KPTV
Encyclopedia
KPTV is the Fox
-affiliate
d television station
serving the Portland, Oregon
market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation
in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV
affiliate KPDX
(channel 49), with its studios located in Beaverton
and transmitter in Portland. However, the master controls for KPTV and KPDX have been located at Meredith's west coast hub facility at KPHO-TV
in Phoenix, Arizona
since May 2010. The station broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 12.
KPTV is a news-intensive Fox affiliate with over 50 hours a week of locally-produced newscasts, as well as first-run prime time, late night and sports programming from Fox. The station also airs off-network sitcoms, talk shows, reality shows and court shows.
's first television station, as well as the world's first commercial TV station on the UHF band. (The first experimental UHF station was Bridgeport, Connecticut
's KC2XAK
on channel 24).
Originally, KPTV was owned by Empire Coil. As Portland's only TV station at the time, it carried programming from all four networks: ABC
, CBS
, NBC
, and the now-defunct DuMont Television Network
. CBS programming disappeared from KPTV's schedule when Portland's first VHF station, KOIN
(channel 6), signed on the air on October 15, 1953. KPTV then became a primary NBC affiliate, and also continued to air some ABC and Dumont programming.
KPTV also aired programs from the short-lived Paramount Television Network
; in fact, it was one of that network's strongest affiliates, carrying Paramount programs such as Time For Beany, Hollywood Wrestling, and Bandstand Revue. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
.
Empire Coil sold KPTV and its other broadcast property, WXEL-TV (now WJW-TV, channel 8) in Cleveland
, to Storer Broadcasting
on November 17, 1954.
Future Oregon governor Tom McCall
, a longtime journalist before entering politics, joined KPTV in 1955 as a newscaster and political commentator. McCall left KPTV in late 1956 for KGW-TV, where he was a member of the original news team for seven years before leaving to run for Oregon's secretary of state.
Portland's channel 12 was first occupied by KLOR-TV, which signed on March 8, 1955 as an ABC primary affiliate with a secondary DuMont affiliation. However, KLOR's network affiliations were short-lived. In 1956 DuMont ceased network operations, and KLOR lost the ABC affiliation to KGW-TV
(channel 8) when that station signed on the air in December.
On April 17, 1957; Detroit businessman George Haggerty purchased KPTV from Storer and KLOR from its local owners. On May 1, the two stations merged under KPTV's license, but using the stronger channel 12. Channel 27 was later used by independent station KHTV, which was on the air for less than four months in 1959. More recently, the channel 27 frequency was used by the digital signal of PBS
member station KOPB-TV
, which returned to its original channel 10 assignment following the analog shutdown.
On April 17, 1959, KPTV swapped affiliations with KGW and became an ABC affiliate. Later that year, KPTV was sold to the NAFI Corporation, which then purchased Chris-Craft Industries
in early 1960. The merged companies became known as Chris-Craft Industries.
KPTV can boast being the home of the two top children's TV hosts in Portland's history: Rusty Nails, a sweet-natured clown who was the rough inspiration for "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening's "Krusty the Klown;" and "Ramblin' Rod" Anders. While Rusty Nails ran Three Stooges shorts, Ramblin' Rod ran Popeye cartoons. "Ramblin' Rod" was the longest-running kid's show in Portland TV history, airing from 1964 to 1997.
Other KPTV children's hosts included longtime KPTV personality Gene Brendler who played two characters, first "Bent Nails" (Rusty's "brother"), and later "Dr. Zoom." Bob Adkins, better known as "Addie Bobkins," brought his show to KPTV from Eugene's KVAL-TV in 1961. "Addie Bobkins" featured a wise-cracking beatnik hand puppet named "Weird Beard." Both Brendler and Adkins ran a variety of cartoons to entertain the kids.
On March 1, 1964, KPTV lost its ABC affiliation to previously independent KATU
(channel 2), which had debuted in March 1962. KPTV sued ABC and KATU owner Fisher Broadcasting for breach of contract
. The proceeds from the settlement went to rebuild KPTV into a color-capable station, and to purchase a color mobile unit. KPTV soon became known as one of the top independent stations in the western United States. By the late 1960s, it was picked up on every cable system in Oregon, as well as parts of Washington and Idaho
.
