KTVL

KTVL is a full-power television station serving Medford, Oregon, and the broader Southern Oregon and Northern California region. Broadcasting on virtual channel 10, the station is affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus and is owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Its studios are in downtown Medford in the former Medford Mail Tribune building, while its primary transmitter is located on Mount Ashland, approximately 15 miles south of Medford. The mountain-top facility gives KTVL unusually broad coverage for a Medford station, extending into communities including Klamath Falls and parts of Northern California. The station began broadcasting on October 3, 1961, under the call sign KMED-TV. It was established by Ray Johnson and Radio Medford, Inc., which also owned KMED radio. KMED-TV initially carried NBC programming, reflecting KMED radio's long-standing NBC relationship, and also shared some ABC programming with KTVM, the market's other television station. Early cooperation within the local broadcasting community helped the station obtain tower space, allowing it to begin service as the second television station in the Medford area. KMED-TV developed a joint news operation with its radio sister in 1963. Its technical development accelerated during the 1960s: a new Mount Ashland tower opened in 1966, and in 1968 the station introduced Southern Oregon's first color cameras, its first live remote broadcast, television editorials, and live microwave transmission. These investments established KTVL as a significant regional broadcaster rather than merely a local relay for network programming. The station adopted the KTVL call sign in 1977 after KMED radio was sold. It began carrying selected CBS programming in 1978, following changes in the market's network affiliations, and became a full CBS affiliate in 1983. That same year, KOBI moved to NBC, while ABC later returned to the market through the launch of KDRV in 1984. KTVL was sold to Freedom Communications in 1981, giving Freedom an entry into television ownership. During the Freedom era, the station also promoted local technical and weather-forecasting capabilities, including Southern Oregon's first color weather forecast. Freedom Communications announced in 2011 that it would leave the television business. Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired KTVL and formally assumed ownership on April 2, 2012. Under Sinclair, the station continued its CBS service, added or maintained digital multicast programming, and carried selected local and syndicated offerings. KTVL also aired Ring of Honor Wrestling for a period after Sinclair's acquisition of the station; Sinclair later sold that wrestling promotion in 2022. For decades, KTVL's identity was closely associated with locally produced news under names including NewsCenter 10, Channel 10 News, and News 10. The station launched News 10 Good Morning in 2011, expanding its morning schedule and emphasizing frequent weather updates, headline-driven coverage, and digital engagement. Its news staff included regional broadcasters and former employees such as Ann Curry, who later became a nationally prominent NBC journalist and Today show anchor. KTVL also produced local sports segments, including Friday Night Fastbreaks, covering high-school football and basketball. KTVL ended its locally produced newscasts on May 12, 2023, after announcing plans to eliminate the local news operation. The station replaced those broadcasts with Sinclair's nationally distributed The National Desk. On June 30, 2023, its on-air branding shifted from News 10 to KTVL 10. KTVL remains an operating broadcast station, providing CBS and CW Plus programming, syndicated and nationally supplied content, weather and regional information, and digital multicast services. In 2024, Sinclair announced the Rip City Television Network, with Portland Trail Blazers games scheduled to air in the Medford area through KTVL's multicast capacity.

