KLEW-TV

KLEW-TV
CityLewiston, Idaho
Channels
BrandingKLEW-TV; KLEW News (call letters are pronounced individually)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KEPR-TV, KIMA-TV, KUNW-CD
History
First air date
December 7, 1955 (68 years ago) (1955-12-07)
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 3 (VHF, 1955–2009)
  • Both secondary:
  • ABC (1955–1959, 1965–1970)
  • NBC (1955–1965)
Call sign meaning
Lewiston
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID56032
ERP133 kW
HAAT349 m (1,145 ft)
Transmitter coordinates46°27′27″N 117°6′0″W / 46.45750°N 117.10000°W / 46.45750; -117.10000
Translator(s)see § Translators
Links
Public license information
Websiteklewtv.com

KLEW-TV (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Lewiston, Idaho, United States, affiliated with CBS. The station serves the Lewis–Clark Valley and Palouse regions of north-central Idaho and southeastern Washington, as well as Wallowa County, Oregon. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, KLEW-TV maintains studios on 17th Street in Lewiston, and its transmitter is located near Clarkston, Washington.

Though identifying as a station in its own right, KLEW-TV is considered a semi-satellite of KIMA-TV (channel 29) in Yakima, which operates another semi-satellite, KEPR-TV (channel 19) in Tri-Cities, Washington. KLEW and KEPR simulcast all network and syndicated programming as provided through KIMA, but air separate commercial inserts, legal identifications and weeknight newscasts, and have their own websites. Master control and some internal operations are based at KOMO Plaza (formerly Fisher Plaza) in Seattle.

The area that KLEW-TV serves, including Lewiston, is part of the Spokane, Washington television market, and the station is one of two CBS affiliates in the market, along with Tegna Inc.–owned KREM (channel 2), which is licensed to Spokane and typically considered as the primary CBS affiliate for the market. Both stations are carried on Dish Network and DirecTV throughout the market.

History

KLEW-TV signed on the air December 7, 1955, under the ownership of Cascade Broadcasting. It has always been a CBS affiliate; however, as a satellite of KIMA-TV, it also carried some programming from ABC and NBC in its early years.[2] The station's original studio facilities were located on Idaho Street in Lewiston.

Filmways agreed to purchase Cascade Broadcasting for $3 million in 1968;[3] the sale was approved the following year.[4] Filmways sold KLEW-TV, KIMA-TV, and KEPR-TV to NWG Broadcasting for $1 million in 1972.[5] In 1977, KLEW moved from its original studios on Idaho Street to its current location on 17th Street.

KLEW logo used until 2008; some newscast graphics continued to use this logo for a time afterward.

Retlaw Enterprises acquired the NWG stations, including KLEW-TV, for $17 million in 1986;[6] the stations were operated as part of the Retlaw Broadcasting division.[7] Fisher Companies (later known as Fisher Communications) agreed to purchase the Retlaw stations for $215 million on November 19, 1998,[8] a deal that was completed in July 1999.[9] On April 11, 2013, Fisher announced that it would sell its properties to the Sinclair Broadcast Group;[10] the deal was completed on August 8, 2013.[11]

Newscasts

KLEW-TV airs local newscasts weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m., local news cut-ins during the weekday edition of CBS Mornings from 7 to 9 a.m., that includes a short 5-minute interview segment called Northwest Morning, and simulcasts sister station KIMA-TV's 5 and 6:30 a.m. newscasts, as KLEW does not have morning, midday or weekend newscasts.

Notable former on-air staff

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KLEW-TV[13]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
3.1 1080i 16:9 KLEW-DT CBS
3.2 480i Charge! Charge!
3.3 Comet Comet
3.4 TBD TBD

Translators

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KLEW-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Telecasting Yearbook-Marketbook 1957–58 (PDF). 1957. p. 99. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  3. ^ "Filmways gets Cascade TV's for $3 million" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 30, 1968. p. 57. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  4. ^ "Filmways spreads wings in TV" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 28, 1969. p. 32. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  5. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 3, 1972. pp. 22–3. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  6. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 27, 1986. p. 116. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  7. ^ Peltz, James F. (October 2, 1990). "The Wonderful World of Disney's Other Firm". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "Fisher to pay Retlaw $215 million for 11 TV stations". The New York Times. November 20, 1998. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  9. ^ "Fisher Companies Inc. Acquires the Eleven Television Stations of Retlaw Broadcasting L.L.C." (Press release). Seattle: Fisher Companies. Business Wire. July 2, 1999. Retrieved June 8, 2016 – via The Free Library.
  10. ^ Malone, Michael (April 11, 2013). "Sinclair to Acquire Fisher Stations for $373 Million". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  11. ^ "Sinclair Broadcast Group Closes On Fisher Communications Acquisition". All Access. August 8, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  12. ^ "Nadine Woodward LinkedIn". LinkedIn.com. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  13. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KLEW". RabbitEars.info.