KNOE-TV went on the air on September 27, 1953. Initially, the station had a tower, weighing 4 tons and costing $65,000. At the time, it was the most powerful tower in the American South. KNOE-TV is the oldest surviving station in the northern part of Louisiana. Its sign-on forced its only competitor, KFAZ (channel 43), off the air in the summer of 1954. Mr. James A. Noe, Sr., former governor of Louisiana, owned the television station as well as KNOE radio (AM 540, now KMLB, and FM 101.9, now KMVX).