KOBI
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Medford, Oregon United States |
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| City | Medford, Oregon |
| Branding | NBC 5 |
| Slogan | Your Place |
| Channels |
Digital: 5 (VHF) Virtual: 5 () |
| Subchannels | 5.1 NBC 5.2 This TV |
| Translators | (see article) |
| Affiliations | NBC (primary 1983–present; secondary 1953–1961) |
| Owner | California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc. (Smullin family) |
| First air date | August 1, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning |
K(C)alifornia Oregon Broadcasting Incorporated |
| Former callsigns | KBES-TV (1953–1962) KTVM (1962–1968) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 5 (VHF, 1953–2009) Digital: 15 (UHF, until 2009) |
| Former affiliations |
CBS (1953–1983; secondary from 1978) ABC (1953–1983; secondary until 1978) DuMont (secondary, 1953–1955) |
| Transmitter power | 6.35 kW |
| Height | 823 metres (2,700 feet) |
| Facility ID | 8260 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°41′49.5″N 123°13′45.1″W / 42.697083°N 123.229194°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | www |
KOBI is a local NBC affiliate based in Medford, Oregon. It is owned by Patricia Smullin. The company, California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc., is the longest continuously independent broadcast group in the West and one of the three oldest in the country.
The station also operates a satellite station in Klamath Falls, KOTI on channel 2, as well as a large network of translators. Together, the two stations serve 12 mostly rural counties in southern Oregon and northern California.
The station's vice president and general manager is Robert Wise, who served as general manager of KOBI's former sister station KRCR-TV in Redding, California, from 1995 to 2005. The studios are located on South Fir Street in downtown Medford.
It was founded on August 1, 1953 by Bill Smullin, a 20-year veteran of the television industry. The station's call letters were originally KBES-TV (BESt TV), and it carried programming from all four major networks. However, for its first 25 years, it was primarily a CBS affiliate. It was the second television station in Oregon, following KPTV in Portland by eleven months, and the first on the VHF band.
Smullin soon realized that KBES' signal was not strong enough to cover all of southern Oregon, which the FCC had ruled was part of the Medford market. Fortunately, he was able to buy the license for channel 2 in Klamath Falls, and KOTI debuted on August 12, 1956.
In 1962, Smullin changed the call letters to KTVM. When channel 10 was allocated to Medford, Smullin helped the owners of KMED-AM get the license, as well as space on his transmitter on Blackwell Hill. Partly because of his help, KMED-TV (now KTVL) signed on in 1961. In 1968, KTVM moved to a powerful transmitter on King Mountain and changed its calls to the current KOBI.
By 1978, KOBI had become a primary ABC affiliate, which by then had become the top network. However, they continued to carry some CBS programs (such as the CBS Evening News and several daytime shows). In 1983, KOBI picked up NBC from KTVL, which switched to CBS. It carried a few ABC programs for another year until KDRV signed on.
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Wikipedia