KHNL - News Operation

News Operation

As KTRG, the station had a start-up news program called Nightly News that aired from their original studios at Royal Block on Kalakaua Avenue. After joining NBC, it was the last of the major network television stations in Hawaii to debut a news telecast. In January 1995, they developed a new brand name and successfully mounted a challenge to top rated KHON. On April 17, 1995, the station launched a prime time newscast at 9 with a simulcast on KFVE. Further launches of broadcasts continued with the addition of 10 (on June 19), 5 (on July 24), and 6 o'clock (on November 30) shows. They added a two-hour long morning show on January 1, 1996. A audio simulcast of their 6 pm news was added to KUMU AM 1500 on January 6, 1997. August 3 saw the original KFVE broadcast being dropped.

On August 31, KHNL added a sports magazine and wrap-up show called Sports Sunday Hawaii. On June 1, 1999, the weeknight 6 o'clock show began began simulcasting on KCCN-AM 1420. They added "Chopper 8", the only television helicopter in the market, on April 5, 2000. On April 1, 2002, their weekday morning program was reduced to 90 minutes. A news share agreement was established with KKBG-FM 97.9, KLEO-FM 106.1, KHLO-AM, and KKOA-FM 107.7 on October 10. KIKU began a partnership with KHNL airing nightly news updates from this station on February 3, 2003. October 18, 2004 saw the relaunch of prime time news on KFVE. On January 7, 2007 that station debuted a weeknight 6:30 newscast also produced by KHNL. December 3, 2007 saw the launch of a midday newscast on the station, this has since been dropped. On December 22, 2008, KHNL and KFVE became the first local stations in Hawaii to broadcast local newscasts in high definition.

The origins of the three stations sharing their resources was announced on August 18, 2009, when MCG Capital Corporation and Raycom Media (owner of KHNL and, at the time, KFVE) announced a shared services agreement which would see Raycom merge the three stations' operations into the KHNL/KFVE studios on Waiakamilo Road in Honolulu (KGMB would vacate its studios on Kapiolani Boulevard). Though non-news programming would remain in place, the 3 stations' news operations would be combined under one banner. The arrangement would also see a channel swap, with KGMB moving from PSIP channel 9 to channel 5 and KFVE move from 5 to 9. KFVE's newscasts would remain in place

The shared services agreement resulted in the termination of all but four KHNL on-air staff and all of KHNL's morning show technicians when its newsroom merged with KGMB on October 26, 2009 when they began their simulcast. The two stations began to jointly produce and simulcast a weeknight 5 and 10 o'clock newscasts while KHNL moved their 6 pm show to 5:30. KGMB continues to have its own weeknight 6 o'clock newscast. The only times when they don't simulcast is during the 7 am hour when KHNL starts airing NBC's Today Show, 5:30 pm when KGMB airs The CBS Evening News, and at 6 pm when KHNL airs The NBC Nightly News. Weekday morning and weekend shows are simulcasted on the two but can be preempted on one station due to network obligations. The local news schedule on KFVE-TV remains unchanged. There is no weekday midday news on either station.