KRCW-TV
KRCW-TV is a Portland-area television station licensed to Salem, Oregon, and affiliated with The CW.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KRCW-TV is a full-power television station licensed to Salem, Oregon, that serves the broader Portland, Oregon, metropolitan television market as an affiliate of The CW. The station broadcasts on channel 32 and is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns Portland CBS affiliate KOIN. KRCW and KOIN operate from shared facilities in the basement of Portland's KOIN Tower, while KRCW's main transmitter is located in the Sylvan-Highlands area of Portland. The station's history began with a construction permit for Salem's channel 32 during the 1980s. After several proposed ownership and transmitter changes, the station was built by South Carolina-based Dove Broadcasting and began broadcasting on May 8, 1989, under the call sign KUTF. Its initial schedule was primarily religious programming, including shows supplied by FamilyNet and a locally produced version of Nite Line. The station struggled to attract viewer support and cable carriage. Those limitations reduced both its audience and the donations on which its original business model depended. KUTF briefly went off the air in 1990, and Dove ultimately sold the station in 1991. The new owners repositioned channel 32 as a secular independent station. Relaunched as KEBN, and promoted as “Oregon's New Eagle 32,” it carried syndicated programs, classic television, films, home-shopping content, and sports. The station also obtained a package of Seattle Mariners baseball games that other Portland stations had declined. The format change did not immediately solve the station's distribution problems, and financial difficulties continued. During an attempted move of operations from Salem to Beaverton in late 1992, KEBN left the air. The licensee later entered receivership, and the station was purchased out of bankruptcy by Channel 32, Inc., returning to the air in 1994. Channel 32 subsequently became Portland's affiliate of The WB. It initially used the proposed call sign KPWB before adopting KWBP in October 1995. Under local ownership, the station combined WB network programming with syndicated entertainment and specialized local programming, including Japanese-language news and Spanish-language films. ACME Television acquired an 80 percent interest in 1997, helping align the station with The WB's broader affiliate strategy. ACME also acquired a low-power station to improve reception in portions of the market. Tribune Broadcasting purchased KWBP in 2003. During the Tribune period, the station adopted the “Portland's WB” identity, added a public-affairs program, and relied on shared services with Tribune's Seattle station for some operational functions. It also began airing a live 10 p.m. newscast produced by Portland NBC affiliate KGW in 2005. When The WB and UPN were combined to create The CW in 2006, KWBP became one of the new network's charter affiliates and changed its call sign to KRCW-TV. Nexstar acquired Tribune Media in 2019, placing KRCW and KOIN under common ownership. KOIN replaced KGW as producer of KRCW's late local newscast, expanded the program to one hour, and later added a weekday morning news extension. KRCW also carries syndicated entertainment and local sports programming. As of the referenced material, its sports portfolio includes events involving the University of Portland, Pacific University, the Northwest Conference, and Oregon State University baseball, as well as selected Portland Pickles games. KRCW is also one of Portland's ATSC 3.0 “lighthouse” stations, sharing NextGen TV distribution responsibilities with KPDX and participating in a broader arrangement in which local stations carry one another's subchannels.
History
The origins of KRCW-TV lie in the allocation of commercial television channel 32 at Salem, Oregon. Several parties applied for the channel in the early 1980s. Willamette Valley Broadcasting received a construction permit in 1984, but the project experienced repeated delays involving financing, transmitter-site changes, equipment problems, and security issues at the proposed transmission facility. Ownership of the permit eventually passed to Dove Broadcasting, a South Carolina broadcaster associated with Christian television. Dove launched the station on May 8, 1989, as KUTF. Its schedule was built largely around religious programming supplied by FamilyNet and related productions. The station had difficulty establishing a sustainable audience and financial base. It lacked carriage on important local cable systems, limiting its reach in a market where many households depended on cable television. Viewer donations fell short of expectations, and KUTF temporarily ceased transmission for six days in 1990. Dove sold the station in 1991 to Communications Programming Agency, controlled by Glen and Beverly Chambers and Ronna Scott. The new ownership group shifted channel 32 away from its original religious orientation. It adopted the Eagle Broadcasting identity and relaunched the station as KEBN, “Oregon's New Eagle 32,” in 1992. The schedule added general-entertainment programming, older series, movies, shopping, and sports. The station's sports offerings included Seattle Mariners baseball, a package that other Portland stations had declined. Nevertheless, channel 32 continued to face weak cable distribution and financial pressure. During a planned consolidation of Salem and Beaverton operations, KEBN went off the air in October 1992 to reduce expenses. The station's licensee later entered receivership. Channel 32, Inc., acquired the station from the receivership process and restored it to the air on a test basis in July 1994, followed by a more regular schedule later that year. The new owners arranged for an affiliation with The WB, the national network scheduled to launch in January 1995. The station initially planned to use KPWB, but it adopted KWBP in October 1995. Its schedule combined WB programming and syndicated shows with programming directed at specialized audiences, including a Japanese-language daily newscast, Spanish-language films, and live coverage of the O. J. Simpson murder trial. ACME Television acquired an 80 percent interest in KWBP in 1997. The transaction reflected The WB's effort to develop a substantial affiliate base through a station group associated with network leadership. ACME later acquired a low-power station to improve channel 32's reception in parts of the Portland market. By the early 2000s, the station also carried college sports, including Portland State football. Tribune Broadcasting purchased KWBP and KPLR-TV from ACME in a transaction announced in 2002 and completed in 2003. Tribune changed the station's identity from WB32 to “Portland's WB,” added a public-affairs program, and centralized certain technical and operational functions with its Seattle station, KCPQ. In October 2005, KWBP introduced a live 10 p.m. newscast produced by KGW. The arrangement gave the station a local-news presence without maintaining a fully separate newsroom. The WB and UPN were combined in 2006 to form The CW. KWBP was announced as one of the new network's charter affiliates. In preparation for the launch, it changed its call sign to KRCW-TV. Tribune later supplied additional syndicated programming, including the morning program Eye Opener beginning in 2011. After that program ended, KRCW carried Morning Dose for a shorter period. Tribune's proposed sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2017 created regulatory complications in Portland because Sinclair already controlled other local television interests. The transaction was designated for review by an administrative law judge and was ultimately terminated. Nexstar then acquired Tribune Media, completing the transaction in 2019. KRCW and KOIN consequently became sister stations. KOIN assumed production of KRCW's late newscast from KGW in September 2019, expanded it to an hour, and added a sports program called Game On!. KRCW's facilities were subsequently consolidated at KOIN Tower in downtown Portland, and a weekday morning news extension was later added. KRCW also developed a role in Portland's digital-broadcasting infrastructure. It began ATSC 3.0 service in July 2020 and became one of two market stations operating as a NextGen TV host, alongside KPDX. Through the market's shared-subchannel arrangement, KRCW's services and subchannels can also be distributed through other local stations and translators. Its current programming scope includes The CW entertainment, local news, syndicated content, and selected collegiate and regional sports events.
