View source for KMEX-DT

{{Short description|Television station in Los Angeles}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = KMEX-DT
| logo = KMEX-DT (2019).svg
| logo_alt = At left, the Univision logo, consisting of red, purple, green and blue blocks in the shape of a U. At right, a gray 34 in a sans serif. Below both, the words "Los Ángeles" in gray sans serif.
| logo_size = 200px
| branding = {{lang|es|italic=no|Univision 34}}
| digital = 34 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 34
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''34.1:''' [[Univision]]|'''[[KFTR-DT|34.2]]:''' [[UniMás]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner = [[TelevisaUnivision]]
| licensee = KMEX License Partnership, [[general partnership|G.P.]]
| location = [[Los Angeles]], California
| country = United States
| airdate = {{Start date and age|1962|09|29|p=y|br=y}}
| callsign_meaning = "[[Mexico]]"
| sister_stations = {{hlist|[[KFTR-DT]]|[[KLVE]]|[[KRCD (FM)|KRCD]]|[[KSCA (FM)|KSCA]]}}
| former_callsigns = KMEX-TV (1962–2009)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 34 (UHF, 1962–2009)|'''Digital:''' 35 (UHF, 2002–2009)}}
| former_affiliations = [[Spanish International Network]] (1962–1987)
| erp = 500 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|956|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 35123
| coordinates = {{coord|34|13|36.1|N|118|4|2.3|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.univision.com/local/los-angeles-kmex}}
}}

'''KMEX-DT''' (channel 34) is a [[television station]] in [[Los Angeles]], California, United States. It is the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] [[flagship station]] of the Spanish-language network [[Univision]], [[owned and operated]] by [[TelevisaUnivision]]. Under common ownership with [[Ontario, California]]–licensed [[UniMás]] station [[KFTR-DT]] (channel 46), the two stations share studios on Center Drive (overlooking [[Interstate 405 (California)|I-405]]) in [[Westchester, Los Angeles|Westchester]]; KMEX-DT's transmitter is located atop [[Mount Wilson (California)|Mount Wilson]].

KMEX was built by the Spanish International Broadcasting Company, a consortium that included American and Mexican stockholders, and began broadcasting in September 1962. It was the first full-time Spanish-language television station in the state of California and the only one in the Los Angeles area for 23 years. Its programming combined Mexican programs from [[Telesistema Mexicano]], predecessor to Televisa, with local features relevant to the Spanish-speaking community in Los Angeles, such as courses in the English language. Spanish International Broadcasting Company grew to create the national Spanish International Network. In 1964, [[Danny Villanueva]], then a placekicker in the [[NFL]], began an association with the station. After retiring from football, Villanueva became KMEX's news director and later its station manager. Under Villanueva, KMEX adopted an "advocacy journalism" approach to local news and community involvement which has been adopted by much of its portion of the television industry. [[Ruben Salazar]], a former writer for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', was working for KMEX when he was killed by riot police in August 1970; the station's retrospective coverage of the event earned it its first of two [[Peabody Award]]s.

KMEX and its co-owned stations, owned by Spanish International Communications Corporation (SICC), spent most of the 1980s embroiled in a legal dispute over the permissibility of its partially foreign ownership. In 1985, [[Federal Communications Commission]] staff recommended that all of SICC's licenses be revoked. The dispute was settled two years later by a forced sale of the stations and network to a venture of [[Hallmark Cards]] and [[First Chicago Bank|First Chicago]] Ventures, which renamed the network Univision. Also in that decade, KMEX gained its first full-time competition when channel 52 was sold and switched from subscription programming to full-time Spanish as [[KVEA]]. That station's new owners, a group led by [[Saul Steinberg (businessman)|Saul Steinberg]], used KVEA and other stations as the springboard to launch the competing [[Telemundo]] network in 1987. In spite of the new competition, KMEX continued to be the leading Spanish-language local TV station in news coverage and began garnering higher ratings than its English-language counterparts in key demographic groups. Its news presenters included [[María Elena Salinas]] and [[Jorge Ramos (news anchor)|Jorge Ramos]], both of whom went on to work for the Univision network. KMEX was the first Spanish-language TV station in the country to air an hour-long local morning show.

Univision grew from one Los Angeles–market station to two in 2002 when it acquired the [[USA Broadcasting]] group, including KFTR. In the 2010s, KMEX has had to fend off a challenge from a revitalized KVEA while expanding and refreshing its own news offerings.

==History==
[[File:2020 07 26 mt-wilson049 (50170581841).jpg|left|thumb|225px|The Univision tower on [[Mount Wilson (California)|Mount Wilson]]. The top-mounted antenna at left is used for KMEX-DT.|alt=Refer to caption]]

