KIRO-TV

KIRO-TV
Callsign	KIRO-TV
City	Seattle, Washington
Branding	KIRO 7
Digital	23 (UHF)
Affiliations	CBS
Owner	Cox Media Group
Founded	1958
Callsign meaning	Taken from former sister radio station KIRO (710 AM)
Sister stations	KIRO (AM), KIRO-FM
Facility id	66010
Coordinates	47°36′N 122°20′W

KIRO-TV

KIRO-TV is a television station serving the Seattle–Tacoma market in Washington State as the market's CBS affiliate. The station traces its origins to the late 1950s and has played a major role in broadcasting regional news, syndicated programming and network sports across the Pacific Northwest. Owned by Cox Media Group, the station operates from studios in downtown Seattle with transmitter facilities on Tiger Mountain; it competes directly with other major-market outlets including affiliates of KOMO-TV, KING-TV, and KCPQ.

History

KIRO-TV began broadcasting in 1958 after assignment of a channel allocation amid a post-Federal Communications Commission reallocation era that reshaped television markets. Early management included figures with ties to King Broadcasting Company and veteran radio operations such as KIRO (AM). During the 1960s and 1970s the station expanded local production, covering events like Seattle World's Fair spillover activities and sporting franchises including the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks. Ownership changed hands multiple times in the deregulation era: corporate entities such as New World Communications, Paramount Global-related holdings, and later Hearing Industries-era investors influenced strategic direction before Cox Enterprises and its broadcasting subsidiary assumed control. Throughout the analog-to-digital transition culminating in the 2009 federally mandated conversion, the station upgraded transmitters and adopted multicasting technologies to broadcast additional subchannels.

Programming

As a CBS affiliate, the station airs national schedules from CBS including daytime staples, primetime dramas, and late-night programming featuring performers and shows associated with The Late Show and CBS Evening News anchors. Local programming historically included region-specific public affairs series, community magazine shows, and sports pregame productions tied to franchises like the Seattle Kraken and former NHL interests. Syndicated offerings have ranged from courtroom and daytime talk series to classic television blocks; titles have included programs connected to production companies such as Warner Bros. Television, Sony Pictures Television, and 20th Television. The station has also hosted telecasts of nationally significant events, partnering with networks for coverage of national ceremonies, presidential inaugurations involving figures like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and election-night consortiums with other Seattle outlets.

News Operation

The station maintains a large news department that produces multiple hours of local newscasts each weekday, competing in the market against operations run by KING-TV and KOMO-TV. Its news staff have covered major regional stories including seismic events tied to the Cascadia Subduction Zone, wildfire seasons impacting Puget Sound, and civic developments in downtown Seattle such as the growth of Amazon (company) campuses. Notable investigative reports have focused on transportation corridors like Interstate 5 and State Route 520, municipal governance at Seattle City Hall, and environmental issues involving Puget Sound ecosystems. The newsroom employs field reporters, photojournalists, producers, and weather teams that utilize radar systems and partnerships with regional meteorological services including the National Weather Service.

Technical Information

The station broadcasts digitally on UHF channel 23 while retaining virtual channel 7 designation used in electronic program guides. Its transmitter atop Tiger Mountain provides coverage across the Seattle–Tacoma–Olympia designated market area, reaching portions of Vancouver, British Columbia and Olympia, Washington. Technical upgrades over time have included transition to high-definition production for local newscasts, adoption of multicasting to carry subchannels featuring networks like MeTV or similar classic-programming services, and implementation of emergency alert systems linked to the FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. The facility ID recognized by the Federal Communications Commission governs licensing, spectrum usage, and public inspection requirements.

Notable Staff and Alumni

The station's on-air and behind-the-scenes alumni list includes anchors, meteorologists, investigative journalists, and executives who later moved to national platforms or civic roles. Prominent personalities associated at various times with the station have connections to major media figures and outlets such as Tom Brokaw, Katie Couric, Walter Cronkite-era contemporaries, and regional sports broadcasters who later joined networks like ESPN and Fox Sports. Weathercasters from the station have collaborated with university research labs at University of Washington and emergency management agencies including Washington State Emergency Management Division. Several producers and reporters went on to roles at national networks including NBC News, ABC News, and cable channels such as CNN.

Community Involvement and Awards

Local philanthropic initiatives spearheaded or promoted by the station have supported organizations including United Way of King County, regional chapters of American Red Cross, and arts institutions like the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Art Museum. The station's reporting and feature work have received recognition from peer organizations such as the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Pacific Northwest chapter for Emmy Awards, and journalism honors from groups including the Society of Professional Journalists and regional press associations. Community outreach has included voter-education partnerships with county election offices, telethons for disaster relief, and school literacy programs tied to corporate social responsibility efforts by Cox Enterprises.

Category:Television stations in Seattle