The NBC Owned Television Stations has acquired KTLM, the Telemundo affiliate in Rio Grande City, Texas, from Sunbelt Multimedia Company for $8.5 million. The station becomes the 17th Spanish-language station in the Telemundo Station Group, effective today.
“Telemundo 40 is a great station in the 10th largest Spanish-speaking television market in the country,” Valari Staab, president of the NBCUniversal Owned Stations, said in a statement. “There’s a solid foundation for us to build on, and it’s an important addition to our division as we continue our efforts to deliver the best news and information to our Hispanic communities, businesses and audiences.”
The station, which serves the Harlingen-Welasco-Brownsville market, currently produces early and late local newscasts seven days a week. Read the release from NBC after the jump.
The NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations today announced it has completed the acquisition of KTLM-TV, the Telemundo affiliate licensed to Rio Grande City, Texas, serving the Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville area. Effective today, KTLM becomes the seventeenth Spanish-language station in the Telemundo Station Group division of NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations. Known as Telemundo 40, it serves the Rio Grande Valley located in the southernmost tip of South Texas.
“Telemundo 40 is a great station in the 10th largest Spanish-speaking television market in the country,” said Valari Staab, President, NBCUniversal Owned Stations. “There’s a solid foundation for us to build on, and it’s an important addition to our division as we continue our efforts to deliver the best news and information to our Hispanic communities, businesses and audiences.”
The station currently produces an early and late local newscast seven days a week, in addition to a daily weekday entertainment show.
“Telemundo 40 is a strong local station in a vibrant Spanish-speaking community,” said Manuel Martinez, President, Telemundo Stations. “We are committed to positioning KTLM as the best possible source of news and information for the Rio Grande Valley.”
The Telemundo Station Group now includes stations in all top 10 Hispanic markets. This acquisition is the latest in a series of investments NBCUniversal has made to serve viewers and strengthen Telemundo stations across the division. Some of these investments include hiring additional staff and on-air talent, expanding news operations by adding 1,500 hours of news across the division, building new studios for Telemundo 39 in Dallas and Telemundo 52 in Los Angeles, and launching the first-ever newscast for Telemundo 62 in Philadelphia.