On January 19, 1983, KSLA-TV Inc. announced it would sell the station to the Viacom International subsidiary of New York City–based Viacom in a tax-free stock swap valued at $29.9 million. Under the terms of the deal, KSLA-TV Inc.—which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom International—exchanged its stock for one million shares in Viacom. The sale received FCC approval two months later on March 30. In 1984, KSLA-TV became the first television station in the Shreveport–Texarkana market to broadcast in stereo, initially broadcasting CBS network programs, local programs and certain syndicated shows that were transmitted in the audio format. In March 1989, the station began preempting CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt in favor of running religious programming and infomercials in its timeslot. This sparked outrage from viewers, resulting in a letter-writing campaign to Viacom, CBS and local newspapers to push for Sunday Mornings return to channel 12. The station was even subjected to picketing by upset viewers in an effort to get the show reinstated. Following a change in station management, KSLA reinstated Sunday Morning onto its schedule on August 27, 1989.
