{{Short description|Television station in San Antonio}} {{for|the radio station in San Antonio that held the call sign KENS from 1954 to 1962|KKYX}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Infobox television station | callsign = KENS | logo = KENS 5 CBS (blue).svg | logo_size = 220px | location = [[San Antonio]], Texas | country = United States | branding = KENS 5 (call sign pronounced as a word) | digital = 29 ([[UHF]]) | virtual = 5 | affiliations = {{ubl|'''5.1:''' [[CBS]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}} | owner = [[Tegna Inc.]], a subsidiary of [[Nexstar Media Group]] | licensee = KENS-TV, Inc. | airdate = {{start date|1950|2|15}} | callsign_meaning = [[San Antonio Express-News|Express-News]] Stations (originally shared with former sister radio station [[KKYX|KENS]])<ref>{{cite news |title=KGBS Now KENS Television, Radio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-express-news-kgbs-now-kens-t/189067326/ |access-date=January 16, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Express |date=November 18, 1954 |location=San Antonio, Texas |page=1A |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> | former_callsigns = {{ubl|KEYL (1950–1954)|KGBS-TV (1954)|KENS-TV (1954−2009)}} | former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 5 ([[VHF]], 1950–2009)|'''Digital:''' 55 (UHF, 2002–2009), 39 (UHF, 2009–2019)}} | former_affiliations = {{ubl|'''All secondary:'''|[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1950–1955)|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (1950–1957)|[[Paramount Television Network|Paramount]] (1950–1953)|[[NTA Film Network|NTA]] (1956–1961)}} | erp = 1,000 kW | haat = {{convert|441|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} | facility_id = 26304 | coordinates = {{coord|29|16|11.5|N|98|15|55.9|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}} | licensing_authority = [[FCC]] | website = {{URL|https://www.kens5.com/}} }}
'''KENS''' (channel 5) is a [[television station]] in [[San Antonio]], Texas, United States, affiliated with [[CBS]] and owned by the [[Tegna Inc.|Tegna]] subsidiary of [[Nexstar Media Group]]. The station's studios are located on Fredericksburg Road in northwest San Antonio, near the [[South Texas Medical Center]], while its transmitter is located off [[US 181]] in northwest [[Wilson County, Texas|Wilson County]] (northeast of [[Elmendorf, Texas|Elmendorf]]).
==History== The station first signed on the air on February 15, 1950, as KEYL; channel 5 was the second television station to sign on in the San Antonio market, debuting three months after primary [[NBC]] affiliate [[WOAI-TV]] (channel 4). The station has been a primary CBS affiliate since its sign-on, however it initially carried secondary affiliations with [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]], [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and the [[Paramount Television Network]]<ref name="SALight">{{Cite news| title = Hollywood shows on KEYL| newspaper = San Antonio Light| pages = 54| date = February 19, 1950}}</ref>—the former two affiliations were shared with WOAI-TV. The station was originally owned alongside KABC radio (680 AM, now [[KKYX]]). KEYL was one of Paramount's strongest affiliates, carrying nearly the network's entire lineup. Among the Paramount programs that KEYL aired were ''[[Armchair Detective]]'',<ref name="SALight"/> ''Latin Cruise'',<ref name="SALight"/> ''Hollywood Reel'',<ref name="SAE">{{cite news|title=Radio & Television Listings|date=August 23, 1953|work=San Antonio Express|pages=23|location=San Antonio, TX}}</ref> ''Hollywood Wrestling,''<ref name="SAE1953">{{cite news|title=TV Programs For All Week|date=January 25, 1953|work=San Antonio Express|pages=69|location=San Antonio, TX}}</ref> ''[[Time for Beany]]''<ref name="SAE1951">{{cite news|date=June 28, 1951|work=San Antonio Express|pages=9|location=San Antonio, TX}}</ref> and ''Movietown, RSVP''.<ref name="SAE1950d">{{cite news|url=http://www.jjonz.us/RadioLogs/pagesnfiles/logs_files_RH/1950s_RH/50-54/1950/50rh_03Mar/50-03-24-%28Fri%29_%5BSAE%5D.pdf|title=Spotlighting the Dial|date=March 24, 1950|work=San Antonio Express|pages=14B|access-date=December 21, 2009|location=San Antonio, TX}}</ref>
In 1951, [[Storer Broadcasting]] (which had good relations with CBS) bought KEYL and KABC. On February 1, 1954, KABC and KEYL became KGBS and KGBS-TV.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1954-01-31 |title=Call Letter Change by KEYL, KABC |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-light-call-letter-change-by/189041407/ |access-date=2026-01-16 |work=San Antonio Light |page=21-A}}</ref> In November of that year, Storer was forced to sell KGBS-AM-TV to the ''[[San Antonio Express-News]]'',<ref>{{cite news |title=Control Of KGBS Assumed By Express Publishing Co. