KZJL

KZJL is a full-power television station serving Houston, Texas, and surrounding communities. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 61 and carries Estrella TV, a Spanish-language television network. Its programming and market identity are therefore closely tied to Spanish-language audiences in the Houston metropolitan area, one of the largest and most diverse media markets in the United States. The station began broadcasting on June 3, 1995. At launch, it operated as an affiliate of Shop at Home, a home-shopping network. Its ownership and programming direction changed in 2001, when Liberman Broadcasting acquired the station. Following that transaction, KZJL operated as a Spanish-language independent station before becoming one of the charter owned-and-operated stations of Liberman's Estrella TV network on September 14, 2009. That transition gave the station a more defined network identity and placed it within a national Spanish-language broadcasting platform. Liberman Broadcasting later reorganized under the ownership of private-equity firm HPS Investment Partners. As part of that corporate reorganization, the company adopted the name Estrella Media on February 3, 2020. KZJL continued to operate as an Estrella TV station under the reorganized company. On November 10, 2025, Estrella Media was absorbed into MediaCo, making MediaCo the station's reported owner and corporate parent. KZJL's studios are located on Bering Drive on Houston's southwest side. Its transmitter is situated near Missouri City in unincorporated northeastern Fort Bend County, allowing the station to serve Houston and nearby parts of the region. The station's digital broadcast signal uses UHF channel 44 while retaining virtual channel 61 for viewers. KZJL discontinued regular analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition to digital television. As a broadcast station rather than a packaged consumer-product brand, KZJL's principal offering is its over-the-air television service and the Estrella TV programming distributed through that service. Its relevance is primarily regional: it provides Spanish-language entertainment and network content to Houston-area viewers while functioning as part of the broader Estrella TV and MediaCo broadcast portfolio.

KZJL is a Houston, Texas, television station identified by virtual channel 61. It began operations on June 3, 1995, as an affiliate of Shop at Home. The station's initial format was therefore centered on home-shopping programming rather than the Spanish-language network service with which it is now associated. A major ownership and programming change occurred in 2001, when Liberman Broadcasting purchased KZJL. Under Liberman, the station became a Spanish-language independent outlet, reflecting the company's focus on serving Hispanic audiences through television and radio properties. KZJL's role became more closely aligned with Liberman's national ambitions when it joined Estrella TV. On September 14, 2009, it became a charter owned-and-operated station of the Spanish-language network. This change established KZJL as part of Estrella TV's owned station group rather than merely an unaffiliated or independently programmed Spanish-language broadcaster. The station also underwent a technical transition during the late 2000s. KZJL ended regular analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, in accordance with the federally mandated conversion of full-power American television stations to digital transmission. Its digital signal continued to use pre-transition UHF channel 44, while viewers continued to identify the station through virtual channel 61. The use of a virtual channel allowed continuity for the station's established broadcast identity after the physical transmission frequency changed. KZJL's facilities are in Houston. Its studios are on Bering Drive on the city's southwest side, and its transmitter is located near Missouri City in unincorporated northeastern Fort Bend County. This technical and geographic arrangement supports coverage of Houston and communities in the surrounding metropolitan area. Liberman Broadcasting later underwent a corporate reorganization under private-equity firm HPS Investment Partners. On February 3, 2020, the company adopted the name Estrella Media. KZJL retained its Estrella TV affiliation within that reorganized corporate structure. On November 10, 2025, Estrella Media was absorbed into MediaCo. The transaction placed the station under MediaCo ownership and linked it to MediaCo's broader broadcast holdings, including sister radio operations referenced in the station's profile. KZJL's principal business is local broadcast distribution of Estrella TV's Spanish-language programming. Unlike a packaged-goods brand, it does not primarily sell a range of standalone products. Its brand value comes from its channel identity, local market reach, network affiliation, and ability to deliver Spanish-language television to viewers in the Houston area.

• 2025

  Absorption into MediaCo

  [1]KZJLen.wikipedia.org

  Estrella Media is absorbed into MediaCo on November 10, 2025.

• 2020

  Liberman Broadcasting becomes Estrella Media

  [1]KZJLen.wikipedia.org

  The station's corporate owner adopts the Estrella Media name following a reorganization under HPS Investment Partners.

• 2009

  Estrella TV affiliation

  [1]KZJLen.wikipedia.org

  KZJL becomes a charter owned-and-operated station of Liberman Broadcasting's Estrella TV network on September 14.

• 2009

  Digital transition

  [1]KZJLen.wikipedia.org

  Regular analog broadcasting ends on June 12; the station continues digitally on UHF channel 44 while retaining virtual channel 61.

• 2001

  Acquisition by Liberman Broadcasting

  [1]KZJLen.wikipedia.org

  Liberman Broadcasting acquires KZJL, after which the station operates as a Spanish-language independent outlet.

• 1995

  KZJL signs on

  [1]KZJLen.wikipedia.org

  The station begins broadcasting in Houston on June 3 as a Shop at Home affiliate.

A regional Spanish-language broadcast television station serving Houston as an Estrella TV outlet.

• Broadcast television station · 1995

  KZJL virtual channel 61

  KZJL's primary viewer-facing service is its Houston-area television broadcast identified by virtual channel 61. The service currently carries Spanish-language Estrella TV programming. Its physical digital transmission operates on UHF channel 44, while the virtual channel preserves the station's established on-screen and viewer-navigation identity.

• Spanish-language television network service · 2009

  Estrella TV programming

  Estrella TV programming forms the central content offering associated with KZJL. The network affiliation gives the Houston station a Spanish-language entertainment and broadcast identity and connects it to Estrella TV's wider owned-and-operated station structure.

• 2025

  Estrella Media absorbed into MediaCoM&A

  Background

  Estrella Media's broadcast assets were reorganized within MediaCo.

  Action taken

  MediaCo absorbed Estrella Media on November 10, 2025.

  Aftermath

  KZJL became part of MediaCo's broadcast portfolio while continuing its Estrella TV service.

  Source

• 2020

  Corporate reorganization as Estrella MediaStrategy

  Background

  Liberman Broadcasting underwent a corporate reorganization under private-equity firm HPS Investment Partners.

  Action taken

  The company changed its corporate name to Estrella Media on February 3.

  Aftermath

  KZJL continued operating as an Estrella TV station under the renamed corporate structure.

  Source

• 2009

  Conversion to an Estrella TV owned-and-operated stationStrategy

  Background

  Liberman Broadcasting was expanding the role of its Spanish-language Estrella TV network.

  Action taken

  KZJL became a charter owned-and-operated Estrella TV station on September 14.

  Aftermath

  The station adopted a stable network-centered Spanish-language identity for the Houston market.

  Source

• 2009

  Digital transmission transitionOther

  Background

  Federal rules required full-power television stations in the United States to transition from analog to digital broadcasting.

  Action taken

  KZJL discontinued regular analog programming on June 12 and continued digital transmission on UHF channel 44 with virtual channel 61.

  Aftermath

  The station continued serving viewers through digital television while preserving its familiar channel identity.

  Source

• 2001

  Acquisition by Liberman BroadcastingM&A

  Background

  KZJL was operating as a Shop at Home affiliate when Liberman Broadcasting acquired the station.

  Action taken

  Liberman Broadcasting purchased KZJL and repositioned it as a Spanish-language independent station.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition ultimately led to KZJL's later integration into the Estrella TV owned-and-operated station group.

  Source

1. 1KZJLen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Estrella TVestrellatv.com