KPRC-TV

KPRC-TV is a Houston television station affiliated with NBC and identified on air primarily as Channel 2. It serves one of the largest television markets in the United States and is owned by Graham Media Group, the broadcasting division of Graham Holdings Company. The station operates from studios on the Southwest Freeway in Houston's Southwest Management District, while its transmission facilities are located near Missouri City in northeastern Fort Bend County. The station began broadcasting on January 1, 1949, under the call sign KLEE-TV. It was the first television station to sign on in Houston and the second in Texas. During its earliest period it carried programming from all four major television networks then operating in the market: NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont. Financial difficulties led original owner W. Albert Lee to sell the station to the Hobby family, publishers of the Houston Post and owners of Houston radio station KPRC. The Hobby family assumed control in June 1950, and the television station adopted the KPRC-TV call sign the following month. KPRC-TV's relationship with NBC became its defining business and editorial foundation. The affiliation reflected the long-standing connection between KPRC radio and NBC's radio network. The station was Houston's first to broadcast in color and later became the first in the market to transmit its full schedule in color. Its programming mix has combined NBC network content with locally produced news, weather, sports, public-service features, lifestyle programming, and syndicated entertainment. The station has occupied several important positions in Houston media history. From 1969 through 1998 it produced The Eyes of Texas, a long-running syndicated lifestyle program focused on Texas culture and public life. It has also been a significant broadcaster of Houston sports, including Houston Oilers games during the team's years in the city, Houston Astros baseball under NBC's Major League Baseball contract, Houston Rockets basketball, and selected Houston Texans games carried through NBC's NFL rights. The station has periodically used local programming and charitable fundraising to fill or replace network programming, including long-running telethon activity. Ownership changed in 1994, when the Hobby family's broadcasting interests sold KPRC-TV to the Washington Post Company, later known as Graham Holdings Company. The station was rebranded as Local 2 in 2004 and returned to the simpler Channel 2 identity in 2015. A replacement studio complex was built on the same Sharpstown-area property beginning in 2015 and opened in 2016. KPRC-TV continues to operate as a local NBC affiliate, with its public-facing digital brand centered on Click2Houston.com and its local news, weather, traffic, investigative, and community coverage.

KPRC-TV began broadcasting on January 1, 1949, as KLEE-TV. It was Houston's first television station and one of the earliest television outlets in Texas. The original station carried programs from NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont, reflecting the looser affiliation structure of the early television industry. After roughly a year of operational difficulty, hotel owner W. Albert Lee sold the station to the Hobby family, whose Houston Post publishing business and KPRC radio stations gave the television outlet a strong local-media base. The Hobby family took control on June 1, 1950, and changed the call sign to KPRC-TV on July 3. The call letters were adopted from the family's radio properties and are associated with Houston's historic cotton-trade and transportation identity rather than being an abbreviation of the Houston Post. KPRC-TV became primarily affiliated with NBC, in part because KPRC radio had long been connected with NBC's radio network. The station remained Houston's only television station for several years because of the federal freeze on new station licenses. KPRC-TV was an early technical innovator in the Houston market. Its NBC connection helped it become the first Houston station to broadcast in color, and it subsequently converted its complete schedule to color transmission. In 1953 the station established a permanent studio on Post Oak Road near what later became the Galleria area. In 1972 it moved to a purpose-built facility in the Sharpstown area. The unusual building incorporated suspended studios designed to reduce vibration and was shaped in a way that resembled a film camera when viewed from above. Local production became an important part of the station's identity. The Eyes of Texas, a program about Texas life and culture, was produced by KPRC-TV from 1969 to 1998 and became one of the longest-running syndicated television programs made in Texas. The station also developed a substantial record of public-service broadcasting. It conducted an American Cancer Society telethon in 1950 and carried the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Labor Day Telethon from 1970 through 2012. Sports rights further connected KPRC-TV to Houston institutions. The station carried Houston Oilers games beginning in 1965 through the team's relocation after the 1996 season. It aired Houston Astros games under NBC's national baseball agreement from 1962 to 1989 and served as the club's over-the-air flagship for part of the 1970s. It also broadcast Houston Rockets games under NBC's NBA rights from 1990 to 2002 and again from 2025, including the team's 1994 and 1995 championship seasons. NBC's NFL and sports agreements have also enabled KPRC-TV to carry selected Houston Texans games. The Hobby family's broadcasting assets were reorganized as H&C Communications in the 1980s. KPRC-TV was sold to the Washington Post Company on April 22, 1994, bringing the station into the corporate group that later became Graham Holdings Company. Under that ownership, the station used the Local 2 brand from 2004 until 2015, when it returned to the Channel 2 identity. KPRC-TV began replacing its older Sharpstown facility with a smaller modern studio in 2015; the new building opened in 2016 and the previous structure was demolished. The station's programming history also reflects the competitive pressures facing network affiliates. At various times it preempted or delayed syndicated talk shows, late-night programs, NBC daytime programs, and other network offerings. Its most publicized scheduling dispute involved Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which was removed from the schedule between 1994 and 1996 and later aired in heavily delayed time slots before returning to NBC's preferred late-night position. In the digital era, KPRC-TV has expanded its local presence through Click2Houston.com, streaming video, mobile publishing, and social platforms while maintaining its NBC affiliation and Houston-focused broadcast operation.

