KRIV (TV)

KRIV (channel 26) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by the Fox network through its Fox Television Stations division, along with KTXH (channel 20), an independent station that shows MyNetworkTV. The two stations share studios on Southwest Freeway (I-69/US 59) in Houston, and KRIV's transmitter is located near Missouri City, Texas.

KRIV began in 1971 as an independent station called KVRL and later changed its name to KDOG-TV. It became really important after Metromedia bought it in 1978. The station was then renamed to honor a Metromedia executive who had encouraged the company to purchase it. Metromedia started KRIV's news department before the company was sold and later became part of the Fox network in 1986. Since then, KRIV's local news has grown to include many hours of morning, evening, and late news.

History

In 1964, a company called Crest Broadcasting wanted to build a new TV station in Houston. The station started in 1971 as KVRL and later changed its name to KDOG-TV. In 1978, the station was sold to Metromedia and renamed KRIV to honor a Metromedia executive.

Metromedia made big changes to KRIV, making it very popular. They added new shows, including games and movies, and brought in the Houston Astros baseball team. In 1985, KRIV became part of the new Fox Broadcasting Company. The station moved to a new building in 1997, which had space for more studios and equipment.

Programming

News operation

By 1982, KRIV was thinking about starting its own news team. In August 1983, it launched a 7 p.m. newscast, the first prime time news show in Houston. It was meant to be more advanced than other stations. By 1986, it was getting good ratings, and a 12:30 p.m. newscast was added. When Fox began showing prime time shows, the newscast moved to 9 p.m., which helped it get more viewers.

In 1989, the station started Sunday night specials called City Under Siege, focusing on safety issues in Houston. The program later changed to cover general safety topics. Since the 1990s, KRIV has expanded its news a lot. In 1993, it started a morning newscast, and in 2008, it added a 5 p.m. newscast. In 2012, KRIV added more weekend news, including a three-hour morning newscast. In 2017, it launched a 10 p.m. weeknight newscast called The NewsEdge at 10. In 2018, the morning newscast was renamed Wake Up! with SallyMac & Lina.

Non-news programming

Besides local news, KRIV makes other news and public affairs shows. The Isiah Factor: Uncensored is a nightly show hosted by Isiah Carey, featuring interviews. What's Your Point? is a political show hosted by Greg Groogan.

Notable current on-air news staff

• Isiah Carey – general assignment reporter, Isiah Factor host
• Caroline Collins – anchor

Notable former on-air staff

• Anna Davlantes – anchor
• Jan Jeffcoat – anchor (2004–2007)
• Kaitlin Monte – anchor (2016–2022)
• Stephen Morgan – meteorologist (2017–2021)
• Chau Nguyen – reporter (1998–2000)
• Hank Plante – reporter/anchor

Technical information

KRIV's transmitter is located near Missouri City, Texas. The station's signal is multiplexed, including the main subchannel of sister station KTXH, which broadcasts KRIV as one of Houston's ATSC 3.0 stations.

KRIV ended its regular analog programming on June 12, 2009, as part of the switch from analog to digital television. Its digital signal moved from UHF channel 27 to channel 26 after the transition.