KTVL began as KMED-TV on October 3, 1961, when Ray Johnson and Radio Medford, Inc. launched the second television station serving the Medford, Oregon, area. Radio Medford also operated KMED radio, and the television station initially inherited the radio outlet's NBC affiliation. KMED-TV additionally shared ABC programming with KTVM, reflecting the limited number of stations in the regional market. The station's early development was supported by cooperation with KTVM owner Bill Smulin, who provided access to tower facilities. In 1963, KMED-TV and KMED radio established a joint news department. This built on KMED radio's earlier investment in regional news and gave the television station a stronger local reporting base. In 1966, KMED-TV moved to a new transmitter site on Mount Ashland. The facility expanded the station's service area into Klamath Falls and became a defining part of KTVL's regional reach. KMED-TV introduced several technical innovations in 1968. It acquired Southern Oregon's first color television cameras, conducted the area's first live remote television broadcast, introduced television editorials, and used live microwave transmission. These developments helped the station produce more ambitious local programming and strengthened its claim to broad regional service. The station also became notable for maintaining coverage across the entire market without relying on a full-power satellite station. After KMED radio was sold in 1977, the television station changed its call sign to KTVL. It began carrying some CBS programming in 1978 and became a full CBS affiliate in 1983, after KOBI changed its primary affiliation to NBC. ABC returned to the market in 1984 when KDRV began broadcasting. KTVL's affiliation history therefore reflects the broader consolidation and reallocation of network relationships among Southern Oregon stations. Ray Johnson sold KTVL to Freedom Communications in 1981. The transaction marked Freedom's entry into television ownership. During this period, KTVL continued developing local production capabilities and presented what was described as Southern Oregon's first color weather forecast. Its news operation used several identities over time, including NewsCenter 10, Channel 10 News, and News 10. The station produced regular evening and morning newscasts, weather reports, community coverage, and occasional local sports segments. KTVL also developed a long-running community-service identity through its carriage of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. From 1970 through 2011, it was described as the only television station continuously carrying the program in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Local personalities hosted the regional portions for many years, and the broadcast raised money for muscular dystrophy-related charitable work. The national program was shortened and renamed the MDA Show of Strength in 2012, effectively ending KTVL's long-running local telethon association. In 2006, KTVL introduced After 10, a locally produced late-night program aimed at younger viewers. The show covered local music, films, video games, graphic novels, online videos, and internet culture. It was later expected to be reworked but did not return. In 2012, the late-night slot became associated for a period with Ring of Honor Wrestling, a promotion then owned by Sinclair. Freedom Communications announced in November 2011 that it would withdraw from television and sell its stations. Sinclair Broadcast Group completed its acquisition of KTVL on April 2, 2012. The station continued operating as a CBS affiliate while also carrying CW Plus and other digital, syndicated, and nationally distributed programming. KTVL expanded its morning news output in January 2011 with News 10 Good Morning, a pre-dawn program designed to compete with a rival station's early newscast. The format emphasized quick headlines, repeated weather updates, and social-media and mobile-app integration. KTVL also briefly revived local sports coverage through Friday Night Fastbreaks, focusing on high-school football and basketball highlights. In late 2022, KTVL relocated its news operation from the Rossanley Drive facility to the former Medford Mail Tribune building on North Fir Street in downtown Medford. The rest of the station's offices followed several months later. The local news operation was subsequently discontinued on May 12, 2023, with the station replacing its locally produced newscasts with Sinclair's The National Desk. On June 30, 2023, the station moved from the News 10 identity to KTVL 10. KTVL remains active as a regional broadcast outlet. Its digital signal operates on VHF channel 10 following the 2009 analog shutdown and digital transition. The station's multicast capacity has also been used for additional programming, including planned Portland Trail Blazers game distribution through Sinclair's Rip City Television Network announced in 2024.

• 2024

  Rip City Television Network announced

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  Sinclair announces a multicast network for Portland Trail Blazers games, with Medford-area broadcasts scheduled through KTVL.

• 2023

  Local newscasts discontinued

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  KTVL ends locally produced newscasts on May 12 and replaces them with The National Desk.

• 2023

  Branding changes to KTVL 10

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  The station drops the News 10 identity and adopts KTVL 10 branding.

• 2022

  KTVL news operation relocates downtown

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  The station begins moving its news operation to the former Medford Mail Tribune building on North Fir Street.

• 2012

  Sinclair ownership begins

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  Sinclair formally assumes ownership of KTVL on April 2.

• 2011

  Sinclair acquisition announced

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  Freedom Communications announces its exit from television and the planned sale of KTVL to Sinclair Broadcast Group.

• 2009

  Digital transition completed

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  KTVL ends analog broadcasting and moves its post-transition digital operation to VHF channel 10.

• 2006

  After 10 launches

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  KTVL introduces a locally produced late-night program aimed at younger viewers and focused on local culture and entertainment.

• 1983

  KTVL becomes a CBS affiliate

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  KTVL takes the CBS affiliation while KOBI becomes the market's NBC affiliate.

• 1981

  Freedom Communications acquires KTVL

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  Ray Johnson sells the station to Freedom Communications.

• 1977

  Station adopts the KTVL call sign

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  Following the sale of KMED radio, KMED-TV changes its call letters to KTVL.

• 1968

  Major color and live-broadcast upgrades

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  The station introduces Southern Oregon's first color cameras, live remote broadcasting, television editorials, and live microwave technology.

