Seattle Sinclair owned Univision station KUNS will no longer run Spanish-language content.
A Sinclair spokesperson told TVSpy, that starting January 1, KUNS will become a CW affiliate. “Univision was offered another channel position, which would allow the network to remain on-air in the market,” said Sinclair. “Although Univision declined, the offer still stands.”
The Seattle Times said the decision does not sit well with leaders in the Latino community.
“I want to add my voice of disappointment,” Luis Navarro, past president of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce’s regional chapter, wrote in an email to Sinclair.
Navarro included a screenshot of 2022 Census statistics showing Hispanic people comprise 10.5% of King County’s population. “Hispanics are the second-largest minority population in the county and the largest in Washington state,” he added.
Jose Iniguez, president of Encanto Arts, a nonprofit group engaging youths from underserved communities, noted to Sinclair that Univision has been the only television network eager to promote the organization’s events.
Similarly, Maru Mora Villalpando, a longtime activist with the immigrant rights group La Resistencia, said in an interview that the organization has relied on the Univision affiliate for consistent coverage it can’t get anywhere else.
“KUNS and KOMO remain committed to covering local news, issues, and events that hold significance for the Hispanic community in the Pacific Northwest,” said Sinclair. “We sincerely hope the community continues to find KUNS a valuable resource in the market.”