KITV, by any other name, has broadcast for 60 years

This week KITV turns 60 years old. The station has had three call letter changes over the years, but always remained an ABC affiliate. This month, we look back at the history of the station.

In 1954, Honolulu had two television stations: KGMB and KONA (now KHON). KULA radio was interested in having a TV station to go along with its radio station.

Honolulu was assigned five commercial VHF channels: 2, 4, 9, 11 and 13, with channel 7 reserved for noncommercial educational use. KULA radio originally applied for channel 2, while radio stations KGU and KPOA applied for channel 4. KULA television was eventually approved by the FCC and ended up with channel 4 on the dial after deals with KGU and KPOA fell through.

KULA leased 26,000 square feet of land at 1290 Ala Moana Blvd. owned by the Victoria Ward estate. Construction of the new TV studio began in December 1953. Test patterns began April 1, 1954.

The first owner of KULA was Jack A. Burnett of the Pacific Frontier Broadcasting Co. Some familiar names were brought in from the mainland to help get KULA running as a TV station. Art Sprinkle (father of longtime KGMB/KITV news anchorman Gary Sprinkle) was hired as station manager and subsequently hired Bob Sevey as production manager. John Needham, a radio and TV broadcaster who had done some news anchoring at KGMB, became the first news anchorman for KULA.

On April 16, 1954, KULA officially went on the air for the first time: a test pattern ran from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Then, following an hour of opening ceremonies, a double feature of movies aired and the station signed off at 9:45 p.m.

Congressional Delegate Joseph R. Farrington, Territorial Gov. Sam King and industrialist and developer Henry J. Kaiser appeared at the festive opening. Kaiser would have a great impact on the future of the station in the years to come.

On May 5, 1957, Kaiser launched KHVH on channel 13, the first syndicated TV station in the islands, with the call letters derived from Kaiser’s Hawaiian Village Hotel. A year later on May 7, 1958, Kaiser purchased KULA for $685,000 and merged the two TV stations. Because one owner could not own two stations in the same market, Kaiser chose to disband channel 13 and change the KULA call letters to KHVH on channel 4.

Channel 13 remained dormant until KTRG (now KHNL) was launched in 1962. KHVH on channel 4 became the first TV station in the eventual Kaiser Broadcasting Corp. nationwide.

Kaiser began to expand the news department by bringing in newsman John Galbraith, who was paired with Sevey. KHVH news had two major sponsors, Hawaiian Electric Co. and Pan American Airways. On Oct. 15, 1959, KHVH news became the only local station to show same-day news images because it took the other two stations an extra day to have their film and photographs processed.

In 1964, Kaiser sold KHVH for $4 million to Lawrence "Bob" Berger’s Western Telestations Inc. During the Berger era, KHVH became the most-watched TV station in the islands, boasting the top 20 television shows and No. 1 news station.

During the 1960s, KHVH became the first local station to have a strong emphasis on sports, with "Kaiser Sports Central" anchored by Jim Lathrop and Gene Good. Airing on weekends, the show covered the weekly wrapup of sports in the islands. One of the most significant events to air on KHVH was Hawaii’s first live satellite TV broadcast: the Nov. 19, 1966, college football game between Michigan State and Notre Dame.

In 1973, the Starr Broadcasting Group purchased KHVH television for $4 million and renamed the station KITV, the call letters emphasizing "Island Television." The station is now part of Hearst Television Inc.

Over the years KITV has produced parades, telethons and memorable shows, from "Captain Hono­lulu" and "Conversation" with Betty Smyser to "The Tom Moffatt Show," "The Lucky Luck Show" and "The Don Robbs Show." For 29 years, the station was the broadcast home of the Merrie Monarch Festival.

"KITV has always been a unique and valuable voice in Hawaii television," Andrew C. Jackson, KITV president and general manager, said in an email. "We are truly of Hawaii and cherish the opportunity to share more local stories, values and perspectives with our viewers. It’s a special place to work, blessed with extraordinarily talented people now and throughout our rich history.

A.J. McWhorter, a collector of film and videotape cataloging Hawaii’s TV history, has worked as a producer, writer and researcher for both local and national media. Email him at flashback@hawaii.rr.com.