- 2020
ATSC 3.0 service launches
[1]KRCW began NextGen TV transmission as one of Portland's two ATSC 3.0 host stations.
- 2019
Nexstar ownership begins
[1]Nexstar completed its acquisition of Tribune Media, creating common ownership of KRCW-TV and KOIN.
- 2011
Eye Opener added
[1]KRCW began carrying Tribune's syndicated morning news program Eye Opener.
- 2006
Conversion to KRCW-TV and The CW
[1]The station joined The CW at the network's launch and changed its call sign from KWBP to KRCW-TV.
- 2005
Local late-news service begins
[1]KWBP began airing a live 10 p.m. newscast produced by KGW.
- 2003
Tribune acquisition
[1]Tribune Broadcasting completed its purchase of KWBP from ACME Television.
- 1997
ACME Television acquires a controlling interest
[1]ACME Television purchased an 80 percent interest in KWBP.
- 1995
WB affiliation and KWBP call sign
[1]The station became Portland's WB affiliate and adopted the KWBP call letters.
- 1994
Return from receivership
[1]Channel 32, Inc., restored the station to the air after acquiring it through the receivership process.
- 1992
Secular relaunch as KEBN
[1]The station became KEBN and adopted the “Oregon's New Eagle 32” identity.
Products and positioning
A Portland-market broadcast station combining The CW's national entertainment schedule with locally produced news, syndicated programming, regional sports, and digital television services.
Network television affiliation · 2006
The CW programming
KRCW's central programming offering is The CW's national entertainment schedule, carried for viewers in the Portland-area market. The station became a charter CW affiliate in 2006 after previously carrying The WB. The affiliation supplies scripted series, entertainment programming, specials, and other network content, supplemented by local and syndicated material.
Television news · 2005
Local news
KRCW carries local news programming produced through relationships with other Portland stations. KGW originally produced the station's late-evening newscast, while KOIN assumed production after Nexstar acquired Tribune. The service later expanded to a one-hour 10 p.m. program and included a weekday morning extension.
Sports television
Regional sports broadcasts
KRCW has carried selected regional and collegiate sports. Referenced offerings include University of Portland events, Pacific University and Northwest Conference football, Oregon State University baseball, and selected Portland Pickles home games. These broadcasts extend the station's local identity beyond its network entertainment schedule.
Digital broadcasting · 2020
ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV
KRCW operates an ATSC 3.0 transmission service for the Portland market. Launched in 2020, the service makes the station one of the market's NextGen TV host stations and supports a shared distribution arrangement in which local stations rebroadcast one another's subchannels.
Brand decisions
2019
Integration with KOIN after the Tribune acquisitionM&ABackground
Nexstar's acquisition of Tribune Media placed KRCW-TV and KOIN under common ownership.
Action taken
Nexstar shifted KRCW's late-news production from KGW to KOIN and consolidated station operations at KOIN Tower.
Aftermath
KRCW gained closer operational and programming ties to KOIN, including an expanded late newscast and additional local programming.
2006
Transition from The WB to The CWGeneration changeBackground
The WB and UPN were consolidated into a new national network called The CW.
Action taken
KWBP became a charter CW affiliate and adopted the KRCW-TV call sign.
Aftermath
The station retained a national network affiliation while moving from The WB brand to The CW identity.
1995
Join The WBStrategyBackground
Channel 32 sought a stronger national programming identity after operating as an independent station.
Action taken
The station affiliated with The WB and changed its call sign to KWBP.
Aftermath
KWBP became Portland's local WB outlet and remained associated with the network until its successor, The CW, launched.
1992
Shift from religious broadcasting to general entertainmentStrategyBackground
The original KUTF format had struggled with audience support, donations, and cable carriage.
Action taken
The new owners relaunched the station as KEBN, reducing religious programming and adding syndicated shows, films, shopping, and sports.
Aftermath
The format change broadened the station's programming identity but did not immediately resolve its distribution and financial difficulties.
Sources2 sources
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