KVIQ

History

KVIQ signed on the air on VHF channel 6 as Eureka's second television station on April 1, 1958. It was owned by Shasta Telecasting, as a satellite station of KVIP-TV (now KRCR-TV) in Redding, California; Shasta Telecasting sold the station to California Northwest Broadcasting in 1960. California Oregon Broadcasting subsequently acquired KIEM-TV (channel 3), which it operated separately from KRCR. KVIQ initially broadcast from studios located on Humboldt Hill Road in Eureka. Since the Eureka market only had two television stations in those early days, KVIQ offered programs from several networks. The station later relocated its studios to a new facility located on Broadway Street in Eureka. By the 1980s, the station was the area's primary NBC affiliate, but it also carried some ABC programs until KAEF (channel 23) went on the air in 1987. The McConnells sold the station to Miller Broadcasting in 1986.

Miller Broadcasting sold KVIQ to the Ackerley Group in 1998. Ackerley invested quite a bit of money into its news operations. Ackerley merged with corporate giant Clear Channel Communications in 2002. Not long after this merger, the news operation at KVIQ was quickly abandoned. The station was managed by David Silverbrand with its engineering function performed by James Mixon. Providing operational and sales staff was Sainte Partners II, L.P.. Sainte Partners sold the station in 2014.

KVIQ was also available on the radio at 87.7 FM until they ceased the analog channel 6 signal.

The Eureka television market (DMA #195) was the only TV market in California not available on DISH Network until June 3, 2010, at which time it became available. The Eureka local channels are not yet available on DirecTV.

In December 2013, Sainte Partners II reached a deal to sell KVIQ to Redwood Television Partners, a subsidiary of Frontier Radio Management. The sale was completed on June 30, 2014.

On January 29, 2016, Frontier Radio Management sold Redwood Broadcast Partners to NBI Holdings, LLC, which owns Northwest Broadcasting. The sale was completed on March 24.

Digital channel

KVIQ was the second station in Eureka to broadcast in high definition.

Analog-to-digital conversion

KVIQ shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 6, on November 28, 2008. The station's digital signal broadcasts on its pre-transition UHF channel 17.

News operation

KVIQ had, during the early 1980s, a news operation entitled Newswest. The newscasts were broadcast in the early morning, late night, and evenings, along with two midday newsbreaks. A regular feature of these newscasts was "Segment 6".[2]

Throughout most of the 1990s, KVIQ presented Channel 6 News weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.

After being purchased by Ackerley, KVIQ fielded a news operation called Action News 6. These newscasts aired weekdays at 6 a.m. and Noon, and weeknights at 5, 6, 6:30 and 11 p.m. KVIQ also aired weekend newscasts at 6:30 and 11 p.m. Shortly after Clear Channel's acquisition of Ackerley, KVIQ discontinued its news, and began importing the morning and 10pm rebroadcasts of newscasts from then-sister station KFTY in Santa Rosa. After KVIQ was sold off in 2005, the KFTY rebroadcasts ceased, and the station replaced the newscasts in its schedule with syndicated programming. KVIQ is currently the only CBS affiliate in California not to offer any local news.

Programs

When local news ended on KVIQ, the Noon spot was replaced with infomercials. As of 2013, Frasier now airs in this slot. The evening newscasts were replaced with Everybody Loves Raymond at 5PM and 6:30PM, Frasier at 5:30PM (now at 5PM and noon) and Inside Edition at 11PM. However, as of 2013, According to Jim airs at 6:30 on KVIQ. KVIQ formerly aired The Oprah Winfrey Show at 7PM, one of very few stations in the country to air the show in prime-time. Oprah returned to KIEM until the show ended in May 2011.