KIFI-TV

KIFI-TV is a broadcast television station licensed to Idaho Falls, Idaho, serving the Idaho Falls–Pocatello market and the wider eastern Idaho region. The station operates under the Local News 8 identity and is owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG). Its principal service is local television news, supplemented by network programming and additional digital multicast services. KIFI-TV is affiliated with ABC and also carries CBS, The CW Plus, and Telemundo programming through its broadcast arrangements and subchannels. The station began broadcasting on January 23, 1961, as the second television station in Idaho Falls. It initially operated as an NBC affiliate. NBC had moved its eastern Idaho affiliation from KTLE-TV in Pocatello to the new Idaho Falls station, citing KIFI-TV's stronger potential coverage and the commercial advantages of Idaho Falls. KTLE ceased broadcasting when KIFI-TV launched. During its early years, the station expanded its local production capabilities and became associated with several technical and programming firsts in the region. In 1962, it carried what was described as Idaho's first live remote basketball telecast, originating from Reed Gym at Idaho State University in Pocatello. It was also an early local adopter of color cameras, computerized election-return presentation, and stereo sound. For most of its first 44 years, KIFI-TV was controlled by the Brady family, publishers of Idaho Falls's Post Register newspaper. The station's long period of local newspaper ownership ended in 2005, when NPG acquired it in a transaction valued at $2.5 million. The sale reflected the increasing cost of television equipment and programming and the broader consolidation of the U.S. broadcast industry. Before the sale, KIFI-TV had already established a strong local-news position in its market. A major programming change occurred in 1996, when KIFI-TV moved from NBC to ABC. The station announced the change in September 1995, with management pointing to ABC's stronger network-news performance at the time. KIFI-TV later added The CW affiliation for the Idaho Falls–Pocatello market in 2009. Its relationship with nearby KIDK-TV became particularly significant after NPG assumed operational responsibility for KIDK under a shared-services agreement in 2010. KIDK was owned by Fisher Communications at the beginning of that arrangement and was later sold to VistaWest Media in 2013. Although ownership remained separate, the stations shared facilities and certain operational resources on North Yellowstone Highway in Idaho Falls. The KIFI-TV and KIDK operations were consolidated under the shared-services arrangement beginning in January 2011. KIDK's news schedule was reorganized to reduce duplication with KIFI-TV, and staffing was substantially changed. The CBS affiliation and related programming were eventually placed on a KIFI-TV subchannel on January 1, 2021, following the evolution of the two-station operating structure. KIFI-TV's transmitter is located on East Butte in northern Bingham County, near the Idaho National Laboratory border. The station ended analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, as part of the nationwide digital television transition. In July 2024, following Federal Communications Commission approval, it began moving its over-the-air transmission from VHF channel 8 to UHF channel 18. The station operated both transmission facilities during the transition and discontinued the former VHF operation in August 2024. Its signal has also been distributed through translators, including a Burley-area translator that operated for many years before being decommissioned in August 2024.

KIFI-TV's origins date to the Federal Communications Commission's 1953 issuance of construction permits for television stations on channels 3 and 8 in the Idaho Falls area. The original channel 8 proposal encountered ownership and economic obstacles. A permit associated with the proposed KIFT operation was surrendered in 1954 after its ownership group faced difficulties under FCC concentration rules and cited economic considerations. In 1955, the J. Robb Brady Trust, owner of the Idaho Falls Post Register, acquired KIFI and co-owned KWIK in Pocatello from the earlier ownership group. The Brady interests subsequently renewed efforts to establish a channel 8 television station. Eastern Idaho Broadcasting and Television Company applied for the channel in 1957. A competing application was filed in 1959, but the FCC examiner dismissed it for failure to prosecute and granted the construction permit to KIFI. KIFI-TV commenced broadcasting on January 23, 1961. It became an NBC affiliate after NBC elected to move its eastern Idaho service from KTLE-TV in Pocatello to the new Idaho Falls station. NBC and KIFI-TV promoted the station's prospective coverage and the commercial significance of Idaho Falls, while KTLE attempted unsuccessfully to secure ABC programming. KTLE shut down on the same day KIFI-TV began broadcasting. The new station developed a substantial local-production role. In 1962, it broadcast a live remote basketball event from Reed Gym at Idaho State University in Pocatello, described as Idaho's first live remote basketball telecast. KIFI-TV also became an early adopter of color cameras, computerized election returns, and stereo sound in its local market. Weather presenter Lloyd Lindsay Young worked at the station during periods from 1971 to 1977 and from 1980 to 1981, gaining attention for an unconventional presentation style. The station's first major network transition took place in the mid-1990s. On September 21, 1995, KIFI-TV announced that it would become an ABC affiliate in January 1996. General manager Rickie Orchin Brady attributed the decision in part to ABC's stronger network-news ratings. By then, KIFI-TV's local newscasts were reported to lead the market. The transition ended more than three decades of NBC service. The Brady family's ownership ended in 2005, when the News-Press & Gazette Company bought KIFI-TV for a reported $2.5 million. The transaction was presented in the context of rising costs for equipment and programming and the growing consolidation of television ownership. NPG later expanded KIFI-TV's programming portfolio by adding The CW affiliation in 2009. KIFI-TV became central to the operating structure of Idaho Falls television when NPG assumed responsibility for KIDK-TV under a shared-services agreement in December 2010. The combined operation began in January 2011, using shared studios on North Yellowstone Highway. The arrangement involved major staffing changes at KIDK and a reorganization of local news output intended to limit duplication between the stations. KIDK was sold to VistaWest Media in 2013, but the shared-services relationship continued, with NPG providing specified services to the separately owned station. On January 1, 2021, CBS programming moved to a KIFI-TV subchannel, further integrating the market's network services into the KIFI-TV broadcast operation. KIFI-TV continued to provide ABC service while also carrying additional network and multicast offerings, including The CW Plus and Telemundo. The station's transmission history reflects broader changes in American television technology. KIFI-TV ended its analog VHF operation on June 12, 2009, during the nationwide digital transition, and its digital signal initially continued on channel 8 after the transition. In 2024, with FCC authorization, the station moved its physical transmission channel to UHF channel 18. Both the former VHF and new UHF facilities operated during the changeover, which concluded on August 14, 2024. KIFI-TV's main transmitter is situated on East Butte in northern Bingham County, near the Idaho National Laboratory border. The station has also used translators to extend service beyond its primary market, including a Burley-area facility that was decommissioned in 2024.

