KOTI
KOTI is an NBC-affiliated television station serving Klamath Falls and surrounding areas in southern Oregon as a full-time satellite of KOBI in Medford.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KOTI is a local television station licensed to Klamath Falls, Oregon, and serving eastern portions of the Medford–Klamath Falls broadcast market, including communities in southern Oregon and parts of far northern California. The station is part of the locally based California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc. operation whose principal property is KOBI in Medford. KOTI operates as a full-time satellite of KOBI, meaning that its programming is largely relayed from the Medford station and the KOTI identity is chiefly preserved through station identifications and its local broadcast history. The station was established by television pioneer Bill Smullin, who had launched Medford station KBES-TV in 1953. Smullin recognized that a single Medford transmitter could not adequately cover the geographically broad southern Oregon market, particularly the Klamath Basin. He therefore obtained the license for channel 2 in Klamath Falls, and KOTI began broadcasting on August 13, 1956. The call letters are generally associated with the Oregon Institute of Technology, then known as Oregon Technical Institute, a prominent local institution in Klamath Falls. At launch, KOTI carried programming from multiple major networks, reflecting the flexible affiliation arrangements common in smaller American television markets during the period. KOTI's network and programming history followed the changing competitive structure of the market. The station initially offered programming from three networks. Its broader relationship with the Medford operation evolved as Smullin's stations and other local broadcasters changed affiliations. KOBI, the group’s flagship, became an NBC affiliate in 1983 after previously emphasizing CBS and ABC programming. KOTI subsequently functioned within that NBC-centered operation and developed local news programming aimed at the Klamath Basin before eventually becoming a full-time repeater of KOBI. For part of its history, KOTI produced separate local newscasts under the NBC 2 News identity, including evening broadcasts at 5, 6, and 11 p.m. It also maintained a Klamath Falls news bureau and covered eastern sections of the market with its own reporting. The station's separate local news operation was later discontinued, and KOTI's broadcast role shifted toward retransmitting KOBI programming. The station remains technically distinct, with its own channel assignment and transmission facilities, but its day-to-day programming identity is closely integrated with KOBI. KOTI's broader station operation has also included community-oriented programming and regional initiatives associated with KOBI. These have included the Academic Challenge scholastic quiz program, which brought high-school teams from southern Oregon and northern California into competition for scholarship awards, and the Southern Oregon Meth Project, a public-education initiative launched in 2005 to address methamphetamine abuse and prevention. Such projects positioned the stations not only as network distributors but also as local institutions serving a dispersed and largely rural audience. The station completed the United States digital television transition in February 2009, ending analog broadcasting on VHF channel 2 while retaining channel 13 for its digital transmission and channel 2 as its virtual channel. KOTI's transmission facilities and translators help extend service across the Klamath Basin and nearby rural communities. Its continuing function is that of a regional NBC broadcast outlet and satellite station within the California Oregon Broadcasting operation.
History
KOTI was created as part of Bill Smullin's effort to build a television service capable of covering southern Oregon's difficult terrain and widely dispersed communities. Smullin founded Medford station KBES-TV on August 1, 1953, but its signal did not adequately reach all of the territory assigned to the Medford market. He responded by acquiring the channel 2 license in Klamath Falls, where KOTI began broadcasting on August 13, 1956. The station's call letters are commonly linked to the Oregon Institute of Technology, which was known at the time as Oregon Technical Institute. KOTI initially carried programming from three major networks, an arrangement that allowed a small-market station to offer a broad schedule before network affiliations became more rigid. The Klamath Falls operation complemented Smullin's Medford station and helped establish a regional broadcast footprint. The ownership group and its Medford flagship went through several programming changes during the following decades. Smullin changed the Medford station's call letters from KBES-TV to KTVM in 1964, and in 1968 the station adopted the KOBI call sign after moving to a stronger transmitter site on Kings Mountain. KOBI became primarily associated with ABC by 1978, although it continued to carry selected CBS programs. In 1983 it moved to NBC after KTVL switched to CBS, and the subsequent launch of KDRV helped resolve the market's remaining ABC arrangements. KOTI retained a distinct local identity as NBC 2 and for many years produced its own Klamath Basin news programs. Its schedule included evening newscasts at 5, 6, and 11 p.m., supported by a local bureau. The station also participated in the wider community and programming activities of the KOBI operation. In the 1980s, the group broadcast Jackpot Bingo, an interactive cash-prize program hosted first by Tom Carnes and later by Sally Holliday. The Academic Challenge quiz competition, introduced to the southern Oregon operation in 2005, brought local high-school teams together for a scholarship-funded tournament. In the same year, KOBI launched the Southern Oregon Meth Project, a public-information effort led by anchor Christina Anderson. Bill Smullin retired in 1985 and was succeeded by his daughter, Patricia C. "Patsy" Smullin, who became owner and president of the family broadcasting company. Over time, KOTI's separate news production was reduced and then discontinued, leaving the station as a full-time satellite of KOBI. It continued to provide a channel 2 service to Klamath Falls and nearby areas, but its programming became principally a relay of the Medford station. KOTI completed the mandated American digital television conversion on February 17, 2009. Its analog channel 2 signal was shut down, while its digital signal remained on VHF channel 13 and used virtual channel 2. The station's coverage is supported by transmission infrastructure and translators serving rural communities in the Klamath Basin and adjacent areas. Today, KOTI is best understood as a regional broadcast brand within California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc., combining an established Klamath Falls identity with the programming and news resources of KOBI.
