History of KSL-TV in Timeline
KSL-TV is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It serves as the flagship television property of Bonneville International, the broadcasting arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Along with sister radio stations KSL and KSL-FM, KSL-TV operates from the Broadcast House in Salt Lake City. Its signal is broadcast from Farnsworth Peak and extended through a large network of translators, providing coverage throughout Utah and parts of neighboring states such as Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming.
5 hours ago : Two-Alarm Fire Erupts in Salt Lake City's Liberty Wells Neighborhood.
A two-alarm fire broke out in the Liberty Wells neighborhood of Salt Lake City, prompting a significant response from the Salt Lake Fire Department. The fire affected downtown Salt Lake.
September 30, 1951: First Live Network Broadcast
On September 30, 1951, KSL broadcast its first live network programming, ABC's "Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue", after AT&T completed their microwave relay network. Prior to this, KSL had been producing 40 live shows weekly.
1952: Transmission Tower Construction and Translator Network
In 1952, KSL constructed a 370-foot transmission tower on Farnsworth Peak to improve signal coverage. The station also began building a large translator network that extended across five states.
September 1954: KUTV becomes ABC Affiliate
In September 1954, KUTV (channel 2) signed on as the full-time ABC affiliate for Salt Lake City, ending the shared ABC programming arrangement between KSL-TV and KDYL-TV.
1960: KTVX affiliation switch
In 1960, KTVX swapped affiliations with KUTV and became an ABC affiliate.
1964: Bonneville International Formed
In 1964, Bonneville International was formed as the parent company for the LDS Church's broadcasting holdings, including the KSL stations. Soon after, channel 5 began broadcasting in color.
1965: KSL news team formed
In 1965, KSL formed a news team with sportscaster Paul James, weatherman Bob Welti, and anchor Dick Nourse, leading the station to become the dominant news station in Utah.
1977: Match Game Not Aired in Salt Lake City
In 1977, Match Game host Gene Rayburn noted that the CBS daytime game show was not aired in Salt Lake City.
1979: KSL-TV airs Utah Jazz games via CBS Sports
In 1979, KSL-TV began airing Utah Jazz games selected for national broadcast through CBS Sports, following the team's move to Salt Lake City.
1984: Move to Triad Center
In 1984, KSL moved to its current facility at Triad Center, also named Broadcast House.
1987: "Garbage Pail Kids" Not Aired
In 1987, KSL was among affiliates that announced they would not air the children's animated series Garbage Pail Kids due to concerns about violent content and humor.
1988: "Dirty Dancing" Preempted
In 1988, KSL preempted the TV series "Dirty Dancing" because of its sexual content.
September 1989: Saturday Morning Lineup Preempted
From September 1989, KSL preempted the network's Saturday morning children's program lineup.
September 1990: Crimetime After Primetime Preemption
From September 1990, KSL refused CBS' late-night Crimetime After Primetime block.
November 1990: "Doctor Doctor" Preempted
In November 1990, KSL preempted the sitcom "Doctor Doctor" partway through its third season.
1990: End of Utah Jazz broadcasts via CBS Sports
In 1990, KSL-TV stopped airing Utah Jazz games through CBS Sports.
1991: End of original news team
In 1991, Paul James and Bob Welti left the KSL news team, though Dick Nourse remained.
1992: "2000 Malibu Road" and "Grapevine" Preempted
In 1992, KSL preempted "2000 Malibu Road" and "Grapevine" because of their sexual content.
January 1993: "Picket Fences" Removed Mid-Season
In January 1993, KSL removed "Picket Fences" midway through its first season due to objections over an episode involving incestuous plural marriage.
April 1993: "Picket Fences" Returns
In April 1993, the drama series "Picket Fences" returned to KSL in its normal network time slot.
August 1993: Late Show with David Letterman
After the August 1993 premiere of Late Show with David Letterman, the Crimetime After Primetime block was discontinued.
