KNDO

KNDO is a television station licensed to Yakima, Washington, operating on channel 23 and serving the western portion of the Yakima–Tri-Cities television market. It is an NBC affiliate owned by the Cowles Company and operated within the KHQ Television Group, the Spokane-based broadcasting group that also includes KHQ-TV and related stations. KNDO shares a website, much of its programming operation, and local-news resources with sister station KNDU in Richland. KNDU functions as a semi-satellite of KNDO for the eastern portion of the market, with the two stations generally carrying the same NBC, syndicated, and locally produced programming while retaining separate commercial inserts and legal identifications. KNDO began broadcasting on October 15, 1959, under the ownership of Hugh Davis and his Columbia Empire Broadcasting Corporation. Before its launch, Yakima’s three major television networks had largely been concentrated on primary CBS affiliate KIMA-TV. Although an NBC affiliation was considered the expected choice for a new station in the market, KNDO initially became an ABC affiliate, while also carrying NBC programming on a secondary basis and airing selected CBS programs that KIMA-TV did not schedule. This arrangement reflected the limited scale and unusual competitive structure of the Yakima market at the time. The station’s relationship with the Tri-Cities developed soon after its launch. In 1960, Columbia Empire Broadcasting Corporation filed to construct a station on channel 25 in Richland. The FCC approved the permit in 1961, and KNDU began operating on August 10 of that year as a satellite of KNDO. A substantial power increase followed in 1966, strengthening the combined stations’ regional coverage. In 1965, KNDO and KNDU became primary NBC affiliates, although they continued sharing ABC programming with KIMA-TV until the launches of KAPP and KVEW in 1970. From that point onward, KNDO and KNDU became exclusive NBC affiliates in their respective coverage areas. Ownership changed several times. Davis sold the stations to Farragut Communications in 1988. Federal Enterprises acquired them in 1995, and Raycom Media acquired Federal in 1997. The Cowles Company purchased KNDO and KNDU from Raycom in July 1999. They remain part of the Cowles broadcasting portfolio, with master control and some internal functions based at KHQ-TV’s facilities in Spokane, while KNDO maintains studios on West Yakima Avenue in downtown Yakima. Its transmitter is located atop Ahtanum Ridge. KNDO’s principal offering is a combination of NBC network programming, syndicated content, and local television news. Local newscasts produced by KNDU are simulcast on both stations, allowing the combined operation to serve communities across the market while preserving geographically distinct transmission facilities. The stations have also carried digital multicast services, including NBC Weather Plus, Universal Sports, and SWX Right Now. KNDO and KNDU completed the transition to digital-only broadcasting in February 2009. KNDO is available through DirecTV, while KNDU is carried on Dish Network, and KNDO’s signal is retransmitted by translator K32IG-D in Ellensburg. The station marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2009 with a series of reports about Yakima Valley businesses and organizations that had also operated for at least fifty years. Today, KNDO’s brand is centered on NBC programming, regional news coverage, weather, sports, advertising, and community information for viewers in Yakima and surrounding Central Washington communities.

KNDO signed on in Yakima, Washington, on October 15, 1959. It was established by Hugh Davis and Columbia Empire Broadcasting Corporation at a time when KIMA-TV carried the area’s principal network affiliations. Contrary to the expectation that a new Yakima station would immediately take NBC, KNDO initially affiliated primarily with ABC. It also carried NBC programming secondarily and broadcast selected CBS programs that KIMA-TV chose not to air. Columbia Empire expanded the operation into the Tri-Cities region by seeking a second station on channel 25 in Richland. The FCC granted the construction permit in May 1961, and KNDU began broadcasting on August 10, 1961, as a satellite of KNDO. The Richland station received a major power increase in 1966, helping the combined operation reach a broader regional audience. In 1965, KNDO and KNDU became primary NBC affiliates. They continued to share ABC programming with KIMA-TV until KAPP in Yakima and KVEW in the Tri-Cities launched in 1970. Those stations assumed the ABC affiliation, leaving KNDO and KNDU as exclusive NBC affiliates. The two stations subsequently developed a coordinated operating model: KNDU served the eastern portion of the market, while KNDO focused on Yakima and the west. They shared network and syndicated schedules and simulcast locally produced newscasts, while maintaining separate local commercial inserts and legal station identifications. The stations changed ownership several times. Farragut Communications acquired them from Davis in 1988. Federal Enterprises purchased the pair in 1995, and Raycom Media acquired Federal two years later. In July 1999, the Cowles Company bought KNDO and KNDU from Raycom. The stations became part of the KHQ Television Group, alongside Spokane-based KHQ-TV. Master control and selected internal operations are handled from KHQ-TV’s Spokane facilities, while KNDO retains its own Yakima studios on West Yakima Avenue. Its transmitter is located on Ahtanum Ridge. KNDO’s programming history includes periods when the stations preempted portions of NBC’s late-night schedule, including network overnight and rolling-news offerings, in favor of syndicated programming and nightly sign-offs. After Federal Enterprises took control in the mid-1990s, the stations began carrying the full set of cited NBC late-night programs, including Later, Friday Night Videos or Friday Night, and NBC Nightside. Technological changes shaped the station’s later operation. KNDO and KNDU carried NBC Weather Plus on digital subchannels before the national service ended in 2008. They became digital-only stations on February 17, 2009. In September 2010, Universal Sports was discontinued on their digital multicast channels, and the available bandwidth was assigned to SWX Right Now to improve the service’s image quality. KNDO’s signal is also retransmitted by K32IG-D in Ellensburg. The station commemorated its fiftieth anniversary in 2009 through a local storytelling initiative featuring Yakima Valley businesses and organizations that had also been in operation for five decades or longer. KNDO continues to operate as an NBC affiliate serving Yakima and the surrounding Central Washington area, in coordination with KNDU’s coverage of the Tri-Cities.

