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KLSR-TV

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This article covers KLSR before and after the 1997 facility swap. For information on KEVU on channel 34 from 1991 to 1997, see KEVU-CD.
KLSR-TV
Channels
BrandingFox 34
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KEVU-CD
History
First air date
June 12, 1987 (1987-06-12)[a]
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 25 (UHF, 1987–1997); 34 (UHF, 1997–2009)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID8322
ERP88 kW
HAAT372 m (1,220 ft)
Transmitter coordinates44°0′3″N 123°6′49″W / 44.00083°N 123.11361°W / 44.00083; -123.11361
Translator(s)see § Translators
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.oregonsfox.com

KLSR-TV (channel 34) is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KEVU-CD (channel 23), a low-power Class A station. The two stations share studios on Chad Drive in Eugene; KLSR's transmitter is located on South Ridge.

KLSR began as a low-power station (officially K25AS) on June 12, 1987, with a format consisting primarily of music videos. Though it lacked cable carriage until 1989, it had strong enough viewership within months of launching to obtain an affiliation with Fox. Despite being a low-power station, it produced its own prime time newscast for several years. It remained the Eugene Fox affiliate even though a full-power station, KEVU, began on channel 34 in 1991. California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc. acquired KLSR in 1993 and KEVU in 1994; though it stated its intention to move the Fox programming to the full-power channel 34 at the time, it did not do so until April 1, 1997. Cox Media Group acquired KLSR in 2022. Eugene CBS affiliate KVAL-TV produces 7 and 10 p.m. newscasts for KLSR-TV on weeknights.

History

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On June 12, 1987, a low-power television station began broadcasting in Eugene. Bearing the call sign K25AS but known as KLSR, the station was owned by Metrocom of Oregon and initially programmed a format that on weekdays primarily consisted of music videos. Three Eugene-area radio personalities as well as the general manager and others held down on-air shifts during the week, and the station also presented on-the-hour newscasts and more traditional syndicated programming on the wekends.[2] During midday, it aired a live bingo program with prizes.[3] It also had a morning show; Christopher Judge, a former University of Oregon football player, won the contest to host it, launching his acting career.[4] Despite lacking coverage on cable, KLSR was successful enough to garner a one-percent share of the audience later in 1987, a feat that earned it affiliation with the Fox network.[5] Even after affiliating with Fox, KLSR struggled to secure a slot on the Tele-Communications Inc. cable system in Eugene and did not do so until 1989.[6] That same year, the station added a translator to serve Corvallis.[7]

Originally operating from studios on 18th Street,[2] it had relocated to Goodpasture Island Road by October 1992, when Metrocom agreed to sell it to California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc. (COBI) for $3.15 million. Metrocom sold because its primary stakeholder, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, wished to exit broadcasting; COBI owned KOBI-TV in Medford,[8] and expanded into Eugene in response to Eugene-based Chambers Communications expanding into the Medford market.[9] After closing on KLSR, COBI acquired a Eugene full-power station in 1994. KEVU (channel 34) was built by Raul Palazuelos and began broadcasting September 30, 1991, as a low-budget independent station.[10][9] COBI initially promised that the Fox affiliation would move to KEVU upon approval of the transaction,[6] but KEVU continued on channel 34 and affiliated with UPN when it launched in January 1995.[11]

On April 1, 1997, COBI moved KLSR to channel 34, which became KLSR-TV, and KEVU to the low-power channel 25 as KEVU-LP; the stations retained their existing cable numbers, only exchanging transmission facilities.[12] That year, the station began construction on a new studio facility on Chad Drive, designed to house a news department.[13]

COBI was fined $13,000 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in November 2012. The company had failed to file paperwork for children's E/I programming for KLSR-TV's Eugene translator, K19GH-D, in the previous four years, even though it was filed for the main station.[14]

In 2022, California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc. sold KLSR-TV and KEVU-CD to Atlanta-based Cox Media Group for $7,222,000.[15][16] Under a local marketing agreement first signed in 2021, KLSR–KEVU's sales force markets the advertising time on Eugene radio station KORE (1050 AM).[17]

Newscasts

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Further information: KVAL-TV § News operation

As early as 1989, KLSR offered a 10 p.m. newscast,[18] known as Prime Time News. In October 1991, KLSR entered into a deal with Eugene CBS affiliate KVAL-TV (channel 13) to produce a 10 p.m. newscast for at least six months.[19] It lasted two years before KVAL opted to exit the partnership, citing low ratings.[20] In the mid-1990s, KLSR aired a half-hour of Northwest Cable News at 10 p.m.[13]

