History
Channel 43 first operated in the Fresno/Visalia area as independent KICU-TV. The station went on the air in December 1961, only days after Fresno's first independent, KAIL channel 53 (now a MyNetworkTV affiliate) took to the air. KICU offered movies and other independent fare. Toward the end of its run, KICU also picked up some NBC programming not aired by that network's primary affiliate, KMJ-TV (now KSEE-TV). The station left the air in 1968; the KICU-TV call letters are now used for an independent station in San Jose.
Channel 43 remained dark until 1992, when KSDI signed on the air as an independent station, the station carried an affiliation with The Box. That December, the station took its current KGMC callsign.
In January 1995, the station entered into a local marketing agreement with Pappas Telecasting-owned KMPH-TV. Pappas programmed the station from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and again from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily, airing a blend of cartoons, classic sitcoms and old movies. The station also became a WB affiliate. KGMC continued to run religious shows, paid programming, and home shopping in hours not programmed by Pappas.
In 1997, KGMC ended the agreement with Pappas, airing infomercials and religious shows full-time. Pappas then moved the WB affiliation first to KMPH on a secondary basis, and later to KNSO and then KFRE-TV. In the meantime, KGMC would join America's Store in 1998; after America's Store was shut down by HSN in 2007, KGMC switched to Jewelry Television.
KGMC had been the only independent full power television station out of the twelve stations operating in the Fresno market, until August 1, 2012, when KGMC 43.1 became an affiliate of MundoFox.
Read more about this topic: KGMC (TV)
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