KSCI

KSCI (known on air as LA-18) is an independent television station operating in Los Angeles and on channel 48 (KUAN-LP) in San Diego, California. It targets Asian Americans, and most of its programming is in Asian languages.

Long before KSCI went on the air, the Sun-Telegram newspaper in San Bernardino operated KCHU-TV on channel 18. During its time on the air, in the mid 1960s, the station showed those living in the Riverside and San Bernardino area a steady diet of vintage Hollywood movies. KCHU's studios were located in the old Fox Theater in downtown San Bernardino. KCHU-TV operated from 1960 to 1964, making it the first UHF station in Southern California to offer programming.

The station has daily weekday programs and news in Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog (Philippines), Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. On weekend mornings, it has programs in Khmer (Cambodian), Indonesian, Armenian, Arabic, and Persian. English subtitles appear on certain programs, including some of those in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. These programs are a mix of rebroadcasts from their original countries, independent productions, and KSCI-produced programs.

KSCI also has a number of programs in English and Hindi that feature music videos and entertainment news from Bollywood, as well as regular news from the Indian subcontinent. There are also a number of religious programs, in English, Korean, and Japanese, shown mostly in the very early morning hours. The station broadcasts infomercials in the remaining time slots.

KSCI's local programming include "LA Living", a Mandarin-language show hosted by Juliette Zhuo that deals with life in LA for Chinese Americans, and features interviews with guests. The station also produces "Kababayan LA," a Tagalog/English language show hosted by Jannelle So serving the Filipino community.

KSCI is also notably known for broadcasting 5-minute Buddhist dharma talks (the first of its kind on local television) from Venerable Master Hsing Yun, founder of the highly successful Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order. KSCI has been known to be supporters of the order.

There are locally produced news programs in Mandarin ("LA 18 Evening News"), Vietnamese ("Global Report") and Korean {"Local News/Town Guide"). In addition, KSCI also sponsors Los Angeles-area Asian American events.

KSCI aired New Wave Theatre with Peter Ivers in the early 1980s. The program featured local rock and punk LA bands such as Fear, X, The Blasters, Circle Jerks and The Dead Kennedys. The show was later picked up by USA Network's Night Flight.

In 1998 KSCI moved its city of license from San Bernardino to Long Beach. In early 2005, KSCI changed its on-air name to LA-18, though the call letters remained the same. The station adopted a new slogan: "Keeping You Connected."

KSCI offered the FUNimation Channel on DTV channel 18.3 until 2007. A new subchannel called The Armenian Channel is offering on channel 18.5