KSKN signed on the air on October 1, 1983 as an independent competitor to KAYU-TV (channel 28). The station featured a general entertainment format consisting of classic cartoons from 6 to 9 a.m., religious shows from 9 a.m. to noon, classic sitcoms from noon to 2:30 p.m., new cartoons from 2:30 to 5 p.m., recent sitcoms from 5 to 7 p.m., movies from 7 to 9 p.m., a mix of old and recent sitcoms from 9 p.m. to midnight, and movies during the overnight hours. Weekends consisted of more movies and drama shows. The station had good ratings, but overspent on programming. The original owners, Lee Shulman's Broadcast Vision Television, filed for bankruptcy in the summer of 1985. The station scaled back operations to daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. The station added more barter shows and dropped the stronger programming. In the fall of 1985, KSKN was sold to Sun Continental Group. The new owners, former owners of KMSB in Tucson, returned the station to stronger programming and added most of the shows the previous owners lost.