KVEW

KVEW, digital channel 44, is the ABC affiliate television station for the Tri-Cities area of Washington. Licensed to Kennewick, it is a semi-satellite of KAPP in Yakima, airing its own newscasts and commercials. The two stations are owned by Morgan Murphy Media, who also owns KXLY-TV in Spokane, Washington.

On satellite, KVEW is only available on Dish Network, while DirecTV carries KAPP instead. Both carriers do not carry either stations' Me-TV subchannel.

History

The station began serving the Tri-Cities region in October 1970, a month after sister station KAPP signed on. Before KVEW's existence, KEPR-TV had carried ABC as a secondary affiliation until 1959; KNBS-TV operated briefly in nearby Walla Walla, Washington as an ABC affiliate in 1960; KNDU signed on in 1961 and became the area's primary ABC affiliate until 1965, when it switched its primary affiliation to NBC. Both KEPR-TV and KNDU shared ABC programming from that point until KVEW signed on and all ABC programming moved to KVEW.