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-express-news-control-of-kgbs/189076039/ |access-date=January 16, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Express |date=November 17, 1954 |location=San Antonio, Texas |agency=Associated Press (AP) |page=1A |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> in order to complete the company's purchase of WXEL-TV (now [[WJW (TV)|WJW]]) in [[Cleveland]] as keeping KGBS-TV would have put the company one station over the [[Federal Communications Commission]]'s ownership regulations that went into effect that year which limited the number of television stations that can be owned by one company to seven, with no more than five of those allocated to the [[VHF]] band (at the time, newspapers could own television and/or radio stations in the same market provided that such ownership complied with the FCC-mandated ownership limits of each property in effect at the time). The ''Express-News'' then changed the call letters of the television and radio stations to KENS-TV and KENS (the "-TV" suffix was dropped from the callsign of the television station following the digital television transition on June 12, 2009, when several other Belo stations dropped the suffix from their legal call signs; Storer later re-used the KGBS calls on what is now [[KTNQ]] and [[KNX-FM]] in [[Los Angeles]]). The release of the KABC call letters freed ABC to pick up the call letters for its flagship cluster of [[KABC-TV|television]], [[KABC (AM)|AM]], and [[KLOS|FM]] stations in Los Angeles shortly thereafter.
DuMont ceased most network operations in 1955, but would honor network commitments until August 1956, when it ceased operations permanently. Channel 5 lost ABC programming when KONO-TV (channel 12, now [[KSAT-TV]]) signed on in 1957, leaving KENS as a full-time CBS affiliate. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the [[NTA Film Network]].<ref name="Boxoffice7">{{Cite journal| title = Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films| journal = Boxoffice| pages = 13| date = November 10, 1956| url = http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1}}</ref>
In early 1962, the ''Express-News'' and KENS-AM-TV were purchased by [[Harte-Hanks Communications]]; the radio station was sold off a few months later since Harte-Hanks was not interested in radio station ownership at the time. When the FCC tightened its cross-ownership rules in the early 1970s, Harte-Hanks sought [[grandfathered]] protection for its San Antonio media combination. However, while the FCC granted such protection to several media combinations across the country, it would not do the same to the Harte-Hanks combination in San Antonio. Accordingly, in 1973, Harte-Hanks opted to keep KENS-TV and sell the ''Express-News'' to [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News Corporation]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Worldwide News Group Tenders Offer for E/N |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-express-news-worldwide-news/188906557/ |access-date=January 14, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Express |date=October 26, 1973 |location=San Antonio, Texas |page=1-A |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
In the mid-1980s, KENS broadcast a short-lived local [[cable television|cable]] channel that was carried on Rogers Cablevision channel 24, called KENS II. The channel started its broadcasts on September 2, 1984.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mitchell appointed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-express-news-mitchell-appoin/189176682/ |access-date=January 17, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Express |date=July 27, 1984 |location=San Antonio, Texas |page=1-C |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Under the direction of station manager Larry Smith, the channel's programming included replays of channel 5's local newscasts, broadcasts of Ron Taylor and Janie Groves' classified real estate programming and a few locally produced programs and specials such as ''Auto TV'' (hosted by Richard Courchesne and Michael Saul), and Barney Regets' computer generated musical video kaleidoscope created earlier at UA Columbia's Consumer Cable 29. In March 1985, KENS II expanded its timeslot to 24 hours.<ref>{{cite news |title=KENS II going 24 hours |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-express-news-kens-ii-going-2/189204884/ |access-date=January 17, 2026 |newspaper=Express-News |date=March 1, 1985 |location=San Antonio, Texas |page=2-F |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> On March 24, 1985, KMOL-TV parent company [[BHC Communications|United Television]] filed a protest with the FCC, claiming that by operating KENS II, it gave KENS an unfair competitive advantage, and that Harte-Hanks was violating the spirit of the commission's long-standing rules that forbade duopolies.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Silverman |first=Dwight |title=KMOL files FCC complaint over KENS |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-light-kmol-files-fcc-complai/189198802/ |access-date=January 14, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Light |date=April 6, 1985 |location=San Antonio, Texas |page=B3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> KENS management maintained that the duopoly rules did not apply to cable television.