references but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . august 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message krcr tv kaef tv krcr redding chico california kaef arcata eureka california united states branding krcr channel 7 kaef channel 23 general krcr newschannel 7 newscasts slogan get the facts right severe weather first channels digital krcr tv 7 vhf kaef tv 22 uhf virtual krcr tv 7 psip kaef tv 23 psip subchannels x. 1 abc x. 2 metv x. 3 movies translators see article affiliations abc 1978 present owner bonten media group llc bluestone license holdings inc. first air date krcr tv august 1 1956 ; 60 years ago 1956 08 01 kaef tv august 1 1987 ; 29 years ago 1987 08 01 call letters meaning krcr tv redding chico red bluff kaef tv arcata eureka fortuna sister station s kcvu & kbvu fox mytv northern california the cw univision unimas former callsigns krcr tv kvip tv 1956 1963 kaef tv kreq 1987 1989 former channel number s analog krcr tv 7 vhf 1956 2009 kaef tv 23 uhf 1987 2009 digital krcr tv 34 uhf 2003 2009 former affiliations primary nbc 1956 1978 1 secondary fox 1986 1994 dt3 live well network 2011 2013 transmitter power krcr tv 25 kw kaef tv 45 kw height krcr tv 1103 m kaef tv 549.9 m facility id krcr tv 8291 kaef tv 8263 transmitter coordinates krcr tv 40 36 9.8 n 122 39 0.2 w 40.602722 n 122.650056 w 40.602722 ; 122.650056 kaef tv 40 43 41.9 n 123 58 21.4 w 40.728306 n 123.972611 w 40.728306 ; 123.972611 kaef tv licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website www.krcrtv.com krcr tv www.kaeftv.com kaef tv map all coordinates using osm map all coordinates using google map up to 200 coordinates using bing export all coordinates as kml export all coordinates as georss export all coordinates as gpx map all microformatted coordinates place data as rdf krcr tv channel 7 formerly known as channel 7r is a television station serving the towns of redding and chico and surrounding area in northern california . currently an affiliate of abc and metv the studios are located on auditorium drive in redding the chico sales office and news bureau are located at the former sainte television group facilities on main street in downtown chico and the transmitter is on top of shasta bally the tallest mountain in the whiskeytown unit of the whiskeytown shasta trinity national recreation area . 1 krcr also operates a satellite kaef tv which serves the cities of eureka arcata fortuna and surrounding area on california s north coast . contents 1 history 1.1 merger with kcvu & kbvu 2 digital television 2.1 digital channels 2.2 analog to digital conversion 3 kaef tv 4 what makes news channel 7 5 past ownership 6 notable former on air staff 7 cable systems 7.1 mt. shasta cable dispute 7.2 dispute with dish network 8 translators 9 references 10 external links history edit the station was founded in 1956 as kvip tv by william b. smullin of california oregon broadcasting inc. cobi owners of kobi in medford oregon and koti klamath falls oregon as a primary nbc affiliate with a secondary abc affiliation . by 1963 network emphasis had shifted towards abc as only the saturday morning and sunday night primetime schedules a few daytime game shows and the tonight show starring johnny carson were carried in nbc s schedule pattern . 2 the full abc schedule was available by way of translators of stockton s kovr in chico and redding . channel 7 became krcr in 1963 . it changed from primary nbc affiliation to a full time abc affiliation in 1978 which in turn started the seven year process for building kcpm now knvn . this was an unusual arrangement for a two station market especially one of the size of chico and redding but after 15 years of unsuccessful attempts the area was served by a local abc affiliate . krcr kaef and kfwu now kqsl in fort bragg part of the san francisco tv market aired fox full time on off network hours until 1994 when now sister station kcvu switched to fox and kbvu signed on . krcr was purchased by lamco communications of texas in 1995 and was rebranded news channel 7 which is now just the branding for the newscasts . the station was operated by california broadcasting inc. run by general manager bob wise until 2004 when the station was sold to current owners bluestone television . then in december 2006 the station was sold along with 12 other bluestone stations to diamond castle holdings a new york based private equity firm later become bonten media group . the station also operates a semi satellite in eureka kaef tv channel 23 . it operated a local cable only wb affiliate kiwb but that station was sold to catamount broadcasting following the merger between the wb and upn to form the new cw network . krvu ld was previously a upn affiliate but now is a my network tv affiliate . krcr was one of very few abc affiliates that broadcasts on channel 7 but didn t use the circle 7 logo until april 11 2006 when a new set and logo were designed . under cobi ownership krcr s logo was an interstate highway sign with the name 7r matching its sister stations . the 7r was adopted due to tv guide s reference to krcr in text non bulleted listings to differentiate it from kgo tv san francisco both stations were listed in the northern california edition . merger with kcvu & kbvu edit in december 2012 krcr kaef took over sales operations of kcvu fox 20 in chico as well as kviq and kbvu in eureka . they still all maintain separate operations . in august 2012 bonten media announced that kcvu & kbvu will be sold to esteem broadcasting effectively merging both the abc & fox affiliates operations to create a media powerhouse north of sacramento and south of the oregon border . digital television edit digital channels edit the station s digital signal is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 3 4 x. 1 720p 16 9 krcr hd kaef hd main programming abc x. 2 480i 4 3 metv metv x. 3 lwn movies on august 23 2011 disney abc television group announced that krcr and kaef would carry live well network as part of an affiliation agreement with bonten media group ; the network was added to a new third subchannel . 