1. 2016New studio and Houston Life debut

   KPRC-TV opens a new studio facility and launches Houston Life.

   Source
2. 2015Return to Channel 2 branding

   The station drops the word Local and resumes using Channel 2 as its principal broadcast identity.

   Source
3. 2004Local 2 branding introduced

   KPRC-TV adopts the Local 2 on-air identity.

   Source
4. 1994Washington Post Company acquisition

   The station leaves Hobby family ownership and joins the Washington Post Company's broadcast portfolio.

   Source
5. 1972Sharpstown studio opens

   The station moves into a purpose-built facility near the Southwest Freeway.

   Source
6. 1969The Eyes of Texas launches its KPRC production era

   KPRC-TV begins producing the Texas-focused lifestyle program, which remains associated with the station through 1998.

   Source
7. 1965Houston Oilers broadcasts begin

   NBC's American Football League rights make KPRC-TV a primary local broadcaster for Houston Oilers games.

   Source
8. 1953Permanent Post Oak studio opens

   KPRC-TV begins operating from a permanent studio facility on Post Oak Road.

   Source
9. 1950Hobby family acquisition

   The Hobby family takes control and changes the call sign to KPRC-TV, establishing the station's enduring NBC-oriented identity.

   Source
10. 1949KLEE-TV begins broadcasting

    The station signs on January 1 as Houston's first television station.

    Source

A locally focused NBC affiliate combining Houston news, weather, traffic, sports, lifestyle coverage, and digital reporting with national network programming.

• KPRC 2 NewsLocal news

  KPRC-TV's local news operation provides Houston-area reporting across morning, daytime, evening, and late-night broadcasts. Its coverage typically combines breaking news, investigations, weather, traffic, consumer reporting, public affairs, and regional stories. The same reporting operation supports the station's website, mobile products, social channels, and online video presence.

• Houston LifeLifestyle television2016

  Houston Life is a locally produced lifestyle and entertainment program introduced in 2016. It features Houston-area people, businesses, destinations, events, food, culture, and practical lifestyle segments. The program extends KPRC-TV's brand beyond hard news and gives the station a dedicated format for community-oriented features and promotional partnerships.

• Click2Houston.comDigital media

  Click2Houston.com is KPRC-TV's digital news and information platform. It publishes local reporting, breaking-news updates, weather information, traffic coverage, video, investigations, consumer stories, and community material. The site functions as the station's principal online brand and complements its over-the-air NBC affiliate service.

• The Eyes of TexasSyndicated lifestyle program1969

  The Eyes of Texas was a locally produced lifestyle program centered on Texas culture, places, and people. KPRC-TV produced the program from 1969 through 1998, making it one of the longest-running syndicated television productions associated with Texas broadcasting. The program later continued on Houston PBS member station KUHT.

• 1970MDA Labor Day Telethon

  Houston

  KPRC-TV became a local broadcaster for the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Labor Day Telethon and continued carrying the program for decades.

  Outcome. KPRC-TV's participation ended after the 2012 telethon as the program's distribution model changed.

  Source
• 1950American Cancer Society telethon

  Houston

  KPRC-TV conducted an early local television fundraising event for the American Cancer Society, demonstrating the station's public-service role during the formative years of Houston television.

  Outcome. The event raised $28,000.

  Source

• 2016Replacement studio investmentOther

  The station's approximately 45-year-old Sharpstown facility required replacement and modernization.

  What changed. KPRC-TV opened a new studio building on the same property and later demolished the previous facility.

  Aftermath. The station continued broadcasting from its long-standing Southwest Freeway-area campus with updated production facilities.

  Source
• 2015Return to Channel 2 identityStrategy

  KPRC-TV revised its branding after a decade of using Local 2.

  What changed. The station dropped Local and resumed using Channel 2 as its principal on-air name.

  Aftermath. The Channel 2 identity continues alongside the Click2Houston.com digital brand.

  Source
• 2004Local 2 rebrandStrategy

  The station sought a more locally oriented identity while retaining the Channel 2 name and NBC affiliation.

  What changed. KPRC-TV adopted the Local 2 brand.

  Aftermath. The Local wording was removed in 2015, when the station returned to the simpler Channel 2 identity.

  Source
• 1994Sale to the Washington Post CompanyM&A

  After approximately four decades of Hobby family ownership, the station became part of the Washington Post Company's television group.

  What changed. The Washington Post Company acquired KPRC-TV on April 22, 1994.

  Aftermath. The station later became part of Graham Holdings Company and remains operated through Graham Media Group.

  Source

• 2016KPRC-TV launches Houston Life

  The station introduced a locally produced lifestyle and entertainment program focused on people, places, and activities in the Houston area.

  Product launch
  Source
• 2016KPRC-TV opens replacement studio facility

  A new studio complex was completed on the station's existing Sharpstown-area property, replacing a facility that had served for approximately four decades.

  Other
  Source
• 1950Hobby family assumes control and adopts KPRC-TV call sign

  The Hobby family acquired the station, connected it to the KPRC radio properties, and made it a primary NBC affiliate.

  M&A
  Source
• 1949KPRC-TV signs on as Houston's first television station

  The station began broadcasting under the KLEE-TV call sign on January 1, establishing Houston's first television service.

  Other
  Source

1. KPRC-TV
2. KPRC-TV official website