A pioneer in television broadcasting, KTLA started broadcasting commercial television on January 22, 1947, more than 50 years ago. At first it was assigned an amateur RADIO callsign W6XYZ since this TV thing was still considered experimental.
Initially KTLA was the toy of Paramount motion picture studios, but after 15 years the legacy was turned over to singing cowpoke, Gene Autry. Besides a dandy voice, Autry also had the Angels major league baseball franchise, and the games aired on channel 5. Since the baseball team played in Anaheim, it was later purchased by Disney as an adjunct to the Disneyland attractions. Disney also acquired ex-KHJ, so Angel baseball was moved to help subsidize profits at their new KCAL. KTLA now carries the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball but the Dodgers were recently purchased by Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox Television -KTTV.
If that's not enough to make Homer Simpson say "DUH?" Disney went and bought the entire ABC network which includes station KABC. This required it to sell off KCAL, Home of the Angels, because FCC rules (at that time) prevented one owner from having 2 television stations in a given market.
After years of careful thought and analysis, Paramount Pictures has concluded that this TV business might really amount to something. After all, Autry sold off his KTLA station to Tribune in 1985 for a half billion dollars ( remember, in those days a billion dollars was still worth something). But now that its old station is currently affiliated with movie studio rival Warner Brothers, this leaves only lucky 13, KCOP to be the carrier of UPN programs. And no, Warner Brothers is not operating KTLA from the Paramount lot, that old studio facility was rather used by Univision KMEX TV34. Meanwhile the owners (Sony) of Spanish language competitor Telemundo KVEA TV52 recently built this new control room for KTLA to use in the old Warner Pictures studio ....
Paramount does own 15 stations in other cities, and 4 of them carry Warner Brothers not UPN programs, go figure.
Half owner of UPN with Chris Craft Industries is studio giant, Viacom. Viacom purchased the entire CBS network (including KCBS TV2) for $36 billion, and Chris Craft was purchased by Fox. Oh well, a billion dollars just doesn't go as far as it used to nowa days. Come this fall, UPN and WB will both be kaput, KTLA will carry the new CW Network programs, a mix of the 2. The current word on the street is Tribune is hoping to sell KTLA figuring the new Democratic congress will take a dim view of granting renewal waivers for an owner that has both television and newspapers in the same markets (Chicago, New York and Los Angeles).