In 1967, Portland Wrestling returned to KPTV after a 12-year absence. Frank Bonnema, news reporter and afternoon movie host, served as the voice of Portland Wrestling until shortly before his death on October 5, 1982. KPTV had originated telecasts of professional wrestling in 1953, with commentator Bob Abernathy, but lost the franchise to rival KOIN
two years later. KPTV regained the franchise in 1967, and aired wrestling until December 1991. Later wrestling commentators were KISN
radio DJ
Don Coss and former wrestlers Dutch Savage
and Stan Stasiak
. Portland Wrestling's chief promoters were Don Owen, and later, former wrestler-referee Sandy Barr
. Primary long-time sponsors for the show were Chevrolet dealers Ron Tonkin of Portland and Friendly of Lake Oswego, and the celebrated ever-smiling furniture dealer Tom Peterson
. Peterson was also the top sponsor for KPTV's late night movies.
The station's long-running news program, The 10 O'Clock News, first aired in 1970. Also that year, KPTV became the first local station to broadcast Portland Trail Blazers
basketball games. Sports Director Jimmy Jones was the Blazers' first TV play-by-play announcer. KPTV aired Blazers games until the end of the 1977-78 season.
In 1977, Chris-Craft place its self named television subsidiary underneath a holding company called BHC, Inc.
KPTV was one of the Fox network's original charter affiliates in 1986. However, the station, along with sister station KMSP-TV
in Minneapolis, disaffiliated from the network in 1988 and reverted to independent status. The Fox affiliation shifted to KPDX
, which first took the air in 1983.
In 1993, KPTV, along with Chris-Craft's independent stations, began carrying programming from the Prime Time Entertainment Network
.
In 1995, KPTV became a United Paramount Network (UPN) owned and operated station, the first such station in the market, under United/Chris Craft's stake. Chris-Craft sold most of its television holdings, including KPTV, to News Corporation
in 2000. The sale closed on July 31, 2001. Instead of keeping KPTV, Newscorp decided to trade it to Meredith in exchange for two Florida stations, a deal which was finalized on June 17, 2002. This move gave Meredith, which already owned KPDX, the first "duopoly" operation in the Portland market.
Meredith decided to move the Fox affiliation to the higher-rated KPTV, and the affiliation switch occurred on September 2, 2002, with KPTV rejoining Fox while KPDX joined UPN. As part of the switch, KPTV dropped its longtime moniker of "Oregon's 12" in favor of "Fox 12 Oregon." KPTV left its studio in East Portland for KPDX's facility in suburban Beaverton
, though KPTV is the senior partner. KPTV also absorbed KPDX's news department, resulting in the cancellation of KPDX's 10 p.m. newscast. KPDX now airs a KPTV-produced newscast at 8 p.m.
The Fox affiliation coincided with a realignment of the National Football League
that brought the market's most popular NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks
, into the NFC West
. As a result, KPTV is an unofficial secondary station for the Seahawks, airing most of that team's games through the Fox network's rights to air NFC games
.
, KPTV moved its digital signal to channel 12. On that date, KPTV turned off its analog transmitter. When KPTV switched away from its temporary DTV transmitter (on channel 30), sister station KPDX immediately switched its signal to that transmitter. Viewers watching KPTV in DTV saw a cut
from the opening of that day's episode of The 700 Club
to the cold open
of an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
. (KPDX turned off its analog transmitter at 9:30 a.m.)
; except for Fox's Saturday morning infomerical block, Weekend Marketplace
, which airs on KPDX). Much like the stations that were affected by the Fox/New World affiliation switches of 1994, KPTV chose not to air Fox's children's programming (4Kids TV
; formerly Fox Kids
) after the 2002 affiliation switch to Fox; the lineup remained on KPDX until 4Kids TV was discontinued by Fox in December 2008.
on weekday evenings. In 1970, KPTV shifted Perry Mason to a new time, weekdays at noon. With the exception of a ten-month shift to 12:30 p.m. in 1974-75, KPTV has aired Perry Mason in the same time slot ever since. Audience research indicates that one out of every 11 people watching TV in the Portland market at noon on weekdays is watching Perry Mason. When Meredith Broadcasting named Patrick McCreery as KPTV's new general manager in 2008, they told him that he could make any other change to the local programming schedule that he wished, but that he could not cancel Perry Mason, nor could he move it from its weekday noon time slot.
