KRVU/KZVU was founded by
Sainte Partners II, L.P., owned by country-western singer
Chester Smith and hit the air in 1993, seven years after the founding of
KCVU (KZVU-LD was originally K21DS from 1993 to 1997 and KZVU-LP from 1997 to 2009). It became an affiliate of the fledgling new
UPN network in 1997 and would change affiliations to
MyNetworkTV following the creation of
The CW in 2006. Smith remained owner until his death in 2008.
Merger with Eureka Television Group On April 27, 2009, KRVU/KZVU merged its operations with sister station KEMY in
Eureka, California, and both stations were rebranded "Northern California's My TV".
Sale to Bonten Media Group KRVU and its sister stations were sold to
Bonten Media Group in 2012. (The flagship station of Sainte,
KCVU FOX 20, was sold to Esteem Broadcasting, but became operated by Bonten.) The station was formerly known as MyTV Northern California, but reverted to its original call letters upon the station's purchase in 2012. KEMY would be dissolved in 2014 after Bonten launched
KECA-LD as its digital replacement in the Eureka market, with KRVU/MyNetworkTV programming appearing on its digital subchannel.
Sale to Sinclair On April 21, 2017,
Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its intent to purchase the Bonten stations (including KRVU-LD) for $240 million. The deal came immediately following the re-instatement of the "UHF discount", which reduces the calculated "reach" of a station for the purposes of national ownership limits if it broadcasts on a
UHF channel. The sale was completed September 1. ==Technical information==