There were two prior attempts to build a station on [[ultra high frequency]] (UHF) channel 34 in Los Angeles prior to KMEX-TV, in proceedings in 1954 and 1958. By 1953, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) had received three applications for the channel, from Lawrence Harvey; Spanish International Television; and radio station [[KFWB]] (980 AM).<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88246358/harvey-girds-for-battle-over-television/|title=Harvey Girds for Battle Over Television Station|page=3|work=News-Pilot|date=July 27, 1953|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105163117/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88246358/harvey-girds-for-battle-over-television/|url-status=live}}</ref> The bid of Spanish International Television presaged that of Spanish International Broadcasting Company six years later; [[Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta]] was a 20 percent owner of the firm.<ref>{{cite news|via=World Radio History|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1953/BC-1953-03-09.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=March 9, 1953|id={{ProQuest|1285697460}}|title=TBC Claims XETV (TV) Is Actually U.S. Station|page=54|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103044409/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1953/BC-1953-03-09.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Harvey and Spanish International Television lost interest, and their applications were dismissed in 1954, leaving the door open for KFWB.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88246436/drop-2-requests-for-tv-channel/|title=Drop 2 requests for TV channel|page=6|work=Los Angeles Daily News|date=July 8, 1954|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103180607/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88246436/drop-2-requests-for-tv-channel/|url-status=live}}</ref> That October, however, the radio station dropped its bid; no reason was given.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88253913/|title=TV Channel 34 Open|page=2|work=Valley Times|date=October 28, 1954|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106222011/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88253913/tv-channel-34-open/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Interest around the UHF allocation was revived in 1957, and in 1958, the FCC selected the application of Sherrill C. Corwin, movie theater operator from San Francisco, over a bid from Frederick Bassett and William E. Sullivan.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88250884/fcc-recommends-uhf-tv-grant-to-corwin/|title=FCC Recommends UHF TV Grant to Corwin|page=1|work=Citizen-News|agency=UPI|date=August 7, 1958|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103180611/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88250884/fcc-recommends-uhf-tv-grant-to-corwin/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the FCC ordered several unbuilt UHF stations to make progress or lose their permits, Corwin proposed to sell the construction permit for what was called KMYR to Franklin James, who owned part of several regional radio stations.<ref>{{cite news|via=World Radio History|id={{ProQuest|962848171}}|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1960/BC-1960-07-04.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=July 4, 1960|page=78|title=For the Record|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104214807/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1960/BC-1960-07-04.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> However, this never was completed, and the FCC deleted the KMYR permit in November 1960 (along with another Corwin held for a San Diego outlet), leaving the door open for new applications for channel 34.<ref>{{cite news|via=World Radio History|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1960/BC-1960-11-28.pdf|date=November 28, 1960|title=FCC deletes 26 uhf construction permits|page=62|work=Broadcasting|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105022802/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1960/BC-1960-11-28.pdf|url-status=live|id={{ProQuest|962828984}} }}</ref>

===The early years===
On August 18, 1961, the Spanish International Broadcasting Company (SIBC) filed an application to build a new channel 34 TV station in Los Angeles.<ref name="hc">{{Cite web|title=History Cards for KMEX-DT|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/aee881ae-e36e-7f10-abbd-e885686af38d}}</ref> SIBC's principals reflected strong Mexican connections: Azcárraga was a 20-percent stakeholder, with the balance being held by a number of stockholders including movie theater owner Frank Fouce, the largest shareholder, and Julian Kaufman, the general manager of [[Tijuana]]'s binational TV station, [[XETV]].<ref>{{cite news|via=World Radio History|id={{ProQuest|1014454101}}|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-08-28-BC.pdf|date=August 28, 1961|title=Changing hands|pages=72–73|work=Broadcasting|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104213405/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-08-28-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The FCC granted the permit on November 1, 1961,{{r|hc}} marking the first time the commission had approved an application specifying an all-foreign language TV station.<ref>{{cite news|via=World Radio History|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-11-06-BC.pdf|date=November 6, 1961|work=Broadcasting|title=First foreign-language tv grant|id={{ProQuest|1014460345}}|page=66|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104213524/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-11-06-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> From Mexico City came [[Rene Anselmo]] to manage channel 34; so too would come much of the programming, from [[Telesistema Mexicano]].<ref name="horizon">{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251027/|page=IV:8|title=The TV Scene: Ultra-High TV on the Horizon|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Cecil|last=Smith|date=July 17, 1962|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106222014/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251027/the-tv-scene-ultra-high-tv-on-the/|url-status=live}}</ref>