September 1993: "Picket Fences" Shifted to Saturdays
In September 1993, "Picket Fences" was shifted to 11 p.m. on Saturdays for its second season.
July 1994: CBS-Westinghouse Affiliation Deal
In July 1994, CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W) agreed to a long-term affiliation deal affecting multiple stations.
September 1994: CBS This Morning Air Time Change
In September 1994, KSL shifted CBS This Morning to its normal time slot to accommodate a relocated local morning newscast.
1995: KSL Affiliates with NBC
In 1995, KSL becomes an NBC affiliate and therefore does not air "Saturday Night Live" until June 2013, but between 1995 and 2013, it carried all of the long-running sketch comedy's "best-of" compilations, actor tributes, documentary specials and Saturday evening repeats that NBC aired in prime time.
1995: KSL-TV airs Utah Jazz games via NBC Sports
In 1995, KSL-TV began airing Utah Jazz games selected for national broadcast through NBC Sports.
1995: KSL Joins NBC
Since 1995, with KSL joining NBC, "The New Normal" was the first NBC prime time show that KSL has declined to air that lasted at least a full season.
January 1996: "Saturday Night Live" Moves to KOOG
In January 1996, Saturday Night Live moved from KUTV to KOOG-TV (now KUCW) after KSL-TV became an NBC affiliate.
1997: "Sunset Beach" Aired on KOOG
In 1997, KSL declined to air the NBC daytime soap opera "Sunset Beach," which was instead shown on KOOG.
1997: Utah Jazz appearance in the NBA Finals
In 1997, the Utah Jazz appeared in the NBA Finals, broadcasted on KSL-TV, but lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
1998: Utah Jazz appearance in the NBA Finals
In 1998, the Utah Jazz appeared in the NBA Finals, broadcasted on KSL-TV, but lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
January 14, 1999: Shooting at Broadcast House
On January 14, 1999, a shooter entered the KSL-TV Broadcast House facility. Anne Sleater, an employee of AT&T Wireless Services, was shot and killed. De-Kieu Duy was arrested and later found mentally incompetent to stand trial.
2002: Bruce Christensen Named President
In 2002, Bruce Christensen was named the president of KSL-TV. During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, KSL-TV was influential in bringing coverage and technology to NBC and lobbied for live local broadcasts.
2002: End of Utah Jazz broadcasts via NBC Sports
In 2002, KSL-TV stopped airing Utah Jazz games through NBC Sports.
2002: KSL-TV broadcasts 2002 Winter Olympics
In 2002, KSL-TV was the local broadcaster of the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City. NBC excluded KSL from its tape delay mandate, due to Salt Lake City being the host city.
2003: "Coupling" Declined
In 2003, KSL declined to air the sitcom "Coupling" due to its sexual humor and content.
2007: Poker Programming Preempted
From 2007, KSL preempted much of NBC's poker programming due to objections toward gambling.
2007: Dick Nourse retires
In 2007, Dick Nourse retired as the top anchorman at KSL-TV.
2008: KSL-TV broadcasts newscasts in high definition
In 2008, KSL-TV began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition, becoming the second television station in the Salt Lake City market to do so.
January 1, 2009: KSL ends affiliation with NBC Weather Plus
On January 1, 2009, KSL ended its affiliation with NBC Weather Plus on its 5.3 subchannel and relaunched it as the Live 5 Weather Channel.
June 12, 2009: KSL-TV ends analog signal
On June 12, 2009, KSL-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 5, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 38, using virtual channel 5.
2009: KSL-TV rebrands newscasts
In 2009, KSL-TV rebranded its newscasts from 'Eyewitness News' to 'KSL 5 News', and is now known as KSL News.
July 2010: Local Marketing Agreement with KJZZ-TV
In July 2010, KSL-TV entered into a local marketing agreement (LMA) with independent station KJZZ-TV (channel 14) after the LMA between that station and KUTV concluded.
