Slogan On Your Side. Motto On Your Side | Affiliations ABC (1964–present) Sister station KUNP | |
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Branding KATU (general)
KATU News (newscasts)
(pronounced "K-2") Channels Digital: 43 (UHF)
Virtual: 2 (PSIP) Subchannels 2.1 ABC
2.2 MeTV
2.3 Comet Owner Sinclair Broadcast Group
(Sinclair Portland Licensee, LLC) Affiliation American Broadcasting Company Headquarters Portland, Oregon, United States Founded 15 March 1962, Portland, Oregon, United States Former affiliation Independent station (1962–1964) Parent organizations Fisher Communications, Sinclair Broadcast Group Profiles | ||
Katu station id 1975
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, 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.
Contents
- Katu station id 1975
- Katu ad break and news brief 1990
- History
- Digital channels
- Analog to digital conversion
- News operation
- Notable current on air staff
- Notable former on air staff
- Translators
- Heliport
- References
Katu ad break and news brief 1990
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 1958. However, KATU did not begin broadcasting until March 15, 1962, originally operating as an independent station. The station's transmitter was originally located atop Livingston Mountain, about 7 miles (11 km) NNE of Camas, Washington.
On January 19, 1964, KATU moved its transmitter site 21 miles (34 km), to Portland's West Hills to improve its signal coverage. 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). It is also Portland's longest-lasting ABC affiliate to date. 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.
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. 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.
On April 10, 2013, KATU and Fisher Communications' other holdings were acquired by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. The Federal Communications Commission granted its approval of the deal on August 7, and the sale was completed the following day.
Digital channels
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
On June 25, 2012, KATU switched its second digital subchannel from This TV
On January 15, 2016, KATU switched its third digital subchannel from 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, 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. 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. Song also won dual first place (2006) Associated Press Awards in Best Writing, and Best Investigative Reporting.
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.
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
Notable former on-air staff
Translators
KATU's signal is rebroadcast on the following translator stations:
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.