KDRV

KDRV is a full-power television station licensed to Medford, Oregon, and affiliated with the ABC network. The station serves the Medford–Klamath Falls–Yreka designated market area, covering communities in southern Oregon and far northern California. Its principal studios are located on Knutson Avenue in north Medford, near Rogue Valley International–Medford Airport. KDRV operates alongside KDKF, channel 31 in Klamath Falls, which functions as a full-time satellite of KDRV. KDKF does not maintain a separate local facility or independent news operation in Klamath Falls; outside of its transmission role, its relationship to KDRV is generally reflected through station identification and network distribution. The station was created to improve network television coverage in a mountainous region that had historically received incomplete service. Before KDRV launched, KOBI served as the principal ABC affiliate for much of the area, but its signal did not adequately cover all of southern Oregon. Cable viewers could also receive Portland's KATU in some communities. The Federal Communications Commission allocated VHF channel 12 to Medford in the late 1970s with the goal of adding a third major-network service to a market that lacked comprehensive access to all three national networks. The allocation was especially significant because rugged terrain has historically limited the reach of UHF stations in southern Oregon. A local investor group associated with Sunshine Television pursued the channel during the late 1970s and early 1980s, eventually reaching a settlement with other applicants and obtaining the construction permit. KDRV began broadcasting on February 26, 1984. The station initially operated from a temporary facility because its permanent Medford studio was still under construction, which limited its ability to produce live local programming. The permanent facility was completed later in 1984, and a dedicated news and local-programming operation followed in 1985. KDRV's local news service, NewsWatch 12, began on September 16, 1985. By the middle of the 1990s it had become the leading news operation in the Medford–Klamath Falls market and has generally maintained a strong competitive position. Its schedule has included morning, midday, evening, and late-night newscasts, as well as local weather, sports, community reporting, and recurring features such as Oregon Trails and Wednesday's Child. The operation has received recognition from the National Association of Broadcasters, the Associated Press, and the Emmy Awards. KDRV introduced 16:9 widescreen newscasts and high-definition commercial transmission in 2011, and added a weekday midday newscast in 2013. Ownership has changed several times. Sunshine sold the station to Love Broadcasting in 1987, and KDRV launched KDKF as its Klamath Falls satellite in 1989. Chambers Communications acquired KDRV in 1994, making it a sister station to Eugene ABC affiliate KEZI. Chambers later exited broadcasting, selling its stations to Heartland Media in 2014. Allen Media Group subsequently became the owner. In 2025, Allen Media Group announced that it was considering strategic options for its television-station portfolio amid financial pressure and rising debt. The announcement included KDRV and KDKF but did not itself establish a completed sale. KDRV also operates a network of digital translators to extend service through mountainous areas, including locations in Oregon and northern California. Both KDRV and KDKF completed their transition from analog to digital broadcasting in February 2009. The station remains an important local media outlet, combining ABC network programming with regional news, weather, emergency information, and community coverage.

KDRV's history is rooted in the effort to complete network television coverage in southern Oregon. Before the station existed, KOBI served as the area's principal ABC affiliate, but the mountainous geography of the region meant that portions of southern Oregon received weak or incomplete service. Some cable systems carried KATU from Portland, but the Medford–Klamath Falls–Yreka market remained one of the few American markets without reliable access to all three major commercial networks. The FCC addressed the problem by allocating VHF channel 12 to Medford. The decision followed an earlier channel-allocation history involving channel 8, whose status was changed to reserved noncommercial use in the late 1970s. The channel 12 allocation was made to provide an additional VHF network service and was intended to improve coverage in terrain where UHF signals were particularly disadvantaged. The first applicant was Rogue River-based Christian Broadcasting Corporation, which proposed a religious station. In 1979, Sunshine Television, a consortium of local investors led by Dunbar Carpenter and Ronald Dunbar, applied for the channel with the intention of affiliating with ABC. Sunshine later joined Highland Communications and Channel 12 Limited Partnership. The applicants reached a settlement in September 1982 that awarded the construction permit to Sunshine. KDRV signed on February 26, 1984. Its initial launch occurred before the permanent Medford studio was ready, and the station missed the opportunity to broadcast the 1984 Winter Olympics. A temporary facility was used during the early period, limiting live local production. The permanent studio was completed later in 1984, and local news and other programming expanded during the following year. Sunshine sold KDRV to Love Broadcasting in 1987. On October 17, 1989, the company launched KDKF in Klamath Falls as a satellite of KDRV. KDKF's role was to rebroadcast KDRV's programming across the eastern portion of the market; it did not develop a separate local physical operation. Chambers Communications purchased KDRV in 1994, making it a sister station of KEZI, the ABC affiliate in Eugene. KDRV's NewsWatch 12 operation launched on September 16, 1985. By the mid-1990s, the news department had become the leading operation in the Medford–Klamath Falls market. The station developed a broad schedule of morning, midday, evening, and late-night broadcasts, along with local sports and recurring community features. Ron Brown became one of the station's best-known anchors, while chief meteorologist Scott Lewis was among its longest-serving weather presenters. Brown retired in 2015 and Lewis retired in 2012; Brian Morton, who joined in 1995, subsequently became the station's longest-tenured anchor. NewsWatch 12 has received recognition from broadcast-industry organizations, including the National Association of Broadcasters, the Associated Press, and the Emmy Awards. Technologically, KDRV was among the last stations to use U-Matic videotape for editing and on-air playback, continuing the practice until 2007. It became the first station in the Medford market to present newscasts in 16:9 widescreen on January 5, 2011, and was also the first in the market to air commercials in high definition. A weekday midday newscast was added in September 2013. In 2025, the midday broadcasts on KDRV and sister station KEZI were consolidated into Oregon News Now at Midday. The station has also faced distribution issues. In December 2010, a contract dispute with Dish Network resulted in KDRV and KDKF being removed temporarily from Dish's Medford local lineups. The stations returned on December 30 after a new agreement. In January 2012, KDRV replaced KRCR-TV on a Northland Communications cable system in Mt. Shasta after Northland and KRCR failed to renew their carriage arrangement. The placement was supported by the FCC's designation of Siskiyou County as part of the Medford market. Chambers announced in 2014 that it would leave broadcasting and sell its stations to Heartland Media, a company associated with former Gray Television executive Bob Prather. The sale closed on July 15 of that year. Allen Media Group later became KDRV's owner. In January 2025, Allen Media Group proposed centralizing some local weather work through a Weather Channel weather hub, affecting stations including KDRV and KEZI. The company reversed the move within a week following viewer and advertiser reaction. In June 2025, Allen Media Group announced that it was examining strategic options for its television portfolio, including a potential sale, while no completed transaction was identified in the available material.

