KITV - Programming

Programming

In its early days KITV and its predecessors aired most of the ABC offerings on weekly delays due to Hawaii's geographical location and at times would receive most of the network shows via air mail. Because of this specific reason, it had a weird scheduling pattern that resulted in the station programming ABC daytime programs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in incorrect order (with movies rounding out most the schedule) and ABC primetime shows from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., all out of pattern (and at times, delayed to weekends) and mixed in with syndicated programs to fill in the slots. And like most of the Honolulu stations, the network newscast would be delayed as far as midnight because they were flown in from the mainland after their airings in the East Coast. However that would change on November 19, 1966, as a pioneering piece of history would take place when channel 4 (when it was KHVH) began broadcasting the first live network satellite telecast from the U.S. mainland to Hawaii as ABC feeds the Notre Dame-Michigan State football game via the Lani Bird satellite to the station. Today KITV receives ABC shows on the same day as the rest of the United States, including live news, sports coverage and special events.

KITV clears all ABC programming. The only exception was for Power Rangers, which was part of the ABC Kids block until August 28, 2010. Most (if not all) ABC affiliates owned by Hearst Television refused to clear the show due to its lack of educational and informational (E/I) content.

Early on, prior to being owned by Hearst, it did air the ABC Saturday morning cartoon lineup on Saturdays, usually starting at 5 or 6 a.m. But today, unlike most ABC affiliates, KITV does not air Litton's Weekend Adventure, an E/I block leased to Litton Entertainment by ABC, on Saturdays. The station airs live ESPN on ABC coverage or infomercials in its place, due to the five-hour or six-hour time difference between Hawaii Standard Time and Eastern Standard / Eastern Daylight Time, depending on time of year. KITV did air three hours of the ABC Kids programming block over three weekdays (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). On each of the three days, one hour (two shows) of the block would air from 11 a.m. to noon local time, leading into ABC's daytime soap opera lineup. In September 2010, KITV placed The Nate Berkus Show in the 11 a.m. to noon time slot and the ABC Kids lineup was moved to Sunday afternoons, as KITV is still obligated to broadcast E/I programming in its schedule; this arrangement continued following the replacement of ABC Kids with Litton's Weekend Adventure in 2011.

On Me-TV on KITV-DT2, E/I programming is satisfied with three hours each day from 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday -- two hours of Green Screen Adventures both days, one hour of Mad About on Saturdays, and one hour of Edgemont on Sundays.

When compared to other major network affiliates in Honolulu (KHON, KFVE, KGMB and KHNL), KITV airs few syndicated programs outside of network hours. The only first-run syndicated shows currently aired on KITV include The Ricki Lake Show, Katie, The Dr. Oz Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Judge Judy. The station also airs syndicated reruns of How I Met Your Mother, Leverage, and The Closer. Various other syndicated shows are aired on weekends, usually during late nights.

Since its 1954 debut, KITV has produced local shows that ranged from children shows (such as Captain Honolulu and Rocketship 4) to variety programs (like The Aku Show, The Lucky Luck Show, a Don Ho music special, and The Tom Moffatt Show, a local daily version of American Bandstand), as well as its first morning news/talk program, (AM Honolulu which ran from 1970 to 1975), which it continues in the present day. On the weekends, KITV airs the locally produced program "Ohana Road", which features info and reviews on the latest automobiles as well as coverage of local car enthusiast events, and Soul Sessions, which showcases local Hawaiian musical acts. Another KITV-produced show, Mixed Plate, a lifestyle/travel/cultural/entertainment program hosted by KITV anchorwoman Pamela Young, airs on both KITV-DT2 every Sunday and on the main channel during various timeslots whenever live feeds from ABC finishes their telecasts or in some cases the technical problems with the satellite feeds occur.

KITV was also well known as the long-time presenter of the Merrie Monarch Festival, which was broadcast on the station live every April from Hilo until 2009. During that time, KITV usually pre-empted ABC primetime programs until the weekend. On October 1, 2009, it was announced that the Merrie Monarch Festival would be broadcast on KFVE beginning in 2010.