, The Doctors
, Scrubs
, The Insider
, Judge Judy
, Access Hollywood
and TMZ on TV
, with Boston Legal
and Desperate Housewives
airing on weekends.
Throughout its entire history, as a network affiliate and as an independent station, KPTV has always operated a local news department. The station's long-running primetime newscast, The 10 O'Clock News, first aired in 1970. KPTV was also one of the first television stations in the country to run a mid-afternoon newscast, with a 3 p.m. bulletin airing from 1974 to 1978. Since then (especially after switching to Fox), KPTV has begun to go head-to-head with competitors KGW, KATU and KOIN by taking on a more news-intensive format, which took years to take effect.
The station launched its morning program, Good Day Oregon, in 1996 as a three-hour broadcast. The program has since been extended, and currently runs from 5 a.m. until 9 a.m., KPTV was one of a growing number stations in the country with a morning newscast beginning before 5 a.m. until April 19, 2010, when the 4:30-5 a.m. portion of Good Day Oregon was cut. KPTV is also one of the few local stations and one of a handful of Fox stations to offer a three-hour newscast on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
In 2007, KPTV became the second Portland television station to broadcast its newscasts in widescreen. A year later on March 4, 2008, it expanded its newscast schedule to include a weekday 4 p.m. newscast, as well as a weekday 8 p.m. newscast on KPDX, with MyNetworkTV
programming on KPDX airing from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. as a result. On June 5, 2007, KPTV became the second Portland TV station to broadcast its daily newscasts in 16:9 standard definition widescreen. The station expanded its 5 p.m. newscast (which had been airing only on Sundays, except when Fox sports programming was scheduled to preempt it) to seven nights a week, now airing on weeknights after its existing 4 p.m. program on September 8, 2008. On April 19, 2010 KPTV began producing a fifth hour of Good Day Oregon for KPDX called More Good Day Oregon, running from 9-10 a.m. and debuted a half-hour 11 a.m. newscast on KPTV called Mid-Day Oregon.
FOX12 First, Live, Local Weather
Sports team
Reporters
Part of the Eugene Market:
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...
-affiliate
Affiliate
An affiliate is a commercial entity with a relationship with a peer or a larger entity.- Corporate structure :A corporation may be referred to as an affiliate of another when it is related to it but not strictly controlled by it, as with a subsidiary relationship, or when it is desired to avoid...
d television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
serving the Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation
The Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:...
in a duopoly with 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 KPDX
KPDX
KPDX is the MyNetworkTV-affiliate serving the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 30. In addition, it is seen on channel 13 on most local cable TV systems....
(channel 49), with its studios located in Beaverton
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
and transmitter in Portland. However, the master controls for KPTV and KPDX have been located at Meredith's west coast hub facility at KPHO-TV
KPHO-TV
KPHO-TV, channel 5, is a CBS-affiliate television station located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. KPHO-TV is owned by the Meredith Corporation, and has its studios located on Black Canyon Highway in the Alhambra Village section of Phoenix, with its transmitter located on South Mountain in Phoenix...
in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
since May 2010. The station broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 12.
KPTV is a news-intensive Fox affiliate with over 50 hours a week of locally-produced newscasts, as well as first-run prime time, late night and sports programming from Fox. The station also airs off-network sitcoms, talk shows, reality shows and court shows.
History
KPTV signed on the air September 20, 1952 on channel 27, as OregonOregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
's first television station, as well as the world's first commercial TV station on the UHF band. (The first experimental UHF station was Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
's KC2XAK
KC2XAK
KC2XAK was the world's first UHF television station. It was simply a rebroadcast/broadcast translator transmitter of New York City's WNBT , and broadcast on UHF Channel 24 in Bridgeport, Connecticut...
on channel 24).
Originally, KPTV was owned by Empire Coil. As Portland's only TV station at the time, it carried programming from all four networks: ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, 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...
, 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...
, and the now-defunct DuMont Television Network
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
. CBS programming disappeared from KPTV's schedule when Portland's first VHF station, KOIN
KOIN
KOIN is the CBS affiliate television station serving the Portland metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Portland, Oregon, United States; it broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 40...
