WDAF-TV

Not to be confused with KDAF.

Contents

1949–1950	1950–1951	1951–1952	1952–1953	1953–1954	1954–1957


1957–1958	1958–1960	1960–1963	1963–1967	1967–1968	1968–1969


1969–1972	1972–1974	1974–1975	1976–1979	1979–1981	1981–1986


1986–1992	1992–1997	1997–2003	2003–2007	2007–present

1949–1950

WDAF-TV was the first television station in Kansas City and the second in Missouri. It launched on October 16, 1949, as an affiliate of all four major television networks operating at the time: NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont; the station was originally owned by the Kansas City Star newspaper, along with WDAF radio (at the time operating at 610 AM, now occupied by KCSP; now at 106.5 FM).

1950–1951

1951–1952

1952–1953

1953–1954

Programming from the CBS and DuMont networks moved to KMBC-TV (VHF channel 9) when it signed on in August 1953. The ABC affiliation was split between WDAF and KMBC until September of that year when KCMO-TV (VHF channel 5, now KCTV) signed on as Kansas City's original ABC affiliate. Shortly after the DuMont network folded, both KMBC and KCMO swapped network affiliations in 1955. As a result, WDAF remained the Kansas City area's exclusive NBC affiliate for the next four decades.

1954–1957

1957–1958

1958–1960

In 1958, WDAF-AM-TV was sold to National-Missouri Broadcasters.

1960–1963

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In 1960, National-Missouri merged with Transcontinent Broadcasting of Buffalo, New York.

1963–1967

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WDAF's then-owners Transcontinent merged its stations with the Taft Broadcasting Corporation on April 1, 1963.

1967–1968

1968–1969

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1969–1972

1972–1974

1974–1975

1976–1997

1976–1979

1979–1997

In 1979, the circle was thickened.

1979–1981

1981–1986

1986–1992

WDAF incorporated NBC's current six-feathered peacock into its logo in 1986 (like most other NBC affiliates at the time). However, the "Proud N" logo was still present on their ID bug until the summer 1987. Taft Broadcasting (the then-owners of WDAF) was renamed Great American Broadcasting on October 12, 1987. By that year, WDAF had overtaken KMBC-TV as the dominant station in Kansas City, as was the trend at many NBC affiliates at that time. The title of WDAF's newscasts Action 4 News remained until the fall of 1990 when it became WDAF 4 News.

1992–1997

On April 17, 1992, WDAF-TV rebranded itself as Newschannel 4 (both as the title of its newscasts and for general station promotion). The slogan was "Kansas City's 24-Hour Newschannel" during a period when WDAF and other television stations around the country ran news updates each hour. Then-owners Great American Broadcasting became Citicasters in 1993, which in turn sold WDAF to New World Communications in 1994. Once the Fox network won the broadcast rights to the National Football Conference of the NFL, New World signed a long-term deal to convert most of its stations to Fox. On September 12, 1994, WDAF switched its network affiliation from NBC to Fox, swapping affiliations with KSHB-TV. The Fox network's branding was not incorporated into the station's logo, due to WDAF's contractual obligations with New World to keep the Newschannel 4 name.

1997–present

This streched-out version of the 1976-97 '4' logo, is similar to those used by KCNC-TV in Denver until 2003, KNBC in Los Angeles, WNBC in New York City, WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., and WTVJ in Miami–Fort Lauderdale until 1995, all owned-and-operated by NBC at the time.

1997–2003

In January 1997, then-owners New World Communications was acquired by News Corporation, effectively turning WDAF-TV into a Fox owned-and-operated station, until its sale to Local TV, LLC in 2008. Upon the buyout by News Corporation, all former New World stations that switched affiliation to Fox between 1994 and 1996 began incorporating "Fox" into their on-air branding with WDAF changing its branding from NewsChannel 4 to "Fox 4" for general entertainment purposes and Fox 4 News for newscasts. WDAF later adopted its current slogan "Working for You" in 1999.