KRCR-TV


KRCR-TV, virtual and VHF digital channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Redding, California, United States and also serving Chico. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, it is sister to five low-power stations: Chico-licensed Antenna TV affiliate KXVU-LP ; MyNetworkTV affiliates Redding-licensed KRVU-LD and Chico-licensed KZVU-LD ; Chico-licensed Univision affiliate KUCO-LD ; and Chico-licensed UniMás affiliate KKTF-LD. Sinclair also operates Paradise-licensed Fox affiliate KCVU under a local marketing agreement with owner Cunningham Broadcasting. However, Sinclair effectively owns KCVU as the majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith. The stations share studios on Auditorium Drive east of downtown Redding and maintain a news bureau and sales office at the former Sainte Television Group facilities on Main Street in downtown Chico. KRCR's transmitter is located atop Shasta Bally, west of Redding.
KAEF-TV in Arcata operates as a semi-satellite of KRCR, serving the Eureka market. As such, it clears all network programming as provided through KRCR but airs a separate offering of syndicated programming; there are also separate local newscasts, commercial inserts and legal station identifications. Although KAEF maintains its own studios on Sixth Street in downtown Eureka, master control and some internal operations are based at KRCR's facilities.

History

The station was founded in 1956 as KVIP-TV by William B. Smullin of California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc., owners of KOBI in Medford, Oregon, and satellite station KOTI in Klamath Falls, as a primary NBC affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation. By 1963, network emphasis had shifted towards ABC, as only the Saturday morning and Sunday night prime time schedules, a few daytime game shows and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson were carried in NBC's schedule pattern. The full ABC schedule was available by way of translators of Stockton's KOVR in Chico and Redding. Channel 7 became KRCR in 1963.
It dropped NBC and took on a full-time ABC affiliation in 1978, which in turn started the seven-year process for building KCPM. This was an unusual arrangement for a two-station market especially one of the size of Chico/Redding, but after 15 years of unsuccessful attempts the area was served by a local ABC affiliate.
Under COBI ownership, KRCR used a logo consisting of an Interstate shield sign like its sister stations, placing "7R" where the number would be. 7R was adapted as branding for the station at that time, as the Northern California TV Guide edition identified it with a "7R" 'channel bullet' to differentiate it from KGO-TV/San Francisco and its similar network schedule.
KRCR, KAEF, and KFWU, aired Fox full-time on off-network hours from the network's launch in 1986 until 1994 when now-sister station KCVU switched to Fox and KBVU signed on.
KRCR was purchased by Lamco Communications of Texas in 1995 and was rebranded News Channel 7, which remains the branding for the newscasts. The station was operated by California Broadcasting, Inc., and run by general manager Bob Wise until 2004 when the station was sold to Bluestone Television. In December 2006, the station was sold to Diamond Castle Holdings, a New York-based private equity firm, which later became Bonten Media Group.
The station also operates a semi-satellite in Eureka, KAEF-TV. It operated a local cable-only WB affiliate KIWB, but that station was sold to Catamount Broadcasting following the merger between the WB and UPN to form the new CW Network. KRVU-LD was previously a UPN affiliate but is now a MyNetworkTV affiliate.
KRCR was one of a select few ABC affiliates that broadcasts on channel 7, but chose not license the network's Circle 7 logo, until April 11, 2006, when the station rebranded and introduced its new set, along with the digital age allowing clear differentiation of both KRCR and KGO's signals via PSIP data if a viewer was in position to receive both stations.

