Imes exited the television business in the late 1990s, and sold KDBC to Pappas Telecasting in 1999, with the intent to convert the station into a charter affiliate of Azteca América, a fledgling Spanish-language network that was co-owned at the time by Mexican network TV Azteca and Pappas. Plans for the affiliation were canceled following an outcry from viewers, advertisers, and station employees, especially over the fact that no other station in El Paso was interested in joining CBS. As a result, the station renewed its affiliation contract with CBS. Azteca América and Pappas ended their affiliation relationship in mid-2007. Azteca América has been carried on the fourth digital subchannel of ABC-affiliate KVIA-TV (channel 7) since early December 2010.