasting after a contested proceeding. Mission constructed a 16,000-square-foot studio building and a 574-foot transmission tower on North St. Mary’s Street. Although the station initially targeted a December 1956 launch, testing began in January 1957. Regular service commenced on January 21, 1957, as KONO-TV. The station became San Antonio’s fourth television station and its third English-language outlet. It selected ABC as its network affiliation from the outset and has remained associated with ABC throughout its history. In July 1967, Mission announced the sale of the station to The Outlet Company of Providence, Rhode Island, for a reported $10.5 million. Outlet assumed control in January 1968 and changed the call letters to KSAT-TV on February 1. The new call sign reflected FCC rules that limited the use of identical base call signs by stations without common ownership. The KSAT identity subsequently became the station’s principal local brand. The Outlet Company was taken private in 1986, after which its new owners sold KSAT to H&C Communications. In 1990, KSAT briefly faced the possibility of losing its ABC affiliation when KENS management explored switching from CBS to ABC. The discussions did not produce an affiliation change, and KSAT and KENS each renewed their respective network arrangements. A proposed 1992 sale to Young Broadcasting was abandoned after Young failed to secure financing. H&C sold KSAT and Houston sister station KPRC-TV to The Washington Post Company in April 1994. The stations were placed in the company’s Post-Newsweek Stations division, later renamed Graham Media Group. During the early 2000s, the group promoted a common “Local” identity across several stations. KSAT briefly used “Local 12” in 2004 before returning to the more established KSAT 12 branding, although “Local” elements have periodically appeared in on-air graphics. The station expanded its news and digital operations during the 2000s and 2010s. Its local newscasts moved to high definition in 2009. It added a 4 p.m. newscast in 2011, expanded its morning programming in 2012, introduced a 9 a.m. extension of Good Morning San Antonio in 2017, and launched a digitally distributed 9 p.m. newscast in 2018. The station’s locally produced programming also includes SA Live, a weekday lifestyle and variety program. In March 2014, KSAT moved from its original studio building into a new two-story facility constructed on the same broader property. The building added newsroom, office, meeting, production, and staff-support space. The former studio was subsequently demolished and its footprint was converted into parking. KSAT has experienced notable human events in its newsroom history. In 1999, reporter and anchor Michelle Lima died after being struck by a truck while working near a search operation in southern Bexar County. In 2002, evening anchor Leslie Mouton publicly documented her breast-cancer treatment while continuing to anchor without a wig during chemotherapy. Her reporting drew attention from local cancer patients and medical professionals and was later featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Technically, KSAT ended analog broadcasting on VHF channel 12 in June 2009 and moved its post-transition digital operation from UHF channel 48 to VHF channel 12. On May 6, 2024, it became an ATSC 3.0 lighthouse station for the San Antonio market. Its ATSC 1.0 services were relocated to other broadcasters for simulcasting, while KSAT hosted NextGen TV transmissions for KSAT and several other local stations. The station continues to operate as a San Antonio-centered ABC affiliate with broadcast, web, mobile, and connected-device distribution.

• 2024

  ATSC 3.0 lighthouse conversion

  [1]KSAT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KSAT began operating as the San Antonio market’s NextGen TV lighthouse station.

• 2014

  New station facility opens

  [1]KSAT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KSAT moved into a new two-story building on its North St. Mary’s Street property.

• 2009

  Local newscasts transition to high definition

  [1]KSAT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KSAT upgraded its locally produced news broadcasts to high-definition presentation.

• 1994

  Acquisition by The Washington Post Company

  [1]KSAT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  H&C Communications sold KSAT and KPRC-TV to The Washington Post Company, placing them in Post-Newsweek Stations.

• 1968

  KSAT-TV call sign adopted

  [1]KSAT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The Outlet Company changed the station’s call letters to KSAT-TV on February 1.

• 1957

  KONO-TV begins regular service

  [1]KSAT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station signed on January 21 as KONO-TV and began its long-running ABC affiliation.

• 1956

  FCC grants the channel 12 license to Mission Telecasting

  [1]KSAT-TVen.wikipedia.org

  After competing applications and hearings, the FCC selected Mission Telecasting Company to build San Antonio’s channel 12 commercial television station.

A locally focused, digitally distributed ABC affiliate emphasizing San Antonio news, weather, traffic, sports, public-service information, and lifestyle programming.

• Local television news · 1957

  KSAT 12 News

  KSAT’s principal local-news operation, covering San Antonio and surrounding South-Central Texas communities through morning, daytime, evening, and late-night broadcasts. The service combines general assignment reporting with weather, traffic, public-safety information, investigative coverage, and live breaking-news updates. Its content is distributed through the station’s broadcast signal as well as digital video, web, mobile, and connected-device channels.

• Morning news

  Good Morning San Antonio

  KSAT’s morning-news franchise, combining local headlines, weather, traffic, interviews, consumer information, and community features with ABC’s national morning programming environment. The weekday edition was expanded over time, including an earlier start, while weekend editions were also introduced. A separate 9 a.m. extension was added in 2017.

• Lifestyle and variety programming

  SA Live

  A weekday, locally produced lifestyle and variety program focused on people, events, food, entertainment, culture, and destinations in the San Antonio area. The program extends KSAT’s local-service proposition beyond conventional hard-news broadcasts and provides a platform for community organizations, businesses, and regional personalities.

• Digital media · 2018

  KSAT digital news and streaming services

  KSAT distributes articles, live coverage, clips, weather information, and selected newscasts through its website, mobile applications, and connected-TV or digital media-player platforms. The station launched an app-exclusive 9 p.m. newscast in 2018, illustrating its shift from a purely linear television operation toward multi-platform local news distribution.

• 2024

  Convert to ATSC 3.0 lighthouse operationGeneration change

  Background

  The station participated in the San Antonio market’s transition toward NextGen TV transmission.

  Action taken

  On May 6, KSAT moved its primary transmission operation to ATSC 3.0 and hosted the market’s lighthouse service, while ATSC 1.0 versions of participating stations were carried by other broadcasters.

  Aftermath

  KSAT became the technical host for NextGen TV services involving several San Antonio stations.

  Source

• 2014

  Relocate into a new broadcast facilityStrategy

  Background

  KSAT’s original North St. Mary’s Street facilities no longer provided the space and production environment required for a modern local-news operation.

  Action taken

  The station moved into a newly constructed two-story building on the existing property.

  Aftermath

  The facility provided expanded newsroom, office, meeting, and staff-support areas; the old building was later demolished.

  Source

• 2009

  Upgrade local news production to high definitionGeneration change

  Background

  The station was modernizing its production workflow while local television audiences were moving toward widescreen and high-definition viewing.

  Action taken

  KSAT began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition on February 5.

  Aftermath

  The station became the second San Antonio television outlet to present locally produced newscasts in HD.

  Source

• 1990

  Retain the ABC affiliationStrategy

  Background

  KENS considered moving from CBS to ABC, which could have threatened KSAT’s long-standing network relationship.

  Action taken

  After negotiations failed to produce a switch, KSAT and KENS signed new agreements retaining their respective ABC and CBS affiliations.

  Aftermath

  KSAT continued as San Antonio’s ABC affiliate.

  • KENS — KENS explored an ABC affiliation but ultimately remained affiliated with CBS.

  Source

1. 1KSAT-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KSAT official websiteksat.com