KIRO-TV

KIRO-TV is a television station serving Seattle, Washington, and the surrounding Puget Sound market. Broadcasting on channel 7, it operates as a CBS affiliate and also carries Telemundo programming through a digital subchannel. The station is owned by Cox Media Group and maintains its principal studios in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood on Third Avenue. Its transmitter is located in the Queen Anne area, close to the site of its original facilities. The station began broadcasting on February 8, 1958, as the last available commercial VHF television station serving the Seattle metropolitan area. Its license was awarded to Queen City Broadcasting, the company behind KIRO radio. Because KIRO radio had long been associated with CBS, KIRO-TV joined CBS at launch. The affiliation was initially contested by Tacoma station KTNT-TV, whose owners argued that CBS and KIRO had arranged the relationship before the channel 7 construction permit had been approved. A settlement required KIRO-TV and KTNT-TV to share CBS programming for approximately two years before KIRO-TV became the exclusive CBS station in the market in 1962. Ownership changed significantly in the 1960s. The Deseret News Publishing Company, the commercial media arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, acquired a controlling interest in Queen City Broadcasting in 1963. The broadcasting operation was later reorganized as Bonneville International. Under Bonneville, KIRO-TV became part of a larger regional media group and developed a strong local-news identity. Its Broadcast House facility in downtown Seattle opened in 1968 and remains associated with the station. KIRO-TV has been an important producer of local programming. Its best-known historical programs include The J. P. Patches Show, a long-running children's program produced from 1958 through 1981, and Nightmare Theatre, a weekly horror-film presentation broadcast from 1964 to 1978. The station has also carried Seattle-area professional sports, including Seattle Seahawks preseason games, Seattle SuperSonics basketball, Seattle Mariners baseball, Tacoma Stars soccer, and selected NFL, MLB, and regional event coverage. Seafair programming, including hydroplane racing, fireworks, and the Torchlight Parade, has also been part of its local broadcast role. The station experienced a major affiliation change during the 1990s. In the wake of nationwide network realignments, CBS moved its Seattle affiliation to KSTW in Tacoma in 1995, while KIRO-TV became affiliated with the newly launched UPN network. During its UPN period, the station expanded local news substantially and filled much of its schedule with syndicated programming. Belo acquired KIRO-TV in early 1995 but later faced ownership limits after acquiring KING-TV. In 1997, a series of transactions involving Belo, Paramount Stations Group, and Cox resulted in KIRO-TV returning to CBS on June 30, 1997. Cox has operated the station since that transaction. Cox Media Group was acquired by Apollo Global Management in 2019. The transaction placed KIRO-TV within the modern Cox Media Group station portfolio, although related Washington Fox stations were subsequently sold to another operator. Today, KIRO-TV combines network entertainment and news with locally produced journalism, weather, sports, community features, digital publishing, and streaming-oriented content under the KIRO 7 brand.

KIRO-TV's origins are tied to the competition for Seattle's last unassigned commercial VHF television channel. KVI, KXA, and KIRO radio all sought the channel through extended Federal Communications Commission proceedings. The permit ultimately went to Queen City Broadcasting, the owner of KIRO radio, after the company's application prevailed in the 1950s. KIRO-TV signed on February 8, 1958, from studios on Queen Anne Avenue, near its transmitter. Its first broadcast included coverage of the demolition of Ripple Rock in British Columbia. The station joined CBS immediately, reflecting KIRO radio's long-standing relationship with CBS Radio. The affiliation generated a dispute with Tacoma-licensed KTNT-TV. The Tacoma News Tribune, which owned KTNT-TV, claimed that CBS had committed to KIRO before the channel 7 permit was finalized. The resulting antitrust litigation ended in a settlement under which KIRO-TV and KTNT-TV shared CBS programming for about two years. In September 1962, KIRO-TV became the market's sole CBS affiliate. In 1963, the Deseret News Publishing Company began acquiring shares in Queen City Broadcasting and soon obtained majority control. The broadcasting operation was subsequently associated with Bonneville International, the commercial media arm connected to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bonneville executives Lloyd Cooney and Kenneth L. Hatch played important management roles. The company's Seattle stations moved into Broadcast House in the Belltown district in 1968, a facility that remains central to KIRO-TV's identity. During the Bonneville years, KIRO-TV developed a substantial local presence. News director John Lippman joined the station in 1979 and remained through 1992; during that period, the newsroom expanded and the station was frequently near the top of Seattle ratings. Local entertainment was also important. The J. P. Patches Show, featuring Chris Wedes as Julius Pierpont Patches and Bob Newman as Gertrude, ran from 1958 to 1981 and became one of the best-known regional children's programs in American television history. Nightmare Theatre, a weekly horror-film series hosted for several years by Joe Towey as “The Count,” ran from 1964 to 1978. KIRO-TV's schedule also reflected local sports and civic events. The station carried Seahawks preseason broadcasts, SuperSonics games during the CBS NBA era, Mariners games in several periods, Tacoma Stars matches, and selected NFL and MLB network coverage. It broadcast portions of Seattle's Seafair festivities, including hydroplane racing, fireworks, and the Torchlight Parade. The station occasionally faced programming conflicts: for example, it delayed a 1990 Daytona 500 broadcast to show a Seattle SuperSonics game, and it regularly preempted or delayed selected CBS programs to accommodate local news or sports. The 1990s brought the station's most consequential programming changes. A nationwide network affiliation reshuffle led CBS to move its Seattle relationship to KSTW in Tacoma. KIRO-TV, sold by Bonneville to Belo at the start of 1995, became a UPN affiliate. Because UPN supplied relatively few hours of programming, KIRO-TV expanded its local news schedule to nearly 40 hours per week and filled remaining periods with syndicated talk, reality, dramatic, and entertainment programs. Belo's later acquisition of KING-TV created an ownership conflict under the FCC rules then in force, making another disposition necessary. In 1997, Belo announced a transaction involving KIRO-TV and KMOV in St. Louis, while Paramount Stations Group and Cox became involved in a related exchange that included KSTW. The transactions closed in June. KIRO-TV resumed CBS programming on June 30, 1997, while KSTW became a UPN owned-and-operated station. KIRO-TV has remained affiliated with CBS since then, although its schedule has continued to evolve through local-news expansions, digital broadcasting, syndicated programming changes, and subchannel services. Cox Enterprises announced the sale of Cox Media Group's broadcast assets to Apollo Global Management in 2019. Apollo completed the transaction in December of that year, and the station continued operating under the Cox Media Group name. KIRO-TV now functions as a multiplatform local media outlet, distributing television news, weather, sports, investigations, community stories, and video through broadcast, web, mobile, and streaming channels.