(channel 6), signed on the air on October 15, 1953. KPTV then became a primary NBC affiliate, and also continued to air some ABC and Dumont programming.
KPTV also aired programs from the short-lived Paramount Television Network
Paramount Television Network
The Paramount Television Network was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s...
; in fact, it was one of that network's strongest affiliates, carrying Paramount programs such as Time For Beany, Hollywood Wrestling, and Bandstand Revue. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
NTA Film Network
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first-run television programs from major Hollywood studios...
.
Empire Coil sold KPTV and its other broadcast property, WXEL-TV (now WJW-TV, channel 8) in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, to Storer Broadcasting
Storer Broadcasting
Storer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the northeast United States. It was incorporated in Ohio in 1927, and sold its broadcasting properties in 1983.-1920s—1940s:...
on November 17, 1954.
Future Oregon governor Tom McCall
Tom McCall
Thomas Lawson McCall was an American politician and journalist in the state of Oregon. A Republican, he was the 30th Governor of Oregon from 1967 to 1975. A native of Massachusetts, he grew up there and in Central Oregon before attending the University of Oregon...
, a longtime journalist before entering politics, joined KPTV in 1955 as a newscaster and political commentator. McCall left KPTV in late 1956 for KGW-TV, where he was a member of the original news team for seven years before leaving to run for Oregon's secretary of state.
Portland's channel 12 was first occupied by KLOR-TV, which signed on March 8, 1955 as an ABC primary affiliate with a secondary DuMont affiliation. However, KLOR's network affiliations were short-lived. In 1956 DuMont ceased network operations, and KLOR lost the ABC affiliation to KGW-TV
KGW
KGW is an NBC affiliate television station serving the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. The station broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 8, from its transmitter in Portland. It also produces segments and serves as the Portland bureau for Northwest Cable News , which is also owned by...
(channel 8) when that station signed on the air in December.
On April 17, 1957; Detroit businessman George Haggerty purchased KPTV from Storer and KLOR from its local owners. On May 1, the two stations merged under KPTV's license, but using the stronger channel 12. Channel 27 was later used by independent station KHTV, which was on the air for less than four months in 1959. More recently, the channel 27 frequency was used by the digital signal of 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....
member station KOPB-TV
KOPB-TV
KOPB-TV is a public television station serving the Portland, Oregon television market. It is owned and operated by Oregon Public Broadcasting. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 10....
, which returned to its original channel 10 assignment following the analog shutdown.
On April 17, 1959, KPTV swapped affiliations with KGW and became an ABC affiliate. Later that year, KPTV was sold to the NAFI Corporation, which then purchased Chris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., formerly National Automotive Fibers, Inc., was a publicly-held American corporation traded on the New York and Pacific Stock Exchanges. It later took on the name of one of its acquisitions, Chris-Craft Boats...
in early 1960. The merged companies became known as Chris-Craft Industries.
KPTV can boast being the home of the two top children's TV hosts in Portland's history: Rusty Nails, a sweet-natured clown who was the rough inspiration for "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening's "Krusty the Klown;" and "Ramblin' Rod" Anders. While Rusty Nails ran Three Stooges shorts, Ramblin' Rod ran Popeye cartoons. "Ramblin' Rod" was the longest-running kid's show in Portland TV history, airing from 1964 to 1997.
Other KPTV children's hosts included longtime KPTV personality Gene Brendler who played two characters, first "Bent Nails" (Rusty's "brother"), and later "Dr. Zoom." Bob Adkins, better known as "Addie Bobkins," brought his show to KPTV from Eugene's KVAL-TV in 1961. "Addie Bobkins" featured a wise-cracking beatnik hand puppet named "Weird Beard." Both Brendler and Adkins ran a variety of cartoons to entertain the kids.
On March 1, 1964, KPTV lost its ABC affiliation to previously independent KATU
KATU
KATU, virtual channel 2, also known as K2, is an ABC-affiliated television station broadcasting on digital channel 43 in Portland, Oregon, USA. It has been owned by Fisher Communications of Seattle, Washington, which has been the owner of the Seattle's ABC affiliate KOMO-TV, ever since it began...
