KEZI

KEZI (channel 9) is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Allen Media Group.

A group of Eugene investors organized as Liberty Television—including president Donald A. McDonald—applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for redesignation of the channel.

[5] While educational interests fought the redesignation attempt, the Eugene city council approved by majority vote a resolution urging the addition of a second commercial station for Eugene to increase the number of national network programs broadcast to the city as well as the advertising inventory available to local businesses.

[6] Liberty also noted the fact that a second commercial station would give Eugene viewers a choice and extend TV service to new areas.

[9] However, KEED struggled with an issue that had affected the radio station: the sale of commercials longer than one minute in duration, a discouraged practice.

In October 1982, KMTR (channel 16) began broadcasting in Eugene, carrying the full NBC programming schedule.

Chambers Communications then bought Medford ABC affiliate KDRV and KDKF, its satellite in Klamath Falls.

On February 14, 1998, KEZI moved from its Coburg Road location to the recently completed Chambers Media Center (CMC).

[18] Chambers Communications announced on March 5, 2014, that it would leave broadcasting and sell its stations to Heartland Media, a company owned by former Gray Television executive Bob Prather.

[20] On October 1, 2019, Allen Media Group agreed to purchase 11 Heartland stations, including KEZI, for $290 million.

That autumn, 9+ began airing the Friday Night Blitz Game of the Week, local live telecasts of high-school football.

KEZI continues to carry the Friday Night Blitz and Roundball Wrap Game of the Week on channel 9.2.

Chambers Communications' cancellation of long-form newscasts at KOHD, KEZI's sister station in Bend, facilitated the upgrade.

[29] Former evening-news anchor Rick Dancer (who spent 16 years at KEZI) and Al Peterson were highlighted in the Oregon Associated Press Best Feature category for Division II in 2005.

The station's signal is multiplexed: KEZI shut down its analog VHF channel 9 signal on February 17, 2009, the original date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to change from analog to digital broadcasts by federal mandate; the deadline was later pushed back to June 12.

Busy-looking logo with embedded ABC logo
KEZI logo, 2008–2010