About KENS 5

KENS has been a CBS affiliate since its sign-on, however it initially carried secondary affiliations with DuMont, ABC, and the Paramount Television Network. The station was originally owned by the Harte-Hanks newspaper chain, alongside KABC radio (680 AM, now KKYX). KENS was one of Paramount's strongest affiliates, carrying nearly the entire network lineup. Among the Paramount programs that KENS aired were Armchair Detective, Latin Cruise, Hollywood Reel, Hollywood Wrestling, Time for Beany, and Movietown, RSVP.

KENS was the first television station in San Antonio to broadcast in color, and was also the first to transmit local news in high definition. In the mid-1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. In the late 1970s, KENS-TV was the first station in the United States to air hard liquor commercials, which ran for about a year before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned them.

The station has been owned by TEGNA Inc. since 2000, when the company was known as Gannett. KENS has long been one of TEGNA's strongest stations, consistently ranking as one of the highest-rated CBS affiliates in the country.