1. 2010SWX Right Now multicast expansion

   After Universal Sports is discontinued on the digital subchannels, bandwidth is reassigned to SWX Right Now to improve its picture quality.

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2. 2009Digital-only broadcasting

   KNDO and KNDU cease analog transmission and operate as digital-only stations beginning February 17.

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3. 2009Fiftieth anniversary

   KNDO commemorates five decades on air with stories about similarly long-running Yakima Valley businesses and organizations.

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4. 1999Cowles Company purchase

   Cowles Company buys KNDO and KNDU from Raycom Media in July and places them in the KHQ Television Group.

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5. 1997Raycom Media acquires Federal

   Raycom Media purchases Federal Enterprises, taking control of KNDO and KNDU.

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6. 1995Federal Enterprises acquisition

   Federal Enterprises acquires the two-station operation.

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7. 1988Farragut Communications acquisition

   Hugh Davis sells KNDO and KNDU to Farragut Communications.

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8. 1970Exclusive NBC affiliation begins

   The launches of KAPP and KVEW take over ABC programming, leaving KNDO and KNDU as exclusive NBC affiliates.

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9. 1965Stations become primary NBC affiliates

   KNDO and KNDU make NBC their primary network affiliation while temporarily continuing to share ABC with KIMA-TV.

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10. 1961KNDU launches as a satellite

    KNDU begins broadcasting from Richland on August 10 as a satellite operation associated with KNDO.

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11. 1959KNDO signs on

    KNDO begins broadcasting from Yakima on October 15, initially as an ABC affiliate with secondary NBC programming.

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A locally focused NBC affiliate serving Yakima and Central Washington as part of a coordinated two-station operation with KNDU in the Tri-Cities area.

• KNDO local newsLocal television news

  KNDO’s local-news offering covers Yakima and surrounding Central Washington communities. Newscasts are produced through the coordinated KNDO–KNDU operation and are simulcast across both stations, allowing the group to present a regional service while maintaining separate transmission facilities and commercial operations.

• NBC network programmingNetwork television1965

  Since 1965, KNDO has been a primary NBC affiliate, carrying the network’s entertainment, news, sports, and other scheduled programming for viewers in Yakima and the western portion of the market. The station’s NBC role became exclusive after ABC programming moved to newly launched stations in 1970.

• Digital multicast servicesDigital television2009

  KNDO has used digital multicast capacity for services including NBC Weather Plus, Universal Sports, and SWX Right Now. The station became digital-only in 2009, and multicast bandwidth was later shifted from Universal Sports to SWX Right Now.

• KNDO advertisingBroadcast advertising

  The station sells local television advertising in the Yakima area. As part of the combined KNDO–KNDU operation, it uses separate commercial inserts from KNDU even when the two stations carry the same network or syndicated content.

• 2009KNDO 50th anniversary local-history coverage

  Yakima Valley

  To mark fifty years of broadcasting, KNDO aired reports about Yakima Valley businesses and organizations that had also operated for at least fifty years.

  Outcome. The anniversary was presented as a community-focused local-history initiative.

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• 2010Reallocate multicast bandwidth to SWX Right NowStrategy

  Universal Sports was no longer carried on KNDO and KNDU’s digital subchannels.

  What changed. The stations reassigned the freed bandwidth to SWX Right Now to improve the service’s picture quality.

  Aftermath. SWX Right Now received greater technical capacity on the stations’ digital multicast service.

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• 2009Convert to digital-only transmissionGeneration change

  KNDO and KNDU were required to transition from analog television transmission to digital broadcasting.

  What changed. Both stations became digital-only on February 17, 2009.

  Aftermath. The stations continued their network and local services through digital transmission and multicast channels.

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• 1996Restore additional NBC late-night programmingStrategy

  KNDO and KNDU had historically preempted portions of NBC’s late-night and overnight schedule for syndicated programming and nightly sign-offs.

  What changed. After Federal Enterprises took control, the stations began carrying the cited NBC late-night programs, including Later, Friday Night Videos or Friday Night, and NBC Nightside.

  Aftermath. The change increased the amount of NBC network programming carried by the stations.

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• 1965Adopt primary NBC affiliationStrategy

  KNDO had initially operated primarily as an ABC affiliate while carrying NBC programming secondarily.

  What changed. KNDO and KNDU made NBC their primary affiliation, while continuing to share ABC with KIMA-TV until 1970.

  Aftermath. After KAPP and KVEW launched in 1970, KNDO and KNDU became exclusive NBC affiliates.

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• 2010KNDO and KNDU reallocate digital multicast capacity

  Universal Sports was removed from the stations’ digital subchannels, and capacity was reassigned to SWX Right Now to improve its picture quality.

  Product generation
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• 2009KNDO celebrates 50 years of broadcasting

  The station marked its fiftieth anniversary with reports highlighting long-established businesses and organizations in the Yakima Valley.

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• 2009KNDO and KNDU complete digital-only transition

  The two stations became digital-only broadcasters on February 17, 2009.

  Product generationRegulation
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• 1959KNDO begins broadcasting in Yakima

  KNDO began television operations in Yakima on October 15, 1959, initially carrying ABC programming with secondary NBC content.

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1. KNDO