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| Channels | |
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| Programming | |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| KEPR-TV,KLEW-TV,KUNW-CD | |
| History | |
First air date | July 19, 1953 (72 years ago) (1953-07-19) |
Former channel numbers | Analog: 29 (UHF, 1953–2009) |
Call sign meaning | Yakima |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 56033 |
| ERP | 100kW |
| HAAT | 292 m (958 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 46°31′57″N120°30′37″W / 46.53250°N 120.51028°W /46.53250; -120.51028 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | kimatv |
KIMA-TV (channel 29) is atelevision station inYakima, Washington, United States, affiliated withCBS andThe CW Plus. It is owned bySinclair Broadcast Group alongsidelow-power,Class AUnivision affiliateKUNW-CD (channel 2). The two stations share studios on Terrace Heights Boulevard (east ofI-82) in Yakima; KIMA-TV's transmitter is located onAhtanum Ridge.
KIMA operates twosemi-satellites—KEPR-TV (channel 19) inPasco (serving theTri-Cities) andKLEW-TV (channel 3) inLewiston, Idaho. Theysimulcast all network andsyndicated programming as provided through KIMA, but air separate commercial inserts,legal identifications and early evening newscasts, and have their own websites.Master control and some internal operations for the four stations are based atKOMO Plaza (formerly Fisher Plaza) inSeattle.
Onsatellite,Dish Network andDirecTV carry both KIMA-TV and KEPR-TV.
KIMA signed on July 19, 1953, as the 200th television station in the United States and the first in central Washington. The station was originally owned by Cascade Broadcasting Company along with KIMA radio (AM 1460, laterKUTI). It carried programming from all four networks–CBS,NBC,ABC andDuMont–but has always been a primary CBS affiliate.
It lost DuMont when that network shut down in 1955, then lost ABC whenKNDO signed on in 1959 as a primary ABC affiliate. When KNDO switched affiliations to NBC in 1965, the two stations shared ABC until 1970, whenKAPP signed on and took over ABC, leaving KIMA to become a full-time CBS affiliate.
Just before KIMA signed on, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) collapsed all of central Washington–including the Tri-Cities–into one giant television market. It soon became apparent that channel 29 was not nearly strong enough to cover this vast and mountainous area by itself. With this in mind, in 1954 Cascade signed on KEPR-TV as the first satellite station in the United States. It was originally intended to be a full repeater of KIMA-TV, but due to popular demand it became more of a local station.
At one point, KIMA also had a satellite station inEphrata, Washington. KBAS-TV signed on the air February 15, 1957, on channel 43; it moved to channel 16 in 1958. KBAS was owned by Basin TV Company, a subsidiary of Cascade Broadcasting, and this was reflected in its call letters. KBAS shut down on November 30, 1961.
Filmways agreed to purchase Cascade Broadcasting for $3 million in 1968;[2] the sale was approved the following year.[3] Cascade's previous owners retained the company's radio stations, which by this point also included theconstruction permit for KIMA-FM (107.3 FM, nowKFFM), under the name Yakima Valley Communications.[2][3] Filmways sold KIMA-TV, KEPR-TV, and KLEW-TV to NWG Broadcasting for $1 million in 1972.[4]Retlaw Enterprises acquired the NWG stations for $17 million in 1986;[5] the stations were operated as part of the Retlaw Broadcasting division.[6]Fisher Communications purchased the Retlaw owned stations in 1999.[7]
On March 31, 2009, KIMA launched adigital subchannel affiliated withThe CW to fill the void left byKCWK (channel 9) going dark at the end of May 2008 due to thePappas Telecasting bankruptcy.[8] The new channel took KCWK's former Channel 9 position on local cable systems and carries theCW Plus schedule.
On April 11, 2013, Fisher announced that it would sell its properties, including KIMA-TV, to theSinclair Broadcast Group.[9] The deal was completed on August 8, 2013.[10]
KIMA offers the only local Yakima-focused newscast with a fully operational newsroom in Yakima weekdays onKIMAAction News at 5 and 6 p.m. KIMA's morning, 10 p.m. (on CW), 11 p.m. and weekend newscasts are shared with KEPR. There are no noon newscasts unlike most CBS affiliates. Branded asKIMA/KEPR Action News, they cover both theYakima Valley and theColumbia Basin. Weather segments for KIMA's evening newscasts are pre-taped at KEPR.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | CBS29 | CBS |
| 29.2 | 720p | CW | The CW Plus | |
| 29.3 | 480i | TBD | Roar /Rip City Television Network |
On September 23, 2024, thePortland Trail Blazers announced an agreement with Sinclair to launch Rip City Television Network, which will syndicate gamesover-the-air. Games in Yakima will air on KIMA's third subchannel.[12]
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** Owned by third parties and operated by Sinclair through various operating agreements. *** Owned by Sinclair and operated byMarquee Broadcasting. JV Joint venture. | ||||||||||||||||||
