KORO (TV)

KORO
Channels
Branding
  • Univision 28 (general)
  • Noticias Univision 28 (newscasts)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KCRP-CD
History
First air date
April 19, 1977; 47 years ago (1977-04-19)
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 28 (UHF, 1977–2009)
Call sign meaning
Oro is Spanish for gold
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID64877
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT287.3 m (943 ft)
Transmitter coordinates27°42′29″N 97°38′0″W / 27.70806°N 97.63333°W / 27.70806; -97.63333
Links
Public license information
Websitenoticiasya.com/corpus-christi

KORO (channel 28) is a television station in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States, affiliated with the Spanish-language network Univision. It is owned by Entravision Communications alongside low-power, Class A UniMás affiliate KCRP-CD (channel 41). The two stations share studios on North Mesquite Street in downtown Corpus Christi; KORO's transmitter is located between Petronila and Robstown.

History

In 1972, two groups filed applications for channel 28 in Corpus Christi with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Both sought to build and operate a Spanish-language television station. One group, U-Anchor Broadcasting, was a subsidiary of an Amarillo-based firm, while the other, Telecorpus, consisted mostly of local stockholders, with notable Spanish International Network (SIN) executives—including Emilio Nicolas Sr. and Danny Villanueva—on its board. At the time, there was only one full-time Spanish-language TV station in the state of Texas, KWEX-TV in San Antonio.[2] The FCC heard the mutually exclusive Telecorpus and U-Anchor applications in 1974,[3] with the FCC giving the nod—and the construction permit—to Telecorpus in November.[4]

Two and a half years passed before KORO was built and began broadcasting. Technical and legal delays, including a dispute over whether the local cable system could import the signals of Mexican television stations, pushed back the launch.[5] However, concrete steps were taken during the course of 1976 to put the station into service after the FCC denied the cable company's proposal. These included negotiating for studio space and purchasing equipment.[6] Three banks turned down the company for loans before a fourth was willing to lend.[7]

KORO began broadcasting April 19, 1977, having missed its intended start date by three days due to a lightning strike on a microwave dish.[7] The station originally broadcast from the 600 Building downtown,[8] but the studios moved to the present Mesquite Street facility in 1982, a long-delayed move.[9][10] The station's only live local newscast aired at 5 p.m. until 1997, when a 10 p.m. newscast began production.[11]

Citing consolidation and the expense of the eventual conversion to digital television, Telecorpus sold KORO to Entravision in 1998.[12]

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KORO[13]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
28.1 1080i 16:9 KORO-DT Univision
28.2 480i Mystery Ion Mystery
28.3 IONPlus Ion Plus
28.5 Bounce Bounce TV
28.6 4:3 Majstad Majestad TV

Analog-to-digital conversion

KORO shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 28, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 27, using virtual channel 28.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KORO". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Jimenez, Nick (December 27, 1972). "Local corporation makes bid for Spanish-language station". Corpus Christi Caller. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. 14A. Retrieved September 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "FCC to decide who gets TV license". Corpus Christi Caller. Corpus Christi, Texas. January 20, 1974. p. 2A. Retrieved September 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Gonzalez, Guile (November 9, 1974). "Permit granted here for all-Spanish TV station". Corpus Christi Caller. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. 1A, 12A. Retrieved September 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Local station still planned". Corpus Christi Caller. Corpus Christi, Texas. April 11, 1976. p. TV Weekly Log 10. Retrieved September 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Path cleared for Spanish-language TV". Corpus Christi Caller. Corpus Christi, Texas. July 6, 1976. p. 1B, 2B. Retrieved September 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Forero-Richards, Sandra (August 8, 1988). "Hispanic television burgeons: KORO-TV taps area households". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. 1A, 10A. Retrieved October 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Pentony, Lynn (January 14, 1977). "Action Line". Corpus Christi Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. 4A. Retrieved October 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Hilton, Thurma (November 6, 1979). "Public radio station waits for first domino to drop: KQIV broadcast date nears". Corpus Christi Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. 6A. Retrieved October 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Pentony, Lynn (March 4, 1982). "TV & Radio Insight". Corpus Christi Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. 11F. Retrieved October 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Liner, Elaine (December 31, 1996). "KORO will launch 'Noticias 28' at 10 p.m. Wednesday". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. B4, B5. Retrieved October 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Ford, Glaston (April 1, 1998). "Telecorpus sells Hispanic TV station KORO". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. D7, D11. Retrieved October 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KORO". RabbitEars.
  14. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.