Under a news share arrangement, KVAL-TV currently produces 7 and 10 p.m. newscasts for KLSR-TV on weeknights, plus rebroadcasts of KVAL's weekend evening newscasts and a weekday half-hour at 7 a.m. The 10 p.m. news was a half-hour except between 2016 and 2017, when it was broadcast as a full hour.[21]

Technical information

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Subchannels

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The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of KLSR-TV[22]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
34.1 720p 16:9 KLSR-HD Fox
34.2 KEVU-DT MyNetworkTV (KEVU-CD)
  Simulcast of subchannels of another station

Analog-to-digital conversion

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KLSR-TV, along with KEZI, opted to shut down its analog signal on the original digital television transition date of February 17, 2009.[23] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 31, using virtual channel 34.[24]

Translators

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KLSR-TV's signal is rebroadcast by translators to communities throughout southern and south-central Oregon:[25]

Notes

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  1. ^ Of KLSR, as K25AS, a low-power station. This technical facility is now KEVU-CD. The full-service channel 34 facility began September 30, 1991.

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KLSR-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b "KLSR-TV goes on the air Friday night". The Register-Guard. June 6, 1987. p. TV Week 3.
  3. ^ Westlund, Chuck (September 4, 1987). "New station offers alternative to bingo". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Corvallis, Oregon. p. B2. Retrieved April 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Welch, Bob (March 14, 2002). "Curious minds want to know". The Register-Guard. p. C1. ProQuest 377680073.
  5. ^ Couzens, Michael (December 1988). "Putting Down Roots: Low-power television stations are finding programming games they can afford to play" (PDF). Channels. p. 113.
  6. ^ a b Hymen, Michelle (March 29, 1994). "Sale could shuffle affiliations". The Register-Guard. pp. 1B, 2B.
  7. ^ "KLSR-TV to beef up local signal". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Corvallis, Oregon. February 10, 1989. p. Entertainer 18. Retrieved April 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Shannon, Tad (October 16, 1992). "Broadcast Chain Agrees to Buy KLSR". The Register-Guard. ProQuest 377683108.
  9. ^ a b Hymen, Michelle (March 29, 1994). "Prime time: A big-money deal rewrites the script for little KEVU". The Register-Guard. pp. 1B, 2B. ProQuest 377680172.
  10. ^ "New channel to start Sept. 30". The Register-Guard. September 14, 1991. p. TV Week 2.
  11. ^ Kidd, Joe (December 21, 1995). "Prime Timing: KEVU-TV makes a breakthrough". The Register-Guard. pp. 1B, 6B.
  12. ^ "2 stations trade spots on the dial". The Register-Guard. March 29, 1997. p. TV Week 4.
  13. ^ a b Wihtol, Christian (June 10, 1997). "Fox affiliate to move into local news market". The Register-Guard. p. 1B.
  14. ^ Eggerton, John (November 9, 2012). "Oregon Broadcaster Fined for Kids TV Reporting Error". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2025. The article in error gave its calls as "KSLR".
  15. ^ Miller, Mark K. (February 24, 2022). "Cox Media Buying KLSR-KEVU Eugene, Ore". TVNewsCheck. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  16. ^ Miller, Mark K. (May 3, 2022). "Cox Media Closes On Two Eugene, Ore., Stations". TVNewsCheck. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  17. ^ "Local Marketing Agreement" (PDF). Public Inspection File. Federal Communications Commission. August 11, 2021.
  18. ^ Biel, Jacquelyn (January 1989). "Eugene's KLSR-TV 25 A Lesson In Style" (PDF). The LPTV Report. pp. 1, 8–11. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  19. ^ Wright, Jeff (August 27, 1991). "KVAL, KLSR to attempt joint news broadcast". The Register-Guard. pp. 1C, 3C.
  20. ^ James, Joni (July 9, 1993). "TV stations pull 10 p.m. newscast". The Register-Guard. pp. 1B, 2B.
  21. ^ "News Share Agreement (and Amendments)" (PDF). Public Inspection File. Federal Communications Commission. November 3, 2014.
  22. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for KLSR". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  23. ^ Wright, Jeff (February 13, 2009). "Two local television stations delay switch to all-digital broadcasting". The Register-Guard. p. B13. ProQuest 377828072.
  24. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  25. ^ "List of TV Translator Input Channels". Federal Communications Commission. July 23, 2021. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
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