KGO-TV in San Francisco is the ABC-owned television station serving San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and all of Northern California.
History
The ABC Radio Network was established in the 1940s as the result of a government ordered divestiture of one of NBC's radio broadcasting networks. Edward Noble bought the divested NBC Blue Network (which contained KGO Radio) and renamed it the American Broadcasting Company. He was issued a television license in 1947 and KGO-TV began its broadcasting operations on May 5, 1949. The station became the second station on the air in Northern California. Approximately 50 employees put that first program on the air from studios in the former Sutro Mansion high on top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco. In 1954, the station moved to its Golden Gate Avenue facility in the city where it was located until the ABC Broadcast Center was opened at 900 Front Street on June 1, 1985. During the early days, KGO-TV was on the air approximately 14 hours per week, Tuesdays through Saturdays. Of course, all programming was in black and white. From 1949 through the 1950s, as Bay Area interest in television grew, KGO-TV responded with more programming on a local and national level. The 1960s brought national celebrities and color television to KGO-TV. The 1970s heralded an expanded news operation featuring two-and-one-half hours of live news each day. It also introduced the use of live electronic news gathering by way of the mini-cam.
Today
Today, KGO-TV's signal reaches as far north as Geyserville and as far south as Watsonville, a 75 mile radius. It employs approximately 250 people and has continued through the years to produce quality local programming recognized throughout the broadcast industry and having an exceptional impact in Northern California.
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