(channel 2), which had debuted in March 1962. KPTV sued ABC and KATU owner Fisher Broadcasting for breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
. The proceeds from the settlement went to rebuild KPTV into a color-capable station, and to purchase a color mobile unit. KPTV soon became known as one of the top independent stations in the western United States. By the late 1960s, it was picked up on every cable system in Oregon, as well as parts of Washington and Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
.
In 1967, Portland Wrestling returned to KPTV after a 12-year absence. Frank Bonnema, news reporter and afternoon movie host, served as the voice of Portland Wrestling until shortly before his death on October 5, 1982. KPTV had originated telecasts of professional wrestling in 1953, with commentator Bob Abernathy, but lost the franchise to rival KOIN
KOIN
KOIN is the CBS affiliate television station serving the Portland metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Portland, Oregon, United States; it broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 40...
two years later. KPTV regained the franchise in 1967, and aired wrestling until December 1991. Later wrestling commentators were KISN
KISN (Portland)
KISN was an AM radio station licensed for Vancouver, Washington but based in Portland, Oregon, broadcasting on 910 kHz and licensed for 5,000 directional watts. During the 1960s and early 1970s, KISN was not only the number one rated rock station in the market , but at times also rated as...
radio DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Don Coss and former wrestlers Dutch Savage
Dutch Savage
Frank Stewart is a former professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, best known for his time spent competing in Pacific Northwest Wrestling under the ring name Dutch Savage.-Career:...
and Stan Stasiak
Stan Stasiak
George Stipich , better known by his ring name Stan Stasiak, was a Canadian professional wrestler and fifth World Wide Wrestling Federation Champion. He is the father of professional wrestler Shawn Stasiak.-Career:...
. Portland Wrestling's chief promoters were Don Owen, and later, former wrestler-referee Sandy Barr
Sandy Barr
Ferrin Charles Barr was an American professional wrestler, referee, promoter and trainer who spent his career mostly in the Western United States and Canada...
. Primary long-time sponsors for the show were Chevrolet dealers Ron Tonkin of Portland and Friendly of Lake Oswego, and the celebrated ever-smiling furniture dealer Tom Peterson
Tom Peterson
Tom Peterson is an American retailer, pitchman and television personality from Portland, Oregon. Peterson opened his first store in 1964, which grew to a regional consumer electronics, home appliance and furniture chain in the 1970s...
. Peterson was also the top sponsor for KPTV's late night movies.
The station's long-running news program, The 10 O'Clock News, first aired in 1970. Also that year, KPTV became the first local station to broadcast Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
basketball games. Sports Director Jimmy Jones was the Blazers' first TV play-by-play announcer. KPTV aired Blazers games until the end of the 1977-78 season.
In 1977, Chris-Craft place its self named television subsidiary underneath a holding company called BHC, Inc.
BHC Communications
BHC Communications, Inc. was the holding company for the broadcast property of Chris-Craft Industries. BHC is said to stand for "broadcasting holding company".-History:...
KPTV was one of the Fox network's original charter affiliates in 1986. However, the station, along with sister station KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
in Minneapolis, disaffiliated from the network in 1988 and reverted to independent status. The Fox affiliation shifted to KPDX
KPDX
KPDX is the MyNetworkTV-affiliate serving the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 30. In addition, it is seen on channel 13 on most local cable TV systems....
, which first took the air in 1983.
In 1993, KPTV, along with Chris-Craft's independent stations, began carrying programming from the Prime Time Entertainment Network
Prime Time Entertainment Network
The Prime Time Entertainment Network was a United States television network launched in 1993 by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Domestic Television and the Chris-Craft group of independent stations...
.
In 1995, KPTV became a United Paramount Network (UPN) owned and operated station, the first such station in the market, under United/Chris Craft's stake. Chris-Craft sold most of its television holdings, including KPTV, to News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
in 2000. The sale closed on July 31, 2001. Instead of keeping KPTV, Newscorp decided to trade it to Meredith in exchange for two Florida stations, a deal which was finalized on June 17, 2002. This move gave Meredith, which already owned KPDX, the first "duopoly" operation in the Portland market.