• 2025

  Midday broadcasts consolidate under Oregon News Now

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  KDRV and KEZI consolidated their midday news programming as Oregon News Now at Midday.

• 2014

  Heartland Media completes acquisition

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  Heartland Media completed its purchase of Chambers Communications stations on July 15.

• 2013

  NewsWatch 12 Midday is added

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  KDRV launched a weekday 11 a.m. local newscast.

• 2011

  News broadcasts move to widescreen

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  KDRV introduced 16:9 widescreen newscasts and became the first station in its market to broadcast commercials in high definition.

• 2009

  KDRV and KDKF complete digital transition

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  Both stations ended analog transmissions on February 17 and continued with digital operations.

• 2007

  KDRV ends U-Matic-based production

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  The station discontinued its longstanding use of U-Matic videotape for editing and on-air playback.

• 1994

  Chambers Communications acquires KDRV

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  The acquisition made KDRV a sister station to KEZI in Eugene.

• 1989

  KDKF launches as a satellite

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  KDKF began operating in Klamath Falls on October 17 as a full-time satellite of KDRV.

• 1987

  Love Broadcasting acquires KDRV

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  Sunshine Television sold the station to Love Broadcasting.

• 1985

  NewsWatch 12 launches

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  KDRV established its fully staffed local news department on September 16.

• 1984

  KDRV begins broadcasting

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  KDRV signed on February 26, 1984, as an ABC-affiliated station serving southern Oregon and nearby northern California.

• 1982

  Construction permit awarded to Sunshine

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  A settlement among the applicants granted Sunshine Television the construction permit for the proposed Medford station.

• 1979

  Sunshine Television applies for channel 12

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  A local investor consortium applied for the channel with the intention of launching an ABC affiliate.

• 1977

  FCC reserves channel 12 for Medford

  [1]KDRVen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC allocated VHF channel 12 to Medford to provide an additional major-network service in the southern Oregon market.

A leading regional ABC television station focused on local news, weather, public-service information, and community coverage across southern Oregon and far northern California.

• Local television news · 1985

  NewsWatch 12

  KDRV's primary local news brand, launched in 1985. It includes morning, midday, evening, and late-night newscasts, along with regional reporting, weather, sports, public-service information, and recurring community features. The operation serves the broad Medford–Klamath Falls–Yreka market and has historically been one of the market's strongest local news providers.

• Broadcast television station · 1984

  KDRV ABC 12

  KDRV's over-the-air television service on channel 12 in Medford. The station combines ABC network programming with locally produced news and community content and distributes its signal through translators serving difficult mountainous terrain.

• Television satellite station · 1989

  KDKF

  KDKF operates on channel 31 in Klamath Falls as a full-time satellite of KDRV. It extends KDRV's programming into the Klamath Falls area but does not maintain a separate local facility or independent news department.

• 2025

  Allen Media Group reverses proposed local-weather centralizationStrategy

  Background

  Allen Media Group announced plans to reduce local meteorologist and weather-forecaster positions at stations including KDRV and use a centralized weather hub produced by The Weather Channel.

  Action taken

  Management withdrew the plan within approximately one week.

  Aftermath

  The reversal followed reported reactions from viewers and advertisers, allowing the affected local weather positions to remain under the announced change.

  Source

• 2025

  Allen Media Group evaluates strategic optionsStrategy

  Background

  Allen Media Group cited financial difficulties and rising debt while discussing strategic options for its television-station portfolio.

  Action taken

  The company said it would explore alternatives that could include selling television stations such as KDRV and KDKF.

  Aftermath

  The available material does not identify a completed sale or other final ownership change resulting from the announcement.

  Source

1. 1KDRVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KDRV official websitekdrv.com