It was also the first regular commercial UHF television station in Los Angeles. Two stations had previously operated on the band: [[KTHE (TV)|KTHE]] channel 28, a short-lived educational station at the [[University of Southern California]], and [[KSCN-TV|KBIC-TV]] channel 22, whose only telecasts to that point had been of an experimental nature. To get the Spanish-speaking community to be able to tune in, the upstart channel 34 embarked on a $100,000 public awareness campaign for UHF converters, and manufacturers stocked stores in [[East Los Angeles]] with tuning strips.<ref>{{Cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251102/|date=July 19, 1962|first=Allen|last=Rich|title=UHF Station Set For Fall Opening|page=20|work=Valley Times|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106222025/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251102/uhf-station-set-for-fall-opening/|url-status=live}}</ref> While channel 34 had been set for a September 15 launch, interest in converters was so great that the station opted to broadcast the test pattern until September 30 to aid dealers installing equipment.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251256/|date=September 14, 1962|work=Citizen-News|title=TV Time: 'Red' Facts Get Airing|first=Arlene|last=Garber|page=B-12|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106222014/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251256/tv-time-red-facts-get-airing/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first day of KMEX-TV programming included an inaugural program; filmed coverage of the recent visit of President [[John F. Kennedy]] to Mexico City; sporting coverage, including [[bullfighting]]; and news.<ref name="bigday">{{Cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251300/|title=Big Day for Channel 34|page=B-16|work=Citizen-News|first=Arlene|last=Garber|date=September 28, 1962|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106222015/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251300/tv-time-big-day-for-channel-34/|url-status=live}}</ref> Some 30,000 converters were estimated to be in place at launch.<ref>{{cite news|date=September 30, 1962|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Martin|last=Rossman|page=I:1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251386/ 6]|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251363/the-world-of-marketing-new-tv-station/|title=The World of Marketing: New TV Station Aims at Spanish-Speaking|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103054615/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88251363/the-world-of-marketing-new-tv-station/|url-status=live}}</ref> By February 1963, there were 106,000 appropriately equipped households who could tune in the UHF station,<ref name="those">{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46584729/|work=Valley Times|first=Allen|last=Rich|title=Those Two New Channels|pages=Preview 1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46584702/ 18]|date=April 27, 1963|access-date=March 13, 2020|archive-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103034511/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46584729/those-two-new-channels/|url-status=live}}</ref> and that number had swelled to almost 200,000 by the end of channel 34's first year in service.<ref name="chink">{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88255888/|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Cecil|last=Smith|title=He Found Chink in VHF Armor|page=IV:14|date=September 30, 1963|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121185712/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88255888/he-found-chink-in-vhf-armor/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, KMEX lost $500,000 in its first year and did not turn a profit until three years after starting up.{{sfn|González|1978|p=28}} Joseph S. Rank, an account executive with sales representative Blair Television, became general manager in November 1964<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1964/1964-11-23-BC.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=November 23, 1964|via=World Radio History|page=82|title=International|id={{ProQuest|1014479451}}}}</ref> and was promoted to station vice president in 1966,<ref name="LosA660105">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118600455/business-people/|date=January 5, 1966|page=III:9|title=Business & People|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|location=|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=February 14, 2023}}</ref><!-- Wed --> also being a five-percent stockholder in the Spanish International Broadcasting Corporation.<ref>{{Cite news|id={{ProQuest|1017134321}}|title=Spanish U's Move Into Black: Overcome Snub By Rating Firms|date=July 20, 1966|page=35|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|962870504}}|page=210|title=All-Spanish KMEX-TV Big Reason For Sale of UHF Units in L.A. Area|date=April 29, 1970|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

In local production, the station placed a focus on public service programming to supplement the Telesistema Mexicano programs that came from Mexico City on Greyhound buses.{{r|fifty}} One of the earliest programs was ''Escuela'' ("School"), an educational program that aired four times a week and taught basic English to viewers of all nationalities.{{r|those}} Beginning in 1964, the program was hosted by Ginger Cory, a teacher for the [[Los Angeles Unified School District]]. Students mailed written exercises to Cory for grading. Many in [[Southern California]]'s non-[[American English|English]]-speaking community came to consider Cory as a friend and counselor.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88255832/|title=On Jobs, Driving, Citizenship: TV Teacher Has Answers for Foreign-Born|first=Linda|last=Mathews|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 11, 1967|page=II:1|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223818/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88255832/on-jobs-driving-citizenship-tv/|url-status=live}}</ref> After station executives found that as much as 15 percent of KMEX's audience were not Spanish-speakers, courses in Spanish were added by popular demand.{{r|chink}} When American president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and Mexican president [[Adolfo López Mateos]] met in Los Angeles in February 1964, channel 34 produced commercial-free coverage which was sent to XETV and Telesistema Mexicano; the decision not to take advertisements was made because there was a desire to avoid any misunderstandings among the Spanish-speaking community.<ref>{{Cite news|via=World Radio History|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1964/1964-05-25-BC.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=May 25, 1964|pages=90, 91|title=Meeting of the presidents|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104213653/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1964/1964-05-25-BC.pdf|id={{ProQuest|1014478120}}|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 1964 was channel 34's first coverage of the [[Tournament of Roses Parade]], with radio commentators utilizing visuals furnished by [[KTLA]]; previously, Spanish-language coverage on other stations consisted of a radio simulcast.<ref name="LosA631231">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113504447/tv-time-cameras-turn-on-parades/|date=December 31, 1963|page=B-8|first=Arlene|last=Garber|title=TV Time: Cameras Turn On Parades|newspaper=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News|location=|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref><!-- Tue --><ref name="LosA621231">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113504718/tv-time-cameras-on-rose-parade/|date=December 31, 1962|page=C-8|first=Arlene|last=Garber|title=TV Time: Cameras On Rose Parade|newspaper=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News|location=|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref><!-- Mon -->

While still with the [[Los Angeles Rams]], the team's kicker, [[Danny Villanueva]], became a sports announcer for the station in 1964; he continued in this role even after being traded to the [[Dallas Cowboys]].<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88256791/|first=Jack|last=Hawn|work=San Mateo Times|page=TV Week 10B|title=Television Sports|date=May 8, 1966|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223819/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88256791/television-sports/|url-status=live}}</ref> He remained at channel 34 after retiring from the [[NFL]], becoming its news director,{{r|villadream}} and was promoted by Rank to station manager in 1969.<ref>{{cite news|title=Inside TV: Bette Davis Signs for It Takes a Thief Role|page=IV:23|date=November 20, 1969|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88256923/|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223818/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88256923/inside-tv-bette-davis-signs-for-it/|url-status=live}}</ref> Villanueva increased the public service emphasis at channel 34 even further, describing the station as "a cross between a commercial and an educational station" with a "tremendous social obligation".{{r|villadream}} Much of this philosophy was later copied by other Spanish-language TV stations in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|title=Danny Villanueva, founder of Univision, dies at 77|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-danny-villanueva-20150621-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 20, 2015|first=David|last=Colker|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=November 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119131001/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-danny-villanueva-20150621-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