1. 2019Cox Media Group changes ownership

   Apollo Global Management completes its acquisition of Cox Media Group's broadcast assets.

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2. 1997KIRO-TV returns to CBS

   The station resumes CBS affiliation after a complex series of ownership and station exchanges.

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3. 1995UPN affiliation period starts

   Following the CBS-KSTW realignment, KIRO-TV becomes a UPN affiliate and expands local news.

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4. 1968Broadcast House opens

   KIRO's Seattle operations move to the Broadcast House facility in Belltown.

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5. 1963LDS Church-related ownership begins

   The Deseret News Publishing Company acquires majority control of Queen City Broadcasting.

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6. 1962Exclusive CBS affiliation begins

   KIRO-TV again becomes Seattle's exclusive CBS affiliate.

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7. 1960Temporary CBS sharing arrangement

   A settlement in the affiliation dispute with KTNT-TV requires shared CBS carriage.

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8. 1958KIRO-TV signs on

   Queen City Broadcasting launches channel 7 in Seattle as a CBS affiliate.

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A locally focused Seattle television news brand combining CBS network content with regional journalism, weather, sports, public-affairs programming, and digital distribution.

• KIRO 7 NewsLocal news

  KIRO-TV's principal local-news service covers Seattle and Western Washington through scheduled newscasts, breaking-news reports, investigations, interviews, and community features. The service is distributed on television and through KIRO7.com and associated digital platforms.

• KIRO 7 WeatherWeather information

  The station's weather operation provides forecasts and severe-weather information for the Puget Sound region, using broadcast segments and digital updates as part of the broader KIRO 7 news service.

• The J. P. Patches ShowChildren's television1958

  Produced in-house by KIRO-TV, this regional children's program featured Chris Wedes as the clown Julius Pierpont Patches and Bob Newman as Gertrude. It aired continuously from 1958 through 1981 and became a distinctive part of Seattle television culture.

• Nightmare TheatreHorror-film presentation1964

  KIRO-TV's weekly horror-movie series aired from 1964 to 1978. Joe Towey hosted the program for part of its run as the character known as The Count.

• CBS network programmingNetwork television1958

  KIRO-TV carries CBS network entertainment, news, daytime, and sports programming. The station has been a CBS affiliate since its 1958 launch, apart from its 1995–1997 UPN period.

• 1997Complete station transactions and restore CBS affiliationM&A

  Belo could not retain both KIRO-TV and KING-TV under the ownership rules then in effect, while Paramount and Cox were rearranging their station holdings.

  What changed. A series of exchanges involving KIRO-TV, KSTW, and KMOV was completed, with Cox acquiring KIRO-TV and the station returning to CBS.

  Aftermath. KIRO-TV resumed CBS programming on June 30, 1997, and has remained a CBS affiliate.

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• 1995Expand local news during UPN affiliationStrategy

  After CBS programming moved to KSTW, UPN supplied fewer network hours than a major broadcast network.

  What changed. KIRO-TV expanded its local-news schedule to nearly 40 hours per week and used syndicated programming to fill much of the remaining schedule.

  Aftermath. The strategy continued until the station returned to CBS in 1997.

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• 2019Apollo completes acquisition of Cox Media Group

  Apollo Global Management completes its acquisition of Cox Media Group, placing KIRO-TV in the reorganized Cox station portfolio.

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• 1997KIRO-TV returns to CBS

  A multi-station transaction involving Belo, Paramount Stations Group, and Cox leads KIRO-TV to resume its CBS affiliation.

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• 1995KIRO-TV changes from CBS to UPN

  As part of a national affiliation realignment, CBS programming moves to KSTW and KIRO-TV becomes a UPN affiliate while expanding local news.

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• 1963Bonneville ownership expands KIRO's regional media role

  The Deseret News Publishing Company acquires control of Queen City Broadcasting, beginning decades of LDS Church-related ownership through Bonneville International.

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• 1960KIRO-TV and KTNT-TV settle CBS affiliation dispute

  A legal settlement requires the two Seattle-area stations to share CBS programming temporarily before KIRO-TV later becomes the exclusive affiliate.

  Lawsuit
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• 1958KIRO-TV begins broadcasting

  Seattle's channel 7 launches as the final commercial VHF television station allocated to the metropolitan area and joins CBS.

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1. KIRO-TV
2. KIRO 7 official website