KCPQ
Encyclopedia
KCPQ, channel 13, is the Fox
television affiliate licensed
to Tacoma, Washington
serving the Seattle/Tacoma television market, owned by the Tribune Company
. KCPQ shares its studio and office facilities with sister station KZJO (channel 22, the area's MyNetworkTV
affiliate) on the west shore of Lake Union
in Seattle's Westlake
neighborhood, and its transmitter is located on Gold Mountain in Bremerton, Washington
.
KCPQ is one of five local Seattle TV stations seen in Canada
on the Bell TV and Shaw Direct satellite providers. The station is also carried on several cable systems in British Columbia and southeastern Alaska.
) by Carl Haymond. It carried some NBC
programming for its first year until Seattle's KOMO-TV
took to the air on December 11. Hampered by a poor signal from north of Tacoma and no network material, Haymond was forced to declare bankruptcy and sell the station to J. Elroy McCaw, father of cellular phone magnate Craig McCaw
.
Under McCaw's ownership, the station, renamed KTVW, closed its studio in Tacoma's Roxy Theater, relocated to its transmitter building, and limped along on a diet of a low-budget local programming, old network reruns and ancient B-movies. Its branding of the period featured a stylized black cat and the ironic tag line "Lucky 13." During much of the 1960s, an afternoon children's show, "Penny and Her Pals," was hosted by ventriloquist LaMoyne "Penny" Hreha.
In 1970, KTVW ran a weekday stock-market news program produced by Rockwell Hammond and hosted by Merrill Mael. Dick Stokke and, later, Joe McCusker read the news. Hammond leased six and a half hours a day from KTVW and originated the program, called "Business Action Line", live from the Northern Life Tower in Seattle from where it was microwaved to the station in Tacoma. Despite the poor over-the-air reception of KTVW in Seattle, the program had a following in the business community, if only for the 15-minute delayed stock ticker and the real time display of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
. However, expenses quickly overcame the income from what proved to be a limited commercial base, and the venture failed.
Mael, a respected broadcaster for six decades, died in 2000. McCusker moved on to a career with the United Nations television operation, retiring in 2007.
In the mid to late 1960s, Stu Martin (also known as "Stu Baby" and "Stu Boo") was host of a locally produced in-studio KTVW program showing B movies called "Stu Martin's Double Date at the Movies." "Satin Doll" was theme song of the program. In addition to its host, it featured two women with beehive hairdos, "Miss Early Date" and "Miss Late Date." During breaks in the movie, in addition to commercials, the program featured a talent show. Viewers called Miss Early Date or Miss Late Date with their vote on the evening's top talent featuring local entertainers or those who thought they were entertaining.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the station featured an on-air movie host named Bob Corcoran, who hawked endless items from Tacoma's B & I Circus Store and Niagara recliners. Most likely, he was successor to Stu Martin in airing B movies. Corcoran later forged a fledgling political career from his television late-night talk show. One of his early forays into politics was to enthusiastically support the candidacy of Seattle Chrysler
/Plymouth
dealer Ralph Williams for Washington Attorney General. Not long after waging a losing campaign, Williams was indicted for tax evasion. Station owner McCaw died in 1969 and the station was purchased by Blaidon Mutual Investors Corporation in 1971 for $1.1 million.
Blaidon tried to turn KTVW around by acquiring first-run syndicated programming and color-capable broadcast equipment (the station telecast exclusively in black-and-white until 1972). Channel 13's poor over-the-air signal, along with the weak Puget Sound
economy and Blaidon's undercapitalized operation, rendered the station a money-losing proposition. In an attempt to improve ratings, the station launched an afternoon cartoon show hosted by a "superhero" for whom viewers were asked to suggest a name. The winning entry was "Flash Blaidon" and the host frequently made his entrance "flying" onto the set by jumping off a ladder whose shadow was often visible on the back wall of the cramped studio. Interestingly, Blaidon president Donald Wolfstone attempted to sell the station to then-unknown televangelist broadcaster Pat Robertson
, but a court-appointed trustee canceled the deal. Another sale to a Long Istelevision broadcast company also fell through. For a brief time under the court-appointed trusteeship, Len Sampson, a former KOMO-TV talk host and personality, served as station manager and revised the schedule with a variety of syndicated programs and old network reruns as well as hosting
somebroadcasts himself. A bankruptcy judge then forced KTVW to cease operations in 1974.
in Lakewood
, for $378,000. The call letters were changed to KCPQ, replacing Clover Park's UHF channel 56 transmitter which had operated under the name KPEC-TV, and the station went back on the air, carrying secondary PBS
and educational programs. The Channel 56 license would return to the air in 2000 as KWDK
.