KMEX had been the second American station (after [[KWEX-TV]] in [[San Antonio, Texas]]) in what was the Spanish International Network; the venture also included Telesistema Mexicano-aligned stations along the United States–Mexico border. After buying into [[New York City]]-area station [[WXTV]] and Miami's [[WLTV]], in 1972, SIN made its first western expansion when it built [[KFTV]], serving [[Fresno]], with Villanueva as its general manager. Originally, the Fresno station operated as a direct satellite of KMEX.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73838272/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=September 21, 1972|work=The Fresno Bee|page=B5|title=Spanish-Language TV Station Opens|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223819/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73838272/spanish-language-tv-station-opens/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73838237/|accessdate=March 18, 2021|date=July 16, 1972|title=New Valley Video Station Will Air All Programs In Spanish|work=The Fresno Bee|page=9 TV|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223819/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73838237/new-valley-video-station-will-air-all/|url-status=live}}</ref> The "SIN West" subnetwork also provided service to affiliated stations in [[Modesto]] ([[KLOC-TV]]) and [[San Francisco]] ([[KOFY-TV|KEMO-TV]]) and Telesistema Mexicano's [[XEWT-TV]] in Tijuana and [[XHBC-TV]] in [[Mexicali]].<ref name="villadream">{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72859501/|date=August 4, 1972|first=Maury|last=Green|work=Los Angeles Times|page=IV:18|title=Spanish Network: Villanueva—From Dream to Reality|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223821/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72859501/villanueva-from-dream-to-reality/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===''NFB''===
In 1973, channel 34 unveiled an experimental daytime programming effort aimed at a different audience: English speakers. On July 9, KMEX-TV started at 6:30&nbsp;a.m. and premiered ''NFB (News, Finance, Business)'', the first-ever attempt at a rolling news television program, which aired for {{frac|8|1|2}} hours.<ref name="today">{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83872772/|date=July 9, 1973|title=8 1/2 Hours of TV News Starts Today|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Maury|last=Green|page=IV:1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84875563/its-called-nfb-a-revolutionary-tv/ 15]|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121185714/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83872772/8-12-hours-of-tv-news-starts-today/|url-status=live}}</ref> Boasting a staff of 28 including 11 on-air talent, ''NFB'' featured [[John Harlan (announcer)|John Harlan]] as one of its anchors and [[Bill Stout]] and [[Susan Stafford]], as well as Villanueva, as contributors.{{r|today}} However, it exceeded its budget by 100 percent, and when SIBC parent Spanish International Communications Corporation (SICC) could not obtain funding in a tight financial market, the program was pulled on October 26, having lost $300,000. Villanueva felt that, if funding had been available, such a service would have been a "tremendous success" in the long run.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88257083/|title=Danny Villanueva not kicking about collapse of news channel|page=C-22|work=Independent/Press-Telegram|agency=Associated Press|first=Jerry|last=Buck|date=November 14, 1973|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121185624/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88257083/danny-villanueva-not-kicking-about/|url-status=live}}</ref> Other reasons cited for its failure were its association with channel 34, a Spanish-language television station, and airing on the lesser-viewed UHF band.{{sfn|González|1978|p=28}}