5 live well network was replaced by movies on november 18 2013 . 6 analog to digital conversion edit both stations shut down their analog signals on june 12 2009 the official date in which full power television stations in the united states transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate . the station s digital channel allocations post transition are as follows 7 krcr tv shut down its analog signal over vhf channel 7 ; the station s digital signal relocated from its pre transition uhf channel 34 to vhf channel 7 . 8 9 kaef tv shut down its analog signal over uhf channel 23 ; the station s digital signal remained on its pre transition uhf channel 22 . through the use of psip digital television receivers display the station s virtual channel as its former uhf analog channel 23 . kaef tv edit kaef is a satellite station of krcr serving the north coast as the abc affiliate . kaef began broadcasting in 1987 under the call sign kreq . prior to 1987 abc programming was limited to off hours clearances on cbs affiliate kiem tv and nbc affiliate kviq . some north coast residents were able to get a grade b signal from krcr but the coastal areas where most of the population lives were unable to receive it until cable arrived in the 1970s . in 1989 channel 23 adopted the call letters k a e f for arcata eureka fortuna . kaef shares some much of the same programming as krcr but does offer a separate newscast of its own north coast news at 6pm . kaef also has a 11pm newscast and 10pm newscast on kcbu on fox . scott rates is the news director and primary evening anchor . 10 11 kaef airs local commercials and weather updates produced by krcr throughout the day with an extended weather brief each night at 11pm . kaef s sales offices are located on e street in eureka with its master control handled at krcr s studios in redding . what makes news channel 7 edit in the fall of 1995 continental cablevision of mt. shasta now part of northland communications filmed produced and broadcast a 30 minute documentary special called what makes news channel 7 as part of its news magazine series in focus siskiyou magazine . it took a look behind the scenes of what went on at the station and mainly focused on the news team featuring a behind the scenes look at how a newscast is done as well as interviews with key personalities such as mike mangas rich eisen sandra geist warren wright gary gunter and katy brown . the program aired on mt. shasta cable channel 3 in the winter and spring of 1996 and starting showing on youtube and myspace in february 2010 . 12 it was rebroadcast to the mt. shasta cable airwaves again on mctv 15 in 2010 leading to that program s relaunch . past ownership edit california oregon broadcasting inc. william b. smullin founder 1956 1995 sacramento valley television inc. operators 1990 lamco communications owners & california broadcasting inc. operators 1995 2005 bluestone television 2005 2006 bonten media group llc bluestone license holdings inc. current notable former on air staff edit rich eisen sports anchor reporter now of nfl network formerly of espn mark eubank meteorologist cal hunter anchor reporter now president of huth broadcasting and program director of kblf am krac am kiqs am kmyc am and kvxx fm sandra maas news anchor reporter formerly of ksby tv and kfmb tv now at kusi tv cristina mendonsa general assignment reporter now at kxtv in sacramento kurtis ming anchor reporter weather 1999 2001 now at kovr in sacramento david owens sports anchor reporter formerly of wusa in washington dc now professor of journalism at university of maryland craig padilla chief creative services editor and production manager now full time self employed professional musician & video editor jennifer scarborough news anchor reporter still serves as the station s executive news director cable systems edit cable provider area 7.1 abc 7.2 metv comcast butte & glenn counties 707 hd & 7 sd 197 charter shasta & tehama counties 787 hd & 7 sd 287 suddenlink humboldt county kaef 107 hd & 7 sd tba mt. shasta cable dispute edit since its inception in the mid 1980s the mt. shasta cable system currently owned by northland communications had carried krcr on its cable channel 7 . however in january 2012 northland dropped krcr from its cable line up after the station s current ownership and the cable company failed to come to a mutual agreement to continue the station s coverage on the system and severed ties after a near 30 year working relationship between the two . as a result northland replaced krcr on cable channel 7 with medford oregon abc affiliate kdrv newswatch 12 . 13 14 krcr and its sister stations no longer broadcast north of shasta county or south of butte county . dispute with dish network edit dish network and krcr had been at odds for quite sometime regarding carriage of the station on the satellite system . krcr was asking for reimbursement and made their