KESE-LP


KESE-LP, UHF analog channel 35, is a low-power Telemundo-affiliated television station licensed to Yuma, Arizona, United States and also serving El Centro, California. Owned by News-Press & Gazette Company, it is a sister station to El Centro-licensed Fox/ABC/CW+ affiliate KECY-TV ; NPG also operates Yuma-licensed dual CBS/NBC affiliate KYMA-DT through a shared services agreement with owner Cox Media Group. The three stations share studios on South 4th Avenue in downtown Yuma, with an advertising sales office on West Main Street in El Centro; KESE-LP's transmitter is located southeast of Yuma.

History

The station signed on in October 1997 as the first full-time Telemundo outlet for the Yuma–El Centro market. Prior to the sign-on of the station, KSWT had a secondary affiliation with Telemundo, carrying some of the network's programs in the late night hours; the full Telemundo schedule could only be viewed over-the-air in western portions of the California side of the market via San Diego/Tijuana affiliate XHAS-TV or on some cable providers in the area via the network's national feed.
The station began with an original construction permit granted on October 24, 1997. The station was assigned the callsign K35EX and was owned by Estrella License Corporation. Gulf-California Broadcast Company acquired the station in October 2000, applied for a station license in November, and changed the station's callsign to KESE-LP in December. The Federal Communications Commission granted the station a license on February 2, 2001.

Digital television

In September 2006, KESE-LP was identified as a singleton applicant for a companion digital LPTV signal on UHF channel 40 . A singleton applicant is one whose application for a construction permit has no competition from nearby applications on the same or adjacent channels. As a singleton applicant, the station is likely to be granted a construction permit. Currently, KESE-LP can be seen on KECY's digital subchannel 9.4, a full power station.