KTNC-TV Channel 42 in Concord has changed ownership but will remain a Spanish language station. The station (along with its satellite in Mendocino County , KUNO Channel 8, Fort Bragg) were among the stations Pappas Telecasting lost in bankruptcy proceedings.
The station has been acquired by a newly formed company, New World T.V. Group LLC, which is owned mostly by Fortress Capital Corp., Pappas’ largest creditor, and headed by Dan Sullivan and Bert Ellis. Ellis also owns KDOC-TV in Anaheim, an independent that serves Orange County.
KTNC will become an affiliate of a new Spanish network, Estrella TV, which will launch in the third quarter, according to MediaWeek. Estrella TV plans to air original entertainment programming and a daily national newscast and a news magazine show.
Estrella has been buying stations or signing affiliates nationwide in an attempt to make it a formidable competitor to Telemundo and Univision. KTNC, with its transmitter atop Mt. Diablo, has the potential of reaching both the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose and Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto markets.