Merger with KCVU and KBVU

In December 2012, KRCR/KAEF took over sales operations of KCVU in Chico, as well as KVIQ and KBVU in Eureka. They still maintain separate operations.
In August 2012, Bonten Media announced that KCVU and KBVU would be sold to Esteem Broadcasting, effectively merging both the ABC and Fox affiliates' operations to create a media powerhouse north of Sacramento and south of the Oregon border.
On April 21, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its intent to purchase the Bonten stations for $240 million. Sinclair's sidecar Cunningham Broadcasting acquired the Esteem stations. The sale was completed September 1.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
ChannelVideoAspectPSIP Short NameProgramming
7.1720pKRCR-TVMain KRCR-TV programming / ABC
7.2480iMeTVMeTV
7.3480iMOVIESMovies!
20.1720pKCVU-DTSimulcast of KCVU / Fox

On August 23, 2011, Disney-ABC Television Group announced that KRCR would carry Live Well Network as part of an affiliation agreement with Bonten Media Group; the network was added to a new third subchannel. Live Well Network was replaced by Movies! on November 18, 2013.

Analog-to-digital conversion

KRCR-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 7, on June 12, 2009, the official date when full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from UHF channel 34 to VHF channel 7.

News operation

''What Makes News Channel 7?''

In the fall of 1995, Continental Cablevision of Mt. Shasta filmed, produced and broadcast a 30-minute documentary special called What Makes News Channel 7? as part of its newsmagazine series In Focus: Siskiyou Magazine. It took a look behind the scenes at what went on at the station and focused mainly on the news team featuring a behind-the-scenes look at how a newscast is produced as well as interviews with key personalities such as Mike Mangas, Rich Eisen, Sandra Geist, Warren Wright, Gary Gunter and Katy Brown. The program aired on Mt. Shasta cable channel 3 in the winter and spring of 1996 and starting showing on YouTube and MySpace in February 2010. It was rebroadcast over Mt. Shasta cable airwaves again on MCTV 15 in 2010 leading to that program's relaunch.

Notable former on-air staff

ProviderArea7.1 7.2
ComcastButte & Glenn Counties707 & 7 197
CharterShasta & Tehama Counties787 & 7 287
SuddenlinkHumboldt County 107 & 7 TBA
DirecTVChico–Redding DMA7 N/A
Dish NetworkChico–Redding DMA7 N/A

Carriage disputes

Mt. Shasta cable dispute

Since its inception in the mid-1980s, the Mt. Shasta cable system currently owned by Northland Communications had carried KRCR on its cable channel 7. However, in January 2012, Northland dropped KRCR from its cable lineup after the station's current ownership and the cable company failed to come to a mutual agreement to continue the station's coverage on the system and severed ties after a near-30-year working relationship between the two. As a result, Northland replaced KRCR on cable channel 7 with Medford, Oregon's ABC affiliate, KDRV.
Despite being in California, Siskiyou County is technically part of the Medford DMA according to the FCC. Both KRCR and Northland made several attempts to get the DMA changed but were unsuccessful each time. KHSL-TV, KNVN-TV and KIXE-TV are the only Chico–Redding market stations airing on the Northland system in Mt. Shasta; however, certain programs on KHSL and KNVN are subject to blackout due to the FCC's network non-duplication and syndication exclusivity rules.
KRCR and its sister stations no longer broadcast north of Shasta County or south of Butte County.

Disputes with Dish Network

Under its former Bonten ownership, the company and Dish Network had two retransmission consent issues that led to Bonten stations to be removed from the provider. As a result, on December 8, 2013, Dish stopped carrying KRCR on their system before a later restoration. On January 17, 2017, KRCR and KCVU were once again removed from Dish's lineup as part of a new dispute, returning on February 13.

Translators

KRCR is rebroadcast on the following translator stations:
KRCR operates a digital fill-in translator on their pre-transition channel 34 for residents in Redding and the surrounding areas who have difficulty receiving their VHF signal on channel 7.
In the early 1990s, KRCR operated a satellite, KFWU channel 8 in Fort Bragg; originally serving as an ABC affiliate for the Mendocino County portion of the San Francisco Bay Area television market; the station would be sold in 1996. It is currently independent station KQSL.
KRCR was formerly broadcast on translators channel 20 in Yuba City, part of the Sacramento television market and channel 21 in Susanville, part of the Reno television market.