By 1980, the Seattle-Tacoma market was strong enough that it could now sustain another VHF commercial television station. Sacramento, California
-based Kelly Broadcasting, owners of KCRA-TV
in its home city, purchased KCPQ from the Clover Park School District for $6.25 million, outbidding a New Mexico company that had initially stepped up to buy the station. The station went silent temporarily on February 28, 1980, during the ownership change. KCPQ's transmitter was relocated to Gold Mountain, a peak west of Bremerton
, enabling better signal coverage throughout Western
Washington.
When the station relaunched on November 4, 1980, KCPQ adopted its now-familiar Q13 branding, as well as another slogan: "The Northwest's Movie Channel". Channel 13 ran movies during middays, late nights and weekends, and chose to counter-program the networks during primetime with uncut versions of films. The station also ran CBS
and NBC shows that KIRO-TV
and KING-TV
respectively pre-empted, including CBS Late Night and NBC's Saturday morning cartoons. For a short time after the relaunch, the station had an afternoon children's program, "Captain Sea-Tac", featuring a friendly boat captain who appeared to be in his 30s or so. But eventually, other than Saturdays, KCPQ did not run children's programming during the week. The station also didn't carry many off-network sitcoms, choosing instead to air first-run syndicated talk and game shows, off-network dramas, and some early morning religious programs. KCPQ also carried college sports for the majority of the 1980s and early 1990s, in particular Pacific-10 Conference football
and basketball
, and college football bowl games. The station held contracts with the University of Washington and Washington State University to televise football and basketball coaches shows during this period.
In 1986, KCPQ became one of the first affiliates of the Fox Broadcasting Company
. In 1987, with the children's television business growing, KCPQ began running cartoons weekday mornings from 7:00 to 9:00 AM, and afternoons from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. Channel 13 added sitcoms as well, and continued airing first-run syndicated shows and movies. As the Fox network's viewership and ratings strengthened in the 1990s, KCPQ gained prominence as a major broadcaster in the local Seattle market.
Under Kelly Broadcasting's ownership, KCPQ relocated its studio to Seattle in 1997 (moving to the shores of Lake Union in what was then the second fully digital television studio facility on the west coast).
KCPQ nearly lost its Fox affiliation in 1997, when Fox announced a deal to acquire then-UPN affiliate KIRO
from Belo Corporation (the current owners of NBC affiliate KING
, whose acquisition necessitated KIRO's sale) to make KIRO the market's Fox station. Fox seemed dissatisfied with KCPQ, as it was described in the announcement as being "recalcitrant". The sale was canceled, and KCPQ retains its Fox affiliation to this day.
The Tribune Company
acquired KCPQ in August 1998, as part of Kelly Broadcasting's exit from the television business. Following the purchase of channel 13, Tribune merged KCPQ's operations with those of KTWB-TV (channel 22, now KZJO), which Tribune had operated under a local marketing agreement with Emmis Communications
. The two stations became co-owned in 1999, after the FCC approved same-market duopolies
In January 2007 KCPQ made headlines when, during a satellite interview with the station's morning show, Paula Abdul
, who was promoting American Idol
, began to sway in her chair and slur her speech. Abdul's publicist attributed this to fatigue and technical difficulties during the recording of the interview, which she was also doing with other Fox affiliates. It was revealed on the Bravo show Hey Paula
, which had followed Abdul with a video camera prior to the interviews, that Abdul had not been sleeping, perhaps suffering from some mild form of insomnia.
Since the Seattle Seahawks
move to the NFC from the AFC in 2002, KCPQ-TV airs the majority of Seahawks regular season games.
KCPQ's signal is also retransmitted on KZJO-DT2 in a slightly reduced 720p form to better serve antenna viewers in the northern and eastern portion of the market.
KCPQ became digital only and shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009 as mandated by the FCC.
KCPQ moved its digital broadcasts back to its former analog channel number, 13.