<ref name=":0"/> The claims of KMOL were rejected by the FCC that October in a decision that was closely watched by industry observers. In February 1988, KENS II cut back its timeslot in order to focus on the financial resources to KENS-TV. Its remaining timeslots were filled in by the [[Travel Channel]] and the Fashion Channel.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kever |first=Jeannie |title=KENS II prepares to cut back on its air time |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-light-kens-ii-prepares-to-cu/189204707/ |access-date=January 14, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Light |date=February 3, 1988 |location=San Antonio, Texas |page=H3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> After a little over four years on the air, KENS II was shut down and was replaced by [[AMC (TV channel)|American Movie Classics]] on May 1, 1988.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cable's KENS II to cease production, replaced by classics |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-light-cables-kens-ii-to-cea/189204474/ |access-date=January 18, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Light |date=March 31, 1988 |location=San Antonio, Texas |page=F3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
In July 1990, it was reported that KENS was holding talks with ABC about switching to that network, which would have left existing affiliate KSAT without a network affiliation.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Wynne |first=Robert |title=KENS-TV has its eye on ABC |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-light-kens-tv-has-its-eye-on/188908913/ |access-date=January 14, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Light |date=July 31, 1990 |location=San Antonio, Texas |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-light-kens-tv-considering-s/188909116/ A6] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Then-KENS general manager Michael Conly cited CBS' then-distant third ranking as a reason for wanting to switch networks, feeling that the poor performance of CBS programming at the time would harm KENS' overall dominance in the San Antonio market.<ref name=":1"/> The talks did not go anywhere, and the following month, both KENS and KSAT signed new affiliation agreements with CBS and ABC respectively.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wynne |first=Robert |title=Talks with ABC fold; KENS-TV keeps CBS |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-light-talks-with-abc-fold-k/188909290/ |access-date=January 14, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Light |date=August 16, 1990 |location=San Antonio, Texas |page=G10 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
In 1993, Harte-Hanks acquired what at the time became the second incarnation of KENS radio (1160 AM). In September 1997, Harte-Hanks sold its remaining media properties, including the KENS stations, to the [[E. W. Scripps Company]] in order to concentrate on the company's direct marketing operations.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sheron |first=Don |title=Scripps to buy KENS from Harte-Hanks |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-express-news-scripps-to-buy/188907350/ |access-date=January 14, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Express-News |date=May 20, 1997 |location=San Antonio, Texas |pages=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-express-news-ew-scripps-to/188907472/ 4A] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> At the same time, [[Belo Corporation]] announced that it would trade its controlling stake in the [[Food Network]] to Scripps in exchange for the KENS stations.<ref>{{cite news |last=E. Poling |first=Travis |title=Belo to buy KENS: Dallas media giant widens Texas market |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-express-news-belo-to-buy-ken/188906905/ |access-date=January 14, 2026 |newspaper=San Antonio Express-News |date=September 5, 1997 |location=San Antonio, Texas |pages=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-antonio-express-news-belo-corp-to-p/188907019/ 12A] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The Harte-Hanks/Scripps deal and the transfer of Belo's stake in the Food Network to Scripps were both completed on October 15 of that year. At that time, Belo took over the operations of the KENS stations through a [[local marketing agreement|time brokerage agreement]] (TBA). Belo completed its purchase of the KENS stations on December 4, 1997. The second incarnation of KENS radio was sold to [[The Walt Disney Company]] in 2003, which converted the station into a [[Radio Disney]] outlet as [[KRDY]] (it is now a [[Christian radio|Catholic talk]] station owned by Immaculate Heart Media). In August 2000, KENS began to manage upstart [[UPN]] affiliate KBEJ (channel 2, now [[MyNetworkTV]] affiliate [[KCWX]]) under a local marketing agreement (LMA). The LMA was terminated in April 2010, five months before the station lost its [[The CW|CW]] affiliation.
