KEPR
 
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Pasco/Richland/Kennewick, Washington United States |
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| Branding | KEPR (general) KEPR Action News (newscasts) (pronounced "keeper") CW 9 Yakima/Tri-Cities (on DT2) |
| Slogan | Taking Action for You |
| Channels |
Digital: 18 (UHF) Virtual: 19 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Affiliations | CBS |
| Owner |
Sinclair Broadcast Group (Sinclair Yakima Licensee, LLC) |
| First air date | December 28, 1954 |
| Call letters' meaning | KEnnewick, Pasco, Richland |
| Sister station(s) |
KIMA-TV, KLEW-TV, KVVK-CA/KORX-CA |
| Former channel number(s) | 19 (UHF analog, 1954–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
NBC (1954–1965) ABC (1954–1970) both secondary |
| Transmitter power | 32.43 kW |
| Height | 355.5 m |
| Facility ID | 56029 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 46°5′50.5″N 119°11′33.4″W / 46.097361°N 119.192611°W |
| Website | keprtv.com |
KEPR-TV (pronounced "keeper"), virtual channel 19, is the CBS affiliated television station for the Tri-Cities area of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick, Washington. It is licensed to Pasco. It is sister station to KIMA-TV in Yakima, Washington and KLEW-TV in Lewiston, Idaho. Its studios are located on West Lewis Street (U.S. 395) in Pasco, KEPR's transmitter is located on Johnson Butte near Kennewick.
Though identifying as a station in its own right, KEPR is considered a semi-satellite of KIMA. It clears all of KIMA's syndicated programming, but airs separate IDs and commercials. On satellite, both Dish Network and DirecTV carry KEPR-TV along with KIMA-TV.
All of KEPR's programming is run out of Fisher Plaza in Seattle. KEPR is also a sister station to Univision affiliates KVVK-CA and KORX-CA.
KEPR's morning and weekend newscasts are shared with KIMA-TV. Branded as "KIMA/KEPR Action News", they cover both the Columbia Basin and the Yakima Valley. KEPR continues to air its own 5, 6 & 11 p.m. newscasts.
KEPR-TV went on the air for the first time December 28, 1954 as a satellite of KIMA-TV. It was owned by Cascade Broadcasting Company, which also owned 40 percent of KWIE (610 AM) in Kennewick. Cascade bought the remaining 60 percent of KWIE in 1956 and changed its call letters to KEPR, matching the television station, the following year.
A few years earlier, the Federal Communications Commission collapsed all of central Washington into one giant television market. However, this market was designated a "UHF island" due to being sandwiched between Seattle to the west, Spokane to the east and Portland to the south. It soon became apparent that one full-power UHF station would not be nearly enough to adequately cover this vast and mountainous area. KEPR-TV thus signed on as the first station in the United States to be a satellite of another.
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Wikipedia