KATU

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For other uses, see Katu.
KATU
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175px
Portland, Oregon
United States
Branding KATU (general)
KATU News (newscasts)
(pronounced "K-2")
Slogan On Your Side.
Channels Digital: 43 (UHF)
Virtual: 2 (PSIP)
Subchannels 2.1 ABC
2.2 Me-TV
2.3 GetTV
Affiliations ABC (1964-present)
Owner Sinclair Broadcast Group
(Sinclair Portland Licensee, LLC)
First air date March 15, 1962
Call letters' meaning pronounced "K-2"
Sister station(s) KUNP, KOMO-TV, KUNS-TV
Former channel number(s) Analog:
2 (VHF, 1962–2009)
Former affiliations Independent (1962–1964)
Transmitter power 1000 kW
Height 524 m
Facility ID 21649
Transmitter coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website www.katu.com

KATU, virtual channel 2 (UHF digital channel 43), is an ABC-affiliated television station located in Portland, Oregon, United States. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group,[1] as part of a duopoly with Univision affiliate KUNP (channel 16). The two stations share studios and offices located on NE Sandy Boulevard in northeastern Portland, KATU's transmitter is located in the Sylvan-Highlands section of the city.

History

A construction permit for channel 2, Portland's last available channel allocation on the VHF band, was issued to Fisher's Blend Station, Inc., (later known as Fisher Communications) as early as[weasel words] 1958.[citation needed] However, KATU did not begin broadcasting until March 15, 1962, originally operating as an independent station.[2] The station's transmitter was originally[when?] located atop Livingston Mountain, about 7 miles (11 km) NNE of Camas, Washington.[citation needed]

On January 19, 1964, KATU moved its transmitter site 21 miles (34 km), to Portland's West Hills to improve its signal coverage.[citation needed] Just over a month later, it took over the ABC affiliation in Portland away from KPTV (channel 12) on March 1, 1964. This made KATU the fourth television station in the Portland market in less than a decade to have affiliated with ABC full-time (after KLOR, KGW – channel 8, and KPTV).[citation needed] It is also Portland's longest-lasting ABC affiliate to date.[citation needed] KATU is the only one of the first five television stations in Portland to have operated out of the same studio (at 2153 N.E. Sandy Boulevard) since it went on the air, although the building had earlier been used as a laundry for many years.[citation needed]

In 2002, KATU-TV celebrated its 40th anniversary. To mark the occasion, it updated its on-air graphics, and introduced a new news set; the station also aired stories from past newscasts.[citation needed] From December 2008 to June 11, 2009, KATU (and the other Fisher-owned stations) were not carried by Dish Network due to a dispute over retransmission consent compensation.[3]

On April 10, 2013, KATU and Fisher Communications' other holdings were acquired by the Sinclair Broadcast Group.[4][5] The Federal Communications Commission granted its approval of the deal on August 7,[6] and the sale was completed the following day.[1]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[7]
2.1 720p 16:9 KATU-HD Main KATU programming / ABC
2.2 480i 4:3 KATU-SD Me-TV
2.3 480i 4:3 GetTV GetTV

On June 25, 2012, KATU switched its second digital subchannel from This TV

On July 1, 2014, KATU added a third digital subchannel which carries GetTV.

Analog-to-digital conversion

On July 17, 2008 at 6:15 p.m., KATU conducted a test for viewers to determine whether their television sets were ready for the digital television transition by turning off its analog signal for 10 seconds, which the station conducted other times through the spring of 2009.

KATU shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 2, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 43,[8][9] using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 2. During the last segment of the station's 11 p.m. newscast, anchor Steve Dunn reported from KATU's master control facility giving last-minute information on the digital television transition before the switch occurred.

News operation

KATU presently broadcasts 33½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 5½ hours on weekdays and three hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). During the November 2006 and February 2007 sweeps periods, KATU finished in third place overall in the local newscast ratings, behind KGW and KPTV.[citation needed] In 2006, KATU won two Edward R. Murrow Awards, including an investigative piece reported by Anna Song on a newborn baby that was left severely brain damaged by OHSU hospital.[citation needed] Song also won dual first place (2006) Associated Press Awards in Best Writing, and Best Investigative Reporting.[citation needed]

On October 11, 2007, KATU became the third television station in Portland to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in 16:9 widescreen standard definition. In April 2008, KATU introduced a revamped set that expanded to the entire studio that was designed specifically for high definition broadcasts in 2009. Previously, the studio was divided in half, with one side the news set and the other the AM Northwest set. The new set was one of the most expensive projects in KATU history.[citation needed]

KATU started testing high definition newscasts on August 8, 2009. The full rollout premiered during their 4 p.m. newscast on August 17, 2009, making it the second station in the Portland market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.

Notable current on-air staff

  • Anna Canzano – weekend mornings and weekend evenings; also investigative reporter
  • Brian Wood – weekdays anchor

Notable former on-air staff

Translators

KATU's signal is rebroadcast on the following translator stations:

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List of translators
Oregon translators
City Callsign City Callsign City Callsign City Callsign
Astoria K26DB Baker City K44AJ-D Corvallis K45CV The Dalles K18HH-D
Enterprise K34IF-D Hood River K50CE-D La Grande K35GA-D
K47NR-D		 La Pine K09YE-D
Madras K38NM-D Milton-Freewater K28FT-D Newport K42CZ
Pendleton K34DI-D Prineville K35LD-D Rockaway Beach K47CD-D
Tillamook K43EJ-D
Washington translators
Grays River K38GS-D Longview K21HG

Low-power translators in Mitchell and Wasco have been discontinued.

Heliport

KATU Heliport (FAA LID: 21OR) is a private heliport on the roof of KATU TV's building in Portland, Oregon.[14]

See also

  • Exploding whale - KATU's claim to fame as the station that aired footages of the Oregon Highway Division's attempt to dispose of a dead whale. Longtime KATU Anchor (and current KEX Morning Host) Paul Linnman is the face of the report.
  • Bumpity - A local children program produced by KATU from 1971-1985.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Murphy, Francis (March 17, 1962). "Behind the Mike" (regular media column). The Oregonian, Section 2, p. 3. Excerpt: "KATU went on air smoothly Thursday night as guests who had gathered in new studio sat before monitors to watch opening show."
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1562915.pdf
  7. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for KATU
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ CDBS Print
  10. ↑ Schulberg, Pete (April 28, 1993). "Jack Faust of 'Town Hall': big shoes to fill". The Oregonian, p. B7.
  11. ↑ Schulberg, Pete (February 19, 1997). "Now you see your favorite weatherperson, now you don't". The Oregonian, p. B1.
  12. ↑ Nicholas, Jonathan (February 26, 2003). "25 bucking the trend". The Oregonian, p. C1.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ FAA 5010 for 21OR.

External links

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