| Honolulu, Hawaii | |
|---|---|
| Branding | KGMB (general) Hawaii News Now (newscasts) |
| Slogan | Live, Local, Connected |
| Channels | Digital: 23 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | 5.1 CBS 5.2 This TV |
| Owner | Raycom Media (KHNL/KGMB License Subsidiary, LLC) |
| First air date | December 1, 1952 |
| Call letters' meaning | K George M. Bowls (KGMB's first chief engineer) |
| Sister station(s) | KHNL KFVE |
| Former callsigns | KGMB-TV (1952-1982) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 9 (VHF, 1952-2009) Digital: 8 (VHF, 2002-2009) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (secondary, 1952-1954) UPN (secondary shared with KHON-TV, 2002-2004) |
| Transmitter power | 23 kW |
| Height | 629 m |
| Facility ID | 34445 |
| Website | [2] |
KGMB is the CBS-affiliated television station for the state of Hawaii that is licensed to Honolulu. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 23 from a transmitter in Palehua.
The station is owned and operated by Raycom Media, who gained ownership of KGMB through a complex (and controversial) shared services agreement with KGMB's former owner, MCG Capital Corporation, an arrangement that saw KGMB leave its longtime on-air home from PSIP channel 9 to channel 5 in October 2009.
The station shares studio space with KHNL and KFVE (now owned by MCG Capital) on Waiakamilo Road in Honolulu. Syndicated programming on KGMB includes The Insider, Jeopardy!, America Now, and Frasier.
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KGMB-TV was the first television station in Hawaii airing its first programs on December 1, 1952. It was owned by a partnership of future congressman Cec Heftel, owner of KGMB-AM 590, and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. They carried programming from all three major networks but was a primary CBS affiliate owing to KGMB-AM's long affiliation with CBS Radio. The station lost NBC when KONA-TV (now KHON-TV) signed-on two weeks later, and lost ABC when KULA-TV (now KITV) launched in 1954. Lee Enterprises bought KGMB-AM-TV in 1977. The company sold off KGMB-AM in 1980 and is now KSSK-AM. In 1982, they dropped the -TV suffix from the call sign. The real-life KGMB news crew was often featured in one of the longest running police dramas on CBS in the 1970s, Hawaii Five-O.
In 2000, Lee exited television and sold most of its television holdings (including KGMB) to Emmis Communications. Emmis already owned KHON-TV, so it had to get a waiver of the FCC's duopoly rules which normally forbid common ownership of two of the four largest stations in a single market for the purchase of KGMB. This waiver was renewed several times while Emmis owned both stations. At that time, KHON moved its studios to KGMB's facility.
From 2002 to 2004, KGMB carried select programming from now-defunct UPN, via a secondary affiliation shared with KHON. UPN programming had previously been seen on KFVE from 1995 until 2002, when the station switched its primary affiliation to The WB. KIKU picked up secondary UPN affiliation in Fall 2004.
As Emmis itself prepared to exit the television industry, it sold KHON to the Montecito Broadcast Group in 2006. Emmis then announced on February 20, 2007 that KGMB and its satellites had been sold to MCG Capital Corporation for $40 million.[1] The FCC granted approval for this sale in late-May and was completed on June 4.
For many years, KGMB billed itself as "One of the Good Things About Hawaii" with its rich history of local television programming exclusively in Hawaii. This slogan was made famous by an acapella jingle which is still heard on KGMB today. It can now be heard at the end of KGMB's morning newscast, "Sunrise," leading into The Early Show. Later, with an emphasis on weather, the station branded itself "Hawaii's Severe Weather Station".
Shortly after MCG Capital Corporation took over, KGMB adopted a logo similar to one it used in the early-1980s and also rolled out a new news package and website.
On August 18, 2009, MCG Capital Corporation and Raycom Media (owner of KHNL and, at the time, KFVE) announced a shared services agreement which would see Raycom merge the three stations' operations into the KHNL/KFVE studios on Waiakamilo Road in Honolulu (KGMB would vacate its studios on Kapiolani Boulevard). Though non-news programming would remain in place, the 3 stations' news operations would be combined under one banner. The arrangement would also see a channel swap, with KGMB moving from PSIP channel 9 to channel 5 and KFVE move from 5 to 9.[2]
The resulting ownership arrangement of the stations has generated some controversy, as Raycom would gain ownership of KGMB when it moved to channel 5 and KFVE would be owned by MCG Capital on channel 9. Organizations such as media watchdog group Media Council Hawaii viewed the plan as a way to circumvent FCC rules preventing one company owning two of the top four stations in any market.[2] (The FCC only recognizes ownership of facility identifications, which remain attached to their channel numbers, and not ownership of a station's call sign or intellectual properties. In this case, Raycom keeps ownership of Facility ID 34445, KGMB's new home, while MCG Capital still owns Facility ID 36917, KFVE's new home.) Raycom president Paul McTear has staunchly defended the SSA, saying it would "preserve three stations that provide important and valuable local, national and international programming to viewers in Hawaii." [3] Further controversy over the SSA grew with the revelation in a Honolulu Star-Bulletin report on November 7, 2009 that Raycom will pay MCG Capital an amount of $22 million (according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission[4])--which, in effect, would constitute a sale of KGMB from MCG Capital to Raycom. Both companies did not mention any exchange of money during its August SSA announcement, only "assets."[5] The FCC, in response to Media Council Hawaii's filing of an objection over the SSA, has asked Raycom for detailed, unredacted agreements in relation to the SSA.[6]
The SSA and on-air swap took effect on October 26, 2009, with KGMB moving from PSIP channel 9 to channel 5 and changing branding from "KGMB 9" to just "KGMB."[7] An estimated 68 positions from a total of 198 from the three stations would be eliminated as part of the agreement.[8]
On May 8, 2010, the remaining items and memorabilia that was left at KGMB's former studios were auctioned off, with proceeds going to charity.[9]
In April 2011 KGMB's DT2 subchannel added This TV to its lineup. Although they carry the network's lineup, they also air some local content because of the time difference between the mainland US and Hawaii.