, and was eventually canceled. In June 1997, KCPQ announced a news share agreement that would have had CBS affiliate KIRO-TV
produce a 10 p.m. newscast for the station; this came at the same time that KIRO was preparing to switch affiliations with KSTW, with KIRO becoming a CBS affiliate once again and KSTW becoming a UPN affiliate. This newscast, however, did not come to fruition. The current news operation began on January 18, 1998, when it launched a new 35-minute 10 p.m. newscast, which initially ran only on Sunday through Thursday nights.
Channel 13 also launched a morning newscast on January 17, 2000; the newscast originally ran for three hours before expanding to its current 5½ hour
length. On March 31, 2008, the station launched a 9 p.m. newscast on KMYQ, now KZJO. In April 2009, KCPQ became the second station in Seattle to broadcast news in widescreen standard definition. As of 2010, KCPQ is the fourth Seattle station to broadcast news in high definition. In June of 2011, KCPQ added a 5 p.m. newscast, making it the last Fox station owned by Tribune to debut an early evening newscast. It also airs a local version of America's Most Wanted
called Washington's Most Wanted, hosted by weeknight anchor David Rose.
Q13 Fox First Forecast Team
Sports team
Reporters
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
television affiliate licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
serving the Seattle/Tacoma television market, owned by the Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
. KCPQ shares its studio and office facilities with sister station KZJO (channel 22, the area's MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate) on the west shore of Lake Union
Lake Union
Lake Union is a freshwater lake entirely within the Seattle, Washington city limits.-Origins:A glacial lake, its basin was dug 12,000 years ago by the Vashon glacier, which also created Lake Washington and Seattle's Green, Bitter, and Haller Lakes.-Name:...
in Seattle's Westlake
Westlake, Seattle, Washington
Westlake is a neighborhood in the city of Seattle, in the US state of Washington, named after its location on the western shore of Lake Union. It is a relatively narrow neighborhood, there being only a few blocks between the shoreline and its western limit at Aurora Avenue N., beyond which is Queen...
neighborhood, and its transmitter is located on Gold Mountain in Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
.
KCPQ is one of five local Seattle TV stations seen in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on the Bell TV and Shaw Direct satellite providers. The station is also carried on several cable systems in British Columbia and southeastern Alaska.
As KMO-TV/KTVW
Channel 13 signed on air on August 2, 1953 as KMO-TV, co-owned with KMO radio (AM 1360, now KKMOKKMO
KKMO is a commercial radio station located in Tacoma, Washington.-Programming:KKMO airs a Regional Mexican music format branded as "El Rey". Notable on-air personalities include nationally syndicated host Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo on mornings and local hosts the rest of the broadcast day...
) by Carl Haymond. It carried some NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
programming for its first year until Seattle's KOMO-TV
KOMO-TV
KOMO-TV, virtual channel 4, is a television station in Seattle, Washington. It is an affiliate of ABC and broadcasts on digital channel 38. KOMO-TV is the flagship station of Fisher Communications, and its studios and offices are co-located with sister radio stations KOMO , KVI , and KPLZ-FM ...
took to the air on December 11. Hampered by a poor signal from north of Tacoma and no network material, Haymond was forced to declare bankruptcy and sell the station to J. Elroy McCaw, father of cellular phone magnate Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw is a Seattle-area businessman and entrepreneur who achieved success as a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular and Clearwire Corporation.-Early life and cable TV beginnings:Craig is the second of four sons of Marion and John Elroy McCaw...
.
Under McCaw's ownership, the station, renamed KTVW, closed its studio in Tacoma's Roxy Theater, relocated to its transmitter building, and limped along on a diet of a low-budget local programming, old network reruns and ancient B-movies. Its branding of the period featured a stylized black cat and the ironic tag line "Lucky 13." During much of the 1960s, an afternoon children's show, "Penny and Her Pals," was hosted by ventriloquist LaMoyne "Penny" Hreha.
In 1970, KTVW ran a weekday stock-market news program produced by Rockwell Hammond and hosted by Merrill Mael. Dick Stokke and, later, Joe McCusker read the news. Hammond leased six and a half hours a day from KTVW and originated the program, called "Business Action Line", live from the Northern Life Tower in Seattle from where it was microwaved to the station in Tacoma. Despite the poor over-the-air reception of KTVW in Seattle, the program had a following in the business community, if only for the 15-minute delayed stock ticker and the real time display of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
. However, expenses quickly overcame the income from what proved to be a limited commercial base, and the venture failed.
