[4] FCC administrative law judge Basil P. Cooper in 1970 ruled that Gross had trafficked in the permit, by retaining an interest without the obligation to make further funds available,[4] but granted the time extension.

However, the FCC's review board, later joined by the full commission, reversed the initial decision in 1972 and denied the application for more time to build the station.

[8] On June 7, 1977, administrative law judge David I. Kraushaar ruled against the proposed transfer to USIU and its affiliate University Television, Inc., concerned over the financial issues and by cost estimates that were extremely low during a period of major inflation.

[9] In October 1980, administrative law judge James F. Tierney finally adjudicated the matter for good and granted the transfer application to University Television, dismissing Christian Communications's complaints as unfounded.

[10] Even though the university was still showing signs of financial stress, two private financiers—USIU trustee Predrag Mitrovich and St. Louis businessman Allen Portnoy—stepped in to provide the necessary funding.

[11] It operated as a general entertainment independent station, airing a mix of children's programs, sitcoms, older movies, and sporting events.

Beginning in 1985, the San Diego Padres moved their games to KUSI from KCST-TV channel 39 due to problems with network preemptions and to sell their own advertising.

[17] Just weeks later, however, McKinnon entered into a deal to purchase the remainder of KUSI for $26.2 million;[18] his offer was preferable to a higher-priced bid by ABRY because it would allow USIU access to money faster at a time when it needed cash to make payroll.

This was the second time McKinnon had protested the Fox-XETV tie-up; he had made an earlier unsuccessful attempt to pull the Fox affiliation from XETV in April 1991.

[27] No over-the-air affiliate for UPN existed in the market until late 1999, when new station XHUPN-TV (now XHDTV-TDT) began broadcasting from Tecate, Baja California.

She alleged that she had begun seeking a raise in 2017 after learning that men with less seniority at the station made more money than her, and when she sought the same salary that her recently departed co-anchor, Allen Denton, was working—$70,000 more than her own—her contract was not renewed.

[37] On May 8, 2023, Nexstar Media Group announced its intent to purchase KUSI-TV for $35 million, pending FCC approval; this would create a duopoly with Fox affiliate KSWB-TV (channel 69).

Originally anchored by Laura Buxton and Tom Blair (who was later replaced by Stan Miller), it gradually became a competitor to the national morning newscasts.

[46] From 1994 to 2014, John Coleman, a longtime Chicago weatherman and co-founder of The Weather Channel, served as KUSI's chief meteorologist, appearing on its evening newscasts.

He also was criticized in his later years for his vocal stance as a denier of climate change, which had led to two TV specials on the topic and presentations across the United States.

[53] In filings for the Maas trial, McKinnon attorneys acknowledged that the station is "widely viewed in San Diego as a right-of-center news organization".

[54][55] In 2021, KUSI ceased airing content from local iHeartMedia radio stations on its morning show after a segment about "Famous Baby Daddies" was criticized as racist by the San Diego chapter of the NAACP, which noted that it overrepresented Black men and perpetuated stereotypes.