Meredith decided to move the Fox affiliation to the higher-rated KPTV, and the affiliation switch occurred on September 2, 2002, with KPTV rejoining Fox while KPDX joined UPN. As part of the switch, KPTV dropped its longtime moniker of "Oregon's 12" in favor of "Fox 12 Oregon." KPTV left its studio in East Portland for KPDX's facility in suburban Beaverton
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
, though KPTV is the senior partner. KPTV also absorbed KPDX's news department, resulting in the cancellation of KPDX's 10 p.m. newscast. KPDX now airs a KPTV-produced newscast at 8 p.m.
The Fox affiliation coincided with a realignment of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
that brought the market's most popular NFL team, 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...
, into the NFC West
NFC West
The NFC West is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: Arizona Cardinals, St...
. As a result, KPTV is an unofficial secondary station for the Seahawks, airing most of that team's games through the Fox network's rights to air NFC games
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
.
Digital television
After the June 12, 2009 analog television shutdownDTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
, KPTV moved its digital signal to channel 12. On that date, KPTV turned off its analog transmitter. When KPTV switched away from its temporary DTV transmitter (on channel 30), sister station KPDX immediately switched its signal to that transmitter. Viewers watching KPTV in DTV saw a cut
Cut (filmmaking)
In the post-production process of film editing and video editing, a cut is an abrupt, but usually trivial film transition from one sequence to another. It is synonymous with the term edit, though "edit" can imply any number of transitions or effects. The cut, dissolve and wipe serve as the three...
from the opening of that day's episode of The 700 Club
The 700 Club
The 700 Club is the flagship news talk show of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States and Canada. In production since 1966, it is currently hosted by Pat Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, Kristi Watts, and Gordon P. Robertson, two of whom will host on any...
to the cold open
Cold open
A cold open in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown...
of an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
. (KPDX turned off its analog transmitter at 9:30 a.m.)
Ownership history
- Empire Coil (1952–1954)
- Storer BroadcastingStorer BroadcastingStorer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the northeast United States. It was incorporated in Ohio in 1927, and sold its broadcasting properties in 1983.-1920s—1940s:...
(1954–1957) - George Haggerty (1957–1959)
- NAFI Corporation (1959–1960)
- Chris-Craft TelevisionBHC CommunicationsBHC Communications, Inc. was the holding company for the broadcast property of Chris-Craft Industries. BHC is said to stand for "broadcasting holding company".-History:...
(1960–2001) - News CorporationNews CorporationNews Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
(2001–2002) - Meredith CorporationMeredith CorporationThe Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:...
(2002–present)
Programming
KPTV clears the entire Fox network schedule (nightly primetime, Saturday late night, and Fox Sports programming, and the political talk show Fox News SundayFox News Sunday
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace is a public affairs program on the Fox network, hosted by Chris Wallace and airing on Sunday mornings. The show began on April 28, 1996, which predated the launch of Fox News Channel, and usually talks about items similar to Sunday morning talk shows...
; except for Fox's Saturday morning infomerical block, Weekend Marketplace
Weekend Marketplace
Weekend Marketplace is a two hour Saturday morning block of paid programming airing on Fox that began airing on January 3, 2009, replacing the 4Kids TV Saturday morning cartoon block that aired using time leased by 4Kids from Fox from 2002 until the last Saturday of 2008...
, which airs on KPDX). Much like the stations that were affected by the Fox/New World affiliation switches of 1994, KPTV chose not to air Fox's children's programming (4Kids TV
4Kids TV
4Kids TV was a Saturday morning television programming block on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The block was part of the Fox Network schedule...
; formerly Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
) after the 2002 affiliation switch to Fox; the lineup remained on KPDX until 4Kids TV was discontinued by Fox in December 2008.
The institution of Perry Mason at noon
In 1966, KPTV began airing reruns of the TV series Perry MasonPerry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
on weekday evenings. In 1970, KPTV shifted Perry Mason to a new time, weekdays at noon. With the exception of a ten-month shift to 12:30 p.m. in 1974-75, KPTV has aired Perry Mason in the same time slot ever since. Audience research indicates that one out of every 11 people watching TV in the Portland market at noon on weekdays is watching Perry Mason. When Meredith Broadcasting named Patrick McCreery as KPTV's new general manager in 2008, they told him that he could make any other change to the local programming schedule that he wished, but that he could not cancel Perry Mason, nor could he move it from its weekday noon time slot.
