KXLN-DT
KXLN-DT is a Spanish-language Univision television station serving the Houston, Texas, market from its license city of Rosenberg.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KXLN-DT is a full-power Spanish-language television station licensed to Rosenberg, Texas, and serving the greater Houston metropolitan area. It operates as the Houston-area Univision affiliate and is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 45, with its transmitter near Missouri City in northeastern Fort Bend County. Its studios are located on Houston’s southwest side near the Southwest Freeway and the I-610/I-69 interchange, where it shares facilities with sister UniMás station KFTH-DT and local Univision-owned radio operations. The station’s origins followed a lengthy licensing contest for Rosenberg’s channel 45 allocation. An earlier proposal in the late 1960s would have established a station under the call sign KJDO-TV, but that plan did not result in an operating outlet. In the early 1980s, Pueblo Broadcasting, led by A. C. Peña and J. Adán Treviño, competed with Weigel Broadcasting subsidiary Texas 45 Broadcasting for the license. Pueblo presented a proposal centered on a full-time Spanish-language service, responding to the growing Hispanic population in the Houston area and to the Spanish International Network’s interest in obtaining a local outlet. The Federal Communications Commission’s comparative process ultimately favored Pueblo’s application. Before the full-power station launched, Pueblo operated a Spanish-language translator on channel 45 beginning in 1984. KXLN’s full-power service began on September 16, 1987. It quickly established a local identity through Spanish-language entertainment, network programming, community-oriented content, and local news. The station introduced news updates during Univision prime time in 1988, followed by a 6 p.m. newscast in 1990. In 1993 it launched Houston Ahora, described as Houston’s first Spanish-language morning news program, and 15 Minutos, an abbreviated late-evening newscast. These initiatives helped KXLN compete for younger Hispanic audiences and made local news a central part of its proposition. Univision acquired KXLN from Pueblo Broadcasting in 1994. The transaction integrated the station into the expanding Univision-owned station portfolio and reinforced its role as a major Spanish-language media outlet in Houston. In 2000, Univision also acquired the Houston-area channel 67 station, then known as KHSH-TV. That station became the local outlet for Telefutura, later renamed UniMás, creating a paired Univision and UniMás operation in the market. The two stations eventually consolidated their Houston operations in a large Uptown facility acquired by Univision in the early 2000s and occupied from 2006. KXLN has periodically adjusted its local news structure to fit broader network and regional strategies. In 2015, its separate morning newscast was replaced by Noticias Texas Primera Edición, a regional program shared by Univision stations in several Texas markets. Separate local morning newscasts returned in 2019. The Houston facility also gained a weather center in 2017, supplying forecasts and weather information to Univision’s broadcast stations and digital platforms across the United States. Technically, KXLN completed the United States’ federally mandated analog-to-digital transition in 2009. Its digital signal later moved from RF channel 45 to RF channel 30 on January 26, 2019, during the FCC spectrum-repacking process. The station is also involved in the Houston market’s NextGen TV arrangements: it carries a subchannel associated with KTXH’s ATSC 3.0 deployment, while KXLN programming is made available through the KTXH multiplex. In addition to its primary digital transmission, KXLN is simulcast in high definition on KFTH-DT’s fifth digital subchannel, 67.5. Its current role combines Univision network programming, Spanish-language local news, weather, information, and digital extensions for Houston-area audiences.
History
KXLN-DT traces its history to efforts to use Rosenberg’s channel 45 allocation for a television station. An initial proposal in 1968 involved the Overmyer Network/United and the proposed call sign KJDO-TV, but the plan did not produce an operating station. A more consequential licensing process began in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when three applicants sought the allocation. Trinity Broadcasting of Texas later withdrew, leaving Pueblo Broadcasting and Texas 45 Broadcasting, a Weigel Broadcasting subsidiary, as the principal contestants. Pueblo was controlled by A. C. Peña and J. Adán Treviño. Its application proposed Houston’s first full-time Spanish-language television station. Spanish-language programming had previously appeared on Houston television in limited blocks, including programming associated with the Spanish International Network, the predecessor of Univision. The application reflected both local demographic growth and the network’s interest in establishing a stronger presence in the market. The FCC comparative hearing examined, among other issues, whether Weigel had accurately represented the coverage area of its existing station, WCIU-TV, in materials shown to potential advertisers. In 1984, administrative law judge Edward Luton found Weigel qualified but preferred Pueblo’s application. Pueblo was credited with having fewer substantive broadcast interests and with offering a stronger management-integration plan. While the license proceedings continued, Pueblo separately launched a Spanish-language translator on channel 45 on August 2, 1984. The full-power station began broadcasting on September 16, 1987, initially operating from studios on Kirby Drive near Houston’s Astrodome. It moved to another nearby location in 1989. KXLN developed rapidly after launch. Its commercial performance and audience growth made it an important Hispanic media property in the United States. The station began producing news updates during Univision prime-time programming in 1988 and added a 6 p.m. local newscast two years later. In 1993, it introduced Houston Ahora, a morning news