Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto TV Chronology

[RandTV]

1953
Sept. 30 - KCCC/ch. 40 (ABC, CBS, NBC, DuMont) signs on.

1954
Sept. 6 - KOVR/ch.13 (independent), originally based and licensed in Stockton, signs on.

1955
Mar. 20 - KBET/ch. 10 (CBS) signs on.
Sept. 3 - KCRA/ch. 3 (NBC) signs on.
KCCC/ch. 40 obtains full ABC affilation shortly after.

1957
May 31 - KCCC/ch. 40 leaves the air and KOVR/ch. 13 obtains the ABC affiliation the day after.

1959
Feb. 23 - KVIE/ch. 6 (NET) signs on.
Apr. 27 - KBET/ch. 10 changes its call to KXTV.

1960
Date unknown - KOVR/ch. 13 opens their new main studio facility in Sacramento while retaining their Stockton facility and license.

1966
Aug. 26 - KLOC (independent), based in Modesto, signs on.

1968
Oct. 26 - Ch. 40 returns to the air as KTXL (independent).

1970
Oct. 5 - KVIE/ch. 6 becomes a PBS affiliate.

1972
Sept. 25 - KLOC/ch. 19 becomes an SIN affiliate, airing English religious programming daytime and Spanish SIN programming nighttime.

1974
Oct. 5 - KMUV/ch. 31 (independent) signs on.

1981
Apr. 4 - KLOC/ch. 19 changes its call to KCSO.
Apr. 6 - KMUV/ch. 31 changes its call to KRBK.

1986
Apr. 13 - KSCH/ch. 58 (independent), based in Stockton, signs on.
Oct. 9 - KTXL/ch. 40 becomes a Fox affiliate.

1987
Jan. 1 - KCSO/ch. 19 becomes a Univision affilate.

1990
Aug. 27 - KCMY/ch. 29 (HSN) signs on.
Sept. 16 - KOVR/ch. 13 moves its operation to West Sacramento.

1995
Jan. 11 - KRBK/ch. 31 becomes a WB affiliate and changes its call to KPWB.
Feb. 1 - KSCH/ch. 58 becomes a UPN affilate and changes its call to KQCA.
Mar. 6 - KXTV/ch. 10 (CBS) and KOVR/ch. 13 (ABC) swap affiliations.

1997
Mar. 28 KCSO/ch. 19 changes its call to KUVS and moves its operation from Modesto to Sacramento shortly after.

1998
Jan. 5 - KQCA/ch. 58 (UPN) and KPWB/ch. 31 (WB) swap affilations and the latter changes its call to KMAX.
Aug. 31 - KCMY/ch. 29 changes its call to KSPX and becomes a PaxTV (now Ion) affiliate.

2000
Jan. 1 - The new KCSO/ch.33 (Telemundo), based in Modesto, signs on.

2006
Sept. 5 - KQCA/ch. 58 becomes a MyNetworkTV affiliate.
Sept. 19 - KMAX/ch. 31 becomes a CW affiliate.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

KOVR was also intended to cover the Bay Area until KOVR got the ABC affiliation contract.
Note ABC wanted KOVR signal to be away from the Bay Area so it does not siphon Bay Area viewers away from ABC owned KGO-TV. Also KOVR had to move their Transmitter to Jackson until it was Walnut Grove became the main Transmitter spot to cover both South end of the Sacramento Valley and Northern San Joaquin Valley.

This may be a factor how Solano County got split into two TV markets. Solano-W gets assign to the San Francisco TV Market and Solano-E assigned to Sacramento.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KICU-TV

There was even a KTVU 36 in Stockton in the 1950's with an NBC affiliation until that station was shut down for financial reasons.

Note KTVU call letters are moved to the Bay area in 1958 on Channel 2 and TV 36 later moved to the Bay Area in 1967 as KGSC and KICU.

https://jeff560.tripod.com/1947tv.html

Also there was a KGDM-TV in Stockton that appeared as a construction permit in 1948 until the Channel 8 signal got reallocated to Monterey.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://jeff560.tripod.com/1958tv.html

KGMS-TV 46 was under a Construction permit for Sacramento in 1958 until TV 46 was reallocated to Monterey as KMST now KION-TV.

Also KTRB-TV in 1958 out of Modesto was listed under construction Permit until channel 14 was reassigned to San Francisco for KCSM and now KDTV.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

A selection from a decade of visits to tower and studio sites in the Northeast and beyond

Here is the date for Sacramento TV stations biggest antenna achievement it's the Walnut Grove , CA Candelabra towers transmitted in 1962 which initially had KOVR, KXTV and KCRA broadcasting from the tower. The Candelabra tower was meant to reach the north San Joaquin Valley and the South end of the Sacramento valley to cover the entire market.

And if KOVR was going to reach all of that market, stretching 100 miles up and down the Central Valley, KCRA and KBET (which became KXTV in 1959) weren't about to be left behind with Sacramento-only signals.

That's how the first Walnut Grove tower came about: a joint effort of all three stations (operating as "Transtower Inc.") to build what would be, at the time, the tallest candelabra ever erected, even taller than its close relative, the original Cedar Hill candelabra in Dallas.

Construction began in 1960, and this huge tower - 1549 feet tall - went on the air in January 1962, with each of the original three stations occupying one tine at the top and one of the three buildings at the bottom. A few years later, public broadcaster KVIE (Channel 6) joined the crowd, with an antenna mounted lower on the tower. (Check out a nifty KCRA brochure about the tower here.)