KQWL-TV

KQWL-TV is an independent station serving the Lewiston-Moscow, ID/Pullman-Clarkston, WA metropolitan area, licensed to Enterprise, OR.

History
In Fall 1971, the station went on the air as KQWL, an affiliate of ABC. It was originally a satellite of KATU in Portland. In 1973, channel 19 was sold to Nationwide Communications of Columbus, Ohio and became a separate station due to competition and disputes with Clarkston, Washington-based KTQC (Channel 7) over the Tri-State Area. Eventually, it became an independent station to solve the issue between the two ABC affiliates.

During the mid-70's and 80's, KQWL has became the #1 kids station in the Tri-states, airing programs such as "The Flintstones", "The Jetsons", "Inspector Gadget", "Thundercats", "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe", "She-Ra: Princess of Power", "Bravestarr", "Galtar and the Golden Lance" and "Silverhawks". The station even began to air "Entertainment Tonight" and its weekend edition, "Entertainment This Week" in 1981 until it was transferred to NBC affiliate KQCX-TV (Channel 10) in 1991. Even after the switch to the Fox Network in 1986, it became one of the top-rated independent stations in the Northwestern United States.

KQWL became a charter affiliate of Fox when that network launched on October 9, 1986. However, like most Fox stations, it continued to essentially be programmed as an independent station during the network's early years. KSHB continued to air movies during primetime on nights when Fox did not provide programming until the network began airing primetime shows seven nights a week in September 1993. By the early 1990s, KQWL rebranded as "Fox 27," and began to add a few talk and reality shows to its schedule.

Fox wanted to upgrade affiliates in many markets when it acquired the rights to broadcast games from the NFL's National Football Conference in the mid-1990s. After signing an affiliation deal with New World Communications to switch its "Big Three" affiliates to Fox, the network decided to make affiliate upgrades in smaller markets. In 1995, Fox formed SF Broadcasting in a joint venture with Savoy Pictures, which the network owned a voting stock in, and bought four NBC affiliates and an ABC affiliate; one of the NBC stations it acquired was local rival KQCX-TV (channel 10). On January 1, 1996, KQCX switched its affiliation to Fox, while the NBC affiliation moved to KQWL.

KQWL was carrying the unbranded The Disney Afternoon in January 1998 with the expectations then of dropping the block as its ad sales wasn't doing so well.

Since the 1980s, KQWL holds many great shows like the Dallas, Knots Landing, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The People's Court and the Popples.

In 1997, Nationwide sold KQWL to Scripps Howard Broadcasting (later renamed the E.W. Scripps Company) upon Nationwide's exit from broadcasting.

Programming
Until 2016, KQWL-TV clears the entire NBC network schedule; however, it is one of the few NBC stations that airs the Saturday and Sunday editions of NBC Nightly News a half-hour to one hour earlier than most affiliates due to its hour-long 5:00 p.m. newscast, and also airs the weekend editions of Today and Meet The Press one hour earlier. Syndicated programs broadcast by KQWL-TV include The People's Court, The List, Judge Mathis, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Meredith Vieira Show among others. Since 1985, KQWL was the Quad Cities' longtime home to hit game shows Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy! (airing both shows at 7 and 7:30pm respectively prior to their removal), before removing both game shows in September 2014 in a move where Scripps removed both Sony game shows (and a few other shows) from their stations for lower-cost, internally produced programming; with the station adding a 7 p.m. newscast and Scripps' The List newsmagazine in their place. Both game shows ended up moving to Lewiston-Clarkston's ABC-affiliate, KTQC.

During its early years as an independent and as a Fox affiliate, KQWL launched its own news department and aired newscasts twice daily at 6:30pm and 10pm. As an NBC affiliate, the station moved its late night newscast to the 11:00pm timeslot and added newscasts at Noon, 4:00pm, 5:00pm, 5:30pm and 6:00pm while replacing its 6:30pm newscast with NBC Nightly News. Subsequently, the morning newscast "Quad Cities Today" was added in the 5-7am timeslot and became one of the most innovative morning newscasts in the Northwest.

NEWSCAST TITLES: 27 Newsday (1980-1986, 1996-2001) Fox 27 Newsday (1986-1996) NBC 27 Newsday (2001-2003) NBC Quad Cities News (2003-2012) NBC 27 News (2012-present)

11PM Edition: Tonight (2003-2007) The Late Report (2007-present)