KNSD
KNSD, virtual channel 39 (UHF digital channel 40), is an NBC owned-and-operated television station located in San Diego, California, United States. The station is owned by the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations subsidiary of NBCUniversal. KNSD maintains studio facilities located at the NBC Building on Broadway Circle in downtown San Diego, and its transmitter is located southeast of Spring Valley. The station's on-air branding, "NBC 7 San Diego", is derived from KNSD's cable channel position in the market on Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and AT&T U-verse.
History
Early history
The station first signed on the air on November 14, 1965 as KAAR. It was the first television station in the San Diego market to operate on the UHF band and was the market's first independent station. The station originally operated from a building that was once occupied by the National Pen Company, located in the neighborhood of Kearny Mesa, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of downtown San Diego. However, in 1966, a fire destroyed the KAAR transmitter, and the station was knocked off the air for more than a year. Channel 39 was sold to Western Telecasters Inc., controlled by the Texas-based Bass family, and returned to the air in January 1968 as KCST (standing for "California San Diego Television").