KENS remained closely associated with the ''Express-News'', even though the station and newspaper had been under separate ownership for many years. The station shared its main website with the newspaper until the end of 2008, when the news partnership agreement between KENS and the ''Express-News'' ended. The station launched its own website, [http://www.kens5.com Kens5.com], on January 26, 2009. The site has been recognized with two [[Lone Star Emmy Awards]] for Interactivity and the 2011 and 2015 Regional [[Edward R. Murrow Award (Radio Television Digital News Association)|Edward R. Murrow Award]] for "Best Large-Market Website."
On June 13, 2013, the [[Gannett Company]] announced that it would acquire Belo's television properties, including KENS, for $1.5 billion.<ref name=fwst-saletogannett>{{cite news|title=Gannett to buy TV station owner Belo for $1.5B|url=http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/06/13/4934284/gannett-to-buy-tv-station-owner.html|access-date=June 13, 2013|newspaper=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]|date=June 13, 2013|agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> The sale received FCC approval on December 20, and was formally completed on December 23, 2013, reuniting KENS with former Harte-Hanks sister stations [[WFMY]] and [[WTLV]].<ref>[http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/72893/gannett-completes-its-acquisition-of-belo Gannett Completes Its Acquisition of Belo], ''TVNewsCheck'', December 23, 2013.</ref> On June 29, 2015, the Gannett Company split in two, with one side specializing in print media and the other side specializing in broadcast and digital media. KENS was retained by the latter company, named [[Tegna Inc.|Tegna]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Separation of Gannett into two public companies completed {{!}} TEGNA| date=June 29, 2015 |url = http://www.tegna.com/separation-of-gannett-into-two-public-companies-completed/|publisher=Tegna|access-date = June 29, 2015}}</ref>
[[Nexstar Media Group]] acquired Tegna in a deal announced in August 2025<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Mark K. |date=August 19, 2025 |title=Nexstar Buying Tegna For $6.2 Billion |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/nexstar-buying-tegna-for-6-2-billion/ |access-date=August 19, 2025 |website=TVNewsCheck |language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819205146/https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/nexstar-buying-tegna-for-6-2-billion/ |archive-date= August 19, 2025}}</ref> and completed on March 19, 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Ted |date=2026-03-19 |title=Nexstar Closes Tegna Merger Following FCC And DOJ Approval |url=https://deadline.com/2026/03/fcc-approves-nexstar-tegna-merger-1236760998/ |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Programming== KENS clears the entire CBS network schedule. The station splits the ''[[CBS WKND]]'' lineup into two blocks that bookend its Saturday morning newscast (with the first hour airing before the program and the final two airing after it) and splits ''[[Face the Nation]]'' into two half-hour blocks (as such, it is one of several CBS affiliates that carry the program on both Sunday mornings and overnights in such a manner). KENS acquired the local syndication rights to ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' and ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' in September 1999 from KMOL-TV (now WOAI-TV).
The station also produces the local talk and lifestyle program ''Great Day SA'', which airs weekdays at 9 a.m. (the format of the program is modeled after similar morning talk programs produced by other former Belo stations as well as certain ones owned by Gannett prior to the latter's purchase of Belo, including [[Dallas]] sister station [[WFAA]]'s ''Good Morning Texas'' and [[Houston]] sister station [[KHOU]]'s ''Great Day Houston''); the program debuted on September 8, 2003, and features local and national music artists, celebrities, and local human interest stories. It was formerly hosted by 1994 [[Miss USA]] winner Lu Parker and later Kristina Guererro (later a reporter for the syndicated program ''[[Inside Edition]]'', most recently an entertainment reporter for [[E!]]).
===Past program preemptions and deferrals=== {{Unreferenced section|date=March 2025}} From its September 1997 premiere to 2019, KENS preempted the [[CBS Saturday Morning|Saturday edition]] of ''[[CBS This Morning]]'' due to its Saturday morning newscast (as a result, ''CBS This Morning Saturday'' did not air at all in the San Antonio market); the station also gained notoriety in 1993 by being one of the few CBS affiliates that chose to air the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' on a half-hour [[broadcast delay|tape delay]], in favor of airing syndication programming immediately following its 10 p.m. newscast. From September 1995 until both shows returned to their respective recommended 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. timeslots in September 1999, KENS began carrying ''[[The Price Is Right]]'' on a one-hour delay to air syndicated programs during the 10 a.m. hour, resulting ''[[The Young and the Restless]]'' to be moved concurrently to 3 p.m. After not airing the program for the first eight months, KENS also delayed ''[[The Late Late Show (American talk show)|The Late Late Show]]'' by three hours to 2:37 a.m. and later by 90 minutes to 1:07 a.m. during the entirety of [[The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder|Tom Snyder]]'s and [[The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn|Craig Kilborn]]'s runs as well as the first few years of [[The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson|Craig Ferguson]]'s run.
