TV ADVERTISING IN SAN DIEGO
ADVERTISE ON TV IN SAN DIEGO
San Diego broadcast TV competes hard for a market defined by sprawling Navy and Marine bases and year-round tourism. Scripps’ KGTV (ABC 10News) and TEGNA’s KFMB (CBS 8) trade on legacy newsroom strength, while NBC 7 (KNSD) leans on network ownership and Fox 5 (KSWB) chases younger viewers with heavy morning news. For advertisers, local newscasts remain the most efficient way to blanket military families and a transient visitor base in one buy. Empire can help you reach a captive New York audience through highly popular television channels.
Advertising on tv in San Diego results in wide reach, excellent engagement and highly specific targeting, making it a highly effective medium. The stations contained below represent a balanced cross-section of the most successful stations targeting a range of audiences. With sound industry knowledge, we are well placed to help you create a successful tv ad campaign.
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ADVERTISE ON THESE SAN DIEGO TV STATIONS
“FOX 5 San Diego is a Tribune Broadcasting station that serves San Diego viewers and advertisers with news, sports and entertainment programming.
KSWB-TV is a FOX Network affiliate, the home of NFC and NFL football, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, as well as popular FOX television shows.”
KFMB-TV CBS 8 the station airs CBS’s news and information program, with spots for local news and weather, soap operas, national news broadcast and News 8, local newscasts and local sports broadcasts.
ABC 10News brings a local news headlines, weather, traffic, sports, and entertainment & lifestyle.
KPBS-TV offers award-winning history, drama, news, public affairs, science, nature, lifestyle, locally-produced, and children’s programming. KPBS has Multicast Channels.
Estrella TV is a Spanish-language television network featuring original programming including musical-variety, comedy, scripted drama, talk and game shows, as well as a daily national newscast and a news magazine show.
“KUSI is an independent television station competing with nine network affiliates (including Spanish language stations and PBS) in San Diego. Its independence allows KUSI to be 100% local, able to break at any time for important news stories.
More than seven and one half hours a day are dedicated to local news on weekdays, and four and one half hours a day on weekends. KUSI features live newsbreaks every hour between newscasts, so viewers are never more than thirty minutes away from the latest breaking news stories.”
MeTV stands for Memorable Entertainment Television. The network showcases classic shows from the 50s through the 80s.
KBCW has mixture of programming mostly targeted towards women and young adults. Airs entertainment and local programs and news.
“NBC 7 is San Diego’s best source for news, exclusive investigations and First Alert weather.
NBC 7 San Diego (KNSD-TV) is San Diego’s only network owned television station. Providing coverage on-air, online at NBC7.com, on the NBC 7 app and reaching audiences through podcasts, unique franchises and on OTT apps, we keep locals on top of it all!
Additionally, through unique and engaging digital franchises like SoundDiego, The Goods and their digital channel, Cozi-TV – they keep locals on top of it all. NBC 7 San Diego celebrates 50 years of dedicated service in San Diego, California.”
“KUAN-LD, virtual channel 48, is a Telemundo owned-and-operated Spanish television station serving San Diego.
The station offers TV shows as well as news in San Diego and Tijuana.”
WFUT-DT, virtual channel 68 (UHF digital channel 26), is a UniMás owned-and-operated television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States and serving the New York City television market. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network (alongside WAMI-DT in Miami–Fort Lauderdale).
KBNT-CD, virtual channel 17, is a low-powered, Class A Univision-affiliated television station licensed to San Diego, California, United States which is aired in Spanish.
XHAS-TDT, virtual channel 33 (UHF digital channel 34), is an Azteca América-affiliated television station located in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico and serving the Tijuana–San Diego international metropolitan area.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does TV advertising cost in San Diego?
TV costs vary by station, program, daypart, spot length and whether you include connected TV or sponsorships. Live news and sports command premiums, and rates rise in high-demand seasons. Empire does not quote standard rates; we prepare a tailored proposal matched to your audience, reach goals and budget across San Diego broadcasters.
Which San Diego TV channels reach my audience?
Major affiliates deliver broad local reach: KGTV (ABC 10News), KFMB (CBS 8), KNSD (NBC 7) and KSWB (FOX 5), strongest around local news. For the area’s Hispanic audience and cross-border San Diego-Tijuana viewers, Spanish-language options include KBNT-CD (Univision) and Telemundo via KUAN-LD, plus Tijuana-based signals.
What content and approval rules apply to San Diego TV ads?
Television commercials must meet FTC truth-in-advertising rules and each station’s broadcast standards. Claims require substantiation, and clear disclosures are needed for offers, comparisons and regulated products. Empire manages copy clearance, supporting evidence and station approvals so your spot satisfies federal norms and broadcaster acceptance policies ahead of broadcast.
When is the best time to run TV ads in San Diego?
Seasonality shapes value: Q4 holidays are highly competitive, summer tourism boosts viewership, and back-to-school runs through late summer. News ratings peak during major weather, sports and local-event coverage. Empire times your buy to these patterns, balancing peak-demand reach against cost efficiency across the campaign.