Like all major television stations in Hawaii, KGMB operates multiple satellites and translators across the Hawaiian Islands to rebroadcast programs outside of metropolitan Honolulu. The translators include K57BI channel 57 in Waimea and K69BZ channel 69 in Lihue. K57BI has a transmitter in Kalaheo while K69BZ has a transmitter northwest of Omao. As of May 2011, however, K57BI's license was canceled by the FCC.
| Station | City of license | Channel | First air date | ERP | HAAT | Facility ID | Transmitter coordinates | Transmitter location |
| KGMD-TV 1 | Hilo | 9 (VHF) | May 15, 1955 | 2 kW | 31 m | 36914 | west of downtown | |
| KGMV 2 | Wailuku | 24 (UHF) | April 24, 1955 | 77 kW | 755 m | 36920 | summit of Haleakala |
Notes:
KGMB clears all CBS programming, although it will occasionally pre-empt prime time shows until late nights in order to broadcast local events. The station airs CBS' daytime soap operas in a radically different order from the main network feed. Prior to the September 18, 2009 conclusion of Guiding Light, air times included The Bold and the Beautiful (at 11:30 A.M.), Guiding Light (at Noon), The Young and the Restless (at 1 P.M.), and As the World Turns (at 2). In most other markets, Y&R is aired first followed by B&B, ATWT, and GL. Starting in October, Let's Make a Deal took the Noon slot. On weekdays outside of network hours, KGMB airs syndicated first-run shows during the daytime and sitcom reruns during the late night hours. On weekends during the Hawaii Warriors football season, KGMB airs The Coach Mack Show, which recaps the last game played and previews the next one.
KGMB currently broadcasts in full 1080i. Live-action events such as the NFL and college basketball games are thus available in high definition to Honolulu residents. Recently, they also upgraded its servers to time-shift high definition programming including CSI Miami, The Unit, and The Late Show with David Letterman. The shows, which are received from the mainland in the afternoon, were previously recorded in standard definition before being rebroadcast in the evening. On January 14, 2008, KGMB's HD feed became available on Oceanic Time Warner Cable digital channel 1007.[10] Prior to that date, it was the only major broadcast station not available in HD on Oceanic. A temporary agreement was reached between KGMB and Oceanic Time Warner to carry Super Bowl XLI in high definition.[11] KGMB does produce some local programming in high definition.
In January 2009, KGMD remained on channel 9, while KGMB and KGMV moved to channels 22 and 24 respectively when the analog to digital conversion was completed.
From September 2005 until August 2007, KGMB aired the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz Monday through Fridays from 5 to 7. Although The Daily Buzz is a three-hour show, the station only aired the first two. During this period it was the only big three affiliate in the United States carrying the show. They dropped the show after its August 17, 2007 edition to make room for a new morning newscast titled Sunrise on KGMB 9 which launched on September 17. The Daily Buzz moved to KHON's second digital subchannel that has CW affiliation on August 20. Ironically, that show competes with KHON's own Hawaii's Morning News. In June 2007, KGMB built new studios and launched an updated website.
As a result of the SSA, KGMB now broadcasts local news in HD.[12] On December 13, 2008, the station had said that their plans to transfer their news operation to HD was put on hold for the coming months due to the possibility of moving their headquarters. They planned to produce their newscasts in a wide-screen picture as early as July 2009. They stream newscasts live on their website.
The shared services agreement resulted in the termination of all but four KHNL on-air staff and all of KHNL's morning show technicians when its newsroom merged with KGMB on October 26, 2009 when they began their simulcast.[13] The two stations began to jointly produce and simulcast a weeknight 5 and 10 o'clock newscasts while KHNL moved their 6 P.M. show to 5:30. KGMB continues to have its own weeknight 6 o'clock newscast. The only times when they don't simulcast is during the 7AM hour when KHNL starts airing NBC's Today Show, 5:30PM when KGMB airs The CBS Evening News, and at 6PM when KHNL airs The NBC Nightly News. Weekday morning and weekend shows are simulcasted on the two but can be preempted on one station due to network obligations. The local news schedule on KFVE-TV remains unchanged. There is no weekday midday news on either station.[14]
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Hawaii News Now Anchors
Hawaii's Severe Weather Team (Hawaii Weather Now)
Hawaii Traffic Now
Hawaii Sports Now
Hawaii News Now Reporters
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