Other programming
Current syndicated programming includes The Martha Stewart Show, The Bonnie Hunt ShowThe Bonnie Hunt Show
The Bonnie Hunt Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted by Bonnie Hunt. It premiered on September 8, 2008. It is the second show featuring Bonnie Hunt to have that title. The first was a sitcom that ran for one season in 1995 and was retitled Bonnie when it returned after a mid-season hiatus...
, The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...
, Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
, The Insider
The Insider (TV series)
The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
, Judge Judy
Judge Judy
Judge Judy is an American court show featuring former family court judge Judith Sheindlin arbitrating over small claims cases in small claims court...
, Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and...
and TMZ on TV
TMZ on TV
TMZ on TV, or simply TMZ and TMZTV, is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007. The program is generally aired on Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates, though a majority of the stations that carry the series are Fox affiliates...
, with Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
and Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
airing on weekends.
News operation
KPTV broadcasts a total of 50 hours of local news a week (8½ hours on weekdays, and five hours each on Saturdays and Sundays), more than any other television station in the state of Oregon (however as is standard with Fox stations that carry early evening weekend newscasts, KPTV's Saturday and Sunday 5 p.m. newscasts are subject to preemption or delay due to sports coverage from Fox); in addition the station produces a half-hour sports wrap-up show called Oregon Sports Final on Sundays at 11 p.m., and KPTV produces an additional 10 hours of local news for sister station KPDX; KPTV is one of the few Fox affiliates to produce a newscast for another television station in the same market.Throughout its entire history, as a network affiliate and as an independent station, KPTV has always operated a local news department. The station's long-running primetime newscast, The 10 O'Clock News, first aired in 1970. KPTV was also one of the first television stations in the country to run a mid-afternoon newscast, with a 3 p.m. bulletin airing from 1974 to 1978. Since then (especially after switching to Fox), KPTV has begun to go head-to-head with competitors KGW, KATU and KOIN by taking on a more news-intensive format, which took years to take effect.
The station launched its morning program, Good Day Oregon, in 1996 as a three-hour broadcast. The program has since been extended, and currently runs from 5 a.m. until 9 a.m., KPTV was one of a growing number stations in the country with a morning newscast beginning before 5 a.m. until April 19, 2010, when the 4:30-5 a.m. portion of Good Day Oregon was cut. KPTV is also one of the few local stations and one of a handful of Fox stations to offer a three-hour newscast on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
In 2007, KPTV became the second Portland television station to broadcast its newscasts in widescreen. A year later on March 4, 2008, it expanded its newscast schedule to include a weekday 4 p.m. newscast, as well as a weekday 8 p.m. newscast on KPDX, with MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
programming on KPDX airing from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. as a result. On June 5, 2007, KPTV became the second Portland TV station to broadcast its daily newscasts in 16:9 standard definition widescreen. The station expanded its 5 p.m. newscast (which had been airing only on Sundays, except when Fox sports programming was scheduled to preempt it) to seven nights a week, now airing on weeknights after its existing 4 p.m. program on September 8, 2008. On April 19, 2010 KPTV began producing a fifth hour of Good Day Oregon for KPDX called More Good Day Oregon, running from 9-10 a.m. and debuted a half-hour 11 a.m. newscast on KPTV called Mid-Day Oregon.
Newscast titles
- Newspaper of the Air (1953–1956)
- Journal Headlines (1955)
- Morning Newsreel (morning newscast; 1950s)
- News Central/Newsroom (1956–1960s)
- The Ten O'Clock News (10 p.m. newscast; 1970–present)
- The Three O'Clock News (3 p.m. newscast; 1974–1978)
- Oregon's News 12 (1996–2002)
- Good Day Oregon (morning newscast; 1996–present)
- FOX 12 News (2002–present; all evening newscasts branded as The (time) O'Clock News)
Station slogans
- Just the Ticket in Portland (early 1960s)
- The Northwest Personality Station (mid 1960s–1978)
- Your Best Choice (1978–1980)
- A Northwest State of Mind (1981–1983)
- The Entertainment's On Us (1983–1991)
- KPTV, Oregon's 12 (1997–2002; also used as station branding)
- First. Live. Local. (2002–present)
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Pete Ferryman - weekday mornings Good Day Oregon (4:30-9 a.m.)
- Wayne Garcia - weeknights at 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m.