===Univision and competition===
SICC had an increasingly convoluted ownership structure and several related businesses. In 1974, the company took a bank loan that required it to not expand until the loan was repaid. As a result, to fuel continued expansion, SICC principals created two additional companies to start new stations: Bahía de San Francisco Television Company (which built [[KDTV]] in San Francisco) and Legend of Cibola Television Company (which reorganized as Seven Hills Television and started [[KTVW]] in Phoenix).{{sfn|González|1978|p=41}} In 1975, Anselmo arranged a new bank loan which came with a realignment of control that favored Anselmo and Azcárraga's interest. As a result, the Fouce interests sued SICC, Anselmo and other defendants in 1976, charging "self-dealing, mismanagement, waste, and breach of fiduciary duty".{{sfn|González|1978|p=50}} This long-running suit joined with a separate legal problem—a push by a confederation of Spanish-language radio station owners alleging Azcárraga exercised control over SICC, resulting in impermissible foreign ownership of its stations. In 1985, FCC staff recommended that the licenses of the SICC stations not be renewed,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stevenson |first=Richard W. |date=November 14, 1985 |title=Hispanic Network Under Fire |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/14/business/hispanic-network-under-fire.html |access-date=November 6, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123083109/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/14/business/hispanic-network-under-fire.html |url-status=live }}</ref> a decision adopted by a commission administrative law judge as settlement talks began in the long-running Fouce suit.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88424688/|title=L.A.'s KMEX, 4 Others Battle: Spanish Station Owners Seek Settlement|first=George|last=Ramos|work=Los Angeles Times|page=II:4|date=February 28, 1986|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=November 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121185706/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88424688/las-kmex-4-others-battle-spanish/|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 1986, in a breakthrough in the Fouce case, the parties agreed to sell KMEX and the four-other stations directly owned by SICC.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Owners to Sell KMEX-TV, Four Sister Stations|page=IV:2|first=George|last=Ramos|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88425012/|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 10, 1986|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223918/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88425012/owners-to-sell-kmex-tv-four-sister/|url-status=live}}</ref> The FCC agreed to renew the stations' licenses in 1987 as part of the sale of SIN—then being renamed Univision—to [[Hallmark Cards]] and [[First Chicago Bank|First Chicago]] Ventures.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88425205/|title=The FCC granted a license renewal to KMEX-TV.|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 3, 1987|page=IV:2|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223918/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88425205/the-fcc-granted-a-license-renewal-to/|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the same time as SICC's ownership drama played out, the Los Angeles Spanish-language television market transformed. For more than two decades, KMEX-TV was the only full-time Spanish-language TV station, though other stations aired some programming or had a partial-day Spanish format, such as [[KSCI]] and KBSC-TV. This changed in late 1985, when KBSC-TV was sold to [[Saul Steinberg (businessman)|Saul Steinberg]]-backed Reliance Capital and relaunched as [[KVEA]], a key moment in the formation of [[Telemundo]] in early 1987. The management of the new full-time competitor felt that there was enough of a market for both stations to coexist,<ref name="accent">{{Cite news |last=Margulies |first=Lee |date=November 22, 1985 |title=Channel 52 Getting a Spanish Accent |page=28 |work=Los Angeles Times |via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61018801/ |access-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-date=July 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712044034/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61018801/channel-52-getting-a-spanish-accent/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which was borne out by audience surveys in the wake of the launch of KVEA.<ref>{{cite news|pages=3, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81237972/ 22]|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81237851/|first=Félix|last=Gutiérrez|agency=Associated Press|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 1, 1986|accessdate=July 11, 2021|title=Spanish Media in L.A. on Upswing|archive-date=July 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712044057/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81237851/spanish-media-in-la-on-upswing/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, its 22-year head start gave the station an extraordinarily high level of community identification; Villanueva noted that many people saw it as "our Channel 34".<ref name="little">{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|1400667071 }}|title=KMEX, the 'little UHF station down the street,' loved by growing Latino audience|first=Marshall|last=Ingwerson|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=October 16, 1985}}</ref>

The restructured Univision had a strong presence in Miami, and conflicts between Cuban Americans at the network level and KMEX's largely Mexican audience in Southern California bred internal concerns. In 1989, channel 34 employees sent a letter to the network asking that the station's news director vacancy be filled by someone "who reflects the interests ... experience and culture of the Los Angeles TV audience". One consultant noted that under Villanueva, who had recently left as general manager, the station made money but did little to reinvest in its news product compared to Miami's WLTV.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88427939/|page=VI:20, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88428021/ 21]|title=Fight Over Mexican Influence Heats Up at Latino TV Station|first=Victor|last=Valle|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 19, 1989|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223917/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88427939/fight-over-mexican-influence-heats-up/|url-status=live}}</ref> That same year, another future leader in Spanish-language broadcasting left the station: Walter Ulloa, founder of [[Entravision Communications]], who had worked as an editorial writer, sales manager and news director at channel 34 before leaving in 1989 to start Entravision.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Public Record|first=Alan|last=Singer|title=Coachella Valley market a key ingredient in broadcast plan|date=March 14, 1997|page=4|id={{ProQuest|216716806}} }}</ref>

Despite the increased competition from KVEA and other stations, KMEX maintained its lead and continued to grow. By 1990, it accounted for nearly 10 percent of all of the advertising revenue of Hispanic television, radio, and print media in the United States.<ref name="targets">{{cite news|title=TV Targets Hispanic Viewers: The Nielsen rating service is sizing up this huge and still untapped US market|work=The Christian Science Monitor|page=12|date=November 14, 1990|id={{ProQuest|291187438}} }}</ref> It moved twice in ten years, first in 1992 and then to a facility in the Howard Hughes Center in 2002.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|368309178}} |title=Canal 34 cambia de casa|trans-title=Channel 34 has a new home|page=1B|work=La Opinión|first=José|last=Morales|date=April 13, 2002|language=es}}</ref> However, even in the early 2000s, station revenues lagged its share of total ratings, common for the time among Spanish-language TV stations.<ref>{{cite news|first=Dan|last=Trigoboff|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/news-gains-ground-93884|title=News Gains Ground|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=September 22, 2002|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=December 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203104224/https://www.nexttv.com/news/news-gains-ground-93884|url-status=live}}</ref> With Univision's acquisition of the [[USA Broadcasting]] stations in January 2002, KMEX became part of a [[duopoly (broadcasting)|duopoly]] with KHSC-TV (channel 46), which became [[KFTR]] when Univision used the stations to launch the Telefutura network (now [[UniMás]]).<ref name="LosA020116">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-univision-network/135165753/|date=January 16, 2002|page=C5|first=Meg|last=James|title=Univision Network Enters 3 New Markets|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 14, 2023}}</ref><!-- Wed -->

