KLSR-TV
| Company type | Television station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | June 12, 1987 in Eugene, Oregon, United States |
| Headquarters | Eugene, Oregon , United States |
Area served | Southern and south-central Oregon |
| Products | Television broadcasting (Fox network affiliate) |
| Owner | Cox Media Group |
KLSR-TV (channel 34) operates as a television station in Eugene, Oregon, serving as an affiliate of the Fox network. It is owned by Cox Media Group, which also holds ownership of MyNetworkTV affiliate KEVU-CD (channel 23), a low-power Class A broadcaster. Both stations operate from shared facilities located on Chad Drive in Eugene, with KLSR's transmission equipment positioned on South Ridge.
The station began broadcasting as low-power K25AS on June 12, 1987, initially featuring music video programming. Although it lacked cable distribution until 1989, it garnered enough audience interest to obtain a Fox affiliation shortly after its debut. Despite its low-power classification, KLSR produced its own prime time news broadcasts for several years. When full-power KEVU commenced operations on channel 34 in 1991, KLSR retained the Fox affiliation. California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc. acquired KLSR in 1993 and KEVU in 1994; while there were plans to transfer Fox programming to the full-power channel 34 at that time, the transition was delayed until April 1, 1997. Cox Media Group purchased KLSR in 2022. The Eugene CBS affiliate KVAL-TV is responsible for producing weeknight newscasts at 7 and 10 p.m. for KLSR-TV.
History
A low-power television outlet began service in Eugene on June 12, 1987, under the call sign K25AS, later known as KLSR, owned by Metrocom of Oregon. Its weekday lineup initially centered around music videos presented by local radio hosts and the station’s general manager, complemented by hourly news updates and syndicated programming on weekends. The schedule also included a live midday bingo show and a morning program hosted by Christopher Judge, who subsequently pursued an acting career. Despite limited cable availability, KLSR achieved a one-percent audience share in 1987, which led to securing an affiliation with the Fox network. However, it was not until 1989 that it gained carriage on Tele-Communications Inc.'s cable system in Eugene; that same year, a translator was added to serve Corvallis.
Originally situated on 18th Street, KLSR moved to Goodpasture Island Road by 1992 after Metrocom sold the station to California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc. (COBI) for $3.15 million. COBI, which owned KOBI-TV in Medford, expanded into the Eugene market amid competition with Chambers Communications. In 1994, COBI acquired KEVU (channel 34), an independent station launched in 1991 by Raul Palazuelos operating on a limited budget. Although COBI intended to transfer the Fox affiliation to KEVU following regulatory approval of the acquisition, KEVU instead became affiliated with UPN upon that network’s launch in 1995.
On April 1, 1997, COBI executed a channel exchange between KLSR and KEVU: KLSR transitioned to full-power channel 34 as KLSR-TV, while KEVU moved to low-power channel 25 as KEVU-LP; both stations maintained their existing cable channel numbers. That year also marked the beginning of construction for a new studio facility designed to support a dedicated local news operation.
In November 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined COBI $13,000 due to failure to submit required children's educational/informational programming documentation for KLSR-TV's Eugene translator over a four-year period.
In 2022, COBI sold both KLSR-TV and KEVU-CD to Atlanta-based Cox Media Group for $7.22 million. Following a local marketing agreement established in 2021, KLSR–KEVU’s sales team also manages advertising sales for Eugene radio station KORE (1050 AM).
Newscasts
KLSR began offering a 10 p.m. newscast titled Prime Time News as early as 1989. In October 1991, the station entered into a collaboration with Eugene's CBS affiliate, KVAL-TV (channel 13), to produce a 10 p.m. newscast for a minimum duration of six months. This partnership extended for two years before KVAL discontinued it due to insufficient viewership. During the mid-1990s, KLSR broadcast a 30-minute segment of Northwest Cable News at 10 p.m.
Presently, through a news-sharing agreement, KVAL-TV is responsible for producing the 7 and 10 p.m. newscasts on weeknights for KLSR-TV, in addition to airing rebroadcasts of KVAL’s weekend evening news and a weekday half-hour broadcast at 7 a.m. The 10 p.m. newscast generally runs for thirty minutes, except between 2016 and 2017 when it was extended to one hour.
Subchannels
KLSR-TV transmits multiple subchannels as follows:
| Channel | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Identifier | Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KLSR-HD | Fox |
| 34.2 | KEVU-DT | MyNetworkTV (KEVU-CD) |
Analog-to-digital conversion
Alongside KEZI, KLSR-TV discontinued analog transmissions on the original federally mandated digital transition date of February 17, 2009. The station’s digital broadcast continues on its pre-transition UHF channel 31 while maintaining virtual channel identification as 34.
Translators
To broaden its coverage area, KLSR-TV utilizes several translators that retransmit its signal throughout southern and south-central Oregon:
- Canyonville: K35MS-D
- Coos Bay: K30BN-D
- Corvallis: K14GW-D
- Cottage Grove: K32LW-D
- Eugene: K19GH-D
- Florence: K28NZ-D
- London Springs: K23OS-D
- Powers: K32LJ-D
- Roseburg: K33NY-D
- Yoncalla: K32FI-D