The merger was due to a failure to find a buyer for the Star-Bulletin, which had been losing money and subscribers since the two broke off their joint operation agreement in 2001.
Apart from the mainstream press, the state also enjoys a vibrant ethnic publication presence with newspapers for the Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean and Native Hawaiian communities.
The state of Hawaii was not initially serviced by satellite radio and was not receivable with the exception of certain cellular devices and the internet.
This changed in 2011, when Sirius XM Radio was given a green light to place a 1.8Kw transmitter in Honolulu after receiving approval from the FCC to begin transmission to Hawaii and Alaska.
All of the major American broadcast television networks are represented in Hawaii through KHON-TV (Fox, The CW on DT2), KITV (ABC; Me-TV Hawaii on DT2), KGMB (CBS, This TV on DT2), KHII-TV (MyNetworkTV), KHET (PBS), KHNL (NBC, Antenna TV on DT2), and KPXO-TV (ION Television).
From Honolulu, programming at these stations can be seen on the various other islands via networks of satellite transmitters and through Oceanic Time Warner Cable.
There are also five stations in Honolulu that offer religious programming, the most of any US television market: KWHE (FBC), KAAH-TV (TBN), KALO (Ind.
The future of television broadcasts in Hawaii took a major turn down the road on August 18, 2009, when KGMB's owner, MGC Capital Corporation, and Raycom Media, owners of KHNL and KFVE, announced a shared services agreement under which Raycom merged the three stations' operations.
[4] The change took place on October 26, 2009, with all three stations' newscasts merged into one major broadcast under the banner "Hawaii News Now."
[5] Raycom President/CEO Paul McTear said the SSA would "preserve three stations that provide important and valuable local, national and international programming to viewers in Hawaii.
[7] Beginning in 2016, the Hawaii News Now (HNN) group of KGMB, KHNL, and KFVE severed ties to the Nielsen ratings.
Currently, hit TV shows like Dog the Bounty Hunter and the updated Hawaii Five-0 are filmed in the Hawaiian Islands.
Several television shows, movies, and various other media projects were produced in the Hawaiian Islands, taking advantage of the natural scenic landscapes as backdrops.
The film Snakes on a Plane, Forgetting Sarah Marshall takes place on a flight departing Hawaii for the U.S. mainland.