History of KHOU in Timeline

KHOU is a CBS-affiliated television station located in Houston, Texas. Owned by Tegna Inc. along with KTBU, the stations share studio facilities on Westheimer Road. KHOU's transmitter is situated near Missouri City in Fort Bend County. Notably, Houston represents the largest television market in the U.S. where the CBS affiliate is not directly owned and operated by the CBS network itself.

March 22, 1953: KHOU Signs On as KGUL-TV

On March 22, 1953, KHOU, then known as KGUL-TV, began broadcasting. Founded by Paul Taft of the Taft Broadcasting Co., the station was originally licensed to Galveston and became the second television station in Houston, taking the CBS affiliation from KPRC-TV.

1953: KNUZ-TV Utilized UH Campus

In 1953, KNUZ-TV began utilizing a part of the University of Houston campus for its facilities.

1954: KTRK-TV Utilized UH Campus

In 1954, KTRK-TV began utilizing a part of the University of Houston campus for its facilities.

1956: Station Sold to Whitney Corporation

In 1956, the original owners of KHOU sold the station to the Indianapolis-based Whitney Corporation.

June 1959: Callsign Change to KHOU-TV and Relocation

In June 1959, KGUL-TV changed its callsign to KHOU-TV and relocated its city of license to Houston.

April 24, 1960: Station Move to Houston Facilities

On April 24, 1960, KHOU-TV moved to its first Houston facilities at 1945 Allen Parkway.

1961: KTRK-TV Move to New Studios

In 1961, KTRK-TV moved to its current studios in the Upper Kirby district.

1971: Whitney Corporation becomes a subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet

In 1971, the Whitney Corporation, the owners of KHOU, became a subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet.

September 1982: KTRK Hourlong Newscast

Since September 1982, KTRK has aired an hourlong 6 p.m. newscast.

1984: Sale to Belo Corporation

In 1984, Dun & Bradstreet sold its broadcasting division, including KHOU, to the Belo Corporation.

1986: Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune Air on KHOU

In 1986, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune began airing on KHOU.

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1987: KHOU Refuses to Air Garbage Pail Kids TV Adaptation

In 1987, KHOU refused to air a television adaptation of the Garbage Pail Kids trading card series, citing concerns about its content.

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1998: First to Broadcast a High Definition Digital Signal

In 1998, KHOU became the first television station in the Houston market to begin broadcasting a high definition digital signal.

June 8, 2001: Studios Flooded During Tropical Storm Allison

On the night of June 8, 2001, KHOU's studios flooded during Tropical Storm Allison, causing significant damage and interrupting coverage of the flash flood emergency.

2005: Great Day Houston Premieres

In 2005, KHOU started airing Great Day Houston, a local talk show hosted by Deborah Duncan.

January 2007: WFAA's Victory Park Studio

In January 2007, Dallas sister station WFAA's Victory Park studio opened.

September 2008: Hurricane Ike Coverage Distributed Nationwide

During Hurricane Ike in September 2008, KHOU's storm coverage was distributed nationwide via DirecTV, XM Satellite Radio, and a live feed on the station's website.

June 12, 2009: Call Letter Suffix Dropped

On June 12, 2009, the "-TV" suffix was dropped from KHOU's call letters following the digital transition.

September 26, 2011: Bounce TV Launch on Digital Subchannel

On September 26, 2011, KHOU began broadcasting Bounce TV on its second digital subchannel.

2011: The Oprah Winfrey Show Ends

In 2011, KHOU stopped carrying The Oprah Winfrey Show, which it had aired for its entire run since 1986.

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2011: Previous News Set (2011-2016)

KHOU reused parts of its previous news set from 2011-2016 in its temporary studio after Hurricane Harvey.

June 13, 2013: Gannett Company to Acquire Belo

On June 13, 2013, the Gannett Company announced its intent to acquire Belo, marking its entry into the Texas market and ending Belo's ownership of KHOU.

June 29, 2015: Gannett Company Split

On June 29, 2015, the Gannett Company split into print media and broadcast/digital media companies, with KHOU being retained by the latter, which was named Tegna.

