Perhaps you have tuned into K5 lately. K5 is more than just a subchannel. It is part of KHNL. KHNL is a television station in Honolulu. It serves the Hawaiian Islands as an NBC affiliate. KHNL is owned by Gray Television. It shares studios with CBS affiliate KGMB and Telemundo affiliate KFVE.
KHNL’s history is rich. It began on July 4 1962 as KTRG. KTRG broadcasted from the Hawaiian Village Hotel in Waikiki. It aired English programming from 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. daily. A technical glitch delayed its debut until 10:10 p.m. KTRG aired reruns and produced local shows. These included The Gripe Box and a local version of Romper Room.
By 1963, KTRG added Japanese language programming. In 1967, it changed its call letters to KIKU. The station moved to a new studio facility on Puuhale Road. KIKU offered English programming from 1 to 5 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. Japanese programming aired from 5 to 10 p.m. By 1972, KIKU carried Japanese programming for most of the broadcast day. Its schedule included tokusatsu series for children.
Mid-Pacific Television Associates bought the station in 1979. In 1980, English programming returned from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Japanese programming followed from 7 to 10 p.m. In 1981, the station became a full-time English language station. It ran cartoons, sitcoms and movies. Japanese programming moved to UHF stations.
In 1984, the station became KHNL. It branded itself as the News Alternative and Free Movie Channel. KHNL acquired rights to University of Hawaii sports events. In 1986, the King Broadcasting Company acquired KHNL. On October 9 KHNL became a charter Fox affiliate. Prime time programming followed in April 1987.
In September 1993, KHNL adopted the Fox 13 branding. In May 1993, it entered a local marketing agreement with KFVE. In January 1994, University of Hawaii sports moved to KFVE. In August 1994, KHON-TV was sold to SF Broadcasting. KHON announced it would drop NBC to become a Fox affiliate. NBC reached an affiliation deal with KHNL.
Just before affiliating with NBC, KHNL built the first fully digital newsroom. It used fiber optic technology for live feeds from other islands. On January 1 1996 KHNL became an NBC affiliate. KHNL was branded as NBC Hawaii News 8. That year, KHNL won an Emmy for best local news. When the Providence Journal Company merged with Belo Corporation on February 28 1997, the station struck a deal with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
On October 29 1999 Belo sold KHNL and its LMA with KFVE to Raycom Media. Raycom acquired KFVE outright two months later. On May 11 2002 KHBC launched a digital signal. In 2003, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog visited KHNL. In November 2008, KHNL relocated to the KHNL and KFVE facility on Waiakamilo Road.
On August 18 2009 KHNL and KGMB entered a shared services agreement. KGMB’s operations would combine with KHNL and KFVE. On October 26 2009 the SSA took effect. KHNL dropped its NBC 8 branding. On March 2 2011 KHNL’s high definition feed began on DirecTV.
Beginning in 2016, the Hawaii News Now group severed ties to Nielsen ratings. On June 25 2018 Gray Television announced it would merge with Raycom. On November 1 2018 Nexstar Media Group announced it would acquire KFVE.
KHNL generally clears all NBC programming. NBC News Daily airs on KHNL at 1100 a.m. KHNL broadcasts 27 hours of local newscasts each week. As KTRG, the station aired Nightly News. In January 1995, KHNL formed its own news department.
On April 17 1995 the station launched a prime time newscast. News broadcasts expanded that year. Upon joining NBC, the station added a two-hour morning newscast. On August 31 1997 KHNL debuted Sports Sunday Hawaii. On April 5 2000 the station debuted Chopper 8. On December 22 2008 KHNL began broadcasting newscasts in high definition. The shared services agreement resulted in staff terminations.
KHNL’s digital signals are multiplexed. KHNL discontinued regular programming on its analog signal on January 15 2009. KHNL operates satellite stations across the Hawaiian Islands. These stations rebroadcast KHNL’s programming.