Mael, a respected broadcaster for six decades, died in 2000. McCusker moved on to a career with the United Nations television operation, retiring in 2007.
In the mid to late 1960s, Stu Martin (also known as "Stu Baby" and "Stu Boo") was host of a locally produced in-studio KTVW program showing B movies called "Stu Martin's Double Date at the Movies." "Satin Doll" was theme song of the program. In addition to its host, it featured two women with beehive hairdos, "Miss Early Date" and "Miss Late Date." During breaks in the movie, in addition to commercials, the program featured a talent show. Viewers called Miss Early Date or Miss Late Date with their vote on the evening's top talent featuring local entertainers or those who thought they were entertaining.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the station featured an on-air movie host named Bob Corcoran, who hawked endless items from Tacoma's B & I Circus Store and Niagara recliners. Most likely, he was successor to Stu Martin in airing B movies. Corcoran later forged a fledgling political career from his television late-night talk show. One of his early forays into politics was to enthusiastically support the candidacy of Seattle Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
/Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
dealer Ralph Williams for Washington Attorney General. Not long after waging a losing campaign, Williams was indicted for tax evasion. Station owner McCaw died in 1969 and the station was purchased by Blaidon Mutual Investors Corporation in 1971 for $1.1 million.
Blaidon tried to turn KTVW around by acquiring first-run syndicated programming and color-capable broadcast equipment (the station telecast exclusively in black-and-white until 1972). Channel 13's poor over-the-air signal, along with the weak Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
economy and Blaidon's undercapitalized operation, rendered the station a money-losing proposition. In an attempt to improve ratings, the station launched an afternoon cartoon show hosted by a "superhero" for whom viewers were asked to suggest a name. The winning entry was "Flash Blaidon" and the host frequently made his entrance "flying" onto the set by jumping off a ladder whose shadow was often visible on the back wall of the cramped studio. Interestingly, Blaidon president Donald Wolfstone attempted to sell the station to then-unknown televangelist broadcaster Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
, but a court-appointed trustee canceled the deal. Another sale to a Long Istelevision broadcast company also fell through. For a brief time under the court-appointed trusteeship, Len Sampson, a former KOMO-TV talk host and personality, served as station manager and revised the schedule with a variety of syndicated programs and old network reruns as well as hosting
somebroadcasts himself. A bankruptcy judge then forced KTVW to cease operations in 1974.
As KCPQ
The station's remaining assets were bought in bankruptcy court bidding by the Clover Park School DistrictClover Park School District
The Clover Park School District is the fourth largest school district in Pierce County, Washington and the 28th largest public school district in the state.-Location:...
in Lakewood
Lakewood, Washington
Lakewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 58,163 at the 2010 census.-History:Lakewood was officially incorporated on February 28, 1996. Historical names include Lakewood Center and Lakes District...
, for $378,000. The call letters were changed to KCPQ, replacing Clover Park's UHF channel 56 transmitter which had operated under the name KPEC-TV, and the station went back on the air, carrying secondary PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
and educational programs. The Channel 56 license would return to the air in 2000 as KWDK
KWDK
KWDK is a Christian television station owned by the Daystar Television Network, broadcasting out of Tacoma, Washington, formerly broadcasting on channel 56...
.
By 1980, the Seattle-Tacoma market was strong enough that it could now sustain another VHF commercial television station. Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
-based Kelly Broadcasting, owners of KCRA-TV
KCRA-TV
KCRA-TV, channel 3, is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States. KCRA-TV is owned by Hearst Television, a subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, and is an affiliate of the NBC television network...
in its home city, purchased KCPQ from the Clover Park School District for $6.25 million, outbidding a New Mexico company that had initially stepped up to buy the station. The station went silent temporarily on February 28, 1980, during the ownership change. KCPQ's transmitter was relocated to Gold Mountain, a peak west of Bremerton
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, enabling better signal coverage throughout Western
Washington.