September 14, 2015: Jeopardy! Moved to KTRK

On September 14, 2015, Jeopardy! moved to KTRK.

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2015: Justice Network Launch on Digital Subchannel

In 2015, KHOU began carrying programming from the Justice Network on its third digital subchannel.

November 2016: New News Set Debuts

In November 2016, KHOU debuted a brand-new news set.

2016: Previous News Set (2011-2016)

KHOU reused parts of its previous news set from 2011-2016 in its temporary studio after Hurricane Harvey.

August 21, 2017: Began covering Hurricane Harvey

On August 21, 2017, KHOU began covering Hurricane Harvey as the storm was projected to hit the Texas Gulf Coast.

August 25, 2017: Extensive Coverage of Storm's Landfall

On August 25, 2017, KHOU began wall-to-wall coverage of Hurricane Harvey, focusing on the storm's landfall in Rockport.

November 16, 2017: Announcement of Allen Parkway Facility Closure

On November 16, 2017, KHOU announced that it would not return to the Allen Parkway facility.

December 2017: Announcement of New Street-Side Studio

In December 2017, KHOU announced plans to open a secondary street-side studio at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

January 16, 2018: Quest Added to Digital Subchannel

On January 16, 2018, KHOU added Quest to its fourth digital subchannel.

March 29, 2018: Lease Signed for New Facility

On March 29, 2018, KHOU announced it had signed a lease for space at 5718 Westheimer Road near Uptown Houston.

2018: HTownRush Rebranding

In 2018, KHOU rebranded its weekday morning newscasts as HTownRush. The new format emphasized social media interaction and included segments like Deal Boss and consumer reports from John Matarese's "Don't Waste Your Money".

2018: Street-Side Studio Opened

In the fall of 2018, KHOU opened a secondary street-side studio at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

February 17, 2019: Operations Begin at New Facility

On Sunday, February 17, 2019, KHOU began operations from its new facility on Westheimer Road during its 10 p.m. newscast.

June 2019: The 411 Rebranding

In June 2019, KHOU rebranded its 4 p.m. newscast as The 411, emphasizing a conceptual format and on-air graphics style similar to that of its morning newscast.

January 1, 2020: Circle Debuts on Digital Subchannel

On January 1, 2020, KHOU's fifth digital subchannel, Circle, debuted.

January 5, 2020: Sunday Morning Newscast Launch

On January 5, 2020, KHOU launched a Sunday morning newscast, filling the hour before CBS Sunday Morning.

January 21, 2020: Tegna to acquire KTBU

On January 21, 2020, Tegna announced that it would acquire KTBU (channel 55) from Spanish Broadcasting System.

March 27, 2020: KTBU Simulcast on Digital Subchannel

On March 27, 2020, KHOU's fourth digital subchannel began simulcasting sister station KTBU after that station switched to the network.

February 2021: Twist Affiliate on Digital Subchannel

In February 2021, the fourth digital subchannel of KHOU became an affiliate of Twist.

January 2022: Bounce TV moves to KPXB-DT2

In January 2022, Bounce TV moved to KPXB-DT2.

February 22, 2022: Tegna Acquisition Announcement

On February 22, 2022, Tegna announced that it would be acquired by Standard General and Apollo Global Management.

November 24, 2022: Criticism for Thanksgiving Day Game Interruption

On November 24, 2022, KHOU was criticized for interrupting a Thanksgiving Day game between the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions for a tornado warning, causing viewers to miss a last second game-winning field goal by the Bills. No public apology was issued.

2022: Morning Newscast Rebranding

In 2022, KHOU dropped the HTownRush branding for its morning newscast, rebranding as KHOU 11 Morning News.

May 22, 2023: Acquisition Sale Canceled

On May 22, 2023, the sale of Tegna to Standard General and Apollo Global Management was canceled.

December 31, 2023: Twist and Circle Removed

On December 31, 2023, KHOU removed both Twist and Circle; the former was discontinued, and the latter transitioned into a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) operation.