KIRO-TV - Program Pre-emptions

Program Pre-emptions

During the 1970s, KIRO pre-empted the first half hour of Captain Kangaroo each morning in order to air J.P. Patches. Many parents protested by writing letters to the station because they preferred more educational value from Captain Kangaroo than with "J.P." The children preferred J.P. Patches.

From 1987 to 1995, under the ownership of Bonneville, KIRO refused to air The Bold and the Beautiful, which normally aired at 12:30 p.m.; the station aired a one-hour local newscast from noon to 1 p.m. instead. As a result, the station received many protest letters from fans of the show during that period, and even one from the show's creator himself, William J. Bell. During that time, the show was seen instead on KTZZ-TV (now KZJO), KVOS-TV, and KSTW.

In 1990, KIRO tape-delayed the Daytona 500 by six hours to show a Seattle SuperSonics game, as KIRO was the flagship station of the team. The race was won by Derrike Cope, who is a native of nearby Spanaway, Washington, in an upset over Dale Earnhardt in the final lap after a cut tire.

KIRO now runs the entire CBS lineup (including The Bold and the Beautiful) with minimal pre-emptions, generally only for KIRO's award-winning special, InColor.