- 2020
Klamath Basin bureau chief retires
[1]Lyle Ahrens, who had served as the Klamath Basin news bureau chief, retires.
- 2009
Digital television conversion
[1]KOTI ends analog broadcasting on channel 2 and continues digitally on channel 13 with virtual channel 2.
- 2005
Academic Challenge expands to southern Oregon
[1]The KOBI operation introduces a local version of the high-school quiz competition, with participating schools competing for scholarship awards.
- 2005
Southern Oregon Meth Project begins
[1]KOBI launches a public-education initiative focused on methamphetamine risks, prevention, and community response.
- 1985
Patsy Smullin succeeds Bill Smullin
[1]Bill Smullin retires and his daughter Patricia C. "Patsy" Smullin succeeds him as owner and president of the broadcasting operation.
- 1956
KOTI launches in Klamath Falls
[1]Channel 2 begins broadcasting on August 13 to extend Bill Smullin's southern Oregon television operation into the Klamath Basin.
Products and positioning
A locally rooted, rural-market television station providing NBC programming and regional news coverage for Klamath Falls and the surrounding Klamath Basin, while operating as a satellite of Medford-based KOBI.
Broadcast television station · 1956
KOTI channel 2
KOTI's primary broadcast service for Klamath Falls and the surrounding Klamath Basin. The station launched as an independently identifiable local outlet and later became a full-time satellite of KOBI, retaining its channel 2 virtual identity while relaying the Medford station's programming.
Local television news
NBC 2 News
KOTI's former local news identity, used for evening broadcasts focused on the Klamath Basin. The station previously aired separate programs at 5, 6, and 11 p.m. before its local news operation was discontinued and the station became a full-time KOBI repeater.
Educational television program · 2005
Academic Challenge
A televised quiz-bowl competition involving high schools from southern Oregon and northern California. Teams competed in a double-elimination format, with the final teams dividing scholarship funds, 60 percent for the champion and 40 percent for the runner-up.
Interactive television game show
Jackpot Bingo
A local interactive bingo program broadcast during the 1980s. Hosted initially by Tom Carnes, it offered cash prizes through a blackout-bingo format and was later renamed $10,000 Jackpot Bingo when Sally Holliday took over.
Marketing campaigns
- 2005Southern Oregon Meth Project
Southern Oregon
KOBI launched a public-awareness and education initiative addressing the dangers of methamphetamine and ways communities could respond. Lead anchor Christina Anderson headed the project during her tenure at the station.
Outcome. The initiative was later disbanded.
- 2005Academic Challenge
Southern Oregon · Northern California
The station operation brought a high-school academic competition to southern Oregon based on a format previously used by KRCR-TV. Twenty schools were described as participating, with teams competing for scholarship support.
Outcome. The program was subsequently canceled.
Brand decisions
2009
KOTI completes the digital television transitionStrategyBackground
United States full-power television stations were required to transition from analog to digital broadcasting.
Action taken
KOTI shut down its analog VHF channel 2 signal and continued digital transmission on VHF channel 13 while keeping channel 2 as its virtual channel.
Aftermath
The station continued serving the Klamath Falls market as a digital broadcast outlet.
1983
The station group moves toward NBC affiliationStrategyBackground
KOBI had previously carried a mixture of ABC and CBS programming, while competing market stations were also changing network relationships.
Action taken
KOBI picked up NBC from KTVL, which switched to CBS. KOTI subsequently operated within the NBC-centered station operation.
Aftermath
The affiliation change established the network identity that continues to define KOTI's relationship with KOBI.
Recent events
- 2009
KOTI completes analog shutdown and digital transition[1]
Other
KOTI ended analog transmission on VHF channel 2 and continued digital operation on channel 13 while retaining virtual channel 2.
- 1956
KOTI begins broadcasting from Klamath Falls[1]
Other
Bill Smullin launched KOTI on channel 2 to improve television coverage of the Klamath Basin and the wider southern Oregon market.
KOTI transitions to full-time KOBI satellite operation[1]
Other
KOTI discontinued its separate newscasts and became a full-time satellite of KOBI, while continuing to serve the Klamath Falls area through its own broadcast facilities.
Sources1 sources
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