Channel 6 was allocated for educational use in Sacramento in 1952 after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lifted its four-year freeze on new TV station applications in 1952.

[6][7] The combined group, Central California Educational Television (CCET), had board members from Ceres in the south to Chico in the north and represented a total of 20 counties.

[24] Previously, limited power and the orientation of many Sacramento-area TV antennas away from KVIE's transmitter near Placerville and toward Walnut Grove hindered reception.

[29] Under John Hershberger, general manager from 1979 to 1994, KVIE renewed its emphasis on local program production, which had been a sore point under Paul.

[30] KVIE supporter organization Friends of Six, in a unique attempt to help raise funds for the station, opened At Six, a restaurant in the Sierra 2 performing arts center.

[31] The cafe lasted a year, beset by management turnover and poor advertising, and its closure left the station out $35,000 in money it gave for setup costs.

[33] Fundraising efforts began in 1985; at the same time, it was announced that KVIE would move to a new tower being erected by KTXL (channel 40) in Walnut Grove.

[35] In Hershberger's final years, the station made three controversial rounds of layoffs, totaling 31 positions, in response to a soft economy, but KVIE's finances improved despite the recession.

[36] After three years during which KVIE was led by former CBS News executive Van Gordon Sauter, who launched several new TV programs including California Heartland and Central Valley Chronicles,[37][38] David Hosley's nine-year tenure as general manager was dominated by the construction of digital transmission facilities and the upgrading of the physical plant.

[39] Early in his tenure, in July 1999, KVIE managed the highest prime time rating of any public television station in the United States, surpassing KQED in San Francisco, which had attracted the most viewers for seven consecutive years.

[47] As part of the SAFER Act, KVIE kept its analog signal on the air until July 12 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.