==Local programming==
=== News operation ===
{{Quote box
| quote = I say, if we can effect change (one way or the other), in our opinion, that's our journalism. That places the burden on us of determining what's good or not good for our community. We think we are in a position to make that determination.
| author = [[Danny Villanueva]]
| source = on the "advocacy journalism" practiced at KMEX-TV in 1978{{sfn|González|1978|p=114}}
| align = left
| width = 250px
| quoted = yes
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From the moment Villanueva became channel 34's news director in 1968,{{r|little}} KMEX adopted a policy that generally has set the tone for Spanish-language television news in the United States, that of "advocacy journalism".{{sfn|González|1978|p=114}} Villanueva was succeeded by [[Ruben Salazar]], a former writer for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', in January 1970. General manager Rank managed to outbid the ''Times'' for his services, believing that Salazar would complement what Villanueva had started.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft058002v2&chunk.id=d0e1171&toc.id=d0e6497&brand=ucpress?Item=E000588|page=29|title=Border Correspondent: Selected Writings, 1955–1970|contribution=Introduction|contributor-last=García|contributor-first=Mario T.|first=Ruben|last=Salazar|publisher=University of California Press|year=1995}}</ref> That August, Salazar was killed by riot police.<ref>{{cite news|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88256994/|title=One Dead, 40 Hurt in East L.A. Riot; Times Columnist Ruben Salazar Killed by Bullet|pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88257010/ 18], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88257033/ 19]|first1=Charles T.|last1=Powers|first2=Jeff|last2=Perlman|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 30, 1970|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223945/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88256994/one-dead-40-hurt-in-east-la-riot/|url-status=live}}</ref> A documentary on Salazar's death, ''Peace... on Our Time: KMEX-TV and the Death of Ruben Salazar'', won a [[Peabody Award]] for TV public service programming.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1971/1971-04-26-BC.pdf|work=Broadcasting|page=50|date=April 28, 1971|via=World Radio History|title=Gala occasion for Peabody winners|id={{ProQuest|1016852823}}|access-date=December 7, 2021|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151243/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1971/1971-04-26-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the station was also criticized by Chicano activists for moving quickly to shift the station away from the movement within days of Salazar's death; even an anonymous journalist told [[Hunter S. Thompson]] in his 1971 ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' article "[[Strange Rumblings in Aztlan]]", "[W]ithin 24 hours after Ruben was murdered, [Danny] Villanueva started tearing up the news department. Now he's trying to ... cut the balls off the news and turn KMEX-TV back into a ''safe'' Tio Taco station."<ref>{{Cite magazine|issue=81|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|first=Hunter S.|last=Thompson|author-link=Hunter S. Thompson|page=255|title=Strange Rumblings in Aztlan}}</ref> In its early years, KMEX-TV news was a small operation: in 1978, the station had two camera and reporter crews covering the Los Angeles area, and its newscasts primarily depended on material from [[United Press International]] and the local [[City News Service]] wire with less local news coverage than station management would have liked.{{sfn|González|1978|p=120}} The newsroom was in a converted house across the street from the studios.{{r|fifty}}

KMEX news became known for long-tenured personalities in the market and as a launching pad for correspondents with network careers. The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' described Eduardo Quezada, who anchored the news on channel 34 for 28 years, as an "institution"; he left for KVEA in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|first=Dana|last=Calvo|work=Los Angeles Times|via=Newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82118866/an-anchor-at-kmex/|title=An Anchor at KMEX|pages=F1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82118942/quezada-kmex-anchor-pulls-top-ratings/ F11]|date=December 4, 2000|access-date=July 24, 2021|archive-date=July 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725234413/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82118866/an-anchor-at-kmex/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=La Opinión| id={{ProQuest|368282867}} | first=Ramón |last=Inclán| title=Eduardo Quezada se va al Canal 52|trans-title=Eduardo Quezada goes to Channel 52|date=May 7, 2003|page=1B|language=es}}</ref> [[María Elena Salinas]] worked for KMEX from 1981 to 1987 before becoming a national news anchor, a position in which she would remain for three decades.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/mar-elena-salinas-stepping-down-univision-news-anchor-167691|work=Broadcasting & Cable|first=Jon|last=Lafayette|title=María Elena Salinas Stepping Down as Univision News Anchor|date=August 4, 2017|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106032538/https://www.nexttv.com/news/mar-elena-salinas-stepping-down-univision-news-anchor-167691|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jorge Ramos (news anchor)|Jorge Ramos]] got his first job in American broadcasting at KMEX and was tapped to host a morning show; a network executive in town saw the show one day and invited Ramos to Miami to start a national morning show, which soon led to him hosting national news for the network.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Finnegan |first=William |date=September 28, 2015 |title=The Man Who Wouldn't Sit Down |language=en-US |magazine=The New Yorker |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/05/the-man-who-wouldnt-sit-down |access-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-date=August 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801093518/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/05/the-man-who-wouldnt-sit-down |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Quote box
| quote = We had to run across the street from our newsroom, dodging cars on Melrose Avenue, to the studio to do the news.
| author = [[María Elena Salinas]], who joined the KMEX news staff in 1981<ref name="fifty">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-xpm-2012-sep-28-la-et-ct-kmex-celebrates-50th-anniversary-20120928-story.html|date=September 28, 2012|title=Univision's KMEX celebrates 50th anniversary|first=Meg|last=James|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=March 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314171221/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-xpm-2012-sep-28-la-et-ct-kmex-celebrates-50th-anniversary-20120928-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| align = right
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| quoted = yes
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}}

