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KNDO (channel 23) is atelevision station inYakima, Washington, United States, affiliated withNBC. It is owned by theSpokane-basedCowles Company as part of theKHQ Television Group. KNDO's studios are located on West Yakima Avenue in downtown Yakima, and its transmitter is located onAhtanum Ridge.
KNDU (channel 25) inRichland operates as asemi-satellite of KNDO, serving theTri-Cities area; this station maintains its own studios on West Kennewick Avenue inKennewick, with transmitter onJump Off Joe Butte. As a KNDO semi-satellite, itsimulcasts all network andsyndicated programming as provided through its parent, and the two stations share a website. However, KNDU airs separate commercial inserts andlegal identifications. Local newscasts, produced by KNDU, are simulcast on both stations. KNDO serves the western half of the Yakima–Tri-Citiesmarket while KNDU serves the eastern portion. The two stations are counted as a single unit forratings purposes.Master control and some internal operations are based at the studios ofsister station, fellow NBC affiliate and companyflagshipKHQ-TV on West Sprague Avenue in downtown Spokane.[3][4]
Onsatellite, KNDO is only available onDirecTV, whileDish Network carries KNDU instead.
KNDO debuted on the air on October 15, 1959. It was owned by Hugh Davis and his Columbia Empire Broadcasting Corporation. Previously, all three networks had been shoehorned on primaryCBS affiliateKIMA-TV (channel 29). Although conventional wisdom suggested that KNDO should have signed on as an NBC affiliate, it instead took on theABC affiliation. This was very unusual for a two-station market, especially one as small as Yakima. During this time, it carried a secondary affiliation with NBC, and also aired a few CBS programs turned down by KIMA-TV, includingThe Andy Griffith Show.
On August 16, 1960, CEBC filed to build a new TV station on channel 25 in Richland.[5] The company was composed of employees of KNDO andKTNT-TV inTacoma and had also filed to buy KNDO.[6] TheFederal Communications Commission (FCC) granted the permit on May 24, 1961,[5] and the station was announced to be a satellite of KNDO.[7] Programming began August 10, 1961.[5] A major increase in power was made in 1966.[5]
In 1965, KNDO and KNDU became primary NBC affiliates, but shared ABC with KIMA-TV untilKAPP (channel 35) andKVEW (channel 42) debuted in 1970 to take the ABC affiliation; since then, KNDO and KNDU have been exclusive NBC affiliates.
Davis sold the two stations to Farragut Communications in 1988. Federal Enterprises acquired KNDO and KNDU in 1995. Federal was bought out byRaycom Media in 1997. Current owner Cowles Company purchased the two stations from Raycom in July 1999.
On October 15, 2009, KNDO celebrated 50 years of broadcasting to the Yakima Valley. Leading up to that date, KNDO aired stories of local businesses and organizations that have also been around for 50 years or longer.
In the past, KNDO and KNDU preempted much of the NBC lineup post-Late Night, includingLater andFriday Night Videos/Friday Night, along with the network'sNightside rolling news block, as the stations carried syndicated programming, then continued to sign off the air nightly. It began to air all three programs in 1996, shortly after Federal took control of the stations.
The stations' signals aremultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KNDO | KNDU | KNDO | KNDU | |||
| 23.1 | 25.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | KNDO-HD | KNDU-HD | NBC |
| 23.3 | 25.3 | SWxKNDO | SWxKNDU | SWX Right Now | ||
KNDO and KNDU have been digital-only since February 17, 2009.[10][11]NBC Weather Plus had been carried ondigital subchannel 23.3 and 25.3; the originating national network ceased operation on December 1, 2008.
On September 1, 2010, KNDO and KNDU discontinued broadcastingUniversal Sports on digital subchannels 23.2 and 25.2. Its bandwidth was reallocated to SWX Right Now (23.3/25.3) to improve the picture quality of SWX programming.