The station first signed on the air on December 6, 1998 as KAZG, originally operating as an independent station. It became the Salt Lake City market's UPN affiliate, after the network disaffiliated from KJZZ-TV (channel 14) in January 2001. This change came about due to several factors, most notably a disagreement over affiliate compensation, preemption terms, and what KJZZ ownership saw as the lack of financial viability of urban-themed programming in the Salt Lake City market. In October 2000, KJZZ made national headlines when it demanded the right to back out of its UPN contract if UPN increased its "urban/ethnic programming" to more than two hours per week. UPN responded by moving their programming to KAZG, which then changed its call letters to KPNZ. In August 2001, the station moved its operations from its original studio facility in Ogden to the International Center in Salt Lake City.