By 1990, KMEX began to beat the English-language news outlets in certain demographics in news ratings, first 18–34{{r|targets}} and then 18–34, 18–49 and 25–54 by 1996. The latter accomplishment led to coverage from channel 34's English-language competitors.<ref>{{cite news|first=Mark|last=Gimein|work=Mediaweek|id={{ProQuest|213636502}} |title=L.A. rivals salute KMEX|date=June 24, 1996|page=5}}</ref> By 2005, what had been an achievement had become routine: a 2005 Univision press release trumpeted twelve straight years of ratings wins in the 18–34 and 18–49 segments for KMEX's 6 pm news.<ref>{{cite news | title = KMEX-TV "Sweeps" the November 2005 Competition | publisher = Univision Press Release | date = November 20, 2005 | url = http://www.univision.net/corp/en/ir/kmex_sweeps_nov05_competition.pdf | access-date = May 11, 2008 | archive-date = April 9, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080409152023/http://www.univision.net/corp/en/ir/kmex_sweeps_nov05_competition.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>

After a two-decade absence from morning news—having canceled a previous effort in the late 1970s to air network programming—KMEX returned to airing morning news with an hour-long program, {{lang|es|Primera Edición}}, in January 1999. This was the first hour-long morning newscast produced by a Spanish-language TV station in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|368326592}} |work=La Opinión|first=Victoria|last=Infante|title=Una nueva mañana de noticias: Con su noticiero de una hora "Primera edicion", el Canal 34 entra de lleno en la competencia por la audiencia matutina de Los Angeles|language=es|trans-title=A new morning of news: With its hourlong "Primera Edición", Channel 34 jumps headlong into the competition for the morning audience in Los Angeles|date=January 4, 1999}}</ref> After just a year, the program was expanded to two hours, and the Univision stations in Miami and New York had followed suit and started their own morning newscasts.<ref>{{cite news|first=Victoria|last=Infante|date=January 17, 2000|trans-title=New airs to the news|title=Nuevos aires a la noticia|page=1D|work=La Opinión|language=es|id={{ProQuest|368341999}}}}</ref>

The 2000s brought increased national recognition of KMEX's work. In 2002, the ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'' graded the local newscasts in Los Angeles and gave KMEX the highest rating of any station in any language.<ref>{{cite news|pages=99–101|title=Separate but equal|first1=Laurien|last1=Alexandre|first2=Henrik|last2=Rehbinder|work=Columbia Journalism Review|date=November 2002|id={{ProQuest|230365922}}}}</ref> A news feature, {{lang|es|El 15% de los Estados Unidos}}, which reported about the impact of Latinos on the United States, won KMEX its second Peabody Award in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-apr-06-wk-peabody6-story.html|date=April 6, 2006|work=Los Angeles Times|title=Three L.A. stations win Peabody Awards|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106223927/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-apr-06-wk-peabody6-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' compared Southern California's English-language newscasts with KMEX's Spanish newscasts and concluded that "the sharpest coverage of state and local issues—government, politics, immigration, labor, economics, health care—is now found on Spanish-language TV", though it noted the criticism that KMEX's "advocacy journalism" style sometimes went a step too far on issues like immigration.<ref name=post>{{cite news | last = Mathews | first = Joe | title = Switch to Español | newspaper = The Washington Post | date = May 11, 2008 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050902540.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 | access-date = May 11, 2008 | archive-date = May 9, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120509083237/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050902540.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 | url-status = live }}</ref> News director Jorge Mettey, who led the KMEX-TV newsroom for five years, was fired in 2007 for allegedly breaching ethics policies; Mettey sued the next year and claimed that Univision executives had a hand in shaping news coverage with the goal of increasing advertising revenues.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-18-fi-mettey18-story.html|date=November 18, 2008|title=Ex-news director for KMEX sues Univision|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Meg|last=James|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=November 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121185624/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-18-fi-mettey18-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