===Sports programming=== KENS is one of the few stations in the United States that still maintains over-the-air broadcast rights to a major sports franchise: the station airs select [[NBA]] games featuring the [[San Antonio Spurs]] that are not carried by [[FanDuel Sports Network Southwest]]. During the [[2021–22 San Antonio Spurs season|2021–22 season]], KENS aired 10 Spurs games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kens5.com/article/entertainment/television/kens-10-spurs-games-2021-2022-season-tv-schedule/273-1d7b8a8b-f932-41e7-81d2-2fbc91455137|title=KENS 5 to broadcast 10 Spurs games, including clash with Bucks in season's first week|work=KENS5.com|publisher=[[Tegna Inc.]]|date=October 8, 2021|accessdate=October 8, 2021}}</ref> The station also aired any Spurs games [[NBA on CBS|through the network's coverage with the NBA]] from [[1976–77 San Antonio Spurs season|1976]] to [[1989–90 San Antonio Spurs season|1990]].
KENS also provided coverage of the [[1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1998]], [[2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2004]], [[2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2008]], and [[2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2025 NCAA Men's Final Fours]], all of which took place at the [[Alamodome]].
===News operation=== KENS presently broadcasts 36 hours, 55 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6 hours, 5 minutes each weekday; four hours on Saturdays and {{frac|2|1|2}} hours on Sundays). Former KENS employee Bob Rogers was the station's longest-running [[news director]]. Under Rogers' stewardship, the ratings for Channel 5's newscasts shot to first place.{{Citation needed|reason=Unsourced claim|date=January 2020}} Rogers was also responsible for hiring, coaching and helping the careers of many local and national news anchors, reporters and correspondents; he retired from the station in the late 1990s.
On January 7, 2008, when CBS' now-defunct morning program ''[[The Early Show]]'' abandoned its hybrid format that included local segments interspersed within the national program, KENS reduced its weekday morning newscast from three hours to two, airing from 5 to 7 a.m. Also at the same time, Itza Gutierrez left her position as anchor of the Saturday morning newscast to become a stay-at-home mother (she was later replaced by Stacia Willson, who was later promoted to the weekday noon newscast).
[[Emmy Award]]-winning longtime anchor [[Chris Marrou]], who worked at KENS for 36 years beginning in 1973, retired from the station in 2009. Marrou and other well-known anchors helped KENS dominate the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news timeslots from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Marrou presented a long-running segment seen at the end of the weeknight editions of the 10 p.m. newscast, the ''Eyewitness Newsreel'', in which Marrou narrated a package of humorous local news segments juxtaposed with out-of-context soundbites of CBS News anchors, politicians or celebrities "commenting" on the situation done in a faux newsreel style. Marrou wrote the segment each weeknight. With Marrou's retirement that year, the ''Eyewitness Newsreel'' segment was discontinued. In 2009, KENS announced that Jeff Vaughn (who previously served as a reporter for NBC affiliate [[KSHB]] in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]) would replace Marrou as co-anchor of the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts starting in January 2010. In 2015, Jeff Brady (former KSAT and WFAA anchor) returned to San Antonio to become the station's lead male anchor for the evening newscasts.
In early June 2008, KENS began promoting a 'big switch' occurring on June 30, a date which the station began production of newscasts in [[high-definition television|high definition]]. On August 2, 2010, channel 5 became the first television station in the San Antonio market with a local newscast during the 4 p.m. hour, when it debuted a half-hour broadcast at 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday afternoons (the station opted to slot ''Jeopardy!'' to bookend the 4 and 5 p.m. newscasts).<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2010/03/08/daily41.html | first=San | last=Antonio | title=KENS-TV will create early afternoon newscast | date=March 12, 2010}}</ref> On January 10, 2011, KENS expanded its weekday morning newscast to 2½ hours, through the addition of a half-hour broadcast at 4:30 a.m.<ref>[http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2010/12/16/47833/kens-slots-new-430-am-newscast/ KENS Slots New 4:30 A.M. Newscast]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, TVNewsCheck.com, December 16, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2010.</ref>
In April 2022, KENS 5 dropped the ''[[Eyewitness News|Eyewitness]]'' name from its newscast title after 52 years; its newscasts from that date onward are now branded as ''KENS 5 News''.