• 1966

  Mount Ashland transmitter becomes operational

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  A new tower on Mount Ashland expands the station's coverage into Klamath Falls and surrounding communities.

• 1963

  Joint television and radio news department established

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  KMED-TV begins a combined news operation with KMED radio.

• 1961

  KMED-TV begins broadcasting

  [1]KTVLen.wikipedia.org

  The station signs on October 3 as KMED-TV, an NBC-affiliated station established by Ray Johnson and Radio Medford, Inc.

A regional over-the-air television station serving Southern Oregon and nearby Northern California, combining CBS network programming, CW Plus content, syndicated programming, multicast services, and historically substantial local news and community programming.

• Broadcast television station · 1961

  KTVL 10

  KTVL's primary over-the-air television service on virtual channel 10. The station serves Medford and a wide regional area through its Mount Ashland transmitter and associated translator network. Its core schedule includes CBS programming, locally relevant announcements, syndicated content, and other television programming distributed by the station.

• Network affiliation · 1983

  CBS programming

  KTVL has been a full CBS affiliate since 1983. The affiliation supplies the station's principal network schedule, including CBS entertainment, news, sports, and special programming, while KTVL provides the local broadcast infrastructure and advertising inventory for its regional audience.

• Digital and network television programming

  The CW Plus

  KTVL also carries The CW Plus, a programming service designed for smaller television markets. The service complements the station's primary CBS schedule and broadens its entertainment offering through additional network and syndicated programming.

• Local morning news program · 2011

  News 10 Good Morning

  Introduced in 2011, News 10 Good Morning expanded KTVL's morning news schedule to an early pre-dawn start. It used a faster headline format, frequent weather updates, and stronger social-media and mobile-content integration than a conventional local newscast.

• Locally produced late-night program · 2006

  After 10

  After 10 was a Saturday late-night program introduced for younger viewers. Its subjects included the local music scene, films, video games, graphic novels, music videos, viral internet material, and websites. A planned retooling did not result in a lasting return to the schedule.

• Local sports segment · 2012

  Friday Night Fastbreaks

  Friday Night Fastbreaks was a local sports feature covering high-school football and basketball highlights. KTVL introduced the segment after its previous management had dropped a full-time local sportscast, giving the station a limited but recurring community sports presence.

• Sports multicast programming · 2024

  Rip City Television Network

  The Sinclair-distributed Rip City Television Network carries selected Portland Trail Blazers games over the air. Games are scheduled for the Medford market through one of KTVL's digital multicast channels, extending the station's sports offering beyond its primary network schedule.

• 1970Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon

  Southern Oregon · Northern California

  KTVL began continuously carrying the local portion of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon in 1970. Local hosts and station personalities used the broadcast to solicit donations for muscular dystrophy-related charitable work, making it one of the station's most enduring community-service initiatives.

  Outcome. KTVL continued the tradition through the 2011 edition. The program's 2012 transformation into the shorter MDA Show of Strength ended the station's long-running local telethon coverage.

  Source

• 2023

  End of locally produced newscastsStrategy

  Background

  KTVL announced that it would discontinue its local newscasts and eliminate the station's local news operation.

  Action taken

  Beginning May 12, KTVL replaced its locally produced newscasts with The National Desk and later changed its brand from News 10 to KTVL 10.

  Aftermath

  The decision ended more than six decades of regular locally produced television news associated with the station and shifted its schedule toward nationally supplied programming.

  Source

• 2011

  Acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast GroupM&A

  Background

  Freedom Communications announced that it would leave the television business and sell its station portfolio.

  Action taken

  Sinclair agreed to acquire KTVL and completed the ownership transition on April 2, 2012.

  Aftermath

  KTVL continued as a CBS and CW Plus outlet under Sinclair, with additional syndicated, multicast, and Sinclair-supplied programming.

  Source

• 1983

  Move to a full CBS affiliationStrategy

  Background

  KTVL had carried NBC programming since its launch and had added selected CBS programming in 1978. Changes among Medford stations created the conditions for a more definitive network realignment.

  Action taken

  KTVL became a full CBS affiliate, while KOBI shifted to NBC.

  Aftermath

  The CBS affiliation became a central part of KTVL's long-term station identity; ABC returned separately through KDRV in 1984.

  Source

1. 1KTVLen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KTVL official websitektvl.com