KGW Online
KGW ("Northwest NewsChannel 8") is an NBC affiliate serving the Portland,
Oregon area. The station broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 8, and its
digital signal on UHF channel 46. Its transmitter is located in Portland.
History
The station was an extension of KGW-AM 620 radio. The Oregonian newspaper
created KGW-AM by purchasing an existing transmitter from the Shipowners Radio
Service. The U.S. Department of Commerce licensed the station, and it began
broadcasting on March 25, 1922.
The Oregonian applied for and received an FCC permit for a television station in
1947, but later returned it in order to focus on its core newspaper business. It
later bought KOIN-AM and used it to start KOIN-TV.
North Pacific Television, Inc. acquired KGW-AM and KGW-FM on November 1, 1953.
The group was owned by a group of five Portland businessmen and Seattle
businesswoman Dorothy Bullitt. Bullit's King Broadcasting Company owned a 40%
stake in the venture. Bullitt eventually gained full control of the stations,
and KGW-TV signed on the air on December 15, 1956 on channel 8 as an ABC
affiliate. On April 26, 1959, it swapped affiliations with KPTV, becoming an NBC
affiliate. (KGW's sister station, KING-TV in Seattle, Washington, also switched
from ABC to NBC at the same time.)
On October 12, 1962 KGW-TV's tower fell during a violent wind storm Friday
afternoon/evening, dubbed by northwest residents as The Columbus Day Storm.
Channel 8 was back on the air Tuesday night (October 16th) using a temporary
tower, plus an antenna on loan from KTNT-TV Tacoma. A new antenna & tower was
placed into service on January 28, 1963.
In 1992, the Bullitt family sold KING Broadcasting (which also included KING-TV
in Seattle, KREM-TV in Spokane, Washington, KTVB-TV in Boise, Idaho and KHNL-TV
in Honolulu, Hawaii) to the Providence Journal Corporation. Belo Corp purchased
"ProJo" in 1998, gaining control of all the former KING Broadcasting stations.
Locally, KGW broadcasts some Portland Trail Blazers games as well as local
broadcasting.
KGW broadcasts NBC Weather Plus on DTV 8.2 and on Comcast Cable channel 308. NBC
Weather Plus features the First Alert Storm Team for local forecasts.
Digital Television
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
Digital channels
Channel Programming
8.1 / 46.1 Main KGW programming
8.2 / 46.2 NBC Weather Plus
Newscasts
Weekdays
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at Sunrise - 5 AM-7 AM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at Noon - 12 PM-12:30 PM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at Five - 5 PM-5:30 PM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 6:00 - 6 PM-6:30 PM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 6:30 - 6:30 PM-7 PM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 10 on Portland's CW - 10 PM-10:30 PM on KRCW
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 11:00 - 11 PM-11:35 PM
Saturdays
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at Sunrise - 6 AM-9 AM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 5:00 - 5 PM-6 PM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 6:30 - 6:30 PM-7 PM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 10 on Portland's CW - 10 PM-10:30 PM on KRCW
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 11:00 - 11 PM-11:30 PM
Sundays
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at Sunrise - 6 AM-8 AM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 5:00 - 5 PM-6 PM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 6:30 - 6:30 PM-7 PM
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 10 on Portland's CW - 10 PM-10:30 PM on KRCW
* Northwest NewsChannel 8 at 11:00 - 11 PM-11:35 PM
* SPORTS SUNDAY - 11:35 PM-Midnight
Prominent former reporters and anchors
* Tom McCall - Former Oregon governor
* Ann Curry - Today show newsreader
* Colin Cowherd - ESPN Radio host
* John Stossel - Anchor of ABC's 20/20 and his catchphrase, "Give Me a Break!"
Current Anchors and Reporters
Anchors:
* Tracy Barry
* Laural Porter
* Joe Donlon
* Brenda Braxton
* Russ Lewis
* Nancy Francis
* Amy Troy (also reports during the week)
Weather:
* Matt Zaffino
* Dave Salesky
* Jim Donovan
* Ron Pedersen
* Joe Michaels
Sports:
* Joe Becker
* Adam Bjaranson
Reporters:
* Scott Burton
* Drew Carney
* Wilson Chow (Northwest Cable News Reporter)
* Pat Dooris
* Jennifer Iveson
* Kyle Iboshi
* Drew Mikkelsen
* Randy Neves
* Dave Northfield
* Vince Patton
* Jack Penning
* Jane Smith
* Joe Smith
* Stephanie Stricklen
Contact Information
Call our office today to set up an appointment. Learn more about how we can
help you, and learn more about the other services that we can offer you. All
messages we receive will be answered as soon as possible. We look forward to
hearing from you.
- Electronic mail
- General Information:
