KTLA

U.S. center, local broadcast news

Background

KTLA launched on January 22, 1947, as the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, broadcasting from a garage on the Paramount Studios lot in Hollywood. It was originally owned by Paramount Pictures and affiliated briefly with the DuMont Television Network before becoming an independent station in 1948. The station changed hands multiple times over the decades, eventually coming under Tribune Broadcasting, which itself was sold to Chicago investor Sam Zell in 2007. When The WB network shut down in 2006, KTLA became one of the charter affiliates of the newly formed CW Network. Nexstar Media Group — one of the largest U.S. broadcast television companies by number of stations — completed its acquisition of Tribune Media in September 2019 for approximately $6.4 billion, bringing KTLA into its portfolio; Nexstar later acquired a controlling interest in The CW itself. In February 2026, Nexstar laid off staff at KTLA and other properties as part of cost-cutting amid its pursuit of a merger with TEGNA. Throughout its history KTLA has been known primarily as a local news and entertainment station serving the Los Angeles market, without a strong ideological editorial identity.

Sources

1. KTLA – Wikipedia
2. KTLA – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
3. KTLA Media Bias – AllSides
4. Nexstar Media Group – Wikipedia
5. KTLA Anchors, Meteorologists Hit By Nexstar Layoffs – Deadline
6. Nexstar lays off workers at KTLA, WPIX amid push for TEGNA merger – The Desk
7. KTLA: First In The West – Eyes of a Generation

Profile compiled 2026-06-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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