An increased investment by local news at Telemundo in the 2010s gave channel 34 a challenge. For the first time since 1987, KVEA beat out KMEX among viewers 18–49 in 2014.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/telemundo-s-la-news-investment-pays-384737|work=Broadcasting & Cable|first=Adam|last=Jacobson|title=Telemundo's L.A. News Investment Pays Off|date=October 14, 2014|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025051315/https://www.nexttv.com/news/telemundo-s-la-news-investment-pays-384737|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2015, KMEX reformatted its morning newscast as {{lang|es|A Primera Hora}} in order to target a younger audience.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mediamoves.com/2015/05/kmex-renames-morning-show.html|work=Media Moves|title=KMEX renames morning show|date=May 28, 2015|last1=Villafañe|first1=Veronica|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=April 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411162322/https://www.mediamoves.com/2015/05/kmex-renames-morning-show.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2017, Univision launched {{lang|es|Edición Digital California}}, a midday newscast aired on all of its stations in California.<ref>{{cite news|date=April 13, 2017|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/univision-launching-local-newscasts-cross-platform-broadcast-164878|first=Diana|last=Marszalek|work=Broadcasting & Cable|title=Univision Launching Local Newscasts for Cross-Platform Broadcast|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=November 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121185655/https://www.nexttv.com/news/univision-launching-local-newscasts-cross-platform-broadcast-164878|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Villafañe |first1=Veronica |title=Univision adds "Edición Digital" noon news at local stations |url=https://www.mediamoves.com/2017/04/univision-adds-edicion-digital-noon-news-local-stations.html |website=Media Moves |publisher=Media Moves Website |access-date=April 12, 2017 |archive-date=October 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003044012/https://www.mediamoves.com/2017/04/univision-adds-edicion-digital-noon-news-local-stations.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Sports programming===
In 2016, Univision announced a three-year deal to broadcast Spanish-language [[Los Angeles Rams]] programming, including preseason games and studio programs; this was the first time that Univision had ever entered into a media rights deal involving the [[National Football League]]. Programming aired on KMEX and [[KFTR]] and in the [[Bakersfield]] area on [[KABE-CD]] and [[KBTF-CD]].<ref name="bandc-ramspreseason">{{cite web|title=Univision, L.A. Rams Strike Preseason Partnership|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/univision-la-rams-strike-preseason-partnership/158735|website=Broadcasting & Cable|date=August 10, 2016|access-date=August 10, 2016|archive-date=August 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811130650/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/univision-la-rams-strike-preseason-partnership/158735|url-status=live}}</ref> In the last year of the agreement, only KFTR aired games.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 8, 2018 |title=Rams to Stream Preseason Games; Burleson, Schrager Join CBS's Preseason Broadcast Booth |url=https://www.therams.com/news/rams-to-stream-preseason-games-burleson-schrager-join-cbs-s-preseason-broadcast- |access-date=November 6, 2021 |website=www.therams.com |language=en-US |archive-date=November 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121185647/https://www.therams.com/news/rams-to-stream-preseason-games-burleson-schrager-join-cbs-s-preseason-broadcast- |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Notable former on-air staff===
* [[Raul Peimbert]] – weeknight anchor (2005–2011)<ref>{{cite news|date=December 16, 2011|title=Peimbert's last day at KMEX|first=Veronica|last=Villafañe|work=Media Moves|url=https://www.mediamoves.com/2011/12/peimberts-last-day-at-kmex.html|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830121551/http://www.mediamoves.com/2011/12/peimberts-last-day-at-kmex.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[María Elena Salinas]] – news anchor and reporter (1981–1987)
* [[Jorge Ramos (news anchor)|Jorge Ramos]] – reporter and host of {{lang|es|Mundo Latino}} (1984–1987)

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
KMEX broadcasts six [[subchannel]]s of programming, including the main Univision feed,{{r|rei}} from its transmitter atop [[Mount Wilson (California)|Mount Wilson]].{{r|FCC-LMS-35123}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of KMEX-DT<ref name="rei">{{cite web|website=[[RabbitEars]]|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KMEX#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for KMEX|access-date=November 6, 2021|archive-date=March 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321042738/http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=KMEX#station|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 34.1
| [[720p]] || rowspan="4"|[[16:9]] || KMEX-DT || [[Univision]]
|-
! scope = "row" | [[KFTR-DT|34.2]]
| rowspan="5"|[[480i]] || style="background-color: #E6FFF7;"|UNIMAS || style="background-color: #E6FFF7;"|[[UniMás]] ([[KFTR-DT]]) in [[standard-definition television|SD]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 34.3
| BOUNCE || [[MovieSphere Gold]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 34.4
| CRIME || [[True Crime Network]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 34.5
| [[4:3]] || STVUSA ||[[Eastern Broadcasting Company|Super TV]] ([[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]])
|-
! scope = "row" | 34.6
| 16:9 || BT2 || [[Infomercial]]s
|}
{{legend|#E6FFF7|Simulcast of subchannels of another station}}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
KMEX-TV shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 34, at 11:59&nbsp;p.m. on June 12, 2009, as part of the [[Digital television transition in the United States|federally mandated transition from analog to digital television]]. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 35 to channel 34.<ref name="Analog to Digital">{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|title=List of Digital Full-Power Stations|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref>

===Translator===
KMEX-DT is rebroadcast on the following translator station:<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 23, 2021|title=List of TV Translator Input Channels|url=https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/tv-translator-input-channels-07232021.xlsx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209195336/https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/tv-translator-input-channels-07232021.xlsx|archive-date=December 9, 2021|access-date=December 17, 2021|publisher=Federal Communications Commission}}</ref>
* [[Ridgecrest, California|Ridgecrest]]: {{FCC-LMS-Facility|168511|3=K17HY-D}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite thesis|url=https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/fb494c50z|date=1978|title=Case Study of KMEX-TV|first=Arturo Ramón|last=González|type=MA|publisher=California State University, Northridge}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://www.univision.com/local/los-angeles-kmex Univision 34]
* [http://www.supertvusa.com/ Super TV USA (34.5)]

{{Univision California}}
{{Univision Communications}}
{{LA TV}}
{{Major U.S. TV O-O Stations}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kmex-Dt}}
[[Category:1962 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Peabody Award winners]]
[[Category:Spanish-language television stations in California|MEX-DT]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1962]]
[[Category:Television stations in Los Angeles|MEX-DT]]
[[Category:True Crime Network affiliates]]
[[Category:Univision affiliates]]