- Debra Gil - weekend mornings Good Day Oregon (6-9 a.m.); also general assignment reporter
- Julie Grauert - weeknights at 8 p.m. (on KPDX-TV); also general assignment reporter
- Kimberly Maus - weekday mornings Good Day Oregon (5-9 a.m.); also host of MORE Good Day Oregon (9-10 a.m.) and Dirty Dining feature reporter
- Shauna Parsons - weeknights at 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m.
- Ben Senger - weekends at 5 and 10 p.m.; also general assignment reporter
FOX12 First, Live, Local Weather
- Mark Nelsen (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...
Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 8 (on KPDX), 10 and 11 p.m. - Andy Carson - weather anchor; weekday mornings Good Day Oregon (4:30-9 a.m.); also host of MORE Good Day Oregon (9-10 a.m.)
- Stephanie Kralevich - meteorologist; weeknights at 5 and 6 p.m.
- Brian MacMillan - meteorologist; weekend mornings Good Day Oregon (6-9 a.m.), also general assignment reporter
- Sophie Soong - weather anchor; weekends at 5 and 10 p.m., also general assignment reporter
Sports team
- Dan Sheldon - host of Oregon Sports Final and Friday Night Lights
- Brooke Carlson - sports reporter; also Better Portland lifestyle correspondent
Reporters
- Natalie Brand - general assignment reporter
- Marilyn Deutsch - general assignment reporter
- Nicole Doll - weekday morning reporter
- Mark Glyzewski - weekday morning reporter
- Chloe Houser - PDX TV Report hostess
- Jim Hyde - general assignment reporter
- Tony Martinez - weekday morning traffic reporter
- Andrew Padula - general assignment reporter
- Laura Rillos - general assignment reporter
- Joe Vithayathil - general assignment reporter
- Brent Weisberg - general assignment reporter
- Jamie Wilson - general assignment reporter
Notable former on-air staff
- Lars LarsonLars LarsonLars Larson is a conservative U.S. talk radio show host based in Oregon. Larson hosts a national talk radio show, which as of 2009 is syndicated by Compass Media Networks...
- 10 p.m. news anchor/reporter (-1999); Northwest Reports host/producer - Tom McCallTom McCallThomas Lawson McCall was an American politician and journalist in the state of Oregon. A Republican, he was the 30th Governor of Oregon from 1967 to 1975. A native of Massachusetts, he grew up there and in Central Oregon before attending the University of Oregon...
- political commentator (and former Oregon governor)
Repeater stations
KPTV, like all other Portland stations, has low-power repeater stations throughout Oregon and Washington. Some of the repeaters are owned by KPTV, while others are owned by local translator districts.Part of the Eugene Market:
- K44JP-D Channel 44 Cottage GroveCottage Grove, OregonCottage Grove is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It received its name from its first postmaster, G. C. Pierce, in September 1861. Pierce's home at the time was in an oak grove. The population was 9,686 at the 2010 census.-History:...
(Digital)
See also
- Lars LarsonLars LarsonLars Larson is a conservative U.S. talk radio show host based in Oregon. Larson hosts a national talk radio show, which as of 2009 is syndicated by Compass Media Networks...
- Former KPTV news report/anchor and host of Northwest Reports. - Portland WrestlingPacific Northwest WrestlingPacific Northwest Wrestling is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first such company was founded by Herb Owen in 1925...
- A weekly sports program seen on KPTV for many decades. - Prime Time Entertainment NetworkPrime Time Entertainment NetworkThe Prime Time Entertainment Network was a United States television network launched in 1993 by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Domestic Television and the Chris-Craft group of independent stations...
- Chris-Craft stations carried PTEN programing from 1993–1995 - Ramblin' Rod AndersRamblin' Rod AndersRamblin' Rod Anders , born Rodney Carl Andersen, was the host of The Ramblin' Rod Show, a morning children's program, from 1964 until his retirement on August 8, 1997. The Portland, Oregon KPTV host was well known locally for his iconic, button-covered sweater, which he wore on air...
- Children's programing. - Rusty NailsRusty NailsJim Allen portrayed the clown character Rusty Nails and was the host of various children's television shows in the Portland, Oregon, U.S. television market from 1957–1972...
- Children's programing.
External links
- KPTV FOX 12 Official website
- Yesterday's KPTV - A look back at KPTV's history