When the station relaunched on November 4, 1980, KCPQ adopted its now-familiar Q13 branding, as well as another slogan: "The Northwest's Movie Channel". Channel 13 ran movies during middays, late nights and weekends, and chose to counter-program the networks during primetime with uncut versions of films. The station also ran CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and NBC shows that KIRO-TV
KIRO-TV
KIRO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the CBS affiliate television station in Seattle, Washington. It broadcasts on digital channel 39. The station's offices and broadcasting center are located near Seattle Center in Belltown, and its transmitter is located on Queen Anne Hill...
and KING-TV
KING-TV
KING-TV, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Seattle, Washington, affiliated with the NBC network. Owned by Belo Corporation, it broadcasts on UHF digital channel 48. Its offices and broadcasting center are located just east of Seattle Center...
respectively pre-empted, including CBS Late Night and NBC's Saturday morning cartoons. For a short time after the relaunch, the station had an afternoon children's program, "Captain Sea-Tac", featuring a friendly boat captain who appeared to be in his 30s or so. But eventually, other than Saturdays, KCPQ did not run children's programming during the week. The station also didn't carry many off-network sitcoms, choosing instead to air first-run syndicated talk and game shows, off-network dramas, and some early morning religious programs. KCPQ also carried college sports for the majority of the 1980s and early 1990s, in particular Pacific-10 Conference football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and college football bowl games. The station held contracts with the University of Washington and Washington State University to televise football and basketball coaches shows during this period.
In 1986, KCPQ became one of the first affiliates of the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. In 1987, with the children's television business growing, KCPQ began running cartoons weekday mornings from 7:00 to 9:00 AM, and afternoons from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. Channel 13 added sitcoms as well, and continued airing first-run syndicated shows and movies. As the Fox network's viewership and ratings strengthened in the 1990s, KCPQ gained prominence as a major broadcaster in the local Seattle market.
Under Kelly Broadcasting's ownership, KCPQ relocated its studio to Seattle in 1997 (moving to the shores of Lake Union in what was then the second fully digital television studio facility on the west coast).
KCPQ nearly lost its Fox affiliation in 1997, when Fox announced a deal to acquire then-UPN affiliate KIRO
KIRO-TV
KIRO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the CBS affiliate television station in Seattle, Washington. It broadcasts on digital channel 39. The station's offices and broadcasting center are located near Seattle Center in Belltown, and its transmitter is located on Queen Anne Hill...
from Belo Corporation (the current owners of NBC affiliate KING
KING-TV
KING-TV, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Seattle, Washington, affiliated with the NBC network. Owned by Belo Corporation, it broadcasts on UHF digital channel 48. Its offices and broadcasting center are located just east of Seattle Center...
, whose acquisition necessitated KIRO's sale) to make KIRO the market's Fox station. Fox seemed dissatisfied with KCPQ, as it was described in the announcement as being "recalcitrant". The sale was canceled, and KCPQ retains its Fox affiliation to this day.
The Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
acquired KCPQ in August 1998, as part of Kelly Broadcasting's exit from the television business. Following the purchase of channel 13, Tribune merged KCPQ's operations with those of KTWB-TV (channel 22, now KZJO), which Tribune had operated under a local marketing agreement with Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio stations and magazines in the United States, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.-History:...
. The two stations became co-owned in 1999, after the FCC approved same-market duopolies
Duopoly (broadcasting)
In United States broadcast television and radio, duopoly is a term used to describe a single company which owns two or more stations in the same city or community....
In January 2007 KCPQ made headlines when, during a satellite interview with the station's morning show, Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
, who was promoting American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, began to sway in her chair and slur her speech. Abdul's publicist attributed this to fatigue and technical difficulties during the recording of the interview, which she was also doing with other Fox affiliates. It was revealed on the Bravo show Hey Paula
Hey Paula (TV series)
Hey Paula is an American reality series starring and co-produced by American television personality Paula Abdul that premiered on June 28, 2007 on the Bravo network...
, which had followed Abdul with a video camera prior to the interviews, that Abdul had not been sleeping, perhaps suffering from some mild form of insomnia.
Since the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
move to the NFC from the AFC in 2002, KCPQ-TV airs the majority of Seahawks regular season games.