November 2010: KUTV unseats KSL-TV in ratings
In November 2010, KUTV unseated KSL-TV in most timeslots, though channel 5 remained ahead at 10 p.m.
February 2011: KSL-TV loses lead at 10 p.m.
In February 2011, KSL-TV lost the lead at 10 p.m. for the first time in almost half a century.
September 2011: "The Playboy Club" Preempted
In September 2011, KSL-TV preempted "The Playboy Club," replacing it with "We Are Utah," due to concerns about being associated with the Playboy brand.
October 31, 2011: "Rock Center with Brian Williams" Premiere
On October 31, 2011, "Rock Center with Brian Williams" premiered, filling the 9 p.m. slot after KSL preempted "The Playboy Club."
December 2011: KSL-TV restores lead in ratings
In December 2011, KSL-TV restored its lead in every time slot in the Nielsen ratings except one.
2011: Utah Utes shifted to the Pac-12 Conference
In 2011, The Utah Utes shifted to the Pac-12 Conference, making it difficult for SportsBeat to analyze, carry, and package highlights of games that were often still in progress as it aired.
January 2012: Universal Sports transitions to cable/satellite exclusivity
In January 2012, KSL-TV's 5.2 subchannel stopped carrying Universal Sports, and replaced it with Live Well Network.
August 24, 2012: "The New Normal" Preempted
On August 24, 2012, KSL-TV preempted "The New Normal" due to objections to its storyline surrounding gay parenting. KUCW ran the show instead.
2012: Mark Willes fired from Deseret Management Corporation
In 2012, Mark Willes was fired from Deseret Management Corporation, after KSL-TV's ratings slumped due to a shift in focus towards "values-based" reporting.
April 29, 2013: "Hannibal" Pulled
On April 29, 2013, KSL-TV pulled "Hannibal" after four episodes due to its graphic content. KUCW aired the program on Saturday nights.
May 2013: "The New Normal" Cancelled
In May 2013, "The New Normal" was cancelled after its first season. It was the first NBC prime time show declined by KSL since 1995 to last a full season.
June 2013: "Saturday Night Live" to be Aired
In June 2013, KSL announced it would begin airing "Saturday Night Live" in its regular timeslot, after viewership declined for SportsBeat.
September 4, 2013: KSL moves 'Days of Our Lives'
On September 4, 2013, KSL announced it was moving 'Days of Our Lives' to 1:05 a.m. effective September 9, replacing it in its former 2 p.m. slot with a local lifestyle program. The reason for the move was not explicitly stated, though the show later moved exclusively to Peacock in September 2022.
January 1, 2014: KSL replaces Live Well Network with Cozi TV
On January 1, 2014, KSL replaced Live Well Network with Cozi TV on digital subchannel 5.2.
August 2015: "Hannibal" Cancelled
In August 2015, "Hannibal" was cancelled after its last episode, and KSL cleared NBC's entire seasonal prime time schedule for the first time.
2016: LMA with KJZZ-TV Terminated
In 2016, the local marketing agreement (LMA) between KSL-TV and KJZZ-TV was terminated after KUTV's owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, purchased KJZZ.
September 17, 2018: KSL-TV moves digital signal
Effective September 17, 2018, KSL-TV moved its digital signal from channel 38 to channel 23 as part of the broadcast spectrum repacking.
2020: Departure of Sonny and Will from 'Days of Our Lives'
In the summer of 2020, characters Sonny and Will departed from the show 'Days of Our Lives'.
September 2022: 'Days of Our Lives' moves exclusively to Peacock
In September 2022, 'Days of Our Lives' moved exclusively to the Peacock streaming service, owned by NBC parent company Comcast.
September 2023: KSL begins airing 'NBC News Daily'
In September 2023, KSL began airing 'NBC News Daily' at 1 p.m. weekdays, after the syndicated talk shows 'Dr. Phil' and 'Rachael Ray' ended their runs.
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