WSNS-TV (channel 44) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo.

Originally specializing in the automated display of news headlines, it evolved into Chicago's third full-fledged independent station, carrying movies, local sports, and other specialty programming.

On July 1, 1985, the station became Chicago's first full-time Spanish-language outlet, affiliated with the Spanish International Network (Univision after 1987) and airing local news and other programming.

[18] Under his direction, WSNS-TV began airing more classic reruns and movies—having programmed just one movie a week prior to the changes—and extended its broadcast day while removing significant portions of the previous schedule.

[35] Lastly, Olympic Broadcasting Service, which had packaged the rights, opted to exit the business and focus on its activities in the savings and loan industry.

[36] The Chicago Black Hawks took up residency at WSNS-TV two years later, marking their return to local television after not having a regular-season broadcast partner in two seasons.

[3] As a result of a similar request from WCIU-TV, the application sat for several years, as the FCC did not change its policy to permit more than one subscription station in large markets until 1979.

[43] After finally winning FCC approval for STV the month before, in March 1980, Video 44 initially agreed to sell 49 percent of its joint venture to two groups: Capital Cities Communications, which owned major television stations in Philadelphia and Houston, and Oak.

The loss of most of WSNS's non-STV programming motivated action by a consortium of Chicago businessmen organized as Monroe Communications Corporation.

[63] By March 1983, it had 25,000 subscribers, half of the amount needed to break even,[64] not helped by the poor performance of the White Sox in the 1982 season.

[68] The system entered 1984 battered by piracy problems, which had also been cited by White Sox owner Eddie Einhorn as a reason for the end of SportsVision as a separate STV service.

[69] ON TV received something of a reprieve in March 1984 when it was able to buy the business of Spectrum, which had been sold to United Cable, leaving Chicago with one STV service.

[71] By year's end, Oak had put its remaining STV services up for sale, and the total subscriber count in Chicago had fallen to 75,000.

He ruled in favor of Monroe, finding that Video 44 had rendered a minimal service with a lack of public affairs and local programming and studios all but shut down; however, the matter could be appealed before the full FCC.

[84] The case, minus the obscenity matter, then returned to the review board, which overturned Chachkin's findings in 1988 and recommended renewal of the WSNS license.

It contended that the administrative law judge had focused unduly on the last 26 weeks of the three-year license term, after STV programming had increased considerably.

It also found that the "renewal expectancy" factor in a comparative hearing—an incumbency advantage for Video 44—outweighed Monroe's weaker edges in media diversification and participation of ownership in station management.

Two months later, on December 16, WCIU—whose contract with Telemundo was set to expire the following month—signed an affiliation agreement with Univision, returning the station to that network after four years.

In April 1990, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., overturned the full FCC's 1989 decision to renew Video 44's license to operate WSNS-TV, stating that the agency acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" in granting it—partly due to it having "improperly refused to consider" the obscenity issue—and requiring the commission to conduct further proceedings in the dispute.

Video 44, Inc. subsequently appealed the decision,[90][91] which Howard Shapiro, head of WCIU-TV owner Weigel Broadcasting, called "a remarkable series of circumstances that may never be duplicated again" for its relationship to changes in the composition of the FCC with the turnover of several of its members and resultant new regulatory attitudes.

[94] In the wake of this decision, the National Association of Broadcasters expelled WSNS-TV as a member, apparently thinking the revocation action took immediate effect.

[96] On November 9, 1995, Harriscope and Oak sold their combined 74.5% controlling interest in the station to Telemundo for $44.7 million, with Essaness initially retaining a 25.5% stake; the deal was approved by the FCC in February 1996.

[101] WSNS-TV's nine anchors and reporters voted unanimously to join the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA, now part of SAG-AFTRA).

[102] In June 2003, WSNS migrated from its longtime studio facility on West Grant Place and merged its operations with WMAQ-TV at the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in the Magnificent Mile.

[105][106] After the switch to Spanish-language broadcasting, WSNS began producing local newscasts, originally under the title Noticentro 44 (Newscenter 44), on October 7, 1985.

Originally airing in the early evening only, WSNS began producing late newscasts on October 17, 1994, in response to the cancellation of WCIU-TV's Spanish-language local news service.

[107] To respond to the challenge posed by WGBO, channel 44 hired personalities from Spanish-language radio, with Luisa Torres of WIND and Alberto Augusto of WOJO as anchors for the new 10 p.m.

[108] However, Telemundo fired them in April 1996 as part of budget cuts; at the same time, the station purchased a new vehicle for electronic news gathering.

Schmidt then filed a lawsuit against the station that November, charging WSNS and NBCUniversal with failing to provide "reasonable accommodation" for her alcoholism under the Americans with Disabilities Act, leading to her suspension and later dismissal.

[122] On June 29, 2015, as part of a national rollout, WSNS launched a consumer investigative unit under the Telemundo Responde (Telemundo Responds) banner; the unit was originally headed by chief investigative reporter Alba Mendiola, who joined the station as a general assignment reporter in 2001 and formerly hosted Enfoque Chicago, the station's public affairs program.