Digital television
KCPQ-DT is currently on VHF channel 13.| Subchannel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 13.1 | KCPQ-DT |
| 13.2 | The Local AccuWeather Channel The Local AccuWeather Channel The Local AccuWeather Channel is a 24-hour, weather-oriented, commercially sponsored broadcast and cable television network in the United States owned and operated by AccuWeather, Inc., which is headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania.... |
KCPQ's signal is also retransmitted on KZJO-DT2 in a slightly reduced 720p form to better serve antenna viewers in the northern and eastern portion of the market.
KCPQ became digital only and shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009 as mandated by the FCC.
KCPQ moved its digital broadcasts back to its former analog channel number, 13.
News operation
KCPQ once ran several news updates between movies during the early 1980s, and briefly ran a half-hour 10 p.m. newscast in the middle of the decade. This operation couldn't compete with the more established 10 p.m. news on then-independent KSTWKSTW
KSTW is a television station serving the Seattle, Washington media market. It is owned by CBS Corporation, and is a part of The CW Television Network. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 11...
, and was eventually canceled. In June 1997, KCPQ announced a news share agreement that would have had CBS affiliate KIRO-TV
KIRO-TV
KIRO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the CBS affiliate television station in Seattle, Washington. It broadcasts on digital channel 39. The station's offices and broadcasting center are located near Seattle Center in Belltown, and its transmitter is located on Queen Anne Hill...
produce a 10 p.m. newscast for the station; this came at the same time that KIRO was preparing to switch affiliations with KSTW, with KIRO becoming a CBS affiliate once again and KSTW becoming a UPN affiliate. This newscast, however, did not come to fruition. The current news operation began on January 18, 1998, when it launched a new 35-minute 10 p.m. newscast, which initially ran only on Sunday through Thursday nights.
Channel 13 also launched a morning newscast on January 17, 2000; the newscast originally ran for three hours before expanding to its current 5½ hour
length. On March 31, 2008, the station launched a 9 p.m. newscast on KMYQ, now KZJO. In April 2009, KCPQ became the second station in Seattle to broadcast news in widescreen standard definition. As of 2010, KCPQ is the fourth Seattle station to broadcast news in high definition. In June of 2011, KCPQ added a 5 p.m. newscast, making it the last Fox station owned by Tribune to debut an early evening newscast. It also airs a local version of America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
called Washington's Most Wanted, hosted by weeknight anchor David Rose.
Newscast titles
- Q13 Reports (1998–2000)
- Q13 News (2000–2003)
- Mornings on Q (morning newscast; 2000–2006)
- Q13 Fox News (2003–present)
Station slogans
- "The Northwest's Movie Channel" (1980–1986)
- "Don't Let Q13 Weekends Pass You By" (1987–1988; localized version of Fox ad campaign)
- "Right on Q" (2006–2009)
- "Now. Next." (2009–present)
- "So Q13 Fox" (2011–present; localized version of Fox ad campaign)
News team
Anchors- Kaci AitchisonKaci AitchisonKaci Aitchison is an Anchor and Features Reporter for Q13 FOX News This Morning in Seattle, Washington.Kaci is a Seattle native and alumni of the University of Washington. She got her start in radio at 106.1 KISS FM. She then became the News Director on the Bob Rivers Show on KZOK-FM...
- weekday mornings "Q13 Fox News This Morning" (4:30-6 a.m.); also reporter - Maria Arcega-Dunn - Sunday-Thursdays at 9 p.m. (on KZJO) and 10 p.m.
- Brien Blakely - weekday mornings "Q13 Fox News This Morning" (4:30-6 a.m.)
- John Hopperstad - Friday-Saturdays 9 p.m. (on KZJO) and 10 p.m.
- Marni Hughes - weeknights at 5 p.m.
- Lily Jang - weekday mornings "Q13 Fox News This Morning" (6-10 a.m.)
- Kirsten Joyce - Friday-Saturdays 9 p.m. (on KZJO) and 10 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
- Matt Lorch - weeknights at 5 p.m.
- David Rose - Sunday-Thursdays at 9 p.m. (on KZJO) and 10 p.m.
- Bill Wixey - weekday mornings "Q13 Fox News This Morning" (6-10 a.m)
Q13 Fox First Forecast Team
- Walter Kelley (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; Sunday-Thursdays at 9 (on KZJO) and 10 p.m. Monday-Thursdays at 5 p.m. - Parella Lewis - weather anchor; Friday-Saturdays at 9 p.m. (on KZJO) and 10 p.m. and Friday at 5 p.m.
