First to the air in the Pacific Northwest. That’s the legacy of KING-TV in Seattle. Today we’re standing before a broadcast landmark. KING-TV has been a part of Seattle’s media landscape since November 25 1948.
KING-TV channel 5 is affiliated with NBC. Tegna Inc. owns KING-TV and KONG channel 16. The two stations share studios at the Home Plate Center. This is in Seattle’s SoDo district. KING-TV’s transmitter is in the Queen Anne neighborhood.
Originally, channel 5 was KRSC-TV. Palmer K. Leberman’s Radio Sales Corporation owned it. KRSC radio AM and FM were also part of the company. The call sign came from Leberman’s company name.
The first broadcast of KING-TV faced technical challenges. It was a live remote of a Thanksgiving Day high school football game. Viewers were still impressed. KRSC-TV was initially a primary CBS affiliate. It also carried NBC ABC and DuMont programs.
Eight months later King Broadcasting Company purchased KRSC-TV and KRSC-FM. They paid 375000 dollars in May 1949. King Broadcasting owned KING radio. The station changed its call sign to KING-TV. Legend says Dorothy Bullitt bought the KING call letters on a fishing boat. Walt Disney drew the stations’ logo. It was King Mike a microphone with ermine robes and a crown. KING-TV brought back the King Mike logo for its 50th anniversary. It still appears in promotional announcements.
KING-TV lost its monopoly when the FCC freeze ended in 1952. New stations came to Seattle-Tacoma in 1953. NBC moved to KOMO-TV. KING-TV then affiliated with ABC and DuMont. DuMont ceased operations in 1956. Dorothy Bullitt lobbied NBC. In 1958 KING-TV and KGW-TV in Portland began carrying NBC programs. KING-TV became an exclusive NBC station on September 27 1959. KOMO-TV affiliated with ABC full-time. KING-TV has held primary affiliations with all of the “Big Three” networks.
Dorothy Bullitt arranged Stimson Bullitt’s resignation in 1972. Ancil Payne became president and CEO. By the 1970s KING-TV led a growing regional media empire. It included publishing film and cable television.
KING-TV debuted local programs in the 1970s and 1980s. These included Seattle Today Good Company and Almost Live. Only Evening Magazine still exists today. How Come? won several awards.
Dorothy Bullitt died in June 1989. Her daughters sold King Broadcasting in 1992. The Providence Journal Company bought it. KING-TV became a Belo property in 1997. Belo divested KIRO-TV to keep KING-TV.
Bonneville International Corporation purchased KING AM in 1994. Almost Live launched the careers of Bill Nye and Joel McHale. KING-TV was home to Watch This. In 1995 King Broadcasting launched Northwest Cable News. Almost Live ended in 1999.
The Gannett Company acquired Belo in 2013. In 2015 Gannett’s TV properties became Tegna. KING-TV announced plans to sell its South Lake Union headquarters in 2014. It relocated to the Home Plate Center in SoDo. KING KONG and NWCN also moved there. The former facilities were demolished in 2016.
KING quietly transitioned its master control to Home Plate Center on February 12 2016. NWCN shut down on January 6 2017. This was due to declining viewership.
KING-TV relies on newscasts and local programming. It broadcasts only two syndicated programs during its weekday schedule. KING-TV broadcasts coverage of the fireworks show on the Space Needle on New Year’s Eve.
KING-TV opted not to carry NBC’s Stanley Cup Finals at times. KONG picked up the NBC telecasts.
KING-TV has been the official television partner of the Seattle Seahawks since 2022. The station also airs Seahawks games through NBC’s broadcast contract with the NFL.
KING airs select Seattle Kraken NHL games beginning in the 2024–25 season.
KING-TV broadcasts 46 hours of local newscasts each week. In 1999 KING-TV began broadcasting its newscasts in high definition. In 2007 KING-TV upgraded all of its studio cameras to high definition.
KING-TV adopted Gannett’s standardized newscast presentation.
KING-TV ended regular programming over its analog signal on June 12 2009. The station’s digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 48, using virtual channel 5.
KING-TV is available in Canada on satellite providers.
KING-TV a station with a pioneering spirit continues to evolve. Its commitment to local news and community engagement remains strong. From its early days as KRSC-TV to its current status as a Tegna-owned NBC affiliate KING-TV has truly earned its place in Seattle’s history.