• 2024

  Transmission moves to UHF channel 18

  [1]KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KIFI-TV began a transition from VHF channel 8 to UHF channel 18, completing the change in August.

• 2021

  CBS programming moves to a KIFI-TV subchannel

  [1]KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org

  CBS programming associated with KIDK began airing on a KIFI-TV subchannel.

• 2011

  Combined KIFI-TV and KIDK operations begin

  [1]KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The shared-services arrangement took effect and the stations reorganized their operational and news structures.

• 2009

  The CW affiliation is added

  [1]KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KIFI-TV added The CW service for the Idaho Falls–Pocatello market.

• 2005

  NPG acquires the station

  [1]KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org

  News-Press & Gazette Company purchased KIFI-TV from the Brady family.

• 1996

  KIFI-TV becomes an ABC affiliate

  [1]KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station completed the network transition announced in 1995, replacing NBC with ABC.

• 1962

  First reported live remote basketball telecast in Idaho

  [1]KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station carried a live remote basketball broadcast from Reed Gym at Idaho State University in Pocatello.

• 1961

  KIFI-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org

  KIFI-TV launched on January 23 as Idaho Falls's second television station and began as an NBC affiliate.

• 1955

  J. Robb Brady Trust acquires KIFI interests

  [1]KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The trust associated with the Post Register acquired KIFI and pursued development of the channel 8 television station.

• 1953

  FCC issues an initial channel 8 construction permit

  [1]KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC issued construction permits connected with proposed television services on channels 3 and 8 in the Idaho Falls area.

A locally focused Idaho Falls television station combining regional news and weather coverage with major network and multicast programming for eastern Idaho.

• Local television news

  Local News 8

  KIFI-TV's local-news identity and core broadcast service. Local News 8 presents reporting, weather, community information, and other programming aimed at viewers in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and surrounding eastern Idaho communities.

• Network television · 1996

  ABC programming

  KIFI-TV's primary network affiliation since January 1996, supplying national entertainment, news, and other ABC network programming to the station's eastern Idaho audience.

• Digital multicast television · 2009

  CW East Idaho

  The KIFI-DT3 service associated with The CW Plus affiliation. It extends KIFI-TV's programming portfolio beyond the primary ABC service and is identified on air as CW East Idaho.

• Network television · 2021

  CBS programming

  CBS programming moved to a KIFI-TV subchannel on January 1, 2021, as part of the evolving operational relationship between KIFI-TV and separately owned KIDK-TV.

• Network television

  Telemundo programming

  A Spanish-language network service carried through KIFI-TV's broadcast and multicast arrangements for viewers in the station's service area.

• 2024

  Change the station's physical digital channelOther

  Background

  KIFI-TV received FCC approval to move its terrestrial digital operation from VHF channel 8 to a UHF channel.

  Action taken

  The station began broadcasting on UHF channel 18 on July 1, 2024, while maintaining the former VHF facility during the transition.

  Aftermath

  The VHF operation ended on August 14, 2024, and a Burley translator was also decommissioned because of the channel change and its location in another television market.

  Source

• 2021

  Move CBS programming to a KIFI-TV subchannelStrategy

  Background

  The move followed the continuing shared-services relationship between KIFI-TV and KIDK-TV and the evolution of their network-programming structure.

  Action taken

  CBS programming began airing on a KIFI-TV subchannel on January 1, 2021.

  Aftermath

  KIFI-TV carried ABC on its main service while adding CBS to its multicast portfolio.

  Source

• 2010

  Enter a shared-services arrangement for KIDKStrategy

  Background

  KIDK-TV was a nearby station serving the same general market, and the arrangement sought to combine selected operational resources while reorganizing overlapping news output.

  Action taken

  NPG began operating KIDK under a shared-services agreement, with the stations using shared Idaho Falls facilities and restructuring staffing and news schedules.

  Aftermath

  The combined operation began in January 2011. KIDK remained separately owned after its 2013 sale to VistaWest Media.

  Source

• 2005

  Sell KIFI-TV to News-Press & Gazette CompanyM&A

  Background

  The Brady family's long ownership period ended amid increasing television-industry consolidation and rising costs for equipment and programming.

  Action taken

  News-Press & Gazette Company acquired KIFI-TV in a transaction reported at $2.5 million.

  Aftermath

  NPG became the station's owner and later used it as the operating center for services provided to KIDK-TV.

  Acquisition price. $2.5 million (2005 acquisition)

  Source

• 1995

  Switch the primary network affiliation from NBC to ABCStrategy

  Background

  KIFI-TV was an NBC affiliate whose local newscasts were reported to lead the market. Management cited ABC's stronger network-news ratings when announcing the planned change.

  Action taken

  The station announced the change in September 1995 and completed the move in January 1996.

  Aftermath

  KIFI-TV became the ABC affiliate serving Idaho Falls and eastern Idaho.

  Source

1. 1KIFI-TVen.wikipedia.org