program, and 15 Minutos, a short late-night newscast. These programs broadened the station’s local service and helped it build a recognizable Houston news operation. The station’s news output later became competitive for younger viewers in the Houston market. Univision bought KXLN from Pueblo Broadcasting in 1994. The acquisition gave Univision direct ownership of a key local affiliate in one of the largest Hispanic markets in the United States. Univision strengthened its Houston presence in 2000 by acquiring the former KHSH-TV on channel 67 from USA Broadcasting. That station became the Houston charter outlet for Telefutura when the secondary network launched in 2002; Telefutura was renamed UniMás in 2013. KXLN and the channel 67 station therefore developed as complementary Univision and UniMás properties serving the same metropolitan market. Univision acquired a six-story Houston building in the Uptown area in the early 2000s for KXLN, the channel 67 station, and several company-owned radio stations. The local broadcast properties moved into the facility in 2006. A weather center opened there in 2017 and began providing weather information and forecasts to Univision broadcast stations and digital platforms nationwide. The station’s local-news strategy changed in 2015, when its separate morning newscast was replaced by Noticias Texas Primera Edición, a regional morning program distributed to Univision stations in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. Univision restored separate morning newscasts in those Texas markets on March 11, 2019. KXLN ended analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, as part of the United States digital television transition. Its digital signal initially operated on RF channel 45 and later moved to RF channel 30 on January 26, 2019, under the FCC spectrum-repacking plan. The station’s programming is also distributed through related digital arrangements, including a high-definition simulcast on KFTH-DT’s 67.5 subchannel. Under Houston’s ATSC 3.0 deployment, KXLN transmits one of KTXH’s subchannels and is itself available through the KTXH multiplex. KXLN remains an active TelevisaUnivision station, providing Spanish-language network service and local news to the Houston area.
- 2019
Digital frequency changes to RF channel 30
[1]KXLN moved its digital signal from RF channel 45 to RF channel 30 under the FCC spectrum-repacking program.
- 2017
Houston weather center opens
[1]The Houston Univision facility opened a weather center serving company broadcast stations and digital platforms.
- 2013
Telefutura is renamed UniMás
[1]The sister Houston channel 67 service adopted the UniMás brand.
- 2009
Analog transmission ends
[1]KXLN ended regular analog programming on June 12 during the United States digital television transition.
- 2006
Univision Houston properties move to Uptown facility
[1]KXLN, the sister UniMás station, and local Univision radio operations moved into the company’s Houston facility.
- 2002
Telefutura begins Houston service
[1]The channel 67 station became a charter outlet for Univision’s Telefutura network, later renamed UniMás.
- 2000
Univision acquires Houston channel 67
[1]Univision acquired the former KHSH-TV, later operating it as the Houston UniMás station.
- 1994
Univision acquisition
[1]Univision purchased KXLN from Pueblo Broadcasting.
- 1993
Houston Ahora and 15 Minutos debut
[1]KXLN expanded its local news portfolio with a morning program and a short late-evening newscast.
- 1990
Six o’clock newscast launches
[1]The station added a regular 6 p.m. Spanish-language local newscast.
Products and positioning
A Houston-market Spanish-language broadcast station combining Univision network content with locally produced news, weather, information, and community-oriented programming for Hispanic and Spanish-speaking audiences.
Spanish-language television station · 1987
Univision Houston broadcast service
KXLN’s primary service carries Univision’s Spanish-language network schedule for the Houston metropolitan area. The offering includes national entertainment, news, sports, specials, and other programming distributed by Univision, combined with local station identification, weather, public-service content, and market-specific advertising.
Local news · 1988
KXLN local news
KXLN’s local news operation provides Spanish-language reporting for Houston and surrounding communities. It has included prime-time news updates, an evening newscast, morning programming, weather coverage, and locally relevant information. The operation has used both station-specific and regional Texas formats at different points in its history.
Digital broadcast distribution
KFTH-DT 67.5 simulcast
KXLN is distributed in high definition on KFTH-DT’s fifth digital subchannel, 67.5. The simulcast extends access to KXLN’s Univision programming through the paired Houston-area Univision and UniMás station operation.
Broadcast weather · 2017
Weather information service
The Houston Univision facility houses a weather center that supports KXLN and supplies weather information and forecasts to Univision stations and digital services across the United States.
Brand decisions
2019
Move digital transmission to RF channel 30OtherBackground
The FCC spectrum-repacking program required many television stations to change their RF channel assignments.
Action taken
KXLN moved its digital signal from RF channel 45 to RF channel 30 on January 26, 2019.
Aftermath
The station continued operating as a digital Spanish-language service while participating in Houston’s evolving digital and ATSC 3.0 distribution environment.
2015
Adopt a regional Texas morning-news formatStrategyBackground
Univision sought to regionalize morning-news production across several Texas-owned stations, including KXLN in Houston.
Action taken
KXLN ended its separate morning newscast and carried Noticias Texas Primera Edición, a program shared with Univision stations in Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin.
Aftermath
Univision later restored separate morning newscasts in the four Texas markets, including Houston, in March 2019.
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