- M.J. McDermott - meteorologist; weekday mornings "Q13 Fox News This Morning"
Sports team
- Aaron Levine - sports anchor; Sunday-Thursdays, 9 p.m. (on KZJO) and 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday at 5 p.m.; also sports reporter
- Erin HawksworthErin HawksworthErin Hawksworth is a Canadian reporter, who works for KCPQ, the Fox affiliate in Seattle. Previously, she worked for WFXT, the Fox affiliate in Boston, WFAA in Dallas, Texas and KJCT in Grand Junction, Colorado...
- freelance sports reporter; also fill-in sports anchor
Reporters
- Amy Allen - general assignment reporter
- Brian Callanan - weekday morning reporter
- Adam Gehrke - weekday morning traffic reporter
- Angela King - weekday morning reporter; also fill-in anchor
- James Lynch - general assignment reporter
- Dana Rebik - general assignment reporter
Former on-air staff
- Christine ChenChristine ChenChristine L. Chen is an American journalist who has been an anchor and reporter for several U.S. television news networks. She is an Emmy Award winner, and is presently the managing partner of Chen Communications,a marketing communications consulting group based in Seattle, Washington, and creator...
- launch anchor for Mornings Live on Q (rebranded Q13 Fox News This Morning), and later Q13 Fox News @ 10 - Ron CorningRon CorningRon Corning is an American television host at the ABC affiliate WFAA in Dallas, Texas. He co-anchors the station's morning newscast, Daybreak, and is solo anchor of Midday, the station's one-hour noon newscast....
- anchor (later worked at ABC NewsABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, syndicated news program The Daily BuzzThe Daily BuzzThe Daily Buzz is a nationally syndicated breakfast television news and infotainment program. The show is produced by Fisher Communications and is owned and distributed by ACME Communications; it is broadcast every weekday morning from studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida...
, and WNYWWNYWWNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
in New York City) - Stanley KramerStanley KramerStanley Earl Kramer was an American film director and producer. Kramer was responsible for some of Hollywood's most famous "message" movies...
- movie host (1980s) - Don PoierDon PoierDon Poier was a sports play-by-play announcer who called telecasts of Pac-10 football and basketball games and was the radio and television voice for the Vancouver and Memphis Grizzlies.-Early life:...
- sports play-by-play (1980s; later voice of Vancouver/Memphis GrizzliesMemphis GrizzliesThe Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
of NBA; deceased) - Mark Wright - Now at KING-TVKING-TVKING-TV, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Seattle, Washington, affiliated with the NBC network. Owned by Belo Corporation, it broadcasts on UHF digital channel 48. Its offices and broadcasting center are located just east of Seattle Center...
Repeaters
All repeaters are owned by KCPQ and are within the Seattle-Tacoma market, unless specified.- K14BF Channel 14 WenatcheeWenatchee, WashingtonWenatchee is located in North Central Washington and is the largest city and county seat of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925...
(owned by a third-party) - K25CG Channel 25 AberdeenAberdeen, WashingtonAberdeen is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States, founded by Samuel Benn in 1884. Aberdeen was incorporated on May 12, 1890. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis...
- K42CM Channel 42 CentraliaCentralia-Places:Australia* Central AustraliaCanada* Centralia, OntarioUSA* Centralia, California* Centralia, Illinois**Centralia, Illinois * Centralia, Iowa* Centralia, Kansas* Centralia, Missouri* Centralia, New York* Centralia, Oklahoma...
/ ChehalisChehalis, WashingtonChehalis is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 7,259 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lewis County.-History:... - K54DX Channel 54 EllensburgEllensburg, WashingtonEllensburg is a city in, and the county seat of, Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 18,174 at the 2010 census. The population was 18,250 at 2011 Estimate from Office of Financial Management. Ellensburg is located just east of the Cascade Range on I-90 and is known as the...
(Moving to Ch. 7) (part of the Yakima / Tri-Cities Market) - K64ES Channel 64 ChelanChelan, WashingtonChelan is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population was 3,890 at the 2010 census. It sits on the southeast tip of Lake Chelan, where the lake flows into the Chelan River....
(Moving to Ch. 28)