====Notable former on-air staff==== * [[Dan Cook]] * [[Gary DeLaune]] – sports anchor * [[Ainsley Earhardt]] * [[Chris Marrou]] – anchor (1973–2009) * [[Lynne Russell]] – anchor (1980–1983) * [[Michael Tuck (journalist)|Michael Tuck]] – (1967–1970)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Haring |first=Bruce |date=August 21, 2022 |title=Michael Tuck Dies: Former Los Angeles And San Diego News Anchorman Was 76|url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/michael-tuck-dead-kcbs-anchorman-was-76-obituary-1235097057/|access-date=January 13, 2023|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Technical information== ===Subchannels=== The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]: {| class="wikitable" |+Subchannels of KENS<ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KENS#station RabbitEars TV Query for KENS]</ref> ! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]] ! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]] ! scope = "col" | Short name ! scope = "col" | Programming |- ! scope = "row" | 5.1 | [[1080i]] || KENS-HD || [[CBS]] |- ! scope = "row" | 5.2 | rowspan="6" |[[480i]] || QUEST || [[Quest (American TV network)|Quest]] |- ! scope = "row" | 5.3 | Crime || [[True Crime Network]] |- ! scope = "row" | 5.4 | Blank || [[Dark (broadcasting)|[Blank]]] |- ! scope = "row" | 5.5 | CONFESS || [[Jewelry Television]] |- ! scope = "row" | 5.6 | JTV || Weather |- ! scope = "row" | 5.7 | ShopLC || [[Shop LC]] |- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;" ! scope = "row" | [[KSAT-TV|12.4]] | 480i || H&I || [[Heroes & Icons]] ([[KSAT-TV]]) |} {{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}
=== Analog-to-digital conversion === KENS ended regular programming on its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 5, on June 12, 2009, as part of the [[Digital television transition in the United States|federally mandated transition from analog to digital television]].<ref>{{cite web|title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|archive-date=August 29, 2013|access-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref> The station's digital signal relocated its digital signal from its pre-transition [[UHF]] channel 58, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to UHF channel 39 for post-transition operations. The station vacated channel 55 in November 2008 to allow [[Qualcomm]] to begin testing for its now-defunct [[mobile television]] service [[MediaFLO]].
In the interim period between November 2008 and June 2009, KENS' new digital signal hosted [[Univision]] [[owned-and-operated station]] [[KWEX-DT]], whose pre-transition digital signal broadcast on channel 39. After the digital transition was complete, KENS-DT retained the channel 39 facilities, while KWEX-DT launched its permanent digital operations on UHF channel 41 (the station's previous analog frequency). The transition also allowed former sister station KCWX (which prior to the conversion, did not have an over-the-air digital signal) to begin transmitting its digital signal on VHF channel 5.
KENS moved from RF channel 39 to RF channel 29 on June 21, 2019, as a result of the [[2016 United States wireless spectrum auction]].<ref>[http://data.fcc.gov/download/incentive-auctions/Transition_Files/Phase_Assignment_Closing_PN.csv FCC TV spectrum Phase Assignment Table] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417160749/http://data.fcc.gov/download/incentive-auctions/Transition_Files/Phase_Assignment_Closing_PN.csv |date=April 17, 2017 }}, ''FCC Incentive Auction Television Transition Data Files'', April 13, 2017.</ref>
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== *{{Official website|https://www.kens5.com/}}
{{San Antonio TV}} {{Texas English TV}} {{NXST TV}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kens}} [[Category:1950 establishments in Texas]] [[Category:CBS affiliates]] [[Category:Former E. W. Scripps Company subsidiaries]] [[Category:Nexstar Media Group]] [[Category:Quest (American TV network) affiliates]] [[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1950]] [[Category:Television stations in San Antonio]] [[Category:True Crime Network affiliates]]