Station Info

KPIX History

KPIX was the 49th station nationwide to go on the air, the first in Northern California, and the fourth in California.

KPIX became affiliated with CBS on April 18, 1949 and continued to offer a wide range of locally-produced entertainment, informational presentations and public interest shows. KPIX's oldest program "Missing Persons" was launched in January of 1949. It displayed still shots of four wanted criminals, complete with description, for five minutes.

CBS 5 Anchor/Reporter Kate Kelly Presents The History Of KPIX

Special Section: Classic KPIX

On December 24, 1948, broadcast pioneer Phil Laskey gave the Bay Area a wonderful Christmas present: television. But there were few TV sets ready to receive KPIX's picture from the new transmitter tower that replaced the flagpole atop the Mark Hopkins Hotel on San Francisco's Nob Hill. But within days of that first broadcast, you could see 6" Hallicrafter and 10" Admiral television sets flickering down Market Street in just about every store window.

In the early 1950, one of KPIX's innovating programmers, Ray Hubbard, created "The Noon News." The anchors were John Weston, "Channel 5's Guy on the Go," and Wanda Ramey, "Channel 5's Gal on the Go." Ramey was one of the first women news anchors in the country.

The station expanded its programming to include live performances of the San Francisco Opera, but the program that got the most rave reviews was a live broadcast of the open heart surgery on Tommy Hunter at Stanford Hospital. Shortly thereafter, KPIX began broadcasting station editorials. It had never been done before, and the first steps were rather timid. The newly hired editorial director met with the station manager and asked for some guidelines. He was told, "We're against bad things." In time, they decided they were also for good things.

All live local programming was interspersed with murky kinescopes of East Coast network shows. However, once Edward R. Murrow linked the country with a new microwave signal, coast-to-coast, videotape, color TV, and satellite links followed. The Bay Area soon became accustomed to getting the best KPIX could offer.

In August of 1976, KPIX debuted a locally produced magazine program called "Evening Magazine." The award-winning prime time series ran for 14 years. It was the first program in the U.S. to introduce the magazine format for television. The series dealt with lifestyles, leisure time, pop culture, famous people, fascinating places, consumer tips and information about modern city living.

In 1978, the resources of "Evening Magazine" were made available in the form of the "PM Magazine" program service to local television stations across the country. "Evening Magazine" received numerous awards including the 1977 IRIS Award from the National Association of Television Program Executives, recognition from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for "outstanding community service," and a dozen area Emmy Awards.

KPIX is proud to be the home of good people and good ideas. Indicative of KPIX's attitude toward the industry is the help rendered its first competitor, KGO, to get on the air. KPIX developed programs to welcome it and informed viewers on how best to receive and enjoy the new station.