KDNL-TV

Contents

1969–1980	1980–1986	1986–1989	1989–1991	1991–1994


1994–1995	1995–1997	1997–2011	2011–2015	2015–present

1969–1980

KDNL-TV originally signed on the air on June 8, 1969 as the first new station in the St. Louis market since KPLR-TV launched in 1959, and the first on the UHF band since KTVI relocated to a VHF frequency in 1957. Though KDNL's construction permit was awarded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1966 to a group of local investors under the banner Greater Saint Louis Television Corporation, the station was signed-on under the ownership of Evans Broadcasting, a New York City-based company which acquired the permit in 1968.

1980–1991

1980–1986

By 1980, KDNL would adopt this "30" logo, one similar to what WVIT would use from 1994 to 1998. The font used for the logo was originally used for properties owned by Brazilian multinational group Organizaçoes Globo (Avant Garde). In March 1981, Evans Broadcasting agreed to sell the station to Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises.

1986–1989

KDNL-TV, along with Cox-owned independent stations in Oakland (KTVU) and Detroit (WKBD-TV), officially joined as charter Fox affiliates on October 9, 1986.

1989–1991

In 1989, Cox sold channel KDNL to St. Louis-based River City Broadcasting, a new company formed by two former KPLR-TV employees.

1991–1994

1994–1995

1995–1997

KDNL-TV became an ABC affiliate on August 7, 1995, swapping its Fox affiliation with longtime ABC affiliate KTVI (VHF channel 2); it was the result of a group-wide affiliation deal between Fox and New World Communications (which acquired KTVI from Argyle Television two years prior). KDNL would also expand its local news programming at that time; its in-house news department, which launched under its Fox affiliation in January 1995 with the debut of a 9:00 p.m. newscast (though the station had run news updates as early as 1981 while an independent station), began producing a nightly 10:00 p.m. newscast upon switching to ABC, and added 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. broadcasts in early 1996. River City would announce its merger with with the Sinclair Broadcast Group for $2.3 billion in April 